Cambridge UK Big Biotech AstraZeneca has slated a deal that could stack up to $6 billion with Daiichi Sankyo, Japan’s second largest Big Pharma company, to transform treatment standards in lung, breast and multiple other cancers.

AstraZeneca now has six potential blockbuster oncology drugs in its portfolio with the promise of more to come.

The collaboration focuses on DS-1062, Daiichi Sankyo’s proprietary  antibody drug conjugate to create a potential new medicine for the treatment of multiple tumour types.

DS-1062 is currently in development for the treatment of multiple tumours that commonly express the cell-surface glycoprotein TROP2. 

Among them, TROP2 is overexpressed in the majority of non-small cell lung cancers and breast cancers, tumour types that have long been a strategic focus for AstraZeneca. 

This collaboration reflects AstraZeneca’s strategy to invest in antibody drug conjugates as a class, the innovative nature of the technology and the successful existing collaboration with Daiichi Sankyo.

AstraZeneca will pay Daiichi Sankyo an upfront payment of $1bn in staged payments: $350m is due upon completion, with $325m after 12 months and $325m after 24 months from the effective date of the agreement.

AstraZeneca will pay additional conditional amounts of up to $1bn for the successful achievement of regulatory approvals and up to $4bn for sales-related milestones.

Pascal Soriot, chief executive officer, said: “We see significant potential in this antibody drug conjugate in lung as well as in breast and other cancers that commonly express TROP2. 

“We are delighted to enter this new collaboration with Daiichi Sankyo and to build on the successful launch of Enhertu to further expand our pipeline and leadership in oncology. We now have six potential blockbusters in oncology with more to come in our early and late pipelines.”

In a separate deal, AstraZeneca’s Imfinzi (durvalumab) has been recommended for marketing authorisation in the European Union for the first-line treatment of adults with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer in combination with a choice of chemotherapies.

The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency based its positive opinion on results from the Phase III CASPIAN trial for Imfinzi plus chemotherapy, which have also been published in The Lancet.

US technology giant Nvidia Corporation could pay up to $47 billion for Cambridge UK superchip world leader Arm, Business Weekly believes.

Serial technology entrepreneurs contacted by Business Weekly have conducted in-depth forensics on a potential buyer for Arm which has been put up for sale by Japanese parent SoftBank, four years after paying $32bn for the business.

SoftBank is desperate for cash and Nvidia has emerged as the most synergistic of interested parties – but more importantly, the prospective buyer with the biggest and most flexible warchest.

This is no California dreaming: Acquisition of Arm would give Santa Clara-based Nvidia a massive upside by hitching a whole host of technologies to its world-class wagon – not just mobile phones but a range of novel nextgen mobile computing plays, including automotive.

Business Weekly believes that if SoftBank refloated Arm – one of its stated strategies – it would have an IPO value of around $40bn.

Nvidia’s market cap at July 22 was $257 bn and experienced observers believe the company would be prepared to pay anything between $40bn and $50bn for Arm’s array of unrivalled processor brilliance.

Nvidia designs graphics processing units for the gaming and professional markets, as well as system on a chip units for the mobile computing and automotive markets.

SoftBank is putting Arm’s IoT business up for sale but there is nothing to stop Nvidia swallowing that tasty mouthful as well.

Nvidia would not be shooting in the dark by acquiring Arm. The Cambridge company’s president of the IP Products Group, Rene Haas, spent seven years at Nvidia as VP and general manager of its computing products business.
He is highly respected by Nvidia management and regarded as a trusted pair of hands.

Arm and Nvidia are not commenting on speculation. All enquiries to Arm are being referred to SoftBank which is seeking as much cash as it can get for the Cambridge technology superstar.

Haas revealed recently that Arm has now shipped over 160 billion chips – more than 20 times the population of the planet.

Nvidia has shopped in Cambridge before of course, having paid $430 million for Stan Boland’s Icera in 2011.

Cambridge life science innovator Abcam plc is exploring the possibility of an IPO on NASDAQ, the US technology market.

It would supplement the company’s current listing in the UK and widen a trail from Cambridge to Wall Street blazed initially by GW Pharmaceuticals, then Bicycle Therapeutics.

Cambridge biopharma business Kymab has also been looking at a possible US float while cyber security specialist Darktrace, already valued at $2 billion, is widely expected to IPO next year, possibly in both London and New York.

