Hutchison China MediTech Limited climbed 14% to 341.00p after its drug candidate surufatinib received fast track designation from the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA).
The FDA granted designations for the development of surufatinib for the treatment of both advanced and progressive pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours (NET) and extra-pancreatic (non-pancreatic) NET in patients who are not amenable for surgery.
Programmes that receive fast track designation are entitled to more frequent interactions with the FDA on a drug development plan, as well as eligibility for accelerated approval, priority review, and rolling review.
12.55pm: Flutter comes up trumps after trading update
Flutter Entertainment PLC (LON:FLTR) was one of the top Footsie risers, sporting a 14% rise at 8,872p, after a well-received trading update.
The Paddy Power and Betfair owner said its sports revenue has declined 46% in the four weeks since the suspension of UK and Irish racing as part of coronavirus lockdowns.
This was less than the bookmaker expected thanks to the continuation of racing in Australia and the US, while total group revenue since March 16 were only down 32% thanks to strong gambling takings.
11.45am: Zenith Energy hits the heights
Zenith Energy Ltd (LON:ZEN) ascended 13% higher to 0.85p after it renegotiated the terms for the acquisition if the Tilapia oilfield in the Republic of the Congo.
"Acquiring a 56% interest in the potentially transformational Tilapia oilfield, as well as 100% of the approximately US$5.3 million in receivables, for a consideration of £200,000 is a fantastic result made possible by the exceptional circumstances brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the current low oil price environment,” said Andrea Cattaneo, the chief executive officer of Zenith.
The oil & gas production company said it was fully confident that the necessary regulatory approval process in the Republic of the Congo for the transfer of ownership, as well as negotiations for a 25-year renewal of the Tilapia licence, will conclude positively, having been delayed due to the difficulties caused by COVID-19.
10.30am: Things going relatively swimmingly at Brewin Dolphin
Brewin Dolphin Holdings PLC (LON:BRW) surged 14% to 242.5p after it delivered positive discretionary net inflows in the past quarter.
Total funds under administration fell 14.6%, however, due to reactions to the coronavirus pandemic.
Total funds were £41.4bn at the end of the three months to March, the second quarter of the wealth manager’s financial year, with discretionary funds down 14.6% to £35.7bn but there was a £0.4bn of discretionary net flows, implying a growth rate of 3.8% on an annualised basis.
9.30am: Catenae Innovation joins coronavirus database project
Catenae Innovation PLC (LON:CTEA) was the top riser in early trade on Friday with a 210% surge to 1.55p after it revealed it will work on a coronavirus (COVID-19) database.
The provider of digital media and technology has joined a consortium led by Z/Yen Group with the objective of building a global data protection regulations (GDPR) compliant identity documentation exchange system, "Cov-ID", to record an individual's COVID-19 test status.
Catenae said the Cov-ID 'digital passport' would record both swab tests (active virus) and serological tests (antibody) and will enable people to easily share their status – unexposed, active and recovered – in any fast, secure digital medium.
Elsewhere, SRT Marine Systems PLC (LON:SRT) bobbed 9.7% higher to 34p after it revealed it had completed what it called its COVID-19 resilience financing.
The provider of maritime surveillance, vessel tracking, monitoring, management and safety systems has raised a total of £5.3mln of cash in a combination of loans and equity, up from the £2.8mln announced last week, with the extra being provided by SRT’s main bank.
“With the confirmation of this £2.5 million bank loan, in the last few weeks, we have secured a total of £5.3 million of additional cash. This financing enables SRT to continue to operate and service existing and prospective customers during the current situation and be in an optimal position to move forward with new system contracts once business conditions normalise,” said Simon Tucker, the chief executive officer of SRT.
Proactive news headlines:
Gfinity PLC (LON:GFIN) has been selected by cricket broadcaster Willow TV to host The eCricket Challenge, a series that will see cricket players compete in the Cricket 19 video game. The series, designed and developed by Gfinity, will see some of the biggest names in world cricket compete remotely in five-over matches.
ANGLE PLC (LON:AGL OTCQX:ANPCY) said a study by the University of Athens showed its liquid biopsy was superior to a leading antibody approach when it came to harvesting circulating tumour cells (CTC) in people with head and neck cancer. Researchers drew blood from 50 patients and 18 healthy volunteers. The published data revealed use of the ANGLE technology resulted in much higher CTC harvesting positivity rates, purer samples, and “excellent” RNA quality for molecular analysis.
KRM22 PLC (LON:KRM) has agreed to acquire the remaining 40% stake in market surveillance firm Irisium Ltd that it does not already own from Cinnober Financial Technology for a £550,000 convertible loan note. The risk management specialist, which acquired its initial 60% stake in Irisium for £1.7mln in June 2018, said the consolidation of the remaining stake will allow complete integration of the firm into its own platforms and immediately remove £700,000 of debt and liabilities from its consolidated balance sheet.
