Aptamer Group Share News (APTA)

(Sharecast News) - Aptamer Group said in an update on Thursday that it entered its new financial year with growing commercial momentum and increased visibility over revenue, supported by repeat business from major pharmaceutical clients and a strengthening order book.

In a statement delivered at the company's annual general meeting, non-executive chairman Dr Adam Hargreaves said Aptamer had secured "a series of significant contract wins", including partnerships and repeat orders from three of the world's top 10 pharmaceutical companies.

Signed contracts for 2026 now totalled £1.95m with seven months of the year remaining, which he said gave the board "great confidence that revenue will materially exceed the prior year's performance."

Hargreaves said the recurring business highlighted the value of Aptamer's Optimer platform and supported the company's strategy of retaining commercial and intellectual property rights over licensable assets in high-value sectors.

He added that the group was covering a growing share of its operating costs and was progressing towards "a significant and critical value inflection point."

The AIM-traded firm had broadened its service offering with the launch of a Biomarker Discovery Service in August, aimed at expanding fee-for-service income, and advanced collaborations including a therapeutic agreement with Invizius and a water-borne pathogen detection project with Metir.

To support the initiatives, Aptamer raised £1.8m in July to fund operational expansion and research and development.

Hargreaves noted the company's share price and market capitalisation had risen over the past year, positioning Aptamer "firmly as an established small-cap life-sciences company" on AIM.

He said the board remained confident in the potential of its asset portfolio and expects future licensing deals and royalties to begin generating passive income streams.

"Looking ahead, we remain confident in our growing portfolio of licensable assets and securing licensing deals with near-term royalties," he said, adding that Aptamer was "well-positioned to drive shareholder value."

At 1514 GMT, shares in Aptamer Group were down 1.35% at 0.84p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.