Corporate updates dominated the health and bio space, led by a confident trading statement from a neonatal device maker even as one diagnostics group swung to a heavy loss. Elsewhere, progress reports on a sugar-substitute pipeline, a newly certified cancer-toxicity test and an early-stage longevity trial rounded out a day heavier on operational detail than on dramatic swings.
Inspiration Healthcare guides slightly ahead as core SLE unit surges
Inspiration Healthcare Group (AIM:IHC), the AIM-listed neonatal intensive care medical device maker, reported first-half revenue of £22.0 million for the six months to 31 July, down from £24.0 million a year earlier. That headline decline masks a stronger underlying story: the prior-year period had been flattered by £6.5 million of one-off export contract revenues that did not repeat. Shares in Inspiration Healthcare rose 10.8% to 20.5p as investors focused on the substance beneath the top-line comparison.
Stripping out that one-off benefit, revenue from the SLE product portfolio, the group's core neonatal division, climbed 38% to £12.7 million, directly supporting management's stated strategy of doubling SLE revenues. Airon revenue jumped 40% to £1.6 million following an initial order under a three-year purchasing agreement with a large US healthcare provider, while MedTech distribution revenue grew 7% to £7.6 million. The group is also transitioning its infusion products distribution back to Micrel ahead of the existing agreement's expiry on 31 January 2027, a move designed to sharpen focus on the core neonatal business. Net debt, excluding IFRS 16 lease liabilities, held broadly stable at £5.2 million against £5.1 million at the end of January.
"We enter the second half of the year with confidence, a strong orderbook and pipeline of opportunities and expect to close the financial year slightly ahead of market expectations," said Raffi Stepanian, chief executive of Inspiration Healthcare.
The 38% SLE growth rate matters more than the headline revenue dip: it shows the core neonatal franchise expanding organically once the distorting export contract is excluded, rather than the group simply losing momentum. Guidance being nudged slightly ahead of market expectations, alongside a stable balance sheet and a strengthening orderbook, gives the market reason to treat this as a business gaining structural traction in its highest-value segment rather than one coasting on a favourable prior-year comparison.
Cambridge Nutritional Sciences takes goodwill hit but talks up recovery
Cambridge Nutritional Sciences (AIM:CNSL), the specialist medical diagnostics company focused on personalised nutrition testing, swung to a pre-tax loss of £4.4 million for the year ended 31 March, down from a £1.6 million profit a year earlier, after absorbing a £3 million goodwill impairment. Revenue fell to £7 million from £8.3 million, which the company attributed to delayed buying decisions among distributors and customers amid challenging global trading conditions. Shares fell 24.3% to 1.4p as the market digested the scale of the writedown and the swing to an adjusted EBITDA loss of £0.4 million from a £0.4 million profit a year earlier.
Gross margin nonetheless improved to 67.8% from 65.3% on lower scrap costs and better labour efficiency, while cash and deposits fell to £2.6 million from £4.9 million on fixed-asset investment and adverse working capital movements. The company completed a UK restructuring in March, cutting headcount to 58 full-time equivalents from 76 at the start of the year, with board members taking a voluntary 10% salary reduction. UK testing volumes grew 11% and Indian revenue rose 23% in the period, providing pockets of growth against the weaker overall top line.
Chair Carolyn Rand framed the year as a reset rather than a setback, saying the group is "entering the new year on a much stronger footing, ready to turn immense potential into tangible growth," and that the past year "revealed the true resilience of our business." The scale of the share price reaction suggests investors are more focused on the cash drain and impairment than on the cost-cutting narrative, leaving the company needing to demonstrate that restructuring translates into volume recovery before sentiment turns.
OptiBiotix highlights progress on SweetBiotix sugar substitute pathway
OptiBiotix Health (AIM:OPTI), the AIM-listed life sciences company developing gut microbiome and appetite-reduction products, updated investors on progress with its SweetBiotix sugar substitute range. Shares were broadly flat, dipping 0.87% to 5.7p. The update follows a shareholder presentation and tasting session held on 24 June, at which a three-person panel compared SweetBiotix against sugar and reported a clean taste with no aftertaste and sweetness slightly above that of sugar.
The tasting builds on a November announcement that OptiBiotix had introduced a new enzyme delivering higher yields and a purer, cleaner-tasting product through a simplified one-step manufacturing process that cuts ingredient and production costs. Chief executive Stephen O'Hara said the company is "encouraged by the level of interest in SweetBiotix from major partners, including a recent approach from a global beverage company," and had previously noted that "the discovery of the new enzyme has reduced the complexity of manufacturing and increased the number of potential partners able to produce SweetBiotix."
Interest from a global beverage company, if it converts into a commercial agreement, would represent the clearest validation yet of OptiBiotix's manufacturing simplification strategy, moving SweetBiotix from a lab-stage curiosity toward a licensable ingredient with genuine industrial demand. The flat share reaction suggests the market is waiting for a signed partnership rather than reacting to progress updates alone.
Novacyt secures IVDR certification for DPYD assay
Novacyt (LSE AIM:NCYT), the molecular diagnostics group, announced the commercial launch of its IVDR-certified Yourgene Insight DPYD assay, sending shares up 3.5% to 44.0p. The certification follows the assay's introduction as a Research Use Only product in May and completes its regulatory transition to full compliance under the EU's In Vitro Diagnostic Regulation, broadening the commercial opportunity across highly regulated European markets.
The assay detects 19 clinically relevant variants in the DPYD gene, helping identify patients at higher risk of severe toxicity from fluoropyrimidine-based chemotherapy. Novacyt said it is the first CE-marked, IVDR-compliant DPYD assay to incorporate all current Tier 1 and Tier 2 variants recommended by the Association for Molecular Pathology and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. Chief executive Lyn Rees said the assay is "providing laboratories with a comprehensive solution that aligns with the latest clinical guidance."
Being first to market with full IVDR compliance and the broadest variant coverage gives Novacyt a defensible position in oncology pharmacogenomics testing, a niche where regulatory completeness is a genuine competitive moat rather than a formality. The certification opens the door to tenders across European hospital and reference laboratory networks that require CE-marked, IVDR-compliant diagnostics before procurement.
Genflow hits primary endpoint in dog longevity trial
Genflow Biosciences (GENF) said its SLAB trial of a SIRT6 gene therapy in aged beagles met its primary endpoint, with shares little changed at 2.45p, down 0.4%. Detailed results are due to be presented at October's Animal Longevity Summit.
The milestone gives Genflow a data point supporting its gene therapy platform ahead of fuller disclosure at the industry summit, though the market's muted reaction reflects the early, animal-trial stage of the programme relative to any near-term commercial read-through.
