Marinomed Biotech AG continues its growth path and reports strong financials in H1 2022
- Record H1 revenues; increase by 52 % compared to H1 2021
- Operating Result (EBIT) for the first half year improved to € -2.5 m
- Carragelose sales remain high; important new partnerships in the US and Asia
- First Solv4U partnerships are advancing to follow-on projects
- Marinomed confirms financial outlook for 2022
- Conference Call today, 25 August, at 10.00 a.m. CEST (9:00 a.m. BST)
Marinomed Biotech AG (VSE:MARI), an Austrian science-based biotech company with globally marketed therapeutics, reported today financial results for the first half of the financial year 2022. “The current year has been very successful from our business perspective and underlines the steadily increasing traction that Marinomed is gaining. The recent deals are important steps to foster our geographical expansion strategy. We will work closely with our partners Procter & Gamble (P&G) in the U.S.A, with Hanmi in South Korea and with M8 in Latin America to support their interactions with the respective regulatory authorities for market approval,” said Dr. Andreas Grassauer, Marinomed’s CEO. “Business development and visibility are top priorities on our agenda. We are working to advance our strategy for building a Marinosolv- and Carragelose-based Rx segment. For our first target indications, we are now planning the specifics of preclinical and / or further clinical development. We look forward to taking the next steps in our scientific development and further intensifying our partnering efforts. In the first half year of 2022, we have also been successful with our new Solv4U business, an offering for external partners to take advantage of our Marinosolv technology for the solubilization of active pharmaceutical ingredients. We have already completed a number of proof-of-concept studies and are setting up several, more extensive, follow-on projects.”
Pascal Schmidt, CFO of Marinomed, said: “On the financial side, we continue to deliver strong quarterly results with once again high Carragelose revenues. With the increasing income and the receipt of the last tranche of € 6 m from the European Investment Bank (EIB) financing agreement in February, we are entering the second half of 2022 with more than € 11 m in cash and cash equivalents, putting us in a stable financial position. This has allowed us to temporarily put our flexible financing program with Nice & Green on hold. We will continue to intensify our investor relations activities and will update our shareholders and potential investors at several upcoming conferences in the second half of the year.” Operative highlights in H1 2022 and after the reporting period Early in 2022, Marinomed strengthened its business development significantly with its first CBO, Dr. Cornelia Kutzer. She brings a wealth of experience and has already made substantial contributions to Marinomed’s partnering and licensing progress.
To broaden Marinomed’s professional network, the Annual General Meeting elected Dr. Elisabeth Lackner and Ulrich Kinzel to the Supervisory Board on 15 June 2022. Both are renowned experts with a long-standing track record in the life sciences and more broadly the healthcare industry as well as extensive capital market expertise. In the first half year, Marinomed has expanded its network of partners and the reach of its Carragelose products in important markets worldwide. Hanmi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., one of the largest South Korean pharmaceutical companies, has obtained a license to distribute Carragelose nasal sprays. In Australia, Marinomed’s distribution network was strengthened: following the acquisition of Carragelose licensee ENT Technologies Pty Ltd, Aspen Pharmacare Australia will continue marketing the Carragelose nasal spray backed by its extensive resources. In May, Marinomed entered into a license agreement with Procter & Gamble (P&G) for the US. P&G will take the necessary steps to seek regulatory approval for the commercialization of the Carragelose products in the U.S., while Marinomed is responsible for the technology transfer. Under the terms of the agreement and depending on the achievement of specified regulatory and commercial milestones, Marinomed is eligible to receive milestone payments as well as royalties on Carragelose sales in the U.S. This deal will give Marinomed the important geographical expansion of its Carragelose partner network to one of the world’s largest over-the-counter (OTC) markets.
