Starpharma Holdings (ASX: SPL) CEO Dr Jackie Fairley discusses the company’s financial results for FY16, recent milestones and outlook.

Carolyn Herbert: Hello I’m Carolyn Herbert for the Finance News Network. Joining me from pharmaceutical development company, Starpharma Holdings (ASX: SPL) is CEO, Dr Jackie Fairley.
Jackie, welcome back.

Dr Jackie Fairley: Thank you.

Carolyn Herbert: For investors who aren’t familiar with the company, could you start by giving us an introduction to Starpharma and an overview of your main product areas?

Dr Jackie Fairley: So Starpharma has three main product areas. All of our products are based on a common technology platform which is a synthetic kind of polymer called a dendrimer which is a highly branched polymer. The first of those is the VivaGel Portfolio which incorporates the VivaGel condom which is the world’s first antiviral condom and was recently shown to act against the Zika virus and then the VivaGel BV product which is being developed for two distinct applications for a condition called Bacterial Vaginosis and we’re expecting to launch that product later this year with a number of other commercial developments.

In the drug delivery part of our business where we use our dendrimers to improve existing drugs and to provide additional patent coverage we have a very large multiproduct licence with AstroZeneca which has been recently expanded twice, and we also have a very interesting anticancer product development called DEP docetaxel.

And finally in Agrochemicals, we have our technology applied to the improvement of existing agrochemical products.

Carolyn Herbert: Now Starpharma has released its full year results and annual report, what were the highlights from this period?

Dr Jackie Fairley: In the VivaGel portfolio, the highlights were the European Union marketing approval for VivaGel BV, so the ability to market that in 28 countries in the EU plus the European Free Trade Association. The licencing deal signed with Aspen PharmaCare, and all of the prelaunch activities associated with that. As well as the Chinese government market condom licence for the VivaGel condom which we signed recently with Shenyang Sky and Land Latex Co.

In the DEP program, the signing of a multiproduct licence agreement with AstraZeneca with potential development launch and sales milestones of up to USD$124 million plus royalties and then additional milestones and royalties for second and subsequent candidates. As well as the exciting developments in our internal DEP programs, and in particular the DEP docetaxel in its final expansion stage and has shown some very interesting interim efficacy signals as well as no neutropenia or alopecia in patients reported in that trial. We also have some very compelling data that has been generated for our DEP carbazytaxel candidate, and also some very impressive results for our targeted DEP programs.

In the agrochemical part of the business, we signed a commercial deal with Adama for the application of our Priostar dendrimers which we’ve licenced to them for use in proprietary 2,4-D formulations. So 2,4-D is a very important herbicide and that’s been signed for the US market. 2,4-D is one of the top three herbicides in the world, so they have global sales of close to $700 million. In addition to that, some important progress on a number of our internal programs including Glyphosate and Glyphosonate ammonium.

On the financial side, the key highlights include a 173 per cent increase in revenues including the first milestone from AstraZeneca of USD$2 million for the DEP licence. Our cash burn was around $17.5 million and net proceeds from an equity placement of around $32.6 million, and a year end cash figure of $46 million. So the company is well funded to go forward and has a number of very exciting commercial and other developmental milestones on the horizon.

Carolyn Herbert: Now the relationship with AstraZeneca is an important one for the company, can you tell us a little bit more about the partnership and how you’ve expanded on it?

Dr Jackie Fairley: The partnership with AstraZeneca has been one which has developed considerably in the recent past; we signed this oncology collaboration back in May 2015 and then we executed the licence with milestones and royalties. It’s a multiproduct licence back in September of 2015, the first oncology candidate was nominated at that time and very rapidly thereafter, so in December 2015, a second candidate was added to that licence. The first candidate under that licence is eligible for $124 million of milestones plus royalties, and second and subsequent candidates for USD$93 million plus royalties. And then, very excitingly, this year in June, we had discussions with AstraZeneca which in July led to the signing of an expanded partnership with them. So this is a new and independent program in a different part of their portfolio for one of their portfolio products, applying the DEP technology to those products. So that partnership has certainly expanded rapidly and is developing very well indeed.

Carolyn Herbert: And finally Jackie, what’s the outlook for FY17?

Dr Jackie Fairley: So the outlook on the VivaGel portfolio, we are looking forward to a number of regulatory approvals for important markets in the coming months for the VivaGel BV product, as well as for the VivaGel condom where we have regulatory processes underway. I expect that we will sign and announce further licences for the VivaGel BV product which we’ve already announced the licence in Australia and New Zealand; we’ll be adding to those commercial arrangements. The launch of those VivaGel BV products for treatment and symptom relief, and the completion of phase 3 prevention of recurrence trials for the VivaGel BV product.
In our DEP technology part of our business the completion of our DEP docetaxel Phase 1 clinical trial and the commencement of Phase 2. So we’ve set our programs up so that we can rapidly move forward on that as well as further announcements in the AstraZeneca program where there are further milestones due plus further partner deals and we’ve only recently announced some targeted DEP deals. I expect there will be progress on those and some additional DEP licences that we would move forward as well as internally, some of our internal programs, moving through preclinical and towards the clinic.

And in agrochemicals, progress on the Adama 2,4-D priostar licence with the potential for territorial expansion, additional Priostar licences and the advancement of internal Priostar candidates, Glyphosate and Glyphosonate Ammonium.

Carolyn Herbert: Dr Jackie Fairly, thanks for the update.

Dr Jackie Fairley: Thank you.

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