Dear Mr. Van den Heuvel,
We have received your letter dated January 26, 2012, and we thank you for your interest in Amsterdam Molecular Therapeutics. We will attempt to address the points and questions you raise to the best of our ability and hope that our response will be sufficient.
In general our policy is not to comment on share price movements. That being said, the trading volume and movement of the share price in the period you mention has not escaped our attention, even if the underlying cause is as unclear to us as it is to you. However, given the fact that we have not received any notice from institutional shareholders and/or AFM that shareholders have crossed any thresholds that require publication, apart from the notices associated with the placement of shares in December, we are tempted, but not certain to attribute the movement and volume of the share to private investor interest.
As you know AMT has been relegated to the status of penny stock. We believe that the current market capitalization is a poor reflection of the true value of our assets. We have made a concerted effort over the past year to engage with investors, both institutional and retail, to share our belief in the healthy prospects of AMT.
We would like to think that we have succeeded in conveying
our enthusiasm to the effect that many shareholders now believe, as do we, that the company is at present not fairly valued. We have also always been clear in stating that we are engaged in partnering discussions with pharmaceutical and biotech companies for a number of our programs, and that these discussions are still ongoing.
We have also been clear in stating that AMT has a negative equity
position and a limited cash runway and that we are tracking all possibilities to secure the company's financial stability, in which context various options
regarding AMT's business and financing are explored. It is impossible for us to assess exactly how investors interpret this information. But we would venture to say that the length of these discussions and negotiations- none of which has so far progressed to a stage of there being sufficiently concrete information requiring or justifying disclosure- could possibly provoke the feeling and perhaps even the conviction that an announcement from the company may be imminent. Because such an announcement would have a material effect, and likely impact the market value of the company it may be that investors see an opportunity to buy into the stock when it is still at the current depressed levels.
You will also be aware that on 1 December 2011, Euronext Amsterdam
announced that AMT would be included within the AScX Index (Amsterdam
Small cap Index) with effect from 19 December 2011. It is possible that once AMT was included within an index it attracted share traders who did not previously trade in AMT stock. This may have added to the share volumes and price volatility over the subsequent period.
It is possible, but all we can offer is a best guess, and it should be clear that the above is mere speculation on our part, just as you are well within your rights to ask what is causing investors to buy or to sell.
We believe this addresses your first question. Now Jet us take the other pointsyou raise one by one.
2. Were there any important developments, particularly regarding the products under development at AMT in the period Dec. 19 -Jan 19?
The answer is no. We can share with you, but that is no secret, that we are
battling for our survival, and as such have been and are engaged in discussions every day on how to bring AMT forward.
3. Has AMT been approached by pharmaceutical companies interested in the company's technology. Has the value of the ongoing programs been discussed? If so, when exactly?
We have repeatedly said that we are engaged in partnering discussions with pharma and biotech companies. We have done so over the past several years. Of course the value of our programs is an important element of these discussions.
For reasons of confidentiality, at this time we cannot provide you with the
precise dates, nor any further details relating to these discussions. Suffice to say that these discussions have been ongoing for a considerabe time, and including the period covered by your question.