London newcomer PureTech Health (PRTC) is no ordinary drugs company. The group arrived on the London Stock Exchange in June, raising £124m from investors in the process. But rather than invest in individual products or take on onerous research and development (R&D) costs, the group takes significant (if not majority) stakes in technology-based healthcare companies developing "disruptive" products, many of which are targeting rare disorders. The products range from voice-based tools for tracking individuals' health status, to video games aimed at treating neurological disorders.
Depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and obesity are just a few illnesses PureTech wants to develop new treatments for. It's currently invested in 12 companies, seven of which are said to be in the "growth stage" where clinical work is currently under way.
PureTech earns its revenues from payments made by bigger partners once certain clinical milestones are met. The $9.8m sales increase in the first half was down to a $10m non-refundable payment by Janssen Biotech to Vedanta Biosciences (in which PureTech has an 86.9 per cent stake). But PureTech does contribute to the invested companies' R&D costs as well. In the first half these costs increased by $4.8m to $6.7m.
Prior to the results, brokerage Jefferies had pencilled in losses of $12.7m (£8.1m) this year.
| PURETECH HEALTH (PRTC) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 144p | MARKET VALUE: | £342m | |
| TOUCH: | 143-145p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 184p | LOW: 140p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | na | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 96ȼ | NET CASH: | $221m | |
| Half-year to 30 June | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 1.1 | -32.8 | -0.26 | nil |
| 2015 | 11.0 | -15.5 | -0.06 | nil |
| % change | +864 | - | - | - |
£1=$1.58 | ||||
