Small caps round-up: ReNeuron, Eckoh, Healthcare Locums

Clinical-stage stem cell group ReNeuron surged on Tuesday after saying that the Data Safety Monitoring Board gave a favourable recommendation to proceed to the with a higher dose of its ReN001 stem cell therapy in a clinical trial. 'This represents a further important milestone for the study as we make our plans for a subsequent Phase II clinical trial application with ReNeuron's ReN001 cell-based treatment for stroke disability,' said ReNeuron's Chief Executive Michael Hunt.

The therapy is being administered in ascending doses to a total of 12 stroke patients who have been left disabled by an ischaemic stroke. The group also announced that one patient in the trial has now been successfully treated with ReN001 and discharge from hospital with no acute safety issues arising. Shares jumped 14.91% to 3.7p.

Speech recognition and payment solutions group Eckoh has secured a two-year contract with UK baby website Kiddicare to provide secure card payment services over the phone. "This is the second EckohPROTECT contract to be secured in quick succession through the new referral agreement with a global service provider that was announced in May 2012," the firm said. Shares were up 7.84% at 13.75p.

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Healthcare Locums, the nursing, media and social services recruitment group, saw shares rocket 23.29% to 2.25p today after announcing that it would not bother filing a defence against legal claims in the US as it has no interests in the country and therefore does not abide by US law. The complaint accuses the company and some of its former directors of making "misrepresentations" during 2012 concerning its profitability and accounting practices, something that the firm disagrees with.

The group told the plaintiffs' US counsel that the underlying claim is "wholly without merit and that if proceedings are commenced in the proper forum they will be strenuously defended."

BC