Syncona Share Discussion Threads

[tiger blue] 27/6/2019 10:30

I agree too. I think they have too much cash if anything so are ready to take all or part of the Autolus stake if it becomes available. I am told from broker meeting that they have bid Woodford for his stock but have been rebuffed. Woodford may yet crack and if his contract is terminated the new broom may be open to offers. Either way Autolus is cheap and I have put a limit order in to buy some.

Market not giving SYNC credit for companies founded and still in at cost despite clinical progress. All I hear is cash drag and Wellcome stock overhang. On the former they have a superb track record in creating value from cash. On the latter I am sure Wellcome may reduce over time into strength, but I think they have achieved their primary and prudent objective as Charity trustees, to more than recoup the £100m they originally invested to found Syncona, and that the pressure is off now.

[the shuffle man] 27/6/2019 10:21

Are the shares now trading at a discount to NAV.

[ltinvestor] 27/6/2019 08:19

I agree..as the trials progress and data is positive which it should be then large pharma will bid.Great company with outstanding technology

[brexitplus] 27/6/2019 08:15

Well done. I have it only in Syncona. I can see it being bought in the not too distant future.

[ltinvestor] 27/6/2019 08:11

I have been accumulating Autolus around the $16 mark.Well down from the raise at $24...

[brexitplus] 27/6/2019 07:49

Could do. It’s a bargain price. Otherwise, based on guidance, it would take about 5 years to invest.

Martin Murphy said

“Syncona looks forward to redeploying the proceeds to fund both our growing portfolio companies as they scale and exciting new opportunities as they emerge, ultimately with the goal of bringing more transformational products to patients."

[ltinvestor] 27/6/2019 07:47

Should buy Woodfords stake in Autolus!!!

[brexitplus] 27/6/2019 07:46

After this Syncona will have about £1 billion in the kitty. It can’t spend that much quickly. What will it do now?

[brexitplus] 27/6/2019 07:33

Sale of Blue Earth Diagnostics to Bracco Imaging

27 June 2019

· Blue Earth Diagnostics has agreed to be acquired by Bracco Imaging for $450 million (£354.3 million)[1] plus closing adjustment estimated at $25 million (£19.7 million)[2]



· Syncona will receive net proceeds of £337 million[3] for its 89 per cent holding; a 10.0x multiple, including prior distributions,[4] on original investment of £35.3 million and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 87 per cent[5]



· These proceeds represent an uplift of £69.8 million (10.4p per share) to Syncona's holding value of £267.5 million[6]

[ltinvestor] 27/6/2019 07:30

Woodford should have just bought shares in Syncona!!Another wonderful deal...

[tiger blue] 26/6/2019 15:39

hi luxaerterna1

ref my earlier post glioma mkt only around 1/7th the size of the prostate imaging mkt according to results Q&A, though this might increase modestly due to higher rate of repeat imaging in glioma

Tiger

[luxaeterna1] 26/6/2019 15:18

Encouraging news on Glioma for Blue Earth diagnostics - I assume that a "100% detection rate" and "sensitivity" is very good news. Would the market for glioma be of a similar size to the prostate market?

So much newsflow this year. Looking forward to AUTL and Freeline trial data later this year.

[masurenguy] 26/6/2019 14:33

Premium over NAV is now only 4.2% - the lowest for sometime !

[brexitplus] 26/6/2019 14:01

─ Presented at Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) Annual Meeting ─ Blue Earth Diagnostics, a molecular imaging diagnostics company, today announced results from a retrospective, observational analysis evaluating the safety and effectiveness of 18F-fluciclovine in the detection of recurrent gliomas in adults, using data from multiple research sites. The primary aim was to determine the Positive Predictive Value (PPV) of 18F-fluciclovine PET to detect glioma in comparison to a histopathological truth standard. Results demonstrated that among the patients with recurrent glioma (n=17), 18F-fluciclovine PET demonstrated a PPV of 88.2%, a detection rate of 100% and sensitivity of 100%. No adverse events related to 18F-fluciclovine were reported in the study. 18F-fluciclovine is a synthetic amino acid labeled with the radioisotope F 18, enabling PET imaging which may help visualize the increased amino acid transport that occurs in malignant brain tumors such as glioma.
Results of the study were announced in an oral presentation, “Safety and effectiveness of 18F-fluciclovine PET in adults with recurrent glioma: a retrospective observational study,” by Tore Bach-Gansmo, MD, PhD, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway, at the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) Annual Meeting, June 22 – 26, 2019 in Anaheim, Ca.

“We are pleased to share results from this retrospective study of 18F-fluciclovine PET imaging of recurrent adult glioma with the nuclear medicine community at SNMMI,” said Jonathan Allis, D. Phil., CEO of Blue Earth Diagnostics. “Clinical investigations such as this can help to inform the development of innovative PET imaging agents to address important unmet medical needs.”

“Glioma is a serious and potentially life-threatening disease, accounting for 80% of all malignant primary brain tumors,” said Peter Gardiner, MB ChB, MRCP, FFPM, CMO of Blue Earth Diagnostics. “The ability to identify the location and extent of a tumor is important in planning appropriate treatment for patients, in both initial diagnosis and subsequent monitoring for recurrence.”



