Cancer drug firm Evgen Pharma makes half-year loss ahead of October IPO

Evgen Pharma plc, the Liverpool-headquartered clinical stage drug development firm, made a pre-tax loss in the half-year before its IPO in October.

The six months to September 30 saw the firm make a pre-tax loss of £1.19m on ordinary activities, compared to a loss of £1.18m during the same period in 2014.

Despite the loss, Evgen Pharma maintained a strong cash position of £1.8m at the end of the half-year, reflecting the £2m generated during a pre-IPO fundraising round in August.

On October 21 Evgen made its admission to the London Stock Exchange’s AIM sub-market, raising £7m before expenses.

Now, the firm plans to use the funding to drive Phase II trials for its core products, including the SFX-01 breast cancer drug.

Stephen Franklin, Evgen Pharma’s CEO, said: “We are extremely pleased by the significant progress Evgen Pharma has made in the year to date, which has included oversubscribed fundraisings in the form of a pre-IPO investment round and October’s IPO.

“In the period, our long-standing collaboration with the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute resulted in the presentation of promising data showing SFX-01 reducing cancer stem cells in patient-derived breast cancer tissue in xenograft models.”

Elsewhere, the company recently expanded its pipeline after striking an in-licensing partnership with the University of Seville, Spain.

Mr Franklin continued: “We remain very encouraged about the development of our lead product, SFX-01, as it progresses into Phase II clinical trials in metastatic breast cancer and subarachnoid haemorrhage and into preclinical studies in multiple sclerosis.

“Preparations for these trials and studies are proceeding to schedule and the company will also continue to collaborate with investigators in other disease areas.”

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