Hardman & Co Healthcare Index: 2023 – Capital demands dent performance

The Hardman & Co Healthcare Index (HHI) has been running since 2009. Its main function is to highlight the attractions of life sciences investments over the long term. For the second year running, apart from global economic influences affecting world markets, performance in 2023 was dented by the capital-intensive nature of the sector. The HHI fell 3.7%, to 483.8, underperforming the main London markets – FTSE 100 (+3.8%) and FTSE All-Share (3.8%) but outperforming the FTSE AIM All-Share Index (

Oxford Biomedica - COVID vaccine and Kymriah news encouraging

Oxford Biomedica (OXB) announced that it has signed a new three-year Master Services and Development Agreement with AstraZeneca (AZN) for future production of the AZN COVID-19 vaccine. As an expansion of the original agreement signed in September 2020, AZN will now have access to OXB’s world-class Oxbox manufacturing facilities on an as-needed basis from the start of 2023. Management expects revenues of approximately £30m from AZN in FY22 for batches of the vaccine already manufactured in 2022 u

Oxford Biomedica - Driving innovation in a thriving CGT industry

Oxford Biomedica (OXB) is one of few global lentiviral vector manufacturers with capacity in a thriving cell and gene therapy industry, and its FY20 results highlight strong operational progress throughout the business. OXB boasts a diversified revenue base; and FY20 benefited from new deals including Juno/BMS covering multiple CAR-T programmes, as well as increased bioprocessing and commercial development activities for several customers including Novartis and the AZN COVID-19 vaccine. Post per

SP Angel Healthcare Conditions- 23-03-2021

Oxford Biomedica - Vector innovation key to cell and gene evolution

Oxford Biomedica (OXB) is a pioneer and global leader in the development and manufacture of commercial-scale lentiviral vectors (LVVs), a critical component of cell and gene therapies (CGTs). An investment in OXB gives a broad exposure to this emergent industry. During the past 12 months, OXB has effectively doubled its CDMO partner programmes to 20, while broadening its own gene therapy R&D portfolio offering. Partner Axovant expects to report six-month efficacy data on AXO-Lenti-PD (end 2020),

Oxford Biomedica - COVID-19 vaccine collaboration agreement

Oxford Biomedica (OXB) has signed a five-year collaboration agreement with the Vaccines Manufacturing and Innovation Centre (VMIC), a non-profit organisation established as the UK’s response to emerging infectious diseases. The agreement focuses on the scale up and GMP manufacture of the adenovirus-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate AZD1222 (previously ChAdOx1 nCoV-19), which is in a Phase II/III study. Initial data from the precursory Phase I/II study are expected in Q320. AstraZeneca is now resp

Oxford Biomedica - Further deals anticipated in 2020

Oxford Biomedica’s (OXB) FY19 results highlight strong operational momentum despite capacity constraints. OXB is investing for future growth and its 84,000 sq ft state-of-the-art bioprocessing facility OxBox is on track to produce commercial grade batches in Q220. Deals made include expansion of its commercial supply agreement with Novartis by five years and R&D partnerships with Santen and Microsoft, followed post period with the BMS/Juno licence and supply agreement. We expect further platform

Oxford Biomedica - Juno deal expands CAR-T revenue streams

Following the 2017 commercial launch of partner Novartis’s Kymriah (a CD19-targeting CAR-T that is approved for pALL and DLBCL), Oxford Biomedica (OXB) is the only FDA-approved lentiviral vector manufacturer worldwide. Validation of its capabilities continues with the recent licence and clinical supply agreement (LSA) with Juno Therapeutics (part of BMS group), a pioneer in cell and gene therapy research. The LSA grants Juno a non-exclusive licence to OXB’s LentiVector platform for its applicati

Oxford Biomedica - OxBox investment to aid future growth

Oxford Biomedica (OXB) is a pioneer and global leader in the development and manufacture of commercial-scale lentiviral vectors (LVV), a critical component of cell and gene therapies. Ongoing investment in manufacturing capacity and R&D is imperative to reap economic returns in this highly innovative and potentially lucrative therapy area, which has witnessed a step up in investment globally. Multiple deals in 2019 included an expansion of its commercial supply agreement with Novartis by five ye

Oxford Biomedica - Novartis extends commercial supply agreement

Oxford Biomedica (OXB) has announced the expansion of its commercial supply agreement with Novartis by five years. While expected, this removes any uncertainty around the future of the partnership and is a validation of OXB’s investment in new manufacturing facilities. Novartis is now committed to paying OXB a minimum of $75m (for vector batches) in manufacturing revenue over the five-year extension. Additionally, OXB will be paid a mid-single digit £m facility reservation fee. As part of this,

Shield Therapeutics - Termination of coverage

Edison Investment Research is terminating coverage on ABC Arbitrage (ABCA), paragon (PGN), Foresight Solar Fund (FSFL), Kendrion (KENDR), Lithium Power International (LPI), Triple Point Energy Transition (TENT), 4iG (4IG), e-therapeutics (ETX), Pharnext (ALPHA) and Shield Therapeutics (STX). Please note you should no longer rely on any previous research or estimates for this company. All forecasts should now be considered redundant. Previously published reports can still be accessed via our web

