Daily Brief Health Care: TSE Tokyo Price Index TOPIX, Agilus Diagnostics Limited, Paradigm Biopharmaceuticals, Sichuan Kelun-Biotech Biopharm, OSE Immuno and more

• In TOB case from a parent company, managers of acquired company finally realized that there’s litigation risk from shareholders if there’s flaw in their fiduciary duty to maximize shareholder interests.
• In the past, acquisitions with negative goodwill were conducted, but a TOB at a price below book value would require plausible rationales. TSE’s request to raise P/B may have affected.
• In addition to the increasing dissolution of parent-subsidiary listings, TOBs (or sales) of equity-method affiliates are expected to increase, as in the case of Daiken Kogyo.

• Agilus Diagnostics Limited (SRLL IN) is the largest diagnostics service provider in terms of number of laboratories and the second largest in terms of revenue from operations in India.
• Agilus has built an extensive network spread across 25 states and five union territories in India. An asset light model enables growth of the service network in a cost-effective manner.
• Indian diagnostics industry is expected to have a CAGR of 8–10% during FY23–28 to reach INR1,150B–1,250B in FY28, providing immense growth opportunities for large players like Agilus.

Paradigm has announced positive day-365 data from its Phase II trial (PARA_OA_008) assessing injectable pentosan polysulfate (iPPS) as a potentially disease-modifying treatment for knee osteoarthritis (kOA). The latest data show durable responses based on measures of pain and function, while confirming the company will be pursuing an iPPS (2mg/kg) twice-weekly regimen for six weeks across all of its clinical programmes for kOA. Based on this update, Paradigm now plans to proceed with a Provisional Approval application to the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA, the Australian regulatory authority). The day-365 data are encouraging for iPPS as a potential treatment for kOA, in our view, adding to the company’s data package to support discussions with regulatory authorities and potential partners. We note that Paradigm is awaiting full analysis of MRI data from this trial, and plans to share it in the near term.

• Since IPO, stock price of Kelun-Biotech has performed quite well. Then, the Company’s valuation fluctuated. Investors seem not excited about Sichuan Kelun-Biotech Biopharm (6990 HK)’s 23H1 performance.
• We won’t expect too much on A166 in such a difficult competitive landscape.Commercialization of SKB264 is also challenging.It’s difficult to make up the story after A166/SKB264 begin to generate revenue.
• After out-licensing all valuable/core assets to Merck, together with the departure of core R&D personnel, Kelun-Biotech has been “hollowed out”.So, Kelun-Biotech’s value lies in short-term trade rather than long-term hold.

At the AACR-NCI-EORTC conference in Boston, OSE presented the initial positive data supporting the potential efficacy of its anti-PD1 monoclonal antibody, OSE-279, in patients with advanced solid tumours, with no therapeutic option available. The interim data from the Phase I/II dose escalation study indicated that OSE-279 monotherapy exhibited manageable safety and showed preliminary signs of efficacy. Both the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profiles aligned with the company’s expectations. As a reminder, OSE-279 serves as the key anti-PD1 component in the company’s bifunctional checkpoint inhibitor (BiCKI) platform, designed to address primary (lack of response to treatment) and secondary resistance (resistance after an initial response) mechanisms. The data shared are promising with potential for OSE-279 as a monotherapy, but given the small cohort (13), we await further data from the Phase II component of the current study. Incremental positive results could provide validation for OSE-279 and the BiCKI platform approach.