Nanexa AB shares jump 105% on Novo Nordisk drug-delivery licence
The Swedish developer says the deal could bring up to €1.165B, but its published terms do not separate the upfront payment from later milestones.
Adrian Kessler
Shares in Nanexa AB (publ) STONANEXA rose 105.05 per cent to SEK 12.16 in Stockholm after a drug-delivery deal with Novo Nordisk A/S CPHNOVO-B NYSENVO, according to Nasdaq's Friday quote at six p.m. CET. Nanexa's Sept. 24 release puts potential payments at up to €1.165 billion, including up to €615 million in combined upfront, development and regulatory payments.
The company did not break out the upfront amount from that pool. The release did not say whether Nanexa had received upfront cash by Sept. 24. Its agreement also provides for sales milestones and low single-digit royalties on future product sales, but the release gives no timetable for the first payment or a commercial launch.
Nanexa is a Swedish drug-delivery developer whose PharmaShell platform coats drug particles to control their release, with shares trading on Nasdaq First North in Stockholm.
Nanexa held SEK 52.557 million in cash and cash equivalents at June 30, according to its Aug. 27 interim report. Cash flow for that quarter was negative SEK 20.465 million. Those June figures predate the September agreement and cannot reflect its proceeds. The published terms do not let holders calculate an immediate cash increase.
Licence Covers Up to Five Peptide Programs
The exclusive, global licence covers up to five programs for certain peptide drugs in obesity, type 2 diabetes and other cardiometabolic conditions. Novo will lead development and commercialisation, while the companies are targeting monthly and quarterly injection profiles, Nanexa said in the Sept. 24 announcement.
PharmaShell uses atomic layer deposition to apply a thin coating to individual drug particles, Nanexa says. The companies are trying to make medicines last longer between injections, but the announcement identifies neither a specific drug candidate nor a trial result. Monthly and quarterly dosing remain development targets in the release.
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"With this agreement, Nanexa enters a new era of considerable financial strength, allowing us to significantly expand applications of our unique ALD technology to other therapeutic areas and giving us an opportunity to build a sustainable long-term business," Nanexa chairman Göran Ando said in the Sept. 24 release.
Nanexa also said it wants to expand PharmaShell into other therapeutic areas and carry more of its own programs toward clinical proof of concept before seeking partners. The Sept. 24 announcement gives neither a budget nor a date for those plans.
The commercial terms put Nanexa's large potential payout behind several different events. The release groups the upfront, development and regulatory payments in a pool worth up to €615 million. It lists separate sales milestones and low single-digit royalties on global net sales, without setting an order for those payments. The release gives no program-by-program value or schedule, making the €1.165 billion ceiling a poor guide to cash available this year.
Nanexa's Surge Outruns The Biotech Benchmark
The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF NYSEARCAXBI fell 0.65 per cent to US$155.03 on Friday at 4:10 p.m. EDT, Google Finance showed.
Nanexa's daily high of SEK 15.50 matched the top of its 52-week range on Nasdaq's Friday page at six p.m. CET. The shares closed below that peak, while the broader biotech fund lost ground.
Nanexa scheduled a management commentary for Sept. 25 at 11:15 CET, but its release specified no date for a first program milestone. The stand-alone upfront cash amount also remains undisclosed.
