REG - Syncona Limited - Achilles announces strategic update

SynconaAnnouncement

19/09/2024 12:15

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RNS Number : 8993E  Syncona Limited  19 September 2024

19 September 2024

 

Syncona Limited

 

Achilles announces strategic update

 

Syncona Ltd, ("Syncona" or the "Company"), a leading life science investor
focused on creating, building and scaling a portfolio of global leaders in
life science, notes that its investment Achilles Therapeutics ("Achilles") has
announced a strategic update. The company will discontinue its lead programme,
close its clinical trials and explore strategies for maximising value from its
remaining assets. Key updates include:

 

·      Achilles will discontinue its TIL-based cNeT programme and close
the Phase I/IIa CHIRON and THETIS clinical trials

·      The company will refocus its strategy to explore further
engagement with third parties who are developing alternative modalities to
target clonal neoantigens for the treatment of cancers

·      BofA Securities has been engaged as a financial adviser to
explore value-maximising strategies

·      Strategic alternatives may include, but are not limited to, an
acquisition, merger, reverse merger, business combination, asset sale,
licensing or other transaction

·      As of 30 June 2024, the company had $95.1 million in cash and
cash equivalents

·      Achilles has proposed cost-cutting measures, including a
workforce reduction

 

As of 30 June 2024, Syncona's holding value in Achilles was £7.1 million,
equating to 0.6 per cent of Syncona's Net Asset Value. Syncona moved Achilles
from the strategic portfolio to being classified as a Syncona investment
during the last financial year, after the company was unable to demonstrate
its ability to be competitive in its area of development. Syncona does not
hold a Board role at the company but, as a significant shareholder (24.5 per
cent), has been engaging with the Board on the path forward.

 

Chris Hollowood, CEO of Syncona Investment Management Limited, said: "Achilles
has been investigating a highly innovative approach to treating cancer. Our
view has always been that in order to be competitive, the company needed to
demonstrate an ability to routinely manufacture its products at a high dose
and in significant numbers whilst delivering superior efficacy to comparable
treatments. Unfortunately the data released to date was unable to demonstrate
a route to a clear competitive advantage, although we believe a potentially
valuable platform has been built. We have been engaging with the company on
routes to maximise value and are supportive of the actions taken by the
leadership team as the best path forward for the company."

 

Achilles' announcement is copied below and can be accessed on the company's
website at https://achillestx.com/ (https://achillestx.com/) .

 

 ENDS 

 

Enquiries

 

Syncona Ltd

 

Natalie Garland-Collins / Fergus Witt

Tel: +44 (0)20 3981 7912

 

FTI Consulting

 

Ben Atwell / Tim Stamper

Tel: +44 (0) 20 3727 1000

 

About Syncona

 

Syncona's purpose is to invest to extend and enhance human life. We do this by
creating, building and scaling companies to deliver transformational
treatments to patients in areas of high unmet need.

 

We aim to build and maintain a diversified portfolio of 20-25 globally leading
life science businesses, across development stage, modality and therapeutic
area, for the benefit of all our stakeholders. We focus on developing
treatments that deliver patient impact by working in close partnership with
world-class academic founders and experienced management teams. Our balance
sheet underpins our strategy, enabling us to take a long-term view as we look
to improve the lives of patients with no or poor treatment options, build
sustainable life science companies and deliver strong risk-adjusted returns to
shareholders.

 

Forward-looking statements - this announcement contains certain
forward-looking statements with respect to the portfolio of investments of
Syncona Limited. These statements and forecasts involve risk and uncertainty
because they relate to events and depend upon circumstances that may or may
not occur in the future. There are a number of factors that could cause actual
results or developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied
by these forward-looking statements. In particular, many companies in the
Syncona Limited portfolio are conducting scientific research and clinical
trials where the outcome is inherently uncertain and there is significant risk
of negative results or adverse events arising. In addition, many companies in
the Syncona Limited portfolio have yet to commercialise a product and their
ability to do so may be affected by operational, commercial and other risks.

 

Syncona Limited seeks to achieve returns over the long term. Investors should
seek to ensure they understand the risks and opportunities of an investment in
Syncona Limited, including the information in our published documentation,
before investing.

 

 

 

 

Achilles Therapeutics Announces Strategic Update

 

-Achilles to discontinue development of TIL-based cNeT therapy-

 

-Cash position of $95.1 million as of June 30, 2024-

 

-BofA Securities engaged to provide strategic financial advice-

 

London, UK 19 September 2024 - Achilles Therapeutics plc (NASDAQ: ACHL) today
announced the discontinuation of its TIL-based cNeT program and closure of the
Phase I/IIa CHIRON and THETIS clinical trials. The Company will refocus its
strategy to explore further engagement with third parties who are developing
alternative modalities to target clonal neoantigens for the treatment of
cancers, such as neoantigen vaccines, ADCs, and TCR-T therapies. Concurrently,
the Company has engaged BofA Securities as a financial advisor in the process
of exploring and reviewing value-maximizing strategies.

 

"Our data continue to illustrate the importance of clonal neoantigens as
targets and show some clinical activity, however our studies in lung cancer
and melanoma have not met our goals for commercial viability. We are grateful
for the support and commitment of our patients, investigators, employees and
shareholders throughout this journey," said Dr Iraj Ali, Chief Executive
Officer of Achilles Therapeutics. "We are actively exploring new opportunities
to leverage our substantial assets and cutting-edge technology platforms. Our
goal remains to drive the development of effective treatments for patients and
create long-term value for our shareholders."

