Their pipeline of novel antimicrobials include eight so far tested of those classed as urgent threats by the World Health Organisation and Centers for Disease Control (CDC), including MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus).
DEST is progressing its lead program for Prevention of post-surgical Staph infection with intra nasal candidate XF-73 and is on track to commence Phase IIb studies later this year. The company has also extended its clinical pipeline by adding a new program for high unmet need in treatment and / or prevention of skin infections in diabetic foot ulcers (DFU’s) and in burns wounds. High unmet need in DFU and burns gives a global peak annual sales potential of up to $500m, and with XF-73 already shown to be active against the predominant pathogens associated with infection in these indications.
A Phase IIb study for a gel formulation of XF-73 in the new FDA indication for prevention of post-surgical Staphylococcus aureus infection, is due to be launched on completion of a second standard safety study of the gel formulation of XF-73 in H2’18. Existing safety data in 166 subjects suggest that this is a relatively low risk hurdle to achieve. The timeline for the Phase IIb study completion remains on track and is anticipated in H2’19.
DEST has also started Phase I studies of XF-73 in two additional indications, for Diabetic Foot Ulcer DFUs and burns wounds. This follows on from Phase I study results showing that XF-73 is a suitable treatment for longer term treatment. This will be confirmed during additional Phase I studies planned in 2019, targeting the completion of a Phase II ready package in during 2020. This demonstrates the potential versatility of the drug being tested, for both preventative and treatment approaches.
The group reported a healthy cash balance of £15.1m at June 2018 – sufficient to run the ongoing planned studies of XF-73 – taking the cash runway into H2’20 on our forecasts including funding to complete a Phase II ready package for XF-73 dermal program.
Adding in these new indications, using conservative assumptions, our valuation increases from £117m to £129m, equivalent to 296p per share.