REG - Solvonis Therapeutic - Engagement of PharmaVentures

Solvonis TherapeuticsAnnouncement

04/04/2025 07:00

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
https://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20250404:nRSD5966Da&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 5966D  Solvonis Therapeutics PLC  04 April 2025

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF ARTICLE 7 OF
EU REGULATION 596/2014 AS IT FORMS PART OF DOMESTIC LAW IN THE UNITED KINGDOM
BY VIRTUE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018. UPON THE PUBLICATION OF
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT VIA A REGULATORY INFORMATION SERVICE, THIS INSIDE
INFORMATION WILL BE CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.

 

04 April 2025

 

Solvonis Therapeutics plc

("Solvonis" or the "Company")

Engagement of PharmaVentures to advise on the commercialisation of late-stage
assets being acquired

 

Solvonis Therapeutics plc (LSE: SVNS), an innovative biotechnology company
co-developing therapeutics for mental health disorders, is pleased to announce
that it has engaged PharmaVentures Ltd ("PharmaVentures"), a leading global
biopharma transaction advisory firm, to support the commercialisation of two
clinical-stage programmes, AWKN-001 and AWKN-002. These programmes are being
acquired by Solvonis through its proposed acquisition of Awakn Life Sciences
Corp. ("Awakn"), which was first announced on 16 December 2024 and is expected
to complete in the second quarter of 2025.

 

Alcohol Use Disorder

AWKN-001 and AWKN-002 both target the treatment of Alcohol Use Disorder
("AUD"), a significant unmet medical need that is estimated to affect
approximately 10 million people across the UK and major EU markets, and 29
million in the US 1 . Currently, 90% of patients remain untreated, and the
existing treatments and standard of care have relapse rates of up to 75%(1).

 

 

PharmaVentures engagement

The engagement of PharmaVentures, by the Company, is structured in two phases:

·    Phase 1 - a review of comparable transaction valuations and market
sizing exercise in relation to target clinical use of AWKN-001 and AWKN-002;
and

·    Phase 2 - transaction advisory support to guide the commercialisation
strategy for AWKN-001.

 

Market opportunity for AWKN-001 and AWKN-002

The first phase of the engagement - the review of comparable transaction
valuations and market sizing exercise in relation to target clinical use of
AWKN-001 and AWKN-002 - has now been completed.  The analysis by
PharmaVentures shows the following:

·    AWKN-001 is a novel investigational combination therapy for the
treatment of severe AUD. It is targeting full mixed marketing authorisation in
the UK and EU, with expected regulatory protection to include eight years of
data exclusivity in the EU and ten years of concurrent market exclusivity in
both regions

 

Based on a market analysis by PharmaVentures, comparable transactions for
late-stage UK/EU-focused assets in the substance use disorder space, typically
achieve a total deal value of approximately £60 million, in upfront and
commercial milestone payments, plus additional future material royalties on
net sales 2 .

 

·    AWKN-002 is a proprietary, investigational, patent-pending sublingual
or buccal esketamine formulation designed for use alongside manualised
behavioural therapy in patients with moderate to severe AUD. It is currently
in Phase 2b planning in the US and is expected to follow the FDA's 505(b)(2)
regulatory pathway.

 

According to PharmaVentures' market analysis, subject to the successful
completion of the planned Phase 2b trial and based on similar transactions for
mid-stage assets, comparable assets typically achieve a total deal value of
approximately £150 million, in upfront and commercial milestone payments,
plus additional future material royalties on net sales(2).

 

Adrian Dawkes, Managing Director of PharmaVentures, commented: "Based on
market comparables and recent transactions in the substance use disorder
space, our analysis highlights the significant commercial potential of these
two clinical-stage programmes with potential value based on comparable assets
of more than £200 million as well as future material royalties on net sales.
Combined, AWKN-001 and AWKN-002 represent a significant commercial opportunity
with potential for significant licensing deals with substantial future royalty
streams."

Anthony Tennyson, CEO of Solvonis, added: "We are pleased to be working with
PharmaVentures to unlock the full value of these transformative mental health
treatments. Completing the market analysis phase marks an important milestone,
and we're excited to share these encouraging results. Our mission remains
clear: to bring life-changing therapies to patients while creating lasting
value for our shareholders."

 

Enquiries:

Solvonis Therapeutics plc, Anthony Tennyson, CEO & Executive Director,
Email: anthony@solvonis.com

Allenby Capital Limited (Financial Adviser and Broker) +44 (0) 20 3328 5656

Nick Naylor / Nick Athanas / Ashur Joseph (Corporate Finance) | Guy McDougall
(Sales)

 

About Solvonis Therapeutics plc

Solvonis Therapeutics plc is an innovative biotechnology company focused on
developing intellectual property related to the treatment of mental health and
substance use disorders, and co-developing therapeutics for mental health
disorders. Solvonis' mission is to improve outcomes for individuals suffering
from mental health disorders, with an initial focus on trauma-related mental
health conditions, such as PTSD. PTSD affected approximately 13 million adults
in the U.S. in 2020, with the Company estimating a current affected population
of 20 million across the U.S., UK, and key EU markets.

www.solvonis.com (http://www.solvonis.com) | LinkedIn
(http://www.linkedin.com/company/solvonis) | X (formerly Twitter)
(https://x.com/SolvonisTx)

 

About PharmaVentures

PharmaVentures is a transaction advisory firm and a leading international
company in partnering, M&A deals and strategic alliances. For the past 30
years, PharmaVentures has acted as advisor on over 1,000 deal related projects
covering licensing, mergers, acquisitions, divestments, and joint venture
activities for companies worldwide. PharmaVentures uses its extensive real
world experience coupled with its proven valuation methodologies, commercial
insight and data sources to value companies, assets and licensing deals.

PharmaVentures's valuations are typically used for internal, external and
statutory purposes in support of funding rounds, licensing deals, acquisitions
and asset sales.  PharmaVentures have valued assets across a wide range of
different therapy areas such as CNS, Ophthalmology, Oncology, GI and
Respiratory diseases.

All regulated activities are delivered through PharmaVentures Capital Ltd,
which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (741356),
and a wholly owned subsidiary of PharmaVentures Ltd.

https://www.pharmaventures.com/ (https://www.pharmaventures.com/)

 

 1 

-       US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services (SAMHSA), 2022
National Survey on Drug Use and Health

-       NICE - Alcohol-use disorders diagnosis, assessment and
management of harmful drinking (high-risk drinking) and alcohol dependence

-       Das DHS Jahrbuch Sucht 2024

-       INSERM Collective Expertise Centre. Reducing the harm associated
with alcohol consumption  Internet . Montrouge (FR): EDP Sciences; 2022. PMID:
36576976.

-       Monografía. Alcohol 2021: Consumo y Consecuencias

-       Mekonen, T., Chan, G. C. K., Connor, J., Hall, W., Hides, L. and
Leung, J. (2021) 'Treatment rates for alcohol use disorders: a systematic
review and meta-analysis'

 

 2  All contingent elements of any deal are subject to successful completion
of clinical development, regulatory approvals and achieving appropriate levels
of sales in the market once launched.

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  UPDUPUBGCUPAGCW