Alligator Bioscience AB (publ) (ATORX) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

The collaborations are a huge part of Alligator's business strategy, and you have several ongoing. You've recently came out with news regarding a collaboration with Aptevo Therapeutics. Could you tell us a little bit about that?

Yes. So that's around the molecule that we, for short, call 527, which is a bispecific antibody, a tumor-targeted immune stimulatory antibody that we have developed together with Aptevo since 2017, and we are now taking that molecule into the first Phase I trial in tumor types that overexpress a certain molecule called 5T4 that is specifically activating 527, and we see this as an approach for Alligator to develop novel molecules -- innovative molecules to help patients in a manner that reduces our own cost burn, reduces our risks, but also allows us to combine technologies and capabilities to generate greater molecules.

Could you speak a little bit about the how in general these collaborations add value to Alligator Bioscience?

Yes. So actually, you can divide them in [ two. ] We have the agreement with Aptevo, which is really cost sharing, risk sharing and joint forces in terms of bringing the better molecules forward. That's one way of doing it. It gives us more opportunities for the same resources, you can say. And then we have the big collaboration with Orion, which is a Finnish biotech company where they license our technologies, and we are discovering antibodies for them to then bring forward on their own in the later stages of those molecules. This type of agreement gives us both short and long-term nondilutive cash flow into the company.

And as I mentioned in the intro, you're carrying out a rights issue, SEK 199 million. What is the plan for the proceeds coming from this?

That's a very important question. So first of all, the majority of the proceeds will go to the continued development of mitazalimab. So that's completing the [indiscernible] in pancreatic cancer, which, by the way, is fully recruited, and we expect to see interim data midyear and expect the topline data early Q1 next year. So that's, of course, part of the proceeds. Then we will continue making the drug ready for Phase III. We will continue our engagement with regulatory authorities, both in the U.S. and in Europe. So that's sort of the majority of the proceeds. Then we will allocate some proceeds to the ongoing Phase I study with 527, the collaboration with Aptevo. And then we will spend some money on bringing some of our other preclinical candidates forward, a molecule called 4066, which we see as a long-term growth driver for Alligator. So that's sort of the three main buckets that the proceeds will be allocated against.

Well, as I mentioned at the beginning, you've had a busy start to 2023. Will you get a chance to take a breather in the rest of 2023?

No, there's no time to chill, so to speak. There is a lot to be done. We have the OPTIMIZE-1 study to be finalized. We have Phase III plans to prepare. We have partnering discussions on mitazalimab that we need to intensify, so a lot of focus there. And then as I said, we are running Phase I studies with other candidates. We are doing translational research on molecules like 4066. So there is a lot to be done, and we just continue.

Sounds good. And that was our conversation with Alligator Bioscience's CEO, Søren Bregenholt. Thank you so much, sir, and for joining us in the studio today.

Thank you, Michael. It's always a pleasure.