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FY2015 Annual Report · Faron
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Annual Report
2015

Revolutionising the treatment of ARDS 
and activation of tumour immunity

Contents

faron ph arm ac euti cals

corpor ate gover nance

Saving Lives 
Endothelial Barrier Is Everything 
Highlights 

strat egic report

Introduction 
Chairman’s Statement 
Operational Review 
Financial Review 
Principal Risks and Uncertainties 

pipeli ne

Overview 
Traumakine® 

The INTEREST Study 

Clevegen® 

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5
6

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14

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18
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24

Overview 
Board of Directors 
Directors’ Report 
Corporate Governance Report 
Directors’ Remuneration Report 
Statement of Directors’ Responsibilities 

finan cial repo rt

Statement of Comprehensive Income 
Balance Sheet 
Statement of Cash Flows 
Statement of Changes in Equity 
Notes 

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FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015fa ron  pha rmaceut ic als

Saving Lives

Faron Pharmaceuticals Ltd is a drug discovery and 
development company focused on creating novel 
treatments for medical conditions with significant unmet 
needs. Faron is based in Turku, Finland. The Company 
has identified several molecular mechanisms involved 
in the control of endothelial functions as a source of 
innovations.

Faron  currently  has  a  pipeline  of  prod-
ucts focusing on acute organ traumas, 
cancer  immunotherapy  and  vascular 
damage.  The  Company’s  lead  candi-
date Traumakine®, has been developed 
to  treat  Acute  Respiratory  Distress 
Syndrome  (“ARDS”),  a  rare,  severe, 
life-threatening  medical  condition  for 
which  there  is  currently  no  approved 
treatment.  Traumak-
pharmaceutical 
ine®  is  now  in  a  pan-European  pivotal 
Phase III study (INTEREST).

Besides  Traumakine®,  Faron’s  pipeline 
consists  of  early  stage  assets  includ-
ing a pre-clinical anti-Clever-1 antibody 
named  Clevegen®.  Clevegen® 
is  fo-
cused  on  converting  the  immune  envi-
ronment  around  a  tumour  from  being 
immune suppressive to immune stimu-
lating  and  represents  a  novel  im muno-
oncology  approach.  Faron  Pharmaceu-
ticals Ltd is listed on London AIM under 
the ticker ‘FARN’.

4

fa ron  pha rmaceut ic als

Endothelial Barrier Is Everything

Imagine cars speeding in a dark tunnel, 
100,000 kilometers long, without lights, 
at  a  speed  of  700–800  km/h,  navigat-
ing their way to their destinations.

The  situation  described  above  ap-
plies  to  cells,  which  migrate  in  our 
vasculature system and need to move 
around.  This  movement  is  part  of  the 
normal  surveillance  system  to  detect 
any  harmful  event  that  would  put  our 
existence at risk. This is our innate de-
fense  system,  but  it  also  provides  the 
initial  immunological  reaction  against 
any foreign material entering the body.
The  “GPS”  for  these  moving  cells  is 
a  molecular  recognition  system  con-
sisting  of  special  molecules  on  the 
surface  of  migrating  cells  and  their 
counterparts on the surface of vascular 
endothelial cells. These “homing” mole-
cules form an essential cellular traffick-
ing guidance system, which we all need 
to maintain our normal physiology. Un-
fortunately,  many  diseases  utilise  this 
system  as  well.  This  calls  for  ways  to 
control the guidance system in order to 
prevent or heal diseases. Among these 
diseases  the  most  harmful  ones  are 
extended  inflammations  and  cancer 
spread.

Our  vascular  system  also  includes  a 
drainage  system  called  lymphatics. The 
same  guidance  system  also  operates 
there  but  the  recognition  molecules  are 
unique.  In  both  of  these  capillary  net-
works  the  endothelial  cells  control  the 
entry  of  migrating  cells  and  maintain 
a  barrier  between  circulation  and  tis-
sues. Without this barrier, we encounter a 
catas trophic  situation,  which  can  lead  to 
life-threatening conditions.

Faron  has  identified  several  new  en-
dothelial molecules involved in this guid-
ance system and the maintenance of the 
endothelial  barrier.  We  believe  that  the 
control  of  these  molecules  provides  a 
unique way to treat many life- threatening  
conditions  with  high  unmet  medical 
needs. Our two lead indications – acute 
respiratory  lung  injury  and  control  of  tu-
mour immunity – are both based on the 
malfunction  of  the  endothelial  barrier, 
both of which we have learned to control.
We hope that our 2015 Annual Report 
inspires you to explore our technologies, 
which  have  originated  from  world-class 
academic laboratories and developed by 
Faron  as  a  novel  proprietary  treatment 
for Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome 
(ARDS) and tumour immune suppression.

5

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTD

ANNUAL REPORT 2015

fa ron  pha rmaceut ic als

Highlights 2015

•  Established  the  pivotal  pan-European  Phase  III  INTEREST  trial 
for Traumakine® in development for the treatment of Acute Res-
piratory Distress Syndrome (“ARDS”) including 55 hospitals with 
significant intensive care units in seven European countries (UK, 
France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Belgium and Finland).

•  First  Patient  recruited  in  Phase  III  INTEREST  trial  in  December 

2015.

•  Entered  into  agreements  with  A&B  (HK)  Company  Limited  and 
CMS Pharma Co. Ltd in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and 
Taiwan (the “Greater China Area”) to license Traumakine® in May 
2015.

•  Reported second contract period on the EU FP7 programme for 
Traumakine®  ending  30  November,  2015  triggering  next  period 
payments if accepted.

•  Entered into a collaboration agreement with the Turku PET Centre, 
one  of  the  largest  positron  emission  tomography  centers  in  Eu-
rope, on the development of novel cancer immunotherapy Cleve-
gen® in June 2015.

•  Agreement  with  Swiss-based  Selexis  SA  for  SUREtechnology 
Platform™  and  SURE  CHO-M  Cell  Line™  for  use  in  the  develop-
ment and production of Clevegen® in November 2015.

•  Key Publication on Novel Cancer Immunotherapy Mechanism Re-
lated to Clevegen® published in Journal of Immunology in Novem-
ber 2015.

•  Granted €1.5 million in funding to progress the preclinical devel-
opment of Clevegen®, Faron´s novel cancer immunotherapy drug 
candidate. The funding was awarded by Tekes, the Finnish Fund-
ing Agency for Innovation in December 2015.

6

ANNUAL REPORT 2015

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTD

Financial Highlights

•  Successful AIM IPO in November 2015, raising €14.2 million in 

new funds for the Company.

•  €5.1 million pre-IPO funding from A&B (HK) Company Limited 
in  May  2015,  in  conjunction  with  Traumakine®  agreement  for 
Greater China.

•  Total equity raised of €19.3 million (net €16.9 million) being used 
to fund initial pan-European Phase III INTEREST trial in respect 
of Traumakine® for treatment of Acute Respiratory Distress Syn-
drome (“ARDS”) as well as progressing Clevegen®, the Compa-
ny’s early stage cancer immunotherapy programme.

•  Generated  €0.5  million  (2014:  €1.0  million)  revenues  mainly 
from  milestone  payments  from  Maruishi.  In  addition  the  Com-
pany recorded grant income of €0.7 million (2014: €0.1 million) 
from the EU FP7 grant.

•  Tekes granted a €1.5 million R&D loan to progress the Clevegen® 

programme.

•  On  31  December  2015  the  Company  held  cash  balances  of 

€11.1 million (2014: €0,2 million).

•  The operating loss for the financial year ended 31 December 2015 

was €6.2 million (2014: €1.4 million loss)

•  Net  assets  on  31  December  2015  were  €11.2  million  (2014: 
€0.5 million1)

Post-Period End Highlights

•  On 7th January 2016, Faron announced positive results from the 
Phase II Japanese study for Traumakine® conducted by Faron’s 
Japanese licensing partner, Maruishi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

•  On 1st March 2016 Faron announced a patent application to fur-
ther strengthen protection for its novel Traumakine® formulation 
(FP-1201-lyo),  seeking  exclusivity  for  the  next  20  years  which 
would reinforce Faron’s global patent protection strategy for the 
product.

•  Recruitment is on track and Faron anticipates that all 55 sites for 

the Traumakine® clinical trial will be open in April 2016. 

1  The  net  assets  on  31  December 
2014  include  the  €1.1  million  con-
vertible loan that was converted to 
equity in January 2015. 

7

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTD

ANNUAL REPORT 2015

strategi c report

Addressing 
Significant 
Unmet 
Medical 
Needs

Faron is a drug discovery 
and development com-
pany focused on creating 
novel treatments for 
medical conditions 
with significant unmet 
needs. The Company 
has a pipeline of clinical 
stage products for the 
treatment of acute 
organ traumas, cancer 
immunotherapy and 
vascular damage.

8

Strategy

Faron’s  strategy  is  to  maximise  the  po-
tential of its pipeline of drug candidates 
and to progress the development of its 
lead  product  Traumakine®.  Faron  has 
identified  several  new  endothelial  mol-
ecules  involved  in  the  maintenance  of 
the  endothelial  barrier  which  is  a  thin 
layer  or  membrane  of  cells  that  lines 
blood and lymphatic vessels to separate 
blood  content  from  tissues.  The  Com-
pany  believes  that  the  control  of  these 
molecules  provides  a  unique  way  to 
treat  many  life-threatening  conditions 
with  high  unmet  medical  needs.  Faron 
collaborates  with  its  strategic  partners 
in  research,  manufacturing  and  drug 
development  to  bring  new  pharma-
ceutical  products  to  market  in  a  timely 
and  cost-effective  manner.  Faron  has 
formed  a  core  team  of  leading  scien-
tists  in  capillary  biology  and  dis eases 
arising from vascular leakage. The Com-
pany has established links with leading 
laboratories  and  clinics  based  at Turku 
University in Finland, University College 
London and other institutions.

To  date,  Faron  has  operated  on  a 
relative ly  low  cost  basis  by  employing 
only  key  members  of  staff  and  out-
sourcing  where  possible.  Typically  all 
development  work  up  to  the  proof-of-
concept  stage  of  drug  development  is 
carried  out  in  the  innovators’  laborato-
ries. The Company outsources all of its 
manufacturing  activities  in  relation  to 
its products to third parties and collab-
orates  with  Contract  Research  Organi-
sations (CROs) to carry out the clinical 
development  programmes.  Faron  mon-
itors  and  evaluates  potential  commer-
cial  opportunities  for  its  established 
drug  candidates  like  Traumakine®  and 
Clevegen®, as and when they arise, and 
will consider how best to crystallise as 
much  value  as  possible  for  Sharehold-
ers, which may include holding rights in 
main territories for as long as it is feasi-
ble, and in certain circumstances up to 
the marketing stage.

strategi c report

Chairman´s Statement

Faron  has  made  significant  progress 
with  its  pipeline  in  the  last  year.  The 
small  but  highly  experienced  manage-
ment  team  is  passionate  about  and 
committed  to  their  work  in  life-saving 
drug  development.  The  Company  has 
chosen  to  develop  new  drugs  for  true 
unmet  medical  needs  in  two  critical 
areas,  Acute  Respiratory  Distress  Syn-
drome  (ARDS)  and  cancer 
immuno-
therapy.  These  two  apparently  diverse 
clinical  indications  are  built  on  Faron’s 
thorough  scientific  knowledge  of  the 
endothelial barrier function and control 
providing  a  solid  basis  to  successfully 
execute  the  Traumakine®  and  Cleve-
gen® projects.

Faron’s  lead  drug  candidate  Trau-
makine®,  now  in  the  pivotal,  pan-Euro-
pean Phase III INTEREST trial, is at the 
heart of the Company’s mission. It aims 
to  treat  ARDS,  an  orphan,  life-threaten-
ing  medical  condition  which  currently 
has no available drug treatment.

ARDS is not common, annually about 
370,000  people  across  Europe  and  the 
US  are  diagnosed,  but  the  condition  is 
serious  with  about  30  to  45%  mortal-
ity rate. Data from a Phase I/II study of 
Traumakine® for ARDS, published in the 
Lancet, was associated with an 81% re-
duction in the odds of 28 day mortality 
rate.  We  believe  that  Traumakine®  rep-
resents a significant opportunity to help 
ARDS  patients,  the  hospitals  that  treat 
these patients and the patients´ families.
Immunotherapy offers enormous po-
tential for cancer treatment by stimulat-
ing the patient’s own natural immune re-
sponse  to  combat  the  disease.  Faron’s 
pre-clinical  immunotherapy  candidate 

Clevegen®  causes  conversion  of  the 
immune  environment  around  a  tumour 
from  immune  suppressive  to  immune 
stimulating,  by  reducing  the  number 
of 
tumour-associated  macrophages 
(TAMs).  We  believe  that  Clevegen®  is 
well  differentiated  from  other  immuno-
therapies  through  its  specific  targeting 
of  M2  TAMs  which  facilitate  tumour 
growth,  while  leaving  intact  the  M1 
TAMs  that  support  immune  activation 
against tumours.

In  November  2015,  Faron  was  ad-
mitted to trading on the AIM market of 
the London Stock Exchange. The capital 
raised is devoted to advancing the Com-
pany’s two programmes and provides a 
positive start for 2016.

With  the  AIM  listing,  I  would  like  to 
welcome  new  Shareholders  on  behalf 
of  the  new  Board,  and  thank  the  previ-
ous Board, employees and advisors for 
a  successful  2015.  At  the  time  of  the 
listing,  the  previous  Chairman,  Matti 
Manner,  stepped  down  and  became 
Vice-Chairman.  We  are  all 
indebted 
to  him  for  his  previous  leadership.  A 
number  of  new  Board  members  were 
appointed  at  the  listing:  Dr  Jonathan 
Knowles,  Mr  Leopoldo  Zambeletti,  Dr 
Huaizheng  Peng  and  myself,  Dr  Frank 
Armstrong as Chairman. It is a privilege 
to  participate  in  the  ongoing  success 
achieved  by  Faron.  The  Board  is  very 
grateful  to  the  staff  of  the  Company 
and  particularly  to  Dr  Markku  Jalkanen 
(CEO) and Mr Yrjö Wichmann (CFO) for 
their  commitment  and  leadership.  Fa-
ron  is  an  ambitious  company  and  this 
is  reflected  in  the  employees  and  lead-
ership of the Company.

The  Board  is  committed  to  delivering 
the  strategy  described  in  the  IPO  Ad-
mission Document. Our key focus is to 
complete the recruitment for the Phase 
III  INTEREST  trial  during  2016,  as  we 
regard  this  as  a  major  value  inflection 
point for Shareholders. We also believe 
that the progress on Clevegen® by our 
scientific  collaborators  will  provide  ex-
citing  news  in  2016.  We  will  continue 
to look for opportunities to deliver and 
enhance  value  to  our  Shareholders  as 
well  as  patients  who  will  benefit  from 
the new drugs Faron is developing.

Dr Frank M Armstrong – Chairman

9

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015strategi c report

Operational Review

“We are very excited to become 
part of the international, publicly 
quoted biotech sector, which is a 
key driver in the generation of new 
pharmaceutical treatments for 
unmet medical needs.”

“Traumakine® has been granted 
Orphan Drug Designation in Europe 
which allows a period of 10 years 
of market exclusivity following 
marketing approval by the EMA.”

10

2015  has  been  a  transformational  year 
for  Faron  which  saw  the  Company  join-
ing AIM in November 2015 and achieving 
a number of scientific and development 
milestones.  Faron’s  business  growth 
prospects continue as outlined in the IPO 
Admission Document in November 2015. 
We  are  very  excited  to  become  part  of 
the international, publicly quoted biotech 
sector, which is a key driver in the gener-
ation of new pharmaceutical treatments 
for unmet medical needs.

The  main  reason  for  the  IPO  was  to 
help us execute the further development 
of  our  exciting  pipeline  projects,  Trau-
makine®  and  Clevegen®.  The  pre-IPO 
round in May 2015 allowed us to initiate 
preparation  for  the  pivotal,  pan-Euro-
pean  Phase  III  INTEREST  trial  for  Trau-
makine® and the proceeds from the IPO 
round enabled full execution of all the re-
quired  agreements  to  open  study  sites. 
We can now fully utilise the €6.0 million 
EU  grant  to  support  this  final  step  of 
Traumakine® development in Europe.

Traumakine® Development

Faron’s  lead  drug  Traumakine®  is  cur-
rently  in  Phase  III  development  for  the 
treatment of Acute Respiratory Distress 
Syndrome  (“ARDS”).  ARDS  is  a  severe, 
life-threatening  medical  condition  char-
acterised  by  widespread  capillary  leak-
age and inflammation in the lungs, most 
often  as  a  result  of  sepsis,  pneumonia 
or  significant  trauma.  Currently  there 
are  no  pharmacological  treatments  for 
ARDS,  an  orphan  disease  with  a  high,  
30   to  45%  mortality  rate.  Traumakine® 
has been granted Orphan Drug Designa-
tion in Europe which allows a period of 
10 years of market exclusivity following 
marketing approval by the EMA.

In December 2015, the first patient was 
recruited  into  the  Traumakine®  pan-Eu-
ropean  Phase  III  INTEREST  trial.  The 
recruitment of the first patient, so soon 
after  the  Company’s  recent  IPO  is  con-
sistent  with  the  anticipated  timeline  of 
12  to  18  months  required  to  complete 
recruitment  for  the  pivotal  Phase  III 
trial  for  Traumakine®.  The  Phase  III  IN-
TEREST  trial  is  being  led  by  Professor 
Geoff Bellingan from University College 
London  Hospital  and  Professor  Marco 
Ranieri  from  the  University  of  Rome. 
Subject to the completion of successful 
Phase  III  INTEREST  trial  and  achieve-
ment  of  regulatory  approvals,  Trauma-
kine® could be the first effective, mech-
disease-specific 
anistically-targeted, 
pharmacotherapy for ARDS patients.
To  date,  Faron  has  entered 

into 
agreements  with  two  pharmaceutical 
companies  to  carry  out  the  clinical  de-
velopment  and  commercialisation  of 
Traumakine®  in  Japan  and  the  Greater 
China  Area.  Faron  owns  the  IPR  and 
marketing  rights  in  respect  of  Trauma-
kine® in all other territories.

A&B  (HK)  Company  Limited  and 
CMS  Pharma  Co.  Ltd  –  In  May  2015, 
Faron  entered  into  a  licence  and  asset 
transfer  agreement  with  A&B  (HK)  for 
the  commercialisation  of  Traumakine® 
in the Greater China Area. It is intended 
that  A&B  (HK)’s  commercialisation  ac-
tivities  of  Traumakine®  will  be  conduct-
ed  by  a  member  of  the  CMS  Group,  a 
rapidly  growing  pharmaceutical  group 
listed  on  the  Hong  Kong  Stock  Ex-
change. Alongside this agreement, A&B 
(HK) provided equity funding of €5.1 mil-
lion in aggregate. CMS Pharma Co. Ltd 
owns  the  right  to  import,  register,  mar-
ket,  distribute,  promote  and  sell  Trau-
makine® in the Greater China Area.

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015Maruishi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd – In 
2011 Faron licensed to Maruishi, a Jap-
anese  pharmaceutical  company,  the 
rights  to  develop  and  commercialise 
Traumakine® in Japan. In January 2016, 
Faron announced that Maruishi had ob-
tained positive results from the Phase II 
Japanese study for Traumakine®. Based 
on  these  results  Maruishi  is  now  plan-
ning a pivotal clinical trial to be conduct-
ed in Japan.

Clevegen® Development

One of Faron’s key areas of focus is to  
develop  a  cancer  treatment  that  sup-
ports  the  hosts’ 
immune  defences 
against tumours, as these are often sup-
pressed in cancer patients. Faron’s sec-
ond  most  advanced  drug  development 
project,  Clevegen®, 
revolves  around  
Clever-1, a cell surface molecule involved  
in cancer growth and spread. The active 
pharmaceutical ingredient of Clevegen® 
is a humanised anti- Clever-1  antibody.

In  June  2015,  Faron  entered  into  a 
collaboration agreement with the Turku 
PET Centre, one of the largest positron 
emission  tomography  centres  in  Eu-
rope, for the development of Clevegen®. 
The PET project will assist Faron in opti-
mising the use of Clevegen® for cancer 
treatment,  as  well  as  guide  diagnosis, 
pre-clinical  and  clinical  development 
and  measure  potentially  novel  clinical 
end points to demonstrate efficacy.

In November 2015, the Journal of Im-
munology,  the  highly  ranked  journal  of 
the  American  Association  of  Immunol-
ogy, published data on Clever-1 function 
related to Faron’s novel cancer immuno-
therapy antibody Clevegen®.

Following  this,  in  December  2015, 
Faron was granted €1.5 million funding 

from Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency 
for  Innovation,  to  progress  the  pre-clini-
cal development of Clevegen®. The fund-
ing is a government loan (“Loan”), which 
covers 50% of the budgeted cost of the 
pre-clinical development of Clevegen®.

Future Outlook

”Subject to the completion of 
successful Phase III INTEREST 
trial and achievement of regulatory 
approvals, Traumakine® could be 
the first effective, mechanistically-
targeted, disease-specific 
pharmacotherapy for ARDS 
patients.”

The  key  aim  for  Faron  in  2016  is  the 
completion  of  the  Phase  III  INTEREST 
trial  recruitment.  We  anticipate  that  all 
55  sites  will  be  open  in  April  2016  and 
the  observed  recruitment 
is  already 
higher than the anticipated 0.5 patients/
site/month.  We  therefore  reiterate  that 
the  INTEREST  trial  results  should  be 
available in H2 2017. We also expect our 
contracted,  scientific  collaborators  to 
generate  exciting  new  data  on  Clever-1 
function in tumour immune suppression.

Markku Jalkanen – CEO

11

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015strategi c report

Financial Review

Key Performance Indicator

Taxation

The  Company’s  tax  credit  for  the  fiscal 
year  2015  can  be  recorded  only  after 
the  Finnish  tax  authorities  have  ap-
proved  the  tax  report  and  confirmed 
the amount of tax-deductible losses for 
2015.  The  total  amount  of  cumulative 
tax losses carried forward approved by 
tax  authorities  on  31  December  2015 
was  €5.7  million  (2014:  €3.2  million). 
These losses can be utilised during the 
years  2019  to  2024  by  offsetting  them 
against  profits.  In  addition,  Faron  has 
€2.8  million  research  and  development 
costs  incurred  in  the  financial  years 
2010  and  2011  that  have  not  yet  been 
deducted  in  its  taxation.  This  amount 
can be deducted over an indefinite peri-
od at the Company’s discretion.

Net cash inflow from financing activities 
increased by €17.3 million to €18.1 mil-
lion for the year due to the receipt of net 
proceeds of €18.1 million from an equity 
placings  completed  in  May-June  2015 
and the IPO in November 2015.

