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Faron

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FY2016 Annual Report · Faron
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Annual Report
2016

Revolutionising the treatment of ARDS 
and activation of tumour immunity

Contents

fa ron  pha rmaceut ic als

corpor ate gover nance

Saving lives 
Endothelial Barrier Is Everything 
Highlights 2016 

strategi c report

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

pipeli ne

Overview 
Traumakine 

The INTEREST Study 

Clevegen 

4
5
6

8
9
10
12
14

16
17
22
24

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

finan cial report

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

Results and dividends 
Auditor’s report 

27
28
32
35
38
43

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45
46
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48

80
81

2

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016Endothelial barrier is everything

Faron’s pipeline is based on endothelial receptors 
involved in regulation of immune responses

Clever-1 regulates 
tissue immune 
status

CD73 controls 
capillary leakage 
and escalation of 
inflammation

AOC3 enhances 
inflammation and 
causes vascular 
damage*

* AOC3 inhibitor currently on hold

The endothelial surface of exhaustive capillary networks control fluid 
and cell balance between circulation and tissues, and is a factor in many 
devastating diseases like organ failures and cancer metastasis.

3

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016faron pharmace ut ic als

Saving lives

Faron Pharmaceuticals Ltd is a clinical stage 
biopharmaceutical company developing novel 
treatments for medical conditions with significant unmet 
needs. The Company currently has a pipeline focusing 
on acute organ traumas, vascular damage and cancer 
immunotherapy. 

lead 

The  Company’s 
candidate 
Traumakine,  to  prevent  vascular  leak-
age  and  organ  failures,  is  currently  the 
only  treatment  for  Acute  Respiratory 
Distress  Syndrome  (ARDS)  undergoing 
Phase III clinical trials.  There is current-
ly  no  approved  pharmaceutical  treat-
ment for ARDS. An additional European 
Phase  II  Traumakine  trial  is  underway 
for  the  Rupture  of  Abdominal  Aorta 
Aneurysm (“RAAA”). Both patient groups 
have  high  mortality  due  to  multi  organ 
failure (MOF) caused by ischemic reper-
fusion injury.

Faron’s  second  candidate  Clevegen  is 
a  ground  breaking  pre-clinical  anti-Clev-
er-1 antibody. Clevegen has the ability to 
switch immune suppression to immune 
activation  in  various  conditions,  with 
potential  across  oncology,  infectious 
disease and vaccine development. This 
novel macrophage-directed immuno-on-
cology  switch  called Tumour  Immunity 
Enabling  Technology  (“TIET”)  may  be 
used alone or in combination with other 
immune  checkpoint  molecules  for  the 
treatment of cancer patients. 

Faron is based in Turku,  Finland and is 
listed  on  London  AIM  under  the  ticker 
‘FARN’.

4

ANNUAL REPORT 2016FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTD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  vascu-
lar  endothelial  cells.  These  “homing” 
molecules  form  an  essential  cellular 
trafficking guidance system, which we 
all  need  to  maintain  our  normal  phys-
iology.  Unfortunately,  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 harm-
ful  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 is targeting several endothelial 
molecules involved in this guidance sys-
tem and the maintenance of the endothe-
lial barrier. We believe that the control of 
these  molecules  provides  a  unique  way 
of  treating  many  life- threatening   condi-
tions with high unmet medical needs. Our 
two lead indications – acute respiratory 
lung injury and control of tumour immu-
nity – are both based on the malfunction 
of  the  endothelial  barrier,  both  of  which 
we have learned to control (see page 3).

We hope that our 2016 Annual Report 
inspires  you  to  explore  our  technologies, 
which  have  originated  from  world-class 
academic  laboratories  and  developed  by 
Faron  as  novel  proprietary  treatments 
for Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome 
(ARDS), and tumour immune suppression.

5

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016fa ron  pha rmaceut ic als

Highlights 2016

•  Pivotal, pan-European, Phase III INTEREST trial for the treatment 
of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (“ARDS”), has continued 
to progress as planned. 

•  Maruishi,  Faron’s  Japanese  licensing  Partner,  reported  top  line 
results from its Phase II safety study which indicated there were 
no safety concerns and, similarly to Faron’s phase I/II UK study, 
also showed reduction of 28-day mortality.

• 

• 

Initiation of Maruishi’s own pivotal Phase III study in Japan which 
aims to recruit 120 severe and moderate ARDS patients split be-
tween treatment and placebo arms.

Initiated filing of a clinical trial application (CTA) for the use of 
Traumakine in a second indication for the prevention of mortality 
among operated RAAA (Rupture of Abdominal Aorta Aneurysm) 
patients.

•  Filed  patent  application  in  Finland  for  the  intravenous  formula-
tion of interferon-beta and received a first allowance letter from 
the  Finnish  Patent  Authorities  indicating  potential  success  in 
Europe and USA. 

•  Entered  into  licensing  agreement  with  Pharmbio  Koreo  Inc 
(Pharmbio)  for  the  commercialisation  of  Traumakine  in  Korea 
and received a signing fee of €750,000.

•  Established  production  clones  for  the  humanised,  and  de-im-
munized, monoclonal antibody FP-1305 with Faron’s technology 
partner, Selexis. 

•  Entered into a collaboration agreement with Abzena Corp (LSE: 
ABZA) to establish large scale GMP manufacturing for Clevegen. 

•  Filed two new patent applications to seek further protection for 
Clevegen. If successful, Clevegen will be protected for the next 
20 years.

•  Expansion of Clevegen’s use to include removal of local immune 
suppression around tumors (TIET), chronic infections (CIRT) and 
vaccination sites (VRET). 

6

ANNUAL REPORT 2016FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDFinancial Highlights

•  Raised  total  equity  of  €9.3  million  (net  €8.5  million)  by  issu-
ing 3,200,000 new ordinary shares at a price of 250 pence per 
share. The  proceeds  are  being  used  to  fund Traumakine  US 
safety  trials  (INTRUST),  Clevegen  pre-clinical  and  clinical  de-
velopment  to  Phase  I/II  for  lead  indication  of  hepatocellular 
carcinoma  (HCC)  and  the  RAAA  European  clinical  develop-
ment to Phase II (INFORAAA trial), as well as further R&D and 
operational expenses.

•  Generated  €1.2  million  (2015:  €0.5  million)  revenues  mainly 
from sales of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and sales 
of medical products for trials. The €0.7 million licence agree-
ment cash siging fee from Pharmbio was recorded as advance 
payment. In addition, the Company recorded grant income of 
€1.7 million (2015: €0.7 million) from the EU FP7 grant.

•  Drew down €0.6 million of a €1.5 million R&D loan granted by 

Tekes in 2015 to progress the Clevegen programme. 

•  On  31  December  2016,  the  Company  held  cash  balances  of 

€11.5 million (2015: €11.1million).

•  Operating loss for the financial year ended 31 December 2016 

was €9.3 million (2015: €6.2 million loss).

