e-therapeutics, a drug discovery and development company, produced mixed interims with slightly increased losses, but reported progress on its lead cancer drug.

As expected, first half losses increased to £1.8m (2011: loss of £1.5m), reflecting increased investment in the business.

The company has cash and liquid resources of £11.7m as of July 31st 2012, (July 31st 2011: £15.3m), following a refinancing in 2011. This is expected to provide sufficient working capital through to mid-2014. As in the same half the previous year, there were no revenues to offset its operating expenses.

During the past six months the AIM-listed biotech has made progress in developing its pipeline of drugs. It's lead cancer drug, ETS2101, has entered US phase I trials with patients with brain cancer, and UK phase 1 trials for patients with solid tumours. The first data is expected by the end of this year, while final results for the brain cancer trial are expected in the fourth quarter of 2013, and for the solid tumour trial in the first quarter of 2014.

Its drug, ETS6103, for patients with major depressive disorder, is also expected to start a phase IIB trial in the second quarter of 2013 with results expected in the second quarter of 2014.

Professor Malcolm Young, Chief Executive Officer of e-Therapeutics, said: "This has been another period of significant progress. In the past six months we have advanced our most important product, the cancer drug ETS2101, into two phase I trials.

"We have also continued to re-shape our drug pipeline, with a clear determination to focus investment into the most promising assets in our discovery and development portfolios. We now look forward to some major clinical milestones and to new outputs from our unique drug discovery platform in network pharmacology."

Invesco, under the direction of Neil Woodford, has a 47.3% stake in the company.

CM

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