Roundtable Discussion; The Future of Mineral Sands. Watch the video here.
Looks like the burn rate was just too high for this exosome company for it to survive current market conditions. Assets up for sale.
https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/codiak-biosciences-files-bankruptcy-after-unable-satisfy-financial-needs
I note the previous leading major shareholder Richard Griffiths got rinsed care of WANdisco, which has just been suspended due to 'potential fraud'. Unfortunately he owns 5.3% of that outfit; his holding was worth over £50M yesterday...and now....er...10?...0?
"Researchers predict Alzheimer's progression 3.5 years early with unique blood test"
https://www.fiercebiotech.com/medtech/researchers-predict-alzheimers-progression-35-years-early-unique-blood-test
This work was based at King's C
Looks like Mr Ross is shuffling his priorities around at the expense /relief (depending on your view) of Bivictrix:
BIVICTRIX THERAPEUTICS PLC
("BiVictriX" or the "Company" or the "Group")
Board Change
Dr. Michael Kauffman, M.D., Ph.D. appointed as Non-Executive Chairman
Iain Ross to remain a Board member
Alderley Park, 6 January 2023 - BiVictriX Therapeutics plc (AIM: BVX), an emerging biotechnology company applying a novel approach to develop next generation cancer therapies using insights derived from frontline clinical experience, announces that Dr. Michael Kauffman, M.D., Ph.D. has been appointed as Non-Executive Chairman. Dr Kauffman takes over from Iain Ross, who will continue as a Non-Executive Director on the BiVictriX Board, but steps down as Chairman due to other work commitments.
Prior to becoming Non-Executive Chairman, Dr. Kauffman was appointed as Non-Executive Director of BiVictriX in January 2022. He is a highly experienced cancer drug developer, having been instrumental in the approval of several oncology therapeutics over twenty years of working across preclinical research, clinical development, regulatory strategy and commercialisation. As Non-Executive Chairman, he will draw upon his previous experience as Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of oncology company Karyopharm Therapeutics Inc., which he guided from a discovery stage biotechnology company to a commercial stage organisation, with global approvals of XPOVIO®. He also led the Kyprolis® development programme at Proteolix and then Onyx Pharmaceuticals, the Velcade® development programme at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, and has held a number of senior positions at Millennium Predictive Medicine and Biogen. Dr Kauffman currently holds other Non-Executive Board positions at Verastem Oncology, Adicet Bio and Kezar Life Sciences.
Tiffany Thorn, Chief Executive Officer of BiVictriX Therapeutics plc, commented: "With the recent identification of our lead candidate, the transition of Michael Kauffman to Non-Executive Chairman of the Board comes at a pivotal time in BiVictriX's development. I am delighted to welcome Michael to his new role; no doubt his wealth of expertise across oncology drug development will continue to prove invaluable during the next stage of our progression. I would like to also express gratitude on behalf of the whole Company to Iain for his excellent support, taking us through from IPO to candidate identification and look forward to continuing to work alongside him as a valued member of our Board."
https://www.allenbycapital.com/client/reneuron-plc/
The slides from the recent conference which are mentioned in the report are now on Reneuron's website : https://www.reneuron.com/presentations-list/extracellular-vesicle-based-therapeutic-development-summit-october-2022/
https://www.allenbycapital.com/client/reneuron-plc/
Published today. The report gives Rene a valuation of £41m or 72p per share with some assumptions/caveats. This is 37% higher than their last report in July (different author though).
I would love to know what this "Rod-derived Cone Viability Factor" (that is released by the rod cells) JCyte has identified actually is. Can it be chemically synthesised, or can it be produced in bulk via ReNeuron's immortalised stem cell line for example? And does it need to be transported via exosomes, or could a simple injection suffice?
My hunch is the mechanism of action for both JCyte's and Renuron's cell lines is the same/similar, it's just the techniques that are different. If I was a big pharma boss I would buy both companies just to hedge my bets!
