Roquefort Therapeutics plc
("Roquefort
Therapeutics" or the "Company")
Annual
Report & Financial Statements - 31 Dec 2022
Foundation
& team in place to deliver key R&D and commercial milestones
Roquefort Therapeutics plc (LSE:ROQ), the Main Market listed biotech company focused on developing first in class medicines in the high value and high growth oncology market, announces its audited results for year ended 31 December 2022.
Copies of the Annual Report and Financial Statements will be made available on the Company’s website at: https://www.roquefortplc.com/results-centre
Highlights
· Acquisition of Oncogeni in September 2022 through the issue of 50,000,000 new ordinary shares in the Company, together with successful Placing raising gross proceeds of £1,015,000
· Further strengthened Board and senior management team through the appointment of Ajan Reginald as CEO, Professor Sir Martin Evans as Chief Scientific Officer and Dr Darrin Disley as Non-Executive Director
·
Reinforced the Company’s foundation
through Oncogeni’s state of the art laboratory located
in Stratford-upon-Avon which has the infrastructure required for the
pre-clinical development of the Group's portfolio of antibodies,
oligonucleotides and cell and gene therapies – significant cost advantages
· Cash at year end 31 December 2022 of £2,322,974
Pre-clinical highlights
· Acquisition of Oncogeni significantly increased pre-clinical portfolio to four fully funded pre-clinical drug development programs providing multiple opportunities for success
·
Highly synergistic
programs focused on the pre-clinical development of the Midkine
antibodies, Midkine RNA, MK Cell Therapies and STAT-6,
siRNA
·
Signed partnership
agreements and commenced pre-clinical development programs with leading
academic cancer research centres
Post Period End Highlights
· Key milestone achieved with ROQ-A1 and ROQ-A2 Midkine antibody programs, targeting metastatic breast cancer, and lung and liver metastasis, successfully demonstrated in vivo safety in pre-clinical development programs and progressed into in vivo efficacy studies
· siRNA, MK cell therapy and Midkine oligonucleotide programs progressing pre-clinical development
· Signed exclusive worldwide license agreement (excluding Japan) with Randox Laboratories for 10 years to utilise Midkine antibodies in medical diagnostics
o Highly synergetic – deal will accelerate ability to diagnose patients and therefore reduce time and costs when it reaches clinical trials
· Randox deal expected to strengthen balance sheet and highlights the Company’s deal making capabilities
· Portfolio further enhanced to a total of five programmes with the in-house development of a platform of novel mRNA cancer medicines
· Formation of Scientific Advisory Board
Outlook
·
On course with
targets for clinical readiness for one of the Company’s development programs
during H2 2023
·
Near-term IND and
licensing opportunities from advanced stage of development of Midkine portfolio products, MK cell and siRNA products
·
Strategic goal to
take advantage of the paradigm shift that 90% of successful biotech programs are
acquired
·
Create value by
identifying early innovation, developing it either in-house or with a research
partner towards clinical trials and utilise experience to licence or sell to
big pharma
Commenting on the Annual Results, Chief Executive Officer, Ajan Reginald said: “In 2022 Roquefort Therapeutics made significant progress,
notably with the successful fundraise and completion of the acquisition of
Oncogeni in September 2022 which pivoted the Company into a material oncology
group. Post the acquisition of Oncogeni, the Group’s portfolio consisted of
four highly complementary fully funded programs with multiple novel
patent-protected pre-clinical anti-cancer medicines. Each lead program is
capable of becoming a first-in-class medicines targeting some of the hardest to
treat cancers.”
“In 2023, the Midkine antibody program has successfully demonstrated in
vivo safety and progressed into in vivo efficacy studies. In March
2023, the Company announced the successful development of a fifth program, the
mRNA Midkine cancer program, the third in its Midkine family. Anti-cancer
mRNA is a highly attractive field with a relatively small number of highly
innovative companies able to develop mRNA cancer therapeutics.”
“In H1 2023, the Group made significant
strategic and commercial progress by completing a licence and royalty agreement with Randox Laboratories to utilise the Group’s Midkine antibody portfolio for clinical diagnostics. The transaction highlights the Group’s in-house deal making capabilities
and strategic focus in therapeutics. The partnership with Randox for cancer diagnostics validates the Company’s
strategy to target Midkine and brings a companion
diagnostic, which increases the likelihood of clinical trial success and reduces
the associated time and cost.”
In summary, in the first 6 months
of 2023, we have successfully integrated Oncogeni to
form a material oncology group, accelerated the cancer programs to meet
critical R&D milestones on-time and on-budget and demonstrated our business
model of realising value through licensing transactions. This has established
the strategic and commercial foundation from which the Group will look to deliver
shareholder value in 2023-4.”
Enquiries:
|
Roquefort Therapeutics plc |
|
|
Stephen
West (Chairman) / Ajan Reginald (CEO) |
+44 (0)20 3290 9339 |
|
Hybridan LLP (Joint Broker) Claire
Louise Noyce Optiva Securities Limited
(Joint Broker) |
+44 (0)203 764 2341 |
|
Christian
Dennis Buchanan (Public Relations) Jamie
Hooper / Ben Romney / George Beale |
+44 (0)20 3411 1881 +44 (0)20 7466 5000 |
LEI: 254900P4SISIWOR9RH34
CHAIRMAN’S
STATEMENT
I am pleased to report the audited financial statements to shareholders for the year ended 31 December 2022. During the year Roquefort Therapeutics (the “Company” and together with its subsidiaries, the “Group”) has made substantial progress towards its corporate goals.
Most notably, in September 2022, Roquefort Therapeutics successfully completed a fundraise via the issue of 7,249,998 ordinary shares raising total gross cash proceeds of £1,015,000 and the acquisition of Oncogeni for an aggregate equity consideration fair value of £3.75 million through the issue of 50,000,000 new ordinary shares in the Company (the “Acquisition”), transforming Roquefort Therapeutics into a material oncology Group.
Roquefort Therapeutics completed the integration of the Oncogeni portfolio and enhanced the Group’s network of partnerships with leading academic cancer research centres. These partners complement the Group’s own world-class in-house expertise and laboratory infrastructure and enable Roquefort Therapeutics to implement a broader and more effective development strategy. The Group believes its distributed R&D model is highly scalable and cost effective.
In parallel, business development activities were significantly enhanced by meeting a number of leading pharmaceutical companies to introduce Roquefort Therapeutics and present the novel portfolio. This has enabled the Group to accelerate the out-licensing strategy in both core and non-core applications.
Acquisition
of Oncogeni
The acquisition of Oncogeni, diversified Roquefort Therapeutics into a material oncology group with a pre-clinical anti-cancer portfolio that is patent protected and fully funded to complete pre-clinical development activities and submit applications to commence clinical trials. In addition to significantly expanding the portfolio, Roquefort Therapeutics now has a state-of-the-art laboratory in the UK which provides the Group with major cost saving and time advantages as the Group progresses through the pre-clinical stage of development. The Acquisition also strengthened the Roquefort Therapeutics Board and senior management with complementary skills and expertise. The team in place has exceptional experience in drug development and driving and realising value in biotech. The Acquisition introduced new shareholders into the Group, including Daiichi Sankyo, a global pharmaceutical Group and CH Health, a specialist biotech venture capital investor – validating the high potential of the Group’s investment proposition and growth strategy.
Oncogeni has developed two families of innovative cell and RNA oncology medicines, both in pre-clinical development, which are protected by nine patents and complement the existing Midkine programs well:
· Mesodermal Killer ("MK") cells: a new class of cellular medicine engineered to kill cancer cells both directly and by enhancing the activity of natural killer cells; and
· Small interfering RNA ("siRNA") therapeutics: kill cancer cells by inhibiting a novel cancer target STAT6 (signal transducer and activator of transcription 6).
The MK and siRNA families consist of six and four drug candidates each i.e., MK1-6 and siRNA 1-4. Each candidate is protected by composition of matter patents and has the potential to be a new medicine subject to the successful completion of development.
The Board and senior management team was significantly expanded with the acquisition of Oncogeni with Ajan Reginald joining as CEO of Roquefort Therapeutics. Ajan has a strong track record in drug development, biotech transactions and commercialisation. Over 20 years, he has served as the Global Head of Emerging Technologies for Roche Group (SWX: ROG), Chief Operating Officer and Chief Technology Officer of Novacyt S.A (LON: NCYT) and CEO of Celixir Ltd.
In addition, Professor Sir Martin Evans was appointed as Chief Scientific Officer. Sir Martin was the first scientist to identify embryonic stem cells, which can be adapted for a wide variety of medical purposes. His discoveries are now being applied in virtually all areas of biomedicine – from basic research to the development of new therapies. In 2007, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine, the most prestigious honour in world science, for these “ground-breaking discoveries concerning embryonic stem cells and DNA recombination in mammals.”
Further, Dr Darrin Disley was appointed Non-Executive Director, and is a renowned scientist, entrepreneur, angel investor and enterprise champion who has started, grown, or invested in over 40 start-up life science, technology and social enterprises, raising US$600 million in business financing and closing US$700 million in commercial deals. He was CEO of Horizon Discovery Group plc for 11 years, during which he led the company from start-up through a US$113 million IPO, and rapid scale-up powered by multiple acquisitions of US peer companies to become a global market leader in gene editing and gene modulation technologies.
Since listing in March 2021, Roquefort Therapeutics has established a quality team, underpinned by a proven collective track record in the development, progression and commercialisation of relevant medicines, a key aspect of Roquefort Therapeutics’ investment proposition and leaves the Group well placed, subject to further funding, to deliver its growth objectives.
Pre-clinical
development during 2022
During the period, the Group enhanced the portfolio significantly, completed the integration of the Oncogeni portfolio. Post the Acquisition, the Group’s portfolio consisted of four fully funded, novel patent-protected pre-clinical anti-cancer medicines. The highly complementary profile of four best-in-class medicines consists of:
· Midkine antibodies with significant in vivo efficacy and toxicology studies;
· Midkine RNA oligonucleotide therapeutics with novel anti-cancer gene editing action;
· STAT-6 siRNA therapeutics targeting solid tumours with significant in vivo efficacy; and
· MK cell therapy with direct and NK-mediated anti-cancer action.
The Group continued to progress its four novel patent-protected pre-clinical anti-cancer medicines during the period through a combination of partnerships with leading academic cancer research centres and at the Group's state of the art laboratory.
With the programs focused on the pre-clinical development of the Midkine antibodies, Midkine RNA oligonucleotide and STAT-6 siRNA, the Group signed partnership agreements and commenced pre-clinical development programs with the following leading academic cancer research centres:
· Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute, La Trobe University, Melbourne
o Breast cancer metastasis, Midkine antibody program
· Lowy Cancer Research Centre, University of New South Wales
o Liver and Colorectal cancer, Midkine RNA oligonucleotide and STAT-6 siRNA programs
· Hawkins Laboratory Biochemistry and Genetics, La Trobe University, Melbourne
o Lung cancer metastasis, Midkine antibody program
· School of Medical Sciences, University of Sydney
o Midkine RNA oligonucleotide program
In addition, the Group is utilising its state of the art laboratory in Stratford-upon-Avon to develop the MK cell therapy program in-house. The laboratory includes a clean room, laminar flow cabinets and cryopreservation infrastructure required for pre-clinical development of innovative new medicines, particularly cell and gene therapies.
Post Period End
2023 started with significant momentum, with the Group’s Midkine antibody program, targeting metastatic breast cancer and metastatic lung cancer, successfully demonstrating in vivo safety in pre-clinical development programs carried out by leading cancer research groups (stated above), a key development milestone. ROQ-A1 and ROQ-A2 are the patented humanised antibody medicines designed by Roquefort Therapeutics to target the novel Midkine target prevalent in hard-to-treat cancers. These milestones were completed on schedule and within budget. Both Midkine antibody candidates will now progress into in vivo pre-clinical efficacy studies to assess cancer killing ability in primary and metastatic breast cancer and lung cancer. Both antibodies are valuable assets that fit the established Big Pharma paradigm of treating cancer with novel antibody therapeutics. The siRNA, MK cell therapy and Midkine RNA oligonucleotide programs are also progressing well and are expected to complete pre-clinical development milestones in Q2 2023.
The Group has always believed Midkine to be a truly novel target and has been optimistic in the therapeutic potential of Midkine. In February 2023 Roquefort Therapeutics validated Midkine as a target by signing a Licence and Royalty agreement with leading diagnostics group, Randox Laboratories in relation to the Group’s Midkine antibody portfolio. The Group is eligible to receive upfront and potential marketing milestone receipts, as well as royalties on diagnostics products sold. The Group received from Randox an upfront amount of £200,000 and can earn further potential milestone receipts of up to £150,000 for marketing approval in certain jurisdictions. The Group will also receive royalties from Randox on net sales of any commercialised diagnostic products. Randox is developing a diagnostic to identify patients with cancers that overexpress Midkine which is highly synergistic with Roquefort Therapeutics’ development of first-in-class cancer medicines. The Licence and Royalty agreement also benefits the Group’s preparation for clinical trial readiness because diagnosing patients early will accelerate the ability to diagnose patients for clinical trials which will dramatically reduce time and costs associated, and in addition, clinical trials with companion diagnostics have a much higher success rate – 15.9% vs 7.6% (BIO, QSL Advisors and Informa UK 2021 Report).
Finally in March 2023, Roquefort Therapeutics announced the successful development of a fifth program and a third in its Midkine family. The Roquefort Therapeutics team led by Vice President of Drug Discovery, Professor Graham Robertson, has delivered a pioneering mRNA anti-cancer program. This new platform of mRNA therapeutics was developed in-house and consists of four mRNA pre-clinical therapeutics targeting Roquefort Therapeutics’ novel Midkine target. Developing the mRNA anti-cancer program is highly synergistic with the Group’s existing Midkine RNA oligonucleotide program in development at the University of New South Wales, ensuring development continues to remain on budget and on schedule. The addition of the mRNA family expanded Roquefort Therapeutics’ portfolio to five highly innovative programs which remain fully funded to the critical value inflection point of clinical trial readiness. The Group is now working towards demonstrating efficacy of the mRNA therapeutics in specific cancer targets, alongside the Group’s existing Midkine RNA oligonucleotide program.
Strategy & Outlook
Roquefort Therapeutics’ strategy is to identify the next generation of medicines for the most difficult to treat cancers which have a high mortality rate, and develop medicines in-house and with academic partners through the pre-clinical phase to clinical trial readiness and IND filings. The Group has the necessary expertise and experience to package up the programs for licence or sale to big pharma which is the Group’s ultimate aim to realise value. Through the material strategic progress delivered over the course of the prior year, Roquefort Therapeutics is well positioned with currently five pre-clinical programs, and a considerably strengthened team to deliver significant progress in a focused and cost-effective manner, through a combination of partnerships with leading academic cancer research centres and a high-quality in-house laboratory.