•  Net assets on 31 December 2016 were €10.9 million  

(2015: €11.2 million)

Post-Period End Highlights

•  On  9  February  2017,  announced  a  third  IDMC  recommenda-
tion to continue the Phase III INTEREST trial as planned and 
also confirmed the expected read-out from the trial to be in 
H2 2017.

•  On 20 February 2017, announced recruitment of the first pa-
tient in the Traumakine INFORAAA trial for the prevention of 
multi-organ failure and patient mortality after surgical repair 
of a RAAA.

•  On  1  March  2017,  announced  the  successful  raise  of  ap-
proximately €5.8 million before expenses from the placing of 
1,422,340 ordinary shares at a price of 350 pence per share.

7

ANNUAL REPORT 2016FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDstrategi c report

Addressing 
significant 
unmet 
medical 
needs

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  targets 
several  endothelial  molecules  involved 
in  the  maintenance  of  the  endothelial 
barrier which is a thin layer (membrane) 
of  cells  that  lines  blood  and  lymphatic 
vessels  to  separate  blood  content  from 
tissue.  The  Company  believes  that  the 
control  of  these  molecules  provides  a 
unique  way  to  treat  many  life-threaten-
ing conditions with high unmet  medical 
needs.  Faron  collaborates  with  its  stra-
tegic  partners  in  research,  manufactur-
ing  and  drug  development  to  bring  new 
pharmaceutical  products  to  market  in 
a  timely  and  cost-effective  manner  and 
has  formed  a  core  team  of  leading  sci-
entists  in  capillary  biology  and  diseas-
es  arising  from  vascular  leakage.  The 
Company  has  established 
links  with 
leading laboratories and clinics based at 
Turku  University  in  Finland,  University  of 
Birmingham  Medical  School  in  UK  and 
other institutions.

To date, Faron has operated on a relative-
ly low cost basis by employing only key 
members of staff and outsourcing where 
possible. Typically, all development work 
up to the proof-of-concept stage of drug 
development  is  carried  out  in  the  inno-
vators’  laboratories.  The  Company  out-
sources all of its manufacturing activities 
in relation to its products to third parties 
and collaborates with Contract Research 
Organisations  (CROs)  to  carry  out  the 
clinical development programmes. Faron 
monitors  and  evaluates  potential  com-
mercial opportunities for its established 
drug  candidates,  such  as  Traumakine 
and  Clevegen  and  its  technologies,  as 
and  when  they  arise  and  will  consider 
how best to crystallise as much value as 
possible for Shareholders, which may in-
clude holding rights in main territories for 
as long as it is feasible, or, in certain cir-
cumstances, up to the marketing stage.

8

ANNUAL REPORT 2016FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDstrategi c report

Chairman´s Statement

2016  was  an  important  year  for  Faron. 
The  highly  experienced  management 
team  has  made  significant  progress 
with  Traumakine  and  Clevegen  during 
its  first  full  financial  year  following  the 
successful  AIM  listing  on  the  London 
Stock Exchange in November 2015. 

lead 

drug 

The  Company’s  novel 

therapies, 
Traumakine  and  Clevegen,  have  been 
developed  from  a  thorough  and  deep 
scientific knowledge and understanding 
of  endothelial  barrier  function  and  con-
trol,  and  both  products  are  delivering 
exciting data. 
Faron’s 

candidate, 
Traumakine,  continues  to  recruit  pa-
tients  into  the  pivotal,  pan-European 
Phase III INTEREST trial, which is due to 
report  the  critical  end  points  (e.g.  mor-
tality  difference  between  placebo  and 
active  treatment)  in  the  second  half  of 
2017.  We  believe  that  Traumakine,  as 
the  only  product  in  late  stage  clinical 
development for the treatment of ARDS, 
represents  a  significant  opportunity  to 
treat patients with this serious condition.
The  Company  also  believes  that 
Traumakine  could  have  applications 
across other serious indications and in 
early  2017,  recruited  the  first  patient  in 
a  phase  II  trial  (INFORAAA)  assessing 
Traumakine  for  the  prevention  of  Multi-
Organ Failure (MOF) and patient mortal-
ity after surgical repair of a RAAA. RAAA 
is a medical emergency with no known 
treatment and an overall mortality of 30 
to 50% for post-operative refusion injury 
for RAAA patients. 

Faron’s  second  product,  its  pre-clini-
cal immunotherapy candidate, Clevegen, 
causes  conversion  of  the  immune  envi-
ronment around a tumour from immune 
suppressive  to  immune  stimulating  by 

reducing  the  number  of  tumour-asso-
ciated  macrophages  (TAMs).  Recent 
developments  in  the  exciting  field  of 
cancer  immunotherapy  have  been  well 
documented with a number of important 
indications  of  clinical  success.  We  be-
lieve that Clevegen is well differentiated 
from  other  immunotherapies  through 
its specific targeting of M2 TAMs which 
facilitate tumour growth, while leaving in-
tact the M1 TAMs that support immune 
activation  against  tumours.  In  July,  we 
were pleased to enter an agreement with 
Abzena for the manufacture of Clevegen 
for use in primate toxicity and Phase I/II 
clinical studies.

The Company  is well funded, having 
secured €9.3 million in a private placing 
in  September  2016  and  a  further  €5.8 
million  in  February  2017.  Both  place-
ments  were  executed  at  a  premium  to 
the  Company’s  share  price,  which  indi-
cates  the  level  of  confidence  our  inves-
tors, both new and established, have in 
our products, our strategy and the ability 
of our management to deliver. 

Faron’s key focus for 2017 will be to 
prepare the business for the anticipated 
commercial  launch  of  Traumakine  in 
the event of a positive European Phase 
III  data  readout  and  prepare  for  the 
commencement of a Phase II safety tri-
al  in  the  US,  whilst  also  continuing  the 
pre-clinical and planned early-stage clin-
ical development of Clevegen.

As  ever  the  Board  will  continue  to 
look for opportunities to deliver and en-
hance value to our Shareholders as well 
as  patients  who  will  benefit  from  the 
new drugs Faron is developing.

The  Board  recognises  the  efforts 
of  the  management  team  to  deliver 
the  successes  achieved  in  2016  and 

is  grateful  to  the  investigators  and  pa-
tients who are part of our clinical trials.

We look forward to an exciting 2017 
with  continued  support  from  share-
holders  as  we  progress  our  exciting 
products, Traumakine and Clevegen.

Dr Frank M Armstrong – Chairman

9

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016str ategic report

Operational Review

When Faron listed on the London Stock 
Exchange’s AIM in November 2015, the 
Company  had  ambitions  to  deliver  on 
its  promises  and  exceed  expectations. 
Faron  has  so  far  achieved  its  stated 
goals and with a lower than anticipated 
cash  burn.  We  expect  this  momentum 
to continue into the coming year and our 
focus remains stronger than ever.

