Unaudited preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2022

Unaudited preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2022

 

A year of strong operational progress with focussed investment to drive future growth

 

London, UK, 16 March 2023: BenevolentAI (Euronext Amsterdam: BAI), a leading, clinical-stage AI-enabled drug discovery and development company, announces its unaudited preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2022.

 

Joanna Shields, Chief Executive Officer of BenevolentAI, said:

 

“With the world’s attention on AI applications that deliver real-world impact, our progress in 2022 strongly positions BenevolentAI to capitalise on this moment. Our AI platform is proven to enhance drug discovery, as demonstrated by our growing pipeline and successful collaboration with AstraZeneca. Notable clinical and commercial milestones during the period include completing recruitment for our Phase II trial for BEN-2293, submitting the CTA for BEN-8744 and delivering an additional three novel targets to AstraZeneca’s portfolio.”

Operational highlights (including post period)

 

• Delivered performance enhancements across the Benevolent Platform™
• Introduced the next generation Knowledge Graph, powered by advanced natural language processing (NLP) to enable more precise predictions
• Expanded Target ID tools to discover targets best prosecuted via alternative modalities
• Substantially improved our suite of target identification tools; introduced sophisticated large language models to predict novel therapeutic drug targets from scientific literature
• Launched a product for target progressibility assessments, enhancing R&D decisions across factors like druggability, selectivity and competitor and patent landscapes

 

• Achieved sustained progress in our platform-generated clinical and pre-clinical pipeline
• BEN-2293

• A topical potentially best-in-class PanTrk inhibitor in development to relieve inflammation and rapidly resolve the itch in patients with atopic dermatitis (AD)

• Completed a Phase IIa study and expect top-line data by the end of March 2023 

• BEN-8744
• An oral peripherally-restricted small molecule PDE10 inhibitor under development as a first-in-class treatment for ulcerative colitis (UC) and with potential for other indications within inflammatory bowel diseases
• Submitted a Clinical Trial Application (CTA) to the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in December 2022, and expect to initiate a Phase I clinical trial in H1 2023
• BEN-28010
• An orally administered asset under development as a best-in-class treatment for glioblastoma multiforme (GBM)
• Declared as a clinical candidate in July 2022, with preparation for IND-enabling studies ongoing
• The asset could be ready for Phase I studies in 2024

 

• Grew our pre-clinical pipeline
• Transitioned three assets into lead optimisation
• Generated four new drug programmes using the Benevolent Platform^TM

 

• Delivered strong performance in commercial Target ID collaboration with AstraZeneca 
• Delivered three additional novel targets discovered using the Benevolent Platform™ to AstraZeneca’s drug discovery portfolio 
• A total of five novel targets, two for chronic kidney disease (CKD) and three for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), have now been validated and selected for portfolio-entry by AstraZeneca
• Each novel target selected by AstraZeneca has the potential to generate significant milestones and royalties for BenevolentAI
• In January 2022, the collaboration was extended for a further 3 years to include heart failure (HF) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)

 

• Eli Lilly achieved full FDA approval for baricitinib in May 2022. BenevolentAI scientists first identified baricitinib as a COVID-19 treatment using the Benevolent Platform™ in January 2020

 

• Initiated a non-commercial collaboration with the Drugs for Neglected Disease initiative (DNDi) and with Stanford University-based Helix Group 

 

• Made new appointments to strengthen the experience on BenevolentAI’s Board

• In April 2022, Dr Oliver Brandicourt, former CEO of Sanofi and Jean Raby, Partner at Astorg, appointed to the Board as a part of the Business Combination.
• Global ethics and governance expert, Dr Susan Liautaud joined the Board in June 2022
• Kenneth Mulvany and Michael Brennan, two of the Company’s co-founders, stepped down from their positions as Non-Executive Directors.
• Post period, in January 2023, the Board appointed Jean Raby to an additional new role as Senior Independent Non-Executive Director and Dr John Orloff to an additional new role as Workforce Non-Executive Director.

 

Financial highlights

 

• Revenue increased to £10.6 million (2021: £4.6m), primarily reflecting increased revenues from the AstraZeneca collaboration
• £12.1 million R&D tax credits received in the period
• Completed business combination and listing on Euronext Amsterdam in April 2022 raising £186.8 million (€225 million) gross proceeds.
• Net cash, cash equivalents and short-term deposits position of £130.2 million as of 31 December 2022 at the top end of market guidance (2021: £40.6m)
• Maintained cash runway to Q4 2024, despite inflationary headwinds

 

	Twelve months ended 31 December
	2022	2021
	£'000	£'000	% Change
Revenue	10,560	4,625	128%
Normalised research and development spend	(71,884)	(56,916)	26%
Normalised administrative expenses	(33,440)	(55,510)	-40%
Normalised operating loss	(94,598)	(107,711)	-12%
Normalised basic and diluted EPS, expressed in pence	(72.6p)	(104.6p)	-31%
Reported operating loss	(197,034)	(121,322)	62%
Reported basic and diluted EPS, expressed in pence	(150.2p)	(119.8p)	25%
Cash, cash equivalents and short-term deposits	130,182	40,553	221%

 

 

Analyst and Investor briefing 

 

Management will host an analyst briefing at 9.30 am this morning, 16 March 2023, at the offices of FTI Consulting (200 Aldersgate, Aldersgate Street, London, EC1A 4HD, United Kingdom). To register your interest in attending either in person or virtually, analysts should contact FTI Consulting at BenevolentAI@fticonsulting.com.

 

A recording of the webcast will be made available in the investor section of the Company’s website shortly afterwards.

 

Enquiries:

 

BenevolentAI:

Nick Keher, Chief Financial Officer

T: +44(0) 203 781 9360

 

Investors:

Fleur Wood – VP Investor Relations

fleur.wood@benevolent.ai
investors@benevolent.ai

T: +44(0) 203 781 9360

 

Media:
Rajin Kang - VP Communications

rajin.kang@benevolent.ai

T: +44(0) 203 781 9360

Forward-looking Statements

 

This release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and may be identified by words such as "plans", "targets", "aims", "believes", "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "estimates", "will", "may", "should" and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding objectives, goals, strategies, outlook and growth prospects; future plans, events or performance and potential for future growth; economic outlook and industry trends; developments in BenevolentAI’s markets; the impact of regulatory initiatives; and/or the strength of BenevolentAI’s competitors. These forward-looking statements reflect, at the time made, BenevolentAI’s beliefs, intentions and current targets/aims. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon various assumptions based on, without limitation, management's examination of historical operating trends, data contained in BenevolentAI’s records, and third-party data. Although BenevolentAI believes these assumptions were reasonable when made, these assumptions are inherently subject to significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other important factors which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond BenevolentAI’s control. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and such risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other important factors could cause the actual outcomes and the results of operations, financial condition and liquidity of BenevolentAI or the industry to differ materially from those results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release. No representation or warranty is made that any of these forward-looking statements or forecasts will come to pass or that any forecast result will be achieved.