Tiziana Life Sciences (TILS) only floated on the London market a year and a half ago, but since then the stock has rocketed from a listing price of 12p, reaching a peak of 250p in August. In tandem with the European Cancer Stem Cell Research Institute in Cardiff, Wales, the group has identified the BCL3 gene as crucial in halting the spread of metastatic cancers to other parts of the body. It is now developing drugs to stop the disease being life-threatening.
So far this year, the group has signed two significant licensing deals. The first, with the Italian Nerviano Medical Centre, will see Tiziana initiate a third-phase clinical trial of milciclib - a potential treatment for a rare type of thymus gland cancer - in 2016. The second will allow Tiziana to use the University of Cardiff's anti-cancer stem-cell technology in a research project for OH14, a potential treatment which could instruct the human body to kill off cancerous cells.
Outside of oncology, the group is also working on a potential drug licensed from Swiss biotech outfit Novimmune. The treatment could work across a range of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases such as multiple sclerosis, type-1 diabetes and arthritis. Clinical development plans have yet to be finalised.
TIZIANA LIFE SCIENCES (TILS) | ||||
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ORD PRICE: | 193p | MARKET VALUE: | £178m | |
TOUCH: | 185-200p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 250p | LOW: 42p |
DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | na | |
NET ASSET VALUE: | 7p | NET CASH: | £7m |
Half-year to 30 June | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
---|---|---|---|---|
2014 | 0.0 | -1.6 | -4.8 | nil |
2015 | 0.0 | -4.1 | -4.6 | nil |
% change | - | - | - | - |
Ex-div: na Payment: na |