Nabarro is advising existing client Numis Securities on a £25.5 million placing to raise additional capital for AIM-traded Retroscreen Virology.

Retroscreen conducts research into antiviral drugs and vaccines through the use of its 'Viral Challenge Model' which involves infecting healthy human volunteers with a virus under controlled conditions. By monitoring the human response to the virus, Retroscreen is able to collate data for their research in a bid to create the next generation of antiviral drugs and vaccines. Alongside the research element of the business, Retroscreen operates a platform for pharmaceutical companies to test new antiviral drugs on humans (rather than other modes of testing) in a controlled environment.

The Nabarro team advising Numis in its capacity as nomad and broker for Retroscreen was led by corporate partner Alasdair Steele, assisted by senior associate Jack Shepherd and trainee Nikita Arora.

Commenting on the transaction, corporate partner Alasdair Steele said:

"Despite difficult market conditions successful fundraisings such as this demonstrate that there remains an appetite for the right type of investment. It also reflects a trend of smaller secondary issues being used to help fund the development programmes of good companies."

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