(MENAFN- ProactiveInvestors - UK) Drug industry companies large and small injected interest into London trading on Friday.
PureTech Health (LON:PRTC) told investors it had expanded its focus on microbiome-based interventions in infancy and early childhood to prevent and treat disease.
The group said its Commense business had advanced its discovery and development platform named its founding scientists and advisors and executed an exclusive license in the microbiome field.
Its shares looked a bit off-colour after the news dropping 3p to 146p.
Meanwhile a drug company with big aspirations and importantly a product already out on the market looked set to make its AIM debut by reversing into listed investment firm Fastnet Equity PLC (LON:FAST).
Amryt Pharmaceuticals will join the London market in a deal that values it at 29.6mln. Fastnet's shares perked up 0.22p or 7.9% to 3.08p.
The FTSE AIM 100 Index added 7.44 points to 3337 and the FTSE AIM All share was one point ahead up at 710.
Meanwhile in "big pharma" takeover talk was doing the rounds again as AstraZeneca's name resurfaced in rumours about potential bids for US group Medivation Inc (NASDAQ:MDVN).
Prostate cancer treatment firm Medivation has taken on JP Morgan to handle a number of approaches from rivals since the start of the year according to sources cited in reports.
News agency Bloomberg cited unidentified sources as saying French group Sanofi had Medivation on its list of possible targets.
Market gossip had it that AstraZeneca PLC (LON:AZN) and Switzerland's Roche were also mulling possible bids for the US group which has declined to comment on the unconfirmed chatter.
An AstraZeneca spokeswoman said: "We don't comment on speculation."
Like rivals AstraZeneca is developing treatments that harness the body's own immune system to fight cancer.
In December it announced the acquisition of a 55pc stake in Acerta Pharma which is developing a drug known as acalabrutinib to treat blood cancer and solid tumours.
Speculation about pharmaceutical mergers has long been in vogue as "big pharma" seeks to replenish its medicine cabinet by taking over smaller rivals.
Drug majors are using acquisitions to boost their new product line-ups as patents on existing treatments expire leaving them open to copy-cat competition.
San Francisco-based Medivation's shares soared $7.87 or 21%pc to $45.25 in morning trading in New York. AstraZeneca's shares fell 13p to 3902.5p.
Medivation is said to have no plans to sell itself and analysts suggested any bidders may have to punch their weight.
Credit Suisse said the group which has a market capitalisation of US$6.1bn could be worth up to $75 a share.
Medivation has a prostate cancer treatment called Xtandi and several other potential oncology drugs in advanced stages of research and development.
The FTSE 100 Index fell 28.27 points to 6174.9 as traders sat on the sidelines ahead of US non-farm payrolls on Friday.
A rise in summer bookings for TUI Group (LON:TUI) sent its shares up nearly 5pc gaining 51p to 1079p after the tour operator said it was on track to meet its annual target.
Shares in cruise company Carnival Corp (LON:CCL) also floated 60p higher to 3752p.
Tony Cross market analyst at Trustnet Direct said: "TUI has been hit hard by the deteriorating situation in many key destinations likeTurkey Egypt and North Africa.
'But a bullish trading outlook this morning - and arguably the fact that the shares had been sold down a little too aggressively - has served to leave the stock trading higher.'
Among mid-caps online retailer AO World jumped 6.2p to 179p after it said gaining market share helped boost UK revenue and profits ahead of its target.
Investors rubber-stamped holdings in philately group Stanley Gibbons Group PLC (LON:SGI) up 2.75p or 17.5pc at 18.5p after it raised 13mln in a placing and open offer to pay off debt and underpin its cost-cutting drive.
Gibbons said it had received applications for 83039838 open offer shares representing a take-up rate of 220.3%.
In November the group scrapped its interim dividend as profits tumbled to 400000 from 3.7mln.
It had already cautioned that weakness in Asia and difficult markets for some of its more high-value stock would affect full-year numbers.
Project manager and consultant WYG PLC (LON:WYG) gained 1.5p to 134.5p as it racked up record orders after a strong second half particularly in its international business.
The group said it was making moves to protect itself against a potential economic 'judder' if the UK quits the EU.
Chief executive Paul Hamer said: 'We're putting plans in place where our international business through the success we're having will be able to take up some of the slack if we do see some sort of perturbation.'
Speedy Hire Plc (LON:SDY) shares staged a late rally to close 0.75p up at 39p after the construction tool hire group wrote off 45mln in goodwill as a non-exceptional item from the balance sheet.
Investors logged in to secure payment systems supplier Eckoh PLC (LON:ECK) on news of a five-year deal with US paediatric clinical care provider Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. Its shares advanced 0.25p to 45.25p.
In mining Sierra Leone-focused industrial minerals miner Sierra Rutile Ltd (LON:SRX)subsided 0.62p to 18.25p as it forecast seasonally lower production in the first quarter although it increased production by 10pc during 2015 against a year earlier.
The company mines and dredges for rutile a natural source of titanium which is used to make jet engine fan blades among other products.
Metal Tiger plc (LON:MTR) roared 0.25p or 7pc to 3.8p as the natural resource investor updated on the activity of joint venture partner MOD Resources (ASX:MOD) on its joint venture Botswana copper/silver project.
MID-SESSION UPDATE
Small cap shares were doing a tad better than bigger brother FTSE100 on Thursday with Fastnet Equity (LON:FAST) among notable gainers.
Shares rose almost 8% to 3.075p as it revealed that Amryt Pharmaceuticals - a drug company - which importantly has a product already out on the market looks set to make its AIM debut by reversing into it (Fastnet Equity).
Amryt Pharmaceuticals will join the London market in a deal that values it at 29.6mln.
In the markets FTSE AIM 100 added 0.08% to stand at 3332 but FTSE AIM All share was unchanged at 709.730.
The FTSE100 was meanwhile down 29 points at 6174 with education publisher Pearson (LON:PSON) the biggest laggard down 2.82% at 880p.
The big riser was TUI Group (LON:TUI) which added 5.16% to 1081p as a trading statement from the holiday giant cheered the market.
Also today Nanoco Group PLC (LON: NANO) saw shares drop over 10% to 41.25p as the maker of chemical materials used lighting told investors it would receive reduced royalty payments following a modification to a license agreement with Dow Chemical Co.
Small mining stocks were in focus.
Ferrum Crescent Ltd (LON:FCR) was the runaway star in London adding over 181% to 0.31p a pop as it said it had reinvented itself to focus on generating value from its principal iron ore project in northern South Africa and made director changes.
Elsewhere IronRidge Resources Ltd shares added over 15% to 4.625p and was among the top small cap gainers as it revealed the appointment of a new non-exec director.
Greatland Gold (LON:GGP) was also up over 23% to 0.11p and another explorer Ortac Resources (LON:OTC) added 13.64% to 0.03p.
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