Scancell Holdings PLC. (SCNLF)

[Gift_Horse]

IS SCANCELL'S SCIB2 VACCINE IN AUCTION?

I have a feeling we're getting closer to a licensing deal for Scancell's lung cancer vaccine SCIB2. Merck Serono is definitely in the frame with its secret tranche of Scancell shares marking its territory. But it may not be alone.

It wouldn't surprise me if Merck Serono has a rival for SCIB2. A deal like that won't come cheap. And there are bigger boys with bigger wallets out there. Merck needs a lung cancer vaccine after its own failed its Phase 3 in December. But is Merck's wallet fat enough to seal the deal?

Increasingly therapies addressing unmet need, such as Scancell's re-programmable SCIB2, are fetching top dollar. Its outstanding preclinical performance and innovative DNA delivery certainly ticks the boxes for breakthrough status with the FDA.

Scancell appears to be offering SCIB2 as a taster ahead of the sale of the company at the end of the year. Its more than a morsel though. Not only is SCIB2 geared up to treat lung cancer but also six further cancers to boot and that's without re-programming!

Scancell has been fending off suitors for years waiting for the big money it can command at the end of Phase 2 trials of its melanoma vaccine, due later this year. So Merck is unlikely to be the only bidder for the SCIB2 licence. There's an edgy quiet about proceedings at the moment with some tense buying pressure building up in Scancell's shares. Is SCIB2 in auction? Expect the unexpected!



Could Scancell's SCIB2 be in auction?