Shield Therapeutics FY trading in line with market expectations

Commercial stage pharmaceutical company Shield Therapeutics said on Friday that full-year trading was in line with market expectations.

Shield anticipates that 2020 revenues will come to roughly £9.4m - a marked improvement on the £700,000 recorded in 2019, driven by a 70% year-on-year increase in Feraccru sales volumes and an £8.7m upfront payment from ASK Pharm on the signing of a licence agreement covering China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau.

The AIM-listed group's cash position as of 31 December was £2.9m, down from £4.1m a year earlier. However, Shield noted that loan facilities from two shareholders amounting to approximately £4.4m would allow it to extend its cash runway until late 2021.

Chief executive Tim Watts said: "2020 has been a positive year for Shield on many fronts.

"We aim to give clarity on the US by the end of March and I am sure that 2021 will be a transformational year for Shield."

As of 0930 GMT, Shield shares were down 1.43% at 55.0p.