H.C. WAINWRIGHT & CO
11 September 2018
It's All BNC210: KOL Focus on Agitation; Major PTSD Catalyst This Month https://www.bionomics.com.au/upload/investors/analyst-coverage/35183/HC Wainwright 11 September 2018.pdf
Significant events could progress rapidly for Bionomics, led by a potential major partnership or takeout. We are also taking this opportunity to remind investors about a major upcoming catalyst expected in September, namely the readout of Phase 2 'restore' study with BNC210 in PTSD patients. Based on clinical activity to date, including the positive randomized Phase 2 in generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), we project a successful outcome in the PTSD, which is assessing a broad set of metrics. Further, we highlight what we anticipate could be a quite rapid culmination of the business development discussions that have been ongoing for BNC210. Having a new potential drug for PTSD and other neuropsych indications with a novel and safe mechanism of action represents a strong potential advantage to pharma players. We also reiterate our view that Merck (MRK; not rated) could be a likely choice for this partnership (or even acquisition). Recall that Merck has already signed two major partnerships with Bionomics for pain and cognition. While Merck does not have any agreement for BNC210, we believe it should be an easy choice since a productive relationship is already in place. Our overall recommendation remains consistent, we reiterate our Buy rating Bionomics ahead of these catalysts.
