Midatech Pharma 'on track' for first half

(Sharecast News) - Cancer-focused pharmaceutical company Midatech Pharma has remained "on track" to deliver financial results for the first half of the calendar year in line with market expectations, and was still exploring options about how to meet its cash flow needs.Midatech expects total gross product revenues to grow approximately 16% to £5.8m.The firm noted that sales for the second half of 2017 represented 56% of the year's gross product sales and anticipates a similar split in 2018 as a result of continued sales growth at "historic rates".Midatech noted that clinical trials for two of its key oncology drug candidates, the sustained release product Q-Octreotide MTD201 and MTX110, had progressed well, along with clinical trial preparation work on MTD119, the firm's advanced liver cancer drug candidate which received Orphan Drug Designation earlier in the year.The AIM-quoted group said it "remains on track" to announce results from the initial phase of its ongoing in-human study of Q-Octreotide MTD201, designed for the treatment of acromegaly and carcinoid cancer, by the end of the year.Midatech highlighted that it was continuing to review a "range of options" to meet its cash flow needs, including non-dilutive financing and other strategic alternatives.Chief executive Dr Craig Cook said, "I am pleased to report a strong trading update for the first half of the year, with continued sales growth in our US business and significant progress made in our key clinical programmes, MTD201 and MTX110.""There is renewed momentum throughout the group as we progress towards the key value inflection points for our clinical pipeline over the next eighteen months, and we remain focused on bringing our innovative and potentially life-changing therapies to market in areas of significant unmet need," added Cook.As of 1020 BST, Midatech shares had dipped 1.75% to 28p.