Aptamer Group seals two significant deals worth £235,000

Life sciences firm Aptamer Group has announced two significant deals worth a combined £235,000.

The York based operator was launched on AIM in 2021 to maximise the potential of its Optimer binder technology in applications across life sciences and other industries. Its latest deal wins have seen it secure a contract valued at up to £175,000 with a top five pharmaceutical company, and a deal worth up to £60,000 with a global provider of specialty enzymes used widely throughout the life sciences sector.

As part of the first contract, Aptamer will develop Optimer binders for use in immunohistochemistry applications. In a stock announcement Aptamer said that following development, the firm’s binders could be used to support the top five partner’s drug development pipeline, resulting in royalties and possible licencing revenues for Aptamer. The agreement marks the sixth contract with the pharmaceutical partner.

The second contract will see Aptamer develop Optimer binders which will be incorporated into life science and diagnostic assay kits. Aptamer Group added it will “earn milestone payments upon successful commercialisation and downstream high single digit royalties from the gross sales of all kits containing the developed Optimer. Sales could commence as early as 2025”.

Dr Arron Tolley, chief technical officer of Aptamer Group, said: “The repeat business from another of our top-five pharma partner validates the power of the Optimer platform to solve intractable problems associated with traditional ligands like antibodies in the area of immunohistochemistry (IHC) and supports our new business and patenting strategy. These smaller royalty bearing agreements to develop Optimer binders aligns with our business model to develop a diversified pipeline of technologies to deliver licence agreements across the life science sector. Unfortunately, due to confidentiality we cannot disclose the name of the partner or any other terms of the deal.

“Over the past year, the new management team has successfully rebuilt the sales pipeline, and refocused the business to its pre-IPO model which continues to convert to signed deals – with opportunities to generate passive income through licensing and royalty-based deals. I look forward to updating the market on continuing commercial progress and on the continued development of our key assets in delivery vehicles for the Liver Fibrosis, binders for cosmetic applications with Unilever and our ongoing partnership with Neuro-Bio developing a diagnostic for Alzheimer’s.”