AIM-listed Aptamer Group developer announces £360,000 deal with top-tier pharmaceutical company alongside strong commercial momentum.
Aptamer Group shares jumped on Wednesday after announcing a contract worth £360,000 with a top three global pharmaceutical company to develop its Optimer® binders for radiopharmaceutical applications.
The fee-for-service agreement focuses on therapeutic potential whilst retaining future licensing rights for the York-based biotech firm.
The contract marks Aptamer’s entry into the targeted radiopharmaceuticals market, valued at $7.5 billion in 2025, and represents the company’s second therapeutic modality alongside targeted gene therapy.
Aptamer Group shares were 19% higher at the time of writing on Wednesday.
The programme will engineer Optimers targeting an undisclosed cancer marker. Initial work centres on developing tools for Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging, with plans to progress towards therapeutic uses.
Strong commercial performance
The contract wins were announced alongside a commercial update highlighting that Aptamer has already secured £675,000 in total new contract value, including the radiopharmaceutical deal, during the early stages of the new financial year.
An additional £315,000 stems from smaller contracts and project extensions across therapeutics, diagnostics, and research applications.
Aptamer drew attention to agreements that include two extensions with a top-five global pharmaceutical company for ELISA project work, synthesis of an enzyme inhibitor supporting a licensing deal under negotiation, and a therapeutic development agreement with Invizius targeting complement system components for inflammatory conditions.
Combined with £350,000 carried over from the previous financial year, Aptamer now has visibility of approximately £1.03 million in contract value, with nine months remaining in the current period. This builds on the £1.2 million revenue achieved in FY25.