i watched the webinar tonight and I will say, I appreciated that they fronted up to shareholders and made themselves available to take questions — it’s something we’ve been asking for, and they delivered on that. But I’m still left uncertain about what’s next.
My understanding is that there is two potential updates before June, but based on what we heard today, it’s hard to believe they’ll be meaningful.
That investor session offered no conviction, just confirmation of what most of us have been fearing: we’re burning cash fast, and there’s years before any returns.Hopper says we’ve got cash until Christmas. Meanwhile, Azer-Cel — which they now claim is our best shot at commercialisation — won’t finish Phase 2 for another 2 to 3 years. So let’s be real here, we’re not making it to Phase 2 without more capital, and given the current share price, that means heavy dilution. Again.
With no deals, no products close to market, and trial costs forecast at US$30M+ per program, multiple capital raises are a certainty. They’ve already diluted shareholders several times over the past three years. At a 2–3 cent share price, even a modest raise wipes out existing holders. Hopper even said it himself — “we don’t set the price” — brokers do.
There was no positive sentiment in the update. No “stay the course,” no “this is short-term pain,” not even a basic statement of confidence in the direction of the company. It felt more like a resignation speech.MAST trial and OnCARlytics are still stuck in early dose-escalation stages, and LC openly admitted they’re still chasing basic signals — we are miles away from anything commercial.
Despite all the talk over the last few years of “active discussions,” Imugene has not landed a single licensing or partnership deal. Hopper’s defence? Only 10 deals have been done across 140 Australian biotechs. In other words, we’re unlikely to get one — and somehow, that’s now considered acceptable.
If partnering isn’t happening, and commercialisation is years away, what exactly are we doing here?Nick Eddie once pitched IMU as a 12-month play. Today, we were told five years for Azer-Cel, and even that feels optimistic. The dilution train is rolling, and there’s nothing here to support a recovery.
I was hoping that this was a rare opportunity to steady the ship — and for me, they didn’t.
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