October – December
- Net sales amounted till-0,1 (2,4) MSEK
- The operating result for the period was -8.9 (-8.9) MSEK
- The net result was -9.1 (-8,9) corresponding to earnings per share of SEK -0.26 (-0.26)
- Cash flow from operating activities amounted to -10.2 (-9.9) MSEK
- Cash and cash equivalents amounted to 5.3 (34.0) MSEK
January – December
- Net sales amounted to 1.9 (3.6) MSEK
- The operating result for the period was -36.6 (37.3) MSEK
- The net result was -36.9 (-37.3) MSEK corresponding to earnings per share of SEK -1.07 (-1.16)
- Cash flow from operating activities amounted to -35.6 (-42.6) MSEK
Significant events 2022
- The R&D project with J&J moved into the next phase.
- A financing agreement of up to 40.8 MSEK signed with Nice & Green
- Max Mitteregger and Johan Lund were elected as new members of LIDDS’ Board of Directors. Max Mitteregger acquired in connection with the appointment to LIDDS’ Board of Directors shares at a total value of 4.5 MSEK through a directed share issue of 750,000 shares at a subscription price of 6 SEK, which corresponded to LIDDS’ share price at Nasdaq First North Growth Market at the time for a binding commitment to subscribe for the shares.
- Anders Månsson succeeded Nina Herne as CEO of LIDDS on 1 September 2022
- In December, the board decided on a rights issue of approximately SEK 48.6 million before deductions for issue costs, subject to the approval of an extraordinary general meeting. The rights issue was secured to approximately 96 percent through subscription commitments and issue guarantors.
Significant events after the reporting period
- The decided rights issue was approved at an extraordinary general meeting on January 9, 2023 and completed on February 6, 2023. The subscription summary showed that 25,253,268 shares, corresponding to approximately 72.7 percent of the rights issue, were subscribed with or without the support of subscription rights. The bottom guarantors were allocated approximately 8.6 percent of the rights issue, and the top guarantor approximately 14.4 percent of the rights issue. The company received approximately SEK 46.5 million before issue costs.
CEO comment
I took over as CEO of LIDDS in September 2022. What attracted me to the company was, above all, the intratumoral NanoZolid® technology's possibilities to increase the dose exposure locally, "on target", and thereby maximize the effect, while at the same time reducing the systemic exposure and thereby the side effects. The already established collaboration with a major world-renowned pharmaceutical company was also a factor, and the fact that the longest-developed own pharmaceutical project, Liproca Depot, had shown good results in prostate cancer, was also a factor. Now, at the beginning of 2023, we have financed the company to give the licensing of Liproca Depot the chance the project deserves; we are also working on expanding collaborations with larger companies around NanoZolid®, and we plan to bring more of our own projects into the clinical phase, which may also find interest among larger companies.
LIDDS is active in a very interesting area of development, namely intratumoral depot injections, in perhaps the hottest area of drug development – oncology (cancer treatment). Virtually all cancer treatment is carried out with more or less toxic and therefore side-effect-heavy substances, which if given directly into the blood will preferentially expose healthy tissue to the drug and thus create unwanted effects of varying severity. This means that the dosage is not always optimized with regard to effect, as one must constantly balance the effect of the drug against the risk of side effects. The technology on which LIDDS bases its business – NanoZolid® – is a technology that enables cancer drugs to be given as an injectable depot directly into a tumor, instead of indirectly via the bloodstream. This allows you to expose the tumor to a higher and more effective dose while avoiding the side effects that otherwise result from a large part of the drug circulating freely in the blood and also affecting healthy tissue.
LIDDS works with a divided business model – the company develops its own drug candidates, but also helps other pharmaceutical companies develop medicines based on LIDDS NanoZolid® technology in combination with the partner's active pharmaceutical ingredients. At the moment, LIDDS is collaborating in this regard with the large and well-known pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson, and we aim to expand this business to include more stakeholders.
LIDDS's own drug candidates are developed in-house in the early stages in terms of pre-clinical and the initial clinical trials that are required. For later clinical stages and commercialization, the company is dependent on licensing agreements with pharmaceutical companies, agreements that typically generate an upfront payment, payments that occur at certain pre-defined milestones, and a percentage of future revenue. LIDDS' most advanced project, Liproca Depot against localized prostate cancer, will be the subject of active and professional business development in 2023 with the clear intention of finding a license partner during the year.
LIDDS has two more projects ready for the clinical phase in 2023. Nanodotax, which uses a well-known cytostatic drug (docetaxel), will also be tested in localized prostate cancer in a Phase Ib study, and Nanoimod, which uses an immuno-oncology substance (agatolimod) will to be prepared for a Phase Ib study, which will include patients with malignant melanoma. The financing from the rights issue is estimated to be sufficient to complete the Nanodotax study. The Nanoimod study is also expected to be able to start during the year, however, on the condition that the company has secured the additional funding required for the completion of this study as well.
I am convinced that LIDDS technology has a future in the field of cancer. I am also convinced that a license deal based on the many years of development behind us, would not only provide the company with a large capital injection but would also confirm that the company is capable in terms of development and also in terms of the business development which is ultimately the prerequisite for long-term value creation and company building. I would like to thank everyone who, like myself, has participated in the completed rights issue. LIDDS shareholders have a decision in 2023 to look forward to; it is time to show the cards, and take the next step in the development of the company.
Anders Månsson, CEO
The interim report is available on the company’s website https://liddspharma.com/en/investors/financial-reports/