Autolus Gains $600m through BioNTech deal and equity raise to develop pipeline

Autolus announced a strategic collaboration with BioNTech, which involves an equity investment of $200m ($6 per ADS), and a license and option agreement for a $50m cash up front. In addition, the company raised $350m via a public offering of 58m shares at a price of $6 per ADS (approx. 5% discount to previous close). While management did not provide concrete guidance on cash runway, Autolus has gained a significant amount of resources with a total of $600m in additional cash. This will enable the company to execute on the potential launch of obe-cel (CD19 CAR-T) in r/r adult ALL (PDUFA 16 Nov), but also provides more than enough cash to accelerate the development of obe-cel in autoimmunity, a therapeutic area which could make obe-cel a pipeline in a product and is considered an important driver for future upside. In our view, the collaboration with BioNTech provides additional validation for Autolus' technology and programs, and makes BioNTech a potential acquirer down the line - though we do wonder if an outright sale was part of the discussion. We update our model taking into account the additional cash, partly offset by the accompanying dilution, which brings us to a new PT of $11. With significant upside to the current valuation, we reiterate our BUY rating. Autolus is one of our life sciences top picks.