Cutting to the chase
The disconnect between the current IMU share price and the intrinsic value of the Imugene intellectual property holdings is hard to fathom, yet understandable. Few people are aware of Imugene’s true potential, let alone the company’s outstanding clinical trial results to date. This week we learned of large pharmaceuticals such as Gilead clearing out their cupboards as it were and scrapping those trial drugs not passing muster when it came to safety. Conversely Imugene’s immunotherapies have never met such fate, for they have an impeccable safety record, exhibiting low toxicity levels and minimal harm to patients in all their clinical trials. In short Imugene’s vaccines have always been safe, and now to add to the company’s intellectual property value, with the recent Vaxinia and Her Vaxx announcements, we are learning their drugs are efficacious as well.
In late 2021 I spoke of my concerns that word was not reaching the broader investment community and public when it came to Imugene’s immeasurable value for both the patient and financial communities alike. I was lambasted and cut down at the time as people on these threads suggested whether or not people knew of and invested in IMU was irrelevant, for Big Pharma would ultimately realise the company’s true value and pay accordingly, when clinical trial results came to hand. Yet now with a lack of media presence, social and biotech influencers, financial advisor and public awareness, the stock is open to manipulation by a few. For those who think the stock is not succumbing to such controlling by someone or something to their own advantage, (i.e., often unfairly and at times dishonestly), take a look at this chart. Do you or I purchase 1 share through our Westpac Investment Banking or Commsec trading account? Can we?
As a consequence of the lack of online and social media communications, media relations, public affairs, investor relations and strategic communications, the IMU volumes traded from day to day are negligible. For a company turning solid tumours from cold to hot, exemplifying significant tumour killing and extending the life of cancer patients to the extent they are, Imugene’s daily trading volumes would be lucky to pay for one house in the City of Sydney. Check out this image of trading volumes and the dollars put through but a day after one of the most awakening biotech results in recent memory (i.e., Vaxinia’s Clinical Trial Announcement on Thursday of this week).
This weeks Imugene newsletter highlighted the company’s recent activities and discussed in scientific detail the impact they are soon to have on the cancer patient community. Yet as this Newsletter is restricted to Imugene shareholders, many of whom are time poor, to what extent can we assume this considerable effort may have on increasing public awareness? IMU’s Nick Ede is in turn performing an admirable task in tweeting of Imugene’s remarkable achievements, yet in essence no-one is listening, or indeed aware of the gravity of these accomplishments for mankind at large. Local community noticeboards on Facebook would receive more social media likes and shares (see herein).
Apart from the need for Imugene to solicit social, biotech and financial influencers within the US, Europe and Asia, there is a need to “dumb down” the message being construed. To put it bluntly it’s too scientific and difficult for the public to comprehend. I remember running a construction related blue collar company and after holding “toolbox talks” for the employees present other staff would corner me and say, “Mate, speak plain English, these truck drivers don’t understand a word you’re saying. Keep it simple stupid” was the message conveyed to me, when all the time I thought I was speaking in plain English. This week’s IMU announcement was another prime example, when we learned of the “Turning of cold tumours to hot” in the Vaxinia trial. What does mean to the average investor?
N.B Thanks meanwhile to many worthwhile contributors, @outlander, @tintin, @fattchoi and @OVF for assisting in clarifying this scientific analogy for the lay people among us.
So does it really matter ground breaking announcements including the Her Vaxx and Vaxinia one’s made this week are not put out there by PR and investor relations firms who know when and where to gain the most traction? Does it matter if the share price doesn’t move following such brilliant breakthroughs? Well, it actually does. In the long run the higher the share price, the higher the value Big Pharma is likely to pay for such exceptional intellectual property. Capital raises may well occur at a premium, as opposed to a discount to the prevailing share price. The more financial and public awareness of Imugene’s first rate immunotherapy, the greater the premium afforded to an ultimate partnership, take over, licensing agreement or sale price. In the mean time retail holders currently exiting the stock may feel more obliged to stay, manipulators may have less opportunity to manipulate and the BOD may be more likely to realise their ultimate goal, that being to create value for shareholders.
No-one, myself in particular, are begrudging the IMU Board of Directors and staff, for they have done a wonderful job in creating the science that could potentially change the way cancer patients are treated for ever more. The speed with which they have brought this medicine into the clinic, along with FDA approvals and patient participation, is phenomenal. Though it must be said for the relatively small outlay involved in creating the news stories, TV coverage, YouTube Feeds and worldwide media engagement required to amass the public awareness I am alluding to, it could indeed be money well spent. When I went to University marketing was all about Product, Price, Place, and Promotion, the four ”P”s as they were known. In Imugene’s case the product is strong and the price of their goods is amazing, though they are not really in the right place (i.e., they should be on the Nasdaq) and there promotion is lacking. How do we fix this dilemma and resurrect the stock price to its rightful value, commensurate with the value of Imugene’s superlative intellectual property? In essence we cut to the chase, list on the Nasdaq and engage the right listing consultants together with the best PR, IR and influencers available in the US. Time is running out, Her Vaxx and Vaxinia in combination with Keytruda are set to shoot the lights out in 2023, the last thing we want is for Merck or another of their shareholders to pay half price for what is potentially a “road to riches” story for all involved.