Financial Position

As at 31 December 2015, total cash and 
cash  equivalents  held  were  €11.1  mil-
lion (2014: €0.2 million).

Headcount

Average headcount of the Company for 
the  year  was  6  (2014:  5). The  increase 
in headcount is attributable to the com-
mencement  of  the  Phase  III  INTEREST 
trial.

Losses

Shares and Share Capital

Loss before income tax was €6.2 million 
(2014: €1.4 million). Net loss for the year 
was  €6.2  million  (2014:  €1.4  million), 
representing  a  loss  of  €0.30  per  share 
(2014: €0.09 per share) (adjusted for the 
changes in share capital).

Cash Flows

The  Company  had  a  net  cash  inflow  of 
€10.8  million  for  the  year  ended  31  De-
cember  2015,  compared  to  a  net  cash 
inflow  of  €0.2  million  for  the  previous 
year.  Cash  used  by  operating  activities 
increased by €6.8 million to €7.1 million 
for the year, compared to €0.4 million for 
the year ended 31 December 2014. This 
was  driven  by  an  increase  in  research 
and  development  investments,  as  well 
as an overall increase in general and ad-
ministration costs.

increased 

On  24  February  2015,  the  number  of 
Ordinary  Shares  was 
to 
1,623,791 by the issue of 78,166 new Or-
dinary Shares at a subscription price of 
€14.40. The  shares  were  issued  due  to  
conversion of the 2014 convertible loan, 
which  so  became  fully  converted.  The 
subscription price was credited in full to 
the  Company’s  reserve  for  invested  un-
restricted  equity,  and  the  share  capital 
of the Company was not increased. The 
conversion did not have a cash effect in 
2015;

On 19 May 2015, the number of Ordi-
nary Shares was increased to 1,843,356 
by  the  issue  of  219,565  new  Ordinary 
Shares at a subscription price of €15.41. 
The subscription price was credited in full 
to  the  Company’s  reserve  for  invested 
unrestricted equity, and the share capital 
of the Company was not increased;

Faron  is  a  late  clinical  stage  drug  de-
velopment  company  with  no  recurring 
sales  and  thus  the  primary  Key  Perfor-
mance Indicators (KPI) followed by the 
Board focus on cash balances and other 
related  information.  During  2015,  the 
Company  generated  €10.8  million  free 
cash flow mainly due to the successful 
fundraising. The Board will consider the 
appropriateness of monitoring addition-
al  KPIs  as  the  Company’s  operations 
advance.

Revenue and Other Operating 
Income

The  Company’s  revenue  was  €0.5  mil-
lion  for  the  year  ended  31  December 
2015  (2014:  €0.9  million),  which  com-
prised of milestone income from license 
partner  Maruishi  and  sale  of  excess 
API  (Active  Pharmaceutical  Ingredient) 
material.  The  Company  also  recorded 
€0.7million (2014: €0.1 million) of other 
operational  income.  This  comprised  of 
income  recognised  from  the  European 
Commission FP7 grant in support of the 
Traumakine®  programme.  There  were 
no  new  sources  of  other  operating  in-
come during the year.

Share-based Compensation

As part of the IPO process, a number of 
options were awarded to Directors and 
key personnel. This had no cash impact 
on  the  results  for  the  year,  however  ac-
counting  standards  require  this  share 
based  compensation  to  be  recognised 
in  the  Consolidated  Statement  of  Com-
prehensive Income, resulting in a charge 
of €0.5 million (2014: €0.0 million).

12

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015On 9 June 2015, the number of Ordinary 
Shares was increased to 1,926,555 Ordi-
nary Shares by the issue of 83,199 new 
Ordinary  Shares  at  a  subscription  price 
of  €20.03.  The  subscription  price  was 
credited in full to the Company’s reserve 
for  invested  unrestricted  equity,  and  the 
share  capital  of  the  Company  was  not 
increased;

By  resolution  of  the  Extraordinary 
General  Meeting  held  on  15  September 
2015,  the  number  of  Ordinary  Shares 
was  increased  to  19,265,550  by  the  is-
sue  of  17,338,995  new  Ordinary  Shares 
to the Shareholders without payment in 
proportion to their holdings so that nine 
Ordinary Shares were issued for each ex-
isting Ordinary Share (the “Share Split”);

By resolution of a Board Meeting held 
on  16  September  2015,  the  Company 
issued 151,400 warrants (each warrant 
representing  an  entitlement  to  sub-
scribe  for  one  Ordinary  Share)  to  Whit-
man  Howard  (which  were  subscribed 
on  16  September  2015).  The  warrants 
are divided into two tranches: in the first 
tranche,  109,800  warrants  with  a  sub-
scription  price  of  €1.55  (“A  Warrants”), 
and  in  the  second  tranche,  41,600  war-
rants with a subscription price of €2.01 
(“B Warrants”). Any “A” Warrants shall be 
exercised during the subscription period 
commencing on 2 November 2015 and 
ending on 7 May 2018. Any “B” Warrants 
shall  be  exercised  during  the  subscrip-
tion period commencing on 2 November 
2015 and ending on 28 May 2018;

By  resolution  of  the  Extraordinary 
General  Meeting  held  on  15  September 
2015,  the  Company  adopted  the  2015 
Share  Option  Plan  and  granted  the  Op-
tions detailed in Directors´ Remuneration 
Report set out in the Annual Report and 
Accounts.

By  resolution  of  a  Board  Meeting  held 
on  11  November  2015,  the  Company 
resolved  to  issue  (i)  2,417,113  Ordinary 
Shares  without  payment  into  treasury, 
in  order  for  such  Ordinary  Shares  to  be 
transferred  to  Placees  pursuant  to  the 
Placing  on  a  delivery  versus  payment 
basis on Admission, (ii) 44,044 Ordinary 
Shares  and  VCT  shares  and  EIS  shares 
pursuant to the placing, and (iii) 1,384,997 
Ordinary  Shares  as  subscription  shares 
pursuant to the subscription.

Pre-IPO Financing

In May – June 2015 the Company raised 
a  total  of  €5,049,972  issuing  a  total  of 
302,764  new  shares  to  A&B  (HK)  Com-
pany  Limited  in  two  separate  tranches 
with  an  average  subscription  price  of 
€16.68 . After the Share Split the number 
of shares increased to 3,027,640 and the 
average  subscription  price  was  €1.67. 
A&B is a Hong Kong company, which is 
related to CMS by virtue of both having a 
common controlling shareholder.

IPO

The  Company  was  admitted  to  trading 
on  AIM  in  November  2015  alongside 
the  issue  of  3,846,154  new  shares  with 
a  subscription  price  of  260  pence,  or 
€1.83,  per  share  raising  £10,000,000,  or 
€14,210,967.  A  total  of  16  investors  par-
ticipated in the IPO of which 12 were new 
investors  in  the  Company.  The  majority 
of  the  funds  raised  and  the  new  inves-
tors were from the UK. At 31 December 
2015, the Company had issued a total of 
23,111,704  shares.  All  shares  are  ordi-
nary shares with equal rights.

Money Raised to Date

To  date,  the  Company  has  been  funded 
with  a  total  of  approximately  €32.8  mil-
lion, made up of a combination of equity, 
debt and grant funding, which has been 
used to develop the Company’s products 
and  intellectual  property.  The  Company 
has also generated revenues of €3.3 mil-
lion  to  date  through  the  receipt  of  mile-
stone payments pursuant to certain of its 
licensing  arrangements  and  the  sale  of 
surplus raw materials.

Yrjö E K Wichmann – CFO

13

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015strategi c report

Principal Risks and Uncertainties

Faron is a late clinical stage biopharmaceutical 
company and, in common with other companies 
operating in this field, is subject to a number of risks 
and uncertainties. The principal risks and uncertainties 
identified by Faron for the year ended 31 December 
2015 are below.

Research and Development

Faron’s  lead  drug  candidate  is  in  clini-
cal  stage  of  development  and  may  not 
be  successful  in  the  clinical  trials  and 
thus Faron may not be able to develop 
approved or marketable products. Tech-
nical  risk  is  also  present  at  each  stage 
of  the  discovery  and  development  pro-
cess  of  other,  earlier  stage  products 
with challenges in biology (including the 
ability to produce candidate drugs with 
appropriate safety, efficacy and usability 
characteristics).  Additionally,  drug  de-
velopment is a highly regulated environ-
ment which itself presents technical risk 
through the need for study designs and 
data to be accepted by regulatory agen-
cies. Furthermore, there can be no guar-
antee that the Company will be able to, 
or  that  it  will  be  commercially  advanta-
geous for the Company to, monetise the 
value of its intellectual property through 
entering  into  licensing  deals  with  phar-
maceutical companies.

Commercial

industry,  being  biotechnolo-
Faron’s 
gy  and  pharmaceutical  industries,  are 
very  competitive.  The  Company’s  com-
include  major  multinational 
petitors 

pharmaceutical  companies,  biotech-
nology  companies  and  research  insti-
tutions.  Many  of  its  competitors  have 
substantially  greater  financial,  techni-
cal and other resources, such as larger 
research  and  development  staff.  The 
Company’s competitors may succeed in 
developing,  acquiring  or  licensing  drug 
product candidates that are more effec-
tive or less costly than any product can-
didate  which  the  Company  is  currently 
developing  or  may  develop,  which  may 
have  a  material  adverse  impact  on  the 
Company.

Dependence on Key 
Personnel and Scientific and 
Clinical Collaborators

The  Company’s  success  is  highly  de-
pendent on the expertise and experience 
of  the  Directors  and  the  key  Manage-
ment. Whilst the Company has entered 
into employment and other agreements 
with  each  of  these  key  personnel,  the 
retention  of  such  personnel  cannot  be 
guaranteed. Should key personnel leave 
or  no  longer  be  party  to  agreements 
or  collaborations  with  the  Company, 
the  Company’s  business  prospects,  fi-
nancial  condition  and/or  results  of  op-
erations  may  be  materially  adversely 

14

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015affected. To develop new products and 
commercialise  its  current  pipeline  of 
products, the Company relies, in part, on 
the  recruitment  of  appropriately  quali-
fied personnel, including personnel with 
a  high  level  of  scientific  and  technical 
expertise. There is currently a shortage 
of  such  personnel  in  the  pharmaceuti-
cal industry, meaning that the Company 
is  likely  to  face  significant  competition 
in  recruitment.  The  Company  may  be 
un able  to  find  a  sufficient  number  of 
appropriately  highly-trained  individuals 
to  satisfy  its  growth  rate  which  could 
affect its ability to develop as planned.

Regulatory Environment

The Company operates in a highly regu-
lated environment. Whilst the Company 
will take every effort to ensure that the 
Company and its partners comply with 
all  applicable  regulations  and  reporting 
requirements,  there  can  be  no  guaran-
tee  of  this.  Failure  to  comply  with  ap-
plicable  regulations  could  result  in  the 
Company  being  unable  to  successfully 
commercialise  its  products  and/or  re-
sult  in  legal  action  being  taken  against 
the Company, which could have a mate-
rial adverse effect on the Company.

The  Company  will  need  to  obtain 
various  regulatory  approvals  (including 
from  the  FDA  and  the  EMA)  and  com-
ply with extensive regulations regarding 
safety,  quality  and  efficacy  standards 
in  order  to  market  its  products.  While 
efforts  have  been  and  will  be  made  to 
ensure  compliance  with  governmen-
tal  standards  and  regulations,  there  is 
no  guarantee  that  any  product  will  be 
able  to  achieve  the  necessary  regula-
tory approvals to promote that product 

in any of the targeted markets and any 
such  regulatory  approval  may  include 
significant  restrictions  for  which  the 
Company’s  products  can  be  used.  In 
addition, the Company may be required 
to  incur  significant  costs  in  obtaining 
or  maintaining  its  regulatory  approvals. 
Delays or failure in obtaining regulatory 
approval for products would likely have 
a serious adverse effect on the value of 
the  Company  and  have  a  consequent 
impact on its financial performance.

Intellectual Property and 
Proprietary Technology

The  Company  relies  and  will  rely  on  in-
tellectual  property  laws  and  third  party 
non-disclosure  agreements  to  protect 
its  patents  and  other  proprietary  rights. 
The  IPR  on  which  the  Company’s  busi-
ness is based is a combination of patent 
applications  and  confidential  business 
know-how.  No  assurance  can  be  given 
that  any  currently  pending  patent  appli-
cations or any future patent applications 
will  result  in  patents  being  granted.  In 
addition, there can be no guarantee that 
the  patents  will  be  granted  on  a  time-
ly  basis,  that  the  scope  of  any  patent 
protection  will  exclude  competitors  or 
provide  competitive  advantages  to  the 
Company,  that  any  of  the  Company’s 
patents will be held valid if challenged, or 
that third parties will not claim rights in, 
or  ownership  of,  the  patents  and  other 
proprietary rights held by the Company.
Despite  precautions  taken  by  the 
Company  to  protect  its  products,  unau-
thorised  third  parties  may  attempt  to 
copy,  or  obtain  and  use  the  Company’s 
IPR and other technology that is incorpo-
rated into its pharmaceutical products. In 

15

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015addition,  alternative  technological  solu-
tions similar to the Company’s products 
may become available to competitors or 
prospective competitors of the Company. 
It  should  be  noted  that  once  granted,  a 
patent  could  be  challenged  both  in  the 
relevant patent office and in the courts by 
third parties. Third parties can bring ma-
terial  and  arguments,  which  the  patent 
office granting the patent may not have 
seen  at  the  time  of  granting  the  patent. 
Therefore,  whilst  a  patent  may  be  grant-
ed to the Company it could in the future 
be found by a court of law or by the pat-
ent office to be invalid or unenforceable 
or  in  need  of  further  restriction.  Should 
the  Company  be  required  to  assert  its 
IPR,  including  any  patents,  against  third 
parties  it  is  likely  to  use  a  significant 
amount  of  the  Company’s  resources  as 
patent  litigation  can  be  both  costly  and 
time  consuming.  No  assurance  can  be 
given  that  the  Company  will  be  in  a  po-
sition  to  devote  sufficient  resources  to 
pursue such litigation. Any unfavourable 
outcomes  in  respect  of  patent  litigation 
could limit the Company’s IPR and activi-
ties moving forward.

The  Directors  do  not  believe  that 
its  lead  pharmaceutical  drug  candi-
dates,  future  drug  candidates  in  de-
velopment, and proprietary processes 
for  generating  those  candidate  com-
pounds  infringe  the  IPR  of  any  third 
parties  although  shareholders  should 
note the risk factor headed “US Patent 
owned  by  Biogen”  in  the  Admission 
Document  dated  18  November  2015. 
However, it  is  impossible  to  be aware 
of  all  third  party  intellectual  property. 
The  Company’s  research  has  includ-
ed  searching  and  reviewing  certain 
publicly available resources which are 
examined  by  senior  levels  of  manage-
ment in order to keep abreast of devel-
opments in the field.

16

Financial

The  Company  has  incurred  significant 
losses since its inception and does not 
have  any  approved  or  revenue-generat-
ing products. The Company expects to 
incur  losses  for  the  foreseeable  future, 
and  there  is  no  certainty  that  the  busi-
ness will generate a profit. The Compa-
ny  may  not  be  able  to  raise  additional 
funds  that  will  be  needed  to  support 
its  product  development  programmes 
or  commercialisation  efforts,  and  any 
additional  funds  that  are  raised  could 
cause dilution to existing investors.

Operational

The  Company’s  development  and  pros-
pects depend to a significant degree on 
the  experience,  performance  and  con-
tinued service of its senior management 
team  including  the  Directors. The  Com-
pany  has  invested  in  its  management 
team  at  all  levels.  The  Directors  also 
believe  that  the  senior  management 
team is appropriately structured for the 
Company’s  size  and  is  not  overly  de-
pendent  upon  any  particular  individual. 
The  company  has  entered  into  contrac-
tual  arrangements  with  these  individu-
als  with  the  aim  of  securing  the  servic-
es of each of them. Retention of these 
services or the identification of suitable 
replacements, however, cannot be guar-
anteed. The loss of the services of any 
of the Directors or other members of the 
senior management team and the costs 
of  recruiting  replacements  may  have  a 
material adverse effect on the Company 
and  its  commercial  and  financial  per-
formance  and  reduce  the  value  of  an 
investment in the Ordinary Shares.

This  report  was  approved  by  the 
Board on 9 March 2016 and signed on 
its behalf.

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015ANNUAL REPORT 2015

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTD

PIPEL INE

Revolutionising the Treatment 
of ARDS and Activation of 
Tumour Immunity

Traumakine® is Faron’s spearhead project

Research

Pre-clinical

Phase I/II

Phase III

Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS)

Rupture of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm 
(RAAA)

Single organ injury

Clevegen®

Research

Pre-clinical

Phase I/II

Phase III

Anti-CD20 resistant lymphomas

TAM-positive Hodgkin’s lymphomas

Farbetic

D-ARDS

Faron has identified 
several molecular 
mechanisms involved in 
the control of endothelial 
functions as a source of 
innovation. The Company 
currently has a pipeline 
focusing on acute 
organ traumas, cancer 
immunotherapy and 
vascular damage.

The  fast  evolving  Faron  pipeline  con-
sists  of  drug  candidates  (FP-1201-lyo 
and  FP-1305)  from  two  major  Faron 
programmes – Traumakine® and Cleve-
gen®,  respectively.  The  lead  indication 
of the Traumakine® programme is Acute 
Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). 
This and the other indications (Rupture 
of  Abdominal  Aortic  Aneurysm  RAAA) 
are  all  based  on  the  same  Chemistry 
and  Manufacturing  Controls  (CMC) 
dossier sections, allowing fast protocol 
adjusted filing for indication expansion. 
Similarly,  Clevegen®  indications  utilise 
one  common  dossier  with  a  protocol 
adapted to each indication.

17

Faron´s lead candidate Traumakine® addresses the 
treatment of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome 
ARDS, a severe, orphan lung disease. Currently there 
is no pharmaceutical treatment for this condition with 
a reported mortality rate of 30 to 45%. The scientific 
rationale for Traumakine® treatment is based on the use 
of interferon-beta for the restoration of the endothelial 
barrier function in ARDS patients.

18

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015PIPELINE: TRAUMAKINE ®

Acute Respiratory Distress 
Syndrome ARDS

ARDS is a life-threatening medical condi-
tion characterised by widespread inflam-
mation  in  the  lungs  and  sudden  failure 
of the respiratory system. ARDS causes 
inflammation  of  the  alveoli  in  the  lungs 
which  become  unable  to  perform  the 
normal  oxygenation  of  blood.  It  is  char-
acterised  by  rapid  breathing,  difficulty 
getting enough air into the lungs and low 
blood  oxygen  levels.  Common  causes 
of  ARDS  are  sepsis,  pneumonia,  aspira-
tion of fumes, food or stomach contents 
going into the lung or significant trauma. 
The condition was first described in 1967 
and  gained  wide  attention  during  the 
Vietnam  War  when  it  was  nicknamed 
“white lung” as X-rays presented the lungs 
of the patients as white.

ARDS  is  the  leading  cause  of  res-
piratory  failure  in  intensive  care  unit 
patients  requiring  mechanical  ventila-
tion.  Despite  progress  in  critical  care 
medicine  ARDS  is  currently  associated 
with  a  mortality  rate  of  30  to  45%  de-
pending on the severity of the condition. 
Although ARDS mortality has decreased 
in the last decade due to improvements 
in supportive care and in the treatment 
of  the  underlying  conditions,  it  still  re-
mains high.

Currently,  patients  suffering  from 
ARDS  are  generally 
treated  with 
lung-protective  mechanical  ventilation. 
This  treatment  is  accompanied  by  an-
cillary  support  such  as  positioning,  flu-
id  management,  and  food  restrictions. 
Extra  corporeal  support  may  also  be 
provided  depending  on  the  severity  of 
the condition. Complications which can 
also arise whilst a patient is being treat-
ed for ARDS include the development of 

infections, pneumothorax, lung scarring 
and blood clots which can develop into 
a  pulmonary  embolism.  Patients  who 
recover  from  ARDS  may  suffer  other 
consequences  of  ARDS  after  being  dis-
charged from the intensive care unit. A 
recovering  patient’s  quality  of  life  may 
be  adversely  affected  by  permanent 
damage  to  the  lungs,  respiratory  prob-
lems, scar tissue, muscle weakness and 
depression,  all  of  which  can  have  an 
adverse  effect  on  the  patient’s  quality 
of life.

Treating ARDS

Supply  of  oxygen  and  nutrients  to  indi-
vidual cells of various organs are main-
tained by vasculature and especially by 
the  long  and  thin  blood  vessels  called 
capillaries.  Their  integrity  is  sustained 
by  endothelial  cells  covering  the  inner 
surfaces  of  these  vessels  and  by  form-
ing  a  barrier  between  circulation  and 
tissues.  The  breakdown  of  this  barrier 
results in leakage of blood content to tis-
sues.  If  this  happens  in  lungs,  the  lung 
air  space  is  filled  with  protein-rich  fluid 
and  blood  cells  preventing  the  normal 
gas exchange.

The  key  molecule  to  maintain  en-
dothelial  barrier  and  lung  function  is 
CD73, an endothelial ectoenzyme, which 
can  produce  local  adenosine. Traumak-
ine’s  active  pharmaceutical  ingredient, 
interferon-beta  increases  CD73  expres-
sion  resulting  in  increased  local  adeno-
sine. Subsequently high local adenosine 
levels  reduce  capillary  leakage  and  in-
crease lung function by allowing normal 
gas exchange to return.

”ARDS is the leading cause of 
respiratory failure in intensive care 
unit patients requiring mechanical 
ventilation.”

ARDS

•  A severe, life-threatening 
medical condition, most 
often as a result of sepsis, 
pneumonia or significant 
trauma

•  Orphan lung disease with no 

available drug treatment

•  The leading cause of respira-
tory failure in intensive care 
unit patients who require 
mechanical ventilation

•  Annual ARDS incidence in 

Europe is 170,000 and in the 
US nearly 200,000 patients

•  High mortality rate of 30 

to 45% and survivors suffer 
long-term mental and physi-
cal problems

19

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015Capillary

Capillary

CO2

Alveolus

O2

Protein-rich fluid

Red blood
cells

Alveolus
Normal

CO2

O2

CO2

O2

Red blood

cells

Capillary
leakage

Leucocyte

AMP

Leucocyte

ARDS lung

Interferon β

Widely  used  X-ray  pictures  can 
Adenosine
reveal  lungs  filled  with  blood 
CD73
material. This shows up as white 
expression
dense material in lung air space 
and  for  this  reason  the  lungs  of 
these  patients  are  often  called 
“white  lungs”.  Typically  this  pic-
ture confirms that the patient has 
a condition called Acute Respira-
tory  Distress  Syndrome  (ARDS) 
and has a life-threatening disease.

