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ACIU Negative Sentiment Score: 30/100

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (Unaudited) (In CHF thousands) As of March 31, December 31, Note 2024 2023 Assets Non-current assets Property, plant and equipment 5 3,236 3,376 Right-of-use assets 6 3,341 3,508 Int

Key Takeaway: AC Immune SA released its unaudited interim consolidated financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2024. The company reported an increase in accumulated losses and a higher operating loss than the previous year. Additionally, cash and cash equivalents saw a notable decline, potentially indicating liquidity challenges. Overall, the financial performance reflects ongoing difficulties in the company's operations.

Market Sentiment Analysis

CONCERNS & RISKS

  • The company reported a significant increase in accumulated losses, now at CHF 332,558, compared to CHF 316,197.
  • Operating loss for the period increased to CHF 20,068 from CHF 17,571, indicating worsening financial performance.
  • Cash and cash equivalents decreased significantly from CHF 78,494 to CHF 57,009, signaling potential liquidity issues.

Full Press Release Details

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (Unaudited)
As of
March 31, December 31,
Note 2024 2023
Assets
Non-current assets
Property, plant and equipment 5 3,236 3,376
Right-of-use assets 6 3,341 3,508
Intangible asset 8 50,416 50,416
Long-term financial assets 6 415 361
Total non-current assets 57,408 57,661
Current assets
Prepaid expenses 9 3,917 6,437
Accrued income 3 267 246
Other current receivables 868 622
Accounts receivable 11 - 14,800
Short-term financial assets 10 47,812 24,554
Cash and cash equivalents 10 57,009 78,494
Total current assets 109,873 125,153
Total assets 167,281 182,814
Shareholders' equity and liabilities
Shareholders' equity
Share capital 2,093 2,089
Share premium 475,286 474,907
Treasury shares 12 (105) (105)
Currency translation differences (35) (51)
Accumulated losses (332,558) (316,197)
Total shareholders' equity 144,681 160,643
Non-current liabilities
Long-term lease liabilities 6 2,657 2,825
Net employee defined benefit liabilities 5,819 5,770
Total non-current liabilities 8,476 8,595
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables 2,837 1,679
Accrued expenses 7 10,541 11,087
Deferred income 3 74 138
Short-term lease liabilities 6 672 672
Total current liabilities 14,124 13,576
Total liabilities 22,600 22,171
Total shareholders' equity and liabilities 167,281 182,814
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these Interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Unaudited).
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income/(Loss) (Unaudited)
(In CHF thousands, except for per-share data)
For the Three Months
Ended March 31,
Note 2024 2023
Revenue
Contract revenue 3.1 - -
Total revenue - -
Operating expenses
Research & development expenses (15,165) (13,873)
General & administrative expenses (4,971) (4,106)
Other operating income/(expense), net 3.2 68 408
Total operating expenses (20,068) (17,571)
Operating loss (20,068) (17,571)
Financial income 629 209
Financial expense (36) (97)
Exchange differences 1,613 (51)
Finance result, net 13 2,206 61
Loss before tax (17,862) (17,510)
Income tax expense - (3)
Loss for the period (17,862) (17,513)
Loss per share: 4
Basic and diluted loss per share for the period attributable to equity holders (0.18) (0.21)
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income/(Loss) (Unaudited)
For the Three Months
ended March 31,
Note 2024 2023
Loss for the period (17,862) (17,513)
Items that will be reclassified to income or loss in subsequent periods (net of tax):
Currency translation differences 16 (8)
Items that will not to be reclassified to income or loss in subsequent periods (net of tax):
Remeasurement gains on defined-benefit plans (net of tax) - -
Other comprehensive income/(loss) 16 (8)
Total comprehensive loss, net of tax (17,846) (17,521)
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these Interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Unaudited).
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Changes in Equity (Unaudited)
Currency
Share Share Treasury Accumulated translation
Note capital premium shares losses differences Total
Balance as of January 1, 2023 1,797 431,323 (124) (264,015) 10 168,991
Net loss for the period - - - (17,513) - (17,513)
Other comprehensive loss - - - - (8) (8)
Total comprehensive loss - - - (17,513) (8) (17,521)
Share-based payments - - - 1,472 - 1,472
Issuance of shares, net of transaction costs:
restricted share awards 0 49 - (49) - 0
exercise of options - (7) - - - (7)
Balance as of March 31, 2023 1,797 431,365 (124) (280,105) 2 152,935
Currency
Share Share Treasury Accumulated translation
Note capital premium shares losses differences Total
Balance as of January 1, 2024 2,089 474,907 (105) (316,197) (51) 160,643
Net loss for the period - - - (17,862) - (17,862)
Other comprehensive loss - - - - 16 16
Total comprehensive loss - - - (17,862) 16 (17,846)
Share-based payments - - - 1,882 - 1,882
Issuance of shares, net of transaction costs:
