(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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PureTech Health PLC - Boston, US-based biotherapeutics company - Says it has been awarded a grant of up to USD11.4 million from the US Department of Defense to advance its LYT-300 candidate for the treatment of fragile X-associated tremor ataxia syndrome. Says the funds will support a phase 2 trial of the drug in collaboration with the University of California, Davis. LYT-300 is the firm's candidate for the potential treatment of anxiety disorders, postpartum depression, FXTAS and other neurological and neuropsychiatric indications. Chief Innovation Officer Eric Elenko says: "This award from the DoD allows us to expand our evaluation of LYT-300, a candidate with a wide variety of potential indications, into FXTAS, an area of tremendous need where otherwise normally developed, ageing individuals suffer from significant neurodegeneration."
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Tekcapital PLC - intellectual property investment company - Says 40%-owned company Innovative Eyewear Inc has launched a transitional blue light blocking lens designed to "maximize utility, eye protection and user satisfaction of Lucyd eyewear". Says the lens tints to polarisation in bright environments, while remaining clear indoors, but does not need UV light exposure to activate, meaning that the lenses can be used for eye protection while driving. Innovative Eyewear Chief Executive Harrison Gross says: "We believe this lens is an important enhancement for all-day wearability, allowing the user to seamlessly shift from blocking harmful blue light during computer and phone use, to enjoying driving and outdoor activities comfortably in high sunlight."
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Aterian PLC - Morocco-focused metal exploration and development company - Agrees a joint venture with Rio Tinto Mining & Exploration Ltd and Kinunga Mining Ltd for the exploration and development of lithium at its HCK project in Rwanda. Says Rio Tinto has an option to invest USD7.5 million to earn up to 75% interest in the licence to explore for minerals in two stages over a five-year period. Adds that Rio Tinto will pay a cash consideration of USD300,000 over the two stages. Chair Charles Bray says: "This is a transformative deal for Aterian and highlights our ability to identify potential world-class deposits in critical minerals such as lithium. We have identified 19 separate LCT (lithium-caesium-tantalum) pegmatite zones across the 2,750-hectare project offering the prospective scale necessary to attract such a major partner as Rio Tinto."
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ProBiotix Health PLC - Wakefield, England-based life sciences business developing probiotics to tackle cardiovascular disease and other lifestyle conditions - Says it has signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Australian pharmaceutical provider Trans Chem, covering the Australian and New Zealand probiotics market. Chief Executive Steen Anderson comments: "We are delighted to have signed this agreement with Trans Chem, which will further enhance our global reach. Although our primary strategic focus is on developing the European and North American markets, we believe that there is a significant business potential in Australia & New Zealand. Both countries have a high concentration of dietary supplement companies acting as a gateway into servicing mainland China and the Southeast Asian region, which we can now capitalise on."
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Plant Health Care PLC - Manchester-based provider of novel patent-protected biological products to global agricultural markets - Says it has received approval for the sale of its Harpin product, fertiliser with biostimulant properties, in Poland. Says Poland is the first EU country to grant mutual recognition status for Harpin. Mutual recognition ensures that goods sold in one EU market can be sold in another. Plant Health notes that Poland is Europe's second-largest potato producer. Adds that field trials are currently underway in Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands. EMEAA Director Angel Martin says: "Expanding the use of our core product, Harpin, in Europe's biggest agricultural markets has been a long-term goal of mine. The granting of mutual recognition by Poland brings us one-step closer and the company expects to select our distribution partner for France, Poland and other EU countries by the end of the year."
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By Harvey Dorset, Alliance News reporter
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PureTech (PRTC)
TekCapital (TEK)
Aterian Plc (ATN)
Plant Health (PHC)