Small-cap news flow this morning centres on healthcare and diagnostics, with EDX Medical securing fresh capital to scale its employee screening business and GSK landing two separate regulatory wins across oncology and hepatitis B. Contract announcements also feature heavily, spanning defence, energy infrastructure and public sector risk management, while smart eyewear and live commerce partnerships point to continued deal-making in consumer tech.
EDX Medical raises £2.7m to fund health screening expansion
EDX Medical Group (AIM:EDX) has raised approximately £2.7m through a subscription for 19.38m new shares at 14p each, with each share carrying warrants over two further shares exercisable at 3p between July 2028 and July 2029. The Cambridge-based diagnostics group develops digital testing products for early disease detection, and the proceeds will fund expansion of its employee health screening service, which combines biomarker testing panels, general health checks and a bespoke follow-up diagnostic offering.
Discussions on definitive contracts with three significant UK employers, first flagged in July, are progressing, with testing still expected to begin in the final quarter of 2026. Two further large companies have since approached EDX Medical approximately the service, with talks ongoing. Separately, the company confirmed that £860,000 of the £1.2m revenue it expected to record for the year ended 31 March has been deferred into the current financial year, following discussion with its auditors, as order processing extended beyond the year end.
"Investors in the Company have again demonstrated their confidence in the Company's strategy," said Chris Evans, founder of EDX Medical.
The deferred revenue reads as a timing issue rather than a demand problem, initial fulfilment could still generate more than £2m in the current financial year, with repeat revenues expected in later periods. The bigger signal is the pipeline: three employer contracts moving toward a Q4 testing launch, plus two fresh approaches, suggests the screening business is gaining commercial traction beyond a single anchor client, which is precisely the diversification the fundraise is designed to support.
Huddled forms TikTok joint venture with Cipher for Peeko live commerce
Huddled Group (AIM:HUD), the circular economy e-commerce group, has entered a joint venture with Cipher, a UK TikTok agency, to run Peeko Live Commerce channels across TikTok Live and TikTok Auctions. Profits split 50:50, with Cipher supplying presenters and studios while Huddled provides stock and fulfilment, the second live commerce partnership struck in as many weeks, following a recent Whatnot tie-up with AEWW.
The Peeko-Beauty stream launches on TikTok later this week as a beta trial to test delivery timelines, before scaling to several hours a day, with Tech and Treats categories following in subsequent weeks and further verticals planned over coming months. The arrangement runs through Huddled's proprietary software, which links third-party live-selling partners to its centralised stock and automated fulfilment system, including next-day delivery on orders placed up to 10pm. "Deals like this let us scale rapidly without taking on the cost or complexity of presenters, studios, or production. Cipher is one of the leading TikTok agencies and understands exactly how to maximise revenue on the platform," said Martin Higginson, executive chairman of Huddled Group.
The asset-light structure is the point, by outsourcing presenters and production to specialist partners, Huddled can stack multiple live commerce verticals without the fixed costs of building studios itself, turning its fulfilment infrastructure into the reusable backbone for repeated category launches.
FDA grants priority review to GSK's Jemperli for rectal cancer
GSK (LSE:GSK) has secured priority review from the US Food and Drug Administration for Jemperli (dostarlimab) in previously untreated stage II and III mismatch repair deficient and microsatellite instability-high locally advanced rectal cancer. The FDA has set a PDUFA action date of February 2027, and the application also qualifies for the agency's National Priority Voucher program, which could bring an earlier decision.
Rectal cancer affects roughly 770,000 people globally each year, with the dMMR/MSI-H subtype accounting for an estimated 5-10% of cases. Standard treatment, chemotherapy, radiation and surgery, can carry lasting effects on bowel, urinary and sexual function alongside fertility, and if approved, Jemperli could allow some patients to avoid that regimen entirely. The submission rests on the phase II AZUR-1 trial, which met its primary goal of a sustained clinical complete response at 12 months, meaning no detectable cancer signs for at least a year.
