Aptamer grows order book with two new pharma contracts
By Josh White
Date: Friday 14 Nov 2025
(Sharecast News) - Aptamer Group said on Friday that two new pharmaceutical contracts worth £0.19m had lifted its binding 2026 order book to £1.95m, marking continued commercial momentum and strengthening validation of its Optimer synthetic-binder platform among major global drugmakers.
The AIM-traded company said the latest wins include a fourth consecutive engagement with a top five global pharmaceutical company, which had commissioned Optimer binders for enhanced bioanalysis of neurological samples.
Aptamer said the repeat business "underscores this partner's confidence in the Optimer platform's ability to deliver superior performance where traditional antibody technologies have proven insufficient."
The second contract, with a new customer, covered binders targeting a protein associated with acute myeloid leukaemia for diagnostic use and to support potential therapeutic studies.
Aptamer said its contract pipeline reflected widening adoption of its technology across neurology, oncology and radiopharmaceuticals, with repeat work secured from both top five and top ten pharma companies.
Several programmes have expanded from small reagent projects into higher-value therapeutic development, including a radiopharmaceutical programme with a top three pharma partner.
The company said the traction supported its dual-revenue strategy, combining short-term fee-for-service contracts with longer-term royalty and licensing opportunities backed by retained intellectual property.
Following recent wins, the company had booked £1.95m of binding 2026 contracts, including deals ranging from neurological bioanalysis to drug-target expansion and radiopharmaceutical development, alongside £315,000 of work secured in the first quarter.
The sales pipeline stood at £2.9m after the conversion of £0.9m of opportunities since last reported.
Aptamer said it expected full-year revenue to "materially exceed" the prior year.
"These latest contract wins demonstrate the commercial traction we are achieving with our Optimer platform," said chief executive Dr Arron Tolley.
"Securing our fourth consecutive engagement with a top five pharmaceutical company is a strong validation of our technology's performance."
He added that the firm continued to generate near-term revenue and working capital through fee-for-service contracts while simultaneously building a "valuable" IP portfolio.
"Every project we complete adds proprietary binders to our asset base, supporting our strategy to drive long-term shareholder value through licensing, royalties and the progression towards therapeutic partnerships."
Tolley said repeat business from top-tier partners showed the company was "progressing to higher value therapeutic applications.
"These partners have countless alternatives, but they choose to work with us repeatedly because our Optimer binders deliver superior results.
"With £1.95m in binding contracts secured and substantial opportunities in our pipeline, we are confident of exceeding last year's revenue performance and remain focused on continuing to build commercial momentum through the remainder of the financial year."
At 1333 GMT, shares in Aptamer Group were down 2.23% at 0.93p.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.
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