REG - Aptamer Group PLC - Contract wins and first cash licensing receipts

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RNS Number : 8138Q  Aptamer Group PLC  29 January 2026

 

29 January 2026

 

Aptamer Group plc

("Aptamer", the "Company" or the "Group")

 

Further repeat contract wins and first cash licensing receipts

£190,000 of new fee-for-service contracts and extensions, including repeat
business with top-tier pharmaceutical partners

FY26 fee-for-service order book now exceeds £2.1 million

First cash licensing receipts of £80,000 from a hot‑start PCR Optimer®
licence

 

Aptamer Group plc (AIM: APTA), the developer of next-generation synthetic
binders for the life sciences industry, is pleased to announce £190,000 of
new fee-for-service orders and £80,000 of cash licensing receipts,
demonstrating sustained commercial momentum and the commencement of
high-margin, recurring revenues from its Optimer® platform.

 

Repeat business from top-tier pharma partners

New Optimer® development agreements totalling £155,000 include a further
contract with a top‑10 global pharmaceutical company, the second repeat
programme with this partner in FY26 alone.

 

Contract extensions worth £35,000 have also been signed with this top‑10
partner and an additional top‑20 pharmaceutical company. These new and
extended contracts mean Aptamer now has multiple, ongoing Optimer® programmes
with leading industry players, demonstrating sustained adoption of the
platform and a growing, diversified fee-for-service revenue base. The Optimers
generated under these agreements will support a range of research applications
for the Group's pharmaceutical partners, further embedding Optimer® binders
within customers' development pipelines.

 

Optimer® development for novel fertility solutions

The Group has secured a second Optimer® discovery and development programme
with a leading European medical research centre to generate a specialist
anti-blood-clotting (anti-coagulant) Optimer® with a corresponding rapid
reversal agent (antidote) for application in novel fertility solutions.
Aptamer retains full intellectual property rights for the developed binders,
creating potential for high-value downstream licensing and royalty revenues
and broader commercial applications beyond the initial programme scope.

 

First cash licensing receipts from hot‑start PCR Optimer®

Aptamer has received its first cash licensing receipts totalling £80,000 from
a non-exclusive hot‑start PCR Optimer® licence signed in December 2025.
This milestone marks the transition of the Group's growing licensing portfolio
from signed agreements to cash-generative assets. The upfront element of this
payment, totalling £75,000, will be recognised as revenue over the term of
the agreement, in line with the Group's accounting policies.

 

Based on current customer forecasts, this single licence is expected to
contribute passive, high-margin income equivalent to around 15% of the Group's
annual overhead over the next three years, highlighting the operational
leverage available as further licences are executed.

 

The Group continues to progress additional Optimer® licensing opportunities
across diagnostics, life‑science tools and therapeutics, building a
portfolio of royalty-bearing assets alongside its established fee-for-service
business.

 

Strong financial position and growing visibility

The new signed contracts increase the total FY26 fee‑for‑service order
book to over £2.1 million, compared with over £2.0 million as reported in
the trading update on 7 January 2026. Combined with the developing portfolio
of royalty-bearing licences, the Board's visibility over FY26 revenue
continues to strengthen. Together with current cash resources, this provides
funding runway through to June 2027 and underpins management's confidence in
delivering further year-on-year revenue growth and continued progress towards
cash‑flow break-even.

 

Dr Arron Tolley, Chief Executive Officer of Aptamer Group, commented:

"This is another step forward in building a higher‑quality, recurring
revenue business. Repeat contracts with multiple top-tier pharmaceutical
partners, combined with our first cash receipts from a non-exclusive Optimer®
licence, demonstrate both the technical strength of the platform and the
commercial value it is now delivering.

 

"With over £2.1 million of signed FY26 fee‑for‑service contracts, a
growing pipeline of licensing opportunities and cash runway to at least June
2027, we are increasingly confident in our ability to continue delivering
year‑on‑year revenue growth, expand high‑margin recurring income and
further enhance the Group's resilience for shareholders."

 

- Ends -

 

For further information, please contact:

 

 Aptamer Group plc                                               +44 (0) 1904 217 404 

 Dr Arron Tolley, Chief Executive Officer
 SPARK Advisory Partners Limited - Nominated Adviser             +44 (0) 20 3368 3550 

 Andrew Emmott  
 Turner Pope Investments (TPI) Limited - Broker                  +44 (0) 20 3657 0050 

 Andrew Thacker / Guy McDougall
 Northstar Communications Limited - Investor Relations           +44 (0) 113 730 3896

 Sarah Hollins

 

About Aptamer Group

 

Aptamer Group is a leading developer of next-generation synthetic binders for
the life sciences industry. The Group develops Optimer® binders, advanced
molecules that act like antibodies by binding to specific targets. These
binders are used in medicine, diagnostic tests, and research tools, offering
benefits such as high stability, reliable performance, and lower costs
compared with traditional antibodies.

 

Aptamer operates a fee‑for‑service business in the global market for
antibody alternatives, working with leading pharmaceutical and life‑science
companies, including all of the top 10 global pharmaceutical companies. It is
also building a portfolio of Optimer® assets with partners, aiming to
generate future licensing and royalty revenues.

 

Founded in 2008, the Group listed on the London Stock Exchange AIM market in
December 2021 and is headquartered in York, UK.

 

To register for news alerts by email go to
https://aptamergroup.com/investors/investor-news-email-alerts/
(https://aptamergroup.com/investors/investor-news-email-alerts/)

 

 

 

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