A boardroom transition at genedrive (AIM:GDR) led the health and biotech news flow, as the diagnostics company brought in major shareholder David Nugent as a non-executive director while signalling its chairman's departure. Elsewhere, Crism Therapeutics (AIM:CRTX) closed an oversubscribed £2.5m placing to advance its glioblastoma programme, and CVS Group (AIM:CVSG) surged after announcing a debt refinancing and £50m share buyback.
Genedrive brings in Nugent as Gilham prepares to step down
Genedrive has appointed David Nugent as a non-executive director with immediate effect, with the company simultaneously confirming that chairman Dr Ian Gilham will step down by the end of June. Nugent is a major existing shareholder in the molecular diagnostics firm, and his elevation to the board marks a shift in the governance structure at a company that has been navigating a period of commercial transition. The shares edged up 3.48% to 1.19p on the announcement.
Crism Therapeutics closes oversubscribed £2.5m placing for glioblastoma trial
Crism Therapeutics (AIM:CRTX) raised £2.5m in an oversubscribed placing to fund the progression of its Phase 2 irinotecan-ChemoSeed trial in glioblastoma and to support pursuit of grant funding. The company also launched a retail offer to raise up to an additional £100,000, widening participation beyond institutional investors. The funds will support Crism as it seeks to demonstrate clinical efficacy for its localised chemotherapy delivery platform in one of oncology's most challenging indications. The shares traded at 11.3p, down 1.74% on the day.
Diaceutics returns to profit with adjusted EBITDA up 80%
Diaceutics (AIM:DXRX) reported a return to profitability, with adjusted EBITDA rising 80% as the precision medicine data company's platform model continued to gain traction with pharmaceutical clients. Chief Executive Ryan Keeling attributed the performance to the growing role of diagnostic intelligence in helping customers identify patients and improve therapy adoption, a dynamic that Diaceutics has positioned itself to serve across oncology and rare disease markets. Despite the strong earnings progress, the shares fell 9.45% to 150.76p, suggesting investors may have had higher expectations or were taking profits following a prior run.
Ondine Biomedical's SMURF pilot shows ICU feasibility and pneumonia signals
Ondine Biomedical (AIM:OBI) presented results from its SMURF pilot study at the CSRT conference, showing that nasal photodisinfection is operationally feasible in intensive care settings and produced exploratory reductions in both hospital-acquired and ventilator-associated pneumonia. The data represent an early but meaningful signal for Ondine's technology in a high-stakes clinical environment where infection prevention carries significant patient and economic consequences. The shares dipped 2.03% to 14.695p.
CVS Group refinances £350m debt and launches £50m buyback
CVS Group (AIM:CVSG) announced a refinancing of its £350m bank debt on improved terms, alongside board approval of a £50m share buyback programme. The veterinary services group also confirmed the acquisition of a single-site Sydney small-animal practice for A$8.2m (approximately £4m), extending its Australian footprint. The combination of a strengthened balance sheet, capital returns, and bolt-on growth drove the shares up 6.34% to 1,275p, making it one of the day's standout performers across the health sector.
AstraZeneca's Enhertu wins CHMP positive opinion for tumour-agnostic use
AstraZeneca (LSE:AZN) and partner Daiichi Sankyo received a positive opinion from the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use for Enhertu in previously treated HER2-positive (IHC 3+) unresectable or metastatic solid tumours, regardless of tumour origin. The opinion positions Enhertu as a potential first HER2-directed tumour-agnostic therapy approved in Europe, a significant regulatory milestone for the antibody-drug conjugate franchise. The shares were broadly flat at 13,922p, up just 0.04%, reflecting the market's prior pricing of the regulatory pathway.
Cardiogeni completes £810,000 convertible loan note repayment
Cardiogeni Plc completed the full repayment of £810,000 in convertible loan notes, following the conclusion of a share exchange agreement first announced on 21 April. The repayment clears a near-term liability from the balance sheet and marks a further step in the company's corporate restructuring as it advances its cardiac therapeutics pipeline.
Novo Nordisk study flags persistent inflammation in high-risk cardiovascular patients
Novo Nordisk's POSEIDON study, a global observational analysis of 18,904 patients, found that approximately 40% of individuals with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease combined with either chronic kidney disease or heart failure had elevated hsCRP levels of ≥2 mg/L, indicating ongoing systemic inflammation despite existing treatment. The findings highlight a residual inflammatory risk burden in a population already considered high-risk, and point to a potential therapeutic gap that anti-inflammatory cardiovascular strategies, an area of active clinical development, could address.
