n4 pharma plc shares rose thursday after it said it narrowed its firsthalf pretax loss by tightly controlling researchanddevelopment and general expenditure shares at 0735 gmt were up 02 pence or 11 at 20 pence the pharmaceutical company said it narrowed its pretax loss to 750102 pounds 816936 from gbp973216 a year prior researchanddevelopment costs narrowed to gbp411417 from gbp602927 while general and administration costs narrowed to gbp338019 from gbp367701 the company didnt post any revenue however it said its cash position as of june 30 was gbp16 million which it said will suit its mediumterm needs we have continued to make excellent progress in the period and have refined our focus in line with changing market conditions to provide us with the best opportunities to progress cancer treatments and vaccines delivery system nuvec into the clinic chief executive nigel theobald said