May 31, 2024
The first quarter of 2024 was incredibly busy, but I feel confident that the company now has the right team and plan in place to put SynAct back on the right path.
At the end of the quarter shareholders made a momentous decision regarding SynAct’s trajectory. A new board was elected, making us more agile and ready to take SynAct forward. We now have an experienced board chaired by Anders Kronborg, including Sten Scheibye, Sten Sörensen and me. The company also has the right management team to make sure our lead candidate resomelagon quickly gets back to the clinic. During the quarter we hired Kirsten Harting as Chief Medical Officer. She has more than 30 years’ experience and will be important to lead our clinical program. We understand shareholders are closely watching us and are eager for updates. We have a strong team and will move as fast as possible.
During the quarter we also finalized an agreement with the Contract Research Organization (CRO) for the planned phase 2b study in RA. This is key to getting resomelagon back in the clinic. Soon we will submit our Clinical Trial Application (CTA) and update our IND, which should put us on track to get the new study up and going. Our CMO and CSO are very focused and committed and are currently in the final design of the study, including a very well defined patient population fit for purpose.
We also raised about SEK 49 million at a premium at the end of the quarter giving us a solid position. This makes it possible to continue the development of resomelagon into a phase 2b study in RA. Our goal is a dose-determining proof-of-concept study. The plan is to submit an application for a clinical trial, as part of the existing IND application, during the second quarter this year. The results of the study are expected to be presented in the second half of 2025.
SynAct now has a stronger base of investors and we are grateful for the support our Board of Directors and management team showed by investing at a premium. It shows their trust in the company and their belief in the potential of resomelagon to make a difference. We also welcomed Sanos Group as a new shareholder. It is a strategic investor that fully supports our long-term plans with resomelagon and also our goal of developing our pipeline of candidates.
With these funds, however, comes responsibility. We know many investors have put their faith in us, and we have to do our best to perform. With that in mind, we proposed that the remuneration to management and the Board of Directors should be reduced and that a new incentive program with a more long-term perspective should be introduced. Reducing costs for management by 27 percent and for the board by 46 percent makes us more agile and focused on delivering, especially since our current costs are much lower compared to last year when there were two ongoing studies.
Business development is, of course, crucial, so we will make sure those potential partners who have followed us in the past stay up to date on our progress. I also plan to be more active with international conferences to lift our profile. As part of this market communication, we plan to host a Capital Markets Day after the summer in Stockholm. We will circle back with more details as we get closer.
We have a solid plan now and I am eager to succeed. Many thanks for following us at SynAct.
Jeppe Øvlesen | CEO and Board Member