Faron Pharmaceuticals - Innovatiivisia lääketieteen ratkaisuja (Osa 2)

[Kulkuri]

Since the wise heads of this forum still seem to be on holiday, I took the liberty of asking my own expert, who is an AI but not ChatGPT:

1. New information: Differentiation by TP53 mutation status

This is the most significant new piece of information. Previously, Faron has spoken about responses more broadly, but here they have been broken down by TP53 gene mutation:

• Treatment-naïve (new patients):

  • 91 % ORR (wt TP53, i.e., wild-type/normal gene). This is a staggering figure.

  • 78 % ORR (mTP53, i.e., mutated gene). This is the “difficult” patient group for which there are currently no good treatments. The fact that even in this group we are reaching nearly 80 percent is a very strong medical result.

  • Biallelic ORR: 83 %. This is very specific data on the most difficult form of mutation.

2. New information: R/R MDS (relapsed/refractory)

It was previously known that responses in R/R patients are lower, but here it is now in black and white:

• 74 % ORR (wt TP53). This is a very competitive figure in this difficult patient group.

• 46 % ORR (mTP53). Although the figure is lower than in new patients, it is still significant because the prognosis for R/R mTP53 patients has traditionally been very poor.

My “expert” explained that data as being so good from an investor’s perspective that I don’t dare add it here.

[ValkoinenPeura]

282 new owners for Faron in two days on Nordnet alone:

After today, the figure will likely be 400, and by doubling that, we get roughly the number of new retail investors in three days.

Kauppalehti’s marketing as the “gainer of the year” is doing its job, and the share price development still relies on retail investors’ buying appetite; hopefully, everyone participating in the lottery wins.

[Vino_Pino]

@MyrtsiZzz

Wasn’t JPM the bank handling Faron’s partnering discussions? Was there even any specific information about this?

In the Faron/Juho webcast, a slide was presented that addressed partnering strategy with “enhanced management team and collaboration with a leading investment bank”. JPM has not been named. Faron Pharmaceuticals - Innovatiivisia lääketieteen ratkaisuja (Osa 1) - #10936 käyttäjältä Vino_Pino

In itself, participating in JPM is the most significant of the calendar meetings previously compiled in the thread, in terms of partnering. Everyone will certainly be there. Those who already know they are a partner, and those who don’t know it yet. It’s likely improbable that a deal would be announced right then. In Stubb’s words, the (peace) agreement is closer than ever. It can’t exactly get any further away, if and when it is eventually signed…

[Dionysos]

And additionally, major shareholders’ holdings increased last month. A very good direction!

[Kulkuri]

https://nordiclifescience.org/finns-fighting-cancer-a-small-nation-with-global-impact/

Finns Fighting Cancer – A Small Nation with Global Impact

Not just praise for Finland / Faron, but a slightly broader company overview.

[Bimmer]

Zeidan presented this data at ASH 2025.

https://forum.inderes.com/t/faron-pharmaceuticals-innovatiivisia-laaketieteen-ratkaisuja-osa-2/66933/2123

[Kulkuri]

https://www.tipranks.com/stocks/gb:farn?utm_source=msn.com&utm_medium=referral

Faron has been analyzed again. As I see it, it’s pretty much the usual buzz. What’s more significant is WHO is doing it. That visibility, then.

So: TipRanks = MSN = Microsoft

[Vino_Pino]

Faron Pharmaceuticals - Innovatiivisia lääketieteen ratkaisuja (Osa 2)

[image]

Juho has a speaking slot at the Global BioInnovation Forum, held during the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference.

It is a virtual event focusing on bio-innovations and future healthcare solutions.

The organizer is FINN Partners, an international marketing agency (FINN does not mean Finnish in this context) that specializes in healthcare, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical industry communications, as well as investor relations. 1BusinessWorld, for its part, provides the platform. Juho will present Faron’s perspective on this:

It looks like you can also register at 2026 Global BioInnovation Forum | 1BusinessWorld. Juho is on Jan 13, 2026, at 10:30 AM San Francisco time for 30 min. What is the benefit for Faron? Visibility and networking.

[Vino_Pino]

@Kulkuri

Wasn’t Juho J previously Faron’s COO (Chief Operating Officer)? What’s the status of this “office” nowadays? Who handles those duties, or is it unnecessary?

I don’t think Faron has a COO right now. Juho was in that role to grow into the CEO position. Operational management is likely currently handled by the VP, Operations. It’s not C-level; it reports to the CEO and would also report to a COO if one existed.