Cambridge Nutritional Sciences - Operational efficiencies; adjusted EBITDA profi

Cambridge Nutritional Sciences (CNS) has provided a trading update for the 12 months to 31 March 2024, noting that a combination of strong sales growth and significant margin improvements, driven by operational efficiencies, have played key factors in the group’s expectation of being adjusted EBITDA positive in FY 2024. Revenues are expected to be £9.8m (30% YoY growth), ahead of our £9.0m forecast, with gross profits expected to exceed £6m, which is again ahead of our year-end forecast of £5.6m

Warpaint London+ (W7L, House Stock at 375p) - Trading ahead of expectations - +10% upgrade implied

Cambridge Nutritional Sciences - H1 2024 interims: Executing a newly focussed st

Cambridge Nutritional Sciences (CNS) has published its H1 2024 results to end September 2023. Group revenues grew 44% to £4.9m and gross profits increased by 63% to £3.1m, with the company benefitting from newfound operational efficiencies. With its now streamlined strategy focussing on the core Health & Nutrition business and the initial signs of an encouraging uptick in sales momentum, we believe the company is well positioned for growth that will help create future value for shareholders. We

Hybridan Small Cap Feast - 22 April 2024

22nd April 2024 * A corporate client of Hybridan LLP ** Arranged by type of listing and date of announcement *** Alphabetically arranged **** Potential means Intention to Float (ITF) has been announced Dish of the day Admissions: Delistings: What’s baking in the oven? ** Potential**** Initial Public Offerings: Reverse Takeovers: 16 April 2024: Electric Guitar (ELEG.L) Concurrent with its Admission to trading on AIM, Electric Guitar is proposing to acquire the entire issued share capital of 3radi

e-therapeutics - Termination of coverage

Edison Investment Research is terminating coverage on ABC Arbitrage (ABCA), paragon (PGN), Foresight Solar Fund (FSFL), Kendrion (KENDR), Lithium Power International (LPI), Triple Point Energy Transition (TENT), 4iG (4IG), e-therapeutics (ETX), Pharnext (ALPHA) and Shield Therapeutics (STX). Please note you should no longer rely on any previous research or estimates for this company. All forecasts should now be considered redundant. Previously published reports can still be accessed via our web

The Hardman & Co Monthly: April 2024

Feature article: Steady as she goes, but could be better: A review of investment company liquidity since 2016 Liquidity is the lifeblood of equity markets. The measurement of liquid asset availability to a market or company is a way of gauging a market’s health. This article builds on our previous work, which analysed the liquidity data for non-financial trading companies, by applying the same analytical techniques to the investment companies (IC) space. We analyse liquidity for ICs as a whol

Morning Note – 8 April 2024

Venture Life Group - Strong organic growth; focus on EBITDA

Venture Life has reported FY23 results to December 2023, following the February trading update. Revenues grew 17% in the year to £51.4m (our est. £50.7m) and adjusted EBITDA was £11.6m (our est. £11.6m). Cash conversion was 85%, generating £9.8m of cash from operations. Cash generation and no M&A in 2023 allowed the company to de-lever, closing FY23 with net debt to adjusted EBITDA at 1.3x. Management have focused on growth with three therapy areas generating double-digit revenue growth and onli

Hybridan Small Cap Feast - 17 April 24

17th April 2024 * A corporate client of Hybridan LLP ** Arranged by type of listing and date of announcement *** Alphabetically arranged **** Potential means Intention to Float (ITF) has been announced Dish of the day Admissions: Delistings: What’s baking in the oven? ** Potential**** Initial Public Offerings: Reverse Takeovers: 16 April 2024: Electric Guitar (ELEG.L) Concurrent with its Admission to trading on AIM, Electric Guitar is proposing to acquire the entire issued share capital of 3radi

LIBERUM: Futura Medical: An increasing degree of confidence

Creo Medical - Solid FY23 lays the groundwork for 2024

Creo Medical has released a trading update for FY23, an active year for the company, with progress made across all business segments. Traction improved in H223, following Speedboat Inject’s European clearance for upper gastrointestinal (GI) procedures and the accelerated approval and launch of Creo’s slimmest electrosurgical device, Speedboat UltraSlim. Top-line growth was supported by continued streamlining of the cost structure, resulting in a better-than-expected underlying EBITDA loss (impro

Morning Note – 7 December 2023

Shield Therapeutics - FY 2023 TU; total revenues in line but Accrufer scrip revi

Total reported revenues and other income were $17.5m (our forecast $16m) in 2023 vs $5.5m in 2022. The composition of that revenue was different to our expectations such that Accrufer US revenues of $11.6m compared with $3.6m in 2022 but came in below our estimate of $13.6m. In the release, the company has noted that the methodology used by the third-party data provider for US Accrufer scrips has resulted in an overstatement for 2023. Revised figures for 2023 have been given showing 77,000 total

Morning Note – 22 March 2024