The latest Investing Matters Podcast episode featuring Jeremy Skillington, CEO of Poolbeg Pharma has just been released. Listen here.
Been out all day.
Some of the posts ignore the 19th June 2023 RNS - ie
Dr Eliot Forster, Chairman of the Board of Avacta Group plc commented:
"Along with my fellow Directors I am delighted to welcome Shaun to the Board of Avacta Group. He brings a wide range of highly relevant commercial experiences from successful healthcare businesses with similar ambitions for growth that we have in Avacta. I know Shaun will positively impact our shared thinking and I'm excited to have him join the company."
Dr Alastair Smith, Chief Executive of Avacta Group plc commented:
"I am delighted that Shaun has joined the Board of Avacta Group. He brings deep and extensive commercial experience to further strengthen the senior leadership of the Group as it executes its strategy across two divisions to build a major global healthcare business working to improve people's health and well-being through innovative oncology drugs and powerful diagnostics."
Shaun Chilton, Non-Executive Director of Avacta Group, commented:
"Avacta Group is building a high value, global business that is seeking to significantly improve people's health and well-being. I am excited to leverage my own broad experience of growing healthcare businesses and working with the other members of the Board to help guide Avacta to meet its very significant potential."
I'm sure the intention was not to hire Shaun and allow him to say and do nothing.
True, we haven't heard much from him, but he will be central to turning business potential into reality, whereas most here seem to think only Alastair should be involved here.
Now this presentation to shareholders / dumbing down for journalistic reasons has been performed, and the AVA6K platform has been verified, Shaun & Co can use the new Status Quo to generate cash for phase 2 etc, I'm sure he's been given some timescales.
"Given the favourable safety data from the three-weekly dosing study, a fortnightly dosing study, which is now screening patients with high FAP levels in the United States, will assist in optimising the schedule and dose for a potentially pivotal Phase 2 study in 2024."
FWIW IMO they are shortlisting fortnightly dosing study candidates.
Recall they mentioned ", the Company intends to begin a short study to explore more frequent dosing (fortnightly) of AVA6000 as a **first line treatment** in patients with soft tissue sarcoma", in the 19.09.2023 RNS
This RNS twice discusses 'high levels of FAP'
The only previous RNS that discusses 'high FAP' levels is:
28.09.2023 "Avacta's pre|CISION™ platform is a proprietary chemical modification that renders the modified chemotherapeutic drug inactive in the circulation until it enters the tumour microenvironment, where it is activated by an enzyme called FAPα. FAPα is in high abundance in most solid tumours but not in healthy tissues."
Interested to see the terminology used by the presentation team today.
Saw a program last night about removing a cancer from a 31 year old persons brain whilst he was awake, (local anaesthetic), so they could minimise damage by talking to him!
The op seemed to be successful, but he wouldn't need this if AVA6000 were available to him.
A very large sum of money to be saved by health authorities / Insurers here, and a much less dangerous way of beating cancer.
From post AGM presentation and Investor Q/A , - 30:30:
Avacta CMO Andrew Saunders states
"we typically do CT scans to look at the size of the tumour every two cycles, so that would be every six weeks ."
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19 September 2023 RNS:
Avacta Group plc
Successful Completion of ALS-6000-101 Sixth Dose Escalation and Clinical Update
- Excellent safety profile of AVA6000 continues to be observed in the sixth dose escalation cohort.
- **Significant reduction in tumour volume confirmed in a patient with soft tissue sarcoma.**
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The 19 September 2023 was 12 weeks ago today.
ie two six week cycles have passed = two trips through the CT scanner for the patient who was experiencing significant reduction in tumour volume as at 19.09.2023.
+++
Dependent on the size of the original tumour, that may be sufficient C5 / C6 dosage for tumour volume to register zero.
Perhaps that is what the presentation contains.
Lets see.
If it had been of that much concern, you would have mentioned it long ago.
Ergo you've only just brought this info to light and wanted to share your new found knowledge.
Most of us know this.
Must try harder.
J_t
I'd like to see the journalistic response if it should be announced tomorrow that the STS patient that had seen a dramatic decrease in the size of their tumour at the end of C6, now has no tumour evident after a CT scan.
IMO the C5 / C6 STS patient has had time and doses for this to occur, as the patients' tumour size reduction appeared to have occurred rapidly, though that needs confirmation.
It may also have contributed to the 'dosing every two weeks' decision they intend to pursue soon.
That would be a reason IMO for AS, FMcL etc to go on the record during a shareholder presentation, - ie not overly technical and thus a good jounalistic source, - to perhaps discuss any FDA response to such an event.
Great summary J-T.
I see the shareholder presentation tomorrow as being the tool with which AS will make the P1a results crystal clear for all journalists required to write up the presentation.
Surprised like others there is no RNS today, - but I'm sure they have enough questions already for their purposes.
Icecool / J-t
I have been watching the post AGM presentation and Investor Q/A.
I don't recall this being mentioned on this BB, and it might be pertinent to your discussions.
30:30 Andrew Saunders Avacta CMO assists AS in his presentation concerning the length of phase 1B, and at 30:30:
"But certainly we will adjudge each patient as they go through 1B, and of course we typically do CT scans to look at the size of the tumour every two cycles, so that would be every six weeks . The baseline, week six and week twelve and so on, at each of these junctures we will have a readout for each particular patient.....etc"
At the point where he states *and of course we typically do CT scans*, - he starts talking about CT scan frequencies in phase 1a, because he can't be referring to phase 1b.