2023 has
started with significant momentum and the Group has laid the foundations to
realise this strategy having expanded the Group in September 2022 and by its
pre-clinical and commercial successes announced during Q1 2023. The Randox
licensing agreement has demonstrated the Group’s ability to achieve deals, and
out licencing to strategic partners, both in diagnostics and therapeutics, is
a key priority for Roquefort
Therapeutics during 2023. The
pre-clinical progress is highly encouraging and the Group will update
shareholders as to its further progress in due course.
The Chairman’s statement should be read as part of the strategic report.
Stephen West, Executive Chairman
4 June 2023
DIRECTORS’ REPORT
The
Directors present their report with the audited financial statements of Roquefort
Therapeutics plc (“the Company") and its subsidiaries Lyramid
Pty Limited (“Lyramid”), Oncogeni
Limited (“Oncogeni”) and Tumorkine
Pty Limited (“Tumorkine”) (together “the Group”) for
the year ended 31 December 2022. A commentary on the business for the year is
included in the Chairman’s Statement. A review of the business is also included
in the Strategic Report.
The Company’s Ordinary Shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange, on the Official List pursuant to Chapter 14 of the Listing Rules, which sets out the requirements for Standard Listings.
The Directors of the Company during the year and their beneficial interest in the Ordinary shares of the Company at 31 December 2022 were as follows:
|
Director |
Position |
Appointed |
Ordinary |
Warrants |
|
Stephen West1 |
Executive Chairman |
17/08/2020 |
5,313,264 |
7,500,000 |
|
Ajan Reginald |
Chief Executive Officer |
16/09/2022 |
11,627,786 |
– |
|
Sir
Martin Evans |
Chief Scientific Officer |
16/09/2022 |
– |
– |
|
Dr
Michael Stein |
Non-Executive Director |
22/03/2021 |
– |
2,000,000 |
|
Ms
Jean Duvall |
Non-Executive Director |
05/04/2022 |
– |
300,000 |
|
Dr
Simon Sinclair2 |
Non-Executive Director |
20/04/2022 |
60,415 |
300,000 |
|
Dr
Darrin Disley |
Non-Executive Director |
16/09/2022 |
1,225,966 |
– |
1 4,628,485 Ordinary shares
and 7,500,000 warrants held by Cresthaven Investments
Pty Ltd ATF The Bellini Trust; and 684,779 Ordinary shares were held by Stephen
West direct
2 300,000 warrants held by Livingstone
Investment Holdings Ltd;
and 60,415 Ordinary shares were held by Simon Sinclair direct
At the date of this report, the Company has a third-party indemnity policy in place for all Directors.
As at 31 December 2022, the total number of issued Ordinary Shares with
voting rights in the Company was 129,149,998. Details of the Company’s capital
structure and voting rights are set out in note 18 to the financial statements.
The Company has been notified of the following interests of 3 per cent or more in its issued share
capital as at the date of approval of this report.
|
Party Name |
Number of
Ordinary Shares |
% of Share Capital |
|
Ajan Reginald |
11,627,786 |
9.00% |
|
Abdelatif Lachab |
7,750,000 |
6.00% |
|
Jane Whiddon1 |
7,300,000 |
5.65% |
|
M Sheikh |
5,744,870 |
4.45% |
|
Stephen West2 |
5,313,264 |
4.11% |
|
Provelmare SA |
5,000,000 |
3.87% |
|
Z Sheikh |
4,018,910 |
3.11% |
|
M Rollins |
4,000,000 |
3.10% |
|
K Fallon |
3,905,215 |
3.02% |
1
2,500,000 shares held by MIMO Strategies Pty
Ltd (ATF the MIMO Trust); 4,100,000 shares held by 6466 Investments Pty Ltd;
700,000 shares held by Nautical Holdings WA Pty Ltd – all of which are entities
controlled by J Whiddon
2 4,628,484 shares held by Cresthaven
Investments Pty Ltd (ATF the Bellini Trust) – an entity associated with S West
Financial instruments
Details of the Company’s financial risk management objectives and policies as well as exposure to financial risk are contained in the accounting policies and note 21 of the financial statements.
The Company is aware that it needs to measure its operational carbon footprint in order to limit and control its environmental impact. However, due to its operational footprint being limited to a laboratory leased from August 2022, consuming less than 40,000 kWh of energy, the Company is currently exempt from GHG reporting requirements.
In the future, the Company will only measure the impact of its direct activities, as the full impact of the entire supply chain of its suppliers cannot be measured practically.
TCFD Disclosure
The Group was incorporated in August 2020, and operated virtually until its acquisition of Oncogeni Limited in September 2022, at which point the Group commenced a short-term lease of laboratory and office facilities. The Group therefore will begin to consider its impact on the environment and the risks it faces from climate change, for the first time during 2023 and expects to develop its sustainability plans over a 5 year period, commensurate with the size of its operations. Climate change was not considered a principal risk or uncertainty for the year ended 31 December 2022.
In line with the requirements of the Financial Conduct Authority’s Listing Rule 14.3.27R, and for the above reasons, we note that we have not made the disclosures, in respect of the financial year ended 31 December 2022, in line with the recommendations and recommended disclosures of the TCFD.
The Directors do not propose a dividend in respect of the year ended 31 December 2022.
Further details of the Company’s research and development, future developments and events subsequent to the year-end are set out in the Strategic Report. Research and development costs incurred for the year ended 31 December 2022 were £319,315 (2021 - £698).
Corporate Governance
The Governance report forms part of the Director’s Report.
The Directors have prepared financial forecasts to estimate the likely cash requirements of the Group over the period to 30 June 2024, given its stage of development and lack of recurring revenues. In preparing these financial forecasts, the Directors have made certain assumptions with regards to the timing and amount of future expenditure over which they have control. The Directors have considered the sensitivity of the financial forecasts to changes in key assumptions, including, among others, potential cost overruns within committed spend and changes in exchange rates.
The Group’s available resources are sufficient to cover the Group’s plans to complete pre-clinical development activities and submit applications to commence clinical trials during 2023, however, they are not sufficient to cover existing committed costs and the costs of planned activities for at least 12 months from the date of signing these consolidated and company financial statements.
The Directors plan to raise further funds during 2023 (either through licencing deals and/or equity placements) and have reasonable expectations that sufficient cash will be raised to fund the planned operations of the Group for a period of at least 12 months from the date of approval of these financial statements. The funding requirement indicates that a material uncertainty exists which may cast significant doubt over the Group’s and Company’s ability to continue as a going concern, and therefore its ability to realise its assets and discharge its liabilities in the normal course of business.
After due
consideration of these forecasts, current cash resources, including the
sensitivity of key inputs, and plans to raise further funds, the Directors
consider that the Group will have adequate financial resources to continue in
operational existence for the foreseeable future (being a period of at least 12
months from the date of this report) and, for this reason, the financial
statements have been prepared on a going concern basis. The financial
statements do not include the adjustments that would be required should the
going concern basis of preparation no longer be appropriate.
The Company’s principal activity in the reporting period was the preclinical development of next generation medicines focused on hard to treat cancers.
On 1 December 2022, Jeffreys
Henry LLP resigned as the Company's auditors and confirmed that there are no
circumstances connected with their resignation which they considered should be
brought to the attention of the Company's members or creditors in accordance
with Section 519 of the Companies Act 2006.
On 16 January 2023 it was
announced that the Company had appointed BDO LLP as its auditors with immediate
effect. The appointment of BDO LLP will be subject to approval by shareholders
at the next Annual General Meeting of the Company.
The Directors are responsible for preparing the Annual Report alongside the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.
Under company law the Directors must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Company and of the profit or loss of the Company for that year. The Directors are also required to prepare financial statements in accordance with the rules of the London Stock Exchange for companies with a Standard Listing.
In preparing these financial statements, the Directors are required to:
• Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
• Make judgments and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
• State whether applicable UK adopted International Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
• Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Company will continue in business.
The Directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the Company’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements and the Remuneration Committee Report comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. They are also responsible to make a statement that they consider that the annual report and accounts, taken as a whole, is fair, balanced, and understandable and provides the information necessary for the shareholders to assess the Company’s position and performance, business model and strategy.
The Directors are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the Company’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of the financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
Each of the Directors confirm that, to the best of their knowledge and belief:
• the financial statements prepared in accordance with UK adopted International Accounting Standards, give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and loss of the Group and Company; and
• the Annual Report and financial statements, including the Strategic Report, includes a fair review of the development and performance of the business and the position of the Group and Company, together with a description of the principal risks and uncertainties that they face.
So far as the Directors are aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the Company’s auditors are unaware, and each Director has taken all the steps that they ought to have taken as a Director in order to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the Company’s auditors are aware of that information.
This directors’ report was approved by the Board of Directors on 4 June 2023 and is signed on its behalf by:
Stephen West, Executive Chairman
STRATEGIC
REPORT
The Directors present the Strategic Report of the Company and the Group for the year ended 31 December 2022.
The Directors believe they have acted in the way most likely to promote the success of the Company for the benefit of its members as a whole, as required by s172 of the Companies Act 2006.
The requirements of s172 are for the Directors to:
• Consider the likely consequences of any decision in the long term;
• Act fairly between the members of the Company;
• Maintain a reputation for high standards of business conduct;
• Consider the interests of the Company’s employees;
• Foster the Company’s relationships with suppliers, customers and others; and
• Consider the impact of the Company’s operations on the community and the environment.
The Company acquired Lyramid Pty Ltd in late
2021 and then subsequently acquired Oncogeni Limited in September 2022. The
pre-revenue nature of the business is important to the understanding of the
Company by its members and suppliers, and the Directors are as transparent
about the cash position and funding requirements as is allowed under LSE
regulations.
We aim to work
responsibly with our stakeholders, including suppliers. The key Board decisions
made in the year and post year end are set out below:
|
Significant events / decisions |
Key s172 matter(s) affected |
Actions and Consequences |
|
Entering into an agreement to purchase the entire issued share
capital of Oncogeni Limited and the associated Share Placing |
Shareholders and Business Relationships |
Completion of the acquisition and associated Placing, with the
enlarged share capital listed on the London Stock Exchange, leading to
greater likely outcomes for shareholders in the future. Shareholders were
communicated to and decisions made by the Directors were notified via the
Regulatory New Service. |
Interests of
Employees
The Company’s
Corporate Governance Statement of this Annual Report sets out (under board
responsibilities) the processes in place to safeguard the interests of
employees.
Foster business relationships
with suppliers, joint venture partners and others
Potential
suppliers and joint venture partners are considered in the light of their
suitability to comply with the Company’s policies.
Impact of
operations on the community and environment
The Company
will continue to monitor the impact of its research facilities on the community
and environment.
Maintain a reputation for
high standards of business conduct
The Corporate
Governance section of this Annual Report sets out the Board and Committee
structures and Board and Committee meetings held during the year, together with
the experience of executive management and the Board and the Company's policies
and procedures.
Act fairly as between members
of the Company
The Board takes
feedback from a wide range of shareholders (large and small) and endeavours at
every opportunity to pro-actively engage with all shareholders (via regulatory
news reporting-RNS) and engage with any specific shareholders in response to
particular queries they may have from time to time. The Board considers that
its key decisions during the year have impacted equally on all members of the
Company.
Review of Business in the Year
The Company’s principal activity is set out in the Directors’ Report.
During the first nine months of the year
under review the Company was primarily focused on the pre-clinical development
of RNA oligonucleotide drugs targeting Midkine. These RNA oligonucleotide drugs interfere
with processing of the Midkine mRNA ultimately
leading to reduced active Midkine protein produced in
diseased tissues and tumours.
On 22 June 2022
the Company announced that it had entered into a conditional sale and purchase
agreement with the shareholders of Oncogeni Limited (“Oncogeni”) to acquire
100% of the total issued equity in Oncogeni for an aggregate consideration of £3,750,000
to be satisfied by the issue of 50,000,000 new ordinary shares in the Company.
Oncogeni was established in 2019 by Nobel Laureate Professor Sir Martin Evans. It had an experienced leadership team developing novel cell and RNA based cancer medicines, which the Board believed were complementary to the Company's existing pre-clinical drug development business.
To fund the future pre-clinical drug
development work of Oncogeni and the working capital requirements of the
enlarged Group, the Company also announced a placing of 7,249,998 new ordinary
shares to new and existing investors to raise funds of £1.015 million.
The transaction and placing were successfully completed on 16 September 2022 with 57,249,998 new ordinary shares being issued and admitted to the Official List of the UKLA by way of a standard listing under Chapter 14 of the UKLA's Listing Rules and to trading on the London Stock Exchange's main market for listed securities on that date.
On completion of the transaction Professor Sir Martin Evans, Ajan Reginald and Dr Darrin Disley (all directors of Oncogeni) were appointed to the Board of the Company.
Post-acquisition
of Oncogeni the Company was focused on integrating the Oncogeni business into
the existing business and progressing development of the enlarged pre-clinical
drug portfolio.
Events since the year end
On 20 February 2023 the Company announced that it had signed an exclusive licence and royalty agreement, for the field of medical diagnostics only, with a leading international diagnostics company, Randox Laboratories Ltd ("Randox"), in relation to its Midkine antibody portfolio. Randox and Roquefort Therapeutics will now engage in collaborative research programs to develop new cancer diagnostics that will identify patients treatable with the Company's Midkine therapeutics.
On 8 March 2023
the Company announced that it had successfully developed a new novel platform
of anti-cancer mRNA therapeutics.
Financial review
The Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income for the year shows a loss of £1,615,417 (2021: £917,433) and the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position at 31 December 2022 shows net assets of £7,206,638 (2021: £4,082,606) for the Group.
The total comprehensive loss for the year of £1,630,406 (2021: loss of £916,809) occurred as a result of on-going research and development costs, and administrative expenses required to operate the Company, and costs in relation to the completion of the acquisition of Oncogeni.
Administrative expenses increased to £1,306,561 (2021: £252,392) mainly due to Directors’ and employee costs increasing to £365,564 (2021: £59,607), consulting and professional fees increasing to £209,768 (2021: £125,807), the audit fee increasing to £157,336 (2021: £22,000) and other expenditure (excluding audit fees) increasing to £527,520 (2021: £13,818) – reflecting an increase in staff and operational activities during the year. Research and development expenditure increased to £319,315 (2021: £698) as the Group carried out external studies with Murdoch University for the Midkine RNA oligonucleotide pre-clinical program in the first half of the year and commenced internal and external studies on the other programs later in the year.
