Syncona Share Discussion Threads

[rambutan2] 05/2/2020 20:57

Tiger Blue, that's a good and fair write up. It was the emphasis on the platforms which I thought very enlightening, and encouraging. But much else also well worth listening to.

[sev22] 05/2/2020 12:12

Syncona is a 'strong buy' having just hit its 200 day moving average of 231.00.

[ltinvestor] 05/2/2020 12:03

TB.I believe that Autolus will be taken out for many times it’s present mkt cap but time will tell....

[tiger blue] 05/2/2020 11:42

DL - lol, but in this case I think heavier is better

[davidlloyd] 05/2/2020 11:32

Is he on a diet then? Seems keen to get on the scales.......

DL

[tiger blue] 05/2/2020 10:49

CM day was indeed successful. Webcast recording on SYNC website, as always DYOR but do please watch if you have more than a passing interest. These are not annual or even bi-annual events for SYNC, and there is a lot of insight and an opportunity to learn about the whole current portfolio, which certainly gave me reassurance about my holding.

Positives: there will be lots of newsflow to come from Freeline, Achilles and Gyroscope over the next 12-24 months as these are scaling rapidly. I think the reason share price has responded is the focus on the platforms and manufacturing they are building, that enable new products to be rolled out quicker and more efficiently. The takeover of Spark Therapeutics by Roche for $4.3bn was referenced, the price paid was far too much for the Haemophilia candidates they have, they bought it mainly for the platform. All of Syncona’s companies have a strong focus on the manufacturing of product in reliable, closed processes. Note that the recent Autolus data showed vastly superior survival rates from the closed manufacturing process vs the open.
The presentation and panel discussions showed the value of being close to the science (literally 200 yds from UCL) and the benefit of sharing ideas and experience among the companies, as well as their long term approach which the scientists & founders prefer to venture cap, who always put the exit strategy on the first page.

Concerns/negatives: Not many, though Brexit could be a pain in adding extra costs for different regulations in UK/EU, and long term may require manufacturing to be set up in EU as well as UK/US. Attracting European recruits may also be harder. Autolus (my view & I still hold) - I think you have to say given the share price that the jury is out as to whether they will ever get a product to market, the data is encouraging but there are other players. Price already heavily down so only 11% of SYNC portfolio and I think Freeline will be much bigger soon, but scope for a big bounce should AUTL succeed.

Share price – I wouldn’t have been brave enough but someone asked Martin Murphy about the share price and I’ll end with a direct quote from him – “We can’t manage the share price, what we can do is manage the business….in the long run we all get weighed, and I’m looking forward to being weighed, because frankly the value will come out”.

[1seanshare] 05/2/2020 10:37

What causes that type of spike?

[ltinvestor] 05/2/2020 09:29

Looks like a very successful Capital Markets Day judging by the share price movement

[sev22] 04/2/2020 09:46

Syncona Ltd, a leading healthcare company focused on founding, building and funding global leaders in life sciences, announces the appointment of Lorenz Mayr, Ph.D. as Entrepreneur in Residence, from 1 January 2020. In this role, he will have a particular focus on sourcing new Syncona companies, developing and driving portfolio company business plans and strategy.

Lorenz has 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry, spanning drug discovery and clinical development in areas including molecular biology, molecular imaging, antibodies, cell and gene therapy, and gene editing. Lorenz was most recently Chief Technology Officer at GE Healthcare, where he was responsible for leading the company’s global R&D strategy. Prior to this, he held senior leadership roles at AstraZeneca Plc, Novartis Pharma AG and Bayer AG. Lorenz is a lecturer for Biochemistry at the Martin-Luther University, Germany, and is a member of several Scientific Advisory Boards.

Martin Murphy, Chief Executive of Syncona Investment Management Limited, said: “Lorenz is a highly regarded member of the scientific community and is a fantastic addition to the Syncona team. His knowledge and experience in the sector will enhance our search for best-in-class science that has commercial prospects and the potential to make meaningful differences to patients.”

