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Shield Therapeutics swings to profit in first half of 2020

09:32, 16th September 2020
Francesca Morgan
RNS Newswire
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Shield Therapeutics (LON: STX FOLLOW) has swung to profit in its first half of 2020 ended 30 June 2020 following an $11.4m upfront payment from ASK Pharm, its licence partner for Feraccru® in China.

In a half-year report Shield reported revenues of £8.9m (H1 2019: £0.430m) while profit for the period came to £3.1m from a £4.2m loss.

Net sales of Feraccru®, STX’s flagship product for adults with iron deficiency, in Europe were up 50% during the period from the previous 6 months. In fact, first half sales in 2020 have matched the sales for the whole of 2019 ‘notwithstanding the COVID-19 pandemic.’

The group also recorded a net cash inflow from operating activities of £2m (H1 2019: £1.9m outflow) which meant that cash at the period end stood at £6.5m (FY19:: £4.1m)

Tim Watts, Chief Executive of Shield Therapeutics, said the group had made “excellent progress” in China with research-based pharmaceutical enterprise, ASK Pharm, in reaching an agreement on a development plan for Feraccru® with the Chinese regulatory authorities. 

Shares in Shield Therapeutics have traded strongly over the past three months and were up 16.11% at 122.5p this morning following the announcement.

STX price chart

Outlook

In recent weeks, a re-analysis of the group’s AEGIS-H2H study data has demonstrated that Feraccru®/Accrufer® is a credible alternative to IV iron therapy with economic advantages.

The company said its main priority for the rest of 2020 is to secure a commercialisation partner for Accrufer® in the US. It said it remains confident of securing a partner this year.

The company recently ordered launch stocks of US packs of Accrufer® - the name in which Feraccru® is known in the US - which should be available for sale by around the end of 2020.

The group expects that Feraccru® sales in the UK and Germany will continue to grow during H2 2020 and 2021, and that increased royalties will as a result flow from that growth. However, launches in the other major European markets are not expected until late 2021 as pricing and reimbursement negotiations in those countries can take 12 to 18 months. 

Overall, the group's cash runway extends into the first quarter of 2021 without including potential upfronts from any out-licensing agreements or other sources of financing.

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