The intangible assets of the Group increased to £5,343,506 (2021: £1,481,530) as a result of accounting for the fair value of shares issued for the acquisition of Oncogeni Limited (Refer to note 12).
Other receivables reduced significantly to £45,154 (2021: £2,135,031) due to the receipt of outstanding placing proceeds of £2,106,202 in January 2022.
Cash flow
Net cash inflow for the Group for 2022 was £1,421,258 (2021: £900,335).
Net cash used in investing activities for 2022 decreased to £122,468 (2021: £606,226) reflecting the acquisition of Oncogeni Limited in 2022 for equity consideration and associated costs, compared with the acquisition of Lyramid Pty Ltd in 2021 for a mixture of cash consideration, equity consideration and associated costs.
Net flows from financing activities for 2022 was £3,121,202 reflecting the receipt of proceeds from an equity placement undertaken in December 2021 of £2,106,202 and an equity placement in September 2022 raising £1,014,999. This compares to the net flows from financing activities for 2021 of £2,023,393 reflecting, after costs of £159,405, pre-IPO equity placements in 2020 raising £124,000, the IPO equity placement in March 2021 raising £1,000,000, the exercise of broker warrants for £15,000, an equity placement in August 2021 raising £150,000 and an equity placement in December 2021 raising £3,000,000 (less proceeds outstanding and received in early 2022 of £2,106,202).
Closing cash
As at 31 December 2022, the Group held £2,322,974 (2021: £899,721) of cash.
The
Company’s non-financial KPIs are the development of new novel anti-cancer therapeutics,
the registration of new patents to protect the clinical advancements in
anti-cancer therapeutics being achieved during the pre-clinical stages of drug
discovery and entering into licencing deals with other companies.
The
Company’s financial KPIs are the Company’s cash runway and budgeted R&D
spend compared to actuals.
At the year end
At the year end the Company’s Statement of Financial Position shows net assets totalling £7,481,382 (2021: £4,014,683). The Company’s current cash resources are sufficient to cover the Company’s plans to complete pre-clinical development activities and submit applications to commence clinical trials for all of the Company’s pre-clinical programs. However, the ability of the Company to continue as a going concern, for at least 12 months from the date of signing this Annual Report, is dependent upon the completion of licencing deals that include upfront consideration and/or the successful future raising of further capital, which the Directors are confident of achieving. There can be no assurance that these plans will be successful and so there is a material uncertainty over the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern.
Environmental matters
The Board contains personnel with a good history of running businesses that have been compliant with all relevant laws and regulations and there have been no instances of non-compliance in respect of environmental matters.
Employee information
As at the date of this report, the Company has an Executive Chairman, two Executive Directors and four Non-Executive Directors. The Company is committed to gender equality and, as future roles are identified, a wide-ranging search would be completed with the most appropriate individual being appointed irrespective of gender.
A split of
our employees and directors by gender at the date of this report, is shown
below:
|
|
Male |
Female |
|
Directors |
6 |
1 |
|
Employees |
- |
2 |
|
Total
employees (including directors) |
6 |
3 |
Social/Community/Human rights matters
The Company ensures that employment practices take into account the necessary diversity requirements and compliance with all employment laws. The Board has experience in dealing with such issues and sufficient training and qualifications to ensure they meet all requirements.
Anti-corruption and anti-bribery policy
The government of the United Kingdom has issued guidelines setting out appropriate procedures for companies to follow to ensure that they are compliant with the UK Bribery Act 2010. The Company has conducted a review into its operational procedures to consider the impact of the Bribery Act 2010 and the Board has adopted an anti-corruption and anti-bribery policy.
The Group operates in an uncertain environment and is subject to a number of risk factors. The Directors consider the following risk factors are of particular relevance to the Group’s activities although it should be noted that this list is not exhaustive and that other risk factors not presently known or currently deemed immaterial may apply.
|
Issue |
Risk/Uncertainty |
Mitigation |
|
The Group is a pre-revenue business and there is
no guarantee that it will generate significant or any revenue in the near
future |
The generation of revenues is difficult to
predict and there is no guarantee that the Group will generate significant or any revenues
in the foreseeable future. The Group will face risks frequently encountered
by pre-revenue businesses looking to bring new products and devices to the
market. There is also no guarantee that the intellectual property held will
ultimately result in a commercially viable product. It is also possible that
technical and/or regulatory hurdles could lengthen the time required for the
delivery of such a testing product. The Group’s future growth
will also depend on its ability to secure commercialisation partnerships on
appropriate terms, to manage growth and to expand and improve operational, financial and management information, quality
control systems and its commercialisation function on a timely basis, whilst
at the same time maintaining effective cost controls. |
The Directors have appointed a CEO to actively
manage the commercial activities of the Group as it develops. The CEO and the Directors
will oversee the progress of the development of the Group’s research programs
and associated technologies and will ensure funding is in place to support
the necessary trials and further development steps as these come on stream. |
|
Research and development risks carry technical risks, including the programs
undertaken by the Group and there is no guarantee that these technical risks
can be effectively overcome, and a successful, approved
product can be developed |
All therapeutic research and development programs
carry technical risks, including the programs undertaken by the Group. These
risks include: those associated with delays in development of effective and
potent drugs; failure of delivery by third party suppliers of research services
or materials essential to the programs; and outcomes of clinical testing.
There is no guarantee that these technical risks can be effectively overcome,
and a successful, approved product can be developed. Furthermore, the Group
is pursuing relatively new drug classes. Whilst
several examples of approved drugs now exist in these classes, as yet no such
drug has been developed for the Group’s targets. There is a risk that these
novel classes of drugs may not be an effective way of modulating the target’s
expression to exert appropriate clinical benefit in the target conditions. |
The Directors will engage in continuous dialogue
with the Chief Scientific Officer to critically review the technical
risks. The Board has established a Scientific Advisory Board to support them
in this review process. |
|
Biotechnology programs are subject to the most stringent
regulatory oversight by various government agencies and ethics committees and
there is no guarantee that the proposed development work will result in an
efficacious treatment, or even if it does, that the drug will be approved by
regulatory authorities |
Biotechnology programs are subject to the most
stringent regulatory oversight by various government agencies and ethics
committees. Key regulatory focus areas are safety and efficacy, and future clinical trials conducted by the
Group may be suspended or abandoned entirely in the event that regulatory
agencies consider that continuation of these trials could expose participants
to undue risks. Before obtaining regulatory approval of a product for a
target indication, substantial evidence must be gathered in controlled
clinical trials that the product candidate is safe and effective for use for
that clinical setting. Similar approvals must be obtained from the relevant
regulatory authorities in each country in which the product may be made
available, including Australia, US and the EU. |
The Scientific Advisory Board will be critical in
supporting the Board in understanding and mitigating these risks. Even so, a
sudden unforeseen change in the regulations could have a material adverse
impact on the development program. The Group cannot guarantee that the proposed
development work will result in an efficacious treatment, or even if it does, that the
drug will be approved by regulatory authorities. |
|
Even where the Group is successful in terms of technical and
regulatory approvals, there is no guarantee it will be successful in securing
an appropriate licensing deal or in achieving alternative means of
commercialising its drugs |
There may be other companies developing effective
treatments for the same conditions as the Group, which could make commercialising any drug more difficult. The research and development programs
planned are expected to take several years before any drug might be ready and
the market for such drugs may contract significantly or become too competitive for an
economically viable drug launch. In addition, even post regulatory approval,
any drug may need to be withdrawn from the market, as well as expose the
Group to claims for compensation as a result of serious adverse events
associated with the treatment. Historically, very few drugs make it from
discovery to regulatory approval and commercialisation. |
During 2022, the Board appointed new Directors,
senior management and advisors with appropriate experience and expertise to
give the Group the best chance of commercialising any successful drug in the
future. |
|
Existing
patents and licences are subject to the terms and conditions of the relevant
licence agreement which could be terminated for non-compliance with the terms
of such licence agreement |
The Group’s subsidiary Lyramid
Pty Ltd operates its Midkine antibody research and
development programs under a worldwide, licence agreement with Anagenics Ltd, the owner of the Midkine
patents. Similarly, the Group’s subsidiary Oncogeni Ltd operates its MK Cell
and siRNA programs under worldwide licencing agreements with Cell Therapy
Limited and Sirna Limited respectively. Whilst the
Group is currently compliant, there is a risk that the rights to these
patents, as defined by the relevant licence
agreement, will be forfeited by virtue of either party failing to meet
licence conditions. |
The CEO has a good understanding of the details
of the licence agreements and the Group’s obligations under them. Should any
areas of concern arise, legal counsel will be sought before further steps are
taken. |
|
The Group’s ability to compete will depend in part, upon the
successful protection of its intellectual property, in particular its patents
and know-how |
The Group’s ability to compete will depend in
part, upon the successful protection of its intellectual property, in
particular its Patents Rights and Know-How. Filing, prosecuting and defending
patents in all countries throughout the world would be prohibitively
expensive. It is possible that competitors will use the technologies in
jurisdictions where the Group has not registered patents. Any such claims are likely
to be expensive to defend, and the other litigating parties may be able to
sustain the costs of complex patent litigation more effectively than the
Group can, because they have substantially greater resources. Moreover, even
if the Group is successful in defending any infringement proceedings, it may
incur substantial costs and divert management’s time and attention in doing
so, which may have a material adverse effect on the Group’s business, financial condition, capital resources, results
and/or future operations. Further, disputes can often last for a number of
years, and can be subject to lengthy appeals processes before any final resolution is achieved through the various
different courts and/or tribunals. Furthermore, it cannot be guaranteed that
a court will not rule against the Group were such claims to be defended. Despite these
precautions that may be taken by the Group to protect its intellectual
technology and products, unauthorised third parties may attempt to copy, or
obtain and use its technology and products. A third party may infringe upon
the Group’s intellectual property, release information considered
confidential about the Group’s intellectual property and/or claim technology
that is registered to the Group. In addition, the Group may fail to discover
infringement of its intellectual property, and/or any steps taken or that will
be taken by it may not be sufficient to protect its intellectual property
rights or prevent others from seeking to invalidate its intellectual property
(for example, in response to a claim for infringement or where an attempt is
made to “clear a path” for a new competing product) or block sales of its products by
alleging a breach of their intellectual property. Third parties can bring
material and arguments which the patent office granting the patent may not
have seen at the time of granting the patent. Therefore, whilst a patent may
be granted to the Group it could in the future be found by a court of law or
by a patent office to be invalid or unenforceable or in need of further
restriction. As a result of a validity challenge, a patent may be amended so
as to narrow its scope to an extent that it may be more difficult to restrict
activities of competitors. Applications filed by the Group in respect of new
patents and trademarks may also not be granted or, if granted, may still be
subject to opposition. In addition, there can be no guarantee that the
patents or trademarks will be granted on a timely basis. Subject to certain
time limits, there may, in certain circumstances, also be claims to
entitlement, and/or compensation arising from contributions made, to granted
patents by those who have assisted with the relevant research or project. In the event that
litigation is necessary in the future in order to enforce the Group’s
intellectual property rights, determine the scope and validity of proprietary
rights of other companies, and/or defend claims of infringement or
invalidity, it could require the Group to commit significant resource to pursue the protection of its
intellectual property and there is no guarantee that the result of such
litigation would result in a favourable outcome to the Group, or the damages
or other remedies awarded, if any, may not be commercially meaningful or
represent acceptable compensation in respect to the infringement. The Group is not currently aware of any
such active or pending litigation risk. |
The Group seeks to protect its intellectual
property through the filing of patent applications, as well as robust
confidentiality obligations on its employees. The Board intends to defend the Group’s
intellectual property vigorously, where necessary through litigation and
other means. |
|
Competition
and the pace of development in the biotechnology sector could lead to the
market participants creating |
The Group operates within the biotechnology
sector, a complex area of the healthcare industry. Rapid scientific and technological change within the
biotechnology sector could lead to other market participants creating
approaches, products and services equivalent or superior to the diagnostic
testing products and services than those to be offered by the Group, which could
adversely affect the Group’s performance and success. Better resourced
competitors may be able to devote more time and capital towards the research
and development process, which, in turn, could lead to scientific and/or technological breakthroughs that may
materially alter the outlook or focus for markets in which the Group will
operate. If the Group is unable to
keep pace with the changes in the biotechnology sector and in the wider
healthcare industry, the demand for its platforms and associated products and
services could fall, which may have a material adverse effect on the Group’s
business, financial condition, capital
resources, results and/or future operations. In addition, certain of the
Group’s competitors may have significantly greater financial and human resource capacity and, as such,
better manufacturing capability or sales and marketing expertise. New
companies with alternative technologies and products may also emerge. |
The Board will be monitoring
the speed and output of the programs closely and challenging where it
believes things could be done more quickly. The Board is aware of the potential need for
further funding as the programs develop. Being a listed company gives the
Group the ability to raise more funds in the future should they be required. |
|
The successful operation of the Group will depend partly
upon the performance and expertise of its current and future management and
employees |
The
successful operation of the Group will depend partly upon the performance and
expertise of its current and future management and employees. The loss of the
services of certain of these members of the Group’s key management, including
Ajan Reginald, the CEO, Professor Sir Martin Evans,
the Chief Scientific Officer, and Dr Graham Robertson, the Vice President of Drug
Discovery or the inability to identify, attract and retain a sufficient
number of suitably skilled and qualified employees may have a material
adverse effect on the Group. Any future expansion of the Group may require
considerable management time which may in turn inhibit management’s ability
to conduct the day to day business of the Group. |
The Group offers incentives to Directors and employees through share
warrants, which makes them linked to the long-term success of the business. |
Composition of the Board
A full analysis of the Board, its function, composition and policies, is included in the Governance Report.
The Company’s capital consists of ordinary shares which rank pari passu in all respects which are traded on the Standard segment of the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange. There are no restrictions on the transfer of securities in the Company or restrictions on voting rights and none of the Company’s shares are owned or controlled by employee share schemes. There are no arrangements in place between shareholders that are known to the Company that may restrict voting rights, restrict the transfer of securities, result in the appointment or replacement of Directors, amend the Company’s Articles of Association or restrict the powers of the Company’s Directors, including in relation to the issuing or buying back by the Company of its shares or any significant agreements to which the Company is a party that take effect after or terminate upon, a change of control of the Company following a takeover bid or arrangements between the Company and its Directors or employees providing for compensation for loss of office or employment (whether through resignation, purported redundancy or otherwise) that may occur because of a takeover bid.