Capillary

Capillary

CO2

Alveolus

O2

Protein-rich fluid

Red blood
cells

Alveolus
Normal

CO2

O2

CO2

O2

Red blood
cells

Capillary

leakage

Leucocyte

AMP

Adenosine

Interferon β

CD73
expression

Leucocyte

20

Normal lung

Normally  functioning 
lung  X-ray 
shows  no  “white”  material,  indi-
cating that lung air space is free of 
blood  material,  in  contrast  to  the 
ARDS lungs above. Long term expo-
sure to a respiratory syndrome like 
ARDS,  can  also  cause  permanent 
loss of lung capacity due to a fibrot-
ic process that replaces lung alveoli 
with  scar  tissue. This  serious  side 
effect  of  ARDS  results  in  perma-
nently reduced respiratory capacity.

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015Traumakine® Clinical 
Programme

Ongoing Phase III INTEREST 
Study

The  clinical  programme  of  Faron´s  lead 
candidate  Traumakine®  addresses  the 
treatment  of  Acute  Respiratory  Distress 
Syndrome  ARDS.  The  scientific  rationale 
for Traumakine® treatment is based on the 
use of interferon beta for the restoration of 
the endothelial barrier function in ARDS pa-
tients. Traumakine® (FP-1201-lyo) is based 
on  a  patent-protected  use  of  interferon 
beta to prevent leakage of vascular beds in 
acute lung injuries. The active pharmaceu-
tical ingredient in Traumakine® is recombi-
nant human IFN beta-1a. Traumakine® has 
commenced a pan-European Phase III trial 
in  respect  of  the  treatment  of  ARDS.  The 
first  patient  in  the  ”INTEREST”  study  was 
enrolled in December 2015.

The  first  clinical  trial  in  the  Traumak-
ine® programme was a phase I/II open-la-
bel study to assess the safety, tolerability 
and preliminary efficacy of interferon beta 
in  the  treatment  of  patients  with  ARDS. 
This  study  consisted  of  dose  escalation 
(Phase  I)  and  dose  expansion  (Phase  II) 
phases. In the dose escalation phase, four 
interferon  beta  levels  were  tested.  The 
dose  expansion  phase  was  conducted 
using the optimal tolerated dose.

the 

treatment 

A total of 37 ARDS patients were treat-
ed at nine hospitals in the UK with highly 
encouraging results. Interferon beta was 
found  to  be  safe  and  well  tolerated  in 
ARDS patients and the optimal tolerated 
dose was established. The selected phar-
macodynamic marker for interferon beta 
bioactivity  showed  clear  dose  response 
and 
target  molecule 
(CD73)  levels  were  induced  during  the 
dosing period. Most importantly, interfer-
on  beta  treatment  significantly  reduced 
the all-cause mortality at day 28, the pri-
mary end point of the study, compared to 
the control cohort1. Traumakine® was as-
sociated with an 81% reduction in odds 
of  28-day  mortality.  Comparable  results 
were obtained from Traumakine® Phase 
II Japanese study conducted by Faron´s 
Japanese 
licensing  partner  Maruishi 
Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. in Japan, as an-
nounced in January 2016.

The  presently  ongoing,  clinical  trial  is 
a  Phase  III  double-blind,  randomised, 
parallel-group  comparison  of  efficacy 
and  safety  of  interferon  beta  and  pla-
cebo  in  the  treatment  of  patients  with 
moderate  to  severe  ARDS.  The  study 
named INTEREST is to be conducted in 
55 hospitals in Belgium, Finland, France, 
Germany,  Italy,  Spain  and  UK  and  300 
ARDS  patients  in  total  will  be  recruited. 
INTEREST has received €6 million fund-
ing  from  the  European  Union  Seventh 
Framework Programme (FP7).

Mechanism of Action

The  mechanism  behind  Traumakine’s 
action was invented by scientists at Tur-
ku University during the period 1995 to 
2003.  Through  extensive  research  and 
ex-vivo  studies,  it  was  identified  that  a 
molecule  called  CD73  is  an  essential 
entity  needed  to  maintain  the  endothe-
lial  barrier  function.  CD73  is  an  ectoen-
zyme  capable  of  breaking  down  extra-
cellular  AMP  to  produce  locally  active 
adenosine.  Adenosine  maintains  the 
endothelial  barrier  and  downregulates 
inflammation  escalation,  preventing 
both early vascular leakage and escala-
tion of inflammation, which are the two 
early patho-physiological events leading 
to Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome 
(ARDS).

One  of  the  key  findings  that  led  to 
the development of Traumakine®, was a 
discovery  that  interferon  beta  could  en-
hance  CD73  expression  and  therefore 
could be used to treat a range of vascu-
lar  leakage  conditions  including  ARDS. 
Traumakine®  works  by  enhancing  lung 
CD73  expression  and  increasing  pro-
duction of anti-inflammatory adenosine 
such  that  vascular  leaking  and  escala-
tion of inflammation are reduced.

Recombinant  human  IFN  beta-1a  is 
an approved treatment for patients with 
relapsing remitting MS and the safety pro-
file of recombinant human IFN beta-1a in 
such patients is well characterised.

”Traumakine® (FP-1201-lyo) is 
based on a patent-protected 
use of interferon beta to prevent 
leakage of vascular beds in acute 
lung injuries.”

1 Bellingan et al. (2014). The effect of 

intravenous interferon-beta-1a 
(FP-1201) on lung CD73 expression 
and on acute respiratory distress 
syndrome mortality: an open-label 
study. The Lancet Respiratory 
Medicine 2014: 2: 98-107.

21

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015The INTEREST Study (protocol FPCLI002) 
is a Phase III clinical study to investigate 
efficacy  and  safety  of  FP-1201-lyo  (re-
combinant human interferon beta-1a) in 
patients  with  moderate  or  severe  Acute 
Respiratory  Distress  Syndrome  (ARDS). 
This  study  is  planned  according  to  our 
earlier  results  from  the  UK  clinical  trial, 
which demonstrated a significant reduc-
tion  in  mortality  of  ARDS  patients  and 
has  been  published  in  the  Lancet  Res-
piratory Medicine (Bellingan et al., 2014). 
In  the  double-blinded  and  randomised 
INTEREST  Study  pivotal  effectiveness 
and  safety  of  FP-1201-lyo  is  compared 
to  placebo.  Both  treatment  groups  also 
receive standard supportive care.

The  primary  objective  of  the  INTER-
EST Study is to demonstrate the efficacy 
of FP-1201-lyo in improving the clinical 
course and outcome based on survival 
and  need  for  mechanical  ventilation  in 
patients with moderate or severe ARDS. 
Other study objectives are to assess the 
safety and efficacy of FP-1201-lyo com-
pared  to  placebo,  in  regard  to  e.g.  mor-
tality,  organ  failure,  need  for  mechani-
cal  ventilation  and  vasoactive  support, 
length of the stay in ICU and hospital as 
well as quality of life and pharmacoeco-
nomic parameters.

55 Intensive Care Units in 
Seven European Countries

Totally about 55 hospitals in seven coun-
tries  within  the  European  Union  –  Bel-
gium,  Finland,  France,  Germany,  Italy, 
Spain, UK – participate in the INTEREST 
Study. A total of 300 adult patients with 
moderate or severe ARDS will be enrolled 
(in average six patients per hospital).

Faron Pharmaceuticals runs the study 
in  collaboration  with  external  research 
INTEREST  has  re-
service  providers. 
ceived funding from the European Union 
Seventh  Framework  Programme  (FP7) 
under the Traumakine® project name.

First Patient Enrolled in 
December 2015

The  first  approvals  from  competent  au-
thorities  and  favourable  opinions  from  in-
dependent ethics committees to conduct 
the study were obtained during the end of 
2015. The first patient was enrolled in De-
cember 2015. The majority of the hospital 
sites are ready to start the study during the 
first quarter of 2016. The enrolment period 
is estimated to last 12–18 months.

The patients enrolled in the study are 
screened from patients who have been 

PIPELINE: TRAUMAKINE ®

The 
INTEREST 
Study

22

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015admitted  to  intensive  care  units  (ICU) 
at the participating hospitals. To further 
ensure  appropriate  patient  enrolment 
into  the  study  across  all  hospitals  the 
study  design  incorporates  an  eligibility 
process  via  the  electronic  data  cap-
ture  system,  involving  an  indepen dent 
medical  monitor.  After  all  screening 
procedures have successfully been per-
formed and eligibility for inclusion in the 
study  has  been  confirmed  the  patient 
can be randomised into the study.

Following 

randomisation, 

the  pa-
tients will be treated daily with FP-1201-
lyo 10 μg or placebo for 6 days and will 
undergo daily assessments while in the 
ICU  for  a  maximum  of  28  days.  The 
patients are followed up at 3, 6 and 12 
months after enrolment. Information on 
the  need  for  ventilator  support  as  well 
as for hospital and ICU care is collected 
during  this  follow-up  period.  Other  col-
lected data include e.g. respiratory and 
neurological functions and quality of life.
The  main  analysis  and  clinical  study 
report will be written on the data from the 
6  months  long-term  follow-up.  The  data 
from  the  extended  follow-up  period  from 
6–12  months  will  be  reported  separately 
in an addendum to the clinical study report.

INTEREST Study

•  Pivotal Phase III trial for 

Traumakine® in development 
for the treatment of Acute 
Respiratory Distress Syn-
drome ARDS

•  Conducted in 55 ICUs 

(Intensive Care Units) in 
seven European countries

•  300 adult patients with mod-
erate to severe ARDS will be 
enrolled in the study

•  First patient enrolled in 

December 2015

•  The enrolment period is esti-
mated to last 12–18 months

•  Subject to the study results 
and achievement of regula-
tory approvals Traumakine® 
could be the first effective, 
disease-specific pharmaco-
therapy for patients suffering 
from ARDS

Safety Monitoring

An  Independent  Data  Monitoring  Com-
mittee has been established in order to 
monitor safety in this study. This safety 
review  committee  will  periodically  con-
duct an independent unblinded review of 
safety data generated during the study.

The study also has an esteemed Steer-
ing  Committee  that  provides  expert  scien-
tific  and  clinical  guidance  to  the  clinically 
practical  study  design  and  conduct.  The 
rights, safety and well-being of the patients 
are the basis for all considerations.

More details on the study can be found 
on  www.clinicaltrialsregister.eu  (reference 
EudraCT No. 2014-005260-15) and clinical-
trials.gov (reference NCT02622724).

The  mode  of  action  of  FP-1201-lyo  is 
described on the video found at Faron web 
pages (www.faronpharmaceuticals.com).

23

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015One of Faron’s key areas of focus is to develop a cancer 
treatment to support the hosts’ immune defences 
against tumours, as these are often suppressed in 
cancer patients. Our second most advanced drug 
development project, Clevegen®, revolves around 
Clever-1, a cell surface molecule involved in cancer 
growth and spread. The active pharmaceutical ingredient 
of Clevegen® is a humanised anti-Clever-1 antibody.

24

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015PIPELI NE: CL EVEG EN ®

Mechanism of Action

Lymphocyte

Cancer cell

TAM (Tumour 
associated 
macrophages)

Vascular 
endothelium

Vascular 
endothelium

Clevegen

Lymphocytes/

local immunity

Cancer cell

apoptosis

Clever-1

TAM

Clever-1

All  tumours  are  infiltrated  by  immune 
cells,  for  example  macrophages,  neu-
trophils,  T cells,  dendritic  cells,  mast 
cells,  myeloid  derived  suppressor  cells 
and  natural  killer  cells.  Depending  on 
the  immune  cells  stimulated  and  acti-
vated, they can either have a protective 
effect for the host through suppression 
of  tumour  growth  or  deleterious  effect 
by  promoting  tumour  growth,  invasion, 
metastasis  and  angiogenesis.  Tumour 
associated  macrophages  (TAMs)  have 
emerged as an essential constituent of 
the tumour environment, with influence 
over  many  aspects  of  cancer  (prolifera-
tion and survival) as well as interaction 
with  surrounding  elements  (angiogen-
esis,  escape  from  antitumour  specific 

immunity).  When  TAMs  populate  a 
tumour,  one  of  the  very  significant  in-
fluences  they  exert  over  it,  is  a  strong 
increase  in  immune  suppression.  Cle-
ver-1-positive  TAMs  represent  one  ma-
jor  macrophage  population  involved  in 
the elimination of host immune activity 
against  the  tumour  cells.  Clevegen®  is 
an anti-Clever-1 antibody which targets 
and  eliminates  Clever-1-positive  TAMs 
from cancer patients.

Clevegen®  has  two  significant  ways 
to intervene in the TAM’s role in tumour 
growth  and  spread:  prevent  TAM  infil-
tration into a tumour and block TAM-to-
Tumour  cell  interaction  responsible  for 
TAM  transformation  into  tumour  sup-
portive cell types.

“Clever-1-positive TAMs represent 
one major macrophage population 
involved in the elimination of 
host immune activity against the 
tumour cells.”

”Clevegen® has two significant 
ways to intervene in the TAM role 
in tumour growth and spread: 
prevent TAM infiltration into a 
tumour and block TAM-to-Tumour 
cell interaction responsible for 
TAM transformation into tumour 
supportive cell types.”

25

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015Lymphocyte

Clevegen

Cancer cell

Cancer
cell

TAM

Blocking interaction between cancer cell 
and TAM.

Lymphocyte

Lymphocytes/
local immunity

Cancer cell
apoptosis

Clever-1

TAM (Tumor 
associated 
macrophages)

Clever-1

Clevegen

Vascular 
endothelium

Cancer cell

TAM

Clevegen

Clever-1

Cancer
cell

TAM

Vascular 
endothelium

Clevegen-1 mode of action
Blocking TAM Infiltration into 
Preventing leucocyte migration... Blocking 
adhesion receptor.
a Tumour

Blocking interaction between cancer cell 
Blocking TAM – Tumour Cell 
and TAM.
Interaction

TAM

TAM (Tumor 
associated 
macrophages)

Tumour  endothelial  cells  are  Clever-1 
positive and when anti-Clever-1 antibod-
ies bind to the Clever-1 receptor, the in-
filtration of TAMs is prevented. Through 
blocking  the  infiltration  of  TAMs  into 
the tumour, the ability of the tumour to 
suppress  the  hosts’  immune  system  is 
reduced.

Vascular 
endothelium

Clever-1

Lymphocyte

Cancer cell

Clever-1

TAM (Tumour 
associated 
macrophages)

”In some tumours up to 50% of the 
tumour mass may contain TAMs 
and the only way to eliminate this 
Vascular 
dominance is remove them from 
endothelium
tumours.”

Vascular 
endothelium

Clevegen

Clever-1

Clevegen-1

Clevegen® prevents tumour cells – TAM 
interactions  as  shown  on  the  picture. 
Through  this  action,  the  anti-Clever-1 
antibody  prevents  further  transforma-
tion of Clever-1 positive TAMs to tumour 
supportive phenotype.

Clevegen

TAM

Clevegen-1 mode of action
Preventing leucocyte migration... Blocking 
adhesion receptor.

Clevegen-1

Lymphocytes/
local immunity

Cancer cell
apoptosis

Clever-1

TAM

References:

Karikoski et al. (2014) Clever-1/Stabilin-1 
controls cancer growth and metastasis. 
Clin. Cancer Res. 2014: 20: 6452-64.

Palani et al. (2016). Monocyte Stabilin-1 
suppresses the activation of Th1 
lymphocytes. Journal of Immunology 2016: 
196: 115-123.

26

Change in Tumour Immunity

Anti-Clever-1  antibodies  change  the 
tumour  immunity  by  lowering  the  pres-
ence of tumour supportive TAMs in the 
tumour.  This  will  allow  other  immune 
cells  to  attack  tumour  cells  and  drive 

them  to  programmed  cell  death  (apop-
tosis).  In  some  tumours  up  to  50%  of 
the  tumour  mass  may  contain  TAMs 
and the only way to eliminate this dom-
inance is remove them from tumours. It 
is these TAM cells that are the main tar-
get of the Clevegen® programme.

Lymphocytes/

local immunity

Cancer cell

apoptosis

Clever-1

Vascular 

endothelium

TAM

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015ANNUAL REPORT 2015

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTD

Corporate 
Governance

The Board of Faron emphasises the importance of good 
corporate governance and is aware of their responsibility 
for overall corporate governance, and for supervising the 
general affairs and business of the Company.

Faron is not required to comply with the UK Corporate 
Governance Code by virtue of being an AIM quoted 
company. The Board does however seek to apply the 
QCA´s Corporate Governance Code for Small and 
Medium Sized Companies (as devised by the QCA in 
consultation with a number of significant institutional 
small company investors) to the extent appropriate and 
practical for a Company of its nature and size.

27

corp orate governance

Board of Directors

Dr Frank Armstrong
Non-Executive Chairman

Matti Manner
Non-Executive Vice- Chairman

Dr Armstrong has held Chief Executive roles with five biotech-
nology companies (both public and private) including Fulcrum 
Pharma PLC (AIM). He led Medical Science and Innovation at 
Merck Serono and was previously Executive Vice President of 
Product  Development  at  Bayer  and  Senior  Vice  President  of 
Medical  Research  and  Communications  at  Zeneca.  Dr  Arm-
strong  is  currently  the  Chairman  of  Xceleron  Inc.,  Summit 
Therapeutics (AIM and NASDAQ) and Redx Pharma (AIM) and 
a Non-Executive Director of Actino Pharma, Juniper Therapeu-
tics (NASDAQ) and Mereo Pharma.

Dr Armstrong is a physician and a Fellow of the Royal Col-
lege  of  Physicians  (Edinburgh).  He  is  also  a  member  of  the 
Scientific Advisory Board of Healthcare Royalty Partners. He 
was appointed as a Non-Executive Director of the Company in 
September 2015.

Mr  Matti  Manner  was  appointed  as  a  partner  of  Brander  & 
Manner  Attorneys  Ltd  in  1980  having  previously  sat  as  a 
judge at Turku Appeal Courts. He has significant  experience 
in  national  and  international  business  deals,  corporate  law 
and mergers and acquisitions having held a number of board 
memberships  throughout  his  career.  Mr  Manner  joined  the 
Board of the Company as Chairman in 2007 having previously 
been the Chairman of Faron Ventures Oy from 2002. He is cur-
rently Chairman of Turun Osuuskauppa and Ruissalo Founda-
tion and a member of the board of Marva Media Ltd, Satatuote 
Ltd, YH VS-Rakennuttajat Ltd and Kauppakeskus Mylly Ltd.

Mr Manner has experience of several trustee posts includ-
ing  the  Presidency  of  the  Finnish  Bar  (Lawyers)  Association 
during the period of 1998 to 2004. Mr Manner obtained a Mas-
ter of Laws from the University of Turku. He became an honor-
ary Chief Justice in Finland in 2013.

28

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015Dr Markku Jalkanen
Chief Executive Officer

Dr Juho Jalkanen
Non-Executive Director

Dr  Jalkanen  is  currently  a  consultant  in  vascular  surgery  at 
Turku University Hospital, having previously held positions as 
Resident in Surgery at the Hospital District of Southwest Fin-
land, General Hospitals of Raisio and Salo and at Turku Univer-
sity Hospital.

For the period of 2009 to 2012 Dr Jalkanen was a board member 
of Duodecim Medical Association on Southwest Finland and subse-
quently joined the Board of the Company in 2013.

Dr Jalkanen obtains degrees from both business and medicine. 
He has a Master’s degree in Economics and Business Administra-
tion  from  the Turku  School  of  Economics,  a  Medical  Doctor’s  de-
gree from the University of Turku and subsequently became a fully 
licensed  General  Practitioner.  At  the  moment  Dr  Jalkanen  is  con-
ducting his PhD on the molecular mechanisms of atherosclerosis. 
He has published six articles in various publications including the 
International Journal of Biotechnology and Circulation Research.

Dr Jalkanen has more than 25 years of experience within biomed-
ical  research,  biotech  development  and  the  biopharmaceutical 
industry. He was a founding member of the Company and is the 
Company´s CEO. In addition to his role as CEO of the Company, Dr 
Jalkanen is an advisor for the only active Finnish life sciences fund – 
Inveni Capital. Between 1996 and 2002, Dr Jalkanen was the found-
ing CEO and President of BioTie Therapies Corp which has since 
become the first publically traded Finnish biotech company to have 
listed on NASDAQ.

Dr  Jalkanen  has  published  over  130  peer  reviewed  scientific 

publications in various highly ranked international journals.

Dr  Jalkanen  has  held  several  board  memberships  for  both 

public and private companies. 

Dr Jalkanen obtained a Masters in Medical Biochemistry from 
the University of Kuopio and subsequently received a PhD in Med-
ical  Biochemistry  from  the  University  of Turku.  He  completed  a 
side-laudatur examination in Mol ecular Biology from the University 
of Turku and completed his post-doctoral training at Stanford Uni-
versity, California between 1983 and 1986. Dr Jalkanen obtained 
the position of docent in Biochemistry from University of Helsinki 
and the same qualification in Molecular and Cell Biology from the 
University  of Turku.  He  became  a  Professor  at  the  University  of 
Turku in 1992 as well as Head of Turku Centre for Biotechnology.

29

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015Dr Jonathan Knowles
Non-Executive Director

Dr Huaizheng Peng
Non-Executive Director

Dr  Peng  is  a  General  Manager  of  China  Medical  System 
Holdings,  a  specialty  pharmaceutical  company  listed  on  the 
Hong Kong Stock Exchange. He is in charge of international 
operations for the Company, including pharmaceutical asset 
acquisition/product  licensing-in/out,  international  business 
development,  outbound  investment  and  asset  management, 
among others.  Dr  Peng  served  as  an independent Non-Exec-
utive Director of China Medical System Holdings Ltd for three 
years, and the Company was admitted to trading on AIM (be-
tween 2007 and 2010).

Dr Peng was a partner of Northland Bancorp, a private equity firm. 
Before that, he worked as a head of life sciences and as a director of 
corporate finance at Seymour Pierce, a London-based investment 
bank and stockbroker. In addition, he was a Non-Executive Director 
of China Medstar, an AIM listed medical device company. Earlier in 
his career Dr Peng was a senior portfolio manager, specialising in 
global life science and Asian technology investment at Reabourne 
Technology Investment Management Limited.

Dr Peng received his Bachelor´s degree in medicine from Hunan 
Medical College (now Central South University Siangya School of 
Medicine) in Changsha, Hunan Province, China and subsequently 
he  obtained  a  Master´s  degree  in  medicine  from  Hunan  Medical 
College. Dr Peng was awarded his PhD in molecular pathology from 
University College London (UCL) Medical School and subsequently 
practiced as a clinical lecturer there. Dr Peng was appointed as a 
Non-Executive Director of the Company in September 2015.

