Six month operating loss increases slightly at Scancell

AIM-listed medical company Scancell has published its unaudited interim results for the six month period to October 31st, showing an overall operating loss of 989,981 pounds.This compared to a loss of £941,674 in the corresponding period in 2011.The cash at bank on October 31st was £2.6m compared to £3.3m on April 30th. In spite of the slight increase in operating loss, the group reported encouraging preliminary results from the Part 1 of the Phase 1/2clinical trial for its SCIB1 melanoma vaccine and the receipt of an approval to dose an extra group of patients with a higher, 8.0mg, dose of the vaccine.David Evans, Chairman of Scancell, commented: "During 2013, the assessment of a higher dose in patients with evaluable disease and the future assessment of immune response in part two of the clinical trials should provide further evidence to support the use of ImmunoBody vaccines for the treatment of cancers." He added: "Whilst at an early stage with the new Moditope technology platform, the board is aware that the opportunities could be considerable and, with its existing ImmunoBody technology is confident that the company is well placed to create increasing value for shareholders."Scancell's share price was down 2.86% to 38.25p at 14:20 on Thursday. MF