- iX Biopharma has secured US$41mn funding from the US Department of Defense (DoD). It is a watershed event that de-risks Wafermine’s final Phase 3 development, validates the WaferiX technology platform, and allows entry into the US$5-6bn acute pain market in the US for its Wafermine drug.
- Near-term revenue driver is the supply of Wafermine to the DoD under an Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) for immediate battlefield deployment and operational military medical use. We expect initial orders of US$9mn in FY27e, with annual revenue of USS$5mn thereafter. The larger opportunity is Wafermine adoption into standard field kits and sales into the non-military commercial market following full US FDA approval.
- We re-initiate coverage on iX Biopharma with a BUY recommendation and a SOTP-derived target price of S$1.00.There are three pathways to monetise Wafermine: full commercialisation upon FDA approval (1Q29), out-licensing, or an outright sale of the drug. Until completion of Phase 3 trials, iX Bio will be enjoying three new sources of revenue through Wafermine EUA sales, DoD grant funding, and compound pharmacy in the US. We assign a 40% discount to the underlying net present value of Wafermine and valued the compound pharmacy at 20x PE. We also discounted the remaining 30+ drugs, which are under various stages of development.
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