Fusion Antibodies PLC Half year trading update (8666S)
09 November 2023 - 8:00AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMFAB
RNS Number : 8666S
Fusion Antibodies PLC
09 November 2023
The information contained within this announcement is deemed by
the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under
the Market Abuse (amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019/310
("MAR"). With the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory
Information Service, this inside information is now considered to
be in the public domain.
9 November 2023
Fusion Antibodies plc
("Fusion" or the "Company")
Half year trading update
Fusion Antibodies plc (AIM: FAB), specialists in pre-clinical
antibody discovery, engineering and supply for both therapeutic
drug and diagnostic applications, provides an update on the
Company's research and development ("R&D") programme and
trading in the six months ended 30 September 2023 ("H1
FY2024").
As announced on 29 September 2023, at the time of publication of
its annual report for the year ended 31 March 2023 ("FY2023"), the
Company has been experiencing a commercially challenging period,
primarily due to weak market conditions for investment in new drug
discovery and development programmes and the subsequent delays to a
number of anticipated contracts, both large and small. The Company
had anticipated an easing of these constraints during H1 FY2024,
however, this has not materialised as quickly as expected.
Consequently, trading conditions remain very challenging and
revenue for H1 FY2024 is expected to be behind current market
expectations, at not less than GBP541k. Towards the end of the
period, several projects were subject to certain technical
challenges which required additional work to be undertaken, thereby
pushing some of the expected H1 recognised revenue into H2. The
remainder of the shortfall was due to a delayed project
initiation.
Nevertheless, the Company has achieved a marked growth in the
sales pipeline with overall values now standing at approximately
four times that of six months ago. Part of the pipeline growth is
attributable to enhanced penetration of adjacent markets (including
Veterinary Medicine, Diagnostics and Research Antibodies) in line
with our previously stated strategy. These factors bode well for
the Company's future provided opportunities can be progressed and
converted into work in progress.
In the meantime, the Company has continued to progress the
development of its platform services with AI/ML-Ab(TM) (pronounced
"AIM-Lab") being launched and the first contract for this service
now completed. The Company is continuing to develop the
AI/ML-Ab(TM) offering to create a unique route to designing novel
antibodies which have the potential to impact the field to a
similar extent as phage display. It is particularly noteworthy that
artificial intelligence/machine learning ("AI/ML") approaches have
the potential to reduce overall timelines and costs making it a
strong match for client needs. The Board anticipates that the
Company will achieve continuing significant growth in AI/ML-Ab(TM)
revenues over the coming years. In addition, the Company is in
advanced discussions with a leading research group to enter into a
collaboration agreement which would provide validation of the
Company's OptiMAL(R) platform. While positive, there can be no
guarantee that any such collaboration agreement will be finalized
or the terms of such agreement.
Outlook
Despite the slower than anticipated recovery in revenue
recognition, prospects for growth remain positive and the new novel
technologies available to the Company will play an important role
in differentiating the business and creating fresh value for our
shareholders. At the time of the fundraise earlier this year,
announced on 19 May 2023 (the "Fundraise"), the Company announced
that it anticipated that the net proceeds of the Fundraise would
provide the Company with a cash runway for 18 months, which would
be until November 2024. This cash runway was predicated on the
Company achieving FY2024 results in line with current market
expectations. The Company still anticipates that revenues for
FY2024 will be significantly weighted towards the second half of
the financial year. The moderately lower-than-expected performance
in H1 FY2024 has been offset by stringent cost controls and,
combined with the developing pipeline for H2 FY2024, the Board's
estimation of the Group's cash runway has been maintained. It
remains a key strategic focus for the Company to achieve cash
neutrality in this timeframe and, whilst there can be no guarantee
that this will be possible, it will be kept under close review by
the Board.
Enquiries:
Fusion Antibodies plc www.fusionantibodies.com
Adrian Kinkaid, Chief Executive Officer Via Walbrook PR
Stephen Smyth, Chief Financial Officer
Allenby Capital Limited Tel: +44 (0)20 3328
5656
James Reeve/Vivek Bhardwaj (Corporate
Finance)
Tony Quirke (Sales and Corporate Broking)
Walbrook PR Tel: +44 (0)20 7933 8780 or fusion@walbrookpr.com
Anna Dunphy Mob: +44 (0)7876 741
001
About Fusion Antibodies plc
Fusion is a Belfast based contract research organisation ("CRO")
providing a range of antibody engineering services for the
discovery and development of antibodies for both therapeutic drug
and diagnostic applications.
The Company's ordinary shares were admitted to trading on AIM on
18 December 2017. Fusion provides a broad range of services in
antibody design, generation, development, production,
characterisation and optimisation. These services include antigen
expression, antibody production, purification and sequencing,
antibody humanisation using Fusion's proprietary CDRx (TM) platform
and the production of antibody generating stable cell lines to
provide material for use in clinical trials. Since 2012, the
Company has successfully sequenced and expressed over 250
antibodies and successfully completed over 200 humanisation
projects and has an international, blue-chip client base, which has
included eight of the top 10 global pharmaceutical companies by
revenue.
The Company was established in 2001 as a spin out from Queen's
University Belfast. The Company's mission is to enable
pharmaceutical and diagnostic companies to develop innovative
products in a timely and cost-effective manner for the benefit of
the global healthcare industry.
Fusion Antibodies growth strategy is based on combining the
latest technological advances with cutting edge science to deliver
new platforms that will enable Pharma and Biotech companies get to
the clinic faster, with the optimal drug candidate and ultimately
speed up the drug development process.
The global monoclonal antibody therapeutics market was valued at
$186 billion in 2021 and is forecast to surpass $445 billion in
2028, an increase at a CAGR of 13.2 per cent. for the period 2022
to 2028. Approximately 150 monoclonal antibody therapies are
approved and marketed globally as of June 2022 with the top four
antibody drugs each having sales of more than $3 bn in 2021.
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