Bionex Share Discussion Threads

[rivaldo] 19/2/2004 20:15

RL, no probs - I can afford to respond with equally good grace! I hope you've read my recent posts, as I've already pointed out that I took good profits at lower levels and am happy to ride the rest, AND that I agree there's not much upside here unless the Ark float is a roaring success.

I think one of the articles above mentions that none of the major VC's are selling up at the float, though I don't know about BNX. Can't disagree with anything else you say.

But the question of what BNX does next is interesting, assuming Ark float and BNX sell at a reasonable price (as I hope they will). They'll be sitting on a huge cash pile, and the CEO has just left for whatever reason. Could BNX be used as a cash shell to reverse something into (maybe one of the other investee companies)? The management are certainly active, and given they've said they're not making any further new investments what will they do with the money?

[russianlinesman] 19/2/2004 19:27

Hi rivaldo,

congratulations on your current gains. Will not go over all the old ground again, but seems to me you'd have to be a real mug punter to buy shares in Ark in a float. They seek a 150mil valuation, but compare this to the likes of OXB, Cenes, ML and others and it seems ludicrous (the accounts for 2002 were not exactly impressive either - for ref Ark is going to run out of money if it doesn't float) PLUS you have a load of VCs (of which Bionex is a small fish), who will unload as soon as they can (query whether Bionex will get away without a 6-month lock-in which might just save them). Merlin's 25%, Nomura's 15% etc etc will pretty much all be on the blocks. Given their 'blockbuster' product is slated for 2007 (when the money will have run out again), I'd be selling.

All IMHO but at 3p this is a risky bet (and then there's the corporate governance, disclosure issues I bored you with before).

Grapes bit sour, but I imagine there are some new holders being sucked in here, and just wanted to rain on the parade. This is not a one-way bet from here. (well not upwards anyway)

Anyway the simple question is whether bionex will be locked-in for 6 months. You need to find this out asap.

best wishes (honest)

[godolphin] 19/2/2004 14:19

Heck! Down 15% already. Thought this was looking good at the start of the week. Patience needed I suppose.

[a harris] 18/2/2004 11:58

Doctors in line for pounds 6m cut as Ark floats

A pair of London doctors could share in a windfall worth up to pounds 6m after the biotech firm they founded is floated on the stock exchange next month.

It is the first significant market launch for a British biotech firm for three years. Ark Therapeutics, which made an abortive attempt to float in 2002, plans to price itself at pounds 110m to pounds 135m. Professor John Martin and Dr Stephen Barker, both vascular specialists from University College, London, and their Finnish colleague and co-founder Professor Seppo Yla-Herttuala, a gene therapy expert, could cash in options worth 4.5% of the company's value over the next four years.

The three doctors, who came up with the science behind Ark's products, will remain in volved in its research and development operations after the flotation, the company said yesterday.

Ark already has one health product on the market - a dressing for foot and leg ulcers called Kerraboot, which went on sale to hospitals in the UK last November. But analysts believe its most promising potential treatment is Cerepro, which will be used in conjunction with surgery to treat brain tumours. Ark hopes to ask regulators to approve Cerepro by the end of 2007, and it believes it could generate annual sales of pounds 80m.

Cerepro is injected into the brain to help prevent cancer spreading once a tumour is removed and Ark says early trials suggest it almost doubles patients' average survival time.

Ark believes its portfolio of four products, which also include a pill to cut muscle wastage in cancer patients, will help it to avoid the failures of other firms in the sector in recent years. Biotechs once attracted attention from investors keen to cash in on scientific breakthroughs in new areas such as gene therapy, but many struggled to turn a profit.

"There is some cynicism around about this industry," a spokesman for Ark admitted yesterday, "but it's our job to overcome that. We have done a huge amount of sounding out investors."

He added that if the launch is successful, Ark should be able to bring all of its products to market without having to come back and ask for more funds - and it hopes to hang on to the marketing rights for its products, instead of being forced to license them out to other firms, and lose a share of the profits. The flotation is expected to be completed in March.

Copyright © 2004 The Guardian.

[lizzie ii] 18/2/2004 09:06

Looks like, after that press comment, the first two deals today are large buys.

Finish today with a mid price at least 3p?

[rivaldo] 18/2/2004 08:12

And finally from the Independent:



"It could be worth getting aboard Ark

Ark Therapeutics failed to live up to its name in 2002: it didn't float. This time around, the biotech group looks like being the first in three years to prise open the sector's "funding window" and raise £55m with an initial public offering.

In the UK, the biotech sector is down there with mining exploration as a speculative investment. These are often tiny companies with no revenues, just talented scientists hoping to strike gold with a new life-saving or improving drug.