We  have  complemented  our  funds 
raised at IPO with additional successful 
equity finance rounds (September 2016 
and  February  2017)  in  order  to  expand 
our pipeline development to new indica-
tions and territories, as well as broaden-
ing our institutional shareholder base. 

Traumakine® Development

Our lead drug, Traumakine, progressed 
as  planned  to  the  full  scale  Phase  III 
trial  (INTEREST)  during  2016  for  the 
treatment  of  ARDS.  ARDS  is  a  severe, 
life-threatening  medical 
condition 
characterised  by  widespread  capil-
lary  leakage  and  inflammation  in  the 
lungs,  most  often  as  a  result  of  sep-
sis,  pneumonia  or  significant  trauma. 
Currently  there  are  no  pharmacolog-
ical  treatments  for  ARDS,  an  orphan 
disease  with  a  30-45%  mortality  rate. 
Traumakine  has  been  granted  Orphan 
Drug  Designation  in  Europe  which  al-
lows a period of 10 years of market ex-
clusivity following marketing approval 
by  the  European  Medicines  Agency. 
The  Phase  III  INTEREST  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 
successful completion of the Phase III 
INTEREST  trial  in  the  second  half  of 

2017  and  achievement  of  regulatory 
approvals,  Traumakine  will  potentially 
be  the  first  effective,  mechanistical-
ly-targeted,  disease-specific  pharma-
cotherapy  for  ARDS  patients  and  has 
the  potential  to  revolutionalise  inten-
sive care practices.

To  date,  Faron  has  entered 

into 
agreements  with  three  pharmaceutical 
companies  to  carry  out  the  clinical  de-
velopment  and  commercialisation  of 
Traumakine in Japan, Greater China and 
Korea. Faron owns the intellectual prop-
erty  and  marketing  rights  in  respect  of 
Traumakine in all other territories.

Our  Japanese 

licensing  partner, 
Maruishi  Pharmaceutical  Co.,  Ltd  an-
nounced similar positive from its Phase 
II  Japanese  study 
for  Traumakine. 
Based on these results Maruishi is now 
conducting  a  pivotal  phase  III  trial  in 
Japan according to the advice from the 
Japanese FDA (PMDA).

Faron  continued  out-licensing  of 
Traumakine in Asia signing a profit shar-
ing agreement with Pharmbio, a Korean 
pharmaceutical  company,  on  rights  to 
develop and commercialise Traumakine 
in  Korea.  Faron  received  a  signing  fee 
of €750,000, with additional milestones 
and royalty payments agreed.

Parallel 

to  completion  of 

the 
European Phase III study, Faron plans to 
commence  a  Phase  II  US  safety  study 
(INTRUST) with Traumakine in H2 2017, 
which is expected to take 12 months to 
complete.  The  timing  of  this  planned 
trial  remains  subject  to  regulatory  ap-
provals,  with  a  pre-IND  FDA  meeting 
targeted to occur in mid 2017. Faron is 
currently in the process of establishing 
the  trial  structure  and  is  recruiting  PI’s, 
IDMC, sites and CROs in the US.

Clevegen® Development

One of Faron’s key areas of focus is to de-
velop a cancer treatment that supports 
the  hosts’  immune  defences  against 
tumours, as these are often suppressed 
in cancer patients. Faron’s second most 
advanced  drug  development  project, 
Clevegen,  revolves  around  Clever-1,  a 
cell surface molecule involved in cancer 
growth and spread. The active pharma-
ceutical  ingredient  of  Clevegen  is  a  hu-
manised anti-Clever-1 antibody.

Faron has an agreement with Geneva 
based  Selexis  to  prepare  high  yield  pro-
duction  clones  for  Clevegen  (FP-1305) 
which  was  successfully  completed  in 
mid 2016. In order to obtain GMP grade 
antibodies,  Faron  contracted  Abzena 
to  build  a  manufacturing  process  for 
Clevegen,  allowing  Faron  to  design  a  fi-
nal  primate  tox  study  and  plan  human 
clinical studies in several cancer groups. 
Abzena  informed  the  Company  at  the 
end  of  2016  that  the  selected  clones 
produce more than 5 g/l, which is widely 
considered a commercially feasible level.
During 2016, Faron has utilised €0.8 
million  of  the  €1.5  million  loan  funding 
from Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency 
for  Innovation,  to  progress  the  preclini-
cal development of Clevegen. The fund-
ing  is  a  government  loan  which  covers 
50% of the budgeted cost of the preclin-
ical development of Clevegen.

10

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016Upcoming Newsflow

The  Board  anticipates  the  following 
pipeline progress during 2017:

•  Advanced 

Traumakine:
•  Read-out for the pan-European phase 
III  trial  (INTEREST)  results  (all-cause 
mortality at day 28) during H2 2017.
advice 

IDMC 
Data  Monitoring 
(Independent 
Committee) on the INTEREST study is 
expected in May 2017. Faron recently 
received  the  third  recommendation 
from  IDMC  for  the  trial  to  continue 
without any modifications. 

from 

•  The Company has established a man-
ufacturing  plan  to  build  its  stocks  of 
Traumakine. Subject to a positive out-
come of the INTEREST study, having 
manufacturing  in  place  should  facili-
tate  the  application  process  for  mar-
ket approval of Traumakine.

•  The  Company  plans  to  commence  a 
Phase  II  US  safety  study  (INTRUST) 
with Traumakine  in  H2  2017.  It  is  ex-
pected that the full study will take 12-
15 months to get to D28 and D90 all 
cause mortality data. Timing remains 
subject to regulatory approvals with a 
pre-IND  FDA  meeting  targeted  to  oc-
cur in mid 2017.

•  The  Company  currently  expects  re-
in  the  Japanese  Phase 
cruitment 
III  pivotal  study  for  the  treatment  of 
ARDS  with  Traumakine,  run  by  its 
Japanese  licensing  partner  Maruishi 
Pharmaceutical  Co.,  to  progress  to-
wards completion during 2017.

•  Interim  results  from  the  160  patient 
Traumakine clinical study (INFORAAA) 
for the treatment of patients with rup-
ture of acute abdominal aorta (RAAA), 
which  began  recruiting  in  February 

2017, is expected in 12 to 18 months. 
The  aim  of  this  trial  is  to  reduce 
mortality  in  operated  RAAA  patients, 
which normally varies from 30 to 50% 
of  all  patients  surgically  operated  on. 
The  INFORAAA  study  will  also  assist 
in  the  design  of Traumakine trials  for 
single organ failures.

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

Clevegen:
•  Subject to access of Clevegen’s active 
pharmaceutical  incredient  (FP-1305), 
Faron  has  contracted  a  toxicological 
pre-clinical study for Clevegen to start 
in mid 2017. 