Abcam CEO Alan Hirzel stressed that at present a US float was only a possibility and urged shareholders not to get over-excited before all the angles had been explored. But he said that the company’s long-term growth potential made a NASDAQ bow worth investigation.

He said: “With the attractive potential from the group’s long term growth strategy, we have also begun exploring a potential secondary listing in the United States on NASDAQ. 

“We have not made any decisions regarding the timing or the terms of the potential secondary listing and there is no certainty that the listing in the United States will take place.”

That caveat is commonplace when shareholders are being advised of potential developments and many respected market watchers believe Abcam would be a wow on Wall Street given its global market lead in the supply of life science research tools.

The possible IPO was raised in a trading update from the company for the year ended June 30 ahead of Abcam reporting its audited results on September 14.

Despite the upbeat IPO flirtation, Abcam’s UK share price took a significant hit as it revealed that due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic it had seen a reduction in demand as research laboratories globally shut down temporarily or reduced activity over the course of the second half of the year.  

H2 revenue fell by around 10 per cent on both a reported and constant currency basis. Overall, the group expects to report revenues of £260 million for the full year (FY2019: £259.9m).

Abcam reports a steady claw back to recovery in China and Europe but said significant macro uncertainties and regional differences remain. “This uncertainty is acute in North America where case incidence of COVID-19 is currently rising in several US states with normally high research activity,” Abcam reported.

In September, Abcam set out plans to increase the rate of investment in areas including research and development, digital marketing and e-commerce, technology and global operations in order to achieve more and faster growth over the medium and long term. 

It remains committed to this strategy, saying: “Despite the impact of COVID-19, we made progress across a broad range of these areas in the year, including the completion of several acquisitions that complement the existing portfolio and in which we intend to invest.

“The board and executive team have continued to support employees with full employment during the COVID-19 outbreak whilst investing in and implementing initiatives for our growth strategy.

“As a result, we expect that gross margin and adjusted operating margin for the full year will be approximately 69 per cent and 16-17 per cent, respectively.”

Hirzel said: “We are proud of the role Abcam has had in supporting researchers throughout this pandemic and we are proud of the dedication of our global team to help scientists perform their vital work.

“Abcam’s strong brand, distinctive customer focused culture and durable financial health has meant we have been able to lead with a longer term horizon and fulfil our ambition to be the most influential company for life scientists globally. We remain confident in our long term prospects and focused on delivering our strategy.”

When the UK launched its test and trace program on 28 May, it was missing a key element; the test and trace app developed by NHSX, writes Kitty Rosser – senior associate at East of England law firm Birketts LLP.

Originally flagged as crucial to the success of the program, the importance of the app has been downplayed as uncertainty regarding its final launch date has grown. The app remains on trial in the Isle of Wight with the original launch date of late May now long past.

Whilst a number of significant technical concerns have been raised regarding the viability of the technology itself, the real focus of debate is on the privacy implications of the app. 

The Government’s initial failure to publish a data protect impact assessment (DPIA) or source code for the app lead to the Information Commissioner issuing a public statement calling for greater transparency and engagement with it as the expert regulator. 

The DHSC was quick to respond, releasing both the DPIA and front-end source code. However, the DPIA in particular appeared to give credence to many of the concerns voiced by commentators, campaigners and experts across the sector.

Chief amongst these concerns are the potential implications of a centralised model. With a centralised model, all data logged through the app by those reporting symptoms of coronavirus will be uploaded and stored on a central database. 

Once an individual’s data has been uploaded, it cannot be deleted. It will be retained for the lifetime of the database and used for public health planning and research. The DHSC has acknowledged that as details of future research have yet to be decided, it cannot say when (or indeed if) the database itself will be destroyed.

By comparison, when the de-centralised model offered by Apple and Google is used all data stays on the individual’s device. This is the model that has been adopted by nearly all other countries developing similar apps. By choosing to develop its own centralised model, the UK has made itself something of an outlier in privacy terms.

Matthew Gould, CEO of NHSX, has acknowledged that the de-centralised model offers greater privacy protection whilst also maintaining that the centralised model does provide adequate protection and noting that the app must be optimised for both privacy and functionality. 

The DPIA highlights the fact that any privacy risk is reduced because the app does not use directly identifiable personal data. Whilst this is a valid point, it has been undermined by poor use of language. The app’s privacy policy repeatedly uses the term anonymous. 

However, in legal terms the data is not in fact ‘anonymous’ but is ‘pseudonymised’, meaning that it could be used to identify an individual if combined with other types of data, such as location data. 

