In association with Nasdaq and the pharmaceutical giant Bayer Pharmaceuticals, BioStock last week invited a total of 8 privately owned startups and listed companies from Denmark and Sweden to participate in the first edition of BioStock Live Startup pitch & Dealmaker Summit (BSDS).
The goal of BSDS was to link innovation and capital, or as both Dr. Ralf W. Ackermann, Cluster Medical Director at Bayer Pharmaceutical, and Carsten Borring, Head of Listings & Capital markets at Nasdaq, rather emphasized: “it's all about connecting people”.
All participating companies, including Cereno Scientific, had the opportunity to present their respective companies to Bayer representatives in an exclusive one-on-one meeting. Bayer, which had sales of 35 billion euros in 2017, is constantly looking for new additions to its portfolio. This applies not least in cardiovascular diseases, which is one of the company's business focus areas, which is why thrombosis-focused Cereno Scientific was a given participant at the event.
Interview with CEO
In connection with BSDS, BioStock had the opportunity to talk with the CEO Sten R. Sörensen about his expectations for 2019. Note that the news about the paused funding had not yet been made public. What was instead highlighted was that;
- They are working on developing the clinical programs. They are currently scaling up production of the drug candidate CS1.
- In parallel, application documents for permission to initiate clinical studies in Russia and Bulgaria are being completed. These are expected to be submitted during the first half of 2019.
- The application is expected to be approved within a relatively limited timeframe so that the clinical studies can begin in the fall of 2019.
- The company works hard to secure long-term financing solutions.
- A lot of resources are also being focused on choosing the right partner for future development.
See the interview in its entirety below.
Paused funding from EHGOSF causes a dent in the coffers
Since spring 2018, Cereno Scientific has had a funding agreement with European High Growth Opportunities Securitization Fund, EHGO. The financing solution means that the company, over a period of 24 months, can receive SEK 82 million and potentially an additional SEK 24,6 million if all accompanying warrants are exercised.
On January 4, Cereno Scientific issued the seventh tranche of SEK 3,5 million. However, on Friday, Cereno Scientific announced that it is withdrawing this seventh tranche and at the same time pausing financing from EGHO. This brings the total financing through the agreement, consisting of convertibles and warrants, to SEK 22,5 million.
Looking ahead with wind in the sails
The background to the decision, according to the company, is a very successful 2018 in which a number of important milestones have been achieved. Among other things, the phase I results for the drug candidate CS1 are mentioned, which showed a convincing safety profile and favorable data on thrombosis-related effects. In addition, the company's agreement with CRO OCT Group to conduct a large multicenter phase II study in approximately 20 clinics, as well as the patent for CS1 in the US market.
The company's choice to pause funding from EHGO means that Cereno Scientific has now received sufficient capital to plan how best to finance the exciting milestones that lie ahead.
The stock fell 80 percent in 2018
Despite the company's many successes in 2018, Cereno Scientific's stock fell by a whopping 80 percent during the year. This can be seen as both paradoxical and disappointing for both company management and shareholders.
However, when news of the funding freeze was released on Friday, the stock surged sharply, closing up 79 percent. On Monday, the price continued to rise another 21,4 percent. A well-deserved rehabilitation, although much remains to be done to recover from the overall decline of last year.
See the full interview below:
The content of Biostock's news and analysis is independent, but Biostock's operations are to some extent financed by companies in the industry. This post refers to a company from which BioStock has received funding. [et_bloom_inline optin_id=”optin_4″]