Dr Jonathan Knowles has a career spanning over 40 years in 
the  biotech  industry.  Dr  Knowles  held  a  number  of  research 
and  teaching  positions  in  the  early  part  of  his  career  before 
founding the molecular biology group within the Biotechnical 
Laboratory, Helsinki in 1980.

Dr Jonathan Knowles is currently the Chairman of Adaptimmune 
Therapeutics PLC (NASDAQ) and Immunocore Ltd and serves on 
the boards of a number of biotech companies in Europe and the 
USA. He is a trustee of CRUK and Chairman of the Genomics Eng-
land Access committee. Jonathan Knowles is a visiting Professor 
at the University of Oxford, a Research Director at FIMM institute 
in University of Helsinki (20010-2014 FiDiPro Distinguished Profes-
sor), and Professor Emeritus at EPFL, Lausanne. He is a member of 
EMBO and a member of the Board of A*Star in Singapore.

Dr Knowles was appointed as the President of Global Research at 
F. Hoffman-La Roche Ltd and subsequently the President of Group 
Research. He was a member of the Genentech Board for 12 years 
and a member of the Chugai Board for seven years. He was also the 
Chairman of the Corporate Governance Committee of Genentech. 
Under his leadership, the company developed and implemented a 
strategy of highly effective therapies based on personalised health-
care. Dr Knowles retired from his position at F. Hoffman-La Roche 
Ltd at the end of 2009. Prior to joining Roche, Dr Knowles was the 
Head of the Glaxo Institute for Molecular Biology in Geneva and sub-
sequently the Research Director for Glaxo Wellcome Europe.

Dr Knowles was, for 5 years, the Chairman of the Hever Group 
and the Chairman of the Research Directors’ Group of EFPIA (Euro-
pean Federation of Pharmaceutical Industry Associations) and was 
the first Chairman of the Board of the Innovative Medicines Initia-
tive, a unique public-private partnership between 28 pharmaceutical 
companies  and  the  European  Commission  with  the  participation 
of over 200 academic institutions in Europe with a budget of more 
than 5 billion euros over ten years.

Dr Knowles obtained a Bachelor of Science in Biological Scien-
ces from the University of East Anglia, Norwich and subsequently 
received a PhD in Mitochondrial Genetics from the University of Ed-
inburgh. Dr Knowles was appointed as a Non-Executive Director of 
the Company in September 2015.

30

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015Leopoldo Zambeletti
Non-Executive Director

Yrjö E K Wichmann
Chief Financial Officer

During  a  19-year  career  as  an  investment  banker,  Mr  Zam-
beletti  led  the  European  Healthcare  Investment  team  at  JP 
Morgan for eight years before taking up the same position at 
Credit Suisse for a further five years. Since 2013 he has been 
an  independent  strategic  advisor  to  life  science  companies 
on merger and acquisitions, out-licencing deals and financing 
strategy. He is a Non-Executive Director at Advanced Acceler-
ator Applications, Qardio, Summit Therapeutics PLC (NASDAQ 
and AIM) and Nogra Pharma. Mr Zambeletti started his career 
at KPMG as an auditor.

Mr Zambeletti received a BA in Business from Bocconi University 
in Milan, Italy. He serves as a trustee to Barts and the London Charity, 
which helps to fund the hospitals of the Barts NHS Trust including 
St Bartholomew, the Royal London and the London Chest Hospitals. 
He is the founder of the cultural initiative 5×15 Italy. Mr Zambeletti 
was appointed as a Non-Executive Director of the Company in Sep-
tember 2015.

Mr  Wichmann  has  a  career  spanning  over  20  years  in  the  fi-
nancing and investment banking. He was appointed as a Chief 
Financial Officer of the Company in 2014. Prior to his appoint-
ment  at  the  Company,  Mr  Wichmann  has  held  a  number  of 
senior  positions  within  the  life  sciences  and  biotechnology 
sector,  most  recently  at  IP  Finland  Oy,  Biohit  Oyj  (NASDAQ 
OMX  Helsinki),  Capman  Oyj,  FibroGen  Europe  Oyj  (NASDAQ) 
and D. Carnegie & Co AB. Whilst carrying out these roles Mr 
Wichmann has participated in healthcare IPOs on the London, 
Stockholm  and  Helsinki  stock  exchanges  as  both  an  invest-
ment banker and as a member of the board.

Mr Wichmann is a member of the Investment Committee at Da-
sos Timberland Fund I and II and a member of the Innovation Board 
of Helsinki University, which advises the rector and the board of the 
university in research commercialisation. The Innovation Board also 
oversees the venture capital portfolio of Helsinki University Funds 
valued at approximately €30 million. Mr Wichmann is also a mem-
ber of the board of Bioretec Oy.

Mr Wichmann obtained a Masters in Economics from Helsinki 
University. He was appointed as an Executive Director of the Com-
pany in 2015.

31

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015corp orate governance

Directors’ Report

For the year ended 31 December 
2015.

Directors

The Directors of the Company were:

The Directors present their report 
together with the audited financial 
statements for the year ended 31 
December 2015.

Executive
Dr Markku Jalkanen, PhD, Chief Executive Officer 
Mr Yrjö E K Wichmann, MSc, Chief Financial Officer (Appointed 15 September 2015)

Non-Executive
Dr Frank M Armstrong, FRCPE, FFPM, Chairman (Appointed 15 September 2015)
Mr Matti Manner, LL.M., Vice-Chairman
Dr Risto Lammintausta, MD, PhD, Vice-Chairman (Resigned 15 September 2015)
Dr Juho Jalkanen, MD, MSc, Non-Executive Director 
Dr Jonathan Knowles, PhD, Non-Executive Director (Appointed 15 September 2015)
Dr Huaizheng Peng, MD, PhD, Non-Executive Director (Appointed 15 September 2015)
Mr Frans Wuite, MSc, Non-Executive Director (Resigned 15 September 2015)
Mr Leopoldo Zambeletti, BA, Non-Executive Director (Appointed 15 September 2015)

The Directors of the Company held the following beneficial interests in the shares 
and share options of Faron Pharmaceuticals Ltd on the date of this report:

Executive

Ordinary shares

Percentage held

Ordinary shares

Exercise prise, pence

Issued Share Capital

Share options

Markku Jalkanen¹

Juho Jalkanen²

Matti Manner

Yrjö Wichmann

Leopold Zambeletti

Frank Armstrong3

Jonathan Knowles

Huaizheng Peng

2 873 390

1 082 570

480 900

69 440

13 461

3 846

3 846

0

12.4%

4.7%

0.3%

0.3%

0.1%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

80 000

20 000

20 000

30 000

20 000

40 000

20 000

20 000

4 527 453

19.6%

250 000

260

260

260

260

260

260

260

260

1 of which, 1,794,890 are held by Markku Jalkanen directly, and 1,078,500 are held by Markku Jalkanen’s wife being Sirpa Jalkanen.
2  of which, 1,078,500 are held by Juho Jalkanen directly, and 4,070 are held by Juho Jalkanen´s family being Aaro Jalkanen, Enna 
Jalkanen and Heikki Jalkanen.
3 held by Frank Armstrong’s company Shore Capital.

For a more detailed description of the remuneration of the Directors, see page Directors´ Remuneration Report.
The Company maintained Directors’ and officers’ liability insurance cover throughout the year.

32

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015Principal risks and uncertainties

Research and development

For a discussion of the principal risks and uncertainties which 
face Faron please see page Risks and uncertainties.

Results and dividends

Details  of  Company’s  key  research  and  development  pro-
grammes can be found in the Strategic Report and the detailed 
programme sections. Further information is also available on 
the Company website, www.faronpharmaceuticals.com.

The  Statement  of  Comprehensive  Income  for  the  year  is  set 
out here.

Post balance sheet events

The Company’s loss for the financial year after taxation and 
other comprehensive losses was € 6.2 million (2014: €1.4 mil-
lion loss).

No  events  occurred  after  the  balance  sheet  date  that  would 
have  a  material  impact  on  the  result  or  financial  position  of 
the Company.

The Company has no distributable equity and thus the Direc-

tors do not recommend the payment of a dividend (2014: nil).

Financial information

The Company produces budgets and cash flow projections on 
an annual basis for approval by the Board. These are updated 
during the year to meet the changing needs of the business. 
Detailed  management  accounts  are  produced  on  a  monthly 
basis, with all significant variances investigated promptly. The 
management  accounts  are  reviewed  and  commented  on  by 
the Board at Board meetings and are reviewed and reported 
to the Directors on a monthly basis by the management team.

Financial Key Performance Indicators (‘KPIs’)

For a review of the Company’s KPIs please see Statement of 
Cash Flows.

Financial instruments and management of 
liquid resources

The Company’s principal financial instrument comprises cash, 
and this is used to finance Company’s operations. The Compa-
ny has also other financial instruments such as leasing facili-
ties that arise directly from its operations. The Company has 
a policy, which has been consistently followed, of not trading 
in financial instruments and to minimise currency exposure by 
actively matching currency expenses and income to the extent 
possible. The Company’s cash is held on bank accounts in rep-
utable banks in Finland and UK. The Group’s treasury policy is 
reviewed  annually.  See  Note  1.16  Financial  assets  and  Note 
2  Principles of financial risk management in the Notes to the 
Financial  Statements  for  IFRS  disclosure  regarding  financial 
instruments.

33

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015Substantial shareholdings

On 31 December 2015 the Company had been notified of the following holdings of more than 3% or more of the issued share 
capital of the Company.

Name

Number of shares

A&B (HK) Company Limited

Marko Salmi

Tom-Erik Lind

Aviva Investors Global Services Limited

Markku Jalkanen

Juho Jalkanen*

Sirpa Jalkanen

Maija-Leena Hollmén**

Katriina Peltola***

Timo Syrjälä****

3,408,409

3,389,570

2,552,523

2,305,769

1,794,890

1,082,570

1,078,500

1,078,500

1,078,500

924,676

%

14.75

14.67

11.04

9.98

7.77

4.68

4.67

4.67

4.67

4.00

* Held by Juho Jalkanen and connected parties.
** Held by Maija-Leena Hollmén and connected parties.
*** Held by Katriina Peltola and connected parties.
**** of which, 520,830 are held directly by Timo Syrjälä and 403,846 are held by Acme Investments SPF S.à.r.l., an entity which 
is wholly owned by Timo Syrjälä.

Annual General Meeting

Disclosure and information to auditors

The AGM will be held on 26 May 2016 and further details will 
be provided to Shareholders in advance of the meeting.

Each of the current Directors hereby confirms that:

Independent auditors

(a)  So far as he or she is aware, there is no relevant audit infor-

mation of which the auditors are unaware; and

PricewaterhouseCoopers have expressed their willingness to 
continue in office as auditors for the year. A resolution to reap-
point them will be proposed at the forthcoming AGM.

(b)  He or she has taken all reasonable steps to ascertain any 
relevant audit information and to ensure that the auditors 
are aware of such information.

On behalf of the Board
Frank M Armstrong
Chairman
9 March 2016

34

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015corpor ate gov erna nce

Corporate Governance Report

The Board

At  31  December  2015,  the  Board  com-
prised six Non-Executive Directors, and 
two Executive Directors.
The  composition  of  the  Board  of  Di-
rectors  as  well  as  Directors’  biogra-
phies are described on pages Board of 
Directors.

The  Board 

is  responsible  to  the 
Shareholders  for  the  proper  manage-
ment  of  the  Company  and  meets  regu-
larly to set the overall direction and strat-
egy of the Company, to review scientific, 
operational  and  financial  performance, 
and to advise on management appoint-
ments. The Board has also convened by 
telephone conference during the year to 
review the strategy and activities of the 
business.

All  key  operational  and  investment 
decisions are subject to Board approval.
The  roles  of  Chief  Executive  Officer 
and  Non-Executive  Chairman  are  well 
defined  and  clearly  separated.  The 
Chairman  oversees  the  Board´s  work, 
ensures  that  the  Board’s  decision-mak-
ing  is  balanced  and  that  the  Non-Exec-
utive  Directors  have  all  relevant  infor-
mation  on  matters  to  be  decided.  The 
Chief Executive Officer is responsible for 
implementing the strategy of the Board 
and  managing  the  day-to-day  business 

activities  of  the  Company.  The  man-
agement  of  the  Company  prepares  a 
monthly  management  and  financial  ac-
counts pack, which is distributed to the 
Board every month in advance of Board 
meetings.

The Board considers  there to be suf-
ficient  independence  on  the  Board  and 
that all the Non-Executive Directors are 
of  sufficient  competence  and  calibre 
to  add  strength  and  objectivity  to  the 
Board, and to bring considerable experi-
ence in terms of their knowledge of the 
scientific,  operational  and  financial  de-
velopment  of  biopharmaceutical  prod-
ucts  and  companies.  Where  necessary, 
the  Company  facilitates  that  Non-Exec-
utive Directors obtain specialist external 
advice  from  appropriate  advisers.  The 
term  of  office  of  each  Director  expires 
on  the  closing  of  the  AGM  immediate-
ly following his/her appointment to the 
Board.  Under  the  Finnish  Companies 
Act  and  the  Articles,  the  Directors  are 
elected  by  the  Shareholders  at  General 
Meetings  annually.  Under  the  Finnish 
Companies  Act,  Directors  may  be  re-
moved  from  office  at  any  time,  with  or 
without  cause,  by  a  majority  of  votes 
cast at a General Meeting. Vacancies on 
the Board may only be filled by a majori-
ty of Shareholder votes cast at a General 
Meeting.

35

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015Performance evaluation

Remuneration Committee

The Board has a process for evaluation 
of its own performance, that of its com-
mittees  and  individual  Directors,  includ-
ing the Chairman. These evaluations are 
carried out at least annually.

Board committees

In  conjunction  with  the  being  admitted 
to  trading  on  AIM,  the  Company  has 
established  audit,  nomination  and  re-
muneration  committees  of  the  Board 
with  formally  delegated  duties  and 
responsibilities.

The  Remuneration  Committee  com-
prises  Frank  Armstrong  as  Chairman 
together  with  Huaizheng  Peng  and 
Leopoldo  Zambeletti.  The  commit-
tee  is  responsible  for  the  review  and 
recommendation  of  the  scale  and 
structure  of  remuneration  for  senior 
management, 
including  any  bonus 
arrangements  or  the  award  of  share 
options  with  due  regard  to  the  inter-
ests  of  the  Shareholders  and  the  per-
formance of the Company. The Remu-
neration  Committee  did  not  hold  any 
meetings during 2015.

Attendance at Board meetings

During 2015 the Board held 15 meetings. The table below lists the Directors attend-
ance to the Board meetings during the year:

Period

Joined 
Board

Before EGM 
15 Sep 2015

After EGM 
15 Sep 2015

Executive Directors

Dr Markku Jalkanen

24.10.2006

11/11

Mr Yrjö E K Wichmann

15.09.2015

Non-Executive Directors

Dr Frank M Armstrong

15.09.2015

Mr Matti Manner

24.10.2006

Dr Juho Jalkanen

18.06.2013

Dr Jonathan Knowles

15.09.2015

11/11

11/11

Dr Risto Lammintausta

08.05.2009

10/11

Dr Huaizheng Peng

15.09.2015

Mr Frans Wuite

30.03.2011

9/11

Mr Leopoldo Zambeletti

15.09.2015

4/4

4/4

4/4

4/4

4/4

1/4

4/4

2/4

36

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015Audit Committee

The  Audit  Committee,  which  comprises 
Leopoldo Zambeletti as Chairman togeth-
er with Frank Armstrong and Huaizheng 
Peng,  meets  not  less  than  twice  a  year. 
The committee is responsible for making 
recommendations to the New Board on 
the appointment of auditors and the au-
dit fee and for ensuring that the financial 
performance of the Company is properly 
monitored and reported. In addition, the 
Audit Committee will receive and review 
reports  from  management  and  the  au-
ditors relating to the Interim Report, the 
Annual  Report  and  accounts  and  the  in-
ternal  control  systems  of  the  Company. 
The  Audit  Committee  did  not  hold  any 
meetings during 2015.

Nomination Committee

The  Nomination  Committee  comprises 
of  Matti  Manner  as  Chairman  together 
with  Frank  Armstrong  and  Jonathan 
Knowles.  The  Nomination  Committee 
monitors  the  size  and  composition  of 
the Board and the other Board commit-
tees  and  is  responsible  for  identifying 
suitable  candidates  for  Board  member-
ship.  The  Nomination  Committee  did 
not hold any meetings during 2015.

Risk management and 
internal control

The  Board  is  responsible  for  the  sys-
tems  of  internal  control  and  for  re-
viewing  their  effectiveness.  The  inter-
nal  controls  are  designed  to  manage 
rather  than  eliminate  risk  and  provide 
reasonable but not absolute assurance 
against  material  misstatement  or  loss. 
The  Board  reviews  the  effectiveness  of 
these  systems  annually  by  considering 
the  risks  potentially  affecting  the  Com-
pany.  The  Company  does  not  consider 
it  necessary  to  have  an  internal  audit 
function  due  to  the  small  size  of  the 
administrative  function.  Instead  there 

is  a  monthly  review  and  authorisation 
of  transactions  by  the  Chief  Financial 
Officer  and  Chief  Executive  Officer.  A 
comprehensive  budgeting  process  is 
completed once a year and is reviewed 
and approved by the Board. The Compa-
ny’s  results,  compared  with  the  budget, 
are reported to the Board on a monthly 
basis and discussed in detail.

The Company maintains appropriate 
insurance  cover  in  respect  of  actions 
taken  against  the  Directors  because  of 
their  roles,  as  well  as  against  material 
loss  or  claims  against  the  Company. 
The insured values and type of cover are 
comprehensively reviewed on a periodic 
basis.

Corporate Social Responsibility

The  Company  is  committed  to  main-
taining  and  promoting  high  standards 
of  business  integrity.  Company  values, 
which incorporate the principles of Cor-
porate  Social  Responsibilities  (CSR) 
and sustainability, guide the Company’s 
relationships  with  clients,  employees 
and  the  communities  and  environment 
in  which  we  operate.  The  Company’s 
approach  to  sustainability  addresses 
both  our  environmental  and  social  im-
pacts, supporting the Company’s vision 
to remain an employer of choice, while 
meeting  client  demands  for  socially  re-
sponsible partners.

The  Company  respects  laws  and 
customs  while supporting  international 
laws and regulations.

Relations with Shareholders

The Board recognises the importance of 
communication with its Shareholders to 
ensure that its strategy and performance 
is  understood  and  that  its  remains  ac-
countable  to  Shareholders.  Our  website, 
www.faronpharmaceuticals.com,   has 
a  section  dedicated  to  investor  matters 
and  provides  useful  information  for  the 
Company’s owners.

37

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015Compliance with the Principles of the QCA Code

The Principles of the QCA Code

1.  Setting out the vision and strategy

Comply/
Explain

Comply

Reference

Strategic Report

2.   Managing and communicating risk and implementing 

internal control

Comply

CGR (Risk Management and Internal 
Control), Risks and Uncertainties

3.   Articulating strategy through corporate communication and 

investor relations

Comply

CGR (Relations with Shareholders)

 4.   Meeting the needs and objectives of Shareholders

Comply

CGR (Relations with Shareholders)

5.   Meeting stakeholders and social responsibilities

Comply

GCR (Corporate Social Responsibility)

6.   Using cost-effective and value-added arrangements

Comply

Strategic Report

7.   Developing structures and processes

8.   Being responsible and accountable

9.   Having balance on the Board

Comply

Comply

Comply

Strategic Report

CGR (The Board)

CGR (The Board)

10.  Having appropriate skills and capabilities on the Board

Comply

CGR (The Board)

11.  Evaluating Board performance and development

Comply

CGR (Performance evaluation)

12.  Providing information and support

Comply

CGR (The Board)

CGR = Corporate Governance Report

38

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015corpor ate gov erna nce

Directors’ Remuneration Report

Audited Information 
Remuneration policy for Executive Directors

The Remuneration Committee sets the remuneration 
policy that aims to align Executive Director remuneration 
with Shareholders’ interests and attract and retain the 
best talent for the benefit of the Company.

The remuneration of the Executive Directors during the 
year 2015 is set out below.

For the year ended 31 December 
2015.

This report sets out Faron´s remu-
neration policy for the Executive 
and Non-Executive Directors. No 
Director is involved in discussions 
relating to their own remuneration.

Basic salary

Longer term incentives

Basic  salaries  are  reviewed  annually. 
The  review  process  is  managed  by  the 
Remuneration  Committee  with  refer-
ence  to  market  salary  data,  the  Execu-
tive’s  performance  and  contribution  to 
the Company during the year.

Bonuses

Annual  bonuses  are  based  on  achieve-
ment of Company’s strategic and finan-
cial  targets,  and  personal  performance 
objectives. The Non-Executive Directors 
believe that bonuses are an incentive to 
achieve the targets and objectives, and 
represent  an  important  element  of  the 
total  compensation  of  the  Executive 
Directors;  they  have  established  that 
the  annual  bonus  potential  will  be  up 
to  40%  for  the  Executive  Directors.  On 
9  Febuary  2016  the  Chief  Executive  Of-
ficer was awarded a bonus representing 
40% and the Chief Financial Officer was 
awarded  a  bonus  representing  30%  of 
his 2015 gross basic salary.

In order to further incentivise the Execu-
tive Directors and employees, and align 
their  interests  with  Shareholders,  the 
Extraordinary  General  Meeting  of  the 
Company approved a share option plan 
and granted share options to the mem-
bers of the Board under this option plan. 
Details of the option plan are in the table 
below.

Pension

Faron  has  a  law-defined  contribution 
plan under which Faron pays fixed con-
tributions  into  a  separate  entity.  The 
plan covers all the employees of Faron 
including the Executive Directors. Faron 
has no legal or constructive obligations 
to  pay  further  contributions  if  the  fund 
does not hold sufficient assets to pay all 
employees  the  benefits  relating  to  em-
ployee  service  in  the  current  and  prior 
periods.

39

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015Other benefits

Some  employees  have  the  possibility  to  take  a  company  car  allowance,  which  is 
part of their gross salary. All employees have a company mobile phone that consti-
tutes a company mobile phone allowance.

Executive Directors’ service contracts and termination provisions

The service contracts of Executive Directors are approved by the Board and are one-
year rolling contracts. The service contract may be terminated by either party giving 
six months’ notice to the other.