Whilst the DPIA states that this will not happen, Gould has already indicated that the app may be further developed to capture this type of data in the future. It is exactly this type of inconsistency and uncertainty that are driving the accusations that the DHSC is being less than transparent.

Ultimately, whilst the privacy concerns raised are certainly not spurious, it is nevertheless true that many of the core issues relate to potential future actions and uncertainties that have yet to crystallise. Against the current climate, it therefore seems unlikely that the launch of the app in the UK would actually be blocked on privacy grounds. 

However, it must also be recognised that public awareness of the privacy issues posed by the app is increasing with every day of delay. If public confidence in the app is undermined the real risk is that individuals will vote with their feet and simply choose not to download the app. 

The Government is no doubt increasingly mindful that unless 60 per cent of the population can be persuaded to download the app, it will not make a material impact in the fight against coronavirus. 

• You can call Kitty Rosser on 01603 756559 or email her at: kitty-rosser [at] birketts.co.uk

Farmers in the UK are missing out on millions of pounds worth of Research & Development (R&D) tax credits every year, with the average cashback claimed by SMEs in the Farming, Forestry and Fishing industries less than half (£41,000) that of other industries (£85,000). Stuart Wilkinson, Office Managing Partner at EY in Cambridge and Head of Tax in the East of England comments on why farming businesses should make the most of innovation incentives. 

In February 2020, DEFRA released its report into agricultural regional profiles. It found that income from farming in the East of England decreased by 22% between 2014 and 2018. The biggest contributors to income were poultry meat (£533 million), wheat (£513 million), fresh vegetables (£307 million) and pigs (£255 million), together accounting for 50% of all income in the region. 

Predominant farming types in the East of England were cereals (accounting for 50% of farmed area in the region) and general cropping farms (accounting for 34% of farmed area). The average size of farm (118 hectares) in the region is also larger than the English average (86 hectares). It’s therefore not surprising that the economy of the region is supported greatly by the success of industries aligned with agriculture and farming and innovation holds the key to long term sustainability for the industry.  

The HMRC’s latest Research and Development Tax report revealed that less than one percent of SMEs in the sector, fewer than 400 companies, regularly claim cash benefits for R&D, with many businesses not appreciating the breadth of project activities that can qualify for the relief. As a result, businesses may have missed out on the opportunity to stimulate growth through additional funding. 

One of the biggest misconceptions is that activities being undertaken are ‘just part of the day job’. However, these activities can be considered as qualifying R&D, provided they are seeking improvement beyond typical approaches within the field (excuse the pun) of science or technology. For example: 

• Monitoring and improving soil formulation by changing the mix of treatments applied
• Improving crop yield / meat production through experimentation with irrigation or heating solutions
• Overhauling data management systems in poultry farming to enable new monitoring techniques

When considering project activities, we also see businesses who have not included the full extent of qualifying cost categories within their claims. These can include: 

• Payments to staff
• Payments to temporary workers 
• Expenditure on materials, including feeds, fuel, cattle and many more
• Expenditure on software for R&D
• Payments to qualifying bodies for research performed on your behalf
• Subcontracted expenditure for third parties to perform R&D for you

It’s important that companies consider the full breadth of both qualifying activities and cost categories. The correct support from professional advisers at EY can help with this activity. 

Grants

UK Government are keen to support innovation, and this can be seen from an increasing budget for Innovation Incentives and R&D Tax credits. Later in 2020, a new round of Agri-tech Catalyst is due to open, with the aim of supporting innovation in agriculture and food production business, including those operating in crop production; food processing and storage; and mitigation of climate change. Qualifying projects can be up to 18 months in duration and attract up to £800k in grant funding. 

Many farmers are familiar with land-based funding where payments are made directly from Government bodies, but these don’t always account for production, based on land size, or if there is woodland on the land. In fact, there are several grant funding options available to the UK agricultural sector, including:

• Farm Recovery Fund
• Woodland Creation Grant
• RDPE Growth Programme

There are also funds that continue to encourage collaboration between farming, food processing and manufacturing businesses, with grants such as the Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging to support the removal of single-use plastic from the food chain. 

Furthermore, non-Government funds are available such as the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) offering funding for the conversion of food waste into energy. 

There are many sources of funding and eligibility criteria are not always obvious, so why not get in touch with a member of the team to find out more and consider the options for your business.

World leading semiconductor and software technology company DisplayLink has effected one of the most remarkable turnarounds in Cambridge corporate history with a $305 million cash sale to US company Synaptics.

