I caught the mention “We have already selected our CRO that we will work together.” Additionally, it was mentioned that it’s a CRO giant. Is this new information or did I miss something? I do remember this possibility being presented as one of many, but nothing certain was announced at the time. If a CRO has already been selected, this would strongly suggest that they are heading into Phase II/III without a BP partner. Eyes certainly turn to funding.. Where is the money coming from? Are they relying on getting a slice of the 10 billion European pot? Have there possibly already been some preliminary discussions about it, and based on those, they have dared to take this path?
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CRO has been covered in the thread before. A research organization that handles the trials; a partner is a completely different matter.
Good presentation by Bono, what was new to me was the new solid tumor advisory board, apparently these three new? people on Faron’s website. They’re not just any random guys.
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Yes, yes, but I would believe that a partner (who pays for the whole thing) would want to choose the CRO themselves. BP (Big Pharma) certainly has existing collaborations with certain CROs. If Faron has chosen a CRO without a partner, then in my opinion, it suggests that a partner is no longer being actively sought, but rather they have decided to proceed on their own. This is, of course, just speculation.
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One would have indeed expected some kind of announcement from Faron at the end of this “business half.” Well, in the opinion of Bono etc., there is a future and the pipeline is bursting…
Well, Faron needs about €50-100M at the beginning of next year to keep the pipeline running. Surely the partner is already known and the CRO has been jointly selected. Maybe they want to come out with this only during Q1 – for one reason or another. The EU and €10bn could be one reason – the need for support and the (granted) amount will likely also become clear during Q1.
It would be a massive surprise if Faron were somehow able to take BEX all the way to becoming a drug, but they would really need to issue a stock exchange release with the headline “change of strategy” for that.. Juho has been silent and “soon” will be gone by tomorrow. They need to scrape together that money from somewhere… He’s in for some pressure at the start of the year and exciting plot twists for us retail investors… This year’s final word was “soon” – what will the opening words of next year be?
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If the names are on paper, it must be disclosed without delay according to the law. There is no option to announce an existing agreement with a delay. i.e., a partnership agreement does not currently exist (unless it was signed just now and they are currently drafting the release).
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The parties agree on the signing date among themselves.. Without signatures, there is nothing to announce..
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A deal might be agreed upon, but it doesn’t mean there are names on paper yet.
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I personally find the oldest news about this EU support package from around the middle of this month. I wouldn’t hold my breath while waiting for a decision on such support. It certainly needs to be applied for, but I wonder if the distribution criteria have even been decided yet? Personally, I’m mulling over the possibility that such support exists, but I don’t expect it to be in Faron’s coffers for at least the next six months = the period during which money must somehow be found, from somewhere.
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Well, the year is drawing to a close. This is how I see the story and the plot playing out. The CFO was replaced, and the Dutchman was put (as the best horse) to chase subsidies from Brussels. The deal team, for their part, has been negotiating a contract that is likely a done deal, or at least very close to it. Now, the contract isn’t being signed because Faron is angling for significant research grants and EU money. Does a partner deal worth tens of millions affect the granting of that support and the perceived need for it? Perhaps a little, so the marching order is:
-
EU money
-
Partner deal
if those fail
- a) Directed or b) public offering
Edit: There is room and research potential in Faron for €500m and even more…
Happy New Year (and sorry for the spec)
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If Faron has signed an agreement with a CRO, it warrants a stock exchange release. Video chats don’t count as official disclosures. Well, this isn’t the first time Faron has tested the boundaries of the disclosure obligations under the Securities Markets Act. If this trend continues, the FIN-FSA (Fiva) will intervene one day.
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Could an additional reason for the delay be that the money is preferably distributed within the EU, meaning it would be beneficial for the partner to also be an EU firm like Bayer, and they are now waiting to see if the most favorable deal can be reached with such a combination?
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Was BEXNOVA really an unintentional leak after all? Novartis certainly knows about these upcoming EU support projects, just like other European BPs.
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I don’t quite see how the selection of a CRO would be so material that failing to disclose it would break the law.
A partnership deal is one thing, and it definitely must be disclosed. A CRO, on the other hand, is mainly a subcontractor that performs certain tasks more efficiently and at a lower cost than Faron could manage on its own.
From Wikipedia:
CROs are designed to reduce costs for companies developing new medicines and drugs in niche markets. They aim to simplify entry into drug markets, and simplify development, as the need for large pharmaceutical companies to do everything ‘in house’ is now redundant.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contract_research_organization
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Same as above, the selection can be made well in advance, but the announcement will only be made once the ink has dried (perhaps by the selected CRO).
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Faron has experience applying for EU funding: €6M for Traumakine in 2012 and later €2.5M from the Horizon 2020 program. Having listened to Juho’s talks, they surely want to explore this option, and my own opinion is that it’s definitely worth it if “free” money is available.
And a future partner will likely also encourage this, so I wouldn’t be surprised at all if these things—EU funding and the partnership deal—were announced at the same time.
An essential part of this EU biotech initiative is also the acceleration of bureaucracy. The maximum timelines for nearly all processes were halved, which bodes well with EU approval in mind, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if EU authorization came before the FDA.
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A publicly listed company must issue a stock exchange release without delay regarding all contracts concerning the company’s future that may have an impact on the share price or valuation level. Faron’s share price seemed to take a small upward spurt earlier this week (it could, of course, have been due to something other than Bono’s video?). In these public statements, a principle of extreme caution should be observed. If Faron were unlisted, then things could be allowed to happen without having to write so many formal releases 
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The Bono video mentioned above is from late October. A lot of water has flowed since then, even in the Aurajoki. Monday’s share price spurt was likely due to expectations generated by the long holidays. This news blackout is starting to get annoying. I’d throw the ball to Inderes, even if this ends up being deleted for advertising.
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Things will start happening again in March at the latest. That’s when the financial statements and the annual general meeting are scheduled. We’ll get to ask tough questions right there in person. In January, there is the JPMorgan Healthcare conference. During February, they will inevitably have to start showing their hand, to use a poker term. But let’s enjoy the New Year first and look at new plans for Faron next year.
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Kauppalehti rated Faron as one of the coming year’s stock market rockets, and the price jumps every time something positive is written about the company there.
I suppose the selection of a CRO can affect the share price, but it’s no bigger news than choosing a cleaning company for the office. Even unnecessary stock exchange releases do sway the share price.
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Aha, so an old video has been brought up now. Or rather, one sentence from a video. Apparently, some people think there has been too little news from Faron leading up to Christmas. Personally, I mainly follow stock exchange releases; I don’t have time to watch every video and social media post. I’m sure some material announcements will start coming in the spring.
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