Eurocine Vaccines AB (publ) (”Eurocine Vaccines) hereby discloses the year-end report for the fiscal year 2022/2023. Below is a summary of the report. The full report is available on the Eurocine Vaccines website (Investors – Eurocine Vaccines (https://www.eurocine-vaccines.com/investors/)) and as an attachment.
2023-04-01 – 2023-06-30 (fourth quarter)
· Results after tax for the quarter amounted to -3,1 MSEK (-5,2 MSEK)
· Revenues for the quarter amounted to 0 KSEK (43 KSEK)
· Earnings per share for the quarter amounted to -0,111 SEK (-0,302 SEK)
2022-07-01 – 2023-06-30 (fiscal year, twelve months)
· Results after tax for the period amounted to -18,4 MSEK (-20,2 MSEK)
· Revenues for the period amounted to 5 KSEK (70 KSEK)
· Earnings per share for the period amounted to -0,758 SEK (-1,400 SEK)
Highlights during the fiscal year
Fourth quarter (2023-04-01 – 2023-06-30)
Eurocine Vaccines receives grant from Merck Group
In May 2023, Eurocine Vaccines announced that the Company has received a grant of SEK 300,000 from Merck Group that can be used for Merck’s bioprocessing technologies and services to further expedite the development of the Company’s innovative vaccine candidates.
Eurocine Vaccines provided an update regarding the company's financial position and liquidity
In June 2023, Eurocine Vaccines issued an update concerning the company's financial position and liquidity. It was noted that it cannot be determined that the company has sufficient working capital for the upcoming three months, and the assessment that was made indicated that the current capital would suffice until the end of July. Based on this, the management, in consultation with the board, decided to undertake a strategic review in order to raise working capital and continue operations.
The board of directors of Eurocine Vaccines decided on a preferential share issuance of approximately 9.7 million SEK and convened an extraordinary general meeting
On June 21, 2023, Eurocine Vaccines announced that the board of directors had approved a preferential share issuance of approximately 9.7 million SEK. The purpose of the preferential share issuance is to secure working capital in connection with the ongoing strategic review of the operations. This decision prompted an extraordinary general meeting on July 26, which the board called for on the same day.
Third quarter (2023-01-01 – 2023-03-31)
Eurocine Vaccines decided to develop mRNA-based vaccine candidate against chlamydia
In January 2023, Eurocine Vaccines announced that its Board of Directors had decided to develop a vaccine candidate against chlamydia using mRNA, the next generation vaccine technology. The technology enables synergies in the development of other vaccine candidates in our portfolio and provides competitive advantages with less investment. At the same time, the Company decided to pause the resource-intensive development of the protein-based chlamydia vaccine candidate until further notice.
Eurocine Vaccines’ Director of Preclinical Development lectured at UCL School of Pharmacy
In February 2023, the Company’s Director of Preclinical Development, Dr. Karl Ljungberg, was invited to lecture on DNA and RNA vaccines at one of the top-ranked pharmaceutical schools in the UK.
Second quarter (2022-10-01 – 2022-12-31)
Eurocine Vaccines höll sin årsstämma
Den 21 december 2022 höll Eurocine Vaccines årsstämma. En sammanfattning av besluten finns på Eurocine Vaccines hemsida (https://www.eurocine-vaccines.com).
Eurocine Vaccines presenterade enastående resultat för Bolagets mRNA-baserade HSV-2-kandidat
I december 2022 presenterade Eurocine Vaccines resultat från de prekliniska studierna som genomförs för att utvärdera två teknikplattformar, mRNA- och protein, för Bolagets terapeutiska vaccinkandidat mot Herpes simplexvirus typ 2, HSV-2. De första resultaten visar att immunförsvaret hos möss som vaccinerats med mRNA-kandidaten inte bara är likvärdigt det som framkallas av motsvarande proteinvaccin, utan även framkallar ett överlägset T-cellsvar.