That fancy-sounding Vice President role, which is mainly a director-level title, is held at Faron by Briton Joab Williamson. His duties include, among others, trial, clinical, and budget management. So, for example, the operational management of research projects and their budget management.

Joab announced a few days ago that he has written a book chapter with Alex Spencer:

Translated like this:
"I’m happy to share that a book chapter I co-authored with my friend and co-writer, Alexander Spicer, has just been published: ‘The Ethics of Optimism: Managing Investor Expectations in Biotech and Pharma.’

It’s part of the Business Ethics in the Healthcare Industry (Springer) course, and it addresses a question most people in the biotech/pharma industry have encountered at some point:
How do you maintain momentum and optimism in external communication without drifting into hype, oversimplifying, or setting expectations that you cannot reasonably meet?

We examine how announcements, headlines, and governance choices shape investor perceptions, why the dynamics between institutional and retail investors are significant, and what ‘constructive transparency’ can look like in practice. Our goal was to promote transparency in drug development beyond just the legal minimum."

Juho and Bono also liked Joab’s post. You can bet that following the Faron thread has provided some juicy bits or at least inspiration for that book. There’s no information on how the institutional investors give feedback. Perhaps via the shareholder list after expert consultations. On the other hand, there is no shortage of feedback from retail investors. How, for example, all communication can be twisted to the extreme—either negative (or positive). If the aforementioned post is seen as a positive, then points for daring to reflect on those questions semi-publicly.

Biotech Ethics: Managing Investor Expectations in Biotech and Pharma | Joab...

[Kulkuri]

Faron Pharmaceuticals Ltd: Approval of Share Subscriptions Based on Special...

[Spider]

Meanwhile, elsewhere: According to reports from the Financial Times and Reuters, among others, Merck is in talks to acquire Revolution Medicines, a developer of cancer drugs. The purchase price is expected to be between 28 and 32 billion dollars.

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/merck-talks-buy-biotech-revolution-medicines-ft-reports-2026-01-08/

Revolution Medicines is a clinical-stage precision oncology company developing new targeted therapies for RAS-dependent cancers. It has drug candidates in both Phase 1 and Phase 2. RAS is an oncogene that causes cancer when mutated. RAS mutations occur in 20 percent of all cancer cases.

[MyrtsiZzz]

A fairly good reference, although Daraxonrasib has fewer indications compared to Bex and it is still in quite an early stage in trials, so anything can happen. But the money is big in these markets.

Pipeline – Revolution Medicines

[BexBear]

Well, this is at least something. It’s going quite well if someone is offering 28-32 big ones.

Even if it’s in the early stages and what have you, at least it’s something concrete. I wonder which one to put my money into.

Faron has nothing but repetitive forum chatter, and that “big payoff” is like the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ apocalypse. It’s supposedly happened quite a few times already according to the talk. Yet, the world hasn’t ended.

[Searcci]

There is certainly a difference compared to Faron in that Revolution’s market cap has already reached 10 billion in 2024. Even 5 years ago, it was about ten times that of Faron. The pricing is not directly comparable as such.

[Kulkuri]

Idleness leads to all kinds of research:

Why are small biotechs like Faron of interest to Big Pharma right now? Because the years 2026-2028 will see the largest “patent cliff” in history. Merck (Keytruda), BMS (Revlimid, Eliquis) and Pfizer (Ibrance) will lose tens of billions in annual sales. They are under massive pressure to fill this gap with new innovations (such as bexmarilimab), and J.P. Morgan week is where these deals often start to take shape.

Here are some reports on the Merck - Celgene - BMS issues to start with:

https://www.pharmexec.com/view/jp-morgan-2026-preview-merck-prepares-patent-cliff

https://www.i-mak.org/2025/04/04/how-celgene-and-bristol-myers-squibb-used-volume-restrictions-to-delay-revlimid-competition/

There would be an endless amount of research to do. However, the main message is above.

[ValkoinenPeura]

@Kulkuri

Idleness leads to all kinds of research:

What research? Are you calling your own comment research in this context?

The expiration of patent protection for many different drugs is a well-known fact and affects the entire drug development sector in general. Faron is certainly one among those that Big Pharma follows, but at least so far, Faron has not been caught in anyone’s net.

[Kulkuri]

I apologize for any potential scientific inaccuracies or grammatical errors in my post. However, I have aimed to clarify matters that might not be obvious to everyone on the forum. After all, this is a discussion forum, not a medical journal. Nitpicking is perfectly fine, though.

[Koodinikkari]