|transkript [Kääb, Georg]. (9/24/24). "First German Life Sciences IPO since 2016 – Radiopharma Company Pentixapharm Lists at Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Interview by |transkript.de/Georg Kääb with Andreas Eckert".

	Region	Germany
	Organisation	Pentixapharm Holding AG (FSE Prime Standard: PTP)
	Today	Pentixapharm (Group)
	Group	Pentixapharm (Group)
	Organisation 2	Eckert & Ziegler SE
	Group	Eckert & Ziegler (Group)
	Product	PentixaTher (Yttrium-90 labelled CXCR4-compound)
	Product 2	PentixaFor (gallium-68-based companion diagnostic)
	Person	Eckert, Andreas (Eckert & Ziegler)
	Person 2	Kääb, Georg (Biocom AG 202109– Managing Editor of \|transkript before GoingPublic + BioM)

First German Life Sciences IPO since 2016 – Radiopharma Company Pentixapharm Lists at Frankfurt Stock Exchange

A dewy interview by |transkript.de/Georg Kääb with Andreas Eckert, Chair of Pentixapharm and major shareholder of Eckert & Ziegler AG

Pentixapharm Holding AG (Berlin and Würzburg) is realising its recently announced IPO in Frankfurt/M., Germany. The listing is scheduled to take place as early as next week before the public German holiday on 3 October, with trading of the shares starting the following day. The first IPO in the biomedical biotechnology sector since 2016 is worth an interview with Dr Andreas Eckert, Chairman of the company’s Supervisory Board, for |transkript.de.

Dr Andreas Eckert is Chair of the Supervisory Board and major shareholder of Eckert & Ziegler SE (EZAG). Together with Jürgen Ziegler, he founded the predecessor company in the field of isotope technology and environmental diagnostics in 1992 and, as Chairman of the Executive Board, developed the company into a global market leader in isotope technology by 2023, with broad application areas ranging from sterilisation, calibration, and a particular focus on applications like medical technology. Today the company employs over 1,000 people at locations in Europe, America and Asia (China). He also runs his own family office Eckert Life Science Accelerator GmbH as an early-stage investor and has been involved in the founding of numerous technology companies.

Pentixapharm Holding AG, founded in 2019 and based in Würzburg and Berlin, was acquired by Eckert & Ziegler in 2021 and has now been spun off. The company employs around 80 people. Andreas Eckert is also Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Pentixapharm Holding AG. |Georg Kääb of |transkript.de spoke to him about the planned IPO.

|transkript.de: In our global biotech world, my first question: An IPO in Frankfurt, Germany? Why Frankfurt?

Andreas Eckert: Technically, we’re realising a spin-off from Eckert & Ziegler SE and combining it with a public offering. As Eckert & Ziegler SE is already listed on the TecDax, Frankfurt is the place to be. German stock corporation law would make a spin-off to the USA very complicated and expensive. But once we are separately listed in Frankfurt, we can make the leap across the Atlantic.

|transkript.de: What about the valuation?

Andreas Eckert: We are aiming for a valuation range of between 4.70 and 6 Euros per share, for the 3.9 million shares on offer. The initial market capitalisation will accordingly be about 130 million euros. The aim is to build up the share from the ground and make it attractive for those investors who get in early. In this context, the main shareholders, who are supporting the capital increase with fresh money, should not be diluted too much. The subscription period starts today (24 September) and is expected to end on 1 October 2024 at noon (CEST) for retail investors and at 2:00 p.m. (CEST) for institutional investors.

|transkript.de: There is also a share transfer from Eckert & Ziegler AG?

Andreas Eckert: Exactly. In addition to the offer shares, 50,000 ‘existing shares’ and 20,845,477 ‘spin-off shares’ are to be admitted to trading on the regulated market of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (Prime Standard). The spin-off shares originate from a non-cash capital increase in the form of all shares in Pentixapharm AG held by Eckert & Ziegler SE, as resolved by the Extraordinary General Meeting on 26 June 2024, following the spin-off of Pentixapharm AG, resolved by the Annual General Meeting of Eckert & Ziegler SE on the same day. A total of up to 24,795,477 registered shares of Pentixapharm Holding AG will thus be traded. All shares have a pro rata amount of the company’s share capital of EUR 1.00 and are fully entitled to dividends from 25 March 2024.

|transkript.de: This is a complicated process involving a large number of shares. What will be the receipts for Pentixapharm?