In another oral presentation at SNMMI, “Evaluation of glioma tumor volume with 18F-fluciclovine positron emission tomography interpreted in combination with MRI, compared with MRI alone: Results from a prospective phase 3 blinded image evaluation,” Matthew Miller, PhD, of Blue Earth Diagnostics, presented results from another of the company’s clinical trials. The study, BED006, was a prospective, blinded image evaluation that examined the diagnostic performance of 18F-fluciclovine PET imaging, in conjunction with various types of MRI, for imaging of suspected glioma when interpreted by readers unfamiliar with 18F-fluciclovine PET. Results indicated a Positive Predictive Value (PPV) of more than 90% (n=35) for each of the three blinded readers and consistent image interpretation across these readers. In addition, 18F-fluciclovine PET with MRI (CE-T1W MRI) identified additional regions suspicious for glioma that CE-T1W MRI alone was unable to identify, which subsequent biopsies confirmed as malignant. To date, the safety profile of 18F-fluciclovine PET imaging in patients with glioma appears to be consistent with that summarized in current Axumin® U.S. prescribing information.



About the Retrospective Observational Study in Adults with Glioma (BED008)

Study BED008 was a retrospective observational study of 18F-fluciclovine PET that was designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of 18F-fluciclovine PET in the detection or recurrent gliomas in adults. It analyzed results from three clinical sites (Emory University, Atlanta, Ga., Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY; and under a compassionate use program at Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway). The primary objective of the study was to determine the Positive Predictive Value (PPV) of 18F-fluciclovine PET to detect glioma in comparison to a histopathological truth standard. Secondary objectives included determination of the detection rate, sensitivity, specificity, and negative predictive value (NPV). The study also aimed to evaluate adverse events in any patient who received 18F-fluciclovine.



A total of 82 adult patients received at least one injection of 18F-fluciclovine for the detection or primary or recurrent glioma and had had at least one histopathological report confirming the diagnosis of glioma. Only patients whose 18F-fluciclovine PET scan, MRI and histopathology assessment (positive or negative) occurred within 30 days of one another were included in analyses of diagnostic performance. Eighteen of the 82 scans met these criteria (1 scan in a patient with primary glioma and 17 scans in patients with recurrent disease). Among the 17 patients with recurrent glioma, 18F-fluciclovine showed a PPV of 88.2%, a detection rate of 100% and sensitivity of 100%. In patients with recurrent high-grade glioma (n = 12), the PPV, detection rate and sensitivity were 83.3%, 100% and 100%, respectively. In patients with recurrent low-grade glioma (n = 5) these were 100%, 100% and 100%, respectively. Specificity and NPV could not be calculated as no patients had a negative 18F-fluciclovine PET scan. In total, 3.7% (3/82) patients experienced at least one treatment emergent adverse event during the safety monitoring, none of which were considered related to 18F-fluciclovine.

[brexitplus] 13/6/2019 16:49

Interesting re current nav and possible sales.

DT

“Syncona plans to boost the amount of money it uses to build and invest in biotech companies by a third this year, as the market for cutting-edge cell and gene therapies heats up.”

Syncona

“We believe there is a clear opportunity to invest at scale in the growing healthcare sector. We have built a portfolio of 10 companies at year end in innovative areas of life science, eight of which we founded. Our high-conviction approach means that we expect to deploy significant further capital across the portfolio this year.

We also see a strong pipeline of opportunities to found new companies. Our aim is to build a portfolio of 15-20 companies and we remain focused on areas where we are strategically positioned, such as cell and gene therapy, but also look at opportunities more broadly across a range of modalities and therapeutic areas.

As a result, we are increasing our guidance on annual capital deployment to GBP100 – 200 million this year (2018 guidance: GBP75-150 million).”

[luxaeterna1] 13/6/2019 13:26

Is the 2.3p dividend a 'cash dividend' this year?

I had to laugh at last years 'scrip dividend', there is no point paying a dividend in cash or shares if the effect is dilutive for all investors.

It really is just there to fool less educated shareholders...

[brexitplus] 13/6/2019 10:34

Lux

Agreed, but I can see large US players being very interested.

[luxaeterna1] 13/6/2019 10:31

An offer for BlueEarth? That would need to be a serious package of pounds/dollars/euros!

They may even have scope for dividends from a divestment of that scale. Strategically would be better to de-risk first and see whether the treatment can be extended to Glioma and progress the pre-clinical experimental agents, in perhaps 1-2 years you could then start to decide if BED is a £400m or a £2bn acquisition target?

[brexitplus] 13/6/2019 09:38

I can see an offer being made for Blue Earth soon.

[luxaeterna1] 13/6/2019 09:17

Most importantly, BED already cash generative and returning $ to Syncona, EBITDA of £28.7 million and a £14.2m cash pot sent to Syncona. Enough income to cover the overheads, plus the £255m from the sale of Nightstar.

We are through the tricky stage, now comes the real growth chapter..? ;)

[tiger blue] 13/6/2019 09:08

Brexitplus - thanks, will download that but always like to see the body language and the Q&A. Reassuring on the cash, that should last a good while.

[brexitplus] 13/6/2019 09:02

Tiger

Presentation is on the Syncona website.

Strategic pool is £655 million following the sale of Nightstar.

[tiger blue] 13/6/2019 08:55

All reads well, will be tuning in to the webcast at 10:30. Nav won’t be reflecting Autolus price fall recently but nevertheless very encouraging update and stepping up the pace on investment (hopefully not to the point of a later fundraising as I can’t afford to top up!). It would be ironic if Autolus turns out to be one of Woodford’s winners, may come too late to save his bacon. Itinvestor - couldn’t agree more, SYNC shows the benefit of proper due diligence and focus vs Woodford’s scattergun approach.

[brexitplus] 13/6/2019 08:39

Results suggest discount has narrowed greatly. All good news it appears.