UK life sciences investor Syncona has taken a write-down on its investment in private gene therapy biotech SwanBio, part of a broader hit to its portfolio, as the value of its publicly listed life sciences holdings has declined.
“Macro conditions” and “company specific challenges” have led to a £77.9 million (about $90 million) drop in the publicly-listed valuations, which includes companies like Autolus and Freeline Therapeutics. The SwanBio value nearly halved, down £51.0 million, or roughly $65 million, Syncona said in its annual financial performance update on Thursday, for the 12-month stretch that ended March 31. Endpoints News has reached out to both Syncona and SwanBio and will update the story accordingly.
The gene therapy market has been particularly hampered by the financing squeeze, with multiple layoffs, shrinking internal R&D efforts and some shutdowns.
In April 2022, SwanBio downsized shortly before disclosing a $56 million financing from insiders last May.
SwanBio relies heavily on Syncona: The investor owns about 80% of the company, per the firm’s website. SwanBio is testing its AAV9-based gene therapy SBT101 in a Phase I/II trial in adults with adrenomyeloneuropathy, a rare neurodegenerative disease, that impacts the function of spinal cord cells and other tissues. The disease impairs mobility in adulthood, control of one’s bladder and other functions.
In its letter, Syncona said the write-down on SwanBio was due to a “change in strategy to focus solely on its lead programme.” The firm said it “has provided further funding to enable the business to generate safety data from the initial dose cohort of the SBT101 programme.” At the same time, they’ll work together to assess “all financing and strategic options.”
“We have undertaken a thorough review of the portfolio focusing our portfolio companies’ pipelines on the most promising advanced assets, widening financing syndicates and executing on strategic transactions,” Syncona CEO Chris Hollowood said in the letter.
The firm still has more than $800 million to deploy, as it did recently with the launch of retinal gene therapy startup Beacon Therapeutics, which combines a former AGTC program and two preclinical assets from elsewhere. Syncona also saw a successful exit for one of its portfolio companies last year when AstraZeneca bought Neogene Therapeutics.
