Sanofi to acquire Kymab

RNS Number : 2139L

Schroder UK Public Private Tst plc

11 January 2021

 

Schroder UK Public Private Trust plc (the "Company")

Sanofi to acquire Kymab

The Company (LSE: SUPP) is pleased to announce that portfolio company Kymab, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing fully human monoclonal antibodies with a focus on immune-mediated diseases and immuno-oncology therapeutics, has announced its acquisition by Sanofi, a global biopharmaceutical company. 

On Monday, 11^th January 2021, Sanofi and Kymab announced that they have entered into a Share and Purchase Agreement ("SPA") under which Sanofi will acquire Kymab for an upfront payment of approximately $1.1 billion and up to $350 million upon achievement of certain milestones.

In August 2020, Kymab announced that KY1005 met both primary endpoints in a Phase 2a trial in moderate to severe atopic dermatitis with patients' diseases inadequately controlled with topical corticosteroids. KY1005 demonstrated a consistent treatment effect versus placebo across various key endpoints, including in the Eczema Area and Severity Index EASI and additional objective clinical measures. Kymab's pipeline also includes the oncology asset KY1044, an ICOS agonist monoclonal antibody, currently in early Phase 1/2 development as monotherapy and in combination with an anti-PD-L1.

The closing of the transaction is subject to the expiration or termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 and other customary closing conditions. The Company expects the completion of the transaction in the first half of 2021. 

Based on the terms of the transaction, the Company expects to receive total initial proceeds of £65 million¹ on completion of the transaction. An additional amount of up to £5 million¹ is subject to potential deductions and a deferred release over the next 24 months. Furthermore, the Company has the potential for additional contingent payments of up to £20 million¹ subject to Kymab achieving certain regulatory milestones over a 7 year period.

It is anticipated that the Company's AIFM will revalue the holding, leading to a significant uplift to the latest carrying value of the Company's holding in Kymab which stood at £18 million as at 30 September 2020. This will be reflected in the NAV as at 31 December 2020, which is expected to be announced in April 2021.

A significant portion of the expected proceeds will be used to pay down a portion of the Company's outstanding credit facility. In addition, the Company will use the additional liquidity to support some of its portfolio companies with follow-on capital and further optimise the portfolio composition by selectively investing into new opportunities

Tim Creed, portfolio manager of the Company and Schroders' Head of European Private Equity, commented: "We are proud to have supported Kymab and its management team in its exciting journey so far. Simon Sturge and his team have done an outstanding job over the last few years and it is fantastic to see all their hard work culminating in this transaction. Since we took over the investment management of the Company in December 2019, we have had a large team working with the management teams of the Company's portfolio to support their strategic development. This successful divestment is an important milestone for the Company. It demonstrates the high quality of the Company's investments and the increasing strategic value of many of the holdings as they mature. The expected proceeds will help us significantly in our communicated goal to create liquidity for the Company and reposition the portfolio. We are confident that we will see other similar success stories in the future and remain very positive about the prospects for the Company's portfolio to create long-term shareholder value."

¹ Based on an exchange rate of 1 USD = 0.745 GBP

About Kymab

Kymab is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing fully human monoclonal antibody therapeutics with a focus on immune mediated diseases and immuno-oncology using its proprietary, integrated platforms collectively called IntelliSelect®. Kymab's IntelliSelect Transgenic platforms contain a full diversity of human antibodies, making them the most comprehensive antibody platforms available.

Selecting from a broad diversity of fully human antibodies assures the highest probability of finding drug candidates with best-in-class characteristics quickly and efficiently.

For more information on Kymab please see http://www.kymab.com . Kymab and IntelliSelect are trademarks of Kymab Limited.

This announcement contains Inside Information as defined under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014.

Enquiries:

Schroder Investment Management Limited

Gareth Faith

Tel: [phone]

 

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