I wouldn’t overinterpret Markku’s writing, and I don’t find any particular bitterness in it. In my opinion, it’s an industry statement, of which there have been before. This is linked to Murto’s report and perhaps, through that, to the desired redistribution of development capital. I can’t grasp the NPV thinking within the framework of the information presented. Perhaps he refers to market size and investment portfolios. Losing the only investment million hurts more than in a situation where billions are invested. Some succeed, a larger part does not, but the individual mentioned successes make up for the losses.
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C’mon. Just a few more tweaks before the earnings report. No point creating a bad vibe if there’s nothing good to say. In my opinion, everything is progressing in the right order towards the April earnings report. The biggest news of the pivotal year, i.e., the partnership, will happen if we stick to the plan. No one mentioned anything about Sirpa. Maybe Sirpa will just go get her Nobel when the time comes.
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I’m not really sure how to feel about this new potential board member? Several of these have joined in the past few years, and they have been enthusiastically welcomed by us ordinary folks with the expectation that something would happen soon. Let’s mention Marie-Louise, Christine, and then there was this American economic miracle who left with a hiccup. Is Bond now the missing piece, or is it a sign that things aren’t progressing without new blood? I can’t say what the added value of these experts has been so far. Patient tests and results, however, are, to my understanding, produced in research hospitals. Perhaps their task is to lend weight to research results or credibility towards the FDA, etc. Something is happening in the background, however, as positive news keeps trickling in. Hopefully Bond is now the scythe sharpener, so we can FINALLY reap the harvest.
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Indeed. In my opinion, there’s some fuss being made in this matter. How have Markku and Roth added value there, e.g., last year? How does Juho add value with two hats (well, he gets more salary - which is a negative value for Faron). Is this a Bond-style rainmaker or just a new reinforcement of faith for us ordinary investors? A month seems too short a time to make rain, referring to the Phase 2 readout at the end of next month. Well, then onwards again and towards new offerings. Hopefully, I am completely wrong..
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Juho is a businessman. Big pharma companies usually don’t just watch small companies.
Someone’s nerve will break, and then a large sum of euros will change hands. What has happened:
Expanding the pipeline
Raising money (almost double could have been obtained)
Reforming the organization and hiring new people for new positions.
Showing that we’ll do everything ourselves and simultaneously putting pressure on pharma companies. Or then, with grit, we’ll truly do everything ourselves…
It will be interesting to see what happens, but from here, respect for the actions.
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Juho expressed very clearly that there were deals on the table in December, but not good enough. At the same time, he expressed that after the April earnings report, it would be possible to get a significantly larger deal. So far, I’m not worried, but if we continue kicking the can after the next report, I’ll start changing my stance.
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This presentation of a new board member, in my opinion, represents exactly the kind of expertise I happened to be wishing for on the board yesterday.
Faron’s organization is very lean, and there is very little expertise among its employees in financing and corporate arrangements, which are a vital part of the operations of a company like Faron in its development phase. This lack of resources can be largely compensated if the board has expertise in the field. Then, for example, when seeking financing or discussing corporate arrangements, one is not solely at the mercy of external investment banks. Professionals in the field also have extensive contacts with various actors in the financial sector, the value of which is difficult to measure in money.
Top professionals in the financial sector do not join the board of just any company; they carefully select their positions. The fees Faron pays to its board members are quite negligible, so a purely financial motive cannot, in my opinion, be behind their consent either.
I personally increased Faron’s weight in my portfolio with this news. (This is not an investment recommendation!)
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Juhon www.inderes.fi/videos/faron-webcast-q424 Q&A response regarding the need for additional resources, i.e., among other things, a Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) planned as a new position at Faron, would suggest a long process or at least preparation for one, rather than a one-off sale. That is, phased licensing by indication, growing the pie. A Chief Marketing Officer, on the other hand, is not needed if Bex is not brought to market by Faron itself.
The CCO could participate in licensing negotiations in addition to Juho’s CEO and Ykä’s CFO. And CMO Bono must also be involved. Their tasks would include, for example, the distribution of upfront, milestone, and royalty payments. They could assess the partner’s ability to bring Bex to market in each indication, e.g., the partner’s capacity for FDA/EMA/UK, Asian regulatory approval processes, and its sales networks worldwide. In case of partner marketing failures or other blunders, design license clawback clauses. Partner oversight, ensuring compliance with agreed terms for launch, regulatory cooperation, marketing, and other healthcare collaborations, etc.
Faron has such a lean organization that tasks inevitably overlap for the CEO, CFO, CMO, CCO quartet, and perhaps that’s a good thing. They can cover for each other if needed.
If Faron is to be believed, and to what Bex’s mechanism of action would indeed point, the potential number of combination therapies is large, and thus so are the potential partners. A magician should be hired for this. They should study Faron, Bex, perhaps Traumakine, the basics of oncology, at least those areas Bono, Juho, and Maija are currently focusing on, and above all, already possess business expertise from the industry.