•  The Company expects to file the first 
CTA  with  the  UK  regulatory  authori-
ties (MHRA) in late 2017 / early 2018 
and this study is expected to provide 
enough safety data for acceptance of 
the CTA. The first, and primarily safety 
focused clinical trial is expected to be 
conducted  with  liver  cancer  patients 
at  the  Birmingham  University  Liver 
Cancer  Centre  and  is  expected  to 
continue  into  a  Phase  II  study  via  an 
adapted trial design for HCC patients 
to recognise early efficacy signals.
•  The second set of clinical cancer trials 
will  be  conducted  in  parallel  with  the 
HCC  trial  in  Scandinavia  with  mela-
noma,  pancreas  and  ovarian  cancer 
patients.

Commerical:
Faron 
is  exploring  various  commer-
cial  opportunities  while  continuing  to 
develop  the  pipeline  with  the  existing 
resources. 

Markku Jalkanen – CEO

11

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016str ategic report

Financial Review

Key Performance Indicator 

Faron  is  a  late  clinical  stage  drug  de-
velopment  company  with  no  recur-
ring  sales  and  thus  the  primary  Key 
Performance Indicators (KPIs) followed 
by  the  Board  focus  on  cash  balances 
and  other  related  information.  During 
2016,  the  Company  was  able  to  gen-
erate  positive  (€0.4  million)  cash  flow 
despite strong investments in R&D. This 
was  possible  mainly  due  to  successful 
fundraising and stronger than expected 
income,  both  revenues  and  other  oper-
ating  income.  The  Board  will  consider 
the appropriateness of monitoring addi-
tional KPIs as the Company’s operations 
advance. 

Revenue and Other  
Operating Income

The  Company’s  revenue  was  €1.2  mil-
lion  for  the  year  ended  31  December 
2016  (2015:  €0.5million),  which  com-
prised  of  sale  of  excess  API  material 
and  sales  of  IMP  –material.  The  €0.7 
million  signing  fee  milestone  from 
Korean  license  partner  PharmBio  was 
not recorded as revenue but as advance 
payment.  The  Company  also  recorded 
€1.7 million (2015: €0.7 million) of other 
operational  income.  This  comprised  of 
income  recognised  from  the  European 
Commission FP7 grant in support of the 
Traumakine programme as well a grant 
component from public loans.

Research and  
development costs

The R&D costs  increased by €5.6 million 
(141%) from €4.0 million to €9.6 million. 
This  was  mainly  due  to  the  INTEREST 

–trial which recruited its first patient very 
late  2015  and  was  in  full  capacity  dur-
ing  2016.  Also,  Clevegen  development 
entered a more active phase. The third 
contributor  to  the  R&D  cost  increase 
was  preparatory  work  for  eventual 
Traumakine launch including ramp-up of 
production of API.   

Losses

Loss  before  income  tax  was  €9.3  mil-
lion (2015 €6.2 million). Net loss for the 
year was €9.2 million (2015 €6.2 million) 
representing  a  loss  of  €0.39  per  share 
(2015 € 0.30 per share) (adjusted for the 
changes in share capital).

Share-based compensation

Cash Flows

According  to  the  2015  Option  program 
a  number  of  options  were  awarded 
to  Directors  and  key  personnel  dur-
ing  2016.  This  had  no  cash  impact 
on  the  results  for  the  year,  however 
accounting  standards 
this 
share  based  compensation  to  be  rec-
ognised  in  the  Consolidated  Statement 
of  Comprehensive  Income,  resulting 
in  a  charge  of  €0.5  million  (2015:  €0.5 
million.).

required 

Taxation

The  Company’s  tax  credit  for  the  fis-
cal  year  2016  can  be  recorded  only 
after  the  Finnish  tax  authorities  have 
approved  the  tax  report  and  con-
firmed  the  amount  of  tax-deductible 
losses  for  2016.  The  total  amount 
of  cumulative  tax  losses  carried  for-
ward  approved  by  tax  authorities  on 
31  December  2016  was  €13.9  million 
(2014: €5.7 million). These losses can 
be  utilised  during  the  years  2019  to 
2025  by  offsetting  them  against  prof-
its. In addition, Faron has €2.8 million 
research  and  development  costs  in-
curred in the financial years 2010 and 
2011 that have not yet been deducted 
in its taxation. This amount can be de-
ducted over an indefinite period at the 
Company’s discretion.

The  Company  was  able  to  maintain  a 
positive  net  cash  inflow  of  €0.4  million 
for  the  year  ended  31  December  2016, 
compared  to  a  positive  cash  inflow  of 
€10.8 million for the previous year. Cash 
used  by  operating  activities  increased 
with €1.3 million to €8.5 million for the 
year,  compared  to  €7.1  million  for  the 
year  ended  31  December  2015.  This 
increase  was  driven  by  €5.6  million 
(142%)  increase  in  research  and  devel-
opment costs, and was offset by a €1.7 
million (142%) increase in income and a 
€0.9 million (29%) reduction in adminis-
trative costs.

Net  cash  inflow  from  financing  ac-
tivities  €9.0  million  (2015:  €18.1  mil-
lion)  mainly  due  to  the  receipt  of  net 
proceeds of €8.5 million from an equity 
placing completed in September 2016

Financial Position

As  at  30  September  2016,  total  cash 
and  cash  equivalents  held  were  €11.5 
million (2015 €11.1 million). 

Headcount

Average headcount of the Company for 
the year was 10 (2015:6). The increase 
in headcount is attributable to the com-
mencement of the Phase III trial.

12

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016Share Capital

Based  on  the  authorisation  by  the 
Annual  General  held  on  26  May  2016, 
the Board of Directors decided to issue 
a total of 3,200,000 million new ordinary 
shares. On 23 September 2016, the num-
ber of ordinary shares was increased to 
26,311,704  by  the  issue  of  3,200,000 
new  ordinary  shares  at  a  subscription 
price  of  £2.50.  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
Based  on  a 

the 
Extraordinary  General  Meeting  held  on 
15  September  2015,  the  Company  had 
adopted  the  2015  Share  Option  Plan. 
On  18  November  2016  the  Board  of 
Directors  granted  the  2015B  Options 
to  the  management  and  employees  of 
the  Company.  The  directors’  options 
are detailed in Directors´ Remuneration 
Report set out in the Annual Report and 
Accounts.

resolution  of 

Money Raised to Date

Until  31  December  2016,  the  Company 
has been funded with a total of approx-
imately €44 million, made up of a com-
bination  of  equity,  debt  and  grant  fund-
ing, which has been used to develop the 
Company’s  products  and 
intellectual 
property.  The  Company  has  also  gen-
erated revenue and cash of €4.2 million 
to date through the receipt of milestone 
payments  pursuant  to  certain  of  its  li-
censing  arrangements  and  the  sale  of 
surplus raw materials.

Yrjö E K Wichmann – CFO

13

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016str ategic report

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 
2016 are below.