Approved by the Board on 4 June 2023
Stephen West,
Executive Chairman
Consolidated Statement
of Comprehensive Income
|
|
|
Year ended 31 December 2022 |
Period ended 31 December 2021 |
|
|
Note |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Revenue |
7 |
- |
719 |
|
Other
income |
|
- |
130 |
|
Cost of goods sold |
|
- |
(10,069) |
|
Administrative expenses |
9 |
(1,306,561) |
(252,392) |
|
Costs
associated with the IPO |
9 |
- |
(182,053) |
|
Share
based payments - directors and senior managers |
9 |
(8,427) |
(248,326) |
|
Costs
associated with acquisition of subsidiary |
9 |
- |
(224,744) |
|
Research and development
expenditure |
9 |
(319,315) |
(698) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Operating loss & loss before
taxation |
|
(1,634,303) |
(917,433) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Taxation |
10 |
18,886 |
- |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Loss for the period |
|
(1,615,417) |
(917,433) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Other
comprehensive (loss) income |
8 |
(14,989) |
624 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total comprehensive loss for the
period attributable to equity |
|
(1,630,406) |
(916,809) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Loss per share (basic and diluted)
attributable to the equity holders (pence) |
11 |
(1.56) |
(3.71) |
|
|
|
|
|
The notes to the financial
statements form an integral part of these financial statements.
Consolidated Statement
of Financial Position
|
|
|
Note |
|
As at 31 December 2022 £ |
Restated As at 31 December 2021 £ |
|
Assets |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Non-current assets |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Intangible
assets |
|
12 |
|
5,343,505 |
1,481,530 |
|
Total non-current assets |
|
|
|
5,343,505 |
1,481,530 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Current assets |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Trade
and other receivables |
|
14 |
|
101,738 |
2,178,783 |
|
Cash
and cash equivalents |
|
15 |
|
2,322,974 |
899,721 |
|
Total current assets |
|
|
|
2,424,712 |
3,078,504 |
|
Total assets |
|
|
|
7,768,217 |
4,560,034 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Equity
and liabilities |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Equity attributable to shareholders |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Share
capital |
|
18 |
|
1,291,500 |
719,000 |
|
Share
premium |
|
18 |
|
4,403,094 |
3,460,595 |
|
Share
based payments reserve |
|
19 |
|
375,135 |
366,708 |
|
Merger
relief reserve 1 |
20 |
|
3,700,000 |
450,000 |
|
|
Retained
deficit |
|
|
|
(2,548,728) |
(914,321) |
|
Currency
translation reserve |
|
|
|
(14,365) |
624 |
|
Total equity |
|
|
|
7,206,636 |
4,082,606 |
|
Liabilities |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Non-Current liabilities |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Deferred
tax liabilities |
|
17 |
|
281,911 |
281,911 |
|
Current liabilities |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Trade and other payables |
|
16 |
|
279,670 |
195,517 |
|
Total
liabilities |
|
|
|
561,581 |
477,428 |
|
Total
equity and liabilities |
|
|
|
7,768,217 |
4,560,034 |
|
|
|
||||
The notes to the financial statements form an integral
part of these financial statements.
Statement of Financial Position
|
|
|
Note |
£ |
As
at 31 December 2022 £ |
Restated
As at 31 December £ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Assets
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Non-current assets |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Investments |
|
13 |
|
4,874,774 |
1,015,695 |
|
Intercompany
receivables |
|
|
|
451,622 |
132,800 |
|
Total
non-current assets |
|
|
|
5,326,396 |
1,148,495 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Current assets |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Trade and other receivables |
|
14 |
|
64,309 |
2,136,224 |
|
Cash and cash equivalents |
|
15 |
|
2,274,478 |
857,614 |
|
Total current
assets |
|
|
|
2,338,787 |
2,993,838 |
|
Total assets |
|
|
|
7,665,183 |
4,142,333 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Equity and liabilities |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Equity attributable to shareholders |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Share capital |
|
18 |
|
1,291,500 |
719,000 |
|
Share premium |
|
18 |
|
4,403,094 |
3,460,595 |
|
Share based payments reserve |
|
19 |
|
375,135 |
366,708 |
|
Merger relief reserve 1 |
|
20 |
|
3,700,000 |
450,000 |
|
Retained deficit |
|
|
|
(2,288,350) |
(981,620) |
|
Total equity |
|
|
|
7,481,379 |
4,014,683 |
|
Liabilities |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Current liabilities |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Trade and other payables |
|
16 |
|
183,804 |
127,650 |
|
Total liabilities |
|
|
|
183,804 |
127,650 |
|
Total equity and liabilities |
|
|
|
7,665,183 |
4,142,333 |
1- In the prior period Merger relief reserve was not
applied for the consideration shares issued for the acquisition of Lyramid, in error.
£450,000 previously recorded as share premium has been reclassified into
a merger relief reserve in accordance with the UK Companies Act. There has been
no impact to the prior period’s consolidated statement of comprehensive income
or net asset position.
The notes to the financial statements form an integral
part of these financial statements.
Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity
|
|
Ordinary Share capital |
Share Premium |
Share Based Payment Reserve |
Merger relief reserve |
Retained earnings |
Translation
Reserve |
Total equity |
|
|
£
|
£
|
£
|
£ |
£
|
£ |
£
|
|
On
Incorporation |
- |
- |
- |
- |
3,112 |
- |
3,112 |
|
Loss
for the period |
- |
- |
- |
- |
(917,433) |
- |
(917,433) |
|
Exchange
differences |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
624 |
624 |
|
Total
comprehensive income / (loss) for the period |
- |
- |
- |
- |
(914,321) |
624 |
(913,697) |
|
Transactions
with owners Ordinary
Shares issued (restated) 1 |
719,000 |
3,620,000 |
- |
450,000 |
- |
- |
4,789,000 |
|
Share
issue costs |
- |
(159,405) |
- |
- |
- |
- |
(159,405) |
|
Warrants
charge |
- |
- |
366,708 |
- |
- |
- |
366,708 |
|
Total
transactions with owners (restated) |
719,000 |
3,460,595 |
366,708 |
450,000 |
- |
- |
4,996,303 |
|
As
at 31 December 2021 (restated) |
719,000 |
3,460,595 |
366,708 |
450,000 |
(914,321) |
624 |
4,082,606 |
|
Loss for the period |
- |
- |
- |
- |
(1,615,417) |
- |
(1,615,417) |
|
Exchange differences |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
(14,989) |
(14,989) |
|
Total comprehensive income / (loss) for the year |
- |
- |
- |
|
(1,615,417) |
(14,989) |
(1,630,406) |
|
Transactions with owners Ordinary shares issued |
572,500 |
942,499 |
- |
3,250,000 |
- |
- |
4,764,999 |
|
Stamp duty on share issue |
|
|
|
|
(18,990) |
|
(18,990) |
|
Warrants charge |
- |
- |
8,427 |
- |
- |
- |
8,427 |
|
Total transactions with owners |
572,500 |
942,499 |
8,427 |
3,250,000 |
(18,990) |
- |
4,754,436 |
|
As at 31 December 2022 |
1,291,500 |
4,403,094 |
375,135 |
3,700,000 |
(2,548,728) |
(14,365) |
7,206,636 |
1 In the prior period Merger relief reserve was not applied for the consideration shares issued for the acquisition of Lyramid, in error. £450,000 previously recorded as share premium has been reclassified into a merger relief reserve in accordance with the UK Companies Act. There has been no impact to the prior period’s consolidated statement of comprehensive income or net asset position.
The notes
to the financial statements form an integral part of these financial
statements.
Statement of Changes in
Equity
|
|
Ordinary Share capital |
Share Premium |
Merger relief reserve |
Share Based Payment Reserves |
Retained earnings |
Total equity |
|
|
£
|
£
|
£ |
£
|
£
|
£
|
|
On
Incorporation |
- |
- |
|
- |
- |
- |
|
Loss
for the period |
- |
- |
|
- |
(981,620) |
(981,620) |
|
Total
comprehensive loss for the period |
- |
- |
|
- |
(981,620) |
(981,620) |
|
Transactions
with owners Ordinary
Shares issued (restated)1 |
719,000 |
3,620,000 |
450,000 |
- |
- |
4,789,000 |
|
Share
issue costs |
- |
(159,405) |
- |
- |
- |
(159,405) |
|
Warrants
issued |
- |
- |
- |
366,708 |
- |
366,708 |
|
Total
transactions with owners (restated) |
719,000 |
3,460,595 |
450,000 |
366,708 |
- |
4,996,303 |
|
As
at 31 December 2021 (restated) |
719,000 |
3,460,595 |
450,000 |
366,708 |
(981,620) |
4,014,683 |
|
Loss
for the year |
- |
- |
- |
- |
(1,287,740) |
(1,287,740) |
|
Total
loss for the year |
- |
- |
- |
- |
(1,287,740)
|
(1,287,740) |
|
Transactions
with owners Ordinary
Shares issued |
572,500 |
942,499 |
3,250,000 |
- |
- |
4,764,999 |
|
Stamp
duty on share issue |
|
|
|
|
(18,990) |
(18,990) |
|
Warrants
issued |
- |
- |
- |
8,427 |
- |
8,427 |
|
Total
transactions with owners |
572,500 |
942,499 |
3,250,000 |
8,427 |
(18,990) |
4,754,436 |
|
As
at 31 December 2022 |
1,291,500 |
4,403,094 |
3,700,000 |
375,135 |
(2,288,350) |
7,481,379 |
1
In the prior period Merger relief reserve was not applied for the consideration
shares issued for the acquisition of Lyramid, in
error. £450,000 previously recorded as
share premium has been reclassified into a merger relief reserve in accordance
with the UK Companies Act. There has been no impact to the prior period’s
consolidated statement of comprehensive income or net asset position.
The notes to the financial statements form an
integral part of these financial statements.
Consolidated Statement of Cash Flow
|
|
Note |
Year ended 31
December 2022 |
Restated Period
ended 31 December 2021 |
|
|
|
£ |
£ |
|
Cash flow from operating activities |
|
|
|
|
Loss before income tax |
|
(1,634,303) |
(996,068) |
|
Adjustments for: |
|
|
|
|
Amortisation |
|
- |
- |
|
Foreign Exchange |
|
(9,918) |
765 |
|
Non-cash adjustment |
|
- |
(2,602) |
|
Share based payment |
19 |
8,427 |
366,708 |
|
Taxation |
|
18,886 |
- |
|
Changes in working capital: |
|
|
|
|
Increase in trade and
other receivables2 |
|
(20,318) |
(24,434) |
|
Increase in trade and
other payables |
|
59,750 |
129,525 |
|
Decrease in Inventory |
|
- |
9,273 |
|
Net
cash used in operating activities |
|
(1,577,476) |
(516,833) |
|
Cash
flow from Investing activities |
|
|
|
|
Acquisition of subsidiary, net of cash acquired1 |
|
(103,478) |
(606,226) |
|
Net
Cash used in investing activities |
|
(103,478) |
(606,226) |
|
Cash
flows from financing activities |
|
|
|
|
Proceeds from the
issue of ordinary shares 1,2 |
18 |
3,121,202 |
2,182,798 |
|
Share issue costs |
18 |
(18,990) |
(159,405) |
|
Net
cash from financing activities |
|
3,102,212 |
2,023,393 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
increase in cash and cash equivalents |
|
1,421,258 |
900,335 |
|
Cash and cash
equivalents at the beginning of the period |
|
899,721 |
- |
|
Foreign exchange
impact on cash |
|
1,995 |
(614) |
|
Cash
and cash equivalents at the end of the period |
15 |
2,322,974 |
899,721 |
|
|
|
|
|
1 An
error was identified in the prior year's cash flow statement. The error
pertains to £500,000 of consideration shares issued for the acquisition of Lyramid Pty Ltd, with no cashflow, that was incorrectly
included in these line items. This was incorrectly
considered as cash inflow from ‘Proceeds from the issue of ordinary shares’ and
cash outflow for ‘Acquisition of subsidiary, net of cash acquired’. There is no
impact on the company and consolidated statement of comprehensive income or
statement of financial position.
2
An error was identified
in the prior year's cash flow statement. The error pertains to £2,106,202 of
proceeds from share issues which was recorded in 2021 but not received until
after period end. As a result, the Group
has restated the cash flow from
‘Proceeds from the issue of ordinary shares’ and ‘Increase in trade and other
receivables’. The impact
of the correction on the prior year's financial results is a decrease in the
cash used in operating activities of £2,106,202 and a decrease in cash from
financing activities for the same amount. There is no impact on the consolidated
and company statements of comprehensive income or statements of financial
position.
Statement of Cash Flow
|
|
Note |
Year ended 31
December 2022 |
Unaudited period ended
31 December 20211 |
|
|
|
£ |
£ |
|
Cash flow from operating activities |
|
|
|
|
Loss before income tax |
|
(1,287,740) |
(981,620) |
|
Adjustments for: |
|
|
|
|
Non-cash adjustment |
|
|
|
|
Share based payment |
19 |
8,427 |
366,708 |
|
Changes in working capital: |
|
|
|
|
Increase in trade and
other receivables |
|
(34,288) |
(30,222) |
|
Increase in trade and
other payables |
|
56,153 |
127,649 |
|
Net
cash used in operating activities |
|
(1,257,448) |
(517,485) |
|
Cash
flow from Investing activities |
|
|
|
|
Acquisition of subsidiary |
|
(109,079) |
(648,496) |
|
Borrowings to subsidiaries |
|
(318,822) |
- |
|
Net
Cash used in investing activities |
|
(427,901) |
(648,496) |
|
Cash
flows from financing activities |
|
|
|
|
Proceeds from the
issue of ordinary shares |
18 |
3,121,202 |
2,183,000 |
|
Share issue costs |
18 |
(18,990) |
(159,405) |
|
Net
Cash from financing activities |
|
3,102,212 |
2,023,595 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
increase in cash and cash equivalents |
|
1,416,863 |
857,614 |
|
Cash and cash
equivalents at the beginning of the period |
|
857,614 |
- |
|
Foreign exchange
impact on cash |
|
- |
- |
|
Cash
and cash equivalents at the end of the period |
15 |
2,274,477 |
857,614 |
|
|
|
|
|
1 The Company Statement of Cashflow was incorrectly excluded from the 2021 Annual Report and as such the 2021 comparative amounts presented above have not been audited.
The notes to the financial statements form an
integral part of these financial statements.
