Maxcyte Share Discussion Threads

[turbocharge] 02/10/2018 12:48

Here’s what we know about CRISPR safety
(Published in Washington Post, Sep 2018)

[timbo003] 26/9/2018 16:03

Just out of a meeting with DD at the company's brokers. There were a only about 7 - 8 attendees, I found it very useful and it answered a lot of the outstanding questions,

The slide which came with the interims are here:



I will endeavour write up a few notes before the weekend

[timbo003] 20/9/2018 21:46

I've just been having a look at the CRISPR bellwether: CRISPR therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP).




The share price seems to be holding reasonably steady following the fall immediately after the Bradley revelations, Furthermore, they have just announced an underwritten $200m equity fund raise, so investor sentiment appears to be holding up, despite the potential problems.

[timbo003] 20/9/2018 21:11

I have managed to get an invite for the post results meeting next week to be held at PG's HQ on Wednesday, so I will definitely go along to that and ask Doug about the potential problems for their CRISPR technology posed by Badley et al

[supernumerary] 18/7/2018 20:55

tim - ref the announcement - I hadn't seen the ShareSoc presentation, only the one before, although I think it used the same slide deck and followed much the same script. You're right, I can't hear any confirmation that they had the IND approval, although the tone was one of relative certitude - I certainly put in my notes that they had it, but don't now know why. I was multi-tasking at the time, so maybe I just read something like your slide, without processing its header...

On the valuation, I can see why the US investors had reservations about the hybrid model. If they were selling machines and consumables at 90% margins, that would be a great business, but ultimately limited in scope - there are only so many research establishments to sell to, R&D would be a continuing high cost, somebody else's invention might rapidly erode their business etc. But in the meanwhile, very attractive, and what the analysts are currently trying to value.

On the other hand, a new approach to CAR-T that successfully tackled a range of solid tumours could be a game changer with a valuation in the billions of dollars. Sadly, though, CAR-Ts have not been without their problems, and there's a serious risk of huge costs for large trials, followed by total failure.

The potential investors want one or the other (their portfolios are externally diversified), but the guys who run the business want them both (for obvious reasons associated with paying monthly bills!) so the business that's currently being valued by Trinity is really just a backstop - my reading is that what Doerfler is aiming for is a generous buyout - he certainly makes great play of the deals for Juno and Kite etc.

That's not going to come from selling razors and blades, no matter how successfully - it has to be either the Carma or the gene editing, or both, that justifies it. So the investment case for a PI seems to me to rest more on the potential than on the actual business (it is AIM, after all ;¬)) and to understand that it's important to track what's going on in the wider environment.

If for instance, as an extreme case, the FDA were to block all further testing of CRISP-R gene editing therapies pending resolution of the issues raised in the Bradley paper, I would certainly reduce my estimation of the likelihood of a sumptuous buyout for Maxcyte, and with it my interest in investing. Others may well disagree. Fair enough, that's what makes the market...

[timbo003] 18/7/2018 09:47

>>>supernum

Agreed, if CRISPR fails it would not bode well for Maxcyte's other Cas9 gene editing activities in the long term, but given that their current activities in the gene editing area are assigned zero value, it should not make a lot of difference to analyst valuations in the short term.

I'm not sure Maxcyte confirmed anything about IND approval before the RNS release on Monday, I cannot see it on the slides used last week although it was listed in the expected news flow (see copy of slide below), also I do not remember Doug saying they already had IND approval, but I do recall he said that they were still waiting for approval in answer to one of my questions (I think that was at the Proactive one2one meeting on Thursday)

[supernumerary] 17/7/2018 23:44

The IND approval was announced in the presentation, ahead of the RNS - not the way to do these things.

I see there are more doubts about CRISPR: note in particular the reference to Vertex and scd:

Not sure how much this might affect Maxcyte, but it's likely to lengthen the timescales for approval of any CRISPR-based therapy, which will delay at least part of their anticipated revenue streams.

This is what Trinity Delta said about their CRADA with NIH for sickle cell:

'The second CRADA deal with the NIH highlights MaxCyte’s leading position in the field of gene correction using CRISPR, and the importance of its flow electroporation technology for CRISPR therapies.

In the short term, it will have a limited impact on MaxCyte’s financial performance. However, this agreement will help to cement MaxCyte’s expertise in flow electroporation as being a key enabling technology for CRISPR therapies; this should increase mid-long term revenue opportunities as more companies buy licenses to use its instruments, and from the potential partnering of the SCD programme.'

