Smartkarma Daily Briefs

• Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (SUNP IN) is set to acquire Checkpoint Therapeutics for $355 million, enhancing its onco-dermatology portfolio with UNLOXCYT™, an FDA-approved treatment.
• This strategic move provides Sun Pharma with immediate access to the U.S. market and the potential for global expansion, especially in the PD-1 inhibitor space.
• The acquisition promises revenue growth and synergistic opportunities, although regulatory approvals and successful integration are crucial for realizing its full potential.

Immix Biopharma has been granted a Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) designation by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the company’s novel sterically optimized CAR-T treatment, NXC-201, which is being developed as a potential treatment for relapsed/refractory amyloid light chain amyloidosis (r/r ALA). The RMAT designation offers several operational and regulatory benefits, which could streamline the clinical development and subsequent approval process for NXC-201, for example by enabling frequent interactions with the FDA. We note that NXC-201 has already been awarded orphan drug designation by the FDA and the European Medicines Agency (EMA), reflecting a robust position in what could be key markets for the therapy. NXC-201 is currently being evaluated in the US-based NEXICART-2 trial, and the next update (expected in H125) may represent a near-term catalyst for Immix, in our view.

Volition continues to build data demonstrating that the Nu.Q® NETs H3.1 diagnostic platform is a potential breakthrough tool in sepsis management. These efforts underpin Volition’s aim to advance Nu.Q NETs as a rapid, accessible and accurate diagnostic test to manage this potentially devastating condition. Sepsis (immune system triggered organ dysfunction) affects c 50 million people a year worldwide, and results in c 11 million deaths. Further, every hour of delayed treatment raises the mortality risk by c 8%. In this note we review Volition’s recent updates from the ESICM Annual Congress, where it provided evidence across data comprising more than 3,000 patients that its technology can quickly and reliably detect the patients most at risk of mortality, septic shock and organ failure. Improving the identification and tracking of at-risk patients should help improve treatment paradigms.

Basilea Pharmaceutica has continued its strong momentum into 2025, announcing the receipt of a CHF1.2m milestone payment for Cresemba for the strategically important Japanese market. This marks the first commercial milestone payment from Japanese licensing partner, Asahi Kasei Pharma, and comes within two years of market launch (in March 2023), which we view as an indication of the favourable market uptake for the company’s lead anti-infective drug. We note that Japan and China are key markets for Cresemba (making up c 25% of the drug’s global potential) and have experienced strong demand for this category-leading treatment. We expect these markets to support Basilea in life cycle management for Cresemba as it approaches maturity in the primary US and European markets (loss of market exclusivity in Q427). Our estimates are under review ahead of the forthcoming FY24 results, due to be published on 18 February 2025.

• Key 4Q24 takeaways include: 1) we look for sustainable revenue/earnings growth reflecting powerful industry tailwinds and CCLD’s comprehensive suite of fully integrated services combined with targeted marketing initiatives 2) rising free cash flow continues to drive a real-time step up in capital deployment including the early resumption of preferred stock dividend payments and reinvesting in the business to accelerate growth and 3) we look for management to increasingly capitalize on M&A opportunities (see the recently announced acquisition of MesaBilling), particularly now that CCLD shareholders approved upsizing the company’s share authorization by 50 million shares, with the Board recently announcing the conversion of Series A Preferred Stock to common stock, thereby freeing up considerable capacity for deals, while generating meaningful savings related to lower preferred stock dividends.

• Key 4Q24 takeaways include: 1) we look for sustainable revenue/earnings growth reflecting powerful industry tailwinds and CCLD’s comprehensive suite of fully integrated services combined with targeted marketing initiatives 2) rising free cash flow continues to drive a real-time step up in capital deployment including the early resumption of preferred stock dividend payments and reinvesting in the business to accelerate growth and 3) we look for management to increasingly capitalize on M&A opportunities (see the recently announced acquisition of MesaBilling), particularly now that CCLD shareholders approved upsizing the company’s share authorization by 50 million shares, with the Board recently announcing the conversion of Series A Preferred Stock to common stock, thereby freeing up considerable capacity for deals, while generating meaningful savings related to lower preferred stock dividends.

• Key 4Q24 takeaways include: 1) we look for sustainable revenue/earnings growth reflecting powerful industry tailwinds and CCLD’s comprehensive suite of fully integrated services combined with targeted marketing initiatives 2) rising free cash flow continues to drive a real-time step up in capital deployment including the early resumption of preferred stock dividend payments and reinvesting in the business to accelerate growth and 3) we look for management to increasingly capitalize on M&A opportunities (see the recently announced acquisition of MesaBilling), particularly now that CCLD shareholders approved upsizing the company’s share authorization by 50 million shares, with the Board recently announcing the conversion of Series A Preferred Stock to common stock, thereby freeing up considerable capacity for deals, while generating meaningful savings related to lower preferred stock dividends.

• The Cigna Group’s fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 financial results reflect a mixed performance, with certain aspects showing growth while others reveal challenges.
• The company reported a full-year revenue increase of 27% to approximately $247 billion, highlighting strong revenue growth.
• Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) rose by 9% to $27.33, although this was below expectations, indicating some pressure on profitability.

• Key 4Q24 takeaways include: 1) we look for sustainable revenue/earnings growth reflecting powerful industry tailwinds and CCLD’s comprehensive suite of fully integrated services combined with targeted marketing initiatives 2) rising free cash flow continues to drive a real-time step up in capital deployment including the early resumption of preferred stock dividend payments and reinvesting in the business to accelerate growth and 3) we look for management to increasingly capitalize on M&A opportunities (see the recently announced acquisition of MesaBilling), particularly now that CCLD shareholders approved upsizing the company’s share authorization by 50 million shares, with the Board recently announcing the conversion of Series A Preferred Stock to common stock, thereby freeing up considerable capacity for deals, while generating meaningful savings related to lower preferred stock dividends.

Biomea Fusion is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel small molecules to cure metabolic diseases. Its proprietary FUSION System platform has created a pipeline of covalent candidates, which are drug molecules that form permanent bonds with their target proteins in the body, offering potential advantages over traditional non-covalent drugs. Lead asset icovamenib is in clinical trials for type 2 and type 1 diabetes (T2D; T1D), aiming to address critical unmet needs in the space. The company is also advancing next-generation asset BMF-650 towards the clinic, for diabetes and obesity. The treatment markets for these disease areas are projected to reach c $134bn and c $105bn, respectively, by 2030. Multiple pipeline catalysts are anticipated for Biomea throughout 2025.