Insurance giant Legal & General Group Plc (LON:LGEN) has upped its stake in the AIM-listed specialist drug developer ImmuPharma PLC (LON:IMM).
L&G upped its stake in the recent £4.1mln fundraising, and now holds 4.45mln ImmuPharma shares representing 3.5% of the issued share capital.
“We are delighted to be able to disclose Legal & General's increased holding in ImmuPharma as one of our existing major institutional investors which participated in our recent successful £4.1 million fundraising demonstrating its continued support for ImmuPharma,” said chief executive Tim McCarthy.
City broker Northland Capital said L&G taking a larger piece of the pie was indicative of the kind of interest ImmuPharma is now generating among institutional investors.
“The announcement that L&G increased its stake in ImmuPharma demonstrates the strong interest in the company’s late-stage clinical drug development programme on Lupuzor, a potential treatment for Lupus,” said Northland analyst Vadim Alexandre.
“If approved, Lupuzor could achieve multi-billion dollar annual sales.”
Shares in ImmuPharma were modestly lower at 53.5p on Monday afternoon.