Photo Courtesy of Lovetravelquotes.com
What is a fair price? Well, to be honest I have to laugh at some of the posters on this and other IMU threads who introduce one and two liner comments and quotes suggesting IMU is worth anything less than 20 cents. Respected health care analysts including Diamond Equity Research and Roth Capital provide detailed analysis and in doing so put IMU price targets in the vicinity of .48 or .71 cents respectively. These HC guru's clearly know more than the experts.Therefore upon reading and ultimately ignoring these unsubstantiated posts, my mind drifts back to that famous Abraham Lincoln quote “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.” I guess all shall be revealed in the fullness of time. I mean seriously, Imugene’s fundamentals have improved immeasurably from when the stock was trading at 60 cents, and even that figure does not come close to one years earnings for any of the top immunotherapy/cancer vaccines on the planet. That’s right, each earn more than $3 Billion USD per annum, and at 60 cents IMU’s overall market cap is barely worth that figure. There is a massive disconnect present when one considers the majority of Imugene’s drugs have patents in place for not one year worth of sales, but up to 12 and 14 years. Need I remind readers that Imugene has close to ten drugs either in or entering the clinic in 2023, not one. The market may well be valuing in their complete failure, but guess what? None of Imugene’s drugs are failing. To the contrary they are making every post a winner.
Maybe the IMU Board missed a trick in not selling or out licensing Her Vaxx last year, to bring in some revenue and focus on their oncolytic virus and Oncarlytics platforms. That said they have since added to the value of Imugene’s overall pipeline and portfolio, with ongoing trials moving from strength to strength. PD1 Vaxx, Her Vaxx, CF33, Vaxinia and Oncarlytics are all shaping up to be stars in their own right and the Board of Imugene must be commended on their ability to bring them into the arms of much needed cancer patients worldwide in real time. In many ways as long term holders we are walking the “Road less travelled," and in doing so recognising that overcoming adversity generally advances our awareness and understanding of the world. As Robert Frost’s acclaimed poem suggests, taking the road less travelled “has made all the difference”. I am more confident now than ever having witnessed world renowned Professor Yuman Fong’s recent keynote speeches and television interviews that after this weeks Vaxinia announcement, Robert Frost’s analogy shall ring true, for those of us prepared to stay the course. (Visit https://www.wafb.com/2023/02/01/your-health-cancer-killing-virus-march/ for more details.)
Far be for me to tell the IMU Board what to do. Since researching this stock and writing about the IMU story I too have become consumed by the science involved. Fellow IMU poster @slick once noted “I like your posts WMHB but half of it goes over my head.” Alas the contradiction in conveying what should in fact be IMU’s simple message. If the Imugene public and investor relations strategy is to be overhauled, the message to the masses needs to be kept simple. It’s in no way a hard sell, even I could sell it in spades, “Imugene is an ethical company developing safe and relatively inexpensive cancer therapies to stimulate your own immune system in the fight against cancer. By contributing to this company you are furthering cancer research and assisting world renowned scientists to rid the world of the scourge of cancer”. The masses should flock to Imugene in droves. The CF33 story is a fantastic one, a virus that only kills cancer cells, “You're kidding me aren’t you”. One or two Yuman Fong videos and all those 20 to 36 year old’s with disposable income and a need to invest ethically, away from mining, resources, banks and big tech shall be flocking by the millions. Make a small up front investment and add to it each month for a worthy cause, dollar cost averaging as you go. Actually I should set up an ethical investment managed fund entitled The IMU under 20 Fund. The managed fund could acquire all the IMU shares under 20 cents. I think I’ll approach Cathie Wood of Ark Investments to manage it and JP Morgan to act as trustee. How good would the 3 and 5 year return of that fund be? It would be sure to outperform the S & P. Leave me with it.