Andreas Eckert: Once the IPO has been successfully completed – assuming full placement of the shares – the expected gross cash inflow for Pentixapharm will be between EUR 18.3 million and EUR 23.4 million. With an additional convertible bond of up to EUR 18.5 million, subscribed by Eckert & Ziegler SE, Pentixapharm would probably have just under EUR 40 million in additional funds at its disposal to realise the first phase of its growth strategy.

|transkript.de: In numerous overviews of the well-filled radiopharma pipelines these days, your company so far has not been featured prominently. Is Pentixapharm intentionally jumping out of the bushes with the IPO?

Andreas Eckert: We are victims of our own success. Originally, we had prepared ourselves for having to collect data in early clinical trials for a few years. However, when the European Medicines Agency allowed Pentixapharm to advance into a pivotal trial with the lead candidate Pentixfor as early as 2023, skipping various intermediate steps, we almost were forced to move ahead.

|transkript.de: Here, too, you are surprising many people because you are already in the approval-relevant phase III trial with a radiolabelled diagnostic agent.

Andreas Eckert: Yes, with PentixaFor, a gallium-68-based companion diagnostic, we have just started a phase III registration trial in marginal zone lymphomas in Europe. With our therapeutic agent PentixaTher, yttrium-90-based against non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), the dose-finding Phase I/IIa study has also started in Europe. And more importantly, the FDA has also signalled that we are ready to start a Phase III in the indication hypertension immediately.

|transkript.de: How do you select the indications and how does Pentixapharm differ in this respect from other companies?

Andreas Eckert: Looking for development candidates, we have always kept an eye on the competition and tried to avoid indications in which others are already active. We are therefore targeting completely new fields at Pentixapharm. Our lead candidate PentixaFor is being developed as a diagnostic tool for primary hyperaldosteronism (PA), a major cause of high blood pressure. We are the only ones in this field. The ultimate goal is to reliably filter out those adrenal gland dysfunctions for which a simple endoscopic intervention would allow a complete causal cure. Pentixapharm is currently preparing a US-centred Phase III study with PentixaFor in PA, which is scheduled to begin in 2025.

|transcript.de: Do you expect this to be a resounding diagnostic success?

Andreas Eckert: It could be a real hit. Although you can only expect comparatively low reimbursements for diagnostics, we are targeting a potentially huge indication for high blood pressure, and not a very specific cancer niche with relatively few cases, that then command horrendous prices. A few times a larger payment, results in the same numbers, as many times a smaller amount. In some countries, almost a third of the population suffers from high blood pressure.

|transkript.de: But cancer is also a topic for you, isn’t it?

Andreas Eckert: Yes, the CXCR4 ligand is highly specifically expressed in many leukaemias and myelomas and offers an excellent target for radiotherapeutics. We have seen this in many academic treatment trials and have a good set of data with astonishing results in compassionate use cases and complete remissions.

|transkript.de: Clinicians at the University of Würzburg, Germany, in particular have achieved impressive success.

Andreas Eckert: Yes, unfortunately only in a small group so far. However, they have achieved complete remissions in patients who were out of therapy and no longer responded to anything. We now need to repeat and confirm this in a clinical trial. Then this will be a real alternative to chemotherapy.

|transkript.de: How broad is the range of your pipeline?

Andreas Eckert: We are currently focussing on the CXCR4 receptor. However, with the acquisition of the antibody experts from the company Glycotope, we also have the expertise on board to find and develop molecules for other targets.

|transkript.de: This will require a few more millions. Where will they come from?

Andreas Eckert: If the data is right, clinical trials can surely be financed. That’s why we’re going to the public market. As our success grows, we can take further steps and broaden the development pipeline.

|transkript.de: Is this story simple enough for an IPO or is it just for experts, being able to deal with a complex story?

Andreas Eckert: It depends on the investor. There are experts who know the medical and pharmaceutical details, and there are investors who basically follow the trend or the sector, without understanding the details. One thing is certain: there is an enormous interest in radiopharmaceuticals these days.

|transkript.de: Will the stock market understand and appreciate the separation from EZAG?

Andreas Eckert: Definitely. EZAG’s share price rose when the spin-off was announced. Pentixapharm was seen as a burden on the profitable and self-financing business with radioisotopes and radiation sources. The separation is therefore also necessary due to the different risk preferences of investors. As an EZAG shareholder, you will now receive one Pentixapharm share each and can decide whether you want to stay with the company or not. I am very curious to see how many people will hold their share and enjoy the hopefully positive share price performance.

|transkript.de: What are your thoughts about future partners?

Andreas Eckert: We will not be able to move forward without partners, if we intend to become more international and global. And of course we are aiming for the US market with the approvals, that’s quite obvious. We know that radiopharmaceuticals do work, and now is the time to replace chemotherapy.

|transkript.de: Thank you very much.

You can read the original German version of this interview at https://transkript.de/artikel/2024/pentixapharm-das-interview-zum-ipo/

Record changed: 2024-09-26