Ark is better than many. It has four products in or ready for the crucial last stage of human trials. It thinks it has hit a rich seam in vascular medicine (where it has developed a wound dressing in the shape of a boot that might one day be proven to improve leg ulcer healing times) and in cancer (where tentative trials show it may slow brain tumour growth by injecting the area with a genetically-modified virus).

The success of one of its gene therapy products could turn Ark profitable, but there are no such products available in the West and hiccups in this highly innovative programme would delay or even scupper launches optimistically slated for 2007. Sceptics argue that Ark's private equity backers are too eager to cash in and that they are pushing for a value that doesn't adequately reflect these risks. Its brokers appear to have pursuaded enough people, but private investors must remember they could lose the lot.

Where the shares go after flotation depends on sentiment towards the sector, but this is picking up in the US and Ark itself could buoy UK investor confidence if it is successful. On balance, it looks like there may be a buck or two to be made by snapping up the shares when they appear next month. "

[rivaldo] 18/2/2004 08:06

And the Guardian:



On Aim, Bionex Investments improved 0.2p to 2.85p after Ark Therapeutics announced plans to float on the main market. Bionex's 2.6% stake in Ark could be worth £3.5m if the compan is floated at the top end of the indicative price range. Bionex's market capitalisation was £4.1m last night.

[rivaldo] 18/2/2004 08:03

And from today's Telegraph - a definitive % holding:



Bionex Investments, the Aim-listed company which invests in biotechnology groups, put on 0.2p to 2.85p on confirmation that Ark Therapeutics plans to raise £55m by floating on the stock market. Bionex has a 2.62pc holding in Ark.

[a harris] 18/2/2004 07:13

Ark float expected to raise £55m
telegraph
By Philip Aldrick (Filed: 18/02/2004)


Merlin Biosciences, the venture capital house founded by biotech entrepreneur Sir Chris Evans, will see its 27pc stake in Ark Therapeutics valued at £30m to £36m when the company floats later this year.



Ark, a specialist in vascular disease and cancer, said yesterday that it expected to list at between 120p and 146p a share, raising about £55m for product development and marketing. None of the major investors plans to cash in on the listing.

The company had planned a £140m flotation two years ago but pulled it when the window for new stock market listings slammed shut. The new proposal values it between £165m and £190m.

Ark's advisers, Nomura International, a 14pc shareholder, and Credit Suisse First Boston started sounding out potential investors earlier this year. They expect to place the shares with institutions in the UK "and certain other jurisdictions".

The funds raised will be used for Ark's three lead products in late stage development. One is a revolutionary brain cancer drug which appears in trials to prolong the survival in patients with the disease.








Ark To Test London's IPO Waters With £55M Offering
bioworld
By Nuala Moran



BioWorld International Correspondent
LONDON - Ark Therapeutics Group Ltd. has confirmed plans for an initial public offering to raise £55 million (US$104.7 million), a move that will be followed closely by those at cash-starved companies across Europe who are waiting for the IPO window to open.

The London-based gene therapy and vascular disease company is pricing its shares between £1.20 and £1.46, giving a market capitalization of £110 million to £135 million.

The money will be invested in development of three lead products, building manufacturing capacity and for commercialization efforts. All products were developed in-house, and the company's strategy is to select programs it can afford to take through development with its own resources. That has enabled Ark to retain full marketing rights and reduce the risks of depending on one product or partners.

Ark does have one product on the market: Kerraboot, a dressing for leg and foot ulcers.

"Each of the products represents an attractive marketing opportunity, and, having retained the rights to market all our lead products in the key North American and European markets, we believe Ark is well placed to succeed," said Nigel Parker, CEO.

In development is Cerepro, a gene-based therapy for the treatment of glioma, which has orphan drug status in the U.S. and Europe. In two trials, Cerepro almost doubled the mean survival time, compared to existing treatments. Ark expects to file for European approval before the end of 2007.

It also has Vitor, an oral therapy for cancer cachexia, in Phase III trials. European filing is expected in 2005.

Trinam, a biodegradable gene-delivery device, has FDA approval to enter Phase II/III trials in preventing blockage in plastic tubes implanted in the arms of patients with kidney failure. The company said it has other applications, as well.

The follow-on portfolio includes a product in Phase II for the treatment of lipodystrophy (a fat metabolism disorder), which can occur in HIV-positive patients receiving antiretroviral therapy.

Ark had filed after taking soundings with institutional investors and said growing revenues from Kerraboot, the late-stage aspect of its three lead products, and the policy of retaining value and control strengthen its case as the first biotech to IPO in London in more than three years.

The lead adviser is Credit Suisse First Boston, backed by Nomura International, which owns 15 percent of Ark. The company's largest shareholder is Merlin Biosciences, with a 22 percent stake.



