Provexis to raise a further £2.1m

BIOTECH business Provexis has embarked on a further round of fundraising.

In September and October the business, which is developing medical food and dietary supplement technologies, raised £5m by way of a share subscription.

It said today that it will raise £2.1m by offering existing shareholders one share for every 12 they hold at 2.5p.

Provexis launched the offer as it unveiled figures for the six months to September 30 which showed it had reduced its losses and is gearing up to expand its research base in Liverpool.

The group said it intended to build a greater presence in the North West focused on gastro-intestinal health. It is also looking at potential acquisition targets.

During the comparable period last year the business did not pull in any revenue. This time it attracted grants of £80,000 and sales of £10,300. Lower costs meant the pre-tax loss was down from £791,900 to £666,349. Provexis’ cash balances increased slightly to £2.28m.

Its main product Fruitflow, a tomato-based drink called that thins the blood and helps circulation, is now in the final stages of getting approval from the European Commission for the wording of its health benefits which can be used on consumer packaging.

Chief executive Stephen Moon said: “We have made very good progress in the first half of this year on a number of fronts, including a significant strengthening of the balance sheet and an industry first European health claim adoption for our lead Fruitflow heart health technology.”

He added: “We will also focus on extending the product pipeline through acceleration of current technologies and the potential acquisition of new technologies. The second half of the year promises to be exciting for Provexis.”