Destiny recently held a R&D Day and the presentations on its two Phase 3-ready products from key opinion leaders and Destiny’s senior team effectively burnished the profile of the products, probably for the benefit of potential licensees. The schedule of hoped-for licensing transactions was laid out, with M3 targeted this year and XF-73 in 2023. They also reiterated that Phase 3 studies will not start without the support of partners.
Destiny’s lead Phase 3-ready product is the non-toxigenic Clostridioides difficile strain M3 (NTCD-M3) for the prevention of C.difficile infections (CDI’s). Professor Wilcox of Leeds University school of medicine outlined not just the significant unmet medical need of CDIs and the increasing incidence because of aging populations, but also a perspective on drug regulators and the competition to M3.
Earlier in the year, Destiny’s discussions with regulators resulted in a proposal for the Phase 3 study of XF-73 in the prevention of post-surgical staphylococcal infections to be conducted in breast reconstruction procedures in cancer patients. The presentation given by Dr Alex Mericli, a leading plastic surgeon at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas, highlighted this large and easily accessible market.
We ascribe an unchanged fair value to Destiny Pharma of £251.2m or 345p per share.