Notes to the Financial Statements
Roquefort
Therapeutics plc, the Group’s ultimate parent company, was incorporated on 17
August 2020 as a public company in England and Wales with company number
12819145 under the Companies Act.
The
address of its registered office is 85 Great Portland Street, First Floor,
London W1W 7LT, United Kingdom.
The
principal activity of the Company is to develop pre-clinical next generation
medicines focused on hard to treat cancers.
The
Company listed on the London Stock Exchange (“LSE”) on 22 March 2021.
The consolidated financial statements of the
Group have been prepared in accordance with UK adopted International Accounting Standards as issued by the UK Accounting
Standards Board (ASB). They have been prepared under the assumption that the
Group operates on a going concern basis.
The financial information set out in this
announcement does not constitute the Group's statutory accounts for the year
ended 31 December 2022 or 31 December 2021. The auditors reported on those
accounts and their report (i) was unqualified; (ii)
included references to the following two matters to which the auditors drew
attention by way of emphasis without qualifying their report – material
uncertainty over going concern, as disclosed by the Directors in note 3b; and
that the Parent Company statement of cashflow for the year ended 31 December
2021 is unaudited; and (iii) did not contain statements under section 498 (2)
or (3) of the Companies Act 2006. The statutory accounts for the year ended 31
December 2022 have not yet been delivered to the Registrar of Companies.
The
principal accounting policies applied in the preparation of these financial
statements are set out below. These policies have been consistently applied to
all the period presented, unless otherwise stated.
The financial statements of Roquefort
Therapeutics plc have been prepared in accordance with UK adopted International
Accounting Standards, and the Companies Act 2006.
The financial statements have been prepared on
an accrual basis and under the historical cost convention.
The Group’s available resources are sufficient
to cover the Group’s plans to complete pre-clinical development activities and
submit applications to commence clinical trials during 2023, however, they are
not sufficient to cover existing committed costs and the costs of planned
activities for at least 12 months from the date of signing these consolidated
and company financial statements.
The
Directors plan to raise further funds during 2023 (either through licencing
deals and/or equity placements) and have reasonable expectations that
sufficient cash will be raised to fund the planned operations of the Group for
a period of at least 12 months from the date of approval of these financial
statements. The funding requirement indicates that a material uncertainty
exists which may cast significant doubt over the Group’s and Company’s ability
to continue as a going concern, and therefore its ability to realise its assets
and discharge its liabilities in the normal course of business.
After due consideration of these forecasts,
current cash resources, including the sensitivity of key inputs, and plans to
raise further funds, the Directors consider that the Group will have adequate
financial resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable
future (being a period of at least 12 months from the date of this report) and,
for this reason, the financial statements have been prepared on a going concern
basis. The financial statements do not include the adjustments that
would be required should the going concern basis of preparation no longer be
appropriate.
The Group’s financial statements consolidate those of the parent
company and its subsidiaries as of 31 December 2022. Lyramid
and Oncogeni have a reporting date at 31 December and
31 May respectively.
All transactions and balances between Group companies are
eliminated on consolidation, including unrealised gains and losses on
transactions between Group companies. Where unrealised losses on intra-group
asset sales are reversed on consolidation, the underlying asset is also tested
for impairment from a Group perspective. Amounts reported in the financial
statements of its subsidiary have been adjusted where necessary to ensure
consistency with the accounting policies adopted by the Group.
Profit or loss and other comprehensive income of subsidiaries
acquired or disposed of during the year are recognised from the effective date
of acquisition, or up to the effective date of disposal, as applicable.
The Group attributes total comprehensive income or loss of
subsidiaries between the owners of the parent and the non-controlling interests
based on their respective ownership interests.
d)
Business
combinations
The Group applies
the acquisition method in accounting for business combinations. The
consideration transferred by the Group to obtain control of a subsidiary is
calculated as the sum of the acquisition-date fair values of assets
transferred, liabilities incurred and the equity interests issued by the Group,
which includes the fair value of any asset or liability arising from a
contingent consideration arrangement. Acquisition costs are expensed as
incurred.
Assets acquired and liabilities assumed are
generally measured at their acquisition-date fair values.
i)
Functional and Presentation Currency
The
financial statements are presented in Pounds Sterling (GBP), which is the
Group’s functional and presentation currency.
ii)
Transactions and Balances
Foreign currency monetary assets and liabilities are translated at
the rates ruling at the reporting date. Exchange differences arising on the
retranslation of assets and liabilities are recognised immediately in profit or
loss.
iii)
Foreign operations
In the Group’s financial statements, all assets, liabilities and
transactions of Group entities with a functional currency other than GBP are
translated into GBP upon consolidation. The functional currencies of entities
within the Group have remained unchanged during the reporting period.
On consolidation, assets and liabilities have been translated into
GBP at the closing rate at the reporting date. Goodwill and fair value
adjustments arising on the acquisition of a foreign entity have been treated as
assets and liabilities of the foreign entity and translated into GBP at the
closing rate on the acquisition date. Income and expenses have been translated
into GBP at the average rate of over the reporting period. Exchange differences
are charged or credited to other comprehensive income and recognised in the
currency translation reserve in equity. On disposal of a foreign operation, the
related cumulative translation differences recognised in equity are
reclassified to profit or loss and are recognised as part of the gain or loss
on disposal.
f)
Segment Reporting
Operating
segments are reported in a manner consistent with the internal reporting
provided to the chief operating decision-makers. The chief operating
decision-makers, who are responsible for allocating resources and assessing
performance of the operating segments, has been identified as the executive
Board of Directors.
All operations
and information are reviewed together so that at present there is only one
reportable operating segment.
In the opinion of
the Directors, during the period the Group operated in the single business
segment of biotechnology.
g)
Goodwill
and Intangible assets
Goodwill
represents the future economic benefits arising from a business combination
that are not individually identified and separately recognised. Goodwill is
carried at cost less accumulated impairment losses. Refer to Note (h) for a
description of impairment testing procedures.
Transactions
where the definition of a business combination, per IFRS 3, is not met due to
the asset or group of assets not meeting the definition of a business, or where
the concentration test affords the Directors the option not to treat as a
business, are recognised as an asset acquisition. The Group identifies and
recognises the individual identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed
and allocates the cost of the group of assets and liabilities (including
directly attributable costs of making the acquisition) to the individual
identifiable assets and liabilities on the basis of their relative fair values
at the date of purchase.
Other intangible assets, including licences
and patents, that are acquired by the Group and have finite useful lives are
measured at cost less accumulated amortisation and any accumulated impairment
losses. Refer to Note (h) for amortisation procedures.
h)
Impairment
testing of goodwill, other intangible assets and property, plant and equipment
For impairment assessment purposes,
assets are grouped at the lowest levels for which there are largely independent
cash inflows (cash-generating units). As a result, some assets are tested
individually for impairment, and some are tested at cash-generating unit level.
Goodwill is allocated to those cash-generating units that are expected to
benefit from synergies of a related business combination and represent the
lowest level within the Group at which management monitors goodwill.
Cash-generating
units to which goodwill has been allocated are tested for impairment at least
annually. All other individual assets or cash-generating units are tested for
impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the
carrying amount may not be recoverable.
An impairment
loss is recognised for the amount by which the asset’s (or cash-generating
unit’s) carrying amount exceeds its recoverable amount, which is the higher of
fair value less costs of disposal and value-in-use. To determine the value-in-use,
management estimates expected future cash flows from each cash-generating unit
and determines a suitable discount rate in order to calculate the present value
of those cash flows. The data used for impairment testing procedures are
directly linked to the Group’s latest approved budget, adjusted as necessary to
exclude the effects of future reorganisations and asset enhancements. Discount
factors are determined individually for each cash-generating unit and reflect
current market assessments of the time value of money and asset-specific risk
factors.
Impairment losses
for cash-generating units reduce first the carrying amount of any goodwill
allocated to that cash-generating unit. Any remaining impairment loss is
charged pro rata to the other assets in the cash-generating unit.
Amortisation is calculated to write off the cost of intangible
assets less their estimated residual values using the straight‐line method over
their estimated useful lives, from the date the assets are available for use
and is recognised in profit or loss. The available for use date is determined
as the date from which a product is commercialised – this had yet to occur, for
all intangible assets, at 31 December 2022 and 2021. Goodwill is not amortised.
IFRS 9 requires an entity to address the
classification, measurement and recognition of financial assets and
liabilities.
i)
Classification
The Group classifies its financial
assets in the following measurement categories:
·
those to be
measured at amortised cost.
The classification depends on the Group’s
business model for managing the financial assets and the contractual terms of
the cash flows.
The Group classifies financial assets as at
amortised cost only if both of the following criteria are met:
· the asset is held within a business model
whose objective is to collect contractual cash flows; and
· the contractual terms give rise to cash flows
that are solely payment of principal and interest.
ii)
Recognition
Purchases and sales of financial assets are
recognised on trade date (that is, the date on which the Group commits to
purchase or sell the asset). Financial assets are derecognised when the rights
to receive cash flows from the financial assets have expired or have been
transferred and the Group has transferred substantially all the risks and
rewards of ownership.
iii)
Measurement
At initial recognition, the Group measures a
financial asset at its fair value plus, in the case of a financial asset not at
fair value through profit or loss (FVPL), transaction costs that are directly
attributable to the acquisition of the financial asset.
Transaction
costs of financial assets carried at FVPL are expensed in profit or loss.
Receivables
Amortised cost: Assets that are held for
collection of contractual cash flows, where those cash flows represent solely
payments of principal and interest, are measured at amortised cost. Interest
income from these financial assets is included in finance income using the
effective interest rate method. Any gain or loss arising on derecognition is
recognised directly in profit or loss and presented in other gains/(losses)
together with foreign exchange gains and losses. Impairment losses are
presented as a separate line item in the statement of profit or loss.
iv) Impairment
The Group assesses, on a forward-looking
basis, the expected credit losses associated with any debt instruments carried
at amortised cost. For trade receivables, the Group applies the simplified
approach permitted by IFRS 9, which requires expected lifetime losses to be
recognised from initial recognition of the receivables.
j)
Taxation
Taxation comprises current and deferred tax.
Current tax is
based on taxable profit or loss for the period. Taxable profit or loss differs
from profit or loss as reported in the income statement because it excludes
items of income and expense that are taxable or deductible in other years and
it further excludes items that are never taxable or deductible. The asset or
liability for current tax is calculated using tax rates that have been enacted
or substantively enacted by the balance sheet date.
Deferred tax is
recognised on differences between the carrying amounts of assets and
liabilities in the financial information and the corresponding tax bases used
in the computation of taxable profit and is accounted for using the balance
sheet liability method. Deferred tax liabilities are generally recognised for
all taxable temporary differences and deferred tax assets are recognised to the
extent that it is probable that taxable profits will be available against which
deductible temporary differences can be utilised. Such assets and liabilities
are not recognised if the temporary difference arises from initial recognition
of goodwill or from the initial recognition (other than in a business
combination) of other assets and liabilities in a transaction that affects
neither the taxable profit nor the accounting profit.
Deferred tax
liabilities are recognised for taxable temporary differences arising on
investments in subsidiaries and associates, and interests in joint ventures,
except where the Group is able to control the reversal of the temporary
difference and it is probable that the temporary difference will not reverse in
the foreseeable future.
The carrying
amount of deferred tax assets is reviewed at each balance sheet date and
reduced to the extent that it is no longer probable that sufficient taxable
profits will be available to allow all or part of the asset to be recovered.
Deferred tax is
calculated at the tax rates that are expected to apply in the period when the
liability is settled, or the asset realised. Deferred tax is charged or
credited to profit or loss, except when it relates to items charged or credited
directly to equity, in which case the deferred tax is also dealt with in
equity.
Deferred tax
assets and liabilities are offset when there is a legally enforceable right to
set off current tax assets against current tax liabilities and when they relate
to income taxes levied by the same taxation authority and the Group intends to
settle its current tax assets and liabilities on a net basis.
R&D tax rebate receivable represents refundable tax offsets,
in cash, from the Australian Taxation Office (“ATO”) in relation to expenditure
incurred in the current year for eligible research and development activities.
Research and development activities are refundable at a rate of 43.5% for each
dollar spent, subject to meeting certain eligibility criteria. Funds are
expected to be received subsequent to the lodgement of the income tax return
and research and development tax incentive schedule for the current financial
year. The Group recognises a taxation credit, in the year the cash is received,
which generally relates to expenses during the prior period. In future periods
(which will include UK R&D tax credits), once an established pattern of
successful claims is recorded, the Group will consider an accruals basis,
recording the tax credit and a receivable in the period the eligible
expenditure was incurred.
k)
Cash and cash
equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash at bank and in hand and
demand deposits with banks and other financial institutions, that are readily
convertible into known amounts of cash, and which are subject to an
insignificant risk of changes in value.
l)
Equity, reserves and dividend
payments
Share capital represents the nominal (par) value of shares that
have been issued.
Share premium includes any premiums received on issue of share
capital. Any transaction costs directly associated with the issuing of shares
are deducted from share premium, net of any related income tax benefits.
Share
based payments represents the value of equity settled share-based payments
provided to employees, including key management personnel, and third parties
for services provided.
Translation
reserve comprises foreign currency translation differences arising from the
translation of financial statements of the Group’s foreign entities into GBP on
consolidation.
Retained losses represent the cumulative retained losses of the
Group at the reporting date.
All transactions with owners of the parent are recorded separately
within equity.
No
dividends are proposed for the period.
m)
Earnings
per Ordinary Share
The Company
presents basic and diluted earnings per share data for its Ordinary Shares.
Basic earnings
per Ordinary Share is calculated by dividing the profit or loss attributable to
Shareholders by the weighted average number of Ordinary Shares outstanding
during the period.
Diluted earnings
per Ordinary Share is calculated by adjusting the earnings and number of
Ordinary Shares for the effects of dilutive potential Ordinary Shares.
n)
Employee
benefits
Provision
is made for Lyramid’s liability for employee benefits
arising from services rendered by employees up to the end of the reporting
period. In determining the liability, consideration is given to employee wage
increases and the probability that the employee may satisfy vesting
requirements.
Short term obligations
Liability for wages and salaries, including
non-monetary benefits, annual leave, long service leave and accumulating sick
leave expected to be settled within 12 months of the reporting date are
recognised in other payables in respect of employees’ services up to the
reporting date and are measured at the amounts expected to be paid when the
liabilities are settled.
