Aptamer, a developer of next-gen synthetic binders for the life sciences industry, has announced a development contract with a pharmaceutical company to engineer Optimer binders as targeted radiopharmaceuticals for potential therapeutic applications.
Shutterstock Garun .Prdt
Radiopharmaceutical development programme
The new £360,000 fee-for-service development contract is to develop Optimer binders as targeted radiopharmaceuticals with potential applications in therapeutics. Aptamer retains rights for future licensing revenues upon commercialisation, positioning the Company for future downstream licensing and/or royalty revenue streams.
This programme will engineer Optimers targeting an undisclosed cancer target. Preliminary work will develop tools for Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging with a view to translating to therapeutic applications. The Optimer platform offers advantages for this application area, including enhanced tumour penetration, reduced immunogenicity, and ease of chemical optimisation. The contract expands the application of the Company’s Optimer technology into the growing targeted radiopharmaceuticals market, valued at $7.5 billion in 2025, and represents the second therapeutic modality under development by Aptamer alongside targeted gene therapy.
Additional partnership activity
Beyond the radiopharmaceutical contract, Aptamer has announced several additional development programmes that demonstrate the breadth of Optimer applications:
- Project extensions with a top 5 global pharmaceutical company advancing ELISA development for diagnostic applications
- A therapeutic development agreement with Invizius Limited to develop Optimer binders targeting complement system components for inflammatory disease treatments
- Ongoing synthesis and development work supporting multiple pharmaceutical licensing negotiations
- Various contracts spanning therapeutic, diagnostic, and research tool applications across the life sciences sector
Dr Arron Tolley, chief executive officer of Aptamer Group, said: "This significant contract win with a top 3 global pharmaceutical company marks a key expansion of our platform into targeted radiopharmaceuticals and potential therapeutics. This represents a value inflection point as Aptamer now has two potential therapeutic assets under development. We continue to see strong interest from pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners across our core capability areas.”