The details of the Directors’ contracts are summarised below:

Markku Jalkanen

Yrjö E K Wichmann

CEO

CFO

16.09.2015

16.09.2015

6 months1

6 months1

Date of contract

Notice period

1 The 6 months’ notice period starts after a fixed 12 months’ period from Admission, 
i.e. from 18 November 2016.

Non-Executive Directors’ service contracts and remuneration

The remuneration and compensation payable to the members of the Board including 
the Non-Executive Directors shall be approved by the Shareholders at the AGM. Any 
Non-Executive Director who, by request, goes or resides abroad for any purposes of 
the Company or who performs services which in the opinion of the Board goes beyond 
the ordinary duties of a Director may be paid extra remuneration or may receive such 
other  benefits  as  the  Remuneration  Committee  may  approve.  Non-Executive  Direc-
tors are entitled to be reimbursed in respect of their reasonably and properly incurred 
travelling, accommodation and incidental expenses for attending and returning from 
meetings of the Board, committee meetings or the General Meetings of Shareholders.
The  Non-Executive  Directors  do  not  receive  any  pension,  or  bonus  or  benefits 
from the Company. The contracts of the Non-Executive Directors, excluding remu-
neration and compensation, are reviewed by the Board annually.

Current contracts are summarised below:

Non-Executive Directors' Contracts

Contracts

Date of Contract

Frank M Armstrong

Matti Manner

Juho Jalkanen

Jonathan Knowles

Huaizheng Peng

Leopoldo Zambeletti

Chairman

Vice-Chairman

member

member

member

member

16.09.2015

16.09.2015

16.09.2015

16.09.2015

16.09.2015

16.09.2015

The appointments of Non-Executive Directors are terminable with immediate effect 
in accordance with the Articles of Association and pursuant to the Finnish Compa-
nies Act, through a resolution of Shareholders at a General Meeting on any grounds. 
The Non-Executive Directors may resign as a Director by delivering three months’ no-
tice to the Registered Office of the Company or through tendering such resignation 
at a meeting of the Board, after a fixed 6 months’ period from Admission.

40

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015Audited Information 
Directors’ remuneration

The Directors received the following remuneration during the year:

Executive

Markku Jalkanen

Yrjö E K Wichmann

Non-Executive

Frank M Armstrong1

Matti Manner

Juho Jalkanen

Jonathan Knowles1

Risto Lammintausta2

Huaizheng Peng1

Frans Wuite2

Leopoldo Zambeletti1

Salaries and fees

Bonus 2015

Taxable benefits

Total

150 300,00

63 512,00

12 720,00

226 532,00

126 666,00

38 202,00

674,00

165 542,00

21 400,00

25 709,90

22 123,18

10 260,27

11 862,90

10 260,27

10 862,90

11 726,03

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

21 400,00

25 709,90

22 123,18

10 260,27

11 862,90

10 260,27

10 862,90

11 726,03

401 171,46

101 714,00

13 394,00

516 279,46

1 Joined the Board on 15 September 2015
2 Resigned from the Board on 15 September 2015

Directors’ share options

remunerations  disclosed 
Aggregate 
above  do  not  include  any  amounts  for 
the value of options to acquire Ordinary 
Shares  in  the  Company  granted  to  or 
held by the Directors.

A  share  option  plan  was  adopted 
by  the  Company  at  the  Extraordinary 
General Meeting held on 15 September 
2015.  The  option  plan  allows  the  Com-
pany  to  offer  options  for  subscription 
free of charge to members of the Board, 
and  to  such  officers  and  employees  of 
the Company as the Board sees fit. Each 
option  will  entitle  the  holder  of  the  op-
tion to subscribe for one Ordinary Share.
Under  the  terms  of  the  option  plan, 
an  aggregate  maximum  number  of 
1,600,000  options  may  be  granted,  such 
aggregate being made up of a maximum 

of  400,000  “A”  options,  the  subscription 
period  for  which  ends  on  31  December 
2015 (such options exercisable between 
2  November  2015  and  30  September 
2021), a maximum of 400,000 “B” options 
to  be  subscribed  for  between  8  October 
2016  and  30  September  2019  (exercisa-
ble between 8 October 2016 and 30 Sep-
tember 2021), a maximum of 400,000 “C” 
options  to  be  subscribed  for  between  8 
October  2017  and  30  September  2019 
(exercisable between 8 October 2017 and 
30 September 2021), and a maximum of 
400,000 “D” options to be subscribed for 
between 8 October 2018 and 30 Septem-
ber 2019 (exercisable between 8 October 
2018 and 30 September 2021).

The  exercise  price 

for  Ordinary 
Shares  based  on  “A”  options  shall  be 
the euro equivalent to the Placing Price. 
The  exercise  price  for  Ordinary  Shares 

based  on  “B”,  “C”  and  “D”  options  shall 
be determined by the euro equivalent to 
the  average  share  price  of  the  publicly 
traded Ordinary Shares of the Company 
on AIM between 1 July and 30 Septem-
ber of 2016, 2017 and 2018 respectively.
The exercise price will be disclosed in 
euros based on the exchange reference 
rate published by the European Central 
Bank  on  the  last  day  of  the  period  for 
determination  of  the  subscription  price, 
and rounded to the nearest euro cent.

41

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015Details of these options are as follows:

Directors' share 
options1 

Date of 
grant of A 
options 

At 1 
Jan 
2015 

Granted 
during 
the 
period

Cancelled 
during 
the 
period

Markku Jalkanen

16.09.2015

Yrjö E K Wichmann

16.09.2015

Frank M 
Armstrong2

Matti Manner

Juho Jalkanen

16.09.2015

16.09.2015

16.09.2015

Jonathan Knowles2

16.09.2015

Risto 
Lammintausta3

Huaizheng Peng2

16.09.2015

Frans Wuite3

Leopoldo 
Zambeletti2

16.09.2015

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

80 000

30 000

40 000

20 000

20 000

20 000

20 000

20 000

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

At 31 
Dec 
2015 

80 000

30 000

Price 
per 
share 
(p)

260

260

Expiry date 

Date from 
which exer-
cisable 

02.11.2015

30.09.2021

02.11.2015

30.09.2021

40 000

260

02.11.2015

30.09.2021

260

260

260

02.11.2015

30.09.2021

02.11.2015

30.09.2021

02.11.2015

30.09.2021

20 000

20 000

20 000

0

20 000

260

02.11.2015

30.09.2021

0

20 000

260

02.11.2015

30.09.2021

1  Additionally, the Directors have the right to subscribe equal amounts of “B”, “C” and “D” Options (conditional on them 

continuing to remain in their respective Director roles at the time of commencement of the relevant subscription period).

2 Joined the Board on 15 September 2015
3 Resigned from the Board on 15 September 2015

Directors’ shareholdings

The Directors who served during the period, together with their beneficial interests in the shares of the Company, are as follows:

Executive

Markku Jalkanen1

Juho Jalkanen2

Matti Manner

Yrjö E K Wichmann

Leopoldo Zambeletti

Frank M Armstrong3

Jonathan Knowles

Huaizheng Peng

Issued Share Capital

Share options

Ordinary shares

Percentage held

Ordinary shares

Exercise price, pence

2 873 390

1 082 570

480 900

69 440

13 461

3 846

3 846

0

12,4%

4,7%

2,1%

0,3%

0,1%

0,0%

0,0%

0,0%

80 000

20 000

20 000

30 000

20 000

40 000

20 000

20 000

4 527 453

19,6%

250 000

260

260

260

260

260

260

260

260

1 of which, 1,794,890 are held by Markku Jalkanen directly, and 1,078,500 are held by Markku Jalkanen’s wife being Sirpa Jalkanen.
2  of which, 1,078,500 are held by Juho Jalkanen directly, and 4,070 are held by Juho Jalkanen´s family being Aaro Jalkanen, Enna 
Jalkanen and Heikki Jalkanen.
3 held by Frank Armstrong’s company Shore Capital.

42

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015 
 
 
 
 
corpor ate gov erna nce

Statement of Directors’ 
Responsibilities

Under  the  Finnish  Companies  Act  and 
the Finnish Accounting  Act the Compa-
ny must prepare an Annual Report and 
financial statements in accordance with 
applicable law and regulations.

The Board of Directors and the CEO 
are  responsible  for  the  preparation  of 
financial  statements  that  give  a  true 
and  fair  view  in  accordance  with  Inter-
national Financial Reporting Standards 
(IFRS) as adopted by the EU, as well as 
for  the  preparation  of  financial  state-
ments  and  the  report  of  the  Board  of 
Directors that give a true and fair view 
in  accordance  with  the  laws  and  regu-
lations governing the preparation of the 
financial  statements  and  the  report  of 
the  Board  of  Directors  in  Finland.  The 
Board  of  Directors  is  responsible  for 
the  appropriate  arrangement  of  the 
control of the Company’s accounts and 
finances,  and  the  CEO  shall  see  to  it 
that the accounts of the Company are 
in compliance with the law and that its 
financial affairs have been arranged in 
a reliable manner.

In  accordance  with  the  rules  of  the 
London Stock Exchange for companies 
trading  securities  on  the  AIM,  the  Com-
pany is also required to prepare annual 
accounts  and  financial  statements  un-
der IFRS.

In preparing these financial statements, 
the Board of Directors is required to:

Website publication

•   select suitable accounting policies and 

then apply them consistently;

•   make judgements and accounting esti-
mates that are reasonable and prudent;
•   state whether they have been prepared 
in  accordance  with  IFRSs  as  adopted 
by the European Union, subject to any 
material  departures  disclosed  and  ex-
plained in the financial statements;
•   prepare the financial statements on the 
going  concern  basis  unless  it  is  inap-
propriate  to  presume  that  the  Compa-
ny will continue in business.

The  Board  of  Directors  and  the  CEO 
are  responsible  for  keeping  adequate 
accounting  records  that  are  sufficient 
to  show  and  explain  the  Company’s 
transactions  and  disclose  with  reason-
able  accuracy  at  any  time  the  financial 
position  of  the  Company  and  enable 
them  to  ensure  that  the  financial  state-
ments  comply  with  the  requirements 
of  the  Finnish  Accounting  Act.  They 
are  also  responsible  for  safeguarding 
the  assets  of  the  Company  and  hence 
for  taking  reasonable  steps  for  the  pre-
vention and detection of fraud and other 
irregularities.

The  Directors  are  responsible  for  en-
suring  that  the  Annual  Report  and  the 
financial statements are made available 
on a website. Financial statements are 
published  on  the  Company’s  website 
in accordance with the AIM rule 26 and 
the recommendations of the QCA´s Cor-
porate Governance Code for Small and 
Medium Sized Companies.

On behalf of the Board
Frank M Armstrong
Chairman
9 March 2016

43

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015financial  statements

Statement of Comprehensive Income

Note 

Year ended 31 Dec 2015  
€’000

Year ended 31 Dec 2014 
€’000 

Stated in euro 

Revenue

Cost of sales

Gross profit

Other operating income

Administrative expenses

Research and development expenses

Operating result

Financial income

Financial expenses

Net financial costs

3; 4

5

6; 7

6; 7

2; 8

2; 8

Loss before income taxes

Income tax expense

9

Total comprehensive income for the financial 
year

Total comprehensive income, attributable to:

520

(25)

496

701

(3 061)

(3 971)

(5 835)

0

(311)

(311)

(6 146)

(42)

(6 188)

906

(425)

481

111

(349)

(1 471)

(1 228)

15

(146)

(130)

(1 358)

(6)

(1 364)

Equity holders of the Company

(6 188)

(1 364)

Loss per share attributable to equity holders of 
the Company

10

Basic and diluted loss per share, euro

(0,30)

(0,09)

44

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015financia l statem en ts

Balance Sheet

Stated in euro 

Assets 
Non-current assets

Property, plant and equipment

Intangible assets

Current assets

Inventories

Trade and other receivables

Cash and cash equivalents

11

11

12

13

14

Total assets

Equity and liabilities 
Capital and reserves attributable to equity holders of the Company

Share capital

Unregistered share capital

Reserve for invested non-restricted equity

Retained earnings

Total equity

Non-current liabilities

Interest-bearing financial liabilities

Current liabilities

Interest-bearing financial liabilities

Non-interest-bearing financial liabilities

Other current liabilities

Total liabilities

Total equity and liabilities

15; 16

17

18

18

18

Note 

Year ended 31 Dec 2015  
€’000

Year ended 31 Dec 2014 
€’000 

28

1 001

1 029

649

2 074

11 068

13 791

14 821

2 691

1 275

24 533

(16 046)

11 178

1 446

1 446

245

436

1 517

2 197

3 643

14 821

0

1 184

1 184

699

40

242

980

2 165

1 416

(1 364)

6 453

(10 332)

(1 188)

1 691

1 691

-

9

1 652

1 662

3 352

2 165

45

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015financial  statements

Statement of Cash Flows

Stated in euro 

Year ended 31 Dec 2015 
€’000

Year ended 31 Dec 2014 
€’000

(6 188)

(1 364)

Cash flow from operating activities

Loss(-) / profit(+) attributable to equity 
holders  of the Company

Adjustments for

Depreciation and amortisation

Financial items

Income taxes

Non-cash items (options granted)

Change in net working capital:

Trade and other receivables

Inventories

Trade and other current liabilities

Interest and other financial costs paid

Interest and other financial income received

Income taxes paid

Net cash used in/from operating activities  (A)

Cash flow from investment activities

Investments in machinery and equipment and intangible 
assets

Net cash from/used in investing activities (B)

262

298

42

474

(2 035)

50

278

(285)

0

(42)

(7 146)

(107)

(107)

Cash flow from financing activities

Proceeds from issue of share capital/issue, net

18 080

Proceeds from issue of convertible notes

Proceeds from current borrowings

Proceeds from non-current borrowings

Repayment of current borrowings

Net cash used in financing activities (C)

Net increase(+) / decrease (-) in cash and 
cash equivalents (A+B+C)

Cash and cash equivalents at 1 January

Cash and cash equivalents at 31 December

46

18 080

10 827

242

11 068

60

130

6

6

400

510

(146)

15

(6)

(389)

(152)

(152)

1 126

245

(588)

783

242

(0)

242

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015financia l statem en ts

Statement of Changes in Equity

Stated in euro 

Share 
capital 
€’000

Unregistered 
share capital 
€’000

Reserve for invested 
non-restricted equity
€’000

Retained 
earnings
€’000

Total equity
€’000 

Balance at 31 December 2012

1 296

5 328

(7 460)

(837)

Total comprehensive income for the 
financial year 2013

Transactions with equity holders of 
the Company, recognised directly in 
equity

Conversion of convertible debt

Issue of ordinary shares for cash

120

120

1 275

1 275

(1 515)

(1 515)

7

(1 508)

7

1395

(112)

Balance at 31 December 2013

1 416

1 275

5 328

(8 968)

(949)

Total comprehensive income for the 
financial year 2014

Transactions with equity holders of 
the Company, recognised directly in 
equity

(1 364)

(1 364)

Increase of share capital1

1 275

(1 275)

Conversion of convertible notes

1 275

(1 275)

1 126

1 126

1 126

Balance at 31 December 2014

2 691

6 453

(10 332)

(1 188)

Total comprehensive income 
for the financial year 2015

Transactions with equity holders of 
the Company, recognised directly in 
equity

Share base payment

Increase of share capital

Transaction costs on share capital 
issued

Conversion of convertible notes

(6 188)

(6 188)

19 261

(1 181)

474

474

19 261

(1 181)

18 080

(5 714)

12 366

Balance at 31 December 2015

2 691

24 533

(16 046)

11 178

For further information on the convertible notes and other equity transactions see Note 15 Equity and reserves.
1Unregistered increase in share capital at 31 December 2013.

47

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015 
 
 
financial  statements

Notes

NOTE 1
1. Summary of significant accounting policies

1.2 Basis of preparation

1.1 Corporate information

Faron  Pharmaceuticals  Ltd  (”Faron”  or  the  ”Company”)  is  a 
Finnish  limited  liability  company  organised  under  the  laws 
of  Finland  and  domiciled  in  Turku,  Finland.  The  Company’s 
registered  address  is  Joukahaisenkatu  6  B,  20520  Turku, 
Finland.

The  former  parent  company  of  Faron  Pharmaceuticals 
Ltd,  Faron  Ventures  Ltd,  merged  into  Faron  Pharmaceuti-
cals  Ltd  as  at  31  December  2013.  Faron  has  no  interests 
in  other  entities. The  shares  of  Faron  are  held  by  multiple 
Shareholders.

Faron is a privately owned clinical stage drug discovery and 
development company. Currently Faron has three major drug 
development projects focusing on:

• acute trauma
• inflammatory diseases; and
• cancer growth and spread.

Faron’s  lead  product  FP-1201,  also  known  as  Traumakine®, 
successfully  completed  a  Phase  I/II  trial  in  the  UK  to  treat 
vascular  leakage  in  ARDS1  patients,  and  has  subsequently 
commenced  a  pan-European  pivotal  Phase  III  study  (INTER-
EST) during 2015. INTEREST recruited its first patient in late 
December 2015. Faron has been granted orphan drug status 
for the treatment of ARDS with interferon-beta by the EU Com-
mission and European Medicines Agency (EMA) under the reg-
istration number EU/3/07/505. Faron has also been granted 
several patents in the USA, Europe and Japan, and has several 
pending applications in other territories for the use of interfer-
on-beta to treat various ischemic conditions.

The  Board  of  Directors  of  Faron  approved  the  publishing 
of these financial statements in its meeting on 9 March 2016. 
According  to  the  Finnish  Limited  Liability  Companies’  Act, 
Shareholders have the right to approve or reject the financial 
statements at the Annual General Meeting held after the publi-
cation of the financial statements.

The principal accounting policies applied in the preparation 

of these financial statements are set out below.

48

These  are  Faron’s  full  year  financial  statements  prepared  in 
accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards 
(IFRS)  as  adopted  by  the  European  Union  and  as  published 
by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and 
in  force  as  at  31  December  2015.  In  the  EU  IFRS  standards 
and their interpretations are adopted in accordance with the 
procedure laid down in regulation (EC) No 1606/2002 of the 
European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council.  Faron  has  consist-
ently  applied  these  policies  to  each  year  presented,  unless 
otherwise stated. The Company has not applied any standard, 
interpretation or amendment thereto before its effective date.
Faron’s  date  of  transition  to  IFRS  is  1  January  2012. The 
Company  has  applied  IFRS  1  First-time  Adoption  of  Interna-
tional Financial Reporting Standards in preparing these finan-
cial  statements.  Until  31  December  2011  Faron’s  separate  fi-
nancial statements were prepared in accordance with Finnish 
Accounting Standards (FAS).

The financial statements are prepared under the historical 
cost  convention,  except  as  disclosed  in  the  accounting  poli-
cies below.

The financial year of Faron is the calendar year ending 31 De-
cember. The figures in the financial statements are presented in 
thousands of euro unless otherwise stated. All figures present-
ed have been rounded, and consequently the sum of individual 
figures may deviate from the presented aggregate figure.

The  Company  has  not  had  any  other  comprehensive  in-

come in those years presented in these financial statements.

Faron’s financial statements are prepared on a going con-
cern basis. It is the intention of the Company to continue the 
development of the products to the point where they can be 
either  licensed  at  attractive  terms  to  internationally  active 
pharmaceutical  companies  who  have  the  means  to  further 
develop these products, or to develop the products in-house 
until receipt of marketing approval from the relevant regulato-
ry agencies is obtained. After such approval, Faron would pri-
marily seek to form partnerships with strong global, regional 
or  local  pharmaceutical  companies  that  have  the  necessary 
marketing and distribution capabilities and resources. In such 
partnerships, Faron will typically grant geographically limited 
licenses  for  products  in  exchange  for  contractually  agreed 
payments, license fees and royalties on future product sales. 
In  some  cases,  one  element  of  such  an  agreement  may  in-
clude a collaboration in which Faron will also receive funding 

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015for R&D services provided at a cost plus basis. In addition to 
its  normal  R&D  and  corporate  activities,  Faron  seeks,  as  a 
clinical  stage  drug  discovery  and  development  company,  to 
advance the development of its lead compounds through clin-
ical  trials.  The  Company  conducts  these  clinical  trials  either 
together  with  development  partners  or  by  itself,  however,  in 
both cases these activities require substantial funding. Faron 
primarily  relies  upon  financing  its  activities  through  equity  fi-
nancing, license agreements and public R&D loans and grants.
The preparation of financial statements under IFRS requires 
management  to  make  judgments,  estimates  and  assump-
tions  that  affect  the  reported  amounts  of  assets  and  liabili-
ties, and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the 
end of the reporting period as well as the reported amounts of 
income  and  expenses  during  the  reporting  period. These  es-
timates and assumptions are based on historical experience 
and other justified assumptions that are believed to be reason-
able under the circumstances at the end of the reporting pe-
riod and the time when they were made. Although these esti-
mates are based on management’s best knowledge of current 
events and actions, actual results may ultimately differ from 
those estimates. The estimates and underlying assumptions 
are reviewed on an ongoing basis and when preparing the fi-
nancial statements. Changes in accounting estimates may be 
necessary if there are changes in the circumstances on which 
the estimate was based, or as a result of new information or 
more experience. Such changes are recognised in the period 
in which the estimate is revised.

The key assumptions about the future and key sources of 
estimation uncertainty that have a significant risk of causing 
a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and 
liabilities within the next 12 months are described in more de-
tail in Note 1.20 below.

sales and milestone payments in accordance with the license 
agreements in place. Revenue is recognised when the amount 
of  revenue  can  be  measured  reliably;  when  it  is  probable 
that  the  future  economic  benefits  will  flow  to  the   Company;  
and  when  specific  criteria  have  been  met  for  each  of  the 
 Company’s  activities as described below.

1.4.1 Revenue from sales of goods

Revenue from the sale of goods is recognised when the signif-
icant risks, rewards and control usually associated with own-
ership of the goods have been transferred to the buyer. In the 
period 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2015 Faron has gener-
ated revenues from sales of excess inventory (interferon-beta).

1.4.2 Recognition of revenue from upfront payments

Upfront  license  fees,  including  signing  fees,  are  usually  re-
ceived when a license is granted. They are deferred and recog-
nised as revenue over the relevant contract period on a basis 
that is consistent with the services delivered over the relevant 
contract period.

1.4.3 Recognition of revenue from milestone payments

Revenue  associated  with  performance  milestones  is  recog-
nised based on achievement of the deliverables as defined in 
the  respective  agreements.  Refundable  milestone  payments 
are recorded as deferred income and recognised as revenue 
at the point of time when the underlying performance obliga-
tions have been fulfilled. Non-refundable milestone payments 
are recognised as revenue when:

•  the  customer  has  verifiably  accepted  that  the  milestone 

1.3 Foreign currency transactions and balances

has been reached;

The Company’s presentation and functional currency is euro. 
Foreign currency transactions are translated into the function-
al  currency  using  the  exchange  rates  prevailing  at  the  dates 
of the transactions or valuation where items are re-measured. 
Foreign exchange gains and losses resulting from the settle-
ment  of  such  transactions  and  from  the  translation  at  peri-
od-end  exchange  rates  of  monetary  assets  and  liabilities  de-
nominated in foreign currencies are recognised in the income 
statement within financial items.

