Strong contract wins build commercial momentum

Fourth consecutive engagement with top 5* global pharmaceutical company underpins technology validation

Strategic IP retention expanding high-value royalty pipeline

Full year revenue expected to exceed prior year

Aptamer Group plc (AIM: APTA), the developer of next-generation synthetic binders for the life sciences industry, is pleased to announce two key contract wins worth £192,000, demonstrating momentum with major global pharmaceutical companies and commercial traction with the proprietary Optimer® platform.

Building commercial momentum with global pharma

With these contract wins, the order book for FY26 has reached £1.95 million, representing a strong pipeline of revenue-generating projects across multiple top-tier pharmaceutical partners. Many of these are repeat contract wins, build on the Group's previous successes with major global companies, which routinely invest in US$100+ million therapeutics, validating the commercial potential of Aptamer's technology platform.

The latest contracts include:

Repeat contract with top 5 global pharmaceutical company

Fourth successive engagement with this leading pharmaceutical partner and will deliver Optimer® binders for enhanced bioanalysis of neurological samples. 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.

New customer

Contract to deliver binders targeting a protein associated with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) for use as diagnostic tools and to support future therapeutic studies, expanding Aptamer's presence in high-value oncology applications.

Dual revenue strategy delivering results

These new contracts, coming on top of a series of wins over the past year (see below), reflect Aptamer's strategy to target material future revenues through royalties and monetising IP in the medium to long term, whilst delivering short term revenues and working capital from fee-for-service revenues. The Group's model is to establish relationships with life science companies developing high value therapeutics and assays with fee-for-service contracts, building commercially valuable intellectual property and retaining full ownership of the intellectual property in the developed binders.

FY26 contract pipeline building momentum

Aptamer continues to build commercial momentum with multiple contracts across top-tier pharmaceutical partners, including consistent repeat business with top 5 and top 10 pharma companies. Aptamer is expanding upon the proven strategy of successful platform companies, such as Bicycle Therapeutics, Argenx, and PeptiDream; solving diverse problems as a gateway to larger development opportunities.

The Group's partnerships now span neurology, oncology, and radiopharmaceuticals. This traction is creating pathways to high-value opportunities, as Aptamer evolves from problem-solving for reagent-based projects to high-value therapeutic programmes. The radiopharmaceutical deal with a top 3 pharma partner exemplifies this progression: an initial successful reagent project validated the technology and has now advanced to therapeutic development.

Outlook

With £1.95 million of binding contracts already secured and seven months remaining in the financial year, the Board is confident that full year revenue will materially exceed the prior year's performance. The Group continues to see strong demand for its Optimer® technology from leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners, evidenced by a replenished sales pipeline of £2.9 million following the signing of £0.9 million of deals since the pipeline was last reported at £3.4 million.

The consistent repeat business from top-tier pharmaceutical companies, organisations that invest heavily in developing world-class therapeutics, signals the strategic potential of Aptamer's platform. Each successful engagement not only generates near-term revenue but also adds high-value intellectual property to the Group's expanding portfolio, positioning Aptamer to capture significant long-term value through licensing and royalties.

Dr Arron Tolley, Chief Executive Officer of Aptamer Group, commented: "These latest contract wins demonstrate the commercial traction we are achieving with our Optimer® platform. Securing our fourth consecutive engagement with a top 5 pharmaceutical company is a strong validation of our technology's performance.

We continue 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.

We are repeatedly securing business with top-tier pharmaceutical companies with progression to higher value therapeutic applications, as shown in our liver fibrosis and our recent radiopharmaceutical delivery programmes. These partners have countless alternatives, but they choose to work with us repeatedly because our Optimer® binders deliver superior results.

With £1.95 million 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."

*Top pharma companies - https://www.globaldata.com/media/business-fundamentals/top-20-global-biopharmaceutical-companies-witness-2-growth-in-market-capitalization-in-q3-2024-reveals-globaldata/