Research and Development

Faron’s main product is in the late stag-
es of clinical development however may 
not be successful in the clinical trials and 
may not be able to develop approved or 
marketable  products.  Technical  risk  is 
also present at each stage of the discov-
ery  and  development  process  of  other, 
earlier  stage  products  with  challenges 
in  biology  (including  the  ability  to  pro-
duce  candidate  drugs  with  appropriate 
safety,  efficacy  and  usability  character-
istics).  Additionally,  drug  development 
is a highly regulated environment which 
itself  presents  technical  risk  through 
the  need  for  study  designs  and  data 
to  be  accepted  by  regulatory  agencies. 
Furthermore, there can be no guarantee 
that the Company will be able to, or that 
it will be commercially advantageous for 
the Company to, monetize the value of 
its  intellectual  property  through  enter-
ing  into  licensing  or  other  co-operation 
deals with pharmaceutical companies.

Commercial

Faron’s  industry,  being  biotechnology 
and pharmaceutical industries, are very 
competitive.  The  Company’s  competi-
tors  include  major  multinational  phar-
maceutical  companies,  biotechnology 
companies  and  research  institutions. 

Many  of  its  competitors  have  substan-
tially greater financial, technical and oth-
er resources, such as larger research and 
development  resources  and  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 of the prod-
uct  candidates  which  the  Company  is 
currently developing or which it may de-
velop and may have a material adverse 
impact on the Company.

in-
appropriately  qualified  personnel, 
cluding  personnel  with  a  high  level  of 
scientific and technical expertise. There 
is  currently  a  shortage  of  such  per-
sonnel  in  the  pharmaceutical  industry, 
meaning  that  the  Company  is  likely  to 
face  significant  competition  in  recruit-
ment. The  Company  may  be  unable  to 
find a sufficient number of appropriately 
highly  trained  individuals  to  satisfy  its 
growth rate, which could affect its ability 
to develop as planned.

Dependence on key 
personnel and scientific and 
clinical collaborators

The  Company’s  success  is  highly  de-
pendent  on  the  expertise  and  expe-
rience  of  the  Directors  and  the  key 
Management.  Whilst 
the  Company 
has  entered  into  employment  and  oth-
er  agreements  with  each  of  these  key 
personnel, the retention of such person-
nel  cannot  be  guaranteed.  Should  key 
personnel  leave  or  no  longer  be  party 
to  agreements  or  collaborations  with 
the  Company,  the  Company’s  business 
prospects,  financial  condition  and/or 
results  of  operations  may  be  material-
ly  adversely  affected.  To  develop  new 
products  and  commercialise  its  cur-
rent pipeline of products, the Company 
relies,  in  part,  on  the  recruitment  of 

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 

14

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016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,  un-
authorized third parties may attempt to 
copy, or obtain and use the Company’s 
IPR  and  other  technology  that  is  incor-
porated  into  its  pharmaceutical  prod-
ucts.  In  addition,  alternative  technolog-
ical  solutions  similar  to  the  Company’s 

products  may  become  available  to 
competitors  or  prospective  competi-
tors  of  the  Company.  It  should  be  not-
ed 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  material  and  ar-
guments, which the patent office grant-
ing the patent may not have seen at the 
time  of  granting  the  patent.  Therefore, 
whilst  a  patent  may  be  granted  to  the 
Company it could in the future be found 
by  a  court  of  law  or  by  the  patent  of-
fice  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  unfavorable 
outcomes in respect of patent litigation 
could limit the Company’s IPR and activ-
ities moving forward. 

The  Directors  do  not  believe  that  its 
lead  pharmaceutical  drug  candidates, 
future  drug  candidates  in  development, 
and  proprietary  processes  for  gen-
erating  those  candidate  compounds 
infringe  the  IPR  of  any  third  parties  al-
though  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  par-
ty  intellectual  property. The  Company’s 
research  has  included  searching  and 
reviewing  certain  publicly  available  re-
sources,  which  are  examined  by  senior 
levels of management in order to keep 
abreast of developments in the field. 

Financial

The  Company  has  incurred  significant 
losses since its inception and does not 
have  any  approved  or  revenue-gener-
ating  products.  The  Company  expects 

to  incur  losses  for  the  foreseeable  fu-
ture,  and  there  is  no  certainty  that  the 
business  will  generate  a  profit.  The 
Company may not be able to raise addi-
tional  funds  that  will  be  needed  to  sup-
port its product development programs 
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 
continued service of its senior manage-
ment team including the Directors. The 
Company  has  invested  in  its  manage-
ment  team  at  all  levels.  The  Directors 
also  believe  that  the  senior  manage-
ment  team  is  appropriately  structured 
for the Company’s size and is not overly 
dependent  upon  any  particular 
indi-
vidual.  The  Company  has  entered  into 
contractual  arrangements  with  these 
individuals with the aim of securing the 
services  of  each  of  them.  Retention  of 
these  services  or  the  identification  of 
suitable replacements, however, cannot 
be guaranteed. 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 finan-
cial  performance  and  reduce  the  value 
of an investment in the Ordinary Shares.

This report was approved by the Board 
on  28  March  2017  and  signed  on  its 
behalf.

15

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016PIPEL INE

Revolutionising the treatment 
of ARDS and activation of 
tumour immunity

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.

lead 

The  fast  evolving  Faron  pipeline  con-
sists  of  drug  candidates  (FP-1201-lyo 
and FP-1305) from two major Faron pro-
grammes  –  Traumakine  and  Clevegen, 
indication  of 
respectively.  The 
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.

Traumakine® is Faron’s spearhead project

Research

Pre-clinical

Phase I/II

Phase III

EU, ARDS

Japan, ARDS (Maruishi)

US, ARDS

Rupture of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (RAAA)

Single organ injury

Clevegen®

Research

Pre-clinical

Phase I/II

Phase III

Tumour Immunity Enabling Technology (TIET- programme)

Hepatocellular carcinoma

Other solid tumours (Ovarian, Pancreas, Melanoma)

Anti-CD20 resistant lymphomas

TAM-positive Hodgkin’s lymphomas

Chronic Infection Removal Therapy (CIRT- programme)

Vaccination Response Enhancement Technology (VRET- programme)

D-ARDS

Research

Pre-clinical

Phase I/II

Phase III

ARDS diagnostics for Traumakine® treatment efficacy

16

ANNUAL REPORT 2016FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTD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.

17

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016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 include 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 
treated  with 
ARDS  are  generally 
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 re-
cover from ARDS may suffer other con-
sequences  of  the  condition  after  being 
discharged 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  forming  a 
barrier between circulation and tissues. 
The breakdown of this barrier results in 
leakage  of  blood  content  to  tissues.  If 
this happens in lungs, the lung air space 
is filled with protein-rich fluid and blood 
cells preventing normal gas exchange.

