On the evening of January 11, the company announced that Sanofi FP BV, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sanofi (Sanofi), signed an equity transfer agreement with all Kymab shareholders: the acquisition of all of Kymab's shares was the first installment of 1.1 billion US dollars and subsequent milestone payments of no more than 350 million US dollars; the company invested about 40.57 million US dollars in Kymab's current holdings, holding 8.66% of Kymab's shares after full dilution. The consideration to be obtained after the transaction included an initial payment of about 117 million US dollars, and no more than subsequent milestones of no more than 350 million US dollars A milestone consideration of $30.3 million; based on this consideration, the return on this investment will be as high as 263%, demonstrating the company's visionary strategic investment vision.
Kymab focuses on whole-human monoclonal antibody drug development. Kymab is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge, England, which focuses on the discovery and development of all-human monoclonal antibody drugs using its antibody platform (IntelliSelect) covering the entire human antibody system; aiming to maximize the diversity of human antibodies generated by the antigen immune response; Kymab uses its platform and cooperates with pharmaceutical companies on many of its internal drug discovery programs; it has an extensive pipeline of therapeutic antibody projects, immunotherapy candidates with significant potential for growth, such as KY1005, KY1044; this acquisition It highlights Sanofi's interest in the development prospects of Kymab's R&D platform.
The transfer of Kymab is expected to bring significant cash benefits, and the company will continue to focus on its main business. Hypertherm invested in Kymab in 2017. Up to now, it has invested approximately US$40.57 million in Kymab's equity holdings. Through this transaction, Hypertherm's proposed consideration includes the initial consideration of approximately US$117 million and the subsequent milestone consideration of no more than US$30.3 million. According to reference calculations, the return on this investment will be as high as 263%, reflecting the company's visionary strategic investment vision; the transfer of Kymab's shares will reap significant cash benefits. The company will focus more deeply on its main business, continue to deepen the global layout of the entire heparin industry chain, and accelerate the implementation of innovative varieties.
Innovative drugs are advancing at an accelerated pace, and major products can be expected in the future. Over the years, the company has continued to invest in the development of the world's first drug candidates. It has strategically built rich first-in-class pipelines for treatment fields with large gaps in medical demand, such as oncology and cardiovascular disease. Recently, significant progress has been made in the development of several key varieties: ① Oregovomab: To be the world's first immunotherapy drug for advanced primary ovarian cancer, it has officially launched a global multi-center phase III clinical trial, which is expected to become a first-line treatment for ovarian cancer; ② AR-301: Global multi-center clinical phase III patients continue to be enrolled; ③ RVX -208: As an innovative variety suitable for reducing the incidence of serious cardiovascular events in people with type II diabetes, it has been approved as a breakthrough treatment by the US FDA and is currently in the critical phase III clinical study stage. We continue to be optimistic about the RVX-208, Oregovomab, and AR-301, which are expected to become blockbuster products in the future.
Risk factors: The price of enoxaparin sodium preparations fell short of expectations, demand for heparin APIs shrank, the risk of innovative drug development failure, and progress in Kymab's equity transfer fell short of expectations.
Investment advice: The company is a leading domestic heparin API and formulation company. In recent years, it has been actively expanding into the CDMO and innovative drug fields. We maintain the company's net profit forecasts of 926 million, 1,173 million, and 1,577 million yuan respectively. The corresponding EPS forecasts are 0.63, 0.80, and 1.08 yuan respectively. The current stock price corresponding to PE is 26, 20, and 15 times, respectively. Continue to focus on recommendations and maintain the “buy” rating.