Allergy Therapeutics sees record cash balance as interim sales rise 7%

Allergy Therapeutics sees record cash balance as interim sales rise 7%

Allergy Therapeutics PLC  (LON:AGY) has said it can fund two crucial upcoming clinical trials from its own resources after closing out 2020 with a record cash position.

In a trading update ahead of its interim results, the hay fever vaccine specialist noted that sales were robust during the half-year to end December 2020, with revenues rising by 7% to £54mln.

Germany, Austria, The Netherlands and Switzerland all saw good sales with core products Pollinex Quattro and Pollinex both making progress, Allergy added.

Cash at the end of December amounted to £48.3mln, which Allergy says is sufficient to pay for both the Grass MATA MPL Phase III trial as well as the peanut allergy vaccine candidate Phase I trial.

Recruitment of patients for the pre-trial Grass MATA exploratory field study is going well, it added, with results from this study expected in the autumn of 2021.

Results from an ex-vivo study of VLP Peanut, evaluating a panel of biomarkers using blood samples from peanut-allergic patients underway in collaboration with Imperial College London should see first results this spring, Allergy added.

The launch of a new general treatment for allergies, Immunobon, meanwhile, is scheduled for this month in Germany after encouraging trial results.

In the statement, Manuel Llobet, Allergy’s chief executive, said: “The trading results for the first six months of the year reflect the robust growth by the business despite the continuing challenges of COVID-19.

“Our research and development strategy is developing well, with excellent progress in our Grass MATA MPL Phase III development programme, the initiation of the ex-vivo peanut study and strong results from the ImmunoBON challenge chamber trial.

“We have much to look forward to in the calendar year 2021, with the submission of the Investigational New Drug Application for our peanut allergy vaccine candidate and results from the Grass exploratory field study.”

Allergy also reported that Steve Smith has stated his intention to step down as a non-executive director of the company at the AGM in November after 17 years with the business.

House broker finnCap commented that Allergy’s update demonstrated solid underlying growth while the period-end cash position implies a 30% or £11.3mln increase in underlying cashflows.

“With relevant and potentially significant commercial and regulatory newsflow through 2021, we expect the shares to perform well.”

FinnCap did not change its forecasts, but said that its target price is 45p and Allergy is rated on a substantial and unwarranted discount to its nearest peer.

The broker added that its target also attributes nothing for a US market entry for Grass MATA MPL or its early-stage pipeline, including VLP Peanut allergy vaccine.

Shares rose 11% to 20.5p.

— adds share price, broker comment —

Published at Wed, 13 Jan 2021 13:01:00 +0000-Allergy Therapeutics sees record cash balance as interim sales rise 7%