Curasight is off to a great start in 2024 with a milestone payment from Curium. After a whirlwind 2023 with a 74% share price return on the back of positive research results and a new partner agreement. Another interesting year lies ahead with more price triggers that could take the stock to the next level.

Ticker: CURAS | Price: DKK 18,9 | Market Cap.: 387 MDKK | YTD price development: 6%

Curasight, a phase 2 biotech company, has developed two products that can identify and bind to cancer cells (uTRACE) and target radiation therapy (uTREAT) to cancer cells, which together are called uPAR Theranostic. The advantage of uTREAT, which is a radioligand therapy, is that it avoids irradiating healthy tissue, which is a major side effect of traditional radiation therapy. Curasight avoids this by the fact that uTREAT, like uTRACE, binds to receptors that are only found in cancer cells and thereby only emits radiation towards cancer cells, leaving healthy tissue unaffected

First milestone payment from Curium has been received.

Curasight has received the first milestone payment of USD 500,000 from the partnership agreement with Curium. The partnership agreement, which applies to uTRACE in prostate cancer, includes development and commercial milestone payments of up to USD 70 million and double-digit royalties on sales. The milestone payment relates to GMP manufacturing of the finalized product, demonstrating how far Curasight has come.

Start of Phase 2 trial in collaboration with Curium for uTRACE already in Q2 2024

In December, Curasight, in collaboration with Curium, submitted an application to start a Phase II trial in prostate cancer. The first patient is expected to be dosed as early as Q2 2024, where additional milestone payments may accrue to Curasight, acting as an important source of funding for the company. Initially, the phase II trial will be conducted at three hospitals in Denmark and Sweden, while later expanding to both Germany and the US, which is crucial for the product to be approved globally. The trial is designed in collaboration with the FDA in the US.

Additional – and larger – partner agreements may come this year

Curasight’s latest Q3 report mentions that there are ongoing discussions with major pharma companies about opportunities and interest in uTREAT and uTRACE. The partner agreement with Curium is only for uTRACE in prostate cancer. Curasight therefore has ample opportunity to make similar agreements with uTRACE in other indications as well as with uTREAT in the same indication.

The positive progress in the partner agreement with Curium and progress in the other pipeline with uTRACE and uTREAT strengthen Curasight’s opportunities to enter into new partner agreements. The market for uTREAT is significantly larger than uTRACE, as the product treats patients rather than just diagnosing cancer. For example, the market for treating glioblastoma (aggressive brain cancer) is 5,100 MEUR, while the market for diagnostics is 195 MEUR. Thus, potential partner agreements can also be even larger than the USD 70 million + royalties that apply to uTRACE in prostate cancer.

Expected price triggers in 2024

The share price development in biotech companies is mainly driven by the results of studies and agreements with pharma companies, which generate new or increased interest and thus higher trading volumes and large price drops. In 2024, Curasight has a number of interesting price triggers that could cause the share to continue the price increase from 2023.

• Start of phase 2 trial of uTRACE in prostate cancer Q2 2024
• Preclinical results in various cancer indications with uTREAT 2024
• Application to health authorities in the EU and US to start clinical studies with uTREAT 2024
• New milestone payments in the agreement with Curium 2024/2025
• New partner agreements for uTRACE and uTREAT 2024/2025

Cash balance should last until the end of 2024

At the end of September 2023, Curasight had a cash balance of 27.7 MDKK with a negative cash flow of -22.2 MDKK in Q1-Q3 2023. However, there was only a negative cash flow of -4.4 MDKK in Q3 2023. With an additional 3.4 MDKK in the latest milestone payment and potential additional milestone payments at the start of the Phase 2 trial of uTRACE in prostate cancer in collaboration with Curium, the company’s cash balance should last until the end of 2024.

Without major funding from partnership agreements, Curasight will likely need to raise additional capital from the stock market in 2024. With a positive pipeline development and a continued positive development in the share price, there are good opportunities for a successful capital raise with no or limited shareholder dilution.

Massive outperformance

In 2023, Curasight delivered a price return of 74%. A massive outperformance compared to the Nordic healthcare stocks (Kapital Partner Nordic Healthcare Index), which fell 20% in the same period. In 2024, the stock has come good again with a year-to-date return of 6%. Further progress in the pipeline, potential partnerships and possible financing are crucial for the continued share price growth. With a market cap of “only” 387 MDKK, there is room for further increases.
Overview of the price development of over kursudviklingen for Curasight vs. KPHC-indekset det seneste år