I interpret (well I googled it so it must be true!) having a central visual field of 20 degrees is the boundary where 'quality of life' begins to be dramatically altered. So new sufferers and those existing ones above this threshold may be treatable, in theory, subject to x number of caveats of course.
https://www.karger.com/Article/Fulltext/435886
I thought the Chairman's statement in the Interim Results was telling. He may be as excited as Olav about exosome technology but the timing of the report was unfortunate in my view and he possibly realised this after reading the announcement released from JCyte just 2 weeks before: "jCyte Identifies Key Anatomical Biomarker Predictive of Substantial Restoration of Visual Function in Retinitis Pigmentosa Patients Treated With jCell Therapy"
https://www.jcyte.com/news/press/2021-nov-15/
To me this JCyte announcement is basically saying they can get an improvement on a par with ReNeuron's previously announced data at 12 months, of 15 letters, in patients with a baseline central visual field diameter greater than 20 degrees. Using intravitreal injections which don't require expensive surgical teams and operating theatres (ReNeuron's trial does). I have no idea what percentage of RP sufferers fall in to this category, but it's got to be a far cheaper treatment to purchase by the care provider right? Thus JCyte seems to have a competitive edge here...
This is the paragraph of the Chairman's spiel that's salient to my argument:
" The data from the extension study and the earlier lower dose cohort will inform the Company as to the preferred dosing based on its efficacy and safety profile, whether sub-retinal delivery provides the optimal efficacy and duration of action and the commercial potential. The data will support the decision whether to move straight into a pivotal trial or whether additional subjects should be treated to garner further sub-retinal data and also whether to investigate further a move into the clinic with an intravitreal dosing regimen. "
Of course I could be completely wrong.
Hi Grizzlyb,
Looks like Lonza is quite busy in the exosome field. Their website has also announced today that they have acquired Exosomics' Service Unit: https://www.lonza.com/news/2021-11-02-13-00
"Basel, Switzerland, 02 November 2021 – Lonza, a global manufacturing partner to the pharmaceutical, biotech and nutrition industries, announced today the acquisition of the service unit from Exosomics, a leading extracellular vesicles biotech company. The agreement includes Exosomics' service team, service assets and laboratories in Siena, Italy. The financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Lonza has been a minority shareholder of Exosomics since 2017 and will remain a shareholder after the acquisition of the service unit is complete.
Under the terms of the agreement, Lonza will gain access to expertise and capabilities in extracellular vesicle (EV) analytics and characterization. In addition to research and development, Lonza will expand the service offering from the site to a comprehensive suite of development and analytical services for exosomes. The acquisition strengthens Lonza's position as a leading global CDMO in exosomes bioprocessing.
Alberto Santagostino, SVP, Head of Cell and Gene Technologies, Lonza, commented: "Today's announcement is a part of Lonza's wider strategy to create a comprehensive exosome offering. With this acquisition, we are gaining access to experienced talent, state-of-the-art know-how and the ability to advance this therapeutic area further."
Antonio Chiesi, CEO, Exosomics, added: "Lonza's acquisition reaffirms the recognition for Exosomics as a key player in Europe in the field of exosomes sciences. Exosomics will now focus on its original goal of pan-cancer screening and liquid biopsy applications in human diseases, still supported by Lonza as its most important industrial shareholder."
The investment in this emerging area reflects Lonza’s strategy to differentiate through innovation. From the development of the exosome modality to the industrial production of mRNA vaccines and supporting the manufacture of live biotherapeutics, Lonza operates at the cutting edge of manufacturing technology to help customers deliver innovative new therapies to patients worldwide. "
Yeah, I tried to get a handle on this Elgeti guy too. Although he seems to have some banking background in the UK I find his investment in Reneuron an odd fit for him portfolio-wise as he tends towards property assests and companies in Germany, as you say. He has a provincial football club too so perhaps he just has cash to burn!
It looks like only one trade of 700,000 shares is shown on the stock exchange website for yesterday evening. This lse website does have a habit of duplicating trades and of having a different current share price indication compared to the official horse's mouth. If this is Mr Griffiths (and he's buying rather than selling) then he's increased his own holding by 15% to 9.2% of the company. Still a little short of Obotricia's...for now.
...and here's a little update on JCyte's RP 2b trial published on their website today entitled: "jCyte, Inc. Identifies Retinitis Pigmentosa Patients Most Likely to Respond in Planned Pivotal Study with jCell Therapy"
https://www.jcyte.com/news/press/2021-may-03
Swansea University are currently advertising for a Research Assistant role for developing and validating novel, scalable, affinity purification technologies for the detection and characterisation of exosome populations. https://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/CFF465/research-assistant
Reneuron and Ig Innovations are the other partners.