friday nights thoughts, page-5

A recent bioshares article had a few snippets of information I found interesting and have summarised below.

Audeo Oncology received a $7.5 million loan from Alchemia last month. This was converted to equity. Total loans that have been converted to equity that have been made by Alchemia to Audeo Oncology $37.6 million

Pete Smith and CFO Charles Walker will become Audeo's CEO and CFO remaining at Alchemia for a short period after the demerger

In relation to the phase II lung cancer trial they saw it as a very useful trial because it may prove the company's belief that HyACT targets cancer stem cells. It has been shown that HA-Irinotecan can target and kill the small cell lung cancer stem cells in preclinical studies, The primary endpoint is the proportion of cancer stem cells remaining after HA-Irinotecan therapy compared to those patients taking irinotecan alone.

They believe if the phase III trial validates the technology the door will be open to trial with many other cancer therapies including cancer monoclonal antibody drugs

A comparison was made between 2 recently listed biotech companies in the US that work in a similiar areas. Verastem raised US$55 million in January. Now capitalized at US$210 million. Merrimack Pharmaceuticals listed March in raising US$100 million. Merrimack is also developing a new formulation of irinotecan for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. It recently started a Phase III trial in pancereatic cancer, and has a Phase II trial ongoing and two Phase I trials underway. Merrimack is currently valued at US$671 million.

And I hope this bit is true! The demerger and listing of Alchemia Oncology provides an opportunity to unlock unrecognised value in Alchemia for shareholders.