TIDMALM
RNS Number : 4719O
Allied Minds PLC
09 February 2016
09 February 2016
Allied Minds plc
Trading Statement
Allied Minds (LSE: ALM) (the "Company" or the "Group"), an
innovative U.S. science and technology development and
commercialisation company, today issued the following trading
statement for the financial year ended 31 December 2015.
Chris Silva, CEO of Allied Minds, commented:
"In 2015 Allied Minds made positive progress across the Group.
Our subsidiaries met, or exceeded, commercial milestones in nearly
all instances. We have embarked on exciting collaborations with
industry leaders such as Bristol-Myers Squibb, Intel, AMD and
Google; raised material third-party funding to accelerate the
development of two of our key subsidiaries; and seen the number of
commercialisation phase subsidiaries double to six.
Our U.S. academic and federal partner network is continuing to
flourish and has been highly productive over the year. We reviewed
more than 5,000 new technologies and engaged with over 90 new
research institutions, reflecting the growing recognition of the
strengths of Allied Minds as a commercialisation partner. We
continue to apply our rigorous selection and due diligence
processes to these new technologies and are confident in the
potential of our pipeline.
The range and depth of our achievements during 2015 has laid
strong foundations for Allied Minds to continue to generate further
value in 2016 and beyond."
Investment highlights
During 2015, $102.8 million was invested into new and existing
portfolio companies, including:
-- Allied Minds led fundraisings of $63.6 million, with $42.2
million coming from third-party investment, to further accelerate
the development of two of the Group's existing companies, SciFluor
Life Sciences and Precision Biopsy;
- SciFluor Life Sciences, a drug discovery company applying
expertise in fluorine chemistry, raised $30.0 million at a post
money valuation of $130.7 million, up from $37.1 million, to
accelerate its two lead compounds - a treatment for retinal
diseases and a treatment for neurological diseases. These compounds
are expected to result in three Investigational New Drug (IND)
applications to the U.S. Federal Drug Administration (FDA) in the
first half of 2016 and subsequent commencement of Phase I
trials.
- Precision Biopsy, a company developing early intervention
technology that detects in real time suspicious tissue during
biopsy examinations, raised $33.6 million at a post money valuation
of $90.4 million, up from $19.0 million, to accelerate the
commercialisation of its ClariCore(TM) Biopsy System, and develop
its Focal Therapy programme. The funds support the continuation of
taking clinical core samples to optimize the tissue classification
system and the initiation of FDA clinical trials.
-- $39.2 million was invested by the Group into new and other
existing portfolio companies, including investments in four new
businesses: BridgeSat, ABLS I (Yale), HawkEye 360 and ABLS II
(Harvard).
-- On 29 January 2016, Federated Wireless raised $22.0 million
at a post money valuation of $82.0 million, up from $10.0 million
previously. The raise will enable it to complete its Spectrum
Access System (SAS) and Environmental Sensor Capability (ESC)
certification process, conclude the development and accelerate the
commercialisation of its cloud-hosted CINQ platform, and conduct
field trials in the second half of 2016 with technology partners.
Allied Minds invested $5.0 million in this fundraising, and
third-party investment totalled $17.0 million.
Operational highlights
-- During the year Allied Minds engaged with over 90 new
research institutions, bringing the total U.S. universities and
federal laboratories in the Allied Minds partner network to 160,
from 68 at the end of 2014.
-- The investment team reviewed more than 5,000 new technologies
developed by the partner network, and following extensive due
diligence on over 20 of the most promising, formed and funded four
new businesses, resulting in a total Group portfolio of 23
subsidiary businesses at December 2015, and executed options to
license three additional technologies.
o The Group currently has 21 technologies in early due
diligence, two technologies in final due diligence, and a number of
opportunities in active negotiations.
-- During 2015, several Allied Minds businesses entered into
collaborations with industry leaders including Bristol-Myers
Squibb, Intel, AMD and Google, validating the quality of the
companies' platforms, people and technologies.
-- The accelerating pace of developing new and existing
companies during 2015 led to significant expansion in the total
workforce from approximately 234 to 359 employees and consultants.
The workforce increase was almost entirely concentrated into the
operating subsidiaries, where new hires consisted of approximately
61% engineering and technical development professionals, 27%
leadership and management professionals, and 12% sales, marketing
and other business development professionals.
