Aptamer Group PLC Half Year Trading Update (4078L)

TIDMAPTA

RNS Number : 4078L

Aptamer Group PLC

03 January 2023

3 January 2023

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION AS STIPULATED UNDER THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION (EU NO. 596/2014) AS IT FORMS PART OF UK DOMESTIC LAW BY VIRTUE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018 ("MAR").

Aptamer Group plc

("Aptamer", the "Company" or the "Group")

Half Year Trading Update

Aptamer Group plc (AIM: APTA), the developer of novel Optimer(R) binders to enable innovation in the life sciences industry, today announces a trading update for the six months ended 31 December 2022 (H1 23).

As reported previously, 2022 has seen significant progress for Aptamer with the investment in new facilities to create more capacity and an expanded team, especially in sales and marketing. The benefit of this investment is apparent in a very healthy pipeline and level of enquiries for 2023, despite the challenging macro-economic conditions.

Revenues are generally expected to be second half weighted owing to typical seasonality of customer budgets, but this has been exacerbated in 2022 due to a number of factors including customer delays and general economic conditions. As a result, revenues in the first half are expected to be in the region of GBP1.0m. However, the Group has good visibility on its commercial pipeline going into the second half, including a further GBP1.0m of current signed orders, as well as contracts in negotiation and strong expressions of interest across all three business units.

The Group remains focused on delivering market expectations for the full year but acknowledges that the headwinds experienced in the first half may continue into 2023 and that revenue for the full year may fall below market expectations, but materially ahead of the level achieved last financial year.

Further updates will be provided as the Company progresses through the second half.

Dr Arron Tolley, Chief Executive Officer, commented: "Our highly active deal pipeline demonstrates the clear market opportunity and demand for Optimers across the life sciences industry. In the current challenging economic environment, by offering our customers significant cost savings as they develop therapies and diagnostic products and conduct research activities, we expect to generate increasing revenue through paid R&D activities, IP licensing deals and success-based milestone payments. We look forward to providing further updates to the market as these opportunities convert."

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For further information, please contact:

Aptamer Group plc

Dr Arron Tolley [phone]

SPARK Advisory Partners Limited - Nominated Adviser

   Andrew Emmott / Adam Dawes                                                     [phone] 

Liberum Capital Limited - Broker

   Richard Lindley / Ben Cryer / Cara Murphy                                   [phone] 

Consilium Strategic Communications

   Matthew Neal / Chris Welsh / Lucy Featherstone                          [phone] 

[e-mail]

About Aptamer Group plc

Aptamer Group develops custom affinity binders through its proprietary Optimer(R) platform to enable new approaches in therapeutics, diagnostics and research applications. The Company strives to deliver transformational solutions that meet the needs of life science researchers and developers through the use of its proprietary Optimer platform.

Optimer binders are oligonucleotide affinity ligands that can function as an antibody alternative. The global antibody market is currently worth over $145.0 billion. Optimer binders are engineered to address many of the issues found with alternative affinity molecules, such as antibodies, and offer new, innovative solutions to bioprocessing, diagnostic and pharmaceutical scientists.

Aptamer Group has successfully delivered projects for global pharma companies, diagnostic development companies, and research institutes covering a range of targets and applications with the objective of establishing royalty-bearing licenses. Through the unique Optimer technology and processes, scientists and collaborators are enabled to make faster, more informed decisions that support discovery and development across the Life Sciences.

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January 03, 2023 02:00 ET (07:00 GMT)