Daily Brief Health Care: Asahi Intecc, Henry Schein, Shulan Health Management, Immix Biopharma Inc, IN8bio , Tenax Therapeutics , Waters Corp, BB Biotech AG, Bio-Rad Laboratories A and more

• In Q3FY24, Asahi Intecc (7747 JP) reported 8% YoY increase in revenue to ¥26B, ahead of estimate of ¥24B, mainly driven by the exchange rate impact of higher foreign currencies.
• Higher SG&A expenses impacted the profitability. Q3FY24 operating profit margin declined to 23.3% from 26.6% in Q3FY23, while net profit margin decreased to 16.0% from 18.5% during the same time.
• In Q4FY24, revenue is expected to decline 3% YoY to ¥19.6B. Operating and net profits are anticipated to plunge 74% and 26%, YoY to ¥417M and ¥832M, respectively.

• Henry Schein Inc, the leading global healthcare solutions provider, recently reported its results for the first quarter of 2024.
• The company reported solid earnings driven by gross profit and gross margin expansion as it recovers from last quarter’s cyber-incident.
• It’s worth noting that even with the cyber incident, Henry Schein marked an improvement in its merchandise sales growth.

• Shulan Health Management (1807987D CH)  is looking to raise around US$150m in its Hong Kong IPO. 
• Shulan Health Management (SHM) is a technology-driven healthcare group in China that integrates healthcare services and medical research and education.
• In this note, we talk about the firm’s historical performance.

Immix Biopharma’s Q124 report reflected a period focused on its lead CAR-T asset, NXC-201, targeting amyloid light chain amyloidosis (ALA), which was recently bolstered by incremental NEXICART-1 data. The quarter saw a pick-up in preparatory activities in advance of the US NEXICART-2 trial initiation with the finalization of a manufacturing facility in California and selection of the lead clinical trial site. We await the first-patient dosing, expected in mid-2024. We also expect an update on the addition of the autoimmune indication for NXC-201 by year end. The Q1 operating loss of $5.6m was in line with our expectations, and Immix anticipates it will maintain a cash runway through Q225 ($29.3m cash at hand at end-Q124). Our valuation adjusts to $139.5m or $5.3/share, slightly changed from $142.2m or $5.4/share, previously, with the roll forward of our model and quarterly update.

• IN8Bio is a clinical-stage, oncology-focused biotechnology company using ?d T cells against solid and hematological tumors.
• Its pipeline is built on the DeltEx platform & drug resistant immunotherapy (DRI) technology which have produced clinical candidates targeting leukemia & GBM. INB-100 is evaluating leukemia in a Ph1 study, while INB-200 & INB-400 are Ph1 and Ph2 assets evaluating GBM. INB-100 is an allogeneic DeltEx-produced cell therapy for leukemia patients undergoing HSCT transplant.
• Leukemia patients see a high rate of recurrence which may be effectively treated by INB-100.

• Tenax has licensed the calcium sensitizer/K-ATP activator levosimendan and is pursuing approval for an indication in Group 2 Pulmonary Hypertension in the US and Canada.
• The drug has been approved in over 60 countries with 35 published trials supporting its safety and efficacy and has over 1 million patient exposures.
• In January 2018 Tenax announced a new indication for Levo and met with the FDA to confirm trial design.

• Based on Waters Corporation’s earnings, the company demonstrated strong operational performance in Q1, although the market conditions were as expected with cautious customer spending and late budget releases.
• Sales landed at the high end of the guidance but declined 7% as reported and 9% in organic constant currency.
• It had a strong start to 2024, with sales coming in at the high end of expectations, reflecting the firm’s drive to accelerated the benefits of their science with their innovative portfolio.

BB Biotech (BION) offers investors exposure to the innovative, rapidly expanding biotech sector. It is the largest biotech investor among its investment company peers, focused on high-quality biotech assets that target substantial market opportunities. BION’s performance has picked up in recent months, supported by an improvement in the market environment. Its managers are optimistic about the outlook as declines in interest rates, whenever they eventuate, begin to boost investor sentiment towards the sector, especially the mid- and small-cap companies that BION favours. The fund’s managers also expect ongoing progress by portfolio holdings, as several reach key milestones over the coming months. Unlike most of its peers, BION pays an attractive 5% dividend, calculated on average share price over December each year.

• Bio-Rad Laboratories, a multinational firm delivering scientific research products and clinical diagnostics, reported its first-quarter 2024 financial results performing as per their internal estimates.
• The primary factor for their performance fluctuations was the macroeconomic and market trends due to the biotech and biopharma segments in countries such as China and Russia.
• The company observed a decline in the Life Science Group, albeit in line with their expectations.