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC (LON:BMY) has said it is taking a number of actions to protect the business following the coronavirus lockdown, including the sale of shares to bring in a gross £8.4mln. The company has also pushed out the maturity of its bank facility by a year to May 2022, it has made a series of economies, including salary cuts, saving an initial £1.6mln a month, and has cancelled the dividend. The group, which had net cash of £31mln as at the end of February, said it was unable at this stage to give forward guidance.
Bidstack Group PLC (LON:BIDS) has highlighted a new Lumen Research report that shows its in-game advertising technology performed “impressively” in comparison to other advertising channels. The study, which measured the success of an in-game campaign delivered by Bidstack for a leading automotive brand, found that 94% of gamers noticed the automotive brand's in-game ads, 2.6x higher than standard display advertising norms, while the time spent looking at the ad was also 1.5x longer.
Bango PLC (LON:BGO) has said the proposed expanded partnership between the mobile commerce company and NHN Corp (NHN), a South Korean big data business, announced on April 3, 2020, completed on April 16, with NHN investing £3.2mln into Bango for a 4.7% shareholding. The AIM-listed company said NHN has also invested a further £6.5mln for a 60% shareholding in Bango Deep - the Bango subsidiary that owns the Audiens Customer Data Platform business - with Bango retaining 40%.
Diversified Gas & Oil PLC (LON:DGOC) has confirmed it is advancing its planned promotion onto the premium segment of the London Stock Exchange next month. In a statement, the company told investors that its shares will make the switch from AIM soon, with the re-admission date set for May 18. DGOC said its new listing will potentially improve liquidity and the valuation of its shares, and, noted that a larger number of institutional investors that regularly trade ‘main market’ shares.
Genel Energy PLC (LON:GENL) told investors it has received payment from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) for oil sales made in March 2020. It said the Taq Taq field partners received US$4.6mln gross, which equates to about US$2.5mln net to Genel, meanwhile, the Tawke partners received US$34.6mln which is US$8.5mln net. The payments are in line with recent proposals by the KRG regarding international oil companies operating in the Iraqi region.
Anglo African Oil & Gas PLC (LON:AAOG) has agreed a further amendment to the terms of the sale of its Congo business, in order to expedite the transfer of cost liabilities to Zenith Energy. In a statement, the company said it has been agreed that Forum will now pay £200,000 in cash, upon approval by AAOG shareholders - this comes after a March revision down to £800,000 from the £1mln agreed in December. The latest revision comes amid heightened uncertainty over certain timelines, which would leave AAOG to additional costs and funding issues.
Amur Minerals Corporation (LON:AMC) said on Thursday that it is to raise £750,000 by placing 75mln shares at 1p a throw. The funds raised will be used to repay the initial advance from the loan note facility from Plena Global Opportunities LLC, details of which were released last month.
ECSC Group PLC (LON:ECSC), the provider of cybersecurity services, has announced plans to raise money by placing shares at 55p a pop. The company said it will place 909,091 new ordinary shares, raising £500,000 before expenses. The funds will be used to ensure the company is sufficiently well capitalised to take advantage of longer-term growth opportunities once the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation stabilises and to strengthen the balance sheet.
Abal Group PLC (LON:SYME) has said its planned name change to Supply@ME Capital PLC has been delayed by Companies’ House due to the coronavirus pandemic. The company said it had been notified by Companies’ House that “significant delays are currently being experienced in the processing of name change applications” and that the registrar “may not be able to process documents as quickly as has been done previously”.
Victoria Oil & Gas PLC (LON:VOG) has highlighted a “solid performance” amid coronavirus pandemic disruption, with revenue-generating operations ongoing in Cameroon. In a first-quarter update, the company noted that daily average gas production was 5.1mln cubic feet per day, plus 1,656 barrels per day of condensate, which resulted in US$5.3mln of revenue for the period.
Curzon Energy PLC (LON:CZN) said it will be holding its general meeting (GM) at the company's business address, which is located at WeWork, 71-91 Aldwych House, London WC2B 4HN on Wednesday, May 6 at 2.00 pm. It added that forms of proxy to vote at the GM must be completed, signed and returned so as to be received by the company's registrars by no later than 2.00pm on May 4. It noted that full details are set out in the Notice of GM, which has been posted to shareholders and is also available on the company's website.
AFC Energy PLC (LON:AFC) said that following enquiries from shareholders and having taken professional advice regarding the government's current restrictions on social gatherings the company can confirm that the AGM convened for 12.00pm on April 23, 2020, will be held at the Registered Office, Unit 71.4 Dunsfold Park, Stovolds Hill, Cranleigh, Surrey, GU6 8TB. However, in light of the current coronavirus (COVID-19) stay at home measures in the UK, the AGM will be run as a closed meeting and shareholders will not be able to attend in person and are asked to exercise their votes by submitting their proxy as set out in the Notice of Meeting.