 

In connection with the strategic update, the Company is implementing an
employee consultation process in line with UK legislation proposing a
workforce reduction and undertaking other cost-cutting measures. The Company
recognizes the significant contributions of its talented team and is committed
to supporting all employees throughout this transition period. Achilles
intends to retain all employees essential for supporting value-realization as
part of its strategic review.

 

As of June 30, 2024, the Company had $95.1 million in cash and cash
equivalents.

 

The full clinical data generated from the Phase I/IIa CHIRON trial in patients
with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and the Phase I/IIa THETIS
trial in patients with recurrent or metastatic melanoma will be presented in
an upcoming forum.

 

The process of exploring strategic alternatives may include, but is not
limited to, an acquisition, merger, reverse merger, business combination,
asset sale, licensing, or other transactions. There can be no assurance that
the exploration of strategic alternatives will result in any agreements or
transactions, or as to the timing of any such agreements or
transactions. Achilles Therapeutics does not intend to discuss or disclose
further developments regarding the exploration of strategic alternatives
unless and until its Board of Directors has approved a definitive action or
otherwise determined that further disclosure is appropriate or required by
law.

 

About Achilles Therapeutics

Achilles is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing AI-powered
precision T cell therapies targeting clonal neoantigens: protein markers
unique to the individual that are expressed on the surface of every cancer
cell. The Company had in progress two Phase I/IIa trials, the CHIRON trial in
patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and the THETIS trial
in patients with recurrent or metastatic melanoma. Achilles uses DNA
sequencing data from each patient, together with its proprietary PELEUS™
bioinformatics platform, to identify clonal neoantigens specific to that
patient, and then develop precision T cell-based product candidates
specifically targeting those clonal neoantigens.

 

About TRACERx

TRACERx (TRAcking Cancer Evolution through therapy (Rx)), led by Professor
Charles Swanton at UCL
(https://www.globenewswire.com/Tracker?data=nfO1PUZ5vXlh9x0Q6fnoRIteoZuqGHEngwNwh6k3KT8NfQcQx8s1SfMYVojlO-qf)
, is one of the largest tumor evolution studies to generate deep sequencing
multi-region and multi-time point genetic data from over 3,200 tumor samples
from nearly 800 lung cancer patients. TRACERx has transformed the
understanding of tumor evolution and has convincingly shown that tumors
originate from a single cell that evolves in a Darwinian manner and the early
(clonal) mutations are preserved in all subsequent primary and metastatic
tumor cells. The study, which has generated numerous publications, uncovered
important mechanisms of cancer evolution and immune evasion by analyzing
genetic signatures in lung tumors and tracking how they evolve over time from
diagnosis through to relapse. These findings provide the ability to identify a
novel class of tumor markers called clonal neoantigens that are present on all
tumor cells yet absent from healthy tissue, making them ideal cancer targets.
TRACERx represents the largest investment in lung cancer research by Cancer
Research UK and Achilles has exclusive commercial rights to the TRACERx study
data for development of neoantigen-targeting cell therapies.

 

About PELEUS

PELEUS is a proprietary, AI-powered bioinformatics platform built and
validated through exclusive access to TRACERx knowhow and genomics data.
PELEUS uses sophisticated Bayesian statistical algorithms to distinguish which
mutations, or neoantigens, in a patient's tumor are clonal or subclonal by
synthesizing DNA sequencing information from multiple tumor regions. Clonal
neoantigens are protein markers that are present on all of an individual's
cancer cells but are absent from healthy tissue, making them ideal cancer
targets.

 

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains express or implied forward-looking statements that
are based on the Company management's belief and assumptions and on
information currently available to the Company's management. Forward-looking
statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements
regarding the Company's clinical trials and the Company's beliefs about its
goals for the trials; expectations related to the Company's cash runway and
operating expenses and capital expense requirements; and the Company's review
and evaluation of potential strategic alternatives and their impact on
stockholder value. Although the Company believes that the expectations
reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, these statements
relate to future events or the Company's future operational or financial
performance, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other
factors that may cause the Company's actual results, performance, or
achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance
or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. The
forward-looking statements in this press release represent the Company's views
as of the date of this press release. We anticipate that subsequent events and
developments will cause the Company's views to change. However, while the
Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in
the future, the Company has no current intention of doing so except to the
extent required by applicable law. You should therefore not rely on these
forward-looking statements as representing the Company's views as of any date
subsequent to the date of this press release.

 

Other

Merrill Lynch International (BofA Securities), a subsidiary of Bank of America
Corporation, which is authorized by the Prudential Regulation Authority and
regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation
Authority in the United Kingdom, is acting exclusively for the Company in
connection with the matters that are set out in this announcement and for no
one else and will not be responsible to anyone other than the Company for
providing the protections afforded to its clients or for providing advice in
relation to the subject matter of this announcement or any other matters
referred to in this announcement.

 

 

 

For further information, please contact:

Investors:

Meru Advisors

Lee M. Stern

lstern@meruadvisors.com (mailto:lstern@meruadvisors.com)

 

Media:

ICR Consilium

Sukaina Virji, Tracy Cheung

+44 (0) 203 709 5000
achillestx@consilium-comms.com (mailto:achillestx@consilium-comms.com)

 

 

 

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