Promethean Share Discussion Threads

[vinyy] 15/1/2003 18:51

hello anybody there ?

[vinyy] 14/1/2003 16:44

RNS Number:1714G
PPL Therapeutics PLC
14 January 2003

PPL Therapeutics plc ("the Company")

DISCLOSURE OF INTEREST

The Company received notification on 13 January 2002 that, following a purchase
of 300,000 shares on 9 January 2003, Credit Suisse First Boston Equities Limited
now have an interest in 3,938,267 Ordinary shares of 50p each in the Company,
representing 3.19% of the total shares in issue.


This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END

HOLUSONROWRAAAR

[jimbo11] 10/1/2003 09:18

This article has just been released at the website www.savedollythesheep.com

Update - 10/01/03
(by Paul Scott, Director, Willowdrive Ltd)

First Update of the New Year
Firstly may I wish everyone a Happy New Year, and I trust you all enjoyed the break over Xmas.

With the holiday season now over, we are determined to crank up the pressure on management at PPL to bring matters to a speedy conclusion. Several of us wrote to our CEO, Geoff Cook, again before Xmas but true to form have not received a reply.

Yesterday I tried to speak with Mr Cook to arrange a meeting, but both the CEO and the FD were not in the office, so I cannot yet report on whether they will agree to see me or not.



Our strategy for the New Year
I have recently consulted with the larger supporters of this Action Group, and we are agreed on the strategy to pursue. As mentioned above, we have requested a meeting with the Board, to see if there is a way of reaching agreement on unlocking shareholder value.

The company has already publicly stated that they are open to takeover approaches, and it could be that discussions with interested parties are already underway. We just don't know. The most frustrating aspect of this Action Group is that our Board have almost totally ignored the existence of the Action Group, and overall are simply dreadful at communicating with shareholders.

Perhaps they decided that a "tough it out" strategy would be the best approach ? Well if so, it isn't working. Supporters are becoming more & more angry at the contempt shown to us by our Board. We are by far the largest shareholding block, and yet the Board have not made any attempt to establish dialogue. I am not in the habit of meekly caving in when things get difficult, and my position remains the same - the Action Group pushes on until we succeed.

As such we can only conclude that they are against shareholder value and need to be removed. What is even more incredible is that the company has given no general update to shareholders for several months now. The Xenotransplantation project should by now have been sold, but we have heard nothing. The lack of future funding remains the biggest issue facing the company, yet we have heard nothing other than the complacent sounding circular letter sent belatedly to the many concerned shareholders who wrote to the company in the autumn.

This is an APPALLING way to treat shareholders.

Therefore, our first step is meet the Board as soon as possible, if they are willing to do so. At least we cannot then be accused of failing to attempt a dialogue.

The second step, should the above not result in anything meaningful, is to submit Resolutions for the next AGM (due in May 2003) to oust key members of the Board and replace them with our own appointees. Papers are being drawn up to do this, and will be submitted to the company if our meeting is unsuccessful.



Why an AGM, not an EGM ?
The mechanics of organising so many shareholders into supporting an EGM Requisition would be a nightmare due to our support being very fragmented. The core larger supporters of the Action Group all feel that substantially the same end is achieved by submitting Resolutions for the AGM, yet requires only a handful of people to sign the papers. We only need 5% of the shares to submit Resolutions for an AGM, but 10% to call an EGM. Also, an EGM involves considerable extra costs for the company, and the last thing we want to do is to cause the cash to disappear even more quickly than the prodigious rate the of cash burn our Board are managing on their own !

By submitting our AGM Resolutions to take control of the Board, we believe a clear deadline will be put in place, which should focus our Board's minds on shareholder value. No Board relishes the thought of having to fight to keep their jobs in a full shareholder vote, and we believe unless the Board have unlocked shareholder value in a meaningful way by then, we stand a very good chance of taking control of the Board.

Should we succeed, we would immediately cut the cash burn, and put the company unequivocally up for sale, to achieve the best possible shareholder value in the short term.



Update on Support
I was pleased to see the share price dip down again before Xmas, as this stimulates buying by Action Group supporters. So it was this time, and I am delighted to announce yet another significant increase in our support. Here are the stats of our current support;

165 Action Group supporters

We together hold 17,056,493 shares

This represents a whopping 13.9% of the total

I am very mindful of the fact that an awful lot of people are relying on me personally to press ahead with this Action Group to the best of my ability. Rest assured, I won't let you down.

