IXICO could target tenfold market expansion with £10m raise and AI platform pivot - broker

IXICO PLC (LSE:IXI, OTC:PHYOF, FRA:PYPB), the neurology imaging and information analytics specialist, is raising £10 cardinal to money a strategical propulsion beyond its established declaration probe business, with Cavendish arguing the determination could unlock a marketplace accidental up to 10 times larger than the institution presently addresses.

The fundraise, structured arsenic a conditional equity placing with a retail connection unfastened to rise up to a further £0.5 million, volition bankroll a displacement towards what the institution calls a "TechBio" model, successful which its proprietary AI-driven IXI Platform is licensed oregon subscribed to by larger companies operating successful the broader objective proceedings absorption and objective determination enactment markets.

IXICO's existing concern operates arsenic an imaging declaration probe organisation, oregon iCRO, providing encephalon scan investigation and imaging biomarker services to pharmaceutical companies moving objective trials focused connected neurodegenerative conditions including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases.

Imaging biomarkers are measurable characteristics disposable successful aesculapian images, specified arsenic MRI scans, that tin bespeak the beingness oregon progression of a disease, helping cause developers marque spell oregon no-go decisions connected objective assets.

Cavendish, the company's location broker, estimates the existing iCRO addressable marketplace astatine astir $100 million, against which IXICO has built revenues of astir $10 million.

The TechBio strategy targets objective proceedings services worthy $300 to $450 cardinal and objective determination enactment worthy $700 to $950 million, expanding the full accidental to arsenic overmuch arsenic $1 billion.

The broker argues that licensing revenues, being technology-driven alternatively than people-intensive, should pull valuation multiples of betwixt 4x and 7x, good supra the 1x to 3x emblematic of declaration probe organisations, creating meaningful valuation upside arsenic the exemplary matures.

A collaboration already announced with Medidata, a objective proceedings solutions supplier owned by Dassault Systèmes, represents the archetypal unrecorded implementation of the strategy.

Cavendish retains a bargain standing and 26p people terms connected IXICO, implying 230% upside from the existent stock price. IXICO is simply a firm lawsuit of the broker.

The shares were level astatine 7.88p.