Published February 18, 2004

[a harris] 17/2/2004 17:16

prepare for general consumers tomorrow to find the news...

[amarone] 17/2/2004 14:43

Great post!

If the 3 doctors own 4.5% and stand to gain £10 million, how much will BNX be in for I wonder.

Thoughts anyone ?

[lizzie ii] 17/2/2004 14:41

Some sizeable deals have gone through .... including one for one million shares.

[amarone] 17/2/2004 14:36

Thanks dude ........

[a harris] 17/2/2004 14:36

1:56pm (UK)
Doctors Set for Boost as Ark Floats

By Louisa Nesbitt, City Staff, PA News


Three doctors are poised for a £10 million windfall from the flotation of the healthcare company they founded, it was announced today.

Ark Therapeutics was set up by two medics from University College London and a Finnish doctor, all world leaders in their medical fields.

The company expects to raise around £55 million when it floats on the London Stock Exchange's main market next month.

Professor John Martin, Dr Stephen Barker and Professor Seppo Yla-Herttuala, who hold 4.5% of the company, could also share £10 million in the next two to four years if they cash in a series of share options. This depends on the performance of the company and its share price.

The placing of new shares will give Ark Therapeutics a total market value of between £165 million and £190 million.

The company has one product in use – a wound dressing device for leg and foot ulcers introduced to UK hospitals in November.

Another three of its products are at the late stage of clinical development, including a gene-based therapy for operable brain tumours and a treatment for muscle wasting that occurs in patients with cancer.

It is also testing a product for the treatment of patients with kidney failure.

Ark was formed in 2001 through the merger of a UK firm and a Finnish company.

The two British doctors are world leaders in vascular medicine – specialising in diseases of the blood – while their Finnish colleague is a leader in gene therapy.

Chief executive Nigel Parker said all of the products being trialled by Ark addressed areas of unmet clinical need.

He said: "Each of these products represents an attractive market opportunity and, having retained the right to market all our lead products in the key North American and European markets, we believe that Ark is well placed to succeed."
s

[a harris] 17/2/2004 14:34

120p and 146p
bnx invested 1.5 million at a time when Ark had a fraction of its present value.

[amarone] 17/2/2004 14:00

my apologies in advance - what was the indicative range please ?
ps. Am I correct in saying that BNX holds 3% ?

[a harris] 17/2/2004 12:50

I think it is a done deal. Im waiting for announcement of the date. They have already released the indicative range.

[rivaldo] 17/2/2004 12:25

Up to 2.95p now. Article in today's Evening Standard (from the Mail web site) talks about the Ark float as if it's a done deal:



"Duo to share £10m in biotech float
17 February 2004, Evening Standard

A PAIR of doctors stand to share in a £10m windfall* over the next few years from the £190m stock market flotation* of the biotechnology company they co-founded.

Ark Therapeutics Group's decision to float next month means Professor John Martin and Dr Stephen Barker, both of the University College London, and a co-founding Finnish doctor can cash in a series of share options* over the next four years worth around £10m, half of the 9% shareholding on offer to the firm's management.

Ark is pricing its existing shares at between 120p and 146p, or up to £135m, and will raise £55m through a placing* of new shares, giving it a total market value of up to £190m. "

[rivaldo] 17/2/2004 08:08

Well, let's see if Ark actually floats first! At the lower end value, BNX will have 110/165 * 2.6% (say) of Ark, i.e 1.73%. That's around £2.9m of value. Add that to the £1m cash, plus other investments, and you end up with around 3p of value IMO (ignoring all the warrants etc)- but that's without any float premium, and Ark may float at the higher valuation....

[lizzie ii] 17/2/2004 08:01

Mashman .. thanks for posting that. Now marked nicely higher ... before the market opens or any deals done today.

I think destined to go a lot higher ... once the market realises that ARK is just one of the goodies that this company holds. 5p in the short-term very possible.

[mashman] 17/2/2004 07:14

"Ark Therapeutics Group Announces Intention to Float"

[a harris] 15/2/2004 21:36

LOADS of Ark and Bionex good stuff at the following location
good luck to fellow bnx holders...

[a harris] 15/2/2004 19:30

RNS this week almost certainly. Big week for BNX. dyr

edit at 22.38. news via the press not an rns

[stephenwilson] 15/2/2004 18:36

LONDON (AFX) - Ark Therapeutics, the UK's largest private biotech company,
is planning to list on the London Stock Exchange next month, valuing the group
at around 200 mln stg, the Sunday Express newspaper reported, citing a spokesman
at Ark.
Ark, partly owned by Sir Chris Evan's Merlin Biosciences, is known for its
wound-cleansing product Kerraboot.
Japan's Nomura and Credit Suisse First Boston are advising the group on the
planned flotation, the spokesman said.
mbe/bam