Proteome Sciences plc

Proteome Sciences plc runs laboratories that analyse proteins for drug companies and earns royalties from chemical tags it licenses to Thermo Fisher Scientific. In 2025 its revenue fell to £3.8m from £4.9m, and its loss before tax grew to £3.6m from £3.2m.

The main cause was a 40% cut in spring 2025 to a major US government health research budget, which hit spending by American universities and sharply reduced sales of the tags. Laboratory services revenue grew 2.4 times, helped by a new San Diego lab, and costs were cut. A tax credit, partly relating to an earlier year, meant the loss after tax narrowed to £3.1m.

The company ended the year with £781k of cash and borrowings of £14.5m, mostly loans from its chairman and an investment fund rather than banks. It raised £972,000 from shareholders in January 2026 and pays no dividend. Management believes 2025 was the bottom of the cycle and expects services to keep growing and tag sales to recover. The company owes more than it owns. The report says it can keep going because both lenders have promised in writing not to demand repayment for at least a year. The auditor raised no doubts.