Sydkoreanska patentverket beviljade patent för Eurocine Vaccines HSV-2-kandidat
I september 2022 meddelade Eurocine Vaccines att Bolaget har erhållit ett godkännandebesked, ett så kallat Notice of Decision to Grant, från sydkoreanska patentverket, vilket omfattar innovationer med anknytning till den nyförvärvade vaccinkandidaten mot HSV-2, Herpes simplexvirus typ 2. I december 2022 mottog Eurocine Vaccines certifikatet för patentet i Sydkorea, vilket är giltigt till 2037. Patentskyddet i Sydkorea är av stor kommersiell vikt då den sydkoreanska läkemedelsmarknaden anses vara en av de fyra viktigaste i Asien.
Flaggningsmeddelande i Eurocine Vaccines
I november 2022 meddelade Eurocine Vaccines att Flerie Invest AB has passerat gränsvärden för flaggning till följd av den företrädesemission av aktier som Eurocine Vaccines genomförde under oktober 2022. Med anledning av företrädesemissionen har Flerie, genom teckning av aktier, passerat flaggningsgränsen om 25 procent av röster och kapital i Bolaget.
Eurocine Vaccines offentliggjorde utfall i genomförd företrädesemission
I oktober 2022 offentliggjorde Eurocine Vaccines utfallet i företrädesemissionen som genomfördes mellan den 4 och 18 oktober. Företrädesemissionen tecknades till totalt 66,5 procent inklusive teckningsförbindelser, vilket innebar att garantiåtagande om cirka 33,5 procent aktiverades för en total teckning om 100 procent. Eurocine Vaccines tillfördes därmed cirka 7,8 MSEK före emissionskostnader.
Eurocine Vaccines inledde första studien med sitt HSV-2-vaccin
I enlighet med Eurocine Vaccines planering startade den första prekliniska studien med Eurocine Vaccines egna vaccinkandidater mot Herpes simplexvirus typ 2, HSV-2, i oktober 2022. I studien jämfördes immunresponsen mellan protein respektive mRNA-baserat vaccin, med syfte att välja teknologi för den fortsatta utvecklingen.
First quarter (2022-07-01 – 2022-09-30)
Eurocine Vaccines outlines a strategic development plan for its newly added therapeutic HSV-2 vaccine candidate
In July 2022, Eurocine Vaccines summarized its strategic development plan in the context of the expansion of its vaccine candidate portfolio. The Company believes that the HSV-2 project offers a range of opportunities in terms of technology selection and the possibility that the investment in the therapeutic vaccine candidate could be followed by a prophylactic candidate.
Flagging announcement in Eurocine Vaccines
In July 2022, Eurocine Vaccines announced that Flerie Invest AB has acquired shares in the Company and passed the flagging threshold of 15% of votes and capital. Flerie Invest owns approximately 16.12% of the voting rights and capital. Flerie Invest is a reputable Swedish biotechnology and pharmaceutical investment company founded in 2010 by Thomas Eldered, co-founder of Recipharm.
Eurocine Vaccines’ newly acquired HSV-2 vaccine candidate receives patent protection in South Korea
In August 2022, Eurocine Vaccines announced that it has received a Notice of Decision to Grant from the South Korean Patent Office, covering innovations related to its newly acquired vaccine candidate against HSV-2, Herpes simplex virus type 2. Adding patent protection in South Korea to granted patents in other countries is well aligned with the Company's global patent strategy, as South Korea is considered one of the four most important pharmaceutical markets in Asia.
Eurocine Vaccines advances development of chlamydia vaccine candidate
In September 2022, Eurocine Vaccines announced that the development of its chlamydia vaccine candidate is progressing towards the initiation of the first clinical trial. Several milestones have been achieved, such as a scientific consultation with the MPA (the Swedish Medical Products Agency) and the advanced development of a scalable manufacturing process for the active protein, in preparation for the regulatory toxicological study.
The Board of Eurocine Vaccines decides on a fully secured rights issue of shares for approximately SEK 7.8 million
In September 2022, Eurocine Vaccines announced that the Board of Directors, with the authorization of the Annual General Meeting on 21 December 2021, has decided on a rights issue of shares of approximately SEK 7.8 million. The purpose of the rights issue is to support Eurocine Vaccines' increased growth and continued development plans with the Company's vaccine candidates.