The  key  molecule  involved  in  main-
taining endothelial barrier and lung func-
tion is CD73, an endothelial ectoenzyme, 
local  adenosine. 
which  can  produce 
Traumakine’s  active  pharmaceutical 
ingredient, 
increases 
interferon-beta, 
CD73 expression resulting in increased 
local  adenosine.  Subsequently,  high 
local  adenosine  levels  reduce  capillary 
leakage  and  increase  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 c. 125,000 and in 
the US c. 170,000 patients

•  High mortality rate of 30 

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

18

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016CD73 ectoenzyme produces local 
anti-inflammatory adenosine

Interferon-beta upregulates expression 
CD73

Loss of CD73 results in high amounts of 
proinflammatory ATP

Inflammation reduces CD73 amounts 
and its adenosine production 

19

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016ARDS lung

Normal lung

Widely  used  X-ray  pictures  can  reveal 
lungs  filled  with  blood  material.  This 
shows  up  as  white  dense  material  in 
lung  air  space  and  for  this  reason  the 
lungs of these patients are often called 
“white 
this  picture 
confirms  that  the  patient  has  a  condi-
tion  called  Acute  Respiratory  Distress 
Syndrome  (ARDS)  and  has  a  life-threat-
ening disease.

lungs”.  Typically 

Normally  functioning  lung  X-ray  shows 
no “white” material, indicating that lung 
air  space  is  free  of  blood  material,  in 
contrast to the ARDS lungs above. Long 
term  exposure  to  a  respiratory  syn-
drome  like  ARDS,  can  also  cause  per-
manent loss of lung capacity due to a fi-
brotic process that replaces lung alveoli 
with scar tissue. This serious side effect 
of ARDS results in permanently reduced 
respiratory capacity.

20

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016Traumakine® Clinical 
Programme

The  first  indication  that  Faron´s  lead  can-
didate, Traumakine, addresses is the treat-
ment  of  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 en-
rolled in December 2015 and the study has 
progressed  as  planned  during  2016.  This 
was  also  confirmed  by  the  Independent 
Data  Monitoring  Committee  twice  during 
the year.

The first clinical trial in the Traumakine 
programme  was  a  phase  I/II  open-label 
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.

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 

treatment 

the 

were  obtained  from  Traumakine  Phase 
II Japanese study conducted by Faron´s 
licensing  partner,  Maruishi 
Japanese 
Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. in Japan, as an-
nounced in January 2016.

Ongoing Phase III INTEREST 
Study

adenosine  such  that  vascular  leaking 
and  escalation  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.

The  Phase  III  ongoing,  clinical  trial  is  a  
double-blind, randomised, parallel-group 
comparison  of  efficacy  and  safety  of 
interferon beta and placebo in the treat-
ment  of  patients  with  moderate  to  se-
vere ARDS. The study named INTEREST 
will be conducted in 60 hospitals across 
Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, 
Spain  and  the  UK  and  300  ARDS  pa-
tients in total will be recruited. INTEREST 
has received €6 million funding from the 
European  Union  Seventh  Framework 
Programme (FP7).

Mechanism of Action

The  mechanism  behind  Traumakine’s 
action  was  invented  by  scientists  at 
Turku University during the period 1995 
to  2003.  Through  extensive  research 
and  ex-vivo  studies,  it  was  identified 
that a molecule called CD73 is essential 
in  maintaining  the  endothelial  barrier 
function.  CD73  is  an  ectoenzyme  capa-
ble of breaking down extracellular AMP 
to  produce 
locally  active  adenosine. 
Adenosine  maintains  the  endothelial 
barrier  and  downregulates  inflamma-
tion  escalation,  preventing  both  early 
vascular  leakage  and  escalation  of  in-
flammation,  which  are  the  two  early 
patho-physiological  events  leading  to 
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 could there-
fore,  be  used  to  treat  a  range  of  vascu-
lar  leakage  conditions  including  ARDS. 
Traumakine  works  by  enhancing  CD73 
expression  in  the  lungs  and  increas-
ing  production  of  anti-inflammatory 

”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 2016in  the  Lancet  Respiratory  Medicine1.  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 INTEREST 
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  compared  to  pla-
cebo, in regard to mortality, organ failure, 
need  for  mechanical  ventilation  and  vas-
oactive support, length of the stay in ICU 
and hospital as well as quality of life and 
pharmacoeconomic parameters.

60 Intensive Care Units in 
Seven European Countries

In  total,  approximately  60  hospitals  in 
 seven  countries  within  the  European 
Union  –  Belgium,  Finland,  France, 
Germany,  Italy,  Spain,  UK  –  are  partici-
pating in the INTEREST Study. A total of 
300 adult patients with moderate or se-
vere  ARDS  will  be  enrolled  (on  average 
six patients per hospital).

Faron  Pharmaceuticals 

is  running 
the  study  in  collaboration  with  external 
research  service  providers.  INTEREST 
has received funding from the European 
Union  Seventh  Framework  Programme 
(FP7)  under  the  Traumakine  project 
name.

Progressing as planned

The  first  approvals  from  competent  au-
thorities  and  favourable  opinions  from 
independent  ethics  committees  to  con-
duct  the  study  were  obtained  towards 
the  end  of  2015  with  the  first  patient 
enrolled  in  December  2015.  The  major-
ity of sites were opened during the first 
half  of  2016  and  currently  60  sites  are 
recruiting.  The  read-out  for  the  primary 
and secondary end points is expected in 
the second half of 2017.

The patients enrolled in the study are 
screened from patients who have been 
admitted to intensive care units (ICU) at 
participating  hospitals.  To  further  en-
sure appropriate patient enrolment into 
the study across all hospitals, the study 
design  incorporates  an  eligibility  pro-
cess via the electronic data capture sys-
tem,  involving  an  indepen dent  medical 
monitor.  After  all  screening  procedures 

22

PIPELINE: TRAUMAKINE ®

The 
INTEREST 
Study

Study 

INTEREST 

The 
(protocol 
FPCLI002)  is  a  Phase  III  clinical  study 
to investigate efficacy and safety of FP-
1201-lyo  (recombinant  human  interfer-
on-beta-1a)  in  patients  with  moderate 
or severe ARDS. This study is designed 
based  on  previous  results  from  the 
UK  clinical  trial  which  demonstrated 
a  significant  reduction  in  mortality  of 
ARDS patients and has been published 

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016have successfully been performed, and 
eligibility  for  inclusion  in  the  study  has 
been confirmed, the patient can be ran-
domised into the study.

Following 

randomisation, 

the  pa-
tients  will  be  treated  daily  with  either 
 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  the  need  for  hospi-
tal and ICU care, is collected during this 
follow-up  period.  Other  collected  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  clini-
cal study report.

Safety Monitoring

An 
Independent  Data  Monitoring 
Committee  has  been  established  in  or-
der to monitor safety in this study. This 
safety review committee will periodically 
conduct  an  independent  unblinded  re-
view of safety data generated during the 
study  and  provided  two  recommenda-
tions during 2016 to continue the study 
as planned.

The  study  also  has  an  esteemed 
Steering Committee that provides expert 
scientific  and  clinical  guidance  to  the 
practical study design and conduct. The 
rights,  safety  and  well-being  of  the  pa-
tients 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  clini-
caltrials.gov (reference NCT02622724).