As DisplayLink has $102m net cash the full value of the deal is nearer $407m. 

The deal is expected to close in Synaptics’ first quarter of fiscal year 2021. Synaptics expects the transaction to add approximately $94m in annualised sales and be immediately accretive to non-GAAP gross margins, non-GAAP operating margins and non-GAAP earnings post-close. 

DisplayLink will continue to operate in Cambridge where it recently scaled to a new UK headquarters at the Science Park but inspirational CEO Graham O’Keeffe intends to bow out to pursue a fresh challenge.

DisplayLink has transformed itself from the brink of penury in its formative years to a globally influential technology innovator with a holding company incorporated in Washington State, a mothership in Palo Alto and key operations in the UK, Europe and Asia – including Taiwan and Japan. The company, which has 300 staff, has twice won Business Weekly Awards. 

The business was founded in 2003 as Newnham Research, changing its name to DisplayLink in 2006.

At one stage it faced a near death experience and radical management changes were effected: DisplayLink has had six CEOs and five CFOs in its 17 year history.

O’Keeffe and CFO John Lee first steadied the ship, then steered it off the rocks and turned it from a holed vessel into the corporate equivalent of a super yacht.

Over time the company has received $80 million in four rounds of venture capital financing from Atlas Venture, Balderton Capital, Draper Esprit, DAG Ventures and Cipio Partners.

Its annual accounts filed at Companies House to December 2019 showed sales of $93.664m and profits of $30.835m with over $102m net cash. It claimed last year to have shipped over 35 million chips.

DisplayLink’s technology has enabled many of the home working and video conferencing solutions that we have come to rely on to remain productive during the coronavirus lockdown. 

Companies such as Dell, HP, Lenovo and Logitech use DisplayLink’s silicon devices in their docking station and video conferencing product ranges.

DisplayLink’s is an incredible turnaround story for a company that was, according to inside sources, ‘running on fumes’ just nine years ago.  

Struggling to raise money during the last economic downturn, and with a large overdraft, O’Keeffe stepped in as executive chairman, recruiting as CFO John Lee whose previous experience included stints at Sinclair Research, Velocix and CamSemi. 

O’Keeffe was already an experienced semiconductor investor, having backed Element 14, Icera, Picochip, Ubiquisys and Phyworks, all of which ended up being acquired by much larger US companies for well over $1 billion in total. Focusing on a core business of designing chips that helped giant PC vendors connect laptops to multiple screens via a single USB cable, DisplayLink created a unique brand akin to ‘Intel Inside’ that IT managers trusted to “just work.” 

DisplayLink has also sold its chips to HTC for their wireless virtual reality headset where low latency and high quality video is essential to prevent motion sickness.  

The announcement that San Jose-based Synaptics has bought DisplayLink should come as no surprise. M & A activity in the technology world remains in rude health despite the coronavirus pandemic preventing the face to face meetings that would otherwise be de rigueur in a complex international transaction such as this.  

DisplayLink’s backers must have done well out of the deal, having injected $80 million over the years and we understand the company also had a policy for all employees to have share options.

Michael Hurlston, President and CEO of Synaptics, said: “Several market trends such as work from home, bring your own device and office hotelling coupled with the growing need for multiple, high resolution displays in enterprises are driving demand for universal docking and casting solutions. 

“DisplayLink’s track record of success and strong market validation coupled with Synaptics’ leadership in commercial docking solutions positions us well to capitalise on these trends and deliver compelling solutions to our combined customer base.” 

O’Keeffe said: “Synaptics is a recognised leader in video interface solutions and this combination creates an exciting opportunity for DisplayLink to bring greater value to our customers. 

“Our video compression technology is the perfect complement to Synaptics’ current product portfolio, and the combination of our world-class engineering teams will be able to address both existing opportunities and exciting new use cases.”

Cambridge Big Biotech AstraZeneca is upbeat about the latest feedback from trials of the new Oxford University vaccine designed to wipe out COVID-19.

Interim results from the ongoing Phase I/II COV001 trial, led by the university, showed AZD1222 was tolerated and generated robust immune responses against the SARS-CoV-2 virus in all evaluated participants.

COV001 is a blinded, multi-centre, randomised controlled Phase I/II trial with 1,077 healthy adult participants, aged 18-55 years. 

It assessed a single dose of AZD1222 against a comparator meningococcal conjugate vaccine, MenACWY. Ten participants also received two doses of AZD1222 one month apart.

