Daily Brief Health Care: Immix Biopharma Inc, Paramount Bed Holdings Co Lt, Tokyo Stock Exchange Tokyo Price Index Topix and more

Immix has announced that the FDA has granted orphan drug designation (ODD) to CAR-T asset NXC-201 for amyloid light chain amyloidosis (ALA). This occurred approximately a month after the announced ODD for multiple myeloma (MM), the other indication that Immix is pursuing with NXC-201. The benefits of ODD include seven years of US market exclusivity post approval, tax credits for qualified clinical trials and exemption from the Prescription Drug User Fee (c $3m for a new drug). ODD is issued to drugs/biologics intended for the safe and effective treatment, diagnosis or prevention of rare diseases/conditions that affect fewer than 200k people in the US. Achieving ODD in both MM and ALA marks an important development for the progress of NXC-201, which has shown encouraging signs on both the clinical and regulatory fronts. We believe that the next readout (expected in September 2023) from the ongoing NEXICART-1 trial could be a significant catalyst for the company.

• In Q1FY24, Paramount Bed Holdings Co Lt (7817 JP) reported 7% YoY revenue growth to ¥24B, due to solid performance in the medical care and the nursing care businesses.
• Due to higher SG&A expenses, operating profit grew just 2% YoY to ¥3.3B. Net profit rose 7% YoY to ¥2.9B, mainly due to 13% YoY increase in foreign exchange gains.
• Paramount has reiterated FY24 guidance, which calls for 6% YoY revenue growth, 4% YoY operating profit growth, and 6% YoY growth in net profit.

• Activist investors’ proposals were consistently based on increasing shareholder returns. The change in the environment, in which ％ of foreign shareholders increased while cross-held shares decreased, had a major impact.
• Regarding the selection of directors, discussion on contents of Skill Matrix should be more active, as it’s suspected that top management is selecting candidates who are aligned with their wishes.
• The voting standards of domestic institutional investors are iridescent and still dependent on public opinion for each proposal. The change in public opinion has only just begun.