Allergy Therapeutics PLC (AIM:AGY, OTC:AGYTF) chief executive Manuel Llobet and chief financial officer Shaun Furlong talked with Proactive about the company’s financial turnaround and ongoing progress across key clinical programs.
Allergy Therapeutics reported a return to operating profit before R&D, exceptional and fundraising costs, supported by topline growth and strict cost control. Llobet highlighted that the company saw a 4% constant currency growth in euro-denominated sales—double that of the previous period—driven by improved supply chains and the strong performance of new and registered products. “The topline is good in terms of quantity and quality,” he said.
Furlong added that these results, along with the recent financial restructuring, demonstrate a clear path to sustainable health. The company’s cash position rose to £21.7 million at the end of December from £12.9 million in June, aided by external funding and shareholder support.
On the clinical side, Llobet described the Grass MATA MPL program as a potential “game changer”, with a Marketing Authorisation Application submitted in Germany. He also noted the progress of the Polyvac Peanut program, which aims to offer a short-course treatment capable of disease modification, differentiating it from current therapies.
The company remains focused on progressing these pipeline assets while maintaining financial discipline.
Proactive: Manuel, Shaun, very good to speak with you. Manuel, I'll start with you. You’ve announced your half-year results, reporting a return to operating profit before R&D, exceptional and fundraising costs. What's driving this financial turnaround?
Manuel Llobet: Well, there are two key elements on this result. One is the topline. As you have seen, our growth in constant currency in euros— we grew 4%. That's double the growth of our last semester. That’s been driven mainly by much better supply. So I'm pleased to say that the problems we had in terms of supply chain over the last two and a half, almost three years, are coming to an end. I think that's excellent news and a key component of the growth this semester.
Also, a couple of important aspects of the topline are the growth of new treatments—we are experiencing high growth, which is a predictor of growth for next year. And also the registered products are growing quite fast. That is also very good in relation to the DAB process in Germany that is coming to an end. We are in the process of renewing our portfolio towards registered products.
So overall, the topline is good in terms of quantity and quality. And that has been implemented along with very good cost control. So operational expenditure is below last year and that is what has driven the financial turnaround, basically.
Proactive: Shaun, how confident are you about the long-term financial stability of the business, and what gives you that confidence?
Shaun Furlong: Sure. It's a combination of things. We've seen a return to growth of the commercial business for the past two six-month periods, which is promising. We've had very good progress in our pipeline with R&D clinical trials. That, combined with financial restructuring, puts us in a much stronger position.
We've got a clear path to sustainable financial health. Our current strategy is working effectively, although we have more to do. At the end of December, our cash position was £21.7 million, up from £12.9 million at the end of June. That reflects continued support from our major shareholders and funding from Hayfin Capital in October.
These funding options provide immediate liquidity and longer-term strategic flexibility. The continuing operational improvements are key. The recovery in manufacturing capacity is enabling the increased sales volumes that we are now seeing. The structure of our financing shows our shareholders’ continued confidence in the company’s strategy. We’ve achieved these improvements while still investing in our key pipeline assets.
Proactive: Manuel, the Grass MATA MPL program seems to be making significant progress with your Marketing Authorisation Application submission. What makes this product such a potential game-changer?
Manuel Llobet: We believe it will be a game changer. We submitted our Marketing Authorisation Application in Germany at the end of last year. These processes can take up to a year on average, so we expect feedback by the end of 2025.
If registered, we believe this will be a before-and-after moment. It would be the best documented product on the market, with a comprehensive clinical development plan. We’ve optimised the dose and proven statistically significant improvements for patients against placebo.
Our biological immunomodulators focus on delivering friendly treatments. Allergy immunotherapy faces a big challenge—getting patients to finish the treatments. In the US, subcutaneous treatment can take five years and involve 100 injections. In Europe, competitors using tablets require three years and 1,000 tablets. Compliance isn’t great.
Thanks to our adjuvant systems, we focus on convenient, easy-to-complete products. We came up with a six-injection product in 14 to 16 weeks. That makes it a game-changer. We can’t wait for the regulator’s feedback and, if positive, to launch it as soon as possible.
Proactive: And can you explain the latest developments with your Polyvac Peanut program and what makes it different from other peanut allergy treatments?
Manuel Llobet: That’s another product we believe will make a big difference. The only registered treatment today is suboptimal—patients need lifelong treatment, and there’s no immunological safety, just tolerability. The other option is strict avoidance, which is almost impossible.
Our peanut vaccine candidate is also an ultra-short course. We aim to show a disease-modifying effect, creating an immune shift with sustained response by generating B cells, T cells and memory cells. It would provide full protection and work as a true vaccine. So, another potential game changer in our portfolio.
Proactive: Shaun, as you mentioned, you're continuing to control costs while investing in your pipeline. How are you striking this balance?
Shaun Furlong: We're taking a targeted approach—streamlining where appropriate and focusing on growth drivers. For example, we’ve streamlined certain marketing and promotional activities but kept the key ones. R&D costs dropped to £7.6 million for the half year from £11.4 million, mostly due to the completion of the pivotal G306 Phase 3 trial.
We're selectively investing in areas with the highest return potential, like preparing launch readiness for Grass MATA MPL. Cost control, while difficult, has significantly improved our financial position without compromising our market presence. That gives us greater ability to allocate resources to the most promising opportunities.
Proactive: Manuel, looking ahead to the rest of 2025, what key milestones should investors be watching for?
Manuel Llobet: We should follow the drivers of value generation. We expect consolidation of the financial turnaround. The Grass program will expand—for example, we’re running a paediatric trial for children allergic to grass. That should support adding a paediatric label to our registration.
After that, we’ll begin rollout to other markets and plan a meeting with the FDA to discuss US registration.
The Grass program is progressing well and on track. The peanut program is also progressing. The interim readout of the breakthrough trial showed the product is safe and well-tolerated. We introduced biomarkers into the trial design and saw signs of efficacy, including basophil reduction and reduced wheal size in skin tests. That gives us confidence in the potential efficacy.
All three parts of our value creation plan—financial turnaround, grass development and peanut development—are moving forward.