•   Faron has no further performance obligations; and
•  there is a reasonable assurance that these receivables can 

and will be collected.

1.5 Other operating income

Other  operating  income  includes  income  from  activities  out-
side the ordinary business of Faron, such as recognition gov-
ernment  grants,  service  charge  income  and  gains  from  dis-
posals of non-current assets.

1.4 Revenue recognition

1.6 Research and development costs

Pharmaceutical  companies  collect  revenues  in  many  ways 
depending  on  the  stage  of  the  drug  development  process. 
The  Company’s  main  sources  of  revenue  have  been  upfront 
payments (one-off license payments), revenues from product 

All costs related to research activities are presented under the 
heading  research  and  development  expenses  in  the  income 
statement.  Research  and  development  expenses  include 
salaries and other expenditure directly attributable to Faron’s 

49

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015research  and  development  activities.  Furthermore,  costs  at-
tributable to supporting the research and development activ-
ities,  such  as  rental  expenses  for  facilities,  are  included.  Re-
search and development expenses are directly related to the 
development  phases  of  Faron’s  projects  and  may  therefore 
fluctuate strongly from year to year.

No  internal  development  expenses  related  to  Company’s 
products  and  product  candidates  have  yet  been  capitalised 
as  management  considers  that  the  uncertainties  inherent  in 
developing  pharmaceutical  products  prohibits  the  capitalisa-
tion  of  internal  development  expense  as  an  intangible  asset 
until marketing approval has been received from the relevant 
regulatory agencies.

Costs  incurred  on  internal  development  projects  are  re-
cognised as intangible assets as at the date that the internal 
development  project  meets  the  criteria  for  recognition.  See 
1.12.2 Intangible assets.

1.7 Employee benefits

Faron’s employee benefits currently consist of short-term em-
ployee benefits and post-employment benefits (defined contri-
bution pension plans).

Short-term employee benefits, i.e. salaries, social security 
contributions, paid annual leave and sick leave, bonuses and 
non-monetary  benefits,  are  accrued  in  the  year  in  which  the 
related  service  is  provided.  A  liability  is  recognised  for  the 
amount  expected  to  be  paid  if  Faron  has  a  present  legal  or 
constructive obligation to pay this amount as a result of past 
service  provided  by  the  employee  and  the  obligation  can  be 
estimated reliably.

A defined contribution plan is a pension plan under which 
Faron  pays  fixed  contributions  into  a  separate  entity.  Faron 
has no legal or constructive obligations to pay further contri-
butions if the fund does not hold sufficient assets to pay all 
employees  the  benefits  relating  to  employee  service  in  the 
current and prior periods. The contributions are recognised as 
employee benefit expense when they are due. Prepaid contri-
butions are recognised as an asset to the extent that a cash 
refund or a reduction in the future payments is available.

1.8 Share based payments

Share-based incentive programmes under which Board mem-
bers and Key employees have the option to purchase shares 
in the Company (equity-settled share-based payment arrange-
ments) are measured at the equity instrument’s fair value at 
the grant date.

The cost of equity-settled transactions is determined by the 
fair value at the date of grant using  the Black-Scholes valua-
tion model. The cost is recognised together with a correspond-
ing increase in equity over the vesting period being the period 

in which the performance and service conditions are fulfilled. 
The fair value determined at the grant date of the equity-set-
tled share-based payment is expensed on a straight line basis.
No expense is recognised for grants that do not ultimately 
vest. The assumptions and best estimates for calculating the 
fair value of share-based payment transactions are disclosed 
in the notes.

1.9 Operating result

IFRS allows the use of additional line items and subtotals in 
the income statement. Faron has defined its operating result 
to  be  a  relevant  subtotal  in  understanding  the  Company’s  fi-
nancial performance. Faron’s, operating result is the net sum 
which is formed by adding other operating income to revenue 
and  then  deducting  research  and  development  expenses  as 
well as administrative expenses. All other items of the income 
statement are presented below the operating result.

1.10 Loss per share

Basic loss per share is calculated by dividing the net loss at-
tributable  to  Shareholders  by  the  weighted  average  number 
of  ordinary  shares  in  issue  during  the  year,  excluding  ordi-
nary shares purchased by the Company and held as treasury 
shares.

Diluted loss per share is calculated by adjusting the weight-
ed average number of ordinary shares outstanding assuming 
conversion of all dilutive potential ordinary shares.

1.11 Income taxes

The  income  tax  expense  for  the  period  consists  of  current 
and  deferred  taxes.  Tax  is  recognised  in  the  income  state-
ment, except for the income tax effects of items recognised 
in other comprehensive income or directly in equity, which is 
similarly  recognised  in  other  comprehensive  income  or  equi-
ty. The current income tax charge is calculated on the basis 
of the tax rates and laws enacted or substantively enacted in 
the  countries  where  Faron  operates  and  generates  taxable 
income. Management establishes provisions where appropri-
ate  on  the  basis  of  amounts  expected  to  be  paid  to  the  tax 
authorities. Deferred tax is provided using the liability method 
on temporary differences arising between the tax bases of as-
sets and liabilities and their carrying amounts in the financial 
statements.  However,  deferred  tax  is  not  accounted  for  if  it 
arises from initial recognition of an asset or liability in a trans-
action other than a business combination that at the time of 
the  transaction  affects  neither  accounting  nor  taxable  profit 
nor loss. Faron’s major temporary differences arise from tax 
losses carried forward and research expenditure incurred not 
yet deducted for tax purposes.

50

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015Deferred  tax  liability  tax  is  generally  provided  for  in  full.  De-
ferred  tax  assets  are  recorded  up  to  the  amount  that  repre-
sents  probable  taxable  income  received  in  the  future  and 
against  which  temporary  differences  can  be  utilised.  The 
amount and probability of the utilisation of deferred tax assets 
are reviewed at the end of each reporting period.

Deferred  taxes  are  determined  using  tax  rates  (and  laws) 
enacted  or  substantively  enacted  by  the  balance  sheet  date 
in  the  respective  countries  and  are  expected  to  apply  when 
the  related  deferred  tax  asset  is  realised  or  the  deferred  tax 
liability is settled.

1.12 Equipment and intangible assets

1.12.1 Equipment

Currently  Faron  does  not  own  any  land  or  buildings.  Equip-
ment that Faron owns comprises of mainly office equipment 
and  personal  computers.  Equipment  is  stated  at  historical 
cost less depreciation and any impairment losses. Historical 
cost  includes  expenditure  that  is  directly  attributable  to  the 
acquisition of the items. Repairs and maintenance costs are 
expensed as incurred.

Depreciation is calculated using the straight-line method to 
allocate each item’s cost to its residual value over its estimat-
ed useful life.

The  depreciation  expense  is  included  in  the  costs  of  the 

functions using the asset.

1.12.2 Intangible assets

Faron’s intangible assets include patents and internally devel-
oped  intellectual  property  (“documentation-related  assets”). 
An intangible asset is recognised only if it is probable that the 
future economic benefits attributable to the asset will flow to 
Faron and the cost of the asset can be measured reliably. All 
other  expenditure  is  expensed  as  incurred.  These  intangible 
assets  are  initially  recognised  at  cost.  Cost  comprises  the 
purchase  price  and  all  costs  directly  attributable  to  bringing 
the asset ready for its intended use. Subsequently intangible 
assets are carried at cost less amortisation and any accumu-
lated impairment losses.

Internally generated intangible assets arising from develop-
ment are recognised if, and only if, all the criteria for recogni-
tion are fulfilled:

•  it is technically feasible to complete the intangible asset so 

that it will be available for use;

•  there is an ability to use or sell the intangible asset;
•  it can be demonstrated how the intangible asset will gener-

complete the development and to use or sell the intangible 
asset are available; and

•  the expenditure attributable to the intangible asset during 

its development can be reliably measured.

•  The internally developed documentation asset is related to 
the  re-development  of  the  Active  Pharmaceutical  Ingredi-
ent, API (“API documentation”) The development activities 
and documentation relate to stability testing of a drug sub-
stance  (API),  that  is  sellable  as  such,  but  the  quality  and 
value of which improves as the stability is proven and doc-
umented. In addition to its own use, Faron may also, for a 
fee, license the documentation to companies that can uti-
lise  documentation  in  their  own  drug  candidate  approval 
and registration documentation. Provision of such access 
does in no way limit Faron’s ability to use the documenta-
tion in its own application processes or ability to give such 
access to additional users.

Intangible assets are amortised over their expected or known 
useful lives on a straight-line basis beginning from the point 
they are available for use. The estimated useful life is the lower 
of the legal duration and the economic useful life. The estimat-
ed useful lives of intangible assets are regularly reviewed. The 
estimated useful life for intangible assets is currently 10 years. 
The effect of any adjustment to useful lives is recognised pro-
spectively  as  a  change  of  accounting  estimate.  Intellectual 
property-related costs for patents are part of the expenditure 
for the research and development projects.

The  assets’  residual  values  and  useful  lives  are  reviewed, 

and adjusted if appropriate, at the end of each financial year.

Internal  research  costs  are  those  costs  incurred  for  the 
purpose of gaining new scientific or technical knowledge and 
understanding. Such costs are always expensed as incurred. 
Internal  development  costs  are  those  costs  incurred  for  the 
application  of  research  findings  or  other  knowledge  to  plan 
and develop new products for commercial production. As the 
drug product development projects undertaken by Faron are 
subject  to  technical  feasibility,  regulatory  approval  and  other 
uncertainties, these criteria are considered to be met only after 
Faron has filed its submission to the regulatory authority for 
final approval after which all subsequent development costs 
will  be  capitalised.  Before  this  trigger  point  all  drug  product 
related development costs are typically expensed as incurred. 
Faron  has  not  capitalised  any  drug  product  related  develop-
ment expenditure as the related criteria have not been met yet. 
Development  costs  expensed  in  prior  financial  years  are  not 
capitalised at a later date.

1.13 Impairment of non-financial assets

ate probable future economic benefits;

•  adequate  technical,  financial  and  other  resources  to 

Assets  that  are  subject  to  depreciation/amortisation  are  re-
viewed  for  impairment  whenever  there  are  any  indications 

51

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015that  the  carrying  amount  may  not  be  recoverable.  As  a  clin-
ical  stage  drug  discovery  and  development  company  Faron 
pays attention to the following factors, among others: chang-
es in the legal framework covering patents, rights or licences, 
change in the useful lives of similar assets, relationship with 
other  intangible  or  tangible  assets  and,  other  factors  that  in-
dicate that the value of a tangible or an intangible asset has 
been impaired.

Intangible assets that have an indefinite useful life or intan-
gible assets not ready for use are not subject to amortisation 
and are tested for impairment annually or whenever events or 
changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount 
may not be recoverable.

An impairment loss is recognised for the amount by which 
the asset’s carrying amount exceeds its recoverable amount. 
The recoverable amount is the higher of an asset’s fair value 
less costs to sell and value in use. The value in use represents 
the discounted future net cash flows expected to be derived 
from  an  asset.  Any  reductions  are  reported  in  the  income 
statement as an impairment loss.

1.14 Government grants

Faron has received government grants from the EU (Commis-
sion’s FP7 programme).

Grants  from  governments  or  similar  organisations  to 
support  certain  projects  are  accounted  for  as  grants  relat-
ed  to  income. They  are  initially  recognised  at  their  fair  val-
ue. Those grants are deferred and recognised in the income 
statement  over  the  period  necessary  to  match  them  with 
the costs that they are intended to compensate, when man-
agement has reasonable assurance that the grant will be re-
ceived and Faron will comply with the conditions attached 
to that grant. Such grants are presented as other operating 
income.

Grants for the acquisition of equipment and intangible as-
sets would be deducted from the cost of the asset in question. 
So far Faron has not received any such grants.

If, at the balance sheet date, the conditions are believed to 
be  fulfilled  and  the  related  grant  payments  are  outstanding, 
grant receivables are shown in the balance sheet.

1.15 Inventories

research and development purposes to be processed into IMP 
(Investigational Medicinal Product). However, it also has alter-
native use, i.e. the ingredient is traded by other companies and 
consequently may be sold in the market. Faron has sold API 
over the reporting periods to pharmaceutical companies.

1.16 Financial assets

Faron’s financial assets consist principally of cash and cash 
equivalents.

The classification of a financial asset depends on the pur-
pose for which the financial asset was acquired. Management 
determines  the  classification  of  its  financial  assets  at  initial 
recognition.

Cash  and  cash  equivalents  are  recognised  at  cost.  They 
include cash in hand and bank balances if they are readily con-
vertible to known amounts of cash, are not subject to signif-
icant changes in value and have a maturity of three months 
or less from the date of acquisition. Any bank overdrafts are 
shown within borrowings in current financial liabilities.

Receivables are non-derivative financial assets with fixed or 
determinable payments that are not quoted in an active mar-
ket nor held by the Company for trading. Trade receivables and 
other financial receivables are included in this category. They 
are  included  in  current  assets,  except  for  maturities  greater 
than 12 months after the end of the reporting period.

Trade  receivables  are  amounts  due  from  customers  for 
signing  fees,  milestone  payments  or  services  performed 
(including  reimbursable  costs)  in  the  ordinary  course  of 
business.  Trade  receivables  are  carried  at  the  original  in-
voice  amount  less  allowances  made  for  doubtful  receiva-
bles,  discounts  and  rebates  and  similar  allowances,  when 
applicable.  Impairment  is  recognised  on  doubtful  receiva-
bles based on individual assessment of potential identified 
credit risk where there is objective evidence that Faron will 
not  be  able  to  collect  all  amounts  due.  Credit  losses  are 
recognised  in  the  income  statement  and  presented  under 
costs allocated to functions. Interest income is recognised 
using  the  effective  interest  method  and  recorded  in  finan-
cial income.

Financial  assets  are  derecognised  when  Faron  loses  the 
rights  to  receive  the  contractual  cash  flows  on  the  financial 
asset or it transfers substantially all the risks and rewards of 
ownership outside Faron.

Inventories are stated at the lower of cost and net realisable 
value.  Cost  is  determined  using  the  first-in,  first-out  (FIFO) 
method. The cost of finished goods comprises purchase price 
and other directly attributable costs. Net realisable value is the 
estimated selling price in the ordinary course of business, less 
applicable variable selling expenses.

Inventories consist of GMP2 manufactured drug ingredient 
API (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient), acquired primarily for 

1.17 Financial liabilities and equity

Faron classifies an instrument, or its component parts, on ini-
tial recognition as a financial liability or an equity instrument 
in accordance with the substance of the contractual arrange-
ment  and  the  definitions  of  a  financial  liability  and  an  equity 
instrument.

52

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 20151.17.1 Bank borrowings

Borrowings are initially recognised at fair value, less any direct-
ly attributable transaction costs. Subsequently borrowings are 
carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
Borrowings are presented as current liabilities unless Faron 
has an unconditional right to defer settlement of the liability 
for  at  least  12  months  after  the  end  of  the  reporting  period. 
Borrowings  (or  part  of  the  liability)  is  not  derecognised  until 
the  liability  has  ceased  to  exist,  that  is,  when  the  obligation 
identified in a contract has been fulfilled or cancelled or is no 
longer effective.

Fees paid on the establishment of loan facilities are recog-
nised as transaction costs of the loan to the extent that it is 
probable that some or all of the facility will be drawn down. In 
this case, the fee is deferred until the draw-down occurs. To 
the extent there is no evidence that it is probable that some 
or all of the facility will be drawn down, the fee is capitalised 
as a pre-payment for liquidity services and amortised over the 
period of the facility to which it relates.

1.17.2 Government loans

Faron has two government loans with a below-market rate of 
interest from Tekes (The Finnish Funding Agency for Technol-
ogy  and  Innovation). The  loans  have  been  withdrawn  before 
the  date  to  transition  to  IFRS  (i.e.  prior  to  1  January  2012). 
Based  on  the  exemption  under  IFRS  1,  Faron  has  measured 
the government loans using the previous FAS book value as 
the carrying amount of the loan and as such has not account-
ed  for  the  below-market  grant  separately.  Subsequently,  the 
loans  are  carried  at  amortised  cost  using  the  effective  inter-
est  rate.  In  December  2015  Tekes  made  a  positive  decision 
regarding a €1.5 million development loan for funding of the 
pre-clinical  development  of  Clevegen®.  As  at  31  December 
2015 the loan agreement was not signed.

1.17.3 Convertible notes

Faron analyses the contractual terms and substance of con-
vertible  notes  to  classify  each  instrument,  or  its  component 
parts, as a financial liability or an equity instrument.

If the instrument does not contain a contractual obligation 
to deliver cash or other financial assets, and it can be convert-
ed to a fixed amount of the Company’s shares, it is classified 
as equity. If the conversion option is to a variable amount of 
the Company’s shares, and it includes contractual obligation 
to deliver cash, the instrument is a liability that contains em-
bedded derivatives, and it is therefore classified as a financial 
liability at fair value through profit or loss in its entirety.

If the instrument is classified as equity, it is recognised at 
cost and it is not re-measured subsequently. If the instrument 

is classified as a financial liability at fair value through profit or 
loss, it is measured initially and subsequently at fair value, and 
fair value changes are recognised in the income statement as 
finance income or costs in the period in which they occur. On 
conversion to equity, the liability is transferred to equity.

All  convertible  notes  have  been  converted  into  ordinary 

shares by the end of January 2015.

1.17.4 Equity

Ordinary shares are classified as equity. Incremental costs di-
rectly attributable to the issue of new shares are shown in eq-
uity as a deduction, net of tax, from the proceeds of the share 
issue.  The  portion  of  costs  attributable  to  the  stock  market 
listing  in  November  2015,  or  are  otherwise  not  incremental 
and  directly  attributable  to  issuing  new  shares,  are  recorded 
as an expense in the income statement.

Reserve  for  invested  unrestricted  equity  is  credited  with 
other  equity  inputs  as  well  as  that  part  of  the  subscription 
price  of  the  shares  that  according  to  the  explicit  decision  is 
not to be credited to the share capital.

1.18 Leases

Faron as a lessee

Leases of equipment, where Faron has substantially all the 
risks  and  rewards  of  ownership,  are  classified  as  finance 
leases.  Assets  leased  under  finance  leases  are  capitalised 
at the inception of the lease at the lower of the fair value of 
the  leased  property  and  the  present  value  of  the  minimum 
lease  payments.  Lease  obligations  are  included  in  current 
and  non-current  financial  liabilities  based  on  their  maturity, 
net of finance charges. The interest element of the payments 
is  expensed.  An  asset  recognised  under  a  finance  lease  is 
depreciated over its useful life. Faron’s assets leased under 
finance  leases  were  insignificant  during  the  financial  years 
presented.

Leases where a significant portion of the risks and rewards 
of  ownership  are  retained  by  the  lessor  are  classified  as  op-
erating  leases.  Payments  made  under  operating  leases  are 
charged to the income statement on a straight-line basis over 
the lease term.

1.19 Provisions and contingent liabilities

A  provision  is  recognised  when  Faron  has  a  present  legal  or 
constructive obligation as a result of past events, it is proba-
ble that an outflow of resources will be required to settle the 
obligation, and a reliable estimate of the amount can be made. 
Faron  had  no  provisions  at  the  end  of  the  reporting  periods 
presented in these financial statements.

53

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015A contingent liability is a possible obligation that arises from 
past  events  and  whose  existence  will  be  confirmed  only  by 
the  occurrence  of  uncertain  future  events  not  wholly  within 
the control of the entity. Such present obligation that probably 
does not require settlement of a payment obligation and the 
amount of which cannot be reliably measured is also consid-
ered  to  be  a  contingent  liability.  Contingent  liabilities  are  dis-
closed in the notes to the financial statements.

1.20 Critical accounting estimates and 
management judgments made in applying 
accounting policies

1.20.1 Revenue recognition

Due  to  the  nature  of  the  pharmaceutical  development  busi-
ness, Faron’s collaboration and licence contracts are complex 
and  these  contracts  often  require  significant  analysis  and 
judgement  by  management  in  order  to  determine  the  appro-
priate method of revenue recognition.

Contracts may consist of multiple components with the un-
derlying services and goods delivered at different times over a 
contract’s lifetime representing separate earnings processes. 
Revenue is allocated to the separate components on a relative 
fair value basis and revenue is recognised when the criteria for 
revenue recognition is met for each component. Non-refunda-
ble milestones are recognised as revenue when the milestone 
has been achieved and the Company does not have future ob-
ligations. This is normally when the Company is informed by 
the contract party that the milestone has been achieved. Any 
milestone  payments  that  have  been  received  but  for  which 
earnings process has not been completed are reported as de-
ferred revenue in the balance sheet/statement of financial po-
sition and recognised as revenue when the service/goods has 
been delivered is complete and there are no remaining obliga-
tions or contingencies. For some transactions this may result 
in recognising cash receipts initially as deferred income and 
then  released  to  income  over  subsequent  financial  years  on 
the basis of meeting the conditions further specified in each 
individual agreement.

1.20.2 Research and development expenses

Faron  follows  IFRS  guidance  to  determine  whether  develop-
ment  costs  qualify  for  capitalisation.  This  determination  re-
quires  significant  judgement.  When  an  internal  development 
project  fulfills  the  criteria  for  capitalisation,  costs  incurred 
are  capitalised  from  that  point  forward.  The  in-process  de-
velopment project is then tested for impairment annually and 
whenever  events  or  changes  in  circumstances  indicate  that 
the carrying amount may not be recoverable. It is Faron’s view 
that drug product related development expenses may not be 

capitalised  until  marketing  approval  has  been  received  from 
the  relevant  regulatory  agencies,  as  this  is  considered  to  be 
the first point at which it may be concluded that future reve-
nues can be generated.

According  to  management’s  judgement,  the  internally  de-
veloped documentation asset that is related to the re-develop-
ment  of  the  Active  Pharmaceutical  Ingredient,  API  (“API  doc-
umentation”), fulfills the criteria of IFRS for capitalising costs 
of internally developed intangible assets despite the nature of 
the Company’s operations where capitalisation criteria is tradi-
tionally met at the receipt of regulatory approval. The develop-
ment activities and documentation relate to stability testing of 
a drug substance (API) that is sellable as such, even though it 
is primarily used in the development process. The quality and 
value of the drug substance improves as the stability is proven 
and documented. In addition to its own use, Faron may also, 
for a fee, license the documentation to companies that can uti-
lise documentation in their own drug candidate approval and 
registration documentation. The costs of this internally devel-
oped intangible asset have been capitalised as of the criteria 
for capitalisation was fulfilled.