Other long-term employee benefit obligations
Liability for
annual leave and long service leave not expected to be settled within 12 months
from the reporting date is recognised in the provision for employee benefits
and measured as the present value of expected future payments to be made in
respect of services provided by employees up to the reporting date, using the
projected unit credit method. Consideration is given to expected future wage
and salary levels, of employee departures and period of service.
Retirement benefit obligations
Contributions for
retirement benefit obligations are recognised as an expense as they become
payable. Prepaid contributions are recognised as an asset to the extent that a
cash refund or a reduction in the future payment is available. Contributions
are paid into the fund nominated by the employee.
Employee benefits provision
The liability for
employee benefits expected to be settled more than 12 months from the reporting
date are recognised and measured at the present value of the estimated future
cash flows to be made in respect of all employees at the reporting date. In
determining the present value of the liability, estimates of attrition rates
and pay increases through promotion and inflation have been taken into account.
Leases are
accounted for by recognising a right-of-use asset and a lease liability, except
for leases of low value assets and leases with a duration of 12 months or less,
for which the lease cost is expensed in the period to which it relates.
A lease liability is recognised at the commencement date of a
lease. The lease liability is initially recognised at the present value of the
lease payments to be made over the term of the lease, discounted using the
interest rate implicit in the lease or, if that rate cannot be readily
determined, the consolidated entity’s incremental borrowing rate.
Lease payments comprise of fixed payments less any lease
incentives receivable, variable lease payments that depend on an index or a
rate, amounts expected to be paid under residual value guarantees, exercise
price of a purchase option when the exercise of the option is reasonably
certain to occur, and any anticipated termination penalties.
The variable lease payments that do not depend on an index or a
rate are expensed in the period in which they are incurred. Lease liabilities
are measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method. The
carrying amounts are remeasured if there is a change in the following: future
lease payments arising from a change in an index or a rate used; residual
guarantee; lease term; certainty of a purchase option and termination
penalties. When a lease liability is remeasured, an adjustment is made to the
corresponding right-of use asset, or to profit or loss if the carrying amount
of the right-of-use asset is fully written down.
Right-of-use assets are initially measured at the amount of the lease
liability, reduced for any lease incentives received, and increased for: lease
payments made at or before commencement of the lease; initial direct costs
incurred; and the amount of any provision recognised where the Group is
contractually required to dismantle, remove or restore the leased asset.
For contracts that both convey a right to the Group to use an identified
asset and require services to be provided to the Group by the lessor, the Group
has elected to account for the entire contract as a lease, i.e. it does not
allocate any amount of the contractual payments to, and account separately for,
any services provided by the supplier as part of the contract.
The Company has applied the requirements of IFRS 2 Share-based
payments.
The Company issues equity settled share-based
payments to the Directors and to third parties for the provision of services
provided for assistance in raising private equity. Equity settled share-based
payments are measured at fair value at the date of grant, or the date of the
service provided. The fair value determined at the grant date or service date
of the equity settled share-based payment is recognised as an expense, or recognised
against share premium where the service received relates to assistance in
raising equity, with a corresponding credit to the share based payment reserve.
The fair value determined at the grant date of equity settled share based payment is expensed on a straight-line
basis over the life of the vesting period, based on the Company’s estimate of
shares that will eventually vest. Once an option or warrant vests, no further
adjustment is made to the aggregate expensed.
The fair value Is measured by use of the Black
Scholes model as the Directors view this as providing the most reliable measure
of valuation. The expected life used in the model has been adjusted, based on
management’s best estimates, for the effects of non-transferability, exercise
restrictions and behavioural considerations. The market price used in the model
is the quoted LSE closing price. The fair value calculated is inherently
subjective and uncertain due to the assumptions made and the limitation of the
calculation used.
q)
Financial Risk Management Objectives and
Policies
The Group does not enter into any forward exchange rate contracts.
The main financial risks arising from the
Group’s activities are market risk, interest rate risk, foreign exchange risk,
credit risk, liquidity risk and capital risk management. Further details on the
risk disclosures can be found in Note 21.
The preparation of the financial statements in
conformity with International Financial Reporting Standards requires the use of
certain critical accounting estimates. It also requires management to exercise
its judgement in the process of applying the Group’s accounting policies.
Estimates and judgements are continually
evaluated, and are based on historical experience and other factors, including
expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the
circumstances. The Directors consider the significant accounting judgements,
estimates and assumptions used within the financial statements to be:
Impairment of non-financial assets and
goodwill
In assessing impairment, management estimates
the recoverable amount of each asset or cash-generating unit based on estimated
cashflows from similar market transactions.
Business
combinations
Management uses valuation techniques when
determining the fair values of certain assets and liabilities acquired in a
business combination (see Notes 1d and 4.2). In particular, the fair value of
contingent consideration is dependent on the market capitalisation of the Group
exceeding a threshold amount.
Management has performed the optional
concentration test available under IFRS3, in order to determine that the
acquisition of Oncogeni Ltd can be treated as an asset acquisition. Judgement is required to determine
whether ‘substantially all’ the fair value is concentrated in a single asset or
group of assets, and when considering a group of assets, assessing whether
those assets are similar. In determining whether assets are similar, judgement
is required to consider the nature of each single identifiable asset and the
risks associated with managing and creating outputs from the assets (that is, the
risk characteristics). Management has considered that the two separate
in-progress research and development programs, MK cell therapy and STAT-6 siRNA
therapeutics, are similar as they are both pre-clinical stage oncology
treatments.
In the
year to 31 December 2022, 900,000 (31 December 2021: 35,875,000) warrants were
granted. When accounting for the share-based payment expense in respect of
those warrants granted, management must calculate the fair value of the share
warrants issued. Management have done so using the Black Scholes model,
however, a number of the inputs in this model are subjective and thus
management must make estimates.
On 16
September 2022, the Group acquired 100% of the equity instruments of Oncogeni
Limited, a UK based business, thereby obtaining control. The acquisition was
assessed as being complementary to the Group’s existing pre-clinical drug
development business. The Group applied the concentration test under IFRS3 and considered
it as an asset acquisition.
The details of the asset acquisition are as
follows:
|
Fair value of consideration transferred |
£ |
|
Equity consideration |
3,750,000 |
|
Costs directly attributable to acquisition |
109,079 |
|
Total |
3,859,079 |
|
|
|
|
Recognised amounts of identifiable net assets at book values |
|
|
Trade and other receivables |
7,294 |
|
Cash and cash equivalents |
5,601 |
|
Total current assets |
12,895 |
|
|
|
|
Trade and other payables |
15,792 |
|
Total current liabilities |
15,792 |
|
|
|
|
Identifiable net liabilities |
2,897 |
|
|
|
|
Intangible asset at cost |
3,861,975 |
|
|
|
|
Consideration
transferred settled in cash |
- |
|
Cash and cash equivalents acquired |
5,601 |
|
Net cash inflow on acquisition |
5,601 |
|
|
|
Consideration transferred
The acquisition of Oncogeni was settled for a
consideration of £3,750,000, all of which was payable in shares. £109,079 of costs directly attributable to the
acquisition have been included in the consideration of the transaction.
Identifiable
net assets
The carrying value of the trade and other
receivables acquired as part of the business combination amounted to £7,294. As
of the acquisition date, the Group’s best estimate of the contractual cash flow
not expected to be collected amounted to zero.
On 21 December 2021, Roquefort Therapeutics
acquired 100% of the equity instruments of Lyramid
Pty Limited, an Australian based business, thereby obtaining control. The
acquisition was made in line with the Group’s stated strategic objective to
pursue investments in the global biotechnology sector.
The
details of the business combination as follows:
|
Fair value of consideration transferred |
£ |
|
Amount settled in cash |
648,495 |
|
Equity consideration |
500,000 |
|
Loans assigned at acquisition |
(132,800) |
|
Fair value of contingent consideration |
- |
|
Total |
1,015,695 |
|
|
|
|
Recognised amounts of identifiable net assets at book values |
|
|
Inventories |
9,273 |
|
Trade and other receivables |
42,674 |
|
Cash and cash equivalents |
42,270 |
|
Total current assets |
94,217 |
|
|
|
|
Borrowings |
212,065 |
|
Deferred tax liabilities |
281,911 |
|
Total non-current liabilities |
493,976 |
|
|
|
|
Other liabilities |
28,195 |
|
Trade and other payables |
37,881 |
|
Total current liabilities |
66,076 |
|
|
|
|
Identifiable net liabilities |
465,835 |
|
|
|
|
Intangible asset at fair value |
1,481,530 |
|
|
|
|
Consideration
transferred settled in cash |
648,496 |
|
Cash and cash equivalents acquired |
(42,270) |
|
Net cash outflow on acquisition |
606,226 |
|
|
|
|
Acquisition
costs charged to expenses |
224,744 |
Consideration
transferred
The acquisition of Lyramid
was settled for a consideration of £1,148,495; £648,495 being payable in cash
and £500,000 payable in shares. On acquisition, loans of £132,800 were assigned
from the previous owner to the Company.
The purchase agreement included an additional
contingent deferred consideration to the Seller to be satisfied in the form of
Ordinary Shares as follows:
(a)
if prior to fifth
anniversary of Admission (on 21 December 2021), the Company’s market
capitalisation exceeds £25,000,000 for a period of 5 or more consecutive
trading days the Company shall issue to the Seller (or its nominee) 5,000,000
Ordinary Shares; and
(b)
if prior to fifth
anniversary of Admission (on 21 December 2021) the Company’s market capitalisation exceeds £50,000,000 for a
period of 5 or more consecutive trading days the Company shall issue to the
Seller (or its nominee) a further 5,000,000 Ordinary Shares.
The fair value of contingent deferred
consideration was estimated to be nil at acquisition, at 31 December 2021 and
at 31 December 2022.
Acquisition-related costs amounting to
£224,744 are not included as part of consideration transferred and have been
recognised as an expense in the consolidated statement of profit or loss, as
part of other expenses.
Identifiable
net assets
The fair value of the trade and other
receivables acquired as part of the business combination amounted to £42,674.
As of the acquisition date, the Group’s best estimate of the contractual cash
flow not expected to be collected amounted to zero.
Lyramid’s contribution to the Group results
Lyramid
incurred a loss of £14,449, for the eleven days from 21 December 2021 to the
reporting date. Revenue for this period was £719.
If Lyramid had been
acquired on 17 August 2020, revenue of the Group for the period would have been
£23,857, and loss for the period would have increased by £193,881.
The parent
company has investments in the
following subsidiary undertakings which
are unlisted:
|
|
|
|
||
|
Lyramid Pty Limited |
Australia |
Ordinary shares |
100% |
Biotechnology research company |
|
Tumorkine Pty
Limited |
Australia |
Ordinary shares |
100% |
Dormant |
Directors’ Remuneration
|
|
Year ended 31 December 2022 £ |
Period ended 31 December 2021 £ |
|
Fees to directors |
308,692 |
47,301 |
|
Bonus |
- |
10,000 |
|
Post-employment benefits |
12,162 |
- |
|
Share based payment charge |
5,616 |
178,053 |
|
|
326,470 |
235,354 |
The total remuneration of the
highest paid director was £118,305 (2021: £160,825), including pension contributions
of £4,054 (2021: £Nil).
Further information about the
remuneration of individual directors are provided in the Directors’ Remuneration Report.
Remuneration of Key Management Personnel
|
|
Year ended 31 December 2022 £ |
Restated Period ended 31 December 2021 £ |
|
Salaries and short-term employee benefits |
308,692 |
49,200 |
|
Long term benefits |
- |
10,221 |
|
Post-employment benefits |
12,162 |
186 |
|
Share based payment charge |
5,616 |
240,517 |
|
|
326,470 |
300,124 |
2021
Remuneration of key management personnel has been restated to include all
directors and Graham Robertson; it was previously disclosed incorrectly as
Graham Robertson only, which does not meet the IAS24 definition of key
management personnel as requiring the inclusion of directors. Total key
management personnel remuneration was therefore restated from £64,770 to
£300,124.
For 2022,
upon the appointment of Ajan Reginald as director and
Chief Executive Officer, key management personnel has been re-defined as the
directors of Roquefort Therapeutics plc only.
Average
number of employees during the year (including Directors full time equivalent)
|
|
Year ended 31 December 2022 £ |
Period ended 31 December 2021 £ |
|
|
Continuing operations |
5 |
1 |
|
At 31 December 2022 the Company had nine (9)
employees in total; seven (7) Directors: Stephen West, Ajan
Reginald, Martin Evans, Michael Stein, Simon Sinclair, Darrin Disley, Jean
Duvall and two (2) laboratory staff: Sabena Sultan and Emma Morris.
Lyramid’s
sole employee is Graham Robertson.
Oncogeni
has no employees.
Revenue in the period was £NIL (2021: £716).
Items
credited/(charged) to the other comprehensive income line of the statement of
comprehensive income relate to the impact of foreign exchange movements on cash
and cash equivalents balances. The corresponding movement is offset against the
foreign exchange reserve in the statement of financial position :
|
|
|
31 December 2022 |
31December 2021 |
|
Opening
Balance |
|
624 |
- |
|
Foreign
exchange impact |
|
(14,989) |
624 |
|
Closing
Balance |
|
(14,365) |
624 |
The following items have been charged/(credited) to the statement of
comprehensive income in arriving at the Group’s operating loss from continuing
operations:
|
|
Year ended 31 December £ |
Period ended 31 December £ |
|
|
|
|
|
Directors’ and employee costs |
365,564 |
59,607 |
|
Legal fees |
46,373 |
31,165 |
|
Consulting and professional fees |
209,768 |
125,807 |
|
Other expenditure |
684,854 |
35,818 |
|
Administrative expenses |
1,306,561 |
252,392 |
|
Costs associated with the IPO |
- |
182,053 |
|
Share based payments to directors and senior management |
8,427 |
248,326 |
|
Costs associated with acquisition of subsidiary |
- |
224,744 |
|
Research and development expenditure1 |
319,315 |
698 |
|
Total operating expenditure |
1,634,303 |
908,213 |
1 Includes short term lease expense of £81,250
for rental of laboratory during the year (2021: £Nil).