The results published in The Lancet confirmed a single dose of AZD1222 resulted in a four-fold increase in antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 virus spike protein in 95 per cent of participants one month after injection.

In all participants, a T-cell response was induced, peaking by day 14 and maintained two months after injection.

Neutralising activity against SARS-CoV-2 (as assessed by the MNA80 assay) was seen in 91 per cent of participants one month after vaccination and in 100 per cent of participants who received a second dose. 

The levels of neutralising antibodies seen in participants receiving either one or two doses were in a similar range to those seen in convalescent COVID-19 patients. Strong correlations were observed across neutralisation assays.

The early safety responses confirmed that transient local and systemic reactions were common in the AZD1222 group and were comparable to previous trials and other adenoviral vector vaccines.

They included temporary injection site pain and tenderness, mild-to-moderate headache, fatigue, chills, feverishness, malaise and muscle ache. No serious adverse events were reported with AZD1222, and reactions were lessened with the use of prophylactic paracetamol, a pain killer and occurred less frequently after a second dose.

Professor Andrew Pollard, chief investigator of the trial at Oxford University, said: “The interim Phase I/II data for our coronavirus vaccine shows that the vaccine did not lead to any unexpected reactions and had a similar safety profile to previous vaccines of this type.

“The immune responses observed following vaccination are in line with what we expect will be associated with protection against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, although we must continue with our rigorous clinical trial programme to confirm this. 

“We saw the strongest immune response in participants who received two doses of the vaccine, indicating that this might be a good strategy for vaccination.”

Mene Pangalos, executive VP, BioPharmaceuticals R & D at AstraZeneca added: “We are encouraged by the Phase I/II interim data showing AZD1222 was capable of generating a rapid antibody and T-cell response against SARS-CoV-2. 

“While there is more work to be done, today’s data increases our confidence that the vaccine will work and allows us to continue our plans to manufacture the vaccine at scale for broad and equitable access around the world.”

Late-stage Phase II/III trials are currently underway in the UK, Brazil and South Africa and are due to start in the US. The trials will determine how well the vaccine will protect from the COVID-19 disease and measure safety and immune responses in different age ranges and at various doses.

In parallel, AstraZeneca continues to fulfil its commitment for broad and equitable access to the vaccine, should late-stage clinical trials prove successful. 

So far, commitments to supply more than two billion doses of the vaccine have been agreed with the UK, US, Europe’s Inclusive Vaccines Alliance, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness, Gavi the Vaccine Alliance and Serum Institute of India.

Sosei Group Corporation, which has major research facilities in Cambridge, has raised $200 million global growth capital through an international offering.

The majority of funds will be used to pursue strategic expansion including a potentially transformative acquisition to secure long-term revenue growth. The business will also make significant investments in novel technologies that complement and future-proof its drug discovery platform.

It intends to expand its drug candidate discovery and early development into new target classes and will also be in-licensing late-stage clinical assets to develop for the Japanese market.

Any balance of funds will be used to support organic growth initiatives, such as investments in current research activities and general corporate purposes.

Shinichi Tamura, President and CEO of Sosei Heptares, said: “I am pleased that we have successfully completed this international offering led by our finance team and I would like to thank all of the investors who subscribed for their support. 

“The $200m we have raised will allow us to pursue our growth strategy, which includes potential transformative acquisitions, more aggressively. 

“We have an excellent track record of making transformational acquisitions: the purchases of both Heptares Therapeutics and Arakis have played a key role in shaping our current business and delivering significant value to our shareholders. 

“With this enhanced level of financial resources, I am looking to the future with great confidence and look forward to updating you as we execute our growth strategy.” 

Chris Cargill, EVP and CFO of Sosei Heptares, added: “This international offering to new and existing shareholders was highly successful, given the uncertain global economic outlook, and has secured the long-term growth capital we require to execute our corporate ambition.

“This significantly improved level of financial flexibility enhances our strategic options. We can now look at exciting ways to accelerate Sosei Heptares’ long-term revenue growth, including a potentially transformative acquisition, as well as investments that enhance our own world-leading capabilities to generate novel drug candidates targeting serious diseases.”

Cambridge’s greatest ever technology business – superchip architect Arm – may be put up for sale by Japanese owner SoftBank just four years after it paid $32 billion to acquire the company.

Goldman Sachs has been tasked with exploring the alternatives but only two options would appear to be viable in SoftBank’s dash for cash – a total sale of the Cambridge company or a partial sale wrapped round an IPO.