If CRISPR fails, this will also fail, although in the short term, as companies investigate the technology, it might actually increase revenues. Hard to predict.

[timbo003] 16/7/2018 09:22

Busy day today:


* Trading update

* IND approval

* New video (ShareSoc)

* New Trinity delta research note:

[tomps2] 16/7/2018 07:42

To go with today's trading update, here's the presentation given by Dough Doerfler at ShareSoc last Wednesday 11th July.

MaxCyte (MXCT) presentation at ShareSoc July 2018

Driving the next generation of cell-based medicines
By Doug Doerfler – Founder, President & CEO



Introduction – 00:23
Background and what MaxCyte does - 02:41
Business model – 04:11
CARMA platform, CAR therapy in oncology - 09:07
Cell therapy programmes – business model – 16:12
Revenue potential across multiple applications – 19:15
Expected news flow - 21:36
Summary & outlook – 22:18
2017 financial highlights - 22:50
Q&A - 23:45

[supernumerary] 13/7/2018 12:19

Can anyone clarify the relationship, if any, between Maxcyte and this research? It looks to me as though it's a competitor technology. I note that Maxcyte tech was licensed to CRISPR, but it's not clear whether it was used in this work - the agreement was only for 'CRISPR/Cas9-based therapies for hemoglobin-related diseases and severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID)'.








Also, why is the CARMA trial so delayed? It appears that it was originally scheduled for 17H1, but it still doesn't appear on clinicaltrials.gov. I'm not sure I really understand the logic behind the trial, given that they don't plan to take it through to approval. It seems more sensible just to support their customer programmes?

[timbo003] 12/7/2018 23:56

See link to Tuesday night's presentation at the Shares Investor Evening where Doug gives an update on current progress at Maxcyte:

[sharesoc] 01/7/2018 15:36

MaxCyte present at our London growth company seminar on the 11th July, which may be of interest to shareholders and potential investors:

[timbo003] 05/4/2018 07:42

There is a nice new concise write up on Maxcyte on Proactiveinvestor. Well worth a read:

[oshy92] 04/4/2018 10:05

Morning. Short TV clip following this mornings results:

www.vimeo.com/263050642/fbede3e592

[nimbo1] 22/1/2018 07:34

Looks like a good place to be over the next couple of years. Good upside here imo. I notice the rmmc trust has this as the second largest holding. Philip the fund manager is second to none in the uk small cap space - check the record over the last 12 months.

[oshy92] 22/9/2017 11:42

Short TV clip following this week's results:

www.fmp-tv.co.uk/company/maxcyte-investor-videos-and-news/

[davep4] 17/9/2017 14:36

Advances with CAR-T validate potential of CARMA platform The recent approval of Novartis’ CAR-T therapy, Kymriah, and the acquisition of Kite Pharma by Gilead for $12bn in cash provide further confirmation of the strong scientific and commercial rationale, respectively, of CAR-T therapies. It is worth noting that CARMA has the potential to address key challenges that currently face CAR-T therapies, including cost and safety issues.

[timbo003] 07/6/2017 19:16

There is a new video on Proactiveinvestor where Doug Doerfler (CEO) discusses yesterday's news release concerning a possible treatment/cure for CGD





I confess I had never heard of CGD before today, but it is very, very rare (1 in 250,000), although the company has recently initiated another similar (NIH assisted) program using the same proprietary technology which could lead to a cure for Sickle Cell disease (which has a far greater incidence)

[davep4] 03/4/2017 13:49

I believe the offer was substantially over subscribed Tim!

[timbo003] 03/4/2017 08:16

I wasn't offered any this time around but would have passed anyway given the eventual placing price.

It's quite unusual to get a big placing away at a premium, especially on AIM !

[davep4] 31/3/2017 08:23

Good luck Tim!

[timbo003] 31/3/2017 07:58

The proposed placing is for all the right reasons, I wonder what price they will get it away at and will any of it qualify for EIS?

If I am given the opportunity to invest again I may have small nibble depending on the price and assuming the shares are issued in the next tax year and they qualify for EIS tax relief.

[davep4] 28/3/2017 08:39

I think you could be right Tim, the question is at what price!

[timbo003] 26/3/2017 13:24

Both Doug Doerfler (CEO) and Ron Holtz (CFO) were at the Proactive event on Thursday, unfortunately there was no hard copy of the slides to take away and there isn't a soft copy (yet) on the Proactive site, but I will request a copy and scribble a few notes tomorrow. I can see now why they are capitalised at >£100m and I really do not think they will be around as an independent company in 5 years time, somebody will take them out.