Market will see a very different Amrad: chairman

Since CEO Pete Smith and chairman Bob Moses resigned in May, Amrad (ASX:AML) has kept quiet about its strategic direction. Ruth Beran spoke to chairman Ian Davis about the refocusing of the company.

Nearly a decade since Amrad listed on the ASX in 1996, Davis believes Amrad has changed from a relatively complex company with expertise stretched across a large number of projects, to a more focused position in the development and commercialisation of therapeutics that target inflammation and cancer.

"We now see Amrad in a situation where its primary objective is to be a global leader in the development and commercialisation of therapeutic antibodies," said Davis.

With final year results due out in August, Davis said that Amrad will announce its strategic initiatives at that time. However, he is confident that the "market will see a very different Amrad."

"It will be an Amrad that will be really engaged with the market and the opinion-makers in the sector," he said.

Davis said that a key message will be maximisation of the value of Amrad's current portfolio.

"The market is certainly not valuing the Merck deal for what it is," he said.

Amrad is receiving milestone payments from Merck Sharp & Dohme for the development of asthma therapies based on Amrad's IL-13R target.

Amrad will be announcing solid full year results, said Davis. "Not only do we have the milestone payments, which we've been receiving from Merck, we've had also income from the strong cash position which the company currently has, and therefore we do not have a significant burn rate."

"We certainly have the cash to enable us to drive forward with each of the major projects the company has in development."

Davis believes that one of the problems in Amrad's past has been a failure to articulate the value of its current portfolio to the market.

"I think there may have been issues about that in the past, there certainly hopefully won't be any in the future," he said.

When asked if the company is still searching for a CEO, Davis said the company won't be rushing into that decision but will make an announcement in due course.

"Andrew Nash is doing an outstanding job as interim CEO," said Davis. "He has the enormous respect of the management team and all the staff and the board, so we're not rushing into that."

And when asked about the events leading to Pete Smith and Bob Moses' resignation, Davis declined to comment, saying: "That chapter of the company is now closed. Pete's moved on, he made a decision to do so. And we've moved forward. The organisation is strong enough to withstand all of those sorts of situations."