(Sharecast News) - ValiRx, a life science company focussed on cancer therapeutic development, reported a total comprehensive loss of £0.97m for the six months ended 30 June on Friday, narrowing from a loss of £1.04m in the same period last year.

The AIM-traded company said its loss before income tax also narrowed, to £1.05m from £1.15m a year earlier.

Research and development costs, excluding employee expenses, fell to £0.12m from £0.21m, while administrative expenses remained relatively stable at £0.95m.

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of June stood at £0.81m.

Operationally, ValiRx reported significant milestones, having signed its first US customer for its Inaphaea tCRO service in a multistage deal, and expanded the Inaphaea Biobank to include 2D and 3D patient-derived cell models.

Collaboration agreements were established with DefiniGen and Dundee University, the latter of which launched a pro-senescence project.

ValiRx also started a second evaluation project with Imperial College focused on drug-resistant ovarian cancer, and continued its evaluation of Cytolytix in prostate cancer with the Open University.

At 1027 BST, shares in ValiRx were down 16.76% at 1.42p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.