I therefore would not be surprised to see the information provided on Wednesday include data from CT scan tumour sizes, taken every two cycles, for participants of each cohort, up to cohort six and possibly cohort seven.
Why wouldn't they do that if they want to provide clarity and remove obfuscation.
Let's see.
If early cohort participants, - some who are or were gravely ill long term cancer patients, - are still alive now.
That should grip the attention of a few BP management executives that Avacta have developed something worthwhile and valuable.
I don't see why that information wouldn't be available at the end of Phase 1a.
'we can probably all agree that Novacyt acquired them at a price that could turn out to look very savvy in time.'
Yes indeed, Amen to that.
The problem with this is that, - as long term shareholders, - we have seen NCYT management make a poor fist of creating value for Novacyt shareholders prior to this purchase.
My concern stems from Novacyt management, who do not perform marketing and sales activities well, making similar mistakes with exciting YGEN products.
That is why an end of year report, containing the stuff we were promised at the AGM, will be of great interest to reassure us LTH's that YGEN will be provided with the full amount of the investment it requires, and not left to wither on the vine to the extent that new NCYT products have been.
Scientific Laboratory Supplies (SLS) hopefully will be seen to be a big improvement on Novcyt's own attempts to market and sell NCYT assays.
From 3rd July 2023 RNS:
'The Acquisition Price represents a premium of approximately:
- 167.7 per cent. to the Closing Price of 0.195 pence per Yourgene Share on 30 June 2023 (being the last Business Day prior to the date of this Announcement)'
With an sp of 0.195 pence, the 'high premiums' quoted in the rest of the paragraph were easily achieved IMO.
Rifle : Suggest you view the 'AGM transcription' thread for the latest utterances from BoD.
Our thanks go to Wilson for taking the trouble to attend (in Paris), and who made his attendance so worthwhile for us all.
Billy no mates he may have been on the day, but he got some very pertinent questions in.
Thanks again Wilson.
If YGEN was such a bargain at the price NCYT paid + the investment NCYT were prepared to invest, then we are about to see the benefits.
I don't believe NCYT signalled anything to anyone.
Nobody wanted to trump the NCYT offer if they did ask to see the YGEN books as part of due diligence.
"There are plenty of smaller diag. companeies that would seem a natural fit that simply wouldn't be able to gazump ncyt's offer and be able to fund them in the way necessary." - That was one of the risks JW took.
"Ranger Technology alone could be worth more than current market cap"
Ranger technology and all other YGEN technologies was on offer after July 3rd this year.
It emerged that only Novacyt was interested in :
a buying the company
b footing the investment required to complete the spend that YGEN was unable to conclude.
Nobody else bid for YGEN.
Now we will see if JW made the right move in the coming yearly report.
Lets see how much investment has been / is likely to be required to finish the job.
CJ62
This article does not discuss Points CanSEEK program.
It only discusses Point's PNT2002 project, - a PSMA-targeted radioligand therapy that has an “imminent” readout expected from a phase 3 trial in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC).
POINT 's other programs, include
* PNT2001 (Prostate Cancer)
* PNT2003 / PNT2004 (Solid Tumors Expressing FAP)
and
* CanSEEK Enabled Programs (Targets not disclosed.)
Last sentence of this article :
"When asked whether Lilly would pay more, Jake Van Naarden, (president of Lilly’s Loxo oncology unit) said: “We valued the company (Point Bio), we valued success. I don’t know what else there is to pay for.”
+++
From https://www.pointbiopharma.com/our-products/pipeline
"POINT’s CanSEEK™ has been sub-licensed from both Bach Biosciences and Avacta, which has branded the technology as pre | CISION (an Avacta trademark)"
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Presumably Jake Van Naarden assigns a low value the other POINT BIO programs.
Despite Lillys interest in PNT2002, they know very well there is lot's to be learnt by this acquisition, including working with Bach Biosciences and Avacta, and they want in cheaply.
AS wanted to sublicense with Point, but does he want to work with Lilly?
I don't know if there are parts of the Point Bio / Avacta agreement that deal with arrangements for a Point Bio Buyout, and future relationships with any buyer.
Presumably, as part of due diligence, Jake Van Naarden knows what Alastairs (and presumably Bach Biosciences) points of view are.
As far as Eli Lilly is concerned, they would have agreed the 15th December deadline last Friday if not before.
They weren't to know that come Monday morning in UK, Avacta would be announcing their 13th December Investor Meet, at which the performance of the AVA6K platform will be of prime importance.
Lilly now don't have a snowballs chance in hell of convincing more Point shareholders to accept $12.50 / share.
If still interested after AVA6K performance blows the doors off, swallowing Point has become a lot more expensive.
FWIW ☹
Reuters
Mon, 4 December 2023 at 12:17 pm GMT
Dec 4 (Reuters) - Eli Lilly, on Monday, gave Point Biopharma Global shareholders more time to sell their stock to the drugmaker amid low participation since the offer price was below the current stock price of the radiopharma developer.
Eli Lilly's new deadline is Dec. 15 but maintained its offer price at $12.50 per share despite it being more than 10% lower than Point's share price of $13.8 at close on Friday.
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How many times can Lilly change the deadline date?
Surely the Point Bio Board need to accept their shareholders find $12.50 distasteful?