SMALL CAPITAL MOVERS: Faron Pharma gets boost from US FDA green light

Faron Pharmaceuticals was one of the week’s biggest gainers, up 35 percent.

This increase was driven by positive news from an unexpected source: the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA).

The FDA has effectively simplified and potentially accelerated a Phase III clinical trial of Faron’s lead drug, Bexmarilimab. Bexmarilimab is intended to treat myelodysplastic syndrome, a form of cancer that affects the bone marrow.

The FDA recognized the challenges associated with conducting a comparative study in patients whose disease has returned or who are resistant to treatment.

Instead, a phase III evaluation was proposed for newly diagnosed high-risk patients, eliminating the need for a separate study for patients with recurrent or refractory disease.

This guidance is part of the FDA’s Project Frontrunner, an initiative aimed at accelerating the delivery of promising cancer treatments to patients.

For Faron, this means that the proposed research can target a larger patient group, reduce development costs and ultimately increase sales.

This development is likely to attract the interest of large pharmaceutical companies, which often partner with and fund smaller companies such as Faron to develop promising drugs in late-stage development.

The broader market had a relatively positive week, with the index up 1.7 percent to 781.53, outperforming the FTSE 100, which was flat during a quiet week marked by low trading volumes.

Mindflair was the biggest gainer of the week, with a 94 percent share price increase after a $450 million acquisition in the virtual reality sector, thanks to its investment in the Sure Valley Ventures Fund.

The deal is expected to earn Mindflair approximately £4.65 million ($6 million).

To put this into perspective, even after this impressive growth, Mindflair’s current market cap is just £2.73 million.

Among the biggest risers are: Mosman Oil & Gas’s share price rose 53 percent after the company announced it would focus on helium.

In the same way, Union Jack oilShares rose 19 percent after the company announced it had started drilling the second well at its U.S. venture.

Broker Shore Capital indicated that Union Jack could see results from its first well within a week, which could lead to production within weeks and drilling costs being recouped within months.

This project is considered low risk and cost effective compared to projects in the UK.

The UK oil and gas sector fell 35 percent, erasing the previous week’s gains that had been driven by interest in hydrogen storage.

The wider junior oil and gas sector faced challenges, largely due to the new Labour government’s unfavourable stance on new UK oil and gas exploration.

Delta Energy bucked the sector trend, with shares surging 30 per cent after it was awarded a licence in the latest round under the Tory government – ​​although these were only confirmed earlier this week.

The licence covers the Pharos and Teviot discoveries, with the newly added area seen as an extension of an existing Deltic exploration project.

On the negative side, Biome technologies saw its value fall 48 percent after it issued a warning over order delays at its bioplastics business.

Software Group Crimson flood saw its share price fall 33 percent after potential bidder Ideagen backed out of a deal.

Recruitment Officer Norman Broadbent announced plans to take advantage of the tough industry conditions and make acquisitions.

However, the market reacted to this announcement and a sharp drop in commission income last year by downgrading the shares by 21 percent.

Finally, we turn to the Aquis Exchange, often compared to the Isthmian League in football, for one of the success stories of the year.

Incanthera has closed another major commercial deal for its skin care products.

Luxury cosmetics chain Marionnaud, part of retail conglomerate Watson Group, is buying another 250,000 units, in addition to its previous order of 100,000 units.

The deal values ​​Incanthera’s pipeline projects at approximately £10 million.

While the share price has remained largely rangebound this week, it has risen from 6.5p to 28p over the past year, underlining the success under CEO Tim McCarthy.

For all your small cap news, visit www.proactiveinvestors.nl

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