Arix Bioscience net asset value slides amid 'volatility' in holdings

Biotechnology venture capital company Arix Bioscience reported a year-end net asset value of £202m in its annual results on Tuesday, or 149p per share, equating to a 25% decline in net asset value per share for the year, compared to a 32% increase in 2018.

The London-listed firm sadi its gross Portfolio was valued at £149m at year-end on 31 December, down from £175m at the end of 2018, while its made £5m of cash realisations in the period.

It said its uplifts including Aura’s series D round, Harpoon’s initial public offering on Nasdaq, and Quench Bio’s series A round, which were outweighed by the volatility of its public holdings, most notably a 60% decline in the share price of Autolus.

A total of £36m of capital was deployed into the gross portfolio during the period, and Arix reported cash of £55m at year-end, down from £91m year-on-year.

During 2019, two new portfolio companies were added to the portfolio, with the company co-leading a $63m series B financing in Imara, committing $15m (£11.4m) for a 9.9% stake.

It also co-led a €20m series A round in STipe Therapeutics, committing €5.7m (£4.9m) for a 19.8% stake.

Christian Schetter, Arix’s entrepreneur-in-residence, was appointed as STipe’s executive chairman.

Arix also said that its funding saw continued growth in the portfolio, with T-cell engager company Harpoon raising net proceeds of $70.7m in its Nasdaq IPO, in which Arix invested $6m (£4.7m).

CAR-T cell immunotherapy firm Autolus completed a $108.8m follow-on financing in which Arix invested a further $5m (£3.8m), while ocular melanoma company Aura Biosciences completed a $40m series D financing, in which Arix committed a further $4.5m (£3.4m).

Together with the two new portfolio companies, the firms raised $322m in total over the year.

“We remain focused on driving realisable value in our portfolio, and in turn our net asset value, and I believe we are well positioned to do so through 2020 and beyond,” said chief executive officer Joe Anderson.

“We have had a challenging year with our shareholder structure and volatility in our public portfolio companies, but look ahead with confidence and see a portfolio that is maturing and has the potential to deliver real value.”

At 1136 GMT, shares in Arix Bioscience were up 0.64% at 79p.