Arecor stock plummets after Tetris retreat

That compares to a 52-week high of 178p. The AIM-quoted company’s market cap also dived, to £22.65m.

The market was spooked by Arecor’s announcement that it was to wind down operations at subsidiary Tetric Pharma and focus on insulin products.

It revealed a mutual agreement with Nasdaq-quoted Xeris BioPharma Holdings, Inc. to return its rights to Ogluo® which represents the majority of Tetris Pharma's product sales.

Ogluo® is commercialised by Tetris under a licence and supply agreement with Xeris which grants Tetris rights for the sale and distribution of the product in the EEA, UK and Switzerland.

Arecor and Xeris agreed a mutual termination of the agreement, subject to discussions with regulators and patient groups. Arecor says alternative glucagon products are widely available in all countries.

A strategic review determined that although Ogluo® remained “a proven product with important potential patient benefits,” rising supply chain costs and fixed selling prices in the licensed territories had significantly reduced margins.

Arecor said: “The extended timeline required to achieve breakeven no longer presents an optimal investment case. In addition, our 2025 revenue outlook for non-Ogluo® sales has been materially reduced in light of our partner losing a key NHS tender, materially reducing 2025 revenues for non-Ogluo® products. As a result of the review of Tetris Pharma, the decision was made to fully impair goodwill and intangibles of approximately £3 million in 2024.”

Arecor argued that the decision to cease Tetris Pharma operations would enable the group to “focus its efforts and resources on opportunities that offer higher potential for value creation.”

It said these include progression of its ultra-concentrated, ultra-rapid acting insulin candidate, AT278, where strategic co-development partnering discussions were progressing at pace, as well as the further development of its oral peptide delivery platform.

Arecor said the development of an oral GLP-1 receptor agonist product continued to generate promising data with non-clinical pharmacokinetic (PK) studies on track to start in 1H 2025 “and the potential for rapid expansion into the broader peptide field.

CEO Sarah Howell said: “This strategic decision consolidates Arecor's focus on research and development in areas in which our innovative Arestat™ technology can deliver transformational opportunities.

“These include the progression of our next-generation insulin portfolio and innovation in the field of the oral delivery of peptides. We will also continue to progress our partnered portfolio of Arestat™ enabled superior therapeutics under our revenue generating technology licensing model.

“These present the greatest opportunities for the group to build significant value and we remain confident in our strategy and excited about the opportunities for Arecor.”

Arecor raised £6.2m in July to fend off a cash crisis that could have threatened its survival.