Diamond Equity Research Initiates Coverage on YS Biopharma Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ: YS)

NEW YORK, Aug. 17, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Diamond Equity Research, a leading equity research firm with a focus on small capitalization public companies has initiated coverage of YS Biopharma Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ: YS). The in-depth 34-page initiation report includes detailed information on the YS Biopharma’s business model, services, industry, valuation, management, and risks.

The full research report is available here. Highlights from the report include:

• PIKA® Platform Enabling Diversified Portfolio of Novel Vaccines and Immuno-oncology Therapeutics: YS Biopharma’s PIKA® platform is a transformative immunomodulating technology that enables the development of an array of vaccines and immuno-oncology therapeutics. By activating immune cells such as antigen-presenting cells and dendritic cells, PIKA® enhances the body’s immune response, optimizing the effectiveness of vaccines against diseases like rabies, COVID-19, and Hepatitis B. Additionally, the technology has also shown significant improvements in ease of administration. For example, a shorter regimen of PIKA®-enabled rabies and HBV vaccine compared to existing alternatives can potentially enhance overall effectiveness and patient compliance. Moreover, in immuno-oncology, PIKA® stimulates T cells and alters the tumor microenvironment to enable the immune system to better combat cancer. This broad applicability of the PIKA® platform allows YS Biopharma to develop a diverse portfolio of novel and next-generation vaccines and therapeutics targeting diseases with unmet needs.

• YSJA^TM Rabies Vaccine Supporting Research Capabilities: YSJA^TM, a conventional rabies vaccine, currently stands as the company’s revenue-generating product. As a crucial part of the company’s diversified vaccine portfolio, the product has generated a revenue of approximately RMB 687.2 million or U.S. $100 million in the year ended March 2023, registering a year-on-year growth of 37%. The revenue generated from the YSJA^TM sales helps fund the company’s ongoing R&D efforts, including the development and clinical testing of its novel PIKA® immunomodulating technology. The material revenue generated by the vaccine’s success offers potential downside protection relative to traditional non-revenue generating biotechnology companies, as it provides a more stable financial foundation and reduces reliance on uncertain research and development outcomes. Furthermore, the company’s success and growing market share of YSJA^TM have provided the company with valuable experience and insights in areas such as regulatory approval processes, large-scale vaccine production, and distribution across the rabies vaccine market. These experiences, coupled with supportive financial capabilities, enhance the company’s efforts to conduct research, develop and bring next-generation vaccine candidates to market.

• Dual Growth Strategy – Solidifying Current Revenue and Leveraging Vaccine Innovations: YS’s investment value is rooted in a dual-pronged strategy. Firstly, there’s the recurring and stable revenue stream from YSJA^TM, which shows consistent upward momentum. Secondly, the imminent approval of the PIKA® rabies vaccine could serve as a game changer for YS due to its ability to usher in revenues that are 4 or 5 times higher than those of YSJA^TM, indicating an insignificant impact of cannibalization of YSJA^TM. Furthermore, a distinctive advantage of the PIKA® rabies vaccine is its lower dosage requirement. This essentially means that a shift from YSJA^TM to PIKA® can triple its production capacity, a highly advantageous move in a market that currently faces capacity constraints. This augmented capacity will not just cater to domestic demands but also opens the door for international expansion, positioning YS to potentially supply to emerging nations like the Philippines.

• Valuation: We have valued the company using a risk-adjusted discounted cash flow (DCF) as our primary valuation approach. Additionally, the valuation process also considered comparable analysis using the EV/sales valuation metric, yielding a blended valuation of $474.29 million or $5.10, contingent on successful execution by the company. Our view of the company’s valuation is influenced predominantly by two key catalysts, the sustained and anticipated growth of YSJA^TM’s revenue and the forthcoming approval of the PIKA® rabies vaccine that holds the potential to considerably amplify revenue trajectories.

• Robust Safety and Efficacy Across Multiple Clinical Candidates: The company’s most advanced clinical candidates in the company’s pipeline are PIKA® recombinant COVID-19 vaccine and the PIKA® rabies vaccine. Both these vaccines are currently being evaluated in Phase III clinical trials and demonstrated robust safety and immunogenicity profile in earlier clinical and pre-clinical trials. In both Phase I and Phase II clinical trial, the PIKA® rabies vaccine demonstrated a higher seroconversion rate compared to the comparator Rabipur. The seroconversion rate indicates the percentage of vaccinated individuals who develop detectable antibodies against the targeted pathogen, indicating a successful immune response to the vaccine. It is a critical measure of vaccine efficacy. The PIKA® rabies vaccine swiftly generated high levels of rabies-neutralizing antibodies (RVNA) and initiated a durable immune response, indicating a strong defense against rabies. Similarly, the PIKA® recombinant COVID-19 vaccine proved to stimulate the production of high-level neutralizing antibodies against a variety of mutant strains. The preliminary Phase II data demonstrated superior immunogenicity when compared to the inactivated COVID-19 vaccine. Both prophylactics displayed sound safety and reactogenicity profile

