In a well-received announcement that complied with the recent Swiss restrictions on commentary in business updates, Kinarus has reported its financial results to the end of June 2023. We address that report and provide some additional narrative on what we assume are the many moving parts and corporate activity behind the scenes. Two important points to note are that Kinarus’s cash and the CDIM loan are expected to allow the completion of the partnering of its lead asset, and that the group has supportive shareholders who are bridging group finance to the CDIM transaction.
For the six months to 30 June 2023, Kinarus’s R&D expense increased slightly to CHF 272k from CHF 236k for the corresponding H1 2022 and which were attributable to the ongoing Phase 2 KINFAST of KIN001 study in ambulatory COVID-19 patients and patent maintenance costs. . Cash at the end of June 2023 was CHF 150k (vs. CHF 1.3m at the end of FY2022) and we would expect costs to naturally reduce as the KINFAST study completes and cash is conserved prior to partnering.
We have not updated our forecasts for FY 2023 because of the many variables in play at Kinarus. Kinarus has supportive shareholders that are bridge-financing the company to the CHF1.5m transaction by ChaoDian (Hangzhou) Investment Management (CDIM) which facilitates the licensing of its lead drug, KIN001 for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) in China
While we await the completion of the CDIM and subsequent transactions, our fair value for Kinarus remains at CHF 93m, or CHF 0.093 per share.