SoftBank took Arm off the UK stock market after the original acquisition. Arm officials are referring all Press enquiries to SoftBank.

In global markets crippled by COVID-driven paranoia it may be that SoftBank comes to its senses and realises that keeping Arm represents its best hope of building a financial revival.

But the next move could be all down to desperation: In May, an earnings report outlined SoftBank losses that were the largest on record for any listed Japanese company.

As the New York Times also reported, SoftBank posted an operating loss of 1.36 trillion yen, or $12.7 billion, in the year to March 31, its first annual loss in 15 years. It reported a profit of $19.6 billion the previous year. Its net income loss was $894 million.

SoftBank had already announced a major restructuring,. As part of that process, ARM is set to to transfer two of its Internet of Things (IoT) businesses to SoftBank, subject to board approval. SoftBank would then directly oversee those divisions. 

Arm told Business Weekly that the move was strategic and designed to promote improved growth and profitability.

A spokesperson added: “If the proposed transfer is completed we will deepen our focus on our core semiconductor IP business and accelerate the returns on our investments in client, infrastructure, automotive and embedded/IoT devices. We are not sharing any additional details or commenting on future plans at this time.”

Business Weekly has recently reported a number of new technologies developed within these core categories which will be directed from Arm’s massively expanded Cambridge headquarters. Arm’s IP across these segments is huge and global and it has leading international players leveraging the enhanced technology.

Arm was sold to SoftBank for $32 billion in September 2016 and CEO Simon Segars believes the newly announced strategic pivot will significantly enhance the bottom line.

He said: “Softbank’s experience in managing fast-growing, early-stage businesses would enable the IoT Services Group to maximise its value in capturing the data opportunity.

“ARM would be in a stronger position to innovate in our core IP roadmap and provide our partners with greater support to capture the expanding opportunities for compute solutions across a range of markets.”

ARM expects to complete the switch before the end of September and I understand it intends to continue collaborating with the divisions moving to SoftBank control after the handover.

To date, Arm partners have shipped more than 160 billion Arm-based chips, and an average of more than 22 billion over the past three years. The great irony of the current situation is that SoftBank acquired Arm to build on its leadership in all things IoT. That capability has never been lost  – then companies in financial straits seldom plan logically or strategically.

Mobile payments technology business Bango saw its stock rise significantly when the UK market opened today after flagging up record revenue growth –  ahead of expectations – for the first half of 2020. 

And there’s more: the Cambridge company now expects end user spend to hit £2 billion for the full year.

Bango reported revenue growth of more than 50 per cent to £4.8 million; cash on June 30 was £4.2m. 

End User Spend (EUS) grew strongly to more than £740m. This continues the exponential growth trend in EUS through the Bango Platform and, as the full benefits of the customer wins and route activations (for example Softbank and Amazon.co.jp) won during the first half are seen, the company expects to see a strong second half to meet full-year forecasts.

Bango says it continues to invest in growing its data insights and monetisation capabilities and now offers payment audiences in seven out of the top 10 countries, measured by app store revenue. 

More than 1,000 app developers are now registered and engaged with Bango Marketplace, compared to around 200 at the end of 2019. Two new partnerships have been signed with leading games publishers who have started using Bango Audiences across their full range of titles. 
 
During the first half, Bango signed a three-year platform deal with a leading global telecoms provider, worth at least £1.5m, with opportunities for further revenue growth.

It also announced the launch of a payment option for SoftBank customers in Amazon.co.jp.  Bango now powers carrier billing for Amazon.co.jp across Japan’s three largest operators: SoftBank, NTT Docomo and KDDI, reaching over 100 million consumers.

CEO Paul Larbey said: “Bango enters the second half of 2020 in a stronger position than ever before. The achievements in the first six months during a period of unprecedented global uncertainty are a testament to the strength of the Bango team and the success of Bango customers.

“The payments and resale business continues to grow rapidly, increasing profitability and cash generation, thanks to the stable operating costs of the platform. 

“The opportunities for this business are greater than ever, having expanded beyond telco providers to retailers now joining the Bango circle, where data insights help them thrive.

“Bango Marketplace offers a powerful and proven proposition with strong sales momentum. Bango Audiences help the world’s largest games companies to acquire new paying users, which in turn generates more payment insights, and the Bango virtuous circle grows.

“With all this exciting progress, Bango is firmly on track to become the technology behind every payment choice.” 

Bango will report its interim results on September 15.