Drugs research firm’s shares surge 50%

SHARES in EiRx Therapeutics, the Cork-based pharmaceutical research company, surged almost 50% on their first day on London’s Alternative Investment Market yesterday.

“We’re absolutely thrilled, said Dr Ian Hayes, EiRx’s chief executive after the company’s share price reached 7.44p in trading yesterday afternoon.

Earlier in the day, EiRx successfully placed over 15 million shares at a price of 5p, raising stg£784,000 (€1.1 million) before costs.

The company raised a further stg£300,000 through ancillary funding yesterday and will use the money to fund the development of drugs that target cancer and inflammatory disease. EiRx was valued at around stg£5m before the placing.

Dr Hayes said listing on the AIM was a significant step for the company and would boost its profile among investors and the scientific community. He said the company would use its status as a plc to actively explore potential acquisitions in the future.

He added that businesses that would fit in with the EiRx acquisition strategy were more likely to be based in Britain or continental Europe. Chemistry-based operations or companies with specific skills in drug screening would complement EiRx’s existing business, which is largely biology-oriented.

EiRx’s research programme concentrates on the area of apoptosis, which relates to the process of cells dying naturally.

The company believes this natural process can be adapted to kill cells that would otherwise go on to cause cancer, or delay the death of cells that prevent other illnesses. Over 70% of all human diseases are caused by an apoptosis-related problem.

EiRx began life in 1999 as a campus company in UCC, founded by Professor Tom Cotter, the college’s head of biochemistry.