Sareum Holdings, up 18.2%, announced that it has signed a strategic collaboration with Receptor.AI to accelerate discovery of blood-brain barrier (BBB)-permeable, isoform-selective TYK2/JAK1 inhibitors for neuroinflammatory diseases, including multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s. The partnership builds on Sareum’s preclinical work, which identified three TYK2/JAK1 compounds with significant BBB penetration, including one with strong free drug levels in the brain.
Cambridge Cognition, unchanged at 25.0p, announced that it has launched a proprietary speaker identification solution to prevent duplicate participant enrolment in clinical trials, a problem affecting data integrity and costs. Built on its AI-enabled voice technology platform, the system uses advanced voice biometrics to verify participant identity during screening, achieving over 97% accuracy while being GDPR and HIPAA compliant. The solution has already secured initial commercial deals and is scheduled to be deployed by a large pharmaceutical customer in Q4 2025. This launch enhances Cambridge Cognition’s AI voice-enabled quality assurance tools and supports its strategy to improve reliability and efficiency in clinical research.
Xaar, down 4.8%, in its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2025, announced that revenues advanced to £27.21m from £25.53m recorded in the same period of the previous year. Loss before tax widened to £2.78m from £1.96m. No interim dividend was proposed or paid during either the current or preceding period.
UK markets ended mostly lower last week, weighed down by a stronger British pound. On the data front, the UK BRC like-for-like retail sales rose less than expected in July, while the RICS housing price balance index unexpectedly dropped in July. Moreover, the UK ILO unemployment rate remained unchanged as expected in the three months to June. Meanwhile, the UK gross domestic product grew more than anticipated in Q2 2025. Additionally, the UK industrial production rose more than expected in June, while the nation’s manufacturing production advanced as expected in June. The FTSE AIM 100 index fell 0.5% to close at 3,648.2, while the FTSE techMARK 100 index lost 0.3% to end at 7,631.8. Meanwhile, the FTSE 100 index advanced 0.5% to settle at 9,138.9.
US markets ended higher in the previous week, supported by cooling consumer inflation data and robust retail sales. On the macro front, the US producer price index climbed by the most in three years in July, amid a rise in goods and services prices, while the nation’s retail sales rose as expected in July. Moreover, the US weekly jobless claims unexpectedly declined in the week ended 08 August 2025. Meanwhile, the US consumer price index rose less than expected in July, while the nation’s Michigan consumer sentiment index unexpectedly fell in August. The DJIA index rose 1.7% to end at 44,946.1, while the NASDAQ index gained 0.8% to close at 21,623.0.
