Sareum rallies after strong trial data and re-secures key cancer drug licence

AIM-listed Sareum has announced positive Phase 1 trial results for its lead autoimmune candidate, SDC-1801, and successfully regained the licence for its clinical-stage cancer asset, SRA737, under significantly improved financial terms.
The updates, provided in the company’s preliminary results for the year ended 30 June 2025, position Sareum to advance its pipeline despite a temporary setback in preclinical toxicology studies. Sareum, which focuses on next-generation kinase inhibitors, ended the financial year with a strengthened cash position of £3.5 million. The share price jumped 21 per cent (3p) to 17p on announcing the preliminary results.
The Cambridge-based company reported a loss before tax of £3.06 million, an improvement from the £3.4 million loss in the previous year. Strategic fundraises during the period, totalling £4.5 million before expenses, contributed to a healthy year-end cash balance of £3.5 million, up from £1.5 million in 2024.
Sareum’s primary focus, SDC-1801, a TYK2/JAK1 inhibitor targeting autoimmune diseases like psoriasis, delivered positive topline data from its Phase 1 clinical trial. The study demonstrated a favourable safety and tolerability profile, alongside pharmacokinetics that support convenient once-daily oral dosing. Crucially, the data confirmed dose-responsive reductions in key pharmacodynamic (PD) biomarkers, validating the drug’s mechanism of action.
This progress came despite the recent, discontinuation of a 16-week preclinical toxicology study.
Sareum’s Executive Chairman, Dr Stephen Parker, confirmed that the adverse findings were observed predominantly in control-group animals that did not receive SDC-1801, meaning they are considered unrelated to the compound. He said: “Sareum has made good progress across its pipeline in 2025 and is poised to advance development of its lead asset, SDC-1801, while advancing a promising collaboration in neuroscience.”
“Despite the frustrating and unexpected discontinuation of the GLP toxicology study for SDC-1801, we remain confident in SDC-1801. The adverse findings occurred predominantly in control group animals and are unrelated to SDC-1801.
“We are already in discussions with several Contract Research Organisations to restart the study as quickly as possible, and our focus remains firmly on completing the Phase 2-enabling package. The strong Phase 1 results - together with positive readouts across the TYK2 field - continue to reinforce our conviction that SDC-1801 has the potential to become a best-in-class, once-daily oral therapy for autoimmune diseases.”
Oncology portfolio boost
Sareum has secured a major uplift in its oncology portfolio by reacquiring the licence for SRA737, a clinical-stage Checkpoint kinase 1 (Chk1) inhibitor for cancer. Following the termination of a prior US licensing deal, Sareum successfully renegotiated the economic terms.
The new agreement sees the company’s share of all future revenues from SRA737 surge to 63.5%, a substantial increase from the former 27.5% figure, with no cost incurred by Sareum for the licence re-acquisition. SRA737 has previously shown promising activity in combination with low-dose gemcitabine, particularly in anogenital cancers.
In its earlier-stage oncology programme, translational studies for SDC-1802 (a TYK2/JAK1 inhibitor for cancer immunotherapy) are complete. Sareum is now prioritising a partnering strategy to progress the asset, which showed its strongest validation in certain haematological cancers with high unmet medical needs.
Dr Parker added: “In parallel, we secured the licence to SRA737 on substantially improved terms, and we are actively assessing the most effective routes to progress and create value from this asset. Post-period, we were delighted to add a new TYK2 neuroscience collaboration, which extends the relevance of our science into neuro-inflammation. With these foundations in place, we enter the new financial year with confidence and a clear set of milestones ahead.”
In a move to expand its pipeline into the lucrative Central Nervous System (CNS) space, Sareum announced a post-period collaboration with Receptor.AI. This initiative will leverage Artificial Intelligence to accelerate the discovery of blood-brain barrier (BBB)-penetrant TYK2/JAK1 inhibitors.
The programme aims to target neuroinflammatory conditions such as multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease, building on Sareum’s prior preclinical work that demonstrated the feasibility of creating BBB-permeable molecules from its SKIL platform.
Dr Parker concluded: “With strengthened intellectual property, a healthy balance sheet, prudent financial management and clear milestones ahead, the company is confident of delivering further progress in the year to come.”