Half-year results for the six months ended 31 January 2023
This announcement contains inside information
C4X Discovery Holdings plc
(“C4XD”, “C4X Discovery” or the “Company”)
Up to $402 million AstraZeneca deal for NRF2 Activator programme; Third global out-licensing deal executed
Future strategic focus to deliver high value small molecules to treat immuno-inflammatory diseases
Launched PatientSeek, a Precision Medicine platform for optimised patient selection based on its Taxonomy3® genetic analysis technology
26 April 2023 – C4X Discovery Holdings plc (AIM: C4XD), a pioneering Drug Discovery company, today announces its half-year results for the six months ended 31 January 2023.
Dr Clive Dix, CEO of C4X Discovery, said:
“C4XD has continued to make significant strides across our portfolio during the period, culminating in our third global out-licensing deal, this time with AstraZeneca for our NRF2 Activator programme worth up to $402 million. This external validation of our ability to generate high-quality small molecule discovery programmes builds on previous deals with globally recognised partners Sanofi and Indivior and brings our total potential deal value to $1.2 billion1.
“I’m excited that following a review of our expertise and previous successes, our strategy is now focused on treatments for immuno-inflammatory diseases. With our proven expertise in drug discovery and our rigorous approach to programme development, we believe that a more focused approach on immuno-inflammatory diseases will allow us to harness our skillset and take the development of our programmes further, providing greater value for shareholders.”
Operational Highlights (including post-period events)
- Indivior’s Phase 1 multiple ascending dose clinical trial of C4XD’s oral Orexin-1 receptor antagonist, C4X_3256 (INDV-2000), for substance use disorder is ongoing.
- Sanofi is progressing C4XD’s IL-17A inhibitor programme for inflammatory diseases towards the next milestone
- C4XD signed an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement with AstraZeneca in November 2022, worth up to $402 million, for its NRF2 Activator programme.
- α4β7 integrin inhibitor programme for inflammatory bowel disease delivered compounds showing improved activity at a lower dose compared to example competitor clinical compounds in a pharmacodynamic model after oral dosing.
- MALT-1 inhibitor programme for cancer examined a lead compound in a mouse xenograft study that showed equivalent efficacy at equivalent dose to the Johnson & Johnson clinical compound JnJ-67856633 (in Phase 1) and the project is moving forward to identification of candidate shortlist molecules.
- C4XD internal portfolio expanded in inflammatory diseases and new programmes identified to progress into Lead Optimisation and beyond.
- C4XD launched PatientSeek, a Precision Medicine platform for optimised patient selection based on its Taxonomy3® genetic analysis technology, following key results from a collaboration with Australia’s Garvan Institute of Medical Research (“Garvan Institute”).
- Dr Nick Ray has been appointed as Chief Scientific Officer.
Financial Highlights
- Revenue was £1.7 million (January 2022: £0.1 million)
- Total loss after tax of £3.9 million or 1.55 pence per share (January 2022: £4.5m or 1.98 pence per share)
- R&D expenses was £5.2 million (January 2022: £3.9m), reflecting focused investment in key Drug Discovery programmes
- Net assets of £13.6 million (January 2022: £15.2m)
- Net cash as at 31 January 2023: £9.6 million (31 January 2022: £11.7m)
Analyst webcast and conference call today
Dr Clive Dix, Chief Executive Officer, and members of the management team will host a webcast for analysts at 9:30am BST today. The webcast can be accessed online at:
A copy of the final results presentation will be released later this morning on the Company website at www.c4xdiscovery.com.
- Total deal value calculation based on exchange rates at the time of each deal.
C4X Discovery Holdings plc
Mo Noonan, Communications+44 (0)7876 444 977
Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited (NOMAD and Broker) +44 (0)20 7886 2500
Freddy Crossley, Emma Earl (Corporate Finance)
Rupert Dearden (Corporate Broking)
C4X Discovery Media – Consilium Strategic Communications
Mary-Jane Elliott, Chris Gardner, Matthew Neal +44 (0)203 709 5700
C4X Discovery (“C4XD”) is a pioneering Drug Discovery company, combining scientific expertise with cutting-edge Drug Discovery technologies to efficiently deliver world‑leading medicines. We have a highly valuable and differentiated approach to Drug Discovery through our enhanced candidate molecule design and patient stratification capabilities, generating small molecule drug candidates across multiple disease areas focused on immuno-inflammation. Our commercially attractive portfolio ranges from early-stage target opportunities to late-stage Drug Discovery programmes and we have three commercially partnered programmes with one candidate in clinical development.
For more information visit us at www.c4xdiscovery.com or follow us on twitter @C4XDiscovery.