MOCK SESSION - Thinking outside the square (hypothetical only)
Thanks for leaving me with it. I might now indulge you by letting you eavesdrop in on the Monday morning meeting of the WMHB PR Department over at level 100, 128 Wall Street Manhattan
Pardon the expletives — the Mock (Hypothetical) Board at IMU is putting some pressure on me and the team given the gravity of the situation and the need to make things happen if we are to meet KPI’s
WMHB : Ok team I trust you all had a relaxing and restful weekend and are pumped ready to go
PR and IR Team : Yes Boss (not)
WMHB : You should by now all have had a chance to review the brief for the IMU under 20’s fund project
PR and IR Team : Yess Boss (sort of)
WMHB: Justin you’re the finance guru, get onto Cathie Wood over at Ark and tell her we have something good for her to manage with the IMU Under 20’s Fund. It’s ethical and is sure to outperform her other junk and take her onto the cover of Time Magazine in 2023.
Justin T: Yes Boss, I’m on it.
WMHB : You’d better get onto it Justin, I don’t want to have to send you back down to the mail room where you came from
Justin T: (Under his breath)Prick
WMHB : Taylor can you contact the team over at JP Morgan and ask if they have any wrap funds, master trusts or nominees companies willing to take on an exciting new ethical investment fund. Tell them we’ll give them first dib’s on a Nasdaq listing later this year if they help us out here.
Taylor S : Sure Boss, shall doWMHB: Oh and Taylor even better, see if they’ll underwrite the prospectus for say 100 million USD. That should be enough to buy all the excess IMU stock under 20 cents between now and the end of Feb.
Taylor S: Good thinking 99, I’ll chase it up.
WMHB : Taylor just make it happen BTW, I don’t want to send you back down to level 52 to the typing pool where you came from
Taylor S : (under her breath) You conceited ……….
WMHB: Kimmy you’re aged between 20 and 36 aren’t you?
Kim K : Last time I checked Boss
WMHB : Cool, so can you draft a cover for the IMU Under 20’s Fund
Kim K: I can Boss
WMHB: Oh and Kim, I need it by 5.00 today, I want send it over to Cathie for her to look over before she goes home tonight
Kim K : Done Boss
WMHB : Beyonce, can you touch base with the PR team over at Musk’s. Let them know I have something descent for Elon to Tweet for a change. It’s actually ethical this time…
Beyonce : Will do Boss
WMHB : Post, you see Bezos at the club don’t you?
Post M : Sometimes Boss
WMHB : Next time you bump into Jeff see if he can’t list the IMU Under 20’s Fund somewhere on one of the Amazon platforms mate. He sells porn and other crap on the platform, tell him it’s for a good cause can you. Oh but don’t let him on the fact Elon’s tweeting about it
Post M : OK Boss, got it
WMHB : Oprah, you’re in touch with Biden’s press secretary aren’t you?
Oprah W : Yes Boss, we went to Yale together.
WMHB : Tee up a meeting with her and tell her we have something good for Biden’s Cancer Moonshot Project can you? Tell her the IMU Under 20’s Fund is working to reduce the cancer death rate by half within 25 years and improve the lives of people with cancer and cancer survivors
Oprah W : Sure Boss
Fast forward to 5.02 on Monday afternoon
WMHB : Hey Kimmy where is that draft prospectus cover. I said I wanted it by 5.00!
Kim K : Apologies Boss, I was down in the basement plugging my new EV into the charger before I drive home tonight, I forgot to do it this morning as I was racing to get to our meeting
WMHB : (under his breath) WTF, kids nowadays
Kim K : Here it is Boss (forwards WMHB an email with the draft prospectus cover)
WMHB: (Catches Kim K on the mobile)Looks good Kimmy, I mighty get you to copy it over tomorrow onto a draft prospectus for the IMU Under 30’s Fund the Board’s planning on launching in March. I’ll keep you posted. Speaking of posted, where the hell is Post M?
Kim K : He’s with me boss, we’re heading out to a gig…
WMHB : Kids nowadays
END OF MOCK SESSION
Draft prospectus - By Kimmy K
Photo Courtesy of WMHB
The new PR and investment relations division proposed by me needs to think outside the square as well. Given metropolitan and regional shopping centres have cancer donation booths aplenty throughout the land, investing in Imugene online could simply be another way to further this worthwhile cause. Governments need to be courted by the new PR division as well, don’t let them off the hook. They more than ever need to diversify away from ideologically unsound revenue streams including gambling, tobacco and alcohol toward more noble causes such as the future taxation revenue from income producing IMU cancer vaccines. It all takes time but as effective communications starts to hit the mark with the assistance of creditable influencers, analysts and recognised media channels, Imugene can close the gap between their share value and the intrinsic value of their enormous intellectual property holdings. It’s a big world out there, and what better place to invest than in a company with a social conscious.
DYOR - Seek investment advice as and where necessary - Opinions only
P.s. My thoughts go out to fellow contributor and online friend @Wellsecke, recently diagnosed with cancer. There is much love and understanding in the small community frequenting our thread and it is my heartfelt wish that you experience our warmth and take it with you on your travels in the coming weeks
WMHB
(20min delay)