Just to reiterate, if any supporters add to, or reduce your shareholding, please either email me or submit a revised form in the Vote Now section, clearly stating in the comments box that it is an update on an existing position. This ensures I have the most up to date information on support.

Regards,

Paul Scott
(Director, Willowdrive Ltd)

[vinyy] 09/1/2003 23:04

Why the tick up again, for small volumes ? must admit i can't get my
head around this one.

[hugepants] 09/1/2003 00:15

More big trades. Price still unchanged. Are these matched buys and sells?

[vpmd7afto] 08/1/2003 15:30

40mil ? Not realy much better off than PPL then - assuming they don't actually make any money either ????

[vinyy] 08/1/2003 14:21

British biotech have about 40mil in cash. And a new ruthless ceo.

[vpmd7afto] 08/1/2003 14:11

Some of the big trades are marked as "Riskless Principal at Different Price" what ever that means?

Has British biotech got some cash to spend vinyy ???

[isis] 08/1/2003 14:03

Looks like some rollovers have been going over the last couple of days.

[vinyy] 08/1/2003 13:31

Not ramping, but has this anything to do with british biotech ?

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[hugepants] 08/1/2003 04:12

A lot of 250K trades recently. Price is pretty static so looks as though its all being mopped up.

[isis] 07/1/2003 17:13

This reminds of the tech companies that ploghed through untold millions with unseen products.
In other words they are quiet happy to continue blowing the funds away & expect shareholders to keep funding the company indefinately. This sounds like another gravy train with the Directors owning little or none of the company & giving scant regard to the shareholders.

[overline] 07/1/2003 17:01

--"and expects product approval in 2005."
--"The programme anticipates a launch date of 2006."
--"expected product launch date being pushed back to 2007"
These dates are probably optimistic based on the history of biomedical innovations being brought to market.
--"continue to explore other corporate collaborations which will help secure the value in its product portfolio."
Will this mean dilution of shareholders value?

[eugene1234] 07/1/2003 14:25

and they did reply ............




PPL TherapeuticsRoslinEdinburghEH25 9PPScotlandUKTel: [phone]Fax: [phone]

7 January 2003


Dear Sir

The Board of PPL Therapeutics plc (PPL) is fully aware of renewed retail investor interest in the Company particularly relating to a difficult funding environment for the Biotechnology sector. The Board of PPL remains committed to delivering value to its shareholders and, via the commercially focused action of its new management team, believes it is well placed to do so.

Long-term financing issues are commonly associated with Biotechnology companies and, typically, these companies will go through several funding rounds in the private and public equity markets before reaching positive trading cash flow and profitability. It is not uncommon therefore for Biotechnology companies to go through apparent funding gaps because each funding round is unlikely in itself to sustain the company through to profitability.

PPL has three lead protein products in its pipeline, in development for five medical indications or conditions. These are Fibrin I, Bile Salt Stimulated Lipase and Alpha-1-Antitrypsin.

Fibrin I is a fibrin sealant suitable for stopping bleeding and sealing leaks in a range of surgical procedures. It is a patented product, unique to PPL. The Company is developing its fibrin sealant as a device in Europe rather than a medicine and expects product approval in 2005. PPL is partnered with Smith & Nephew for wound healing indications for Fibrin I and is in active discussions with several other companies, pursuing a collaboration for surgical sealant and haemostasis indications.

Bile salt stimulated lipase, or BSSL, is an enzyme produced by the pancreas which plays a vital role in the digestion of nutrients. Patients suffering from cystic fibrosis can also suffer from pancreatic insufficiency which limits their fat digestion. PPL is developing a transgenic source of purified BSSL which has been in the clinic in pancreatic insufficiency and cystic fibrosis patients. The programme anticipates a launch date of 2006.

