Aptamer Group PLC (APTA)
Two recent announcements have reinforced expectation that Aptamer will be able to deliver on both its revenue and licensing goals for FY2025/26. These were set on 24 July 2024, following the Group’s successful £2.83m (gross) equity fund raise. Based simply on being able to sustain its existing trajectory of incoming Fee-For-Service (‘FFS’) work while also continuing the scale back of its cost base, the Board projected cash-in-hand (incl. annual R&D tax credit) would be sufficient to satisfy working capital needs out to end-June 2026, by which time anticipated collection of licensing fees offer potential for it to become financially self-sustaining going forward.
The refreshed Board’s decision to return focus on asset development and licensing initially appeared to raise the Group’s risk profile, but subsequent contract extensions from both Unilever and a major US genetic medicines customer, together with a high level of confidence in its ability to capture significantly greater, highly visible, longer-term returns through accrual of downstream milestone payments, licensing fees and/or royalties as partnered projects approach and achieve commercialisation, now suggests such fears had been overstated.
Given the number of major development partners, including Unilever, AstraZeneca, Neuro-Bio and other Top Tier Pharmaceutical Groups, continuing to progress products that utilise Aptamer’s binders in order to target global market opportunities, modest initial collection of passive income that could commence as early as this financial year, with potential to multiply substantially thereafter. Seemingly unrecognised in the Group’s current valuation, any such breakthrough adoption(s) would be transformative for Aptamer, both financially and in terms of reputation.