restricted share awards 4 376 0 (381) - (1)
exercise of options 0 3 - - - 3
Balance as of March 31, 2024 2,093 475,286 (105) (332,558) (35) 144,681
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these Interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Unaudited).
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (Unaudited)
For the Three Months
Ended March 31,
Note 2024 2023
Operating activities
Loss for the period (17,862) (17,513)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss for the period to net cash flows:
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment 5 389 436
Depreciation of right-of-use assets 6 167 134
Finance (income), net 13 (2,068) (59)
Share-based compensation expense 1,882 1,472
Change in net employee defined benefit liability 49 132
Interest expense 13 35 97
Changes in working capital:
(Increase)/decrease in prepaid expenses 9 2,520 (737)
(Increase)/decrease in accrued income 3 (21) 190
(Increase)/decrease in accounts receivable 11 14,800 -
(Increase)/decrease in other current receivables (255) (206)
(Decrease)/increase in accrued expenses 7 (24) (751)
(Decrease)/increase in deferred income 3 (64) (172)
(Decrease)/increase in trade and other payables 1,156 208
Cash provided by/(used in) operating activities 704 (16,769)
Interest received 357 67
Interest paid (32) (97)
Finance expenses paid (5) (2)
Net cash flows provided by/(used in) operating activities 1,024 (16,801)
Investing activities
Short-term financial assets, net 10 (23,258) 43,000
Purchases of property, plant and equipment 5 (249) (200)
Rental deposits 6 (54) -
Net cash flows provided by/(used in) investing activities (23,561) 42,800
Financing activities
Proceeds from issuance of common shares - equity plan, net of transaction costs 2 (6)
Transaction costs and stamp duty associated with the public offerings of common shares previously recorded in Accrued expenses (521) -
Transaction costs associated with the sale of treasury shares in public offering previously recorded in Accrued expenses (2) -
Principal payments of lease obligations 6 (167) (135)
Net cash flows (used in) financing activities (688) (141)
Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents (23,225) 25,858
Cash and cash equivalents at January 1 78,494 31,586
Exchange gain/(loss) on cash and cash equivalents 1,740 (10)
Cash and cash equivalents at March 31 57,009 57,434
Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents (23,225) 25,858
Supplemental non-cash activity
Transaction costs associated with the sale of treasury shares in public offering recorded in Accrued expenses 25 -
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these Interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Unaudited).
Notes to the Interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Unaudited)
(In CHF thousands, except share and per share amounts)
AC Immune SA was founded in 2003. The Company controls a fully-owned subsidiary, AC Immune USA, Inc. ("AC Immune USA" or "Subsidiary" and, together with AC Immune SA, "AC Immune," "ACIU," "Company," "we," "our," "ours," "us"), which was organized under the laws of Delaware, USA in June 2021. The Company and its Subsidiary form the Group.
AC Immune SA is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company leveraging our two proprietary technology platforms to discover, design and develop novel proprietary medicines and diagnostics for prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases (NDD) associated with protein misfolding. Misfolded proteins are generally recognized as the leading cause of NDD, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD), with common mechanisms and drug targets, such as amyloid beta (Abeta), Tau, alpha-synuclein (a-syn) and TDP-43. Our corporate strategy is founded upon a three-pillar approach that targets (i) AD, (ii) focused non-AD NDD including Parkinson's disease, ALS and NeuroOrphan indications and (iii) diagnostics. We use our two unique proprietary platform technologies, SupraAntigen (conformation-specific biologics) and Morphomer (conformation-specific small molecules), to discover, design and develop novel medicines and diagnostics to target misfolded proteins.
The Interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements of AC Immune SA as of and for the three months ended March 31, 2024 were authorized for issuance by the Company's Audit and Finance Committee on May 12, 2024.
Statement of compliance
These Interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements as of March 31, 2024 and for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, have been prepared in accordance with International Accounting Standard 34 (IAS 34), Interim Financial Reporting, as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), and such financial information should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements in AC Immune's Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2023.
Basis of measurement
These Interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention.
Functional and reporting currency
These Interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying notes are presented in Swiss Francs (CHF), which is AC Immune SA's functional currency and the Group's reporting currency. The Company's subsidiary has a functional currency of the U.S. Dollar (USD). The following exchange rates have been used for the translation of the financial statements of AC Immune USA:
For the
Three Months Ended March 31, Year Ended December 31,
2024 2023 2023
CHF/USD
Closing rate, USD 1 0.914 0.923 0.851
Weighted-average exchange rate, USD 1 0.883 0.935 0.908
Critical judgments and accounting estimates
The preparation of the Company's Interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements in conformity with IAS 34 requires management to make judgments, estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the Interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying notes, and the related application of accounting policies as it relates to the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, income and expenses.
The areas where AC Immune has had to make judgments, estimates and assumptions relate to (i) revenue recognition on Licensing and Collaboration Agreements (LCAs), (ii) clinical development accruals, (iii) net employee defined benefit liability, (iv) share-based compensation, (v) right-of-use assets and lease liabilities and (vi) our IPR&D asset (intangible asset). Actual results may differ from these estimates. Estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognized in the period in which the estimates are revised and in any future periods affected.
Fair value of financial assets and liabilities
The Company's financial assets and liabilities are composed of receivables, short-term financial assets, cash and cash equivalents, trade payables and lease liabilities. The fair value of these financial instruments approximates their respective carrying values due to the short-term maturity of these instruments, and are held at their amortized cost in accordance with IFRS 9, unless otherwise explicitly noted.
Accounting policies, new standards, interpretations and amendments adopted by the Company
The accounting policies adopted in the preparation of the Interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements are consistent with those followed in the preparation of the Company's annual consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2023.
There are no new IFRS standards, amendments or interpretations that are mandatory as of January 1, 2024 that are relevant to the Company. Additionally, in April 2024, the IASB issued IFRS 18 Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements (IFRS 18). The new standard on presentation and disclosure in the financial statements will change the structure of the statement of profit or loss, require disclosures for certain profit or loss performance measure that are reported outside of the financial statements, and will enhance principles on aggregation and disaggregation within the notes to the financial statements. This new standard will be effective for annual reporting periods beginning on January 1, 2027 and will require retroactive adoption. The Company is currently evaluating the new standard to determine if it will have a material impact on the Company's financial statements.
The Company believes that it will be able to meet all of its obligations as they fall due for at least 12 months from the filing date of this Form 6-K, after considering the Company's cash position of CHF 57.0 million and short-term financial assets of CHF 47.8 million as of March 31, 2024. Hence, these unaudited Interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared on a going-concern basis.
To date, the Company has financed its cash requirements primarily from its public offerings, share issuances, contract revenues from its LCAs and grants. The Company is a clinical stage company and is exposed to all the risks inherent to establishing a business. Inherent to the Company's business are various risks and uncertainties, including the substantial uncertainty as to whether current projects will succeed and our ability to raise additional capital as needed. These risks may require us to take certain measures such as delaying, reducing or eliminating certain programs. The Company's success may depend in part upon its ability to (i) establish and maintain a strong patent position and protection, (ii) enter into collaborations with partners in the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries, (iii) successfully move its product candidates through clinical development, (iv) attract and retain key personnel and (v) acquire capital to support its operations.
3.Contract revenue and other operating income
For the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, AC Immune generated no contract revenues.
3.1Licensing and collaboration agreements
For a discussion of our licensing and collaboration agreements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, please refer to Note 14.1 "Licensing and Collaboration agreements" of our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2023 filed on March 14, 2024.