During
the year the Group obtained the following services from its auditor:
|
|
Year ended 31 December 2022 £ |
Period ended 31 December 2021 £ |
|
Audit Services |
|
|
|
Statutory audit – Group and Company |
157,336 |
22,000 |
The Group incurred
no finance costs during the year ended 31 December 2022 (2021: £nil).
|
|
Year ended 31 December 2022 £ |
Period ended 31 December 2021 £ |
|
Current tax |
- |
- |
|
Deferred tax |
- |
- |
|
Australian R&D rebate 1 |
18,886 |
- |
|
Income tax credit |
18,886 |
- |
1
R&D tax rebate receivable represents refundable tax offsets, in cash, from
the Australian Taxation Office (“ATO”) in relation to expenditure incurred in
the prior year for eligible research and development activities
Income
tax can be reconciled to the loss in the statement of comprehensive income as
follows:
|
|
Year ended 31 December 2022 £ |
Restated 31 December 2021 £ |
|
Loss |
(1,615,417) |
(917,433) |
|
R&D tax rebate |
18,886 |
- |
|
|
(1,634,303) |
(917,433) |
|
Tax at the UK Corporation rate of 19% |
310,517 |
174,312 |
|
Effect of overseas tax rates |
21,642 |
- |
|
Expenditure disallowable for taxation |
(82,705) |
(75,850) |
|
Share based payment temporary difference on which no deferred tax
asset has been recognised |
(1,067) |
(47,181) |
|
Remeasurement of deferred tax for changes in tax rates |
74,363 |
12,377 |
|
Tax losses on which no deferred tax asset has been recognised |
(322,750) |
(63,658) |
|
Total tax (charge)/credit |
- |
- |
|
|
|
|
|
UK |
- |
- |
|
Overseas |
- |
- |
|
Total tax (charge)/credit) |
- |
- |
The above tax reconciliation and unrecognised
deferred tax disclosure in the 2021 Annual Report was incorrectly calculated
based on the 2021 financial year tax rate of 19% applied to the consolidated
accounting loss of £917,433, rather than the substantively enacted expected
future tax rate when the differences reverse, applied to the taxable loss, and
incorrectly disclosed all such deferred tax (£175,000) as relating to losses.
The 2021 deferred tax disclosures have been restated to reflect the expenditure
disallowable for taxation to derive the taxable losses and share-based payment
timing differences, the substantively enacted expected future tax rate when the
differences reverse of 25%, and to disclose tax losses separately from other
timing differences such as share-based payments, and deferred tax thereon.
Disclosures have been expanded to separate UK from Australian tax losses and
deferred tax thereon.
The Group has accumulated tax losses of
approximately £1,557,117 (Restated 2021: £254,638)
that are available, under current legislation, to be carried forward
indefinitely against future profits. An
error was identified in the prior year's accumulated tax losses and the amount
has been restated.
The tax losses can be broken down to the following:
|
|
Year ended 31 December 2022 £ |
Restated Period ended 31 December 2021 £ |
|
AU |
(125,138) |
(62,784) |
|
UK |
(1,431,979) |
(191,854) |
|
Carried forward tax losses |
(1,557,117) |
(254,638) |
A deferred tax asset has not been recognised
in respect of these losses due to the uncertainty of future profits. The amount
of the deferred tax asset not recognised is approximately £389,279 (2021:
£63,660). An error was identified in the prior year's deferred tax asset amount
and the amount has been restated.
|
|
Year ended 31 December 2022 £ |
Restated Period ended 31 December 2021 £ |
||
|
|
UK |
AU |
UK |
AU |
|
Tax effect of temporary differences: |
|
|
|
|
|
Accumulated losses |
(357,995) |
(31,285) |
(47,964) |
(15,696) |
|
Deductible temporary differences |
(14,181) |
- |
(53,502) |
- |
|
Deferred tax (asset)/liability not recognised |
(372,176) |
(31,285) |
(101,466) |
(15,696) |
On 3 March
2021, the Chancellor announced that the corporation tax rate would be
increasing to 25% from 1 April 2023 for Companies with profits over £250,000.
The Company calculated the UK deferred tax balances at 25% and the Australian
deferred tax balances at the current small company tax rate of 25%, which is
expected to continue in future periods.
|
|
Year ended 31 December 2022 £ |
Period ended 31 December 2021 £ |
|
Loss attributable to equity shareholders |
(1,615,417) |
(917,433) |
|
|
|
|
|
Weighted average number of ordinary shares |
103,479,476 |
24,701,793 |
|
Loss per share in pence |
|
|
|
Basic |
(1.56) |
(3.71) |
|
Diluted |
(1.56) |
(3.71) |
There is
no difference between the basic and diluted earnings per share as the effect
would be to decrease earnings per share.
As at the
end of the financial period there were 35,272,000 (2021: 34,375,000) warrants
in issue, which could potentially have an anti-dilutive impact depending on the
results of the Company.
|
|
In-progress R&D £ |
Goodwill £ |
Total £ |
|
Cost |
|
|
|
|
At 1 January 2022 |
1,199,619 |
281,911 |
1,481,530 |
|
Acquired through asset acquisition |
3,861,975 |
- |
3,861,975 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
At 31 December 2022 |
5,061,594 |
281,911 |
5,343,505 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Amortisation |
|
|
|
|
At 1 January 2022 |
|
- |
- |
|
Amortisation |
- |
- |
- |
|
Impairment Charge |
- |
- |
- |
|
|
|
|
|
|
At 31 December 2022 |
- |
- |
- |
|
Carrying value |
|
|
|
|
At 31 December 2022 |
5,061,594 |
281,911 |
5,343,505 |
The Directors have concluded that there has
been no impairment of the goodwill associated with the acquisition of Lyramid Pty Limited at 31 December 2022. The Goodwill
represents the offsetting balance to the deferred tax liability for the
acquisition of Lyramid.
|
|
In-progress R&D £ |
Goodwill £ |
Total £ |
|
Cost |
|
|
|
|
At 17 August 2020 |
- |
- |
- |
|
Acquisition through business combination |
1,119,619 |
281,911 |
1,481,530 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
At 31 December 2021 |
1,119,619 |
281,911 |
1,481,530 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Amortisation |
|
|
|
|
At 17 August 2020 |
- |
- |
- |
|
Impairment Charge |
- |
- |
- |
|
|
|
|
|
|
At 31 December 2021 |
- |
- |
-- |
|
Carrying value |
|
|
|
|
At 17 August 2020 |
|
- |
|
|
At 31 December 2021 |
1,119,619 |
281,911 |
1,481,530 |
At 31 December
2022, the Group performed its annual impairment test in relation to intangible
assets not yet available for use and identified no indicators of impairment in
line with IAS 36 Impairment of Assets, as all acquired in-progress R&D
programs are in active development and progressing as planned. At the test
date, it was determined that due to the ongoing pre-clinical research and
development using in-progress R&D acquired, there was too much uncertainty
to estimate a value-in-use, based on discounted future cash flows from the
assets. The Group estimated fair value less costs to sell, by referring to
market transactions for pre-clinical and clinical oncology drug candidates. Due
to the nature of oncology drug development, the fair value is not considered to
be particularly sensitive to any one underlying valuation assumption other than
the ultimate outcome of drug development and commercialisation, which is
binary.
Accordingly, the
Group has concluded that the estimated recoverable amount of the assets did
exceed the carrying amount and therefore no impairment was identified.
|
Company |
Investment in Lyramid
Ltd £ |
Investment in Oncogeni Ltd £ |
Shares in subsidiary undertakings £ |
|
Cost at 1 January 2022 |
1,015,695 |
- |
1,015,695 |
|
Additions |
- |
3,859,079 |
3,859,079 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cost at 31 December 2022 |
1,015,695 |
3,859,079 |
4,874,774 |
|
Impairment |
|
|
|
|
At 1 January 2022 |
- |
- |
- |
|
Charge for the period |
- |
- |
- |
|
|
|
|
|
|
At 31 December 2022 |
- |
- |
- |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net book value at 31 December 2022 |
1,015,695 |
3,859,079 |
4,874,774 |
|
Company |
Investment in Lyramid
Ltd £ |
|
Cost at 17 August 2020 |
- |
|
Additions |
1,015,695 |
|
|
|
|
Cost at 31 December 2021 |
1,015,695 |
|
Impairment |
|
|
At 17 August 2020 |
- |
|
Charge for the period |
- |
|
|
|
|
At 31 December 2021 |
- |
|
|
|
|
Net book value at 17 August 2020 |
- |
|
Net book value at 31 December 2021 |
1,015,695 |
In the
period the Company acquired 100% of the issued shares of Oncogeni Limited. The Directors have concluded that there has
been no impairment to the investment in Oncogeni Limited at 31 December 2022.
In 2021
the Company acquired 100% of the issued shares of Lyramid
Pty Limited. The Directors
have concluded that there has been no impairment to the investment in Lyramid Pty Limited at 31 December 2022 or 31 December
2021.
Impairment
review disclosures required by IAS36 are included in note 12 to the financial
statements.
14.
Trade and other receivables
|
|
Group |
Group |
Company |
Company |
|
|
31 December 2022 £ |
31 December 2021 £ |
31 December 2022 £ |
31 December 2021 £ |
|
Trade receivables |
- |
17,825 |
- |
- |
|
Other receivables |
45,124 |
2,135,031 |
- |
2,130,875 |
|
Prepayments and accrued income |
56,614 |
25,927 |
64,309 |
5,349 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
101,738 |
2,178,783 |
64,309 |
2,136,224 |
There are no material differences between the
fair value of trade and other receivables and their carrying value at the year
end.
The other receivables balance in the prior
year relates primarily to shares issued in December 2021 as part of the
acquisition of Lyramid. These monies were collected
in full in January 2022.
No receivables were past due or impaired at
the year end.
15.
Cash and cash equivalents
|
|
Group |
Group |
Company |
Company |
|
|
31 December
2022 £ |
31 December
2021 £ |
31 December
2022 £ |
31 December
2021 £ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash at bank and in hand |
2,322,974 |
899,721 |
2,274,478 |
857,614 |
The Directors consider the carrying amount of cash and cash equivalents approximates to their fair value.
16.
Trade and other payables
|
|
Group |
Group |
Company |
Company |
|
|
31 December
2022 £ |
31 December
2021 £ |
31 December
2022 £ |
31 December
2021 £ |
|
Trade creditors |
68,379 |
40,718 |
26,209 |
962 |
|
Accruals and other creditors |
211,291 |
154,799 |
157,593 |
126,688 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
279,670 |
195,517 |
183,802 |
127,650 |
The fair value of trade and other payables approximates
their current book values.
17.
Deferred tax assets and liabilities
|
|
Group |
Company |
|
|
£ |
£ |
|
At 1 January 2022 |
281,911 |
- |
|
Released in year |
- |
- |
|
Deferred tax liability recognised in business
combination |
- |
- |
|
|
|
|
|
At 31 December 2022 |
281,911 |
- |
|
|
|
|
|
At 17 August 2020 |
- |
- |
|
Deferred tax liability recognised in business
combination |
281,911 |
- |
|
|
|
|
|
At 31 December 2021 |
281,911 |
- |
See note 4.2 – Acquisition of
Lyramid Pty Limited.
18.
Share capital
|
Group and Company |
Ordinary Shares |
Share
Capital |
Share Premium |
Total |
|
No. |
£ |
£ |
£ |
|
|
Issue of ordinary shares on
incorporation1 |
5,000,000 |
50,000 |
- |
50,000 |
|
Issue of ordinary shares 2
|
7,400,000 |
74,000 |
- |
74,000 |
|
Issue of ordinary shares 3
|
20,000,000 |
200,000 |
800,000 |
1,000,000 |
|
Exercise of broker warrants
4 |
1,500,000 |
15,000 |
- |
15,000 |
|
Issue of ordinary shares 5 |
3,000,000 |
30,000 |
120,000 |
150,000 |
|
Issue of ordinary shares 6 |
30,000,000 |
300,000 |
2,700,000 |
3,000,000 |
|
Issue of ordinary shares 7 |
5,000,000 |
50,000 |
-
|
50,000 |
|
Share issue costs |
- |
- |
(159,405) |
(159,405) |
|
At 31 December 2021
(restated) |
71,900,000 |
719,000 |
3,460,595
|
4,179,595 |
|
Issue of ordinary shares8 |
50,000,000 |
500,000 |
- |
500,000 |
|
Issue of ordinary shares9 |
7,249,998 |
72,500 |
942,499 |
1,014,999 |
|
At 31 December 2022 |
129,149,998 |
1,291,500 |
4,403,094 |
5,694,594 |
The
share premium account balance for the year ended 31 December 2021 has been
restated due to an amount of £450,000 previously recognised in 2021 as being
credited to the share premium account, reclassified as being credited to the
merger reserve (refer to the consolidated and company statements of financial
position, and to Note 20).
1 On incorporation on 17 August 2020, the Company issued
5,000,000 ordinary shares of £0.01 at their nominal value of £0.01 per
share.
2 On 20 November 2020, the Company issued 7,400,000
ordinary shares at their nominal value of £0.01 per share.
3 On admission to the Standard List of the LSE on 22
March 2021, 20,000,000 shares were issued at a placing price of £0.05 per
share.
4 On 19 April 2021 1,500,000 brokers warrants were
exercised at the exercise price of £0.01 per share, resulting in the issue of
1,500,000 ordinary shares.
5 On 18 August 2021, the Company issued 3,000,000
ordinary shares of £0.01 at an issue price of £0.05 per share.
6 On 21 December 2021, the Company issued 30,000,000
ordinary shares of £0.01 at an issue price of £0.10 per share.
7 On 21 December 2021, the Company issued 5,000,000
ordinary shares of £0.01 at an issue price of £0.10 per share.
8 On 16 September 2022, the Company issued 50,000,000
ordinary shares of £0.01 to acquire Oncogeni Limited, recorded at the market
price of £0.075 per share.
9 On 16 September 2022, the Company issued 7,249,998
ordinary shares of £0.01 for cash at a placing price of £0.14 per share.
19.
Share Based Payment Reserves
|
Group
and Company |
2022 £ |
2021 £ |
|
Opening balance |
366,708 |
- |
|
Directors warrants issued 1 |
- |
6,833 |
|
Broker seed warrants issued 2 |
- |
60,002 |
|
Broker placing warrants issued 3 |
- |
8,076 |
|
Completion warrants issued 4 |
- |
100,947 |
|
Senior management warrants issued 5 |
- |
140,544 |
|
Optiva warrants issued 6 |
- |
44,417 |
|
Orana warrants issued 7 |
- |
5,889 |
|
NED and Advisor warrants issued8 |
8,427 |
- |
|
At 31 December |
375,135 |
366,708 |
1 On admission to LSE on 22 March 2021
750,000 directors’ warrants were issued that entitle the warrant holder to
subscribe for one Ordinary Share at £0.05 per ordinary share and a further
750,000 directors warrants were issued that entitle the warrant holder to
subscribe for one ordinary share at £0.10 per ordinary share. Upon issue all
warrants vested on the earlier of 12 months or the Company completing the
acquisition of a company or business. All warrants vested on 21 December 2021
when the Company completed the acquisition of Lyramid
Pty Ltd.
