TRADING UPDATES: MaxCyte inks deal with Be Bio; Orcadian firms farmout

Tue, 02nd Apr 2024 15:19

(Alliance News) - The following is a round-up of updates by London-listed companies, issued on Tuesday and not separately reported by Alliance News:

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Crystal Amber Fund Ltd - invests in small and mid-cap UK equities - Announces that it will continue its share buyback programme to June 30. Having utilised GBP5 million in the programme since December 8, intends to continue to conduct on-market purchases under the programme, up to an aggregate amount of GBP2.5 million. Additionally, Crystal Amber Fund says it will not rely on safe harbour conditions for trading set out in Article 5 of EU Market Abuse Regulation. Therefore, it may purchase buyback shares on any trading day "materially in excess of 25% of the average daily volume in the 20 trading days preceding the date on which the purchase is carried out".

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MaxCyte Inc - Rockville, Maryland-based provider of cell engineering platform technologies developing "next-generation cell therapeutics" - Signs strategic platform licence with Be Biopharma Inc to support the development of Engineered B Cell Medicines - or BCMs. Be Biopharma is a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company, which is focused on developing these BCMs to help patients living with genetic diseases and cancer. Under the terms of the deal, Be Bio gets non-exclusive research, clinical, and commercial rights to use MaxCyte's Flow Electroporation technology and ExPERT platform. In return, MaxCyte is entitled to receive annual licensing fees and program-related revenue.

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Kondor AI PLC - London-based developer of artificial intelligence products to offer on software-as-a-service model, focused analysis of visual input - Surpasses 20,000 downloads of its Kondor AI application. The app is currently available on App Store, and has a Google Play beta coming soon in North America. Executive Chair Jonathan Bixby says: "Kondor AI is built from the ground up for mobile devices and provides a layer of accessibility that anyone can easily understand and use for life's everyday questions. As artificial intelligence becomes more ingrained in our lives, we believe Kondor AI is uniquely positioned to assist users with their daily lifestyle and curiosities right through their phone.

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Synergia Energy Ltd - Perth, Australia-based gas producer - Appoints Ashish Khare as executive director, effective from Tuesday, following his work for the company in India. Khare is promoted from his position as head of India assets, which he has held since 2016, but has also worked across different sectors in the industry, including upstream oil and gas exploration. Chief Executive Officer Roland Wessel says: "Since 2015, Ashish has steered the company's Indian business through various challenges with skill and determination. Ashish was instrumental in the resumption of the Cambay field production in 2022 and the recent farm out agreement with Selan Exploration. I am delighted to welcome Ashish to the Synergia Energy board of directors."

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Bluebird Merchant Ventures Ltd - South Korea-focused gold company primarily focused on bringing historic mines back into production - Says that management has just completed a round of meetings with a South Korean firm for a partial farmout of the Gubong gold mine. The agreement for Gubong, which is the larger of Bluebird's gold mining projects in the country, would also include a free carry to production. This joint venture model has already been implemented at Batangas, which is Bluebird's gold project in the Philippines. CEO Colin Patterson says: "Drawing from our successful experience in the Philippines, we are convinced that the discussed JV model, which would secure a free carry for Bluebird to anticipated production, is the optimal structure to unlock value. We remain confident of finalising a comprehensive agreement in the very near future and thereafter delivering hoped for transformative returns to our shareholders."

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Agronomics Ltd - Isle of Man-based venture capital firm, which invests in the cellular agriculture field - Notes that its portfolio company, Onego Bio Ltd, has successfully raised EUR27 million in Series A financing, led by NordicNinja VC. Onego is a company focused on the commercialisation of egg proteins via precision fermentation. It has raised a further EUR9.5 million in non-dilutive funding from Business Finland, a government organisation offering grant funding for Finnish companies that address "significant global needs and challenges". Agronomics participated in the funding round with a GBP1.6 million investment. Subject to audit, its position in Onego Bio will be carried at GBP11.1 million, including an unrealised gain of GBP3.8 million. As a US-Finnish company, Onego plans to first launch in North America, where the regulatory landscape allows a faster market entry.

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Cizzle Biotechnology Holdings PLC - UK-based diagnostics developer - Signs non-binding memorandum of understanding for a strategic and exclusive licensing agreement to develop and offer its CIZ1B biomarker test in the US and Canada. Explains that this partnership should incorporate its existing relationship with Corepath Laboratories, a full-service cancer reference laboratory, through Cizzle Bio Inc. According to the memorandum, Cizzle will give Bio an exclusive licence to develop and market clinical diagnostic assays based on the biomarker, in order to facilitate the early detection of lung cancer. Cizzle will receive an upfront payment of USD100,000 as a non-refundable fee to grant Bio an exclusive negotiating period of 120 days. It will also receive minimum advance royalty payments of USD2.3 million over a period of 30 months. Cizzle will also participate in the ownership of Bio through a grant of a 10% equity stake for no cash consideration.

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Orcadian Energy PLC - oil and gas development company - Completes farm-out of 81% interest in Licence P2244, which contains the Pilot field, to Ping Petroleum UK PLC. Ping is focused on shallow water offshore production, and has a significant acreage holding to the East of Pilot. This means that Orcadian retains just shy of a 19% interest in the Pilot field development, fully carried to the first offload of oil produced from the field. It has no requirement to fund the pre-production development project work programme. Orcadian will now receive a USD100,000 cash payment and reimbursement of certain past costs capped at GBP250,000. It will also receive a USD3 million payment on FDP approval.

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By Holly Beveridge, Alliance News reporter

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