To best build on its successful achievements in the OTC market, the Company is implementing an augmented strategy and is moving towards developing Rx products for diseases with a high unmet medical need in immunology, with a focus on autoreactive immune disorders, and virology. After the successful completion of a proof-of-principle Phase II clinical trial in 2021, Tacrosolv eye drops, which contain solubilized tacrolimus, will now be further developed in herpetic stromal keratitis (HSK), a rare eye disease with an attractive market potential. Furthermore, Marinomed has chosen viral pneumonia and autoimmune gastritis as first target indications. Validation of these development programs and design of the formal preclinical and / or clinical development plans are ongoing. Several candidates in Marinomed’s pipeline are based on the proprietary Marinosolv technology, which other pharmaceutical companies can gain access to since the launch of the Solv4U technology partnerships in Q4 2021. Marinomed has experienced continued interest from biotech and pharma companies and on this basis was able to initiate a number of feasibility studies. After successful completion of several of these, Marinomed is currently preparing more extensive follow-on projects for its external partners. In February 2022, Marinomed met all related milestones and received the final tranche of € 6 m under the financing agreement with EIB. Further, the company had entered a flexible Convertible Notes Funding Program with Nice & Green last year and received five tranches worth a total of € 1.5 m. Marinomed has decided to pause this financing as of July 2022 due to its stable financial position and current market environment.
H1 Financial Results and Outlook
With a continued high demand for Carragelose, Marinomed reports its strongest second quarter to date. Revenues for the first half 2022 increased to € 4.9 m compared to the previous year (H1 2021: € 3.2 m; +52 %) with sustained high sales of the virus blocker Carragelose. This quarter, Marinomed is introducing segment reporting and provides insights into its business areas virology, immunology, and other, which includes Solv4U. Out of these three segments, virology, including the OTC product line Carragelose, was responsible for the majority of the revenues. R&D expenses have decreased to € 3.3 m compared to the previous year (H1 2021: € 4.3 m, -22 %). This trend was already visible in Q1 2022 and is mostly due to the reduced clinical development activities compared to the last year. With the new augmented strategy 2025, R&D is now focusing on laboratory studies, which are less cost intensive. As Marinomed advances the development of its Rx product candidates into formal preclinical and later, clinical development, and together with a planned expansion of its pipeline, R&D expenses are expected to increase again in the coming years. The operating result (EBIT) was € -2.5 m, an improvement over the same period in the past year (H1 2021: € -3.6 m; +31 %). Net loss for the period was € 3.8 m compared to € 4.4 m in H1 2021, in line with the company’s business plan. Cash and cash equivalents amounted to € 11.0 m at the end of the second quarter 2022 (31 Dec. 2021: € 5.8 m). Marinomed confirms its financial outlook for the fiscal year: The Company expects continued growth of Carragelose revenues and a slight increase in R&D expenses, and consequently an operating loss for 2022. Marinomed plans to reach operating profitability in the medium term.
The full quarterly statement can be found on the Company’s website: https://www.marinomed.com/en/investors-esg/financial-publications
About Marinomed Biotech AG Marinomed Biotech AG is an Austrian, science-based biotech company with a growing development pipeline and globally marketed therapeutics. The Company develops innovative patent-protected products in the therapeutic areas immunology and virology based on the platform Marinosolv® and the virus-blocking activity of iota-carrageenan. The Marinosolv® technology improves the solubility and bioavailability of hardly soluble compounds and is used to develop new therapeutics for autoreactive immune disorders. The virology segment includes Carragelose®-based over-the-counter (OTC) products to prevent and treat respiratory viral infections that are partnered in more than 40 countries. Marinomed also develops drugs for other serious viral infectious diseases based on iotacarrageenan. The Company is headquartered in Korneuburg, Austria, and is listed on the prime market of the Vienna Stock Exchange (VSE:MARI). For further information, please visit: https://www.marinomed.com.
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Marinomed Biotech AG
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T +43 2262 90300 158
Email: pr@marinomed.com
IR: Stephanie Kniep
T +43 2262 90300 226
Email: ir@marinomed.com