In today’s briefing:
- JMDC (4483) Partial Offer Results – Tough Tender, I’d Watch For “THE Block” (Maybe)
- EOFlow’s Suspension Is Not (All) Negative
- EOFLOW/Medtronic Tender: On Life Support
- Eoflow: Temporary Trading Suspension
- Estia Health (EHE AU): Scheme Meeting on 15 November
- Singaporean Biotech Startup Automera Secures US$16M Series A Financing
- Board Diversity Also Confuses Ends with Means
- Universal Vision Biotechnology (3218 TT): Steady Growth Continued in 1H23 Riding on Strong Demand
- Oryzon Genomics – Favorable safety reported in PORTICO Phase II
- Newron Pharmaceuticals – Positive readout highlights evenamide potential
![](http://www.smartkarma.com/assets/plugins/a3-lazy-load/assets/images/lazy_placeholder.gif)
JMDC (4483) Partial Offer Results – Tough Tender, I’d Watch For “THE Block” (Maybe)
- Results for the Omron Corp (6645 JP) Partial Tender Offer for JMDC (4483 JP) are out.
- The Pro-Ration was 51.63%, at the lower end of my initial estimate of 50-58% range, and at the higher end of my revised range (42-56%).
- The pro-ration, the nature of the shapes (technical term) tendered, and what that suggests for Noritsu Koki’s position suggests the back end could be more squeezy than not.
EOFlow’s Suspension Is Not (All) Negative
- On the 6th of October, a US district court judge entered a preliminary injunction (PI) against EOFlow (294090 KS), pending a trial. This development should have been expected.
- Less expected was the suspension of EOFlow shares today, and the cessation of sales globally.
- The latter measure appears extreme, noting the PI addresses only sales in the US, which EOFlow is not permitted anyway, without FDA approval. There’s clearly more than meets the eye.
EOFLOW/Medtronic Tender: On Life Support
- In reaction to the preliminary injunction, Eoflow (294090 KS) shares were suspended as it is reviewing whether it is subject to a substantive review for KOSDAQ listing eligibility.
- Medtronic Plc (MDT US) is in an unprecedented situation of potentially acquiring a company whose shares are suspended, has a preliminary injunction against it and exposure to possible liabilities.
- Medtronic could have prevented this development by reaffirming its commitment to the deal. The transaction is on increasingly shaky grounds, which is reflected in the 38.2% gross spread.
Eoflow: Temporary Trading Suspension
- On 10 October, the Korea Exchange announced a temporary suspension of trading of Eoflow (294090 KS) shares starting 11 October.
- Eoflow decided at its board of directors meeting the previous day (10th) to suspend production and sales of Eoflow patches until the outcome of the lawsuit is resolved.
- In this insight, we provide various scenario analysis including the worst case, best case, and in-between cases of the Eoflow M&A tender offer process.
Estia Health (EHE AU): Scheme Meeting on 15 November
- The Estia Health (EHE AU) IE considers Bain’s A$3.20 (A$3.08 excluding paid dividends) offer fair and reasonable as it is above its valuation range of $2.83 to A$3.21 per share.
- The offer is subject to FIRB and possibly aged care industry approvals. The MAC clause risk, particularly around material regulatory events, is diminishing.
- This is a done deal. At the last close price and for the 30 November payment, the gross and annualised spread is 1.3% and 9.7%, respectively.
Singaporean Biotech Startup Automera Secures US$16M Series A Financing
- Singapore-based biotechnology startup Automera has secured US$16 million in a Series A round of investment co-led by early-stage life science accelerator and investment firm Accelerator Life Science Partners (ALSP) and Temasek-backed venture builder ClavystBio.
- EDBI, Xora Innovation, and other undisclosed investors also participated.
- Automera was established by Associate Professor Michael Lazarou, Loong Wang, and Taiyang Zhang at Talo Labs in collaboration with ALSP.
Board Diversity Also Confuses Ends with Means
- With few women in managerial positions, the reality is that for the time being female directors are forced to appoint candidates from outside the company.
- Two companies is the limit for a monthly board meeting with agenda preliminarily reviewed; investors should oppose proposals to elect candidates who hold board positions at three or more companies.
- The main idea is to promote board diversity for making strategic decisions based on diverse values, but it has become a numbers matching exercise to achieve % of female board members.
Universal Vision Biotechnology (3218 TT): Steady Growth Continued in 1H23 Riding on Strong Demand
- Universal Vision Biotechnology (3218 TT) reported continued growth in 1H23, with revenue, operating profit, and net profit increasing 25%, 31%, and 31%, YoY, respectively.
- Revenue from high-margin technical service grew 23% YoY, driven by increasing number of refractive and cataract surgeries performed in Taiwan. UVB dominates refractive market in Taiwan, with 50% market share.
- With dominant market positioning in Taiwan, re-opening in China, secular market tailwinds, and widening geographic presence, UVB is expected to report double-digit top and bottom-line growth through 2025.
Oryzon Genomics – Favorable safety reported in PORTICO Phase II
Oryzon presented a positive update on vafidemstat’s ongoing Phase IIb PORTICO trial in borderline personality disorder (BPD) at the ECNP Congress. The aggregated blinded safety data, as of 23 August, demonstrated a well-tolerated safety profile for a cohort with baseline characteristics reflecting real-world demographics of a typical BPD population. This is a critical consideration for therapies to progress and be successful once commercialised. We also note a low rate of discontinuations (2%) due to treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) and zero discontinuations attributed to serious TEAEs. Screen failure and dropout rates, at 37% and 21%, respectively, were also favourable compared to other agents in development for BPD, such as brexpiprazole, which had higher rates (62% and 27%). As a reminder, the primary objective of the PORTICO trial is efficacy of vafidemstat, and we anticipate top-line data in Q124. Although the shared data was blinded, the overall results suggest a favourable safety profile for vafidemstat and we await next year’s efficacy readout as (if positive) it will be a key catalyst and potentially increase the probability of success for vafidemstat in BPD.
Newron Pharmaceuticals – Positive readout highlights evenamide potential
Newron has announced encouraging interim six-month data from its Phase II trial (study 014/015) of evenamide in 161 patients with treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS). The six-month interval data for treatment at all dose levels showed evenamide was well-tolerated and efficacious, with statistically significant responses (p-value <0.001) across the key efficacy measures (PANSS, CGI-S and LOF). The interim data also provide inputs for the potentially pivotal Phase III trial (study 003), which we expect to start in Q124. We note that one-year data was reported on the first 100 participants of study 014/015 in May 2023, and we now await the complete one-year data from the full 161-patient cohort, expected in Q124. If favourable, this could be a significant inflection point for the company.