Daily Brief Health Care: Yichang HEC Changjiang Pharma, Basilea Pharmaceutica Ag and more

• A “Privatisation via a Merger by Absorption” is nothing new in Hong Kong. But the Offer consideration for Yichang HEC (1558 HK)‘s minorities is in unlisted scrip – that’s new. 
• The Offeror holds 51.41% in Yichang HEC. Founder Guo Meilan and her son Zhang Yushuai control 62.12% of the Offeror. Yichang HEC shareholders are being offered 0.263614 “Offeror H shares”.
• These consideration shares are unlisted. An independent valuer backs out an implied scrip value of HK$18.12-HK$20.60/share. This is a super complicated, overwrought deal. With numerous unknowns. I’d vote this down. 

Basilea Pharmaceutica has announced the triggering of a US$1.25m milestone payment from Pfizer, triggered by sustained strong sales of Cresemba in the Asia-Pacific region and China. This is the second FY24 milestone payment for the region and is incremental to the payment received in March. We note that, according to the latest available data, total in-market sales of Cresemba amounted to US$473m in the 12 months ending December 2023, representing a +26% year-on-year increase. Basilea is preparing to launch its Phase III programme for fosmanogepix, a broad-spectrum antifungal therapy, with the first of two Phase III trials expected to initiate in mid-2024. The company also made positive regulatory and operational strides with its lead antibiotic asset, Zevtera (following FDA approval in April 2024), and we eagerly await the announcement of a potential US commercial partner.