(Sharecast News) - Commercial-stage pharmaceutical company Shield Therapeutics said on Wednesday that total net sales had grown in Q2, driven by "robust" increases in prescriptions and higher net selling prices.

Shield Therapeutics said its iron ore replacement therapy, ACCURUFeR, posted quarter-on-quarter sales growth of 69% to $6.9m, while total prescriptions rose 26% to more than 36,400 and average net selling price per prescription increased from $139 to $171.

The AIM-listed group said it had cash and equivalents of $8.1m as of 30 June, excluding the $5.7m in funding it received from its Chinese milestone monetisation announced on 3 July.

Shield Therapeutics also revealed chief executive Greg Madison had stood down from the board in order to pursue other opportunities and will be leaving the company with immediate effect. Non-executive director Anders Lundstrom will take over the job on an interim basis.

As of 0915 BST, Shield Therapeutics shares had surged 42.94% to 2.43p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com