Lorenz Mayr, Entrepreneur in Residence of Syncona Investment Management Limited, added: “I look forward to joining the team at Syncona and helping them seek opportunities to found new companies. Syncona has an excellent track record and I’m excited to be part of a process that brings exceptional science from concept to clinic.”

[sev22] 04/2/2020 09:40

Life sciences company investor Syncona said its net asset value total return had crept up 0.2% in its fiscal third quarter.

The rise had slightly reduced to 7.0% the fall in the company's net asset value total return for the nine months through December.

Syncona's life science portfolio was valued at £516.6m at the end of December, up from £481.3m at the end of September.

A total of £39.m of capital was deployed in the quarter and £167.1m over the nine months from the end of March.

'We have had a productive third quarter, funding Freeline as it continues to scale and leading a financing in a new Syncona company, Azeria, where there is an exciting opportunity to build a world-class oncology company,' Syncona Investment Management chief executive Martin Murphy said.

'We have also seen strong clinical progress across the portfolio with Autolus, Freeline and Gyroscope progressing seven clinical trials.'

"We continue to take a hands-on approach to capitalise on the significant opportunities ahead.'

'We have a strong pipeline of opportunities to found new companies and will ambitiously fund our growing portfolio.'

[tiger blue] 01/2/2020 16:12

My bad, Capital Markets Day should read Tuesday, not Monday.

[tiger blue] 31/1/2020 11:47

Don't forget the Capital Markets Day on Monday from 13:00. Was going to attend but they are showing a live webcast (requires registration) which saves a trip to London.
Pleased to see that the opening address will be by the Chair of the Wellcome Trust which underlines my belief that they will remain a long term supportive holder having already taken their cost out.

There will be no inside info but nevertheless it will provide valuable insight into all of Syncona's existing projects and future vision, and a very rare opportunity to see some of the leading experts and founders such as Martin Pule (Autolus and whose work was the subject of the BBC programme) discuss their work and where the science is today.

[luxaeterna1] 31/1/2020 10:08

I'm trying to find some details on competitor products.

Yescarta – 51% of patients had complete recovery from DLBCL measured at 7.9 months median (101 patients)
AUTO3 – 57% of patients had the same at approx. 6 months median (18 patients).

While Yescarta has the ‘normal’ potentially fatal side effects, AUTO3 has the safety ‘off switch’.

[ltinvestor] 30/1/2020 16:27

These results seem extremely encouraging...

[luxaeterna1] 30/1/2020 14:29

AUTO3 update online in text format.

Looks like 18 patients. 57% complete response (71% partial response).

Those achieving complete response appear to maintaining that for moderate time duration.

[ltinvestor] 24/1/2020 08:53

The problem so far with Car T therapy is toxicity which Autolus have overcome by building in an “on” “ off” switch mechanism.I believe that Auto1 has been designated “orphan drug status” by the FDA and should therefore be producing revenues by the year end. Lymphoblastic leukaemia in children costs for a single treatment of Kymriah around $475k( Novartis)

[1seanshare] 23/1/2020 16:04

There are 3 CAR-Ts already on the market treating some of those diseases mentioned. There are many others about to launch, all claiming small advantages based on production quality, ease of administration (which is a current real headache), and efficacy / safety.
Who knows how this market will eventually play out but it’s clear now that the early promise has been a bit tempered, mainly based on less than expected efficacy (which had unrealistically high expectations) and difficulty of administration

[ltinvestor] 23/1/2020 09:05

Looks like Auto 1could be in the marketplace by year end.Expecting significant revenues from just this one product alone....

[1seanshare] 17/1/2020 12:12

I feel that AUTO is struggling against increased competition - lots of players in this space, as well as the science moving quickly...

[1seanshare] 17/1/2020 12:12

I feel that AUTO is struggling against increased competition - lots of players in this space, as well as the science moving quickly...

[chc15] 17/1/2020 12:09

Ok thanks, getting older, so prefer less risky investments, but I'll hold for now.

[luxaeterna1] 17/1/2020 11:59

Unclear CHC, average annual growth is 30% per year over the last 3 years, it probably overshot to £3 which was a significant premium to NAV. Currently trading about level with NAV. Quite a lot of things going on....AUTO or Freeline progress would significantly change the valuation.