Daily Brief Health Care: Anthem Biosciences, SIGA Technologies, WuXi AppTec, Lotus Pharmaceutical, 10X Genomics, Johnson & Johnson, Veeva Systems Inc Class A, Intuitive Surgical, Abbott Laboratories, Altimmune and more

• Anthem Biosciences (1234D IN) is looking to raise up to US$400m in its upcoming India IPO.
• Anthem Biosciences (ABS) is a contract research, development and manufacturing organisation (CRDMO) with fully integrated operations spanning drug discovery, development, and manufacturing.
• In this note, we talk about the not-so-positive aspects of the deal.

SIGA Technologies reported another year of top-line growth in FY24, with performance weighted to Q4, driven by material TPOXX deliveries to both domestic and international markets. Product revenue grew 2% y-o-y to $133.3m (albeit lower than our estimate of $155.6m), with Q4 contributing 60% to sales, led by $51.2m in deliveries under the July 2024 BARDA option exercise. Another highlight in Q4 was the regulatory approval in Japan in late 2024 and $11m recorded in international sales, possibly related to deliveries to Japan’s Strategic National Stockpile (SNS). With a $70m order book, FY25 should be another successful year, with longer-term potential to be shaped by a new contract win from the US government. We update our estimates to reflect the sales outlook and latest net cash, offset partially by the increased uncertainty introduced by the mpox trial data. Our valuation adjusts to $14.41/share from $13.93/share previously.

• WuXi AppTec’s 2024 results are in line with guidance. TIDES business was the key driver of WuXi Chemistry. However, the downturn of “R” business cast a shadow on performance recovery.
• 2025 is a crucial year for WuXi AppTec and the entire CXO industry, as it needs to verify whether about RMB40 billion revenue and 6,000 customers represent the ceiling/growth bottleneck?
• The disposal of WuXi XDC shares help boost WuXi AppTec’s share price. However, due to the geopolitical conflicts/recession risks, the long-term growth prospects of WuXi AppTec are still uncertain.

• Lotus Pharmaceutical (1795 TT) achieved 10% revenue growth to NT$19B in 2024, while net profit increased 23% to NT$5B. Growth was mainly driven by the strong performance of export business.
• For the first two months of 2025, the company reported revenue of NT$3B, representing 3% YoY growth. Particularly, January sales marked 9% YoY and a significant 48% MoM growth.
• New launches and geography expansion of existing drugs will drive near-term growth. Lotus expects to launch 11 products in 2025. Valuation remains attractive and long-term growth story is still intact.

• Aptamer Group 0.33p £6.57m (APTA.L) The developer of novel Optimer binders to enable innovation in the life sciences industry yesterday reported Interims to December 2024.
• Its revenue improved to £0.7m from £0.3m with an EBITDA loss of £1.1m down from £1.8m, while net cash is £2m after raising funds last year at 0.2p.
• The strategy is to create value through the development of high-value Optimer assets with licensing potential through commercial partners, while generating revenues from fee-for-service work, which has a 43% gross margin. 

• Johnson & Johnson’s recent earnings reveals a mixed performance for the fourth quarter of 2024 and sets forth expectations for 2025.
• In 2024, the company reported an overall operational sales growth of 7%, driven by robust growth in key therapeutic areas such as oncology, neuroscience, and pulmonary hypertension, alongside strong contributions from the MedTech sector, notably in cardiovascular and vision.
• However, challenges were noted, particularly with immunology segment sales decline due to the introduction of biosimilars in the EU for STELARA.

• Veeva Systems, a prominent player in the life sciences cloud software industry, recently reported its fiscal 2025 fourth-quarter and full-year results.
• The company demonstrated strength across its business segments, finishing the year with total revenue reaching $2.75 billion and non-GAAP operating income of $1.15 billion for the year.
• The fourth quarter alone contributed $721 million in revenue, outperforming their guidance.

• Intuitive Surgical Inc. delivered strong financial and operational performance in 2024, signaling significant advancements in their robotic-assisted surgery systems.
• During the fourth quarter earnings discussion, leadership outlined the various factors contributing to the strong annual growth, as well as some of the strategic goals they aim to achieve in 2025.
• One major positive highlighted was the successful early adoption of the fifth-generation da Vinci platform, alongside continued utilization of the Ion and da Vinci SP systems.

• Abbott Laboratories delivered a solid financial performance in the fourth quarter of 2024, reflecting a continuation of robust growth trends observed throughout the year.
• Excluding COVID-19 testing, the company reported a strong sales growth of 10%, contributing to a full-year increase of 9.5%.
• This surge was driven by significant progress across several business segments, particularly Adult Nutrition and Medical Devices, including continuous glucose monitoring systems.

• Altimmune presented its fourth quarter and full-year 2024 financial results, focusing on significant milestones and upcoming developments.
• The company has made strides in its clinical programs, especially its lead candidate, pemvidutide, intended for the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), alongside addressing obesity and other potential indications.
• On the clinical front, Altimmune has advanced its IMPACT trial, a Phase IIb study of pemvidutide in NASH, which aims to demonstrate NASH resolution and fibrosis improvement after a 24-week treatment period.