London market has collapsed and closed, says drug boss

A British pharmaceutical company has criticized the London stock market as "totally broken and closed" after announcing plans to delist and possibly list in New York.

Ali Mortazavi, chief executive of E-therapeutics, said there was an "urgent need for reform and action" after blaming UK investors for failing to support innovative companies.

E-therapeutics said that after 17 years on the London primary market Aim, the company will delist as part of a £29 million fundraising effort by the Bubbly's existing investors.

It said it would "explore the option of listing on the (New York) Nasdaq Resonance when appropriate."

My biggest feelings about [the company's] delisting are sadness and worry," Mr. Motaakwi wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

"To be clear, the UK market is not only illiquid, it is completely broken and closed. Smaller growth companies (especially biotechs) are worse off, but even larger companies such as Shell are saying the same thing."

Shell's chief executive Wael Sawan said April 8 that the oil giant was exploring "all options" and that the company was "undervalued" in London.

E-therapeutics joins the ranks of drug companies exiting the Aim market after Redx Pharma and C4X Discovery announced plans to exit the market last month.

The company aims to use artificial intelligence and large amounts of data to help develop new medicines. The company has partnered with a number of companies, including Novo Nordisk, the Danish pharmaceutical giant behind the Wegovy weight loss treatment.

In the six months to the end of July, the company made a loss of £5.6m on sales of £0.2m.

Another consistent message from the UK agencies is that they only invest in profitable companies," said Mr. Motawi. I was shocked that the capital allocation agency excluded emerging technology/biotechnology companies from the portfolio, which by definition are loss-making.

He said the company sought to raise cash from investors during Aim, but many said it was preferable to back a private company.

Mr. Mortazavi served as chief executive officer of Silence Therapeutics, which delisted from Aim in 2021 and now has a market capitalization of nearly $1 billion (£800 million) at Nasdaq Resonance.

He said the London market had "experienced a very pronounced decline over the last year and a half" and that "the gap [with the US] has become so much wider".

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