LONDON (Alliance News) - Shares in Midatech Pharma PLC more than halved Friday as it said it is urgently looking to conclude a deal with a strategic investor with cash funds rapidly running dry.
Meanwhile, the drug development firm also explained it had secured clarity on how to progress its MTD201 clinical plan.
Shares in Midatech were 55% lower at 2.60 pence on Friday.
Midatech now has "very limited cash to enable it to continue as a going concern" and it is "urgently" looking to conclude its discussions with a potential strategic investors announced in late 2018.
In December, Midatech said an unnamed Asia-based investor was considering a GBP8 million share subscription.
On Friday, Midatech emphasised there was "no guarantee" it would conclude such a deal and on what terms any such deal would be.
Meanwhile, Midatech also announced US regulators had provided guidance to help the firm design the "optimal study" for its lead MTD201 carcinoid cancer treatment.
The US Food & Drugs Administration indicated a single dose pharmacodynamic study in healthy volunteers would not support a new drug application.
Consequently, Midatech was now looking to focus on either a multi-dose study in healthy volunteers or a study in patients in order to "determine the optimal study design for this final phase of the development."
The study would look to establish either equivalence or an improvement on the Sandostatin LAR developed by Swiss pharmaceutical firm Novartis.
An exploratory study in 2018 had indicated MTD201 had a "number" of "competitive advantages" over SLAR. These included a smaller needle size, reduced waste and lower manufacturing costs.
The Q-Sphera technology used in MTD201 has patent protection into the 2030s. Midatech is currently planning marketing authorisation submissions in 2021.
"We are pleased to receive clarity from the regulator on the development path for our lead product MTD201 and we are excited by the prospects of the MTD201 program, as well as the Q-Sphera platform," Chief Executive Craig Cook said.
"With the feedback from the FDA now in hand, we are in a position to finalise the advancement plan for the program as we look to capture a share of the multibillion dollar sustained-release treatment opportunities. We look forward to updating the market on our funding and our development plans."
