10th Aug 2020 09:19
(Alliance News) - Syncona Ltd on Monday said the value of its life science portfolio has risen sharply since the end of March, thanks to a share price hike for Autolus Therapeutics and write-up of Freeline Therapeutics.
The life science investor, which has its headquarters in London, reported the value of its life science portfolio of GBP677.0 million as of June 30, up 35% when compared to March 31.
The life science portfolio was driven by a trebling of the share price of Autolus in the three month period to USD16.03 in New York on June 30 from USD5.42 at the start of April. Adding to this was the write-up of Freeline in its expanded USD120 million series C financing in June. Syncona's Freeline holding was written up by GBP29.9 million to GBP180.6 million at June end.
Post June-end, Freeline undertook a NASDAQ initial public offering raising around USD158.8 million gross. Syncona has agreed to invest USD24.3 million in the IPO and will keep its 49% stake, valued at GBP257.7 million.
Syncona's net assets totaled GBP1.41 billion, or 210.7 pence per share, giving a NAV total return of 14% for the three month period.
The company's capital base as at June 30 was GBP737.9 million, with GBP29.2 million of capital deployed in the quarter.
Clinical trails have resumed or are continuing across Syncona's portfolio following short Covid-19 delays. The company said that "whilst the duration and impact of the pandemic remains uncertain, these delays are not currently expected to impact critical pathways or valuations of the portfolio companies."
Syncona said is is still seeking to invest in new opportunities and has completed due diligence on one such opportunity emerging from a collaboration agreement with the University of Edinburgh. This agreement focuses on the use of macrophages, a type of immune cell, to treat end stage liver disease.
Syncona funded this research with a small GBP1.4 million seed investment and is planning "to make a further investment to fund the development of a team and to secure key IP with a view to providing significant funding to the business when the Covid-19 pandemic and the corresponding restrictions have substantially stabilised, and operations will be able to commence."
Martin Murphy, chief executive of Syncona Investment Management Ltd, said: "The effects of Covid-19 have had a profound impact on society and the way we work. It is too early to assess its long-term impact, but against this unprecedented backdrop, Syncona has performed robustly and the value of developing long term clinical solutions has never been clearer. Our strong cash position and high calibre team, which we have enhanced during the quarter, continue to deliver and we are developing a pipeline of opportunities even as restrictions on travel and working practices remain."
Murphy added: "Our strong capital base underpins our approach to pursue exciting new opportunities and continue to fund our companies, which are scaling rapidly. We believe our companies are well placed to execute on strategy and we will continue to maintain a disciplined approach to the allocation of capital across our portfolio to maximise risk-adjusted returns for shareholders."
Shares in Syncona were down 0.9% at 253.50 pence in London on Monday morning.
By Anna Farley; [email protected]
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