LONDON (Alliance News) - Silence Therapeutics PLC said Tuesday that its loss for the first half of the financial year widened as research & development costs jumped.
Shares in the company were trading 7.1% lower at 153.00 pence each.
For the six months to June 30, the company, which develops RNA therapies for serious diseases, posted pretax loss of GBP8.7 million compared to GBP5.5 million a year ago, as research costs increased by 37% year-on-year to GBP5.2 million from GBP3.8 million.
Administrative expenses jumped to GBP4.7 million from GBP3.0 million a year before, "following investment in key permanent hires", the company explained.
The company did not generate any revenue for the six-month period against GBP16,000 made a year ago.
In terms of operations, at the beginning of August, the company said that gene-silencing as a therapeutic modality was granted its first drug approval by the US Food & Drug Administration, validating RNAi as a class of drugs that now have a clear path to market.
Looking ahead, the company said it continues to explore a range of financing options.