Highlights after the end of the fiscal year
Eurocine Vaccines held an Extraordinary General Meeting to decide on a rights issue
On 26 July Eurocine Vaccines held an Extraordinary General Meeting at which all resolutions were passed by the requisite majority. A full report of the meeting is available on the Company's website, Report from the Extraordinary General Meeting.
Eurocine Vaccines carried out a rights issue of SEK 9.7 million
In July 2023, Eurocine Vaccines published an information memorandum regarding the rights issue of shares amounting to approximately SEK 9.7 million. The subscription period began on 2 August and ended on 16 August 2023. During the issue, the Company announced that they had received a top guarantee and raised a bridge loan of SEK 1 million. The Company published a supplementary memorandum due to the top guarantee commitment and the bridge loan.
Eurocine Vaccines announced the outcome of the completed rights issue
On 17 August 2023, Eurocine Vaccines announced the outcome of the rights issue carried out between 2 and 16 August. The rights issue was subscribed to a total of 59.8 percent including subscription commitments, which means that guarantee commitments of approximately 10 percent were activated for a total subscription of 69.8 percent. Eurocine Vaccines thereby received approximately SEK 6.8 million before issue costs.
Eurocine Vaccines announced a change in the Board of Directors
On August 24, Eurocine Vaccines announced that board member Carlos von Bonhorst, at his own request, had decided to resign from the board of Eurocine Vaccines due to personal reasons. The resignation came into force with immediate effect.
CEO Hans Arwidsson
It is with pride that I look back on the most eventful year in the history of Eurocine Vaccines. With two candidates based on next-generation vaccine technology, mRNA, in development, we have taken crucial decisions to create a portfolio of vaccine candidates with great potential to reach the market and with opportunities for synergies that provide competitive advantages by requiring less investment.
At the beginning of the financial year, the first study with our vaccine candidate against herpes simplex virus type 2, HSV-2, was initiated as planned. Already at the end of 2022, we were able to present that the T-cell results for our mRNA-based candidate were outstanding and could show that the antibody response was at least equivalent to the protein-based vaccine.
In January, the Board decided to also develop a vaccine candidate against chlamydia with mRNA and to pause the resource-intensive development of the protein-based vaccine candidate against chlamydia. Our two vaccine candidates are thus based on the same technology, which provides conditions for favorable synergies. The mRNA candidate is covered by the same patent and exclusive global license agreement with Spixia Biotechnology, which was essential for this decision.
During the year, Eurocine Vaccines has also received a number of recognitions from the outside world, which means that we leave the year strengthened in the belief in our own ability. In December 2022, we were awarded a patent in South Korea. The patent is valid until 2037 and protects the technology behind the candidate in one of the four largest pharmaceutical markets in Asia with great commercial potential.
In February 2023, the Company's Head of Preclinical Development, Dr Karl Ljungberg, was invited to lecture on DNA and RNA vaccines at one of the highest ranked pharmaceutical schools in the UK.
In May 2023, Eurocine Vaccines announced that the Company has been awarded a grant of SEK 300,000 from the Merck Group to be used for Merck's bioprocess technology and services to further accelerate the development of the Company's innovative vaccine candidates.
During the year, the Company worked actively to reduce its cost base, including a review of management, premises, and other costs.
In June, the Board initiated a strategic review of opportunities to maximize shareholder value and take advantage of the outstanding results we have seen for the HSV-2 candidate and the strong potential that exists in the Company. A rights issue was carried out in August where we raised approximately SEK 6.8 million before issuing costs that can now finance the strategic review.
Several opportunities are being evaluated, including strategic partnership dialogues or sales of candidates to industrial players and opportunities for a merger with a relevant company in the segment and/or a so-called reverse acquisition. We see that there are several strong options for Eurocine Vaccines, and I look forward to providing an update when the time is right.
As we leave this fiscal year behind us it is with the conviction that we will not only find a clear way forward – but also that the next fiscal year will be even more intense.
Hans Arwidsson – CEO, Eurocine Vaccines AB