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

INTEREST Study

•  Pivotal Phase III trial for 

Traumakine in development 
for the treatment of ARDS

•  Conducted in 60 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 until H2 2017

•  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

INFORAAA trial initiation

Ruptured  Abdominal  Aortic  Aneurysm 
(RAAA)  is  a  surgical  emergency  with 
an  overall  mortality  of  70  to  80%.  It  re-
quires immediate surgery and aortic re-
pair. Approximately half of the deaths of 
RAAA  patients  are  due  to  not  reaching 
the hospital in time, and, despite imme-
diate  surgery  and  intensive  care  treat-
ment,  the  second  half  die  in  hospital 
within  30  days  post-operatively,  mostly 
due to multi-organ failure. The cause of 
high  post-operative  mortality  is  mainly 
due  to  prolonged  hypotension/hypoxia 
from  the  ruptured  aorta  and  the  after-
math  of  restoring  blood  flow:  reperfu-
sion, vascular leakage and failure of vital 
organs.  Currently,  there  are  an  estimat-
ed 20,000 US and European patients per 
annum eligible for treatment.

The high mortality rate of RAAA, which 
accounts  for  4-5  deaths  per  100,000 
population2, requires new treatments to 
prevent  post-operative  reperfusion  inju-
ry leading to the death of RAAA patients, 
which  exhibits  a  30-50%  mortality  rate 
post-operatively.  RAAA  accounts  for  
13-14/100,000  hospital  admissions  an-
nually3, and is the second indication for 
Traumakine targeted by Faron.

Open  surgical  aortic  repair  to  treat 
RAAA  patients  is  associated  with  a 
Systemic 
Response 
Inflammatory 
Syndrome  (SIRS)  affecting  vital  organs, 
especially the heart, lungs, kidneys, and 
intestines.  The  death  of  approximate-
ly  80%  of  the  operated  RAAA  patients 
is  caused  by  MOF,  similar  to  patients 
with  ARDS.  Traumakine  (FP-1201-lyo) 
is  currently  in  a  European  Phase  III 
clinical  trial  for  the  treatment  of  ARDS, 
with  encouraging  Phase  I/II  data.  The 
Directors  consider  that  data  seen  to 
date  supports  the  rationale  for  extend-
ing the use of Traumakine in similar con-
ditions  to  potentially  treat  single,  and 
multiple,  organ  failures.  For  example, 
during  the Traumakine  phase  I/II  study, 
there was a reduced need for haemodi-
alysis (an indication of improved kidney 
function)  among  the  ARDS  patients  on 
Traumakine.

Soon  after  closing  the  September 
2016  financing  round,  Faron  initiated 
 filing  of  a  clinical  trial  application  to 
open  the  INFORAAA  study.  This  CTA 
was  accepted in late 2016 and the first 
patient  for  the  trial  was  recruited  in 
February 2017, as announced previously.

1 Bellingan et al., 2014

2 Karthikesalingam et al., 2014

3 Anjum et al., 2012

23

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016One of Faron’s key areas of focus is to develop a cancer 
treatment 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, which modulate 
Clever-1 function to switch the immunosuppressive M2 
macrophages to immune stimulating M1 macrophages.

24

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016PIPELI NE: CL EVEG EN ®

Mechanism of Action

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  (angiogene-
sis, escape from antitumour specific im-
munity). When TAMs populate a tumour, 
one  of  the  very  significant  influences 
they exert over it is a strong increase in 
immune  suppression.  Cle ver-1-positive 
TAMs represent one major macrophage 

population  involved  in  the  elimination 
of  host  immune  activity  against  the  tu-
mour cells. Clevegen is an anti-Clever-1 
antibody  which  targets  and  eliminates 
Clever-1-positive  TAMs  from  cancer 
patients  by  converting  the 
immune 
suppressive  type  2  macrophages  (M2) 
to  immune  stimulating  type  1  (M1) 
macrophages.

Clevegen  also  prevents  TAM  infiltra-
tion into a tumour and therefore blocks 
their accumulation at tumour sites and 
can,  therefore,  also  control  the  tumour 
content  of  regulatory T-cells,  which  are 
dependent on M2 macrophage support.
Expansion  of  Clevegen’s  use,  to  in-
clude  removal  of  local  immune  sup-
pression  in  chronic  infections  and  vac-
cination  sites,  are  also  being  explored 
alongside  tumours.  These  platforms 
are called CIRT, VRET and TIET, respec-
tively  and  are  all  based  on  the  same 
 anti-Clever-1 antibody.

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

”Clevegen converts immune 
suppressive type 2 (M2) 
macrophages to immune 
stimulating (M1) macrophages 
and provides new ways to 
stimulate host immune system 
to fight cancer.”

25

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016Clever-1

Clever-1

Lymphocyte

Clevegen

Cancer cell

Cancer
cell

TAM

Blocking interaction between cancer cell 
and TAM.

TAM (Tumor 
associated 
macrophages)

Clever-1

Clevegen

Vascular 

Lymphocyte

endothelium

TAM

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

Clevegen

Cancer cell

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.

Clevegen-1

Cancer
cell

TAM

About Tumor Immunity 
Enabling Technology (TIET) 

Blocking interaction between cancer cell 
Blocking TAM infiltration into 
and TAM.
a Tumour

TAM (Tumor 
associated 
macrophages)

Vascular 

endothelium

Clever-1

Clevegen

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.

TAM

The TIET technology is built around the 
humanised  anti-Clever-1  antibody  FP-
1305, which binds to a specific Clever-1 
proprietary  epitope.  Clevegen  binds  to 
this  epitope,  activating  conversion  of 
type 2 tumour associated macrophages 
to type 1 macrophages, resulting in the 
transformation  of  the  tumour  environ-
ment  from  immune  suppression  to  im-
mune activation. As the TIET technology 
is based on a humanised antibody, the 

Clevegen-1 mode of action
Preventing leucocyte migration... Blocking 
adhesion receptor.
INNATE IMMUNITY / MACROPHAGES

Macrophage-Directed 
Cancer Immunotherapy

Clevegen-1

TAM

ADAPTED IMMUNITY / LYMPHOCYTES

M1
Macrophage

TNFα

TUMOR 
CELL

γ-Interferon

Phagocytosis

TH1
Cytotoxic
Cell

γ-Interferon

Lymphocytes/
local immunity

Cancer cell
apoptosis

Clever-1

Faron  Directors  believe  it  can  be  com-
bined  with  a  number  of  other  immune 
therapies without a significant risk of in-
creased adverse events. The TIET tech-
nology could provide a significant boost 
for the efficacy of other immune check-
point molecules, as its target is unique 
and  represents  a  completely  separate 
control of immunity. 

Vascular 
endothelium

TAM

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

Lymphocytes/
local immunity

Cancer cell
apoptosis

References:

Karikoski et al. (2014) Clever-1/Stabilin-1 

controls cancer growth and metastasis. Clin. 

Clever-1

Cancer Res. 2014: 20: 6452-64.