A priority review voucher pathway raises the prospect of an earlier-than-scheduled decision, and a positive outcome would extend Jemperli's label into an earlier-stage, potentially curative-intent setting rather than its existing later-line indications, a meaningful expansion of the drug's addressable population within GSK's oncology franchise.
Tekcapital's Innovative Eyewear partners with HTC on smart glasses
Tekcapital (LSE:TEK), the UK intellectual property investment group, said portfolio company Innovative Eyewear (NASDAQ:LUCY) has struck a strategic alliance with Taiwanese electronics manufacturer HTC Corporation. Innovative Eyewear develops smart eyewear under the Lucyd, Lucyd Armor, Reebok, Eddie Bauer and Nautica brands, and the tie-up covers US commercialisation of HTC's VIVE Eagle smart eyewear line, sold through Innovative Eyewear's Lucyd.co web store from September with US-based prescription lens fulfilment, including a free basic prescription upgrade at launch.
VIVE Eagle features AI conversation recording and translation through HTC's VIVE Connect app, camera management, hands-free voice activation and privacy safeguards that block recording when the glasses are unworn. "I truly feel this smartglass is superior to other camera glass options available today, and we can't wait to hear what the thousands of smartglass enthusiasts in our community think of the product," Harrison Gross, chief executive of Innovative Eyewear. Charles Huang of HTC Corporation, added that "Innovative Eyewear has consistently proven themselves in the smart eyewear space, bringing great designs, functionality, and customer experience to users over the years."
It marks the first product on Lucyd.co developed by an external partner rather than by Innovative Eyewear's own team, a shift that turns the platform into a distribution channel for third-party hardware rather than solely a showcase for in-house designs, a model that could broaden its catalogue without proportionate R&D spend.
Synectics secures Eni FPSO surveillance contract
Synectics (AIM:SNX) has won a £1.4m contract to supply an integrated security and surveillance system for Eni's Kutei floating production facility in Southeast Asia.
The deal extends Synectics' footprint in the energy sector, adding a further offshore reference contract to its systems integration business alongside its existing marine and public safety work.
GSK wins first global approval for hepatitis B drug Hibsago
GSK (LSE:GSK) has secured approval from Japan's health ministry for bepirovirsen, branded Hibsago, as a functional cure for chronic hepatitis B, the treatment's first regulatory clearance anywhere in the world.
The Japanese approval establishes a first regulatory foothold for the drug ahead of anticipated filings in other markets, giving GSK an early commercial launchpad in a disease area with substantial unmet need.
Quantum Helium eyes bigger stimulation at Sagebrush after helium test
Quantum Helium (QHE) is finalising engineering plans for a larger stimulation programme at its Sagebrush project after an extended production test confirmed helium-bearing gas and commercial oil.
Five new Colorado drilling targets are moving into permitting, broadening the company's exploration inventory alongside the Sagebrush appraisal work.
Acuity RM wins three-year UK public sector contract
Acuity Rm Group (ACRM) has signed a £159,300, three-year deal with a UK public sector body for its STREAM risk management platform.
The contract carries scope for expansion across the organisation, offering a potential upsell path beyond the initial deal value.
FirstGroup completes £48m Mistral Data sale to Tracsis
FirstGroup (LSE:FGP) has received £48m following completion of the sale of Mistral Data to AIM-listed Tracsis, first announced in July.
The disposal closes out a transaction flagged last month, delivering the agreed proceeds to FirstGroup's balance sheet.
BATM agrees non-core disposal as Networks revenue jumps
BATM Advanced Communications (BVC) reported accelerating growth in its Networks division and struck an agreement to sell most of its remaining non-core businesses for $13.3m.
The disposal sharpens the group's focus on its higher-growth Networks operations, streamlining the portfolio roughly the segment now driving performance.
MS International wins €19.4m NATO naval gun contract
MS International's defence subsidiary will supply three counter-drone naval gun systems to a NATO nation under a €19.4m contract, with deliveries starting towards the end of 2027.
The order adds to the group's defence order book, reinforcing its position in counter-drone naval systems as NATO members continue to invest in the capability.
