Shares in Birmingham biotechnology firm Henderson Morley (HML) lifted after the company said it was in talks on a new product for fish vaccines.

The AIM-listed company said it was holding discussions with a number of animal health companies on the further development of a fish vaccine adjuvant.

Henderson Morley, based in Moseley, has started trials examining the role of a proprietary vaccine adjuvant, designed for use in the Koi herpes virus (KHV) vaccine programme, and potentially in other commercially important fish vaccines.

The company said the cost of this programme is funded within the current cash burn.

Adjuvants are non-specific stimulators that “kick start” the immune system, usually given simultaneously with a vaccine and ideally have no adverse effects.

Fish immune systems require a high level of stimulation, so existing adjuvants generally use combinations of minerals and other noxious substances which can cause adverse effects.

But Henderson Morley expects its adjuvant will not cause any adverse effects.

Henderson Morley executive chairman Andrew Knight said “The development of a new fish vaccine adjuvant that can be used independently of our KHV programme is another technology that we would expect to license to an aquaculture company.”

The company said the market for a successful fish vaccine adjuvant is significant as commercial vaccines are available for many fishes including salmon, trout and Atlantic cod, all of which require an adjuvant.