Aptamer Group Share News (APTA)

(Sharecast News) - Aptamer Group reported progress across its enzyme modulation pipeline on Friday, and confirmed strong commercial validation from a top five global pharmaceutical partner, underscoring the revenue potential of its Optimer technology platform.

The AIM-traded company said negotiations for its first non-exclusive licensing deal covering an enzyme inhibitor are at an advanced stage, with initial sales forecasts indicating it could generate passive income equivalent to around 15% of Aptamer's annual overhead over the next three years.

Commercial sales are expected to begin before the end of 2025, subject to the partner achieving its projected targets.

Aptamer said it was also in discussions with a second global distributor for a similar licensing agreement, while a third potential partner had signed a material transfer agreement to evaluate the technology, positioning the company for further non-exclusive licensing opportunities in diagnostics and molecular tools.

Separately, Aptamer confirmed that its second enzyme inhibitor project has reached the final development stage, with licensing discussions under way.

The company also reported "extremely positive" feedback from a top five pharmaceutical customer on the performance of Optimer reagents in a clinical drug development programme, with the technology outperforming all previously tested antibodies and prompting repeat orders for expanded testing.

Licensing agreements for such reagents typically carry values of up to several hundred thousand pounds.

"The progress across our enzyme modulation projects, including the advancement to the final development stage on our second inhibitor, is a really exciting milestone," said chief executive Dr Arron Tolley.

"The sales forecasts for our first commercial enzyme highlight the tangible value our Optimer platform can deliver, potentially covering a meaningful portion of the group's overhead through royalty income."

He added that growing interest from global partners "positions us well for additional non-exclusive licenses" and that the platform was "well-positioned to deliver long-term shareholder value through recurring royalty revenues and strategic licensing opportunities."

At 1338 BST, shares in Aptamer Group were up 16.1% at 0.73p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.