Pre-term infants also suffer from poor fat digestion because they do not receive human breast milk, which contains natural BSSL. Poor fat digestion in these infants can slow down growth rate. PPL believes that there is a significant commercial opportunity for transgenic BSSL in the treatment of pre-term infants and is currently planning clinical studies for this indication.
Alpha-1-Antitrypsin (AAT) is a protein which normally circulates in the blood. It is the natural inhibitor of elastase. Patients with little or no natural AAT suffer from excess elastase which causes lung damage. Cystic fibrosis patients can suffer re-occurring infection which leads to too much elastase in their lungs. PPL is partnered with Bayer Corporation’s Biological Products Division for the development of a recombinant AAT in the treatment of hereditary emphysema and cystic fibrosis. Bayer manages and funds the clinical development work, and will be responsible for the worldwide marketing of AAT. PPL will receive a series of milestone payments up to US$25m as progress is made in registering indications and in driving sales growth. On 18 March 2002 the Company announced a delay pending further work being carried out on the AAT product. Commencement of Phase III clinical trials for both indications will await completion of this work.

In November 2001, PPL successfully raised £32m via a Rights Issue. A further £10m was also raised in February 2001 following the issue of new shares to Bayer. Following the Rights Issue and the Bayer subscription, the Company believed it had sufficient resources to last until AAT reached the market. Subsequently (and as announced on 18 March 2002), there was a delay in the AAT development programme resulting in the expected product launch date being pushed back to 2007. PPL and Bayer remain committed to the license and launch of the recombinant AAT product.

Dealing with the issues raised by the delay in AAT product launch is the key priority for PPL’s new management team and, as previously announced, a number of decisions have already been taken to manage this situation.

For example, in conjunction with a complete review of the business by the new management team, it was decided to divest all non-core activities and, in particular, the Company’s xenotransplantation programme, the sale of which PPL is actively pursuing. In addition, the UK stem cell programme was closed in October this year saving costs of £0.7m per annum. These measures will not only conserve cash but also concentrate management time and resources on those elements of the business nearest to market e.g. Fibrin I and AAT.

Also, a new and much stronger commercial focus is pursuing partnering discussions, in particular in respect of Fibrin I, to bring further income into the business. The Board will, of course, continue to explore other corporate collaborations which will help secure the value in its product portfolio.

In addition, PPL is in discussions with third parties for the production of their products in PPL’s pilot plant facility, thus providing a potential additional source of revenue.

These activities, together with the strategic rationalisation of the business and rigorous cash management, will assist the Company to manage its resources moving forward. As announced previously, the Company believes that a combination of these activities should enable it to fund the business up until its first product launch.

In all of the activities outlined above, confidentiality is paramount and that, linked with the long periods required to bring deals to fruition, can lead to frustration. Please be assured that the Board of Directors of the Company is working to progress these activities – they are of mutual benefit to all shareholders in the Company.

Yours sincerely
PPL THERAPEUTICS

(signed)

Geoff Cook
Chief Executive Officer
on behalf of the Board of Directors

[paulypilot] 04/1/2003 05:51

Hi,

Plenty of Action Group supporters are topping up, I'm back from New York now, so will update the figures soon. But it's looking good, certainly 13-14% support now I estimate. 5.5p or below on the Offer price seems to trigger waves of buying from supporters, from what I've seen (the website at www.SaveDollyTheSheep.com emails me automatically every time supporters complete the online form to notify shares bought, and there's a big pile of them waiting for me).

The plan is to have a big push to get things sorted out once & for all now the holidays are over. Of course success hinges on PPL's management being sensible, which is the big unknown factor. This remains speculative in my view, but we're well positioned to influence events.

Regards,

Paul Scott.

[james8] 03/1/2003 16:30

I can see it continuing to bounce around this level- with institutions offloading stock when they get the opportunity and retail investors buying on the dips.

[mattharrop] 03/1/2003 16:26

Mmm... it bounced nicely from the same level a few weeks back. Wish i'd taken the opportunity to top up

[marktw] 03/1/2003 16:22

Yep... looking good... Nice way to start the New Year off! Weekend press favourable?

[vinyy] 03/1/2003 15:36

ticked up again, something kicking off here.

[isis] 03/1/2003 15:07

vinyy - obviously these will be volatile whilst in their current position - hopefully nore on the upside.

[vinyy] 03/1/2003 15:02

marked up again, why ? (500k sold yesterday) ?

[vinyy] 02/1/2003 15:05

James8

Many thanks.

[james8] 02/1/2003 14:52

vinyy,
The ADVFN intraday chart shows that PTH was marked up at 9.28am after the 100k trade

[vinyy] 02/1/2003 13:01

Why was this marked up, before any trading today ?