Smartkarma Daily Briefs

• Otsuka Holdings (4578 JP) aims to raise around US$150m via selling its remaining shares in Microport Scientific (853 HK).
• Otsuka had sold the majority of its stake earlier this year.
• In this note, we will talk about the placement and run the deal through our ECM framework.

• With the pre-cons squared away as per the 3rd September announcement, the key risk to Hangzhou Kangji Medical Instrument (9997 HK)‘s Offer is the Scheme vote. 
• The HK$9.25/share consideration price (declared final), was an uninspiring 9.9% premium to last close. But pitched around a four-year high. And peers are down 10% on average since the Offer.
• A persual of the s329 investigative reports provides a significantly clearer picture on who holds what.

• ClearPoint Neuro is uniquely positioned as a critical enabler for the high-growth neuro-therapeutics market, providing the only commercially available platform for real-time, MRI-guided, minimally invasive navigation and delivery to the brain.
• The company’s hybrid business model, combining capital equipment sales with a growing base of recurring revenue from disposable products and services for its 60+ biopharma partners, offers a scalable path to future growth.
• While demonstrating impressive and consistent revenue growth (31% in 2024), the company remains unprofitable with significant cash burn, reflecting a high-investment phase focused on R&D, market expansion, and supporting partner clinical trials.

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• uniQure is a pioneering gene therapy company with one approved product, HEMGENIX®, for Hemophilia B, which is the first and only gene therapy for this indication, commercialized by its partner CSL Behring.
• The company’s lead pipeline candidate, AMT-130 for Huntington’s disease, has shown statistically significant slowing of disease progression in a pivotal Phase I/II study and has received multiple expedited regulatory designations from the FDA, including Breakthrough Therapy and RMAT.
• While possessing a promising pipeline and validated technology, uniQure is currently unprofitable, with significant cash burn from R&D activities, making future value creation highly dependent on the clinical success and commercial uptake of its key assets, particularly AMT-130.

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• The company that describes itself as a biopharmaceutical company focused on improving the lives of patients suffering from debilitating central nervous system.
• Morgan Stanley, Jefferies, Leerink Partners, Stifel are the bookrunners on this IPO.
• Their lead product candidate, ML-007C-MA, is currently in a Phase II trial.

• DWTI announced before the open on 9/25 that the US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has granted marketing approval for DW-5LBT (lidocaine patch, trade name Bondlido), as a treatment for neuropathic pain after shingles (post- herpetic neuralgia) in adults, jointly developed with MEDRx (4586 TSE Growth).
• Earlier this week on Monday 9/22, DWTI announced that the FDA had conditionally approved a change in the trade name from “Lydolyte” to “Bondlido” (the FDA had requested a name change to avoid confusion with an existing product).
• Preparations for the launch will be made, including the selection of sales partners, with sales planned to begin in the US in the first half of 2026.

• Nektar Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company at a pivotal juncture, with its future success largely dependent on its lead candidate, rezpegaldesleukin (REZPEG), for autoimmune diseases like atopic dermatitis and alopecia areata.
• The company’s proprietary PEGylation and polymer conjugate technology platform offers a potential durable competitive advantage by improving the properties of existing and novel drugs, though its historical clinical development track record has been mixed.
• Financially, Nektar is in a precarious position with significant historical net losses and a reliance on cash reserves to fund its pipeline development, making potential partnerships and successful clinical trial outcomes critical for long-term viability.

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• Pfizer Inc has announced a definitive agreement to acquire clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company Metsera Inc. for $47.50 per share in cash, a 42.5% premium to Metsera’s last closing price, with an additional $22.50 per share potentially payable through contingent value rights (CVRs) linked to key clinical milestones.
• The total deal value could reach $7.3 billion.
• This strategic move follows Pfizer’s earlier struggles in the obesity segment after the failure of its weight-loss pill and declining COVID-19 revenues.

• Cochlear Ltd (COH AU) expects to report FY26 underlying net profit of $435–460M, an 11–17% increase on FY25, up 5–11% on a comparative (cloud adjusted) basis.
• The Nucleus Nexa System has been launched in Europe and Asia Pacific in mid-June 2025 and will be launched in the U.S. by the end of Q1FY26.
• The company expects strong FY26 revenue growth in developed markets from the launch of the new Nucleus Nexa implant, with overall revenue and earnings growth weighted to the second half.