Daily Brief Health Care: S&P 500 INDEX, ImmuneOnco Biopharmaceuticals (Shanghai), Cipla Ltd, e-Therapeutics PLC, Zhangzhou Pientzehuang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and more

• We continue believe that upside is limited with the S&P 500 testing the top-end of our anticipated 2023 trading range (4165-4200).
• Our gameplan remains unchanged; reduce risk near resistance (where we are now) and add risk near support (the December 2022 lows at 3765 and/or the 2022 lows at 3490).
• A break above 4200 on the SPX would likely mean a test of 4300-4325, which we would view as a selling opportunity. A break below 4050 would kickstart a pullback.

• ImmuneOnco, a China-based clinical-stage biotechnology company, plans to raise up to US$ 100m via a Hong Kong listing.
• In this note, we examine the company’s core product, namelyIMM01, a CD47 target fusion protein. We also look at the company’s management and pre-IPO investors.
• We think its clinical data is not yet convincing and we are not so keen on the company.

• IN Q4FY23, Cipla Ltd (CIPLA IN) reported highest ever US business revenue of $204M, up 27% YoY and 5% QoQ, driven by expansion in market share of key launches.
• Lead peptide asset Lanreotide injection, launched in Q4FY22, is consistently gaining market share. The product currently has market share of 17%, up from 14.1% in Q3FY23 and 9.6% in Q2FY23.
• Ex-COVID, India business revenue increased 16% YoY, driven by chronic branded prescription portfolio. FY23 marks the second consecutive year of market beating growth of Cipla’s chronic portfolio.

e-therapeutics is a biotech leveraging its validated computational biology platform to identify novel, liver-associated targets and expand its internal pipeline of short interfering RNA (siRNA or RNAi) therapeutics. In addition to the advantages of focusing on a single cell type (hepatocytes), the company’s recent strategic commitment to large language model (LLM) technologies has the potential to provide accelerated access to effective new drugs. RNAi medicines are a rapidly evolving drug class, with five drugs currently that use this technology. We view RNAi as a key growth market for e therapeutics. At end-January 2023, the company had a net cash position of £31.7m, supported by a capital raise of £13.4m (net proceeds) in September 2022.

• Different from other TCM companies, Pientzehuang is based on the investment logic of consumer goods, which breaks away from the price constraints of drug market. Meanwhile,  Pientzehuang has formed a “monopoly”.
• As a well-known trademark/time-honored brand in China, and representing the quintessence of Chinese culture, Pientzehuang would be supported by national policies,and is consistent with China’s efforts to expand domestic demand/consumption.
• Although Pientzehuang’s performance was disappointing last year, its strategic height and significance are obviously different from other TCM. We think that this is crucial to the investment value of Pientzehuang.