Summary
Kauppalehti Economic Morning 4.3.26
2025 was an excellent year for us regarding drug development, as you said, losses were made quite famously and in steady amounts, but the medical results were exceptionally good and right now I would like to express my thanks to all our shareholders and supporters in Finland, of whom there is a large number, that together we have achieved something, I would say, exceptional—that is, we are developing a drug against blood cancer, for which there has been no new treatment in 20 years; we’ve even gone to the moon, but a drug for this has not been found, and now we have so far achieved some of the world’s best results in this.
So, your lead product is this cancer drug called Bexmarilimab. Briefly, what does it actually do?
Yes, it’s a receptor on the surface of a cell called a macrophage. Now, the blood cancer we are treating is a macrophage; those cells have, those cancer cells have gone crazy, so now they all have that receptor, which we then target with Bex—meaning we attach to it—so we essentially turn off the cancer’s defense mechanism and then get the immune system to attack the cancer. So we’re not talking about a traditional toxic cancer drug here, but rather getting the body to kill the cancer.
So, it’s a bit like training the body.
Yes, exactly so.
And removing the defense mechanism from the cancer.
Well, Faron’s big news for the beginning of the year is that you need 40 million euros in additional funding through a rights issue, and now on Monday, the general meeting authorized the board to seek this additional funding through a rights issue.
What is this money actually needed for?
Yes, that’s right.
The board has made a plan for this.
We intend to conduct the next phase clinical trial as planned next.
What also happened in 2025 was that when we published these excellent results, our biggest competitor, a pharmaceutical giant named AbbVie, actually failed in its own attempt in this blood cancer.
And now the way is clear, and that’s when you have to put the pedal to the metal.
That’s what we’re raising money for: to push forward at full speed, to maintain the lead, because new competitors will be coming up behind us.
That’s why the raise is happening.
I understood that, yes, the money is needed for drug development and it’s expensive, but wasn’t this money supposed to be funded through a partnership agreement with a pharmaceutical company?
That’s also still possible, and partner discussions are continuing closely around this.
Now, this failed clinical attempt by AbbVie has brought some after-effects; some caution has entered this sector, but regarding a very difficult blood cancer.
However, we have excellent results for it.
Partner discussions have had to be recalibrated.
We’ve had to learn from what went wrong in AbbVie’s attempt.
We have adjusted our development plan accordingly.
And now partner discussions have had to be recalibrated.
They are still ongoing.
It’s one option, but we can’t, so to speak, stay lying in the line of fire. We must continue forward.
We must remain strong and in that leading position.
So that’s why this is a very important funding round for us.
Yet, regarding a partner, this agreement was promised in 2024 and 2025.
So what has it been stuck on, that they haven’t materialized?
Proposals and offers have come in.
In 2024, it was said openly that the offers weren’t quite enough.
We know what our value is or what kind of significant scientific contribution we are making here.
So in 2024, it wasn’t enough.
Let’s say, we’ll finish these clinical trials as we did.
And now we’ve reached the level where we need to be.
Now we’re talking about the right things.
The world is cruel.
Our financial situation is also looked at because we are a public company.
That is used ruthlessly against us.
That’s why we must remain strong, stay in control, and keep our own fate in our own hands.
What kind of offer would be enough?
I cannot specify that.
What kind of companies have you been negotiating with?
Probably individual partners can’t be named, but is it Big Pharma—these large partners—or smaller companies?
There’s a mix of both; there are quite a few parties involved.
At the moment, the most significant ones are mid-sized companies that specialize in blood cancer.
Big Pharma is also involved, but Big Pharma looks at this from a slightly different angle.
I really can’t say names.
Big Pharma is interested in what the future drug sales will be.
MDS, the blood cancer we treat, is a moderately sized market.
That interests mid-sized pharma.
Big Pharma is interested in large indications, truly massive sales.
MDS is right on the edge for them.
In addition to what we are doing now with this funding round, we intend to produce data in several different cancers.
Then, if we can show that, wait a minute, this isn’t just for this blood cancer, but it also works in this cancer, then that is what Big Pharma ultimately wants to see.
Are you in negotiations right now?
Yes.
How many?
Enough.
Well, what would you say to investors who once again have to fund Faron, even though they might have been expecting a partner deal and a return on their investment?
Well, now if ever, we are at the right tables, with the right sums.
I know it has taken time.
These things often take time.
Partly also, conditions change around us, as in this AbbVie case.
We’ve had to adapt our operations.
In my opinion, companies that can’t adapt to circumstances usually don’t succeed.
Companies that can adapt, listen, learn, understand, and adjust become successful companies.
This is how I see our situation.
Fortunately, we are small, agile, and I would say smart.
We have adapted.
We have taken the lessons learned.
We’re pushing forward.
One example.
I could say in layman’s terms:
Now we are putting a touchscreen into the handset.
Putting a touchscreen into a handset requires more investment.
What makes this moment different from, say, 2025 or 2024?
Now we are starting several clinical trials in different cancers.
Now the data battery we intend to produce is significantly larger and broader.
Back in 2024–2025, we had to concentrate our operations and resources entirely on this one thing to get on our feet.
2024 was a crisis year for us.
aiming to get on our feet.
We delivered excellent results.
Now we’re thinking of opening up that front and pushing a bit broader front again.
How far will this 40 million euros last, if it is raised?
Until the end of 2027.
Will that allow for this third phase to be completed?
Phase 2/3 has its two parts.
Now this Phase 1–2 has been what’s called an open label study.
People see what’s happening in it.
The FDA has wanted the “gold standard” from us next; they want a blinded, randomized study.
Meaning nobody knows who gets what.
And that will be BEX plus standard chemotherapy versus standard chemotherapy alone.
Nobody knows who gets what.
And then the cards are turned over.
That is the ultimate test that is needed, what the FDA wants, so that the drug can receive approval.
The FDA is the federal drug administration of the United States.
Yes.
The United States is the main market you’re targeting.
It is by far the largest market.
And the fastest to process these marketing authorization applications.
Finally, Faron CEO Juho Jalkanen.
What will happen at Faron this year? What are the milestones for this year?
[/details]The steps forward.
The board will then decide on the financing round.
And then it will be announced at a time the board decides.
From here on, the emphasis will be on clinical development.
Commercial negotiations will also continue.
They may materialize, but we will not wait for them, as the most important thing is specifically to keep the development ongoing.
To produce the next data points for these commercial discussions as well.
The next data points, whether they are from blood cancer or solid tumors, will be significantly valuable for us in these negotiations.
Is there a plan for when these data points, information, and results will be coming to investors?
They will be presented over the course of this spring.
All right. Thank you very much for the interview, Faron CEO Juho Jalkanen.
