ReNeuron's first half revenues supported by new drug developments

(ShareCast News) - ReNeuron, an AIM-listed UK based developer of cell-based therapeutics, saw first half revenues double due to a series of successful drug trials.Revenues were £22,000 for the six months ended 30 September 2016 up from £11,000 in the first half of 2015.During the period, the group completed dosing in the Phase II clinical trial (PISCES II) of its CTX cell therapy candidate for stroke disability. All 21 patients in the study have completed three-month follow-up, with ten patients followed for six months and three for twelve months.Chief executive Olav Hellebø said: "The results of this study represent the most important clinical milestone in ReNeuron's history and enable us to progress the CTX treatment into advanced clinical development in this indication. The unmet medical need in chronic stroke disability is enormous and we are delighted that we are now one step closer to being able to offer an effective therapy to these patients."The Phase I/II clinical trial of the human Retinal Progenitor Cell (hRPC) cell therapy candidate for the blindness-causing disease, retinitis pigmentosa (RP), has also progressed well."ReNeuron remains well-funded to advance all of its therapeutic programmes through to further significant clinical milestones and we look forward to reporting further progress in the months ahead," said Hellebø.Research and development expenditure increased in the period to £7.88m from £3.72m.As a result, the group incurred a loss for the period of £7.7m, lower than the loss of £4.48m in 2015. Cash consumed by operations of £6.99m up from £5.26m in 2015.Cash, cash equivalents and bank deposits at 30 September 2016 were £60.08m, down from £65.7m on 31 March 2016.The CTX cell therapy candidate for critical limb ischaemia (CLI) is currently in a Phase I clinical trial in the UK. The company said that no adverse safety events have been reported thus far in the patients treated in the Phase I study and expect to have safety data available from the CLI study slightly later than planned, in early 2017.The company have also continued to advance its exosome nanomedicine programme. The group selected glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) as the first clinical target for ExoPr0. GBM accounts for 16% of all diagnosed brain cancers, with 25,000 patients diagnosed per annum in the US and Europe combined. The company expects to be able to commence a first human clinical trial with ExoPr0 in 2018.The share price rose 4.35% to 3p at 1425 GMT on Monday.