Today IHL announced they were doing something I’ve been...

Today IHL announced they were doing something I’ve been recommending Imugene do for years now. List on the Nasdaq. I must admit I feel like I’m beating my head against a brick wall when it comes to this issue, that from where I sit is the major reason for Imugene’s significant under performance and under valuation since 2021.

IHL’s rationale for listing, which I wholeheartedly agree with, is herein together with details of the announcement and some words fro their CEO:

Rationale for the Schemes and Re-domiciliation

Incannex's board of directors (Board) believes that becoming a U.S. company and trading only on NASDAQ will provide many and varied benefits to Incannex and its shareholders. The Company will have greater access to a more cognisant and receptive capital market of Incannex's value proposition, with comparison companies trading at far greater market valuations, and an ability to expand to a much broader investor base. The Board also believes that the re-domiciliation to the Nasdaq and US may deliver certain additional benefits to Incannex and its shareholders, including:

• improved access to lower-cost equity capital in the U.S. markets, which are larger and more diverse than Australian capital markets, thus enabling future growth to be financed at a lower cost;

• increased alignment with other prominent pharmaceutical companies that are already listed on Nasdaq which can enhance the group's visibility and reputation within the industry, making it more attractive to potential investors, strategic partners, and other stakeholders;

• a simplified corporate structure for potential future merger, sale or acquisition transactions, which may increase Incannex US's attractiveness to potential merger partners, sellers or acquirers.

• increased attractiveness of Incannex US to a broader U.S. investor pool who previously could not invest in non-U.S. or packaged ADR securities;

• enhanced regulatory pathway for Incannex's pharmaceutical products through direct access to FDA resources, guidance, and expertise; and

• better collaborative opportunities with FDA.

Mr Joel Latham, CEO and Managing Director of Incannex, said:

“The Board is excited to enact this landmark unanimous decision in conjunction with our key shareholders and other stakeholders. It is a decision made with the intention to maximise shareholder value. Incannex has matured on the ASX to the point that it has a large and diversified drug portfolio with two exciting drug candidates imminently entering pivotal clinical trials. By committing our presence to the United States, we believe that our Company’s visibility to international investors will increase markedly, partly due to our value proposition compared to similar emerging biotech companies with a presence in North America.”

When you research as I do, you come across many articles, such as this one on the oncolytic virus market, it’s future potential, and companies to invest in within the OV sector.

https://seekingalpha.com/article/4615913-replimune-the-rise-of-oncolytic-virus-therapies-in-cancer-treatment#comments

This article on Seeking Alpha talks of the company Replimune (NASDAQ:REPL) and of its potential to deliver cutting edge technology in the oncolytic virus sector.

A summary of the articles main point can be found herein:

Oncolytic virus-based immunotherapy is rapidly becoming one of the most exciting frontiers in cancer treatment, and Replimune is at the helm, steering the way toward pioneering advances in the field. With its cutting-edge RP1, RP2,and RP3 therapies, the company offers a multi-pronged approach in arming the immune system against cancer. What sets Replimune apart from its competitors is its ability to tackle the shortcomings of existing treatments through comprehensive and synergistic combinations of immune modulation mechanisms. Couple this innovative pipeline with the company's solid financial position, significant research and development (R&D) investments, and encouraging clinical trial outlook, and you have a potent recipe for success in the biotechnology market.

See https://seekingalpha.com/article/4615913-replimune-the-rise-of-oncolytic-virus-therapies-in-cancer-treatment#comments for more

My points in highlighting this article are that:

1. Imugene is nowhere to be seen as a competitor in the ONCOLYTIC VIRUS space, despite having CF33 and VAXINIA. And even if it was in this article investors probably wouldn’t have access to invest in it as readily as they could on the Nasdaq.
2. Whilst slightly more developed than Imugene, the Nasdaq listed Replimune is valued at approx $1.8 Billion AUD and although it has more cash in the bank than Imugene it is losing close to $50 m USD p.a., and earning only a few million. But that doesn’t seem to bother investors on the Nasdaq. The 10 analysts offering 12-month price forecasts for Replimune Group Inc have a median target of $50.50, with a high estimate of $70.00 and a low estimate of $33.00. The median estimate represents a +137.76% increase from the last price of $21.24.
3. That’s a valuation forecast for Replimune of around 5BN AUD or therabouts, depending on which forecast you choose, and I note Replimune has had most of it’s success in treating skin cancer patients, hardly the 10 solid tumour indications Vaxinia is currently trialling. And people say Imugene (IMU - ASX) is overvalued. With IMU at a market cap of about $577 million AUD or about $400 million after cash in the bank AUD work that one out.

Apologies for sounding the BELL but Imugene have really failed shareholders by not keeping pace with where the financial markets are at. The article begins with Replimune (NASDAQ:REPL) offers a compelling opportunity for investors seeking exposure to the rapidly growing field of oncolytic virus-based immunotherapy. Now lots of investors read Seeking Alpha, and most if not all can invest on the Nasdaq. Imugene as usaula are nowhere to be seen in this space.

Some hard questions need to be asked of Imugene next week at the roadshows. It is not satisfactory that Imugene’s management have let such an innovative stock be so grossly undervalued compared to other players in this space, by igoring a Nasdaq listing. I realise they have had ties to the the likes of Bell Potter in Australia, but to put it mildly, the situation is a joke. Imugene could and should be valued at multiples of what it is today if listed on the Nasdaq. Imugene investors have been sold up the river when you compare their game changing technology, and its current valuation, to others in their market segment such as Replimune, to name but one of the many I have highlighted in previous articles. For heavens sake, Imugene is operating in the solid tumour space, in gastric and lung cancer, not in rare diseases.

The Nasdaq is where investors are chasing cutting biotechnology such as oncolytic virus therapies, not downtown Hicksville on the ASX. Wake up aned smell the roses I say, before the rest of the world smells them for you. Good luck to IHL, their board and shareholders for seeing the light. And good luck to Replimune shareholders, I hope you cash in on $70 a share for your oncolytic viruses.

All we can do is take advantage of these current valuations wherever possible and look forward to next week when Professor Fong and Monil Shah arrive to provide details on the current status of Imugene's trials and business operations respectively. I for one believe in Imugene's management and what they are endeavouring to achieve, but with all the compelling science they have delivered thus far I really do believe they missed a trick by not listing on the Nasdaq when I first started writing about it.


Enjoy the days ahead, keep the faith and remember, when compared to the rest, Imugene's up with the best.

DYOR Seek investment advice as and when required Opinions only