On January 22, 2024, the Company announced that it will regain all global rights to the anti-amyloid beta antibody crenezumab and the anti-Tau antibody semorinemab following termination of the collaboration agreements with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, and Roche, which termination was effective in April 2024.
Grants from the Michael J. Fox Foundation
For a discussion of our Grants from the Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF) for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, please refer to Note 14.2 "Grant Income" of our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2023 filed on March 14, 2024.
For the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company has recognized less than CHF 0.1 million and CHF 0.4 million in grant income, respectively. As of March 31, 2024, the balance in deferred income is nil.
For the Three Months
Ended March 31,
In CHF thousands except for share and per share data 2024 2023
Loss per share (EPS)
Numerator
Net loss attributable to equity holders of the Company (17,862) (17,513)
Denominator
Weighted-average number of shares outstanding used to compute EPS basic and diluted attributable to equity holders 99,385,471 83,625,826
Basic and diluted loss per share for the period attributable to equity holders (0.18) (0.21)
The weighted-average number of potentially dilutive securities that were not included in the diluted per share calculations because they would be anti-dilutive were as follows:
For the Three Months
Ended March 31,
2024 2023
Share options issued and outstanding (in-the-money) 1,979,372 97,875
Restricted share awards subject to future vesting 1,737,742 1,236,774
5.Property, plant and equipment
The following table shows the movement in the net book values of property, plant and equipment for the three months ended March 31, 2024:
As of March 31, 2024
IT Lab Leasehold Assets under
In CHF thousands Furniture equipment equipment improvements construction Total
Acquisition cost:
Balance at December 31, 2023 309 2,168 10,233 1,662 - 14,372
Additions - 42 167 40 - 249
Balance at March 31, 2024 309 2,210 10,400 1,702 - 14,621
Accumulated depreciation:
Balance at December 31, 2023 (212) (1,851) (8,101) (832) - (10,996)
Depreciation expense (12) (55) (255) (67) - (389)
Balance at March 31, 2024 (224) (1,906) (8,356) (899) - (11,385)
Carrying amount:
December 31, 2023 97 317 2,132 830 - 3,376
March 31, 2024 85 304 2,044 803 - 3,236
AC Immune continues to enhance its laboratory equipment to support its R&D functions. This effort has continued since the year ended December 31, 2023, with CHF 0.2 million invested in lab equipment, representing an increase of 1.6% from the beginning of the year in this category.
6.Right-of-use assets, long-term financial assets and lease liabilities
AC Immune recognized no additions for its right-of-use of leased assets for the three months ended March 31, 2024.
Regarding lease liabilities, the amortization depends on the rate implicit in the contract or the incremental borrowing rate for the respective lease component. The weighted averages of the incremental borrowing rates are 3.5% for buildings, 5.3% for office equipment and 2.6% for IT equipment, respectively.
The following table shows the movements in the net book values of right-of-use of leased assets for the three months ended March 31, 2024:
Office IT
In CHF thousands Buildings equipment equipment Total
Balance as of December 31, 2023 3,446 50 12 3,508
Depreciation (157) (6) (4) (167)
Balance as of March 31, 2024 3,289 44 8 3,341
There are no variable lease payments that are not included in the measurement of lease obligations. All extension options have been included in the measurement of lease obligations.
For the three months ended March 31, 2024, and 2023, the impact on the Company's condensed consolidated statements of income/(loss) and the condensed consolidated statements of cash flows is as follows:
For the Three Months
Ended March 31,
In CHF thousands 2024 2023
Statements of income/(loss)
Depreciation of right-of-use assets 167 134
Interest expense on lease liabilities 30 24
Expense for short-term leases and leases of low value 193 298
Total 390 456
Statements of cash flows
Total cash outflow for leases 391 458
The following table presents the contractual undiscounted cash flows for lease obligations as of March 31, 2024:
As of
In CHF thousands March 31, 2024
Less than one year 778
1-3 years 1,522
3-5 years 1,317
Total 3,617
The Company also has deposits in escrow accounts totaling CHF 0.4 million for leases of the Company's premises as of both March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively. These deposits are presented in Long-term financial assets on the Company's condensed consolidated balance sheets.
As of
In CHF thousands March 31, 2024 December 31, 2023
Accrued expenses 10,541 11,087
Total accrued expenses 10,541 11,087
Accrued expenses consists of accrued R&D costs, accrued payroll expenses and other accrued expenses totaling CHF 10.5 million and CHF 11.1 million as of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively.
AC Immune's acquired IPR&D asset is a clinically-validated active vaccine candidate for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. The asset is not yet ready for use until the asset obtains market approval and is therefore not currently being amortized. The carrying amount and net book value are detailed below:
As of March 31, 2024 As of December 31, 2023
Gross Gross
carrying Accumulated Net book carrying Accumulated Net book
In CHF thousands amount amortization value amount amortization value
Acquired IPR&D asset 50,416 - 50,416 50,416 - 50,416
Total intangible assets 50,416 - 50,416 50,416 - 50,416
In accordance with IAS 36 Impairment of Assets, the IPR&D asset is reviewed at least annually for impairment by assessing the fair value less costs to sell (recoverable amount) and comparing this to the carrying value of the asset. The valuation is considered to be Level 3 in the fair value hierarchy in accordance with IFRS 13 Fair Value Measurement due to unobservable inputs used in the valuation. The Company has determined the IPR&D asset not to be impaired as of
December 31, 2023. As of March 31, 2024, the Company did not identify any triggering events that could result in an impairment of the IPR&D asset.
Prepaid expenses include prepaid R&D costs, administrative costs, and employee social obligations totaling CHF 3.9 million and CHF 6.4 million as of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively.
10.Cash and cash equivalents and short-term financial assets
The following table summarizes AC Immune's cash and cash equivalents and short-term financial assets as of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023:
As of
In CHF thousands March 31, 2024 December 31, 2023
Cash and cash equivalents 57,009 78,494
Total cash and cash equivalents 57,009 78,494
As of
In CHF thousands March 31, 2024 December 31, 2023
Short-term financial assets due in one year or less 47,812 24,554
Total short-term financial assets 47,812 24,554
For the three months ended March 31, 2024, the net investments associated with the short-term financial assets amounted to CHF 23.3 million, compared to net proceeds associated with the maturity of investments of CHF 43.0 million in the prior comparable period.
11.Accounts receivable
As of March 31, 2024, the balance of accounts receivable is nil following the receipt of the CHF 14.8 million milestone payment from Janssen, which was due as of December 31, 2023 under our collaboration and license agreement for achieving the targeted launch of the Phase 2b clinical study.
For a discussion of our at the market offering program with Jefferies LLC for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, please refer to Note 12 "Share capital" of our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2023 filed on March 14, 2024.
As of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the Company had 5,236,012 and 5,243,958 treasury shares remaining, respectively.
13.Finance result, net
For the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, AC Immune recorded CHF 2.2 million and CHF 0.1 million in net financial gains, respectively. The increase is primarily related to favorable foreign currency exchange differences related to movement in the CHF versus foreign currencies, predominantly the US Dollar, and the transition from negative to positive interest rates for our interest-bearing deposit accounts.
14.Subsequent events
Management has evaluated subsequent events after the balance sheet date, through the issuance of these Interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements, for appropriate accounting and disclosures.
On May 11, 2024, the Company entered into a Worldwide Exclusive Option and License Agreement for its Anti-Amyloid Beta Active Immunotherapy, ACI-24.060 for Alzheimer's Disease with Takeda Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. (Takeda). Under the terms of the agreement, the Company will receive an upfront payment of USD 100 (CHF 91) million from Takeda and be eligible to receive payments of up to approximately USD 2.1 (CHF 1.9) billion including an Option exercise fee in the low-to-mid hundred million USD and potential development, commercial and sales-based milestone payments. The Company is also eligible to receive tiered mid-to-high teens percentages royalties on worldwide net sales. The Company will be responsible for completing the Phase 1b/2 ABATE trial. Takeda will have an undisclosed defined period of time to exercise its option after receiving predefined clinical data on the first three AD patient cohorts from the ABATE study. Following option exercise, Takeda will conduct and fund all further clinical development and be responsible for all global regulatory activities as well as worldwide commercialization.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are AC Immune's total assets as of March 31, 2024?

Total assets are CHF 167,281 thousand.

How much was the net loss for AC Immune in Q1 2024?

The net loss for Q1 2024 was CHF 17,862 thousand.

What was the basic loss per share for AC Immune in Q1 2024?

The basic loss per share was CHF 0.18.

What are AC Immune's total liabilities as of March 31, 2024?

Total liabilities amount to CHF 22,600 thousand.

What was the cash balance for AC Immune by March 31, 2024?

The cash balance was CHF 57,009 thousand.

Last updated: May 13, 2024