• Significant Market Potential Across Multiple Indications: Rabies, COVID-19, and HBV vaccine markets in China and Southeast Asian countries present significant opportunities with a need for innovative solutions. The rabies vaccine market, though fragmented, presents opportunities for differentiation and improved offerings, such as YS Biopharma’s aluminum-free and PIKA® immunomodulating vaccines. The rabies vaccine market in China is expected to reach RMB 22.1 billion in 2025 from RMB 9.4 billion in 2021 representing a CAGR of 23.8%. For COVID-19, a market dominated by Sinopharm, Sinovac, and Can Sino, there exists a continuous need for effective and safe prophylactic that can combat emergent vaccine-resistant variants creating a demand that could potentially be filled by disruptive vaccine developers. In the HBV vaccine market, supportive government policies and increasing government efforts to control the Hepatitis B epidemic have been paving the way for improved vaccine accessibility and heightened public awareness. Lot release for Hepatitis B prophylactic vaccine is expected to reach 85.4 million in 2025, at a CAGR of 4.9% from 2021 to 2025. The company’s immuno-oncology therapeutic targets hard-to-kill solid tumors that represent 90% of all adult human cancer. Solid malignancies such as hepatocellular cancer, breast cancer, and pancreatic cancer are a few of the most challenging and prevalent cancers worldwide. The immuno-oncology therapies market is one of the fastest growing among all the markets targeted by the company’s different products. China’s immuno-oncology market is expected to grow from RMB 16.3 billion in 2021 to reach RMB 63.8 billion in 2025, growing at a CAGR of 40.6%.

About YS Biopharma Co., Ltd.

YS Biopharma Co., Ltd. is a Beijing-based biopharmaceutical company founded in 2002. Specializing in vaccines and therapeutic biologics, it targets diseases such as Rabies, Coronavirus, Hepatitis B, Influenza and Shingles via a proprietary PIKA® immunomodulating technology platform. The firm operates in various regions including China, the U.S., and Southeast Asian Countries.

For more information, visit https://www.ysbiopharm.com/

About Diamond Equity Research

Diamond Equity Research is a leading equity research and corporate access firm focused on small capitalization companies. Diamond Equity Research is an approved sell-side provider on major institutional investor platforms.

For more information, visit https://www.diamondequityresearch.com

Disclosures:

Diamond Equity Research LLC is being compensated by YS Biopharma Co., Ltd. for producing research materials regarding YS Biopharma Co., Ltd. and its securities, which is meant to subsidize the high cost of creating the report and monitoring the security, however the views in the report reflect that of Diamond Equity Research. All payments are received upfront and are billed for an annual or semi-annual research engagement. As of 08/17/23 the issuer had paid us $20,000 for our company sponsored research services, which commenced 07/01/23 and is billed annually, consisting of $20,000 for an initiation and update note and $20,000 for a minimum of two follow on notes, due upfront in each period for respective services as part of a $40,000 annual research term fee. Diamond Equity Research LLC may be compensated for non-research related services, including presenting at Diamond Equity Research investment conferences, press releases and other additional services. The non-research related service cost is dependent on the company, but usually do not exceed $5,000. The issuer has not paid us for non-research related services as of 08/17/23. Issuers are not required to engage us for these additional services. Additional fees may have accrued since then. Although Diamond Equity Research company sponsored reports are based on publicly available information and although no investment recommendations are made within our company sponsored research reports, given the small capitalization nature of the companies we cover we have adopted an internal trading procedure around the public companies by whom we are engaged, with investors able to find such policy on our website public disclosures page. This report and press release do not consider individual circumstances and does not take into consideration individual investor preferences. Statements within this report may constitute forward-looking statements, these statements involve many risk factors and general uncertainties around the business, industry, and macroeconomic environment. Investors need to be aware of the high degree of risk in small capitalization equities including the complete loss of their investment. Investors can find various risk factors in the initiation report and in the respective financial filings for YS Biopharma Co., Ltd.

Contact:

Diamond Equity Research

research@diamondequityresearch.com

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