Arix Bioscience PLC (LON:RIX) chief executive Joe Anderson said the focus going forward is on “driving realisable value in our portfolio and in turn our NAV”.
Arix is a venture capital group that invests in what it describes as “breakthrough biotech” companies, which by their nature, are not always linear investments.
READ: Arix appoints entrepreneur in residence to source European investment opportunities
And Anderson admitted: “We have had a challenging year with our shareholder structure and volatility in our public portfolio companies, but look ahead with confidence and see a portfolio that is maturing and has the potential to deliver real value.”
The company’s net asset value (NAV) was 149p a share at December 31, down from 200p a year earlier.
Part of the drag exerted on the NAV was the referred-to “volatility” of the Arix’s public holdings, exemplified by a 60% decline in the share price of Autolus on the Nasdaq.
However, there were a number of successes in the form of value uplifts from investee companies including Aura (Series D funding round), Harpoon (Nasdaq IPO), Quench Bio (Series A funding round).
Arix companies also continued to make clinical good progress, with positive data readouts from Autolus, Amplyx, Aura and Imara and new trial initiations from VelosBio, Harpoon and Pharmaxis.
Post the financial year-end Autolus raised US$72.4mln in a public offering, while another investee business, Iterum, received US$52mln via a private placement.
The firm exited 2019 in a strong financial position with some £55mln in the bank.
Multiple inflection points
Digging down, Arix investments should provide multiple inflection points from the 26 live clinical trials being carried out.
Investors will also be keenly monitoring the progress Quench Bio, which emerged from stealth mode in January with US$50mln of committed funding and a focus on inflammatory and autoimmune drugs targeting a protein called Gasdermin D.
Arix has also recently announced the appointment of Dr Roberto Iacone as the company’s second entrepreneur in residence. Roberto will be based in Basel and he will focus on sourcing early-stage European opportunities in the biotech sector that Arix and its partner Takeda Ventures, will jointly fund.
Below are some of the key clinical milestones anticipated for 2020:
- Artios expects to initiate a Phase 1 study in ATM-deficient tumours by the end of 2020
- Atox Bio expects to announce results from the ACCUTE Phase 3 clinical study in necrotising soft tissue infections in H1 2020
- Aura expects to initiate the AU-011 Phase 3 clinical study for choroidal melanoma in the H2 2020
- Amplyx expects to announce further Phase 2 data for APX001 in candidemia in 2020
- Autolus expects to initiate a Phase 2 registration trial of AUTO1 in adult ALL in H1 2020 and present updated Phase 1 data in H1 and H2 2020
- Autolus expects to make a go/no go decision on Phase 2 initiation of AUTO3 in DLBCL in mid-2020
- Autolus expects to announce interim Phase 1 AUTO4 T cell lymphoma data in H2 2020
- Autolus expects next-generation (NG) programmes to enter the clinic in 2020
- Harpoon expects to present interim data from its HPN424 Phase 1 clinical study in prostate cancer in H1 2020
- Harpoon expects to present data from its HPN536 Phase1/2a clinical trial for ovarian cancer and other mesothelin-expressing solid tumours in H2 2020
- Harpoon expects to initiate the HPN217 Phase 1 trial for the treatment of multiple myeloma and the HPN328 Phase 1 clinical study in small cell lung cancer in 2020
- Imara expects to announce updated results from its IMR-687 Phase 2a clinical study in sickle cell disease (SCD) by the end of 2020
- Imara expects to initiate Phase 2b trials for SCD and beta thalassemia in H1 2020
- Iterum expects to announce results from the SURE 1 Phase 3 clinical study in uncomplicated urinary tract Infections and the SURE 2 Phase 3 clinical study in complicated urinary tract infections in H1 2020
- Pharmaxis expects to announce Phase 1b results from its systemic LOX inhibitor for myelofibrosis and/or pancreatic cancer in H1 2020
- VelosBio expects to announce Phase 1 data for VLS-101 in haematological cancers in H2 2020