Life sciences innovator Aptamer Group has hailed new work with a major pharmaceutical company amid a strong first quarter. The York-based maker of synthetic binders, used in medicine, diagnostic tests, and research tools, told investors on the AIM market said the £360,000 deal with an unnamed, top three global player would see its processes applied to cancer targets.
In its "fee-for-service" development contract, the firm will develop Optimer binders - an alternative to antibodies - for the $7.5bn radiopharmaceuticals market. Aptamer will keep the rights for future licensing revenues following commercialisation, which it said positioned it for future potential licensing and royalty revenue streams.
Bosses pointed to £315,000 of further contracts and extensions secured this financial year, including with other major pharmaceutical companies, a deal with Scottish firm Invizius to develop Optimer binders for use in treating inflammatory conditions and a range of smaller deals covering research and diagnostics. That work was said to have positioned the company for revenue growth this year, above the £1.2m revenue booked last year.
Investors were told the firm has commitments worth £675,000 in total contract value. Taken together with £350,000 of contract value carried over from its last financial year, it means Aptamer is looking at about £1.03m in contract value for the current financial year, with nine months remaining. Meanwhile its sales pipeline is £3.4m.
Arron Tolley, chief executive officer of Aptamer Group, said: "This significant contract win with a top 3 global pharmaceutical company marks a key expansion of our platform into targeted radiopharmaceuticals and potential therapeutics. This represents a value inflection point as Aptamer now has two potential therapeutic assets under development.
"In addition to the smaller contracts and our therapeutic agreement with Invizius, Aptamer has an order book carried over from FY25, which provides £1.03m in contract value visibility alongside our £3.4m sales pipeline, providing a strong platform for FY26."