Financial highlights
-- Net cash and investments* of $194.8 million, (2014: $261.5 million)
* includes cash in form of fixed income securities
-- Revenues of $3.2 million, (2014: $7.7 million) primarily
reflecting revenue shortfall at RF Biocidics (RFB), which following
initial regulatory approval now requires certification for each
individual installation and is subsequently delaying revenue.
-- Group Subsidiary Ownership Adjusted Value (GSOAV) at 31
December 2015, while still being finalised, is expected to be
comfortably ahead of the prior year due to the strong growth of
several key subsidiaries offset by the planned closing of SiEnergy
and the reduction in value of RFB.
Key subsidiary highlights
-- Spin Transfer Technologies (STT), a next-generation computer memory company:
- signed a co-development agreement with a major memory company; and
- successfully developed its diagnostic memory chip (DM1) to
generate commercially relevant data for evaluation by potential
partners and customers.
-- Optio Labs, a mobile security technology company protecting
employees' mobile phones/tablets from malware and control
security:
- partnered with AMD and Sonim;
- launched several new products, including OptioGrizzly,
OptioCore 2.0; and OptioServices (in January 2016).
-- Federated Wireless, a spectrum sharing company:
- received Federal Communications Commission's (FCC)
authorisation to share government spectrum;
- partnered with Intel and launched CINQ XP, a product that
allows carriers to unlock 3.5 GHz band;
- initiated a pilot study with the U.S. Department of Defence;
- working with Google, Intel and Qualcomm on pioneering commercial initiatives; and
- post-year-end, successfully raised $22.0 million in equity
financing to conclude the development and accelerate the
commercialisation of its products and platform.
-- RFB:
- as reported in our half yearly results, sales of RFB's
state-of-the-art food safety equipment were lower than expected due
to delayed regulatory approval;
- initial regulatory validation was completed by the Almond
Board of California Technical Expert Review Panel (TERP), whose
decision confirmed third-party test results that showed RFBs'
chemical-free process effectively eliminates pathogens like
Salmonella from almonds, making them safe to eat; and
- RFB is now required to obtain certification at each new
installation of its system, delaying roll-out. The company is
actively working with regulators to streamline the process and at
the same time is implementing sales and marketing focused
initiatives.
-- Allied Minds formed 4 new businesses during the year:
o ABLS, a joint venture with Bristol-Myers Squibb entered into a
license agreement- with:
-- Yale University (ABLS I) with respect to research and
intellectual property developed in the laboratory of Dr. David
Spiegel. The proprietary platform and associated lead molecules
known as Antibody-Recruiting Molecules (ARMs) provide a novel
approach for the treatment of cancer; and
-- Harvard University (ABLS II) with respect to research and
intellectual property developed by Professor Malcolm Whitman, and
commenced a project to create novel therapeutics for the treatment
of fibrotic and autoimmune diseases.
o BridgeSat, which is a collaboration with The Aerospace
Corporation, Draper Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology Assistant Professor Dr. Kerri L. Cahoy and the graduate
student team in the Space, Telecommunications, Astronomy, and
Radiation (STAR) Laboratory, to develop an optical connectivity
system that aims to increase the speed, security and efficiency of
data transmissions from Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites compared
to traditional radio frequency solutions.
o HawkEye 360, a collaboration with Mr. Chris DeMay, (who worked
for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office, leading programs for
satellite development), Dr. Charles Clancy and Dr. Bob McGwier of
Virginia Tech's Hume Center for National Security and Technology,
(who developed the technology for complex RF signal processing).
This collaboration resulted in a constellation of small satellites
in LEO, capable of detecting wireless signals, to track and monitor
global transportation networks, to assist with emergencies,
including other data analytics and reporting services.
Board and management
The Group has continued to evolve and strengthen its Board and
management with the following key appointments:
-- Joseph Pignato, Chief Financial Officer, (former CFO of
Swipely, Charles River Ventures, Prism Ventures and
Lightbridge);
-- Kevin Sharer, Independent Non-executive Director, (former Chairman and CEO of Amgen); and
-- Post year end - Jill Smith, Independent Non-executive
Director (former Chairman, CEO and President of DigitalGlobe).
Summary and Outlook
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