C4X Discovery shares soar on $11m COPD payment from AstraZeneca

(Sharecast News) - C4X Discovery, the AIM-listed drug discovery company, has received a "milestone payment" of $11m from biopharma giant AstraZeneca as part of the progress of its NRF2 Activator programme, causing shares to jump by nearly a half on Wednesday. Back in November 2022, C4XD signed an exclusive global licensing agreement with AstraZeneca for the development and commercialisation of NRF2 Activator programme, an oral therapy for the treatment of inflammatory and respiratory diseases with a lead focus on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

C4XD initially received $2m upfront and is potentially entitled to receive up to $400m in preclinical, clinical development and commercial milestones, and to tiered mid-single digit royalties on future sales.

"This significant preclinical milestone payment marks the progress AstraZeneca has made in driving the NRF2 Activator programme forward," said C4XD chief executive Clive Dix.

"This is a great start to our year and we are confident of seeing further progress across our entire portfolio in 2024."

C4XD reported in December that full-year revenues for the 12 months to 31 July totalled just £1.7m, down from £2.7m the year before, as it recorded a pre-tax loss of £11.1m.

The stock was up 43% at 12.5p by 0826 GMT, hitting an earlier high of 14.5p, compared with Tuesday's close of 8.74p.

Analyst Sean Conroy from Shore Capital said the payment is an "important value inflection which should reinvigorate sentiment in the share".

"Moreover, this serves as timely reminder that C4XD has licensing deals in place with some of the leading developers for its programmes. These agreements serve as strong validation of C4XD's prowess in drug discovery and demonstrate its ability to distil value from assets early in the development process," Conroy said.