Apologies for not remembering who but I was on these threads last night and noticed someone asked me what I thought of Imugenes handling of Her Vaxx, was the science not good enough and should a deal have occurred so on and so forth, or words to that effect.
In answer to your question I have discussed this at length previously, much to the disdain of many on these threads I might add. As you can appreciate criticism of management is not appreciated by many holders of the stock. That said, in my opinion Imugene needed to focus just as heavily on deal making as they have on their science. Without capital and large partners they are not in a position to develop, produce, manufacture and market anything, given theirexisting corporate profile and structure.
When Imugene (IMU ASX) have chosen to dip their toes in the deal making waters they have pulled the wrong reign, once again in my opinion. Take the hiring of Monil Shah in 2021 as Chief Business officer as but one example. Whether it was an WinMILL, BMS or Ventrus, Shah’s experience, not unlike that of Imugene CEO and MD Leslie Chong, was primarily in that of clinical development. Yet they are hiring him, paying him a big salary and bonuses to boot, with his degree in science, to cut billion dollar M&A deals. Okay so he has business development experience, but as outlined by me on many, many occasions, when it comes to finalising licensing deals for Imugene’s PROVEN B cell platform, comprising of as you mentioned Her Vaxx, then PD1 Vaxx and many other vaccines (i.e., TIG’s) acquired from Professor Kauyama, wouldn’t you be better off hiring someone who actually performs these transactions, day in day out, with success?
If I was at Imugene I’d be looking to the leading M&A transactions of the day and seeing who is driving them for a lead. Take this year, 2024, where there have been countless large M&A deals already. Lets take a look at some of them herein:
1.Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Holdings has announced its acquisition of Catalent, Inc. in an all-cash transaction valued at USD 16.5 billion. Under the terms of the deal, Novo Holdings will purchase all outstanding shares of Catalent for USD 63.50 per share.
Citi and J.P. Morgan are advising Catalent, while Morgan Stanley is advising Novo Holdings on the transaction.
2. Gilead Sciences has set its sights on bolstering its liver portfolio through the strategic acquisition of Drugmaker CymaBay Therapeutics. In a landmark deal, Gilead will procure CymaBay for a substantial USD 32.50 per share in cash, amounting to a total equity value reaching USD 4.3 billion.
Gilead has enlisted the expertise of BofA Securities, Inc. and Guggenheim Securities, LLC as financial advisors, while Centerview Partners LLC and Lazard are serving as financial advisors to CymaBay.
3. AstraZeneca, a global pharmaceutical giant, recently disclosed its acquisition of Fusion Pharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, in a deal valued at USD 2.41 billion. This strategic move aims to enhance AstraZeneca’s oncology portfolio. AstraZeneca’s oncology segment accounted for over a third of its total revenue, with sales reaching USD 17.15 billion in 2023.
Centerview Partners LLC has been enlisted as the exclusive financial advisor to Fusion, facilitating the transaction process.
4. Sanofi, a leading French healthcare company, has announced its intention to acquire the U.S. biotech firm Inhibrx through its subsidiary, Aventis Inc. This acquisition aims to enhance Sanofi’s drug development portfolio by incorporating an experimental treatment for Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency (AATD), a rare genetic disease-causing lung tissue deterioration.
Sanofi has engaged Lazard as its exclusive financial advisor, while Inhibrx is represented by Centerview Partners LLC in this deal.
5. Roche has agreed to sell its large-scale biologics manufacturing site in Vacaville, California, to Lonza, a Swiss multinational company specializing in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and nutrition sectors. The acquisition, valued at USD 1.2 billion in cash, represents Lonza’s strategic move to enhance its capacity in large-scale biologics manufacturing.
The transaction is expected to be finalized in the second half of 2024, with Lonza receiving financial advice from BofA Securities.
6. AstraZeneca PLC, a leading Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical company, has announced its acquisition of biotech firm Amolyt Pharma for USD 1.05 billion. The deal, conducted on a cash and debt-free basis, involves an initial payment of USD 800 million upon closure, with an additional contingent payment of USD 250 million on achieving a specified regulatory milestone.
Financial advisory for Amolyt Pharma was provided by Centerview Partners LLC and Goldman Sachs Bank Europe SE.
You don’t have to be Einstein to recognise the name Centreview Partners LLC on more than one occasion. Do your think given the transactions they are handling they be better placed to handle licensing deals than say Monil Shah, Paul Hopper or his mates at Bell Potter? Of course they bloody well would.
Don’t be mistaken, or should I say misinformed, the B cell therapy arm at Imugene produced outstanding results with the potential for numerous combinations. Lives were extended, complete responses achieved together with a large number of partial responses, and all within the guise of an exemplorary safety profile. A deal could have and should have been done if left to the right pair of hands to execute one. Unfortunately by missing the initial boat one or two companies jumped ahead of Imugene, particularly in the Her 2 space, making the process somewhat more convoluted than it otherwise should have been. Needless to say Imugene’s B cell platform in my opinion is still worth squillions, particularly PD1 Vaxx. The only problem being Imugene doesn’t have firstly enough money to pursue the large trials required to develop and extend the drug, nor secondly the experienced third party team required to close a licensing deal for the drug(s).
Let’s hope someone on the inside wakes up to this deficiency in corporate strategy before the boat sails on Azer Cel, Oncarlytics and Vaxinia, and someone else gets the jump again on Team IMU. If not perhaps existing IMU shareholders may, prior to this years AGM that is.
DYOR
Nb. Always be closing