Palani et al. (2016). Monocyte Stabilin-1 

suppresses the activation of Th1 lymphocytes. 

Vascular 
endothelium

Journal of Immunology 2016: 196: 115-123.

NK
Cytotoxic Cell

γ-Interferon

TUMOR 
CELL

Apoptosis

MHC II -receptor
expression

M2
Macrophage 
modulation  
to M1

M2
Macrophage

Tumor 
antigen 
presentation

TNFα

M1
Macrophage

γ-Interferon

Anticlever-1 
treatment

γ-Interferon

γ-Interferon

CD8
Cytotoxic
Cell

26

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016Corporate 
Governance

The Board of Faron emphasises the importance of good 
corporate governance and is aware of its 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 that is 
appropriate and practical for a Company of its nature 
and size.

2727

ANNUAL REPORT 2016FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDcorpor ate gov erna nce

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 
Armstrong is currently the Chairman of Xceleron Inc., Summit 
Therapeutics (AIM and NASDAQ) and a Non-Executive Director 
of Actino Pharma, Juniper Therapeutics (NASDAQ) and Mereo 
Pharma.

Dr  Armstrong  is  a  physician  and  a  Fellow  of  the  Royal 
College 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  na-
tional  and  international  business  deals,  corporate  law  and 
mergers and acquisitions having held a number of board mem-
berships  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 current-
ly Chairman of Turun Osuuskauppa and Ruissalo Foundation 
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 
Master of Laws from the University of Turku. He became an 
honorary Chief Justice in Finland in 2013.

28

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016Dr Markku Jalkanen
Chief Executive Officer

Dr Juho Jalkanen
Non-Executive Director

Dr  Jalkanen  has  more  than  25  years  of  experience  within  bi-
omedical  research,  biotech  development  and  the  biopharma-
ceutical 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  founding  CEO  and  President  of  BioTie 
Therapies Corp which has since become the first publically trad-
ed Finnish biotech company to have listed on NASDAQ.

Dr Jalkanen has published over 130 peer reviewed scientific 
publications in various highly ranked international journals and 
has  held  several  board  memberships  for  both  public  and  pri-
vate companies. 

Dr  Jalkanen  obtained  a  Masters  in  Medical  Biochemistry 
from the University of Kuopio and subsequently received a PhD 
in Medical Biochemistry from the University of Turku. He com-
pleted  a  side-laudatur  examination  in  Mol ecular  Biology  from 
the  University  of Turku  and  completed  his  post-doctoral  train-
ing at Stanford University, 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.

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 
Finland,  General  Hospitals  of  Raisio  and  Salo  and  at  Turku 
University Hospital.

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

Dr  Jalkanen  holds  degrees  in  both  business  and  medi-
cine.  He  has  a  Master’s  degree  in  Economics  and  Business 
Administration from the Turku School of Economics, a Medical 
Doctor’s degree from the University of Turku and subsequently 
became a fully licensed General Practitioner. At the moment Dr 
Jalkanen is conducting his PhD on the molecular mechanisms 
of atherosclerosis. He has published six articles in various pub-
lications  including  the  International  Journal  of  Biotechnology 
and Circulation Research.

29

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016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-
Executive Director of China Medical System Holdings Ltd for 
three years, and the Company was admitted to trading on AIM 
(between 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  medi-
cal 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 lectur-
er 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 England 
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 Professor), 
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 healthcare. 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  subsequently  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 
(European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industry Associations) 
and  was  the  first  Chairman  of  the  Board  of  the  Innovative 
Medicines Initiative, 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 
Edinburgh. Dr Knowles was appointed as a Non-Executive Director 
of the Company in September 2015.

30

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016Leopoldo Zambeletti
Non-Executive Director

Yrjö E K Wichmann
Chief Financial Officer

During a 19-year career as an investment banker, Mr  Zambeletti 
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 inde-
pendent strategic advisor to life science companies on merg-
er  and  acquisitions,  out-licencing  deals  and  financing  strate-
gy.  He  is  a  Non-Executive  Director  at  Advanced  Accelerator 
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 cultur-
al initiative 5×15 Italy. Mr Zambeletti was appointed as a Non-
Executive Director of the Company in September 2015.

Mr  Wichmann  has  a  career  spanning  over  20  years  in  fi-
nancing  and  investment  banking.  He  was  appointed  as  a 
Chief  Financial  Officer  of  the  Company  in  2014.  Prior  to  his 
appointment  at  the  Company,  Mr  Wichmann  held  a  number 
of  senior  positions  within  the  life  sciences  and  biotechnolo-
gy 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 
Dasos 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 member 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 Company in 2015.

31

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016corpor ate gov erna nce

Directors’ Report

For the year ended 31 December 
2016.

Directors

The Directors present their report 
together with the audited financial 
statements for the year ended 31 
December 2016

During the year ended 31 December 2016 following persons have been members of 
Board of Directors of the Company:

Executive
Dr Markku Jalkanen, PhD, Chief Executive Officer 
Mr Yrjö Wichmann, MSc, Chief Financial Officer

Non-Executive
Dr Frank Armstrong, FRCPE, FFPM, Chairman
Mr Matti Manner, LLM, Vice-chairman 
Dr Juho Jalkanen, MD, MSc, Non-Executive Director 
Dr Jonathan Knowles, PhD, Non-Executive Director
Dr Huaizheng Peng, MD, PhD, Non-Executive Director
Mr Leopoldo Zambeletti,  Non-Executive Director 

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

Avergare exercise  
price, euro cent

Issued Share Capital

Share options

Markku Jalkanen¹)

Juho Jalkanen²)

Matti Manner

Yrjö Wichmann

Jonathan Knowles

Leopold Zambeletti

Frank Armstrong3)

Huaizheng Peng

2 873 390

1 082 570

484 900

69 440

27 712

17 461

7 846

4 000

10.9%

160 000

4.1%

1,8%

0.3%

0.1%

0.1%

0.0%

0.0%

40 000

40 000

60 000

40 000

40 000

80 000

40 000

4 567 319

17,4%

500 000

3,31

3,31

3,31

3,31

3,31

3,31

3,31

3,31

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 2016Principal risks and uncertainties

Post balance sheet events

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

Results and dividends

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

The Company’s loss for the financial year after taxation and 
other comprehensive losses was € 7.9 million (2015: € 6.2 million).
The Company has no distributable equity and thus the Directors 

do not recommend the payment of a dividend (2015: nil).

Financial information

The Company produces budgets and cash flow projections on 
an annual basis for approval by the Board. These are reviewed 
during the year and updated if needed to reflect any changes 
in the business. Detailed management accounts are produced 
on a monthly basis, with all significant variances investigated 
promptly. The management accounts are reviewed and com-
mented on by the Board at Board meetings and are reviewed 
and reported to the Directors on a monthly basis by the man-
agement team. 

Financial Key Performance Indicators (‘KPIs’)

The For a review of the Group’s KPIs please see page Financial 
Review.

Research and development

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

•  On