1.20.3 Deferred taxes

Recognition and measurement of deferred tax assets and de-
ferred tax liabilities include management estimates, especially 
for deferred tax assets arising from tax losses carried forward. 
Deferred tax assets are recognised for deductible temporary 
differences to the extent that it is probable that taxable profit 
will be available against which deductible temporary differen-
ces can be utilised. Various internal and external factors may 
have favorable or unfavorable effects on the deferred tax as-
sets and liabilities. These factors include, but are not limited 
to,  available  tax  strategies,  changes  in  tax  laws,  regulations 
and/or  rates  dealing  with  e.g.  recoverability  periods  for  tax 
loss  carry-forwards,  changing  interpretations  of  existing  tax 
laws or regulations, future levels of research and development 
spending  and  changes  in  overall  levels  of  pre-tax  earnings. 
Such  changes  that  arise  could  impact  the  assets  and  liabili-
ties recognised in the balance sheet in future periods. All tax 
liabilities and assets are reviewed at the end of the reporting 
period and changes are recognised in the income statement. 
Faron has not recorded any deferred tax assets on tax losses 
carried forward.

1.20.4 Inventories

Measurement of inventories includes some management esti-
mates. Inventories are measured at lower of cost and net real-
isable value. Net realisable value is the estimated selling price 
in the ordinary course of business less the estimated costs of 
completion  and  the  estimated  costs  necessary  to  make  the 

54

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015sale.  Net  realisable  value  is  used  in  testing  the  recoverable 
amount of inventories in order to avoid the inventories being 
carried in excess of amount expected to be realised from their 
sale or use.

Management has assessed, that GMP3 manufactured drug 
ingredient also fulfills the criteria of IFRS to be classified as in-
ventory. Even though it has been acquired mainly for research 
and development purposes to be processed into API (Active 
Pharmaceutical Ingredient) and it is not currently Faron’s core 
business to actively market the ingredient, as it also has alter-
native use, i.e. the ingredient is traded by other companies and 
Faron has also traded API, management has recorded the API 
in its inventory.

1.20.5 Adoption of new and amended standards and 
interpretations applicable in future financial years

Faron has not yet adopted the new and amended standards 
and interpretations already issued by the IASB but that are not 
effective for financial year 2015. The Company will adopt them 
as of the effective date or, if the date is other than the first day 
of  the  financial  year,  from  the  beginning  of  the  subsequent 
financial  year.  The  Company  has  presented  below  only  the 
standards that are relevant to the Company and might have 
impact on its financial statements in its current operations.

*= not yet endorsed for use by the EU as of 31 December 2015.

•  IFRIC 21 Levies (effective for financial years beginning on 
or  after  17  June  2014): The  interpretation  addresses  the 
accounting  for  a  liability  to  pay  a  levy  recognised  in  ac-
cordance with IAS 37 Provisions, and the liability to pay a 
levy whose timing and amount is certain. The amendment 
does not have a material impact on the Company’s finan-
cial statements.

•  Annual Improvements to IFRSs (2010-2012 and 2011-2013 
cycles*) (effective for financial years beginning on or after 
1 July 2014): The annual improvements process provides 
a  mechanism  for  minor  and  non-urgent  amendments  to 
IFRSs to be grouped together and issued in one package 
annually. These amendments cover several standards and 
their impacts vary standard by standard but the Company 
considers that they do not have a significant impact on the 
financial statements of Company.

•  Amendments to IAS 1 Presentation of financial statements 
(effective for financial years beginning on or after 1 Janu-
ary 2016): The amendments clarify guidance in IAS 1 on 
materiality and aggregation, the presentation of subtotals, 
the  structure  of  financial  statements  and  the  disclosure 
of  accounting  policies.  The  Company  is  still  assessing 

the  possible  impact  of  the  amendments  to  its  financial 
statements.

•  IFRS 15 Revenue from contracts with customers* (effec-
tive  for  financial  years  beginning  on  or  after  1  January 
2017):  The  standard  covers  revenue  recognition  and  will 
supersede current revenue recognition standards, IAS 18 
and IAS 11. The Company is still to assess the impacts of 
the standard.

•  IFRS 9 Financial Instruments* (effective for financial years 
beginning on or after 1 January 2018): The standard will 
replace IAS 39 fully (even though some areas are moved 
from IAS 39 to IFRS 9 unchanged). Main changes are: Fi-
nancial  assets  are  classified  based  on  entity’s  business 
model. Impairment will be recognised based on expected 
losses  from  the  first  reporting  date  that  the  assets  mea-
sured at amortised cost are on the balance sheet. Hedge 
accounting will be aligned more closely with risk manage-
ment. The Company  is still  to assess  the impacts  of the 
standard.

1 Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, ARDS.
2 GMP = Good Manufacturing Practice.
3 GMP = Good Manufacturing Practice.

55

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015following the general terms of the loans. The loans do not in-
clude any covenants. The Company has negotiated with Tekes 
a two-year extension to the loan and an equal postponement 
of the installments of the first loan.

B) Convertible notes

Faron issued convertible notes in 2014 to strengthen its finan-
cial position. These convertible notes were classified in equity, 
because they contained contractual obligation to deliver cash 
to the holder only in an event of liquidation of Faron, and the 
actual  conversion  rate  determined  in  the  contract  was  fixed. 
The loan was fully converted to shares in January 2015.

NOTE 2
2.1 Principles of financial risk management

Faron’s  activities  expose  it  to  a  variety  of  financial  risks  as 
follows:

In 2015 Faron received new equity, less direct costs, to the 
amount  of  EUR  18,080,000. This  new  capital  significantly  re-
duced the liquidity risk for the Company in the near future.

In  2012  the  European  Commission  awarded  a  EUR 
5,963,000 grant to the Faron network (Consortium) to support 
the FP-1201-lyo clinical Phase III programme (“Traumakine®”). 
The  Consortium  consists  of  the  European  Commission  as  a 
granting  agency,  Faron  as  a  coordinator  and  three  other  par-
ticipating partners of the Traumakine® programme; University 
College London Hospital (UCLH), University of Torino and Uni-
versity of Turku. The first payment under the grant, received in 
2013, amounted to EUR 1,693,000, of which EUR 660,000 has 
been recognised as other operating income. The second grant 
payment, EUR 1,018,000 was received at the end of 2014, of 
which  EUR  110,000  has  been  recognised  as  other  operating 
income. In 2015, EUR 701,000 was recognised as other oper-
ating income.

During 2014 the Company negotiated a two-year extension 
to the loan and an equal postponement of the instalments of 
the first government R&D loan from Tekes, for which the first 
instalment was originally now due in 2014. Tekes provided Fa-
ron with an additional two years to make payment in respect 
to  the  first  instalment  which  is  now  therefore  due  in  2016. 
Faron  also  has  had  a  committed  credit  limit  available,  up  to 
EUR  800,000,  which  was  ended  in  31  December  2015.  The 
management  believes  that  this  credit  limit  can  be  reopened 
if required.

These above mentioned funds and financing sources, in ad-
dition to expected milestone payments from Maruishi, in 2016 
and  income  from  other  commercial  agreements,  will  enable 
Faron to fund its operating expenses as planned during 2016.

A) Goverment loans (R&D loans from Tekes)

The  Finnish  Funding  Agency  for  Technology  and  Innovation 
(Tekes)  has  granted  two  loans  to  the  Company.  The  total 
amount  had  been  drawn  down  by  the  Company  by  the  end 
of the year 2011. Both loans are government loans with a be-
low-market rate of interest. The total loan periods are 10 years 
from the draw-down. The interest rate for these loans is the 
base rate set by the Finnish Ministry of Finance less 1%, how-
ever, the interest rate will not fall below a 3% minimum. Repay-
ment of these loans shall be initiated after 5 years, thereafter 
loan principals shall be paid back in equal installments over the 
remaining loan period. In certain circumstances Tekes may, at 
its  own  discretion,  extend  the  loan  terms,  convert  the  loans 
into  capital  loans  or  exempt  the  Company  from  repayment 

56

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015C) Loans

Stated in euro 

Contractual maturity of loans and 
their interest payments at 31 Dec

Non-current financial liabilities

Government loans

Repayment of loans

Interest expenses

Current financial liabilities

Government loans, current portion

Interest expenses

Bank overdraft facility

Trade payables

2015 
€’000

2016 
€’000

2017 
€’000

2018 
€’000

Later years 
€’000

Total 
€’000

0

18

245

16

338

13

338

9

770

1 691

9

64

436

453

260

351

348

779

2 191

436

The Company intends to finance the repayment of the loans 
from future cash sources including among others milestone 
payments  from  existing  agreements,  equity  issuances  and 
revenue from future lisencing agreements. The loans contain 
a provision, that if the projects related to the loans turn out to 
be unsuccesful the lender can forgive the loans either partially 
or fully.

Credit risk

Credit risk is the risk that one party to a financial instrument 
will cause a financial loss for Faron by failing to discharge an 
obligation.

Credit risk arises from cash and cash equivalents as well as 
credit exposures to external parties, including amounts to be 
invoiced and outstanding receivables.

and is considered the main area of credit risk. However, this 
risk is partly mitigated by the fact that Faron’s current collab-
oration  partner  is  a  large  and  internationally  reputable  phar-
maceutical  company  that  is  financially  solid.  These  collabo-
rations  are  normally  governed  by  contractual  relationships 
that typically address and describe remedies for situations in 
which interests of Faron and the partner are not longer in line.
Faron’s  cash  and  cash  equivalents  are  invested  primari-
ly  in  saving  and  deposit  accounts  with  original  maturities  of 
three months or less. These accounts generate a very small 
amount of interest income. The banks that Faron works with 
have good (Moody’s Aaa) credit ratings.

The Company has not incurred any credit losses over the 
reporting  periods  2012-2015,  and  management  does  not  ex-
pect losses from non-performance by counterparties (for ex-
ample, Maruishi). Therefore, at present, credit risk is limited.

Currently  Faron  does  business  with  one  external  coun-
terparty,  Maruishi.  Over  the  coming  years,  Maruishi  funding 
(milestone  payments  and  reimbursable  research  expenses) 
remains critical to Faron’s product development programmes 

Faron had no trade receivables by year-end 2012-2014. In 
the year ended 31 December 2015 there is one invoice which 
has been outstanding for 2.5 months. No further ageing anal-
ysis of trade receivables is presented.

57

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015Market risk

Market risk is the risk that the fair value or future cash flows 
of a financial instrument will fluctuate because of changes in 
market prices. Market risk comprises three types of risk:

• currency risk
• interest rate risk; and
• other price risk

A) Currency risk

Currency risk is the risk that the fair value or future cash flows 
of a financial instrument, e.g. a trade receivable, will fluctuate 
because of changes in foreign exchange rates.

Faron’s  functional  currency  is  the  euro  and  Faron  is  ex-
posed  to  foreign  exchange  risk  arising  from  currency  expo-
sure, currently mainly with respect to the Japanese Yen and 
pound  sterling.  The  Company  receives  payments  from  its 
main licence partner Maruishi (based in Japan) in Japanese 
Yen. However, the impact of the foreign exchange risk arising 
from the Yen exposure is not considered significant in average.
Due to the commencement of the Phase III clinical trials with 
a UK based Clinical Research Organisation as the main service 
provider,  the  Companys’  pound  sterling  denominated  expens-
es and trade payables have become significant. The Company 
converted  most  of  the  pound  sterling  denominated  IPO  pro-
ceeds into euros immediatelly after the IPO, but held and still 
holds a sizeable amounts of pound sterling in its pound sterling 
bank accounts. This forms a natural hedge against euro-pound 
exchange  rate  changes,  as  the  funds  held  in  pound  sterling 
roughly  match  with  the  estimated  pound  sterling  expenses 
during 2016. As a result of the sizeable pound sterling holdings, 
the depreciation of pound sterling against euro had a negative 
effect on the financial statements. As the exchange rate may 
move also to other direction during 2016, the management be-
lieves that natural hedge strategy best protects the Company 
from adverse exchange rate changes and this protection over-
weights short-term currency rate losses.

Other foreign currency denominated trade receivables (and 
trade payables, if any) are small and short term in nature.The 
borrowings  and  other  liabilities  of  Faron  are  denominated  in 
euro. As the currency exposure and risk is considered signif-
icant,  the  Company  established  a  natural  hedging  policy  to 
manage the foreign exchange risk against the functional cur-
rency of the Company.

B) Interest rate risk

Interest rate risk is the risk that the fair value or future cash 
flows of a financial instrument will fluctuate because of chang-
es in market interest rates.

58

The  Company’s  interest  rate  risk  arises  from  long-term  bor-
rowings.  Faron’s  borrowings  are  denominated  in  euro.  The 
non-current  borrowings  issued  at  fixed  rates  expose  the 
Company  to  fair  value  interest  rate  risk.  Interest  rate  is  par-
tially offset by cash held at variable rates which, on the oth-
er hand, expose Faron to cash flow interest rate risk. Given 
that  most  of  the  borrowings  are  government  loans  with  a 
below-market rate of interest, cash and cash equivalents are 
very short-term, the impact of interest rate risk on Faron is 
currently minor, and consequently Faron does not hedge the 
interest rate risk.

2.2 Capital management

Faron’s  objectives  when  managing  capital  are  to  safeguard 
the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern and to 
maintain  an  optimal  capital  structure  to  reduce  the  cost  of 
capital.  The  total  amount  of  equity  as  recognised  in  the  bal-
ance sheet is seen and managed as capital by Faron. In order 
to  maintain  or  adjust  the  capital  structure,  Faron  may  issue 
new shares or other equity, liability or compound instruments, 
or sell assets to reduce debt.

To  advance  the  drug  development  programmes  into  com-
mercialised  pharmaceutical  products  requires  significant  fi-
nancial resources. Faron relies on its ability to fund its opera-
tions through three major sources of financing:

1)  Equity  financing:  Faron’s  funding  is  partly  organised 
through equity financing. Management monitors liquidity 
on the basis of the amount of funds. These are reported 
to the Board regularly.

2)  Commercialisation,  collaboration  and  licensing  agree-
ments:  by  entering  into  said  agreements  with  larger 
pharmaceutical  companies  Faron  is  entitled  to  receive 
upfront and milestone-dependent payments from these 
partners. Activities in the area of business development 
are targeted at securing such agreements. These activ-
ities  are  integral  part  of  the  duties  of  the  management 
and are monitored by the Board of Directors, which ulti-
mately decides on entering into such agreements.

3)  Research  and  development  grants  and  loans:  In  addi-
tion  to  the  sources  of  funding  described  above.  Faron 
also relies on different sources of R&D grants and loans. 
Various regional, national or EU level institutions provide 
these  funds  with  the  aim  of  fostering  economic  and 
technological progress in the region in which Faron op-
erates. Such funds have been historically available to Fa-
ron at substantial levels. Faron is in regular contact with 
the  funding  agencies.  The  availability  of  such  funds  in 
the future cannot be guaranteed.

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015Faron’s Board of Directors approves the operational plans and 
budget. The Board regularly follows up the implementation of 
these plans and the financial status.

NOTE 5
Other operating income

2.3 Fair value estimation

Stated in euro 

2015 
€’000

2014 
€’000

Some  of  Faron’s  accounting  policies  and  disclosures  re-
quire the measurement of fair values. For Faron this applies 
primarily to financial assets and liabilities.

For financial instruments that are measured in the balance 
sheet at fair value, IFRS requires disclosure of fair value mea-
surements  by  level  of  the  fair  value  measurement  hierarchy. 
Fair value hierarchy is based on the source of inputs used in 
determining fair values (used in the valuation techniques) as 
follows:

•  Level 1: fair values are based on quoted prices (unadjusted) 

in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

•  Level 2: fair values are based on market rates and prices, 
discounted future cash flows etc. Thus inputs other than 
quoted prices included within level 1 that are observable 
for the asset or liability, either directly (that is, as prices) or 
indirectly (that is, derived from prices) are used.

•  Level 3: for assets and liabilities in level three, there is no 
reliable  market  source  available  and  thus  fair  value  mea-
surement cannot be based on observable market data (un-
observable inputs).

When measuring the fair value of an asset or a liability, Faron 
uses market observable data as far as possible.

NOTE 3
Revenue

In 2014 revenue consisted of income generated from sale of 
both  API  and  IMP  reference  materials.  In  2015  revenue  con-
sisted of milestone income from Maruishi as well as sales of 
API material samples and analyses materials.

NOTE 4
Segment reporting

Faron is a late clinical stage biotechnology company. Its op-
erations have been focused on the development of its lead 
drug  candidate,  Traumakine®.  Faron’s  chief  operating  deci-
sion maker has been identified as the Chief Executive Officer 
(CEO).

The  CEO  manages  Faron  as  one  integrated  business  and 
hence  Faron  has  one  operating  and  reportable  segment.  Fa-
ron’s country of operation is Finland.

Grants from EU

701

111

Grant from Tekes

Other items

Total other operating income

701

111

In the year ended 2012, the pan-European “Traumakine®” con-
sortium where Faron Pharmaceuticals is a Coordinator, signed 
a grant agreement of the EUR 5,963,000 research grant award-
ed by the European Commission from the Seventh Framework 
Programme  (FP7)  to  support  the  FP-1201-lyo  clinical  Phase 
III  Programme  (“Traumakine®”),  focusing  on  a  first  pharma-
cological treatment for Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome 
(ARDS). The  first  payment  under  the  grant,  received  in  2013, 
amounted to EUR 1,693,000, of which EUR 660,000 has been 
recognised as other operating income. The second grant pay-
ment  of  EUR  1,018,000  was  received  at  the  end  of  2014,  of 
which  EUR  110,000  has  been  recognised  as  other  operating 
income. In 2015, EUR 701,000 was recognised as other oper-
ating income.

The Company will defer elements of the grant to the point 
in  which  the  respective  milestones  are  completed  (i.e.  the 
milestones which are set out within the EU Grant agreement). 
Once these milestones are met, the amount due to the Com-
pany is recognised as other operating income.

59

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015NOTE 6

NOTE 7

Employee benefit expense

Depreciation and amortisation

Stated in euro 

2015 
€’000

2014 
€’000

Stated in euro 

2015 
€’000

2014 
€’000

Salaries

(940)

(446)

Depreciation and amortisation allocated to functions

Contributions to defined 
contribution post-employment 
plans

Social security contributions

Share based payments

Total employee benefit 
expenses

Average number of personnel

Research and development

(69)

(15)

Administration

Total depreciation and 
amortisation

(175)

(9)

(60)

(0)

(184)

(60)

(115)

(63)

(474)

(1,591)

(530)

Depreciation and amortisation by asset categories

Machinery and equipment

Total depreciation

(9)

(9)

(0)

(0)

Finland

Finland

6

6

5

5

Intangible assets

For  further  information  on  management  remuneration  see 
Note 21 related party transactions. Share based payments are 
further explained in Note 16.

Patents

(65)

(60)

Other intangible assets

(110)

Total amortisation

(175)

(60)

Total depreciation and 
amortisation

(184)

(60)

The Company has not recorded any impairment losses for the 
years ended 31 December 2012 to 2015.

60

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015NOTE 8 
Financial income and expenses

Faron  has  received  two  goverment  loans  for  research  and 
development  purposes  with  below-market  interest  rate  from 
Tekes (The Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Inno-
vation). Both loans were withdrawn before the date of transi-
tion to IFRS (i.e. prior to 1 January 2012). Thus, based on the 
exemption under IFRS 1, Faron has measured the government 
loans using the previous FAS carrying amount as the carrying 
amount  of  the  loan.  Subsequently,  both  loans  are  carried  at 
amortised cost using the effective interest rate.

Other significant financial expense items are the exchange 
rate losses when transferring GBP to euro, when issuing the 
new  shares  upon  Admission  to  AIM,  expenses  on  loan  guar-
antees,  interest  on  convertible  loans  and  credit  limit  interest 
from bank.

See also Note 2 Financial risk management.

Stated in euro 

Financial income

2015 
€’000

2014 
€’000

Interest from bank balances

Interest from account receivables

Total financial income

0

0

0

15

15

Financial expenses

Interest on government loans (Tekes)

(18)

(15)

Fair value changes of convertible 
bonds

Interest expenses on convertible bonds

(9)

(67)

Interest on bank loans

(10)

(26)

Interest on accounts payables

Exchange rate losses

(1)

(247)

(1)

(1)

Bank guarentee costs and provisions

(27)

(35)

Total financial expenses

(311)

(146)

Total financial income and expenses

(311)

(131)

61

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015NOTE 9

Income taxes

Stated in euro 

Withholding tax

Total income taxes

2015 
€’000

2014 
€’000

Stated in euro 

2015 
€’000

2014 
€’000

(42)

(42)

(6)

(6)

Reconciliation of effective tax rate
The Finnish corporate tax rate applied was 20%.

Loss before income tax

(6 188)

(1 358)

Withholding taxes paid in the year ended 31 December 2014 
relate to payments of advisory fees to the non-Finnish mem-
bers of the Clinical trial Steering Group. Taxes paid in the year 
ended 31 December 2015 relate to milestone payment from 
Maruishi.

Tax using Faron's domestic 
corporate tax rate

Current-year losses for which 
no deferred tax asset is 
recognised

Taxes in the income statement

1 238

272

(1 238)

(272)

Items for which Faron has not recognised a deferred tax 
asset

R&D expenses not yet 
deducted in taxation1

The tax losses carried forward 
approved by tax authorities2

Deductible temporary 
differences for which no 
deferred assets have been 
recognised

2 816

2 816

5 663

3 164

8 479

5 979

1  Faron  has  incurred  research  and  development  costs  in  the 
financial years ended 31 December 2010 and 2011 that have 
not  yet  been  deducted  in  its  taxation.  The  amount  can  be 
deducted  over  an  indefinite  period  with  amounts  that  the 
Company may freely decide.

2  These losses expire over the years 2019 to 2024. The amount 
presented  for  the  year  ended  31  December  2015  does  not 
include the deductible temporary difference arisen from the 
net loss for the financial year 2015 as the related loss has not 
yet been approved by tax authorities by the time of prepara-
tion of these financial statements.

   The  related  deferred  tax  assets  have  not  been  recognised 

due to the uncertainty as to whether they can be utilised.

62

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015NOTE 10
Loss per share

Basic

Basic loss per share is calculated by dividing the loss attributable to equity holders of the Company by the weighted average 
number of ordinary shares in issue during the year.

Loss attributable to equity holders of the Company (EUR 1,000)

2015

(6 188)

2014

(1 364)

Weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue

20 686 854

15 012 262

Basic (and dilutive) loss per share, EUR

(0,30)

(0,09)

Weighted-average number of ordinary shares

Issued ordinary shares at 1 January

15 456 250

14 570 680

Effect of shares issued

5 230 604

441 582

Weighted-average number of ordinary shares at 31 December

20 686 854

15 012 262

Diluted

Diluted loss per share is calculated by adjusting the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding to assume con-
version of all dilutive potential ordinary shares.

