(Sharecast News) - Instem on Monday reported that trading in the first six months of the year was in line with expectations after an increase in orders and several new client wins.The AIM-traded global health and life sciences IT software developer won 103 orders for its SEND nonclinical data exchange programme during the six months ended 30 June, which was a significant increase over the 47 and 65 secured in the first and second six-month periods of 2017 respectively.The contracts have been won from 50 unique clients and exceed the total value of all SEND contracts won in the entirety of last year, increasing the contracted value of SEND-related new business for the period by approximately 190%.A statement from Instem attributed the growth to investigational new drug legislation introduced by the food and drug administration, which stipulated that studies commenced after 17 December 2017 and included in IND regulatory submissions must use the electronic SEND format.Elsewhere, Provantis and Samarind RMS were deployed via software-as-a-service by additional multinational corporations, while Instem increased investment on its early phase clinical product, Alphadas.The company reported net cash of £3.7m at 30 June, compared to £1.2m at the same point in 2017.Phil Reason, chief executive of Instem, said: "The financial year has started well and we are confident further new business, the delivery of recent contract wins and strong operational management will ensure we meet our expectations for the full year."The firm sad it is on course to meet full year expectations as it shifts towards a 'software-as-a-service' revenue model and enjoys increasing amounts of recurring outsourced services revenue.Instem's shares were up 4.76% at 308.00p at 0858 BST.