Small caps round-up: ProStrakan, Sareum,Sirius

Speciality pharmaceutical company ProStrakan's New Drug Application (NDA) filing for Abstral has been accepted for review by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Subject to successful completion of the US approval process, the Scottish firm plans to launch Abstral, which helps ease pain for cancer patients, in the second half of 2010 in the US. Meanwhile, cancer drug discovery specialist Sareum says its joint research collaboration with The Institute of Cancer Research has made "excellent progress".Data shows how the novel Chk1 inhibitor SAR-020106, developed by the pair, can produce up to two-fold increases in the efficacy of marketed cancer chemotherapeutics.A bullish update has helped Germany-focused property investment group, Sirius Real Estate, improve Tuesday. It said 45,283 sqm of new leases were signed in the six months to 30 Spetember, with an average rent of €5.20 per square metre, compared to 55,900sqm signed at €4.50 psm for the full year to 31 March 2009."Although the environment for real estate companies remains challenging, the resilience of the Sirius model is apparent as our transformation process is enabling us to achieve substantially higher rents,' said chief executive Kevin Oppenheim.Bio-analytical technology Avacta has won a second order for its flagship Optim product from the biopharmaceutical sector.'Optim has been received by potential customers enthusiastically as a unique tool that will allow them to characterize their drug compounds at an early stage of development and provide information that will help reduce the risk of product development and ultimately reduce the cost to patients of these new drugs,' claimed Avacta's chief executive, Alastair Smith.Critical components maker Avingtrans has won a £1.25m order from Balfour Beatty for 30 large verge mounted poles to be used on the M4 motorway. First delivery of the poles will take place before Christmas.BioEnergy Africa is abandoning plans to produce ethanol from sugar cane in southern Africa and has ceased investment in the Massingir project in Mozambique. The company believes it would be unable in the current economic environment to get the $510m of financial backing required under the Massingir investment Agreement.Instead, the company will focus on investing in early stage exploration and development projects in the mining sector in sub-Saharan Africa. To reflect this the company will change its name to Sable Mining Africa.