2 On admission to LSE on 22 March 2021
1,500,000 brokers warrants were issued that entitle the warrant holder to
subscribe for one Ordinary Share at £0.01 per ordinary share. The warrants
vested immediately upon grant.
3 On admission to LSE on 22 March 2021,
480,000 Broker Placing Warrants were issued that entitle the warrant holder to
subscribe for one ordinary share at the placing price of £0.05 per ordinary
share. The warrants vested immediately upon grant.
4 On readmission to LSE on 21 December
2021, 3,000,000 Completion Warrants were issued that entitle, Stephen West (the
warrant holder) to subscribe for one ordinary share at £0.10 per ordinary
share. The warrants vested immediately upon grant.
5 On readmission to LSE on 21 December
2021, 4,500,000 Senior Management Warrants were issued that entitle the warrant
holder to subscribe for one ordinary share at £0.15 per ordinary share. One
third of the warrants vest on 21 December 2022, 21 December 2023 and 21
December 2024.
6 On readmission to LSE on 21 December
2021, 1,320,000 Optiva Warrants were issued that
entitle the warrant holder to subscribe for one ordinary share at £0.10 per
ordinary share. The warrants vested immediately upon grant.
7 On re-admission to LSE on 21 December
2021, 175,000 Orana Warrants were issued that entitle
the warrant holder to subscribe for one ordinary share at £0.10 per ordinary
share. The warrants vested immediately upon grant.
8 On 26 June 2022, Ms Jean Duvall, Dr
Simon Sinclair and Professor Trevor Jones were awarded 300,000 NED and Advisor
warrants each. These warrants entitle the warrant holder to subscribe for one
ordinary share at £0.15 per ordinary share. 50% Warrants are exercisable one
year after grant date with the remaining balance exercisable two years after
grant date.
The fair value of the services received in return for the warrants granted are measured by reference to the fair value of the warrants granted. The estimate of the fair value of the warrants granted is measured based on the Black-Scholes valuations model. Measurement inputs and assumptions are as follows:
|
Warrant |
Number of warrants |
Share Price |
Exercise Price |
Expected volatility |
Expected life |
Risk free rate* |
Expected dividends |
|
Director |
750,000 |
£0.05 |
£0.05 |
50.00% |
5 |
0.15% |
0.00% |
|
Director |
750,000 |
£0.05 |
£0.10 |
50.00% |
5 |
0.15% |
0.00% |
|
Broker |
1,500,000 |
£0.05 |
£0.01 |
50.00% |
0.08 |
0.15% |
0.00% |
|
Broker Placing |
480,000 |
£0.05 |
£0.05 |
50.00% |
3 |
0.15% |
0.00% |
|
Completion |
3,000,000 |
£0.10 |
£0.10 |
50.00% |
3 |
0.15% |
0.00% |
|
Senior Mgt |
4,500,000 |
£0.10 |
£0.15 |
50.00% |
5 |
0.15% |
0.00% |
|
Optiva |
1,320,000 |
£0.10 |
£0.10 |
50.00% |
3 |
0.15% |
0.00% |
|
Orana |
175,000 |
£0.10 |
£0.10 |
50.00% |
3 |
0.15% |
0.00% |
|
NED and Advisor |
900,000 |
£0.08 |
£0.15 |
50.00% |
5 |
0.15% |
0.00% |
|
TOTAL |
13,375,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
* restated - the risk-free rate for all 2021 warrants was incorrectly
disclosed as 15% in the 2021 Annual Report. The
correct figure (0.15%) was used in the underlying share-based payment
calculations and therefore there is no effect on the 2021 performance or position
of the Group and Company.
Warrants
|
|
Number
of Warrants |
Exercise
Price |
Expiry
date |
|
On
incorporation |
-
|
- |
- |
|
Issued
on 25 November 2020 |
5,000,000 |
£0.10 |
22 March 2026 |
|
Issued
on 25 November 2020 |
7,000,000 |
£0.10 |
22 March 2026 |
|
Issued
on 17 March 2021 |
1,500,000 |
£0.01 |
20 April 2021 |
|
Issued
on 17 March 2021 |
480,000 |
£0.05 |
22 March 2024 |
|
Issued
on 17 March 2021 |
750,000 |
£0.05 |
22 March 2026 |
|
Issued
on 17 March 2021 |
750,000 |
£0.10 |
22 March 2026 |
|
Issued
on 17 March 2021 |
10,000,000 |
£0.10 |
21 March 2023 |
|
Exercised
on 19 April 2021 |
(1,500,000) |
£0.01 |
20 April 2021 |
|
Issued
on 18 August 2021 |
1,500,000 |
£0.10 |
22 March 2023 |
|
Issued
on 13 October 2021 |
3,000,000 |
£0.10 |
21 December 2024 |
|
Issued
on 13 October 2021 |
4,500,000 |
£0.15 |
21 December 2026 |
|
Issued
on 13 October 2021 |
1,320,000 |
£0.10 |
21 December 2024 |
|
Issued
on 13 October 2021 |
175,000 |
£0.10 |
21 December 2024 |
|
At
31 December 2021 |
34,475,000 |
£0.105 |
|
|
Issued
on 28 April 20221 |
900,000 |
£0.15 |
28 April 2027 |
|
At
31 December 2022 |
35,375,000 |
£0.106 |
|
150% of the warrants vest on 28 April 2023 and the
remainder vest on 28 April 2024
The weighted average time to expiry of the warrants as at 31 December 2022 is 3.10 years (2021: 3.05 years).
The expected volatility was calculated using the Exponentially Weighted Moving Average Mode. Due to limited trading history comparable listed peer company information was used.
20.
Merger Relief Reserve
|
Group and Company |
|
|
|
£ |
|
At 1 January 2021 |
- |
|
Acquisition of Lyramid
Pty Ltd 1 |
450,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
At 31 December 2021 |
450,000 |
|
|
|
|
Acquisition of Oncogeni Limited 2 |
3,250,000 |
|
|
|
|
At 31 December 2022 |
3,700,000 |
1 The issue on 21 December 2021 of
5,000,000 new shares relating to the acquisition of Lyramid
Pty Ltd. The reserve reflects the difference between the nominal value of
shares at the date of issue of £0.01 and the share price immediately preceding
the issue of £0.10 per share. The shares issued formed part of the
consideration for the acquisition of 100% of the equity of Lyramid
and therefore qualify for merger relief.
2 The issue on 16 September 2022 of
50,000,000 new shares relating to the acquisition of Oncogeni
Ltd. The reserve reflects the difference between the nominal value of shares at
the date of issue of £0.01 and the share price immediately preceding the issue
of £0.75 per share. The shares issued formed part of the consideration for the
acquisition of 100% of the equity of Oncogeni and therefore qualify for merger
relief.
21. Financial
Instruments and Risk Management
Capital
Risk Management
The Group manages its capital to ensure that it will be able to
continue as a going concern while maximising the return to stakeholders. The
overall strategy of the Group is to minimise costs and liquidity risk.
The capital structure of the Group consists of equity attributable
to equity holders of the Group, comprising issued share capital, reserves and
retained earnings as disclosed in the Statement of Changes of Equity.
The Group is exposed to a number of risks through its normal
operations, the most significant of which are interest, credit, foreign
exchange, commodity and liquidity risks. The management of these risks is
vested to the Board of Directors.
The sensitivity has been prepared assuming the liability
outstanding was outstanding for the whole period. In all cases presented, a
negative number in profit and loss represents an increase in finance expense /
decrease in interest income.
Credit Risk
Credit risk is the risk of financial loss to the Group if a
customer or counterparty to a financial instrument fails to meet its
contractual obligations and arises principally from the Group’s receivables
from customers. Indicators that there is no reasonable expectation of recovery
include, amongst others, failure to make contractual payments for a period of
greater than 120 days past due.
The
carrying amount of financial assets represents the maximum credit exposure.
The principal financial assets of the Group are bank balances. The
Group deposits surplus liquid funds with counterparty banks that have high
credit ratings, and the Directors consider the credit risk to be minimal.
The
Group’s maximum exposure to credit by class of individual financial instrument
is shown in the table below:
|
|
Carrying value at 31 December 2022 £ |
|
Maximum exposure at 31 December 2022 £ |
|
Trade receivables |
56,613 |
|
56,613 |
|
Other receivables |
45,124 |
|
45,124 |
|
Cash and cash
equivalents |
2,322,974 |
|
2,322,974 |
|
|
2,424,741 |
|
2,424,741 |
Currency
Risk
The Group operates in a global market with
income and costs possibly arising in a number of currencies and is exposed to
foreign currency risk arising from commercial transactions, translation of
assets and liabilities and net investment in foreign subsidiaries. Exposure to
commercial transactions arise from sales or purchases by operating companies in
currencies other than the Group’s functional currency. Currency exposures are
reviewed regularly.
The Group has a limited level of exposure to
foreign exchange risk through their foreign currency denominated cash balances
and a portion of the Group’s costs being incurred in Australian Dollars.
Accordingly, movements in the Sterling exchange rate against these currencies
could have a detrimental effect on the Group’s results and financial condition.
Currency risk is managed by maintaining some
cash deposits in currencies other than Sterling.
The table below shows the currency profiles of
cash and cash equivalents:
|
Cash and cash
equivalents |
At 31 December 2022 £ |
|
Sterling |
2,279,240 |
|
Australian
Dollars |
43,734 |
|
|
2,322,974 |
Foreign currency sensitivity analysis
As at 31
December 2022, the sensitivity analysis assumes a +/-10% change of the AUD/GBP,
exchange rates, which represents management’s assessment of a reasonably
possible change in foreign exchange rates (2021: 10%). The sensitivity analysis
was applied on net loss on the Australian operations and the carrying value of
financial assets and liabilities.
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
At
31 December 2022 £ |
At
31 December 2021 £ |
||
|
|
+10%
weaker |
(10%)
stronger |
+10%
weaker |
(10%)
stronger |
|
Net
Loss1 |
(34,181) |
34,181 |
(1,445) |
1,445 |
|
Carrying
value of net assets |
(594) |
594 |
(167) |
167 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 10% weaker relates to the Great British Pound
weakening against the currency and therefore the Group would incur greater expenditure
in its functional currency
2 10% weaker relates to the Great British Pound weakening
against the currency and therefore the net liabilities (excluding
intercompany borrowings) denominated in
AUD will increase
Liquidity Risk
Liquidity risk is the risk
that the Group will encounter difficulty in meeting the obligations associated
with its financial liabilities that are settled by delivering cash or another
financial asset. The Group’s approach to managing liquidity is to ensure, as
far as possible, that it will have sufficient liquidity to meet its liabilities
when they are due, under both normal and stressed conditions, without incurring
unacceptable losses or risking damage to the Group’s reputation.
The Group seeks to manage
liquidity risk by regularly reviewing cash flow budgets and forecasts to ensure
that sufficient liquidity is available to meet foreseeable needs and to invest
cash assets safely and profitably. The Group deems there is sufficient
liquidity for the foreseeable future.
The
principal current asset of the business is cash and cash equivalents and is
therefore the principal financial instrument employed by the Group to meet its
liquidity requirements. The Board ensures that the business maintains surplus
cash reserves to minimise any liquidity risk.
The
financial liabilities of the Group and Company, predominantly trade and other
payables, are mostly due within 3 months (2021: 3 months) of the Consolidated
Statement of Financial Position date; therefore, the undiscounted amount
payable is the same as their carrying value. Further analysis of the lease commitment
is provided in note 23. All other non-current liabilities are due between 1 to
5 years after the period end. The Group does not have any borrowings or
payables on demand which would increase the risk of the Group not holding
sufficient reserves for repayment.
The
Group had cash and cash equivalents at period end as below:
|
|
At 31 December 2022 £ |
|
Cash and cash
equivalents |
2,322,974 |
|
|
2,322,974 |
Interest
Rate Risk
The Group is exposed to interest rate risk whereby the risk can be
a reduction of interest received on cash surpluses held and an increase in
interest on borrowings the Group may have. The maximum exposure to interest
rate risk at the reporting date by class of financial asset was:
|
|
At 31 December 2022 £ |
|
Bank balances |
2,322,974 |
|
|
2,322,974 |
The
Group does not currently earn interest on its cash deposits.
22.
Financial assets and financial
liabilities
|
|
|
|
|
|
Group 31 December 2022 |
Financial Assets At amortised Cost £ |
Financial Liabilities At amortised Cost £ |
Total £ |
|
Trade and other receivables |
101,737 |
- |
101,737 |
|
Cash and cash equivalents |
2,322,974 |
- |
2,322,974 |
|
Trade and other payables |
- |
(279,668) |
(279,668) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2,424,711 |
(279,668) |
2,145,043 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Company 31 December 2022 |
Financial Assets At amortised Cost £ |
Financial Liabilities At amortised Cost £ |
Total £ |
|
Trade and other receivables |
515,931 |
- |
515,931 |
|
Cash and cash equivalents |
2,274,478 |
- |
2,274,478 |
|
Trade and other payables |
- |
(183,802) |
(183,802) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2,790,409 |
(183,802) |
2,606,607 |
23.
Commitments
|
At 31 December
2022 £ |
At 31 December
2021 £ |
|
|
Committed at the reporting date but
not recognised as liabilities, payable: |
||
|
Laboratory rental |
37,500 |
- |
|
Research & Development |
105,655 |
- |
24.
Contingent
Liabilities
There were no contingent liabilities at 31
December 2022 or 31 December 2021. Details of deferred contingent consideration
are disclosed in note 4.2.
25.
Related
party transactions
There were no related party transactions during the years ended 31
December 2021 and 2022.
26.
Post reporting date events
On 20 February 2023 the Company announced that it had signed an
exclusive licence and royalty agreement, for the field of medical diagnostics
only, with a leading international diagnostics company, Randox
Laboratories Ltd ("Randox"), in relation to
its Midkine antibody portfolio. Randox and
Roquefort Therapeutics will now engage in collaborative research programs to
develop new cancer diagnostics that will identify patients treatable with the
Company's Midkine therapeutics. The Group is eligible
to receive upfront and potential marketing milestone receipts, as well as
royalties on diagnostics products sold. The Group received from Randox an upfront amount of £200,000 and can earn further
potential milestone receipts of up to £150,000 for marketing approval in
certain jurisdictions.
On 8 March 2023 the Company announced that it had successfully
developed a new novel platform of anti-cancer mRNA therapeutics.
27.
Ultimate controlling party
As at 31 December 2022, there was no ultimate
controlling party