Is There Hope For The Biomed Sector?

*Bavarian Nordic (BVNRY) reported H1 results after warning that 85% of this year's sales and income will come in H2. BVNRY revenues fell 80% in H1 to DKK 139 mn, and before tax earnings fell to minus DKK 207 mn from last year's positive DKK 85 mn. It does have DKK 1.894 bn in cash on hand, equivalent of $283 mn which includes a US payment of $12.3 mn from the US Pentagon's Biomedical Advanced R&D Authority, or BARDA.

The rotten H1 will be followed by better days thanks to a slew of deals ranging from the clinical trial of Opdivo (nivolumab) from Bristol-Myers with its CV 301 drug against non-small-cell lung cancer; getting closer to launch of Prostvac against prostate cancer; steps toward a yellow fever vaccine based on its vacinae smallpox jab for the US NIH; a big sale of $7.7 mn of its smallpox jab, Imvamune, to Canada; a good phase I result of its jab against respiratory syncytial virus in children; and a BARDA order for another $100 mn of Imvamune by for this year and next. The pipeline looks full at BVNRY in which BMY owns a license in the prostate cancer vaccine.

Imvamune, BVNRY's main product, is a smallpox jab for those with immune deficiency or allergies who cannot be given the standard injection. BVNRY issued a revenue estimate for the full year of $149 mn, or DKK 1 bn.