Last close As at 05/08/2026
EUR2.93
▲ −0.02 (−0.81%)
Market capitalisation
EUR248m
Research: Healthcare
Oryzon Genomics has announced that it has been awarded an EU grant to initiate a project to investigate the company’s lead clinical oncology asset, iadademstat, in combination with immunotherapy drugs that include immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and/or cancer vaccines. The project has a global budget of €1.4m of which Oryzon will contribute c 50%; this will be partly offset by the company receiving up to €0.4m under the Eurostars-3 programme. Investigations are anticipated to start on 1 May 2023 and will be run in collaboration with the Danish immunotherapy focused biotech InProTher and the University of Copenhagen. In our view, combination therapies will form the cornerstone of future innovation in oncology, so the EU grant provides a critical platform to investigate iadademstat in novel treatment regimens and potential expansion into new indications. We value Oryzon at €847m or €15.5 per share.
Written by
Oryzon Genomics |
Lead asset granted expansion into combo therapies |
Clinical update |
Pharma and biotech |
16 December 2022 |
Share price performance
Business description
Analysts
Oryzon Genomics is a research client of Edison Investment Research Limited |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Oryzon Genomics has announced that it has been awarded an EU grant to initiate a project to investigate the company’s lead clinical oncology asset, iadademstat, in combination with immunotherapy drugs that include immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and/or cancer vaccines. The project has a global budget of €1.4m of which Oryzon will contribute c 50%; this will be partly offset by the company receiving up to €0.4m under the Eurostars-3 programme. Investigations are anticipated to start on 1 May 2023 and will be run in collaboration with the Danish immunotherapy focused biotech InProTher and the University of Copenhagen. In our view, combination therapies will form the cornerstone of future innovation in oncology, so the EU grant provides a critical platform to investigate iadademstat in novel treatment regimens and potential expansion into new indications. We value Oryzon at €847m or €15.5 per share.
Year end |
Revenue |
PBT* (€m) |
EPS* |
DPS |
P/E |
Yield |
12/20 |
9.5 |
(4.8) |
(0.07) |
0.0 |
N/A |
N/A |
12/21 |
10.6 |
(7.2) |
(0.09) |
0.0 |
N/A |
N/A |
12/22e |
14.4 |
(5.0) |
(0.05) |
0.0 |
N/A |
N/A |
12/23e |
15.9 |
(5.8) |
(0.06) |
0.0 |
N/A |
N/A |
Note: *PBT and EPS is normalised, excluding amortisation of acquired intangibles, other income and exceptional items.
As a reminder, iadademstat is being developed as an inhibitor of the epigenetic target lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1), a gene expression regulator, dysregulation of which has been shown to play a key role in the development of a variety of cancers.
Iadademstat is currently being investigated by Oryzon in multiple oncology programmes, including the Phase I (FRIDA) study in relapsed/refractory (r/r) FLT3+ acute myeloid leukaemia and a Fox Chase Cancer Centre sponsored Phase II study in neuroendocrine cancers or r/r small cell lung cancer (SCLC), and the company is preparing a Phase I/II (STELLAR) trial in metastatic SCLC in combination with ICIs. Oryzon recently reported encouraging results from its completed Phase IIa ALICE study in which iadademstat displayed an encouraging efficacy profile, achieving an objective response rate of 81% and median overall survival of 11.1 months.
As recently discussed in our Oncology ABCs report, we believe ICIs and cancer vaccine combinations will be key in the development of efficacious cancer therapies, so further investigations that include iadademstat may provide additional synergistic clinical benefits and further broaden its clinical utility. Additionally, LSD1 inhibitors have been proposed as a potential treatment that may overcome tumour resistance to ICIs.
This is not the first independent recognition Oryzon has received to expedite iadademstat’s development, having previously been awarded a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement and a €1.87m European Commission grant to finance the FRIDA study.
|
|
Research: Investment Companies
In our last update on Seraphim Space Investment Trust (SSIT), published in October 2022 (Weathering the storm), we reviewed the company’s inaugural full year results and in this update we focus on its Q123 NAV performance. SSIT’s manager (Seraphim Space Manager LLP) is keen to draw attention to the valuation methodology and deal structure for the nine unquoted holdings in the portfolio’s top 10 holdings. These account for c 85% of the current value of all private holdings in the fund and 77% of the overall invested portfolio value at the end of September, highlighting how the structure of an investment is a crucial determinant of performance, especially in a weaker investment environment, and supportive of NAV. Seraphim has modelled the valuation sensitivity of these nine private holdings, testing a theoretical 50% reduction in enterprise value to each holding and gauging the notional impairment to SSIT’s NAV. Seraphim is not forecasting this reduction, but even if it were to occur it calculates that the NAV could still be c 85p or only c 19% below the Q123 NAV of 105p.