TREAGUS discussing how stable the share register is... It's not a HC pump
And dump!.
Richard Treagus has 20 years of experience and a team with impeccable credentials, but he says the one thing that makes his ambition to bring a novel brain-disorder drug to market all the more easier is investors who are patient.
The executive chairman of Neuren Pharmaceuticals has a cornerstone investor in Lang Walker. The billionaire property developer owns about 17 per cent of the $271 million company and is banking on Neuren’s drug NNZ-2566 becoming the first ever treatment of rare neurological disorders such as Rett and Fragile X Syndrome s.
Dr Treagus has estimated that wealthy individuals and family offices own about another 15 per cent of the company. Substantial shareholding notices show Kiwi entrepreneur Stephen Tindall, who founded retail chain The Warehouse, is also a backer.
“The high-net-worth [shareholders] are experienced investors,” Dr Treagus said. “And my experience has been [the group] represents patient capital and are therefore very helpful for a drug- development company. I wouldn’t for one moment describe it as speculative capital. It’s quite the opposite.”
His investors are hoping that Dr Treagus himself will become a “secret to success” in biotechnology investing. The former doctor, who had his start in pharmaceuticals with Roche in South Africa, made a name for himself in the local sector with a career-defining six years at Acrux.
In that time Dr Treagus led the testosterone drug delivery company to gain approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for three products, and snared a major licensing deal with pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly.
“He’s got a very good track record,” Morgans analyst Scott Power said. “He’s got a bit of a reputation for under-promising and over-delivering.”
Since leaving Acrux in 2012, Dr Treagus has sat on a number of boards including head-lice treatment developer Hatchtech and his own listed fund Biotech Capital. He was also installed on the board of pain drug developer QrXPharma in a board spill that was instigated by a disgruntled Mr Walker.
Dr Treagus has brought a couple of key Acrux executives to Neuren, including former chief financial officer Jon Pilcher and former chief operating officer Clive Bower.
Neuren is assessing four main clinical opportunities for its drug, which was developed by researchers at the University of Auckland. The drug is a synthetic copy of a naturally occurring growth factor that reduces inflammation and improves signalling between brain cells.
As well as the two autism-linked Rett and Fragile X Syndromes, Neuren is also collaborating with the United States Army to investigate the drug’s use in treating severe brain injuries and concussion. The army has contributed about $US25 million ($30.4 million) to the development, but does not have an equity interest, Mr Treagus said.
The stock has more than doubled since November to about 16¢ on the back of a positive phase -2 trial result in Rett Syndrome and then news that Neuren had applied to the FDA for breakthrough therapy status.
Mr Power said breakthrough status would enable Neuren to “fast forward and get a path through the FDA approval process that is quicker and more collaborative than the normal process”.
Dr Treagus said he expects to hear back on the breakthrough application, which is for serious disorders with an unmet clinical need, by March.
“If we’re successful in achieving breakthrough, it would represent a first for any Australian company,” he said.
Expand
(20min delay)