…
I wrote the above thoughts when the last webcast took place. Today, news came about the recruitment of a new board member. Does this change anything in the plans? A board member provides guidance and advice, but they are not employed by Faron, as a CCO would be.
Mr. Bond has CDMO* experience, experience in financing strategies and corporate arrangements, risk management related to the aforementioned, and he has international networks in the pharma industry.
*CDMO (Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization) is a company that provides outsourced services in drug development and manufacturing for other biotech or pharma companies. For example, contract manufacturing for Bex could fall into this area.
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I personally believe that Juho’s board appointment is a clear preparation for him to step down from the CEO position. What it signifies, however, is a more difficult question, and there are likely several possibilities.
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I would see that Juho’s board position maintains the old power relations within the board, even when a new board member is introduced. This means that, in a way, a new member is brought in, but at the same time, it prevents them from pushing something through together with other “outsiders” by bringing in Jalkaset + Pätsi, thereby giving everyone an additional vote.
That new member is probably brought in because of their expertise and most likely specifically to help conduct licensing/sales negotiations and to ensure that Faron is properly prepared for them from big pharma’s perspective for the final stage.
It’s an interesting curiosity that it comes specifically from Sandoz, because in this situation it is a neutral player as a generic/biosimilar manufacturer.
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I thought about it through facts; what was sought and what it causes:
It is certain that it is not a futile move.
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more voting power for the grassroots in votes (marginally)
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more influence in the board
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easier to step aside from the current position, e.g., an American is being sought for market reasons.
In any case, we are heading towards some culmination point. The markets also interpret it this way. A green day.
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It could be quite a handover, with an overlapping year in the government.
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GreenManDK posted an interesting message on the London forum about this Mr. Bond.
Good spot, i’ve done a little digging. One of the things that jumped out at me was this Pharma investment firm that he is on the board of, they have a history of providing significant cash to pharma companies, the sort of funds that could see us through Phase 3 trials… I really hope we are going to partner with a large pharma rather than take a huge amount of senior debt on with these guys. Just one link I made, hopefully im wrong
Investment Strategy & Portfolio | BioPharma Credit
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I see that there too. How common is this kind of operation in this industry, where expensive phase 3 trials are forcibly done with debt? If this were the case, good deals would hardly have been made. Greed comes to a bad end. You don’t have to do everything yourself. In my opinion, a partner would be better.
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There are only two options (options given by management): either the company is sold entirely or we partner up (schedules have been missed several times). So, one or the other will happen in the near future.
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Of course, a third option is that the BEX final reading fails and we go into survival mode. However, it is highly unlikely that such unpleasant surprises would be encountered in the data at the last minute.
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Sax/London posted about Faron’s patent in the evening.
Https://patents.justia.com/patent/20250051438
Published Feb 13th 2025
I can’t find any mention of it on this forum.
Those who know more can tell if it’s significant.
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The patent application was published in February, already filed at the end of 2022. It always takes time with these. It’s not yet granted, but it already protects against competing patents.
This concerns the measurement of biomarkers. It has long been “known” that Bex would work in a “cold” tumor, i.e., a non-inflamed one. This same observation is now presented with measurement results, meaning that the inflammatory markers CRP, interferon gamma, TNF alpha, interleukins 6 and 8 indicate whether Bex should be started.
Measurements of IFN gamma and TNF alpha play the main role. They can be supplemented with IL6/8 and CRP. The idea is also put forward that CRP alone (which has probably been measured in all of us at some point in connection with inflammations) could be sufficient for the decision to start Bex.
Thus: Patients with low IFN gamma and TNF-α levels at baseline are more likely to benefit. (There was a story in CMD)
Based on ROC analysis, 83% of such patients experience clinical benefit from bexmarilimab treatment. Predictive accuracy increases to 91% when IL-6 and IL-8 are added to IFNg and TNF-α measurements.
Indeed, this is again ‘honey’ (a sweet deal), at least in the sense of seeing the honey pot, for a potential partner. Now, in phase 2 at the beginning of next year, preliminary efficacy as a combo needs to be proven, a partner will jump in, and in phase 3, efficacy would be what’s called ‘huge’. Faron has communicated that at least IFN gamma would proceed. Even without PD-1 combo therapy, it might be effective for some cancers selected with these markers. In that case, it could be combined with many other currently used treatments.
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Can anyone view this Carnegie report, is there anything new there?
today at 08.17 ∙ MFN
Carnegie has published a new commissioned research report initiating coverage on Faron Pharmaceuticals.
To access the full report and subscribe to future updates, visit DNB Carnegie Access:
edit: it was open after all…
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I’ll pull these from the report:
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