Potentially the largest rise in AIM history IMO13 Apr 2025 10:25
Biotech companies typically operate at a loss until they secure a major deal, often burning through more than £10 million to fund clinical trials. What we're seeing here could be one of the biggest share price rises in AIM history imo when you consider the market cap versus the potential returns. We don't do clinical trials therefore the risk is far lower.
With a market cap of just over £1.5 million, there's a potential upfront payment of £35 million (average) range +/- depending , plus substantial milestone payments tied to CLX001. And CLX001 isn’t just a random preclinical asset — the underlying science around membrane perforation is genuinely promising with safety expected to be fairly good due to the nature of the compound.
Even setting CLX001 aside, if the deal for VAL401 goes through, it could be a game changer. Assuming it's only 2–3 years from reaching the market and has a relatively high probability of success, we could be looking at tens of millions in royalties and milestones which will help attract larger investment.
If Valirx needs another £1–2 million, that's not a major hurdle for an institution to cover if potential returns from 401 and CLX are on the table. Of course, nothing is guaranteed — but compared to other high-risk biotechs that are struggling to raise £10–30 million in this market, this looks like a very compelling bet. Just look at Redx and 4D as examples.
Val also has a biobank that will generate revenue whilst the cost is relatively well controlled. It just needs good timing we need either CLX to show progress this year or 401 to complete with clear plans to avoid another large discounted placing better if the warrants come good to avoid a placing later in the year. All being good as much as this has gone down we could recover to some level closer to 10p depending on whether another placing can be avoided and if we can strike a deal or 201 with CLX001 being the main driver in share price recovery.
All about timing but I think this will double shorter term from here then it all depends on what happens with CLX and 401.