Loss attributable to equity holders of the Company (EUR 1,000)

Interest adjustment

2015

(6 188)

9

2014

(1 364)

67

Convertible loan interest adjusted loss attributable to equity holders

(6 179)

(1 297)

Diluted weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue

20 686 854

15 406 329

Basic loss per share, EUR

(0,30)

(0,09)

Weighted-average number of ordinary shares

Issued ordinary shares at 1 January

15 456 250

14 570 680

Effect of shares issued

5 230 604

441 582

Weighted-average number of ordinary shares at 31 December

20 686 854

15 012 262

Dilution effect of convertible loans

-

394 067

Diluted weighted-average number of ord. shares at 31 December

20 686 854

15 406 329

63

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015 
 
NOTE 11
Machinery and equipment and intangible assets

Machinery and equipment

Stated in euro 

Cost

Balance at 1 January

Cost

Additions

Disposals

Transfers

Balance at 31 December

Accumulated depreciation / amortisation and impairment

Balance at 1 January

Depreciation / amortisation (Note 7)

Balance at 31 December

Net book value at 1 January

Net book value at 31 December

Patents

Stated in euro 

Cost

Balance at 1 January

Cost

Additions

Disposals

Transfers

Balance at 31 December

Accumulated depreciation / amortisation and impairment

Balance at 1 January

Depreciation / amortisation (Note 7)

Balance at 31 December

Net book value at 1 January

Net book value at 31 December

64

2015 
€’000

2014 
€’000

2

37

39

(1)

(9)

(11)

0

28

2

2

(1)

(0)

(1)

1

0

2015 
€’000

2014 
€’000

646

70

716

(369)

(65)

(434)

277

283

602

44

646

(309)

(60)

(369)

293

277

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015Documentation assets in process

Stated in euro 

Cost

Balance at 1 January

Cost

Additions

Disposals

Transfers

2015 
€’000

907

2014 
€’000

800

107

Balance at 31 December

907

907

Accumulated depreciation / amortisation and impairment

Balance at 1 January

Depreciation / amortisation (Note 7)

Balance at 31 December

Net book value at 1 January

Net book value at 31 December

Total intangible assets

Stated in euro 

Cost

Balance at 1 January

Cost

Additions

Disposals

Transfers

Balance at 31 December

Accumulated depreciation / amortisation and impairment

Balance at 1 January

Depreciation / amortisation (Note 7)

Balance at 31 December

Net book value at 1 January

Net book value at 31 December

(188)

(188)

907

719

2015 
€’000

1 553

70

1 623

(369)

(253)

(622)

1 922

1 001

800

907

2014 
€’000

1 403

152

1 555

(310)

(60)

(370)

1 714

1 184

65

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015Total machinery and equipment and intangible assets

Stated in euro 

Cost

Balance at 1 January

Cost

Additions

Disposals

Transfers

2015 
€’000

1 555

107

2014 
€’000

1 405

152

Balance at 31 December

1 662

1 557

Accumulated depreciation / amortisation and impairment

Balance at 1 January

Depreciation / amortisation (Note 7)

Balance at 31 December

Net book value at 1 January

Net book value at 31 December

(370)

(262)

(632)

1 925

1 029

(312)

(60)

(372)

1 717

1 185

Finance leases

Orphan drug status

The company does not have any finance leases.

Documentation assets

The  cost  of  the  documentation  arisen  in  conjunction  to  the 
development  work  of  Faron  is  recorded  in  intangible  assets. 
This  documentation  consists  of  API  documentation1  (see  
Note 1, 1.12.2 Intangible assets for further details).
Faron has completed these assets in 2014.

Faron has been granted an orphan drug status for the treatment 
of ALI/ARDS with interferon beta by the European Commission 
and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) under the registra-
tion number EU/3/07/505. The orphan drug status granted by 
the EMA entitles the holder an exclusive right for the marketing 
and sales of drugs within the European Union for 10 years as 
from the grant date of the approval. This status is transferable. 
No costs related to this status have been capitalised. Thus the 
orphan drug status represents an off-balance sheet asset.

66

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015NOTE 12
Inventories

Stated in euro 

Finished goods

Inventories total

2015 
€’000

649

649

2014 
€’000

699

699

Inventories consists of deep-frozen bags of active pharmaceutical ingredient used in production of FP-1201-lyo, which have a 
limited expiry time, which can be extended by conducting additional stability studies.

The cost of inventories is recognised as an expense and included in the line item “Cost of sales” amounted to EUR 100,000 

(2014: zero; 2013: zero).

The Company has not recorded any impairment losses in years from 2012 to 2015.

NOTE 13
Current receivables

Stated in euro 

Trade receivables

Prepayments

Accrued items

Other receivables

Total trade and other receivables

2015 
€’000

37

1 248

17

773

2 074

2014 
€’000

23

16

40

The majority of prepayments relate to the Clinical Service Agreement with the clinical research organisation (CRO) GAEA Clinical, 
which is the main service provider for the INTEREST Study. The other receivables consist mainly of the EU FP7 grant income as 
described in Note 4.

NOTE 14
Cash and cash equivalents

Stated in euro 

Bank balances

Total cash and cash equivalents

2015 
€’000

11 068

11 068

2014 
€’000

242

242

67

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015NOTE 15
Equity and reserves

Equity and reserves

Number of shares 
(pcs)

Share capital 
(1,000 €)

In issue at 1 January 2013

Conversion of convertible notes to 
shares

Issued for merger consideration

Cancelled in merger

31 December 2013

Share issues, issued for cash

Issue of convertible equity instrument

Warrants issue

31 December 2014

Share base payments

Convertible issue

Share issues for cash

Total

Split 1:10

Emission of new shares

1 453 380

3 688

1 000 000

-1 000 000

1 457 068

35 424

0

53 133

1 545 625

0

78 166

302 764

1 926 555

19 265 550

3 846 154

1 296

120

0

0

1 416

1 275

0

0

2 691

0

31 December 2015

23 111 704

2 691

Reserve for invested 
non-restricted equity 
(1,000 €)

Total 
(1,000 €)

5 328

6 624 

0

0

0

120

0

0

5 328

6 744

0

1 126

0

6 453

1 275

1 126

0

9 144

0

0

5 050

5 050

0

0

13 030

27 224

13 030

24 533

Faron  Pharmaceuticals  Ltd  has  one  class  of  shares.  The 
shares amounted to 1,545,625 at 1 January 2015. The follow-
ing increases were made during 2015:

unrestricted equity, and the share capital of the Company was 
not increased;

a) On 24 February 2015, the number of Ordinary Shares was 
increased  to  1,623,791  by  the  issue  of  78,166  new  Ordinary 
Shares at a subscription price of €14.40. The shares were is-
sued due to  conversion of the 2014 convertible loan, which so 
became fully converted. The subscription price was credited 
in full to the Company’s reserve for invested unrestricted eq-
uity, and the share capital of the Company was not increased. 
The conversion did not have a cash effect in 2015;
On  19  May  2015,  the  number  of  Ordinary  Shares  was  in-
creased  to  1,843,356  by  the  issue  of  219,565  new  Ordinary 
Shares  at  a  subscription  price  of  €15.41.  The  subscription 
price was credited in full to the Company’s reserve for invested 

b) By a Board resolution on 6 May 2015 and pursuant to an 
authority granted to the Board at the Annual General Meeting 
held on 16 March 2015, on 19 May 2015 the number of Ordi-
nary  Shares  was  increased  to  1,843,356  Ordinary  Shares  by 
the  issue  of  219,565  new  Ordinary  Shares  at  a  subscription 
price  of  €15.41  per  Ordinary  Share.  The  subscription  price 
was credited in full to the Company’s reserve for invested un-
restricted  equity,  and  the  share  capital  of  the  Company  was 
not increased;

c) By a Board resolution on 28 May 2015 and pursuant to an 
authority granted to the Board at the Annual General Meeting 
held on 16 March 2015, on 9 June 2015 the number of Ordinary 

68

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015Shares  was  increased  to  1,926,555  Ordinary  Shares  by  the  is-
sue  of  83,199  new  Ordinary  Shares  at  a  subscription  price  of 
€20.03 per Ordinary Share. The subscription price was credited 
in full to the Company’s reserve for invested unrestricted equity, 
and the share capital of the Company was not increased;

entitles the holder to one vote at the Annual General Meeting. 
All shares entitle holders to an equal dividend.

At the 31 December 2015 Faron’s share capital, entered in 

the Finnish trade register, amounted to EUR 2,691,000.

Details on the management shareholding are disclosed in 

d) by a resolution of the Extraordinary General Meeting held 
on  15  September  2015,  on  17  September  2015  the  number 
of Ordinary Shares was increased to 19,265,550 by the issue 
of 17,338,995 new Ordinary Shares to the Shareholders with-
out payment in proportion to their holdings so that nine Ordi-
nary Shares were issued for each existing Ordinary Share (the 
“Share Split”);

e) by a resolution of a Board Meeting held on 16 September 
2015 made pursuant to an authority granted to the Board of 
Directors  at  the  Extraordinary  General  Meeting  held  on  15 
September 2015, on 16 September 2015 the Company issued 
151,400 warrants (each warrant representing an entitlement to 
subscribe for one Ordinary Share) to Whitman Howard (which 
were subscribed for by and issued to Whitman Howard on 16 
September 2015). The warrants are divided into two tranches: 
in the first tranche, 109,800 warrants with a subscription price 
of  [£0.87]  (“A  Warrants”),  and  in  the  second  tranche,  41,600 
warrants  with  a  subscription  price  of  [£1.43]  (“B  Warrants”). 
Any “A” Warrants shall be exercised during the subscription pe-
riod commencing on 2 November 2015 and ending on 7 May 
2018. Any “B” Warrants shall be exercised during the subscrip-
tion period commencing on 2 November 2015 and ending on 
28 May 2018;

f)  by  a  resolution  of  the  Extraordinary  General  Meeting  held 
on 15 September 2015, the Company adopted the 2015 Share 
Option Plan and granted the Options detailed in paragraph 5.5 
below to the Directors;

g)  by a resolution  of a Board Meeting held on 11 November 
2015 made pursuant to an authority granted to the Board of 
Directors at the Extraordinary General Meeting held on 15 Sep-
tember 2015, the Company resolved to issue (i) 2,417,113 Or-
dinary Shares without payment into treasury, in order for such 
Ordinary Shares to be transferred to Placees pursuant to the 
Placing on a delivery versus payment basis on Admission, (ii) 
44,044 Ordinary Shares as VCT Shares and EIS Shares pursu-
ant to the Placing, and (iii) 1,384,997 Ordinary Shares as Sub-
scription Shares pursuant to the Subscription.

The  Company  was  listed  on  the  London  Stock  Exchange  in 
November 2015. The share has no nominal value. Each share 

Note 21 Related party transactions.

Nature and purpose of reserves

Share capital

The subscription price of a share received by the Company in 
connection with share issues is credited to the share capital, 
unless it is provided in the share issue decision that a part of 
the subscription price is to be recorded in the fund for invest-
ed non-restricted equity. The proceeds received by Faron from 
the conversion of the convertible bonds have been credited to 
share capital.

Fund for invested non-restricted equity

The fund for invested non-restricted equity includes other equi-
ty investments, for which part of the subscription price of the 
shares according to the related decision is not to be credited 
to the share capital and issuance of convertible capital loans.

Faron has not paid any dividends over the years.

69

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015NOTE 16
Share options

The Company adopted its 2015 option plan on 15 September 
2015 (“Option Plan”) as described in full in the Company’s Ad-
mission  Document.  Under  the  Option  Plan,  options  may  be 
granted in four different tranches (A, B, C and D), each of which 
may be subscribed for and exercised in different periods. Each 
option  will  entitle  the  holder  of  the  option  to  subscribe  for 
one ordinary share in the Company. An aggregate maximum 
number of 1,600,000 options may be granted under this plan, 
such  aggregate  being  made  up  of  a  maximum  of  400,000 
“A”  Options,  the  subscription  period  for  which  ends  on  31  De-
cember 2015 (exercisable between 2 November 2015 and 30 
September  2021),  a  maximum  of  400,000  “B”  Options  to  be 
subscribed  for  between  8  October  2016  and  30  September 
2019 (exercisable between 8 October 2016 and 30 September 
2021), a maximum of 400,000 “C” Options to be subscribed for 
between 8 October 2017 and 30 September 2019 (exercisable 

between 8 October 2017 and 30 September 2021), and a max-
imum of 400,000 “D” Options to be subscribed for between 8 
October 2018 and 30 September 2019 (exercisable between 8 
October 2018 and 30 September 2021).

The terms of the 2015 option plan require that the option 
holder remains in the Company’s service until the beginning of 
the subscription period. The exercise price for Ordinary Shares 
based on “A” Options is €3.71. The exercise price for ordinary 
shares based on tranches “B”, “C” and “D” Options shall be de-
termined by the euro equivalent to the average share price of 
the  publicly  traded  ordinary  shares  of  the  Company  on  AIM 
between  1  July  and  30  September  of  2016,  2017  and  2018 
respectively.

Faron has no legal or constructive obligation to repurchase 
or  settle  the  options  in  cash,  accordingly,  the  arrangements 
have been classified as equity settled share-based payments.

Transactions during 2015

Option under the 2015 Option Plan

Option tranche 

A 

B 

C 

D 

Total 

Average exercise 
price in €

Status

Granted

Allocated*

Allocated*

Allocated*

Outstanding at 1 Jan.

0

0

0

0

0

Amount

Forfeited

Exercised

250 000

250 000

250 000

250 000

1 000 000

4.32

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Outstanding at 31 Dec.

250 000

250 000

250 000

250 000

1 000 000

4.32

* Subscription for these options is conditional on the Director/employee remaining in their role at the time of commencement of 
the relevant subscription period.

70

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015Warrants

Warrant tranche

A

B

Total

Average exercise 
price in €

Status

Granted

Granted

Outstanding at 1 Jan.

0

0

0

Granted

Forfeited

Exercised

109 800

41 600

151 400

1.68

0

0

0

0

0

0

Outstanding at 31 Dec.

109 800

41 600

151 400

1.68

During 2015 the Company granted warrants over 151,400 ordinary shares. The warrants are divided into two tranches: in the first 
tranche, 109,800 warrants with a subscription price of €1.55 (“A Warrants”), and in the second tranche, 41,600 warrants with a 
subscription price of €2.01 (“B Warrants”). Any “A” Warrants shall be exercised during the subscription period commencing on 2 
November 2015 and ending on 7 May 2018. Any “B” Warrants shall be exercised during the subscription period commencing on 
2 November 2015 and ending on 28 May 2018.

71

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015Calculation of the share-based payment 
expense in the income statement

Accounting  for  share-based  payments  under  IFRS  2  requires 
Faron  to  take  into  account  all  the  options  and  warrants,  both 
granted  and  allocated.  In  the  calculation  of  the  share-based 
payment  expense  the  options  and  warrants  were  treated  as 
one pool.
The  estimated  average  fair  value  of  options  and  warrants 
granted  and  allocated  during  the  period  was  €0.96  per 
option.

Out of 1,151,400 granted and allocated options and warrants, 
401,400 were exercisable as at 31 December 2015. None were 
exercised in 2015. The maximum number of ordinary shares 
which  could  be  issued  in  the  event  of  all  options  under  the 
2015  option  plan  being  allocated,  subscribed  for  and  exer-
cised together with exercise of the outstanding warrants out-
standing, amounts to 1,751,400 shares.
The grant date fair value of the options were determined using 
the Black-Scholes valuation model.The significant inputs into 
the  model  were  share  price,  exercise  price,  volatility  and  the 
annual risk-free interest rate as shown in the table below.

Plan and month of grant 

Years of 
vesting 

Contractual 
months 
remaining

Share price € 

Estimated 
excercise 
price €

Volatility 

Risk-free 
interest rate 

A Options - Sept 2015

B Options - Sept 2015

C Options - Sept 2015

D Options - Sept 2015

2015-2021

2016-2021

2017-2021

2018-2021

Warrants A - Sept 2015

2015-2018

Warrants B - Sept 2015

2015-2018

69

69

69

69

29

29

2.69

2.69

2.69

2.69

2.69

2.69

3.71

4.10

4.51

4.96

1.55

2.01

50%

50%

50%

50%

50%

50%

0.01%.

0.01%

0.01%

0.01%

0.01%

0.01%

The total expense recognised in the income statement for share options is EUR 474,000 in 2015. 2015 is the Company’s first year 
to issue options.

Accounting for share-based payments under IFRS 2 requires Faron management to use judgment in determining whether a 
transactions settled in entity’s own equity instruments include share-based payments. In addition, management uses judgment 
in determining the attribution model in the financial statements, including, for example, estimates of future forfeitures. Measur-
ing the fair value of equity instruments granted requires management to use judgment on appropriate inputs into option pricing 
model, e.g. share price at grant date, volatility and interest rates.

NOTE 17
Non-current financial liabilities and other liabilities

Stated in euro 

Interest-bearing financial liabilities

Tekes loan

Convertible notes

Total non-current financial liabilities

Other non-current liability

Total other non-current liabilities

Total non-current financial liabilities

2015 
€’000

2014 
€’000

1 446

1 691

1 446

1 691

1 446

1 691

Further information on Faron’s financial liabilities and related arrangements is presented in Note 2 Financial risk management. 
See also Note 18 Current financial liabilities and other liabilities below.

72

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015 
 
 
NOTE 18
Current financial liabilities and other liabilities

Stated in euro 

Interest-bearing financial liabilities

Convertible notes

Goverment loans (current portion)

Bank overdraft facility

Non-interest-bearing financial liabilities

Trade payables

Other liabilities

Prepayment

Accrued expenses

Other liabilities

Total current financial liabilities and other liabilities

2015 
€’000

2014 
€’000

245

245

436

436

973

515

29

1 517

2 198

9

9

1 456

150

46

1 652

1 662

The item “Prepayments” above comprises portions of the awarded EU grant, received in 2013 and 2014. For further information, 
see Note 5 Other operating income.

For the years 2014 and 2015 the major item under “Accrued expenses” are personnel related (short-term employee benefits). In 
2014 in addition to the before mentioned, the accrued interest of the convertible notes contributed to the increase of the accrued 
expenses.

73

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015NOTE 19
Carrying amounts and fair values of financial 
liabilities by measurement categories

NOTE 20
Contingencies and 
commitments

During  the  years  presented in  these  financial  statements  Fa-
ron  mainly  had  financial  instruments  classified  as  financial 
liabilities measured at amortised cost. Fair value information 
of  those  measured  at  fair  value  is  included  in  note  2.3.  The 
carrying amounts of Faron’s financial liabilities are considered 
to equal their fair values, except for the following:

Faron has elected to apply the exemption  provided under 
IFRS 1 to both goverment loans (Tekes), drawn in 2008 and 
2010. The loans are stated at the carrying amount measured 
using the previous GAAP. The carrying amount and the respec-
tive fair value are presented below.

Stated in euro 

Carrying amount1

2015 
€’000

2014 
€’000

1 691

1 691

Stated in euro 

2015 
€’000

2014 
€’000

Financial liabilities, for which mortgages have been issued

Corporate mortgages

800

800

Corporate mortgages

800

800

The corporate mortgage is a guarantee for the EUR 800,000 
credit limit. The credit limit was not renewed after it expired on 
31 December 2015.

Operating lease – Faron as a lessee

The  future  aggregate  minimum  lease  payments  under  non- 
cancellable operating leases are as follows

1 Includes both the non-current and current portions

The  fair  values  of  all  financial  liabilities  are  within  level  2  of 
the fair value hierarchy. Description of the hierarchy levels are 
included in note 2.3

Stated in euro 

No later than 1 year

Later than 1 year and no later than 5 years

Later than 5 years

2015 
€’000

2014 
€’000

82

14

46

2

Total

96

48

Faron  leases  equipment  under  non-cancellable  operating 
leases. The lease terms at the time of the start of the lease 
agreement are between 3 and 4 years.

The  operating  facilities  used  currently  are  leased  under  a 
cancellable operating lease. Faron is required to give a three-
month notice for the termination of this agreement.

74

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015NOTE 21
Transactions with related parties

Related parties of the Company

Stated in euro 

2015 
€’000

2014 
€’000

Faron’s related party comprise of the following:

Remuneration of key management personnel*

•  Marko  Salmi,  a  private  person  having  significant  influence 
over Faron Pharmaceuticals Oy, following from the sharehold-
ing of 17.6%, as at 31 December 2015;

•  A&B (HK) Company Limited, an investment company existing 
under the laws of Hong Kong having significant influence in 
Faron Pharmaceuticals Oy, given their shareholding of 15.2%, 
as at 31 December 2015;

•  Board of Directors; and
•  the Company’s key management personnel (see below)
•  Faron had no interests in other entities at the end of the re-

porting periods presented in these financial statements.

Key management personnel

Salaries and other short-term employee 
benefits

769

472

Share-based payment

122

Post-employment benefits (defined contribution plans)

Total

891

472

Stated in euro 

2015 
€’000

2014 
€’000

Remuneration to the Board of Directors **

The  Company’s  key  management  personnel  consist  of  the 
following:

Salaries and other short-term benefits

124

50

•  members of the Board of Directors; and
•  Management Team comprising CEO Markku Jalkanen, PhD; 
VP Ilse Piippo, MD, MSc (Pharm); VP Mikael Maksimow, PhD; 
CFO Yrjö Wichmann MSc (Econ)

Share-based payment

155

Total

279

50

*   Presented  information  for  the  Management  includes  the 

Executive Directors of the Board.

**  Presented  information  for  the  Board  includes  only  Non-

Executive Directors.

75

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015Management and Board shareholding

Management* shareholding, 31 December 2015

Number of shares (pcs)

Shareholding, percentage

Board** shareholding, 31 December 2015

(excluding the shareholding of CEO)

Number of shares (pcs)

Shareholding, percentage

Total number of shares outstanding at 31 December 2015 (pcs)

*    Presented information for the Management includes the Executive Directors of the Board.
** Presented information for the Board includes only Non-Executive Directors.

2 942 830

12.7%

1 584 623

6.9%

23 111 704

Transactions with related parties

Faron has not carried out any transactions with related parties in the financial years presented in these financial statements, 
except that the former parent company of Faron Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Faron Holding Ltd, merged into its subsidiary Faron Phar-
maceuticals Ltd on 31 December 2013.

NOTE 22
Events after the balance sheet date

No events occurred after the balance sheet date that would have a material impact on the result or financial position of the 
Company.

76

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2015Faron Pharmaceuticals Ltd
Joukahaisenkatu 6, Intelligate
FIN-20520 TURKU
Finland

Phone: +358 2 469 5151
Fax: +358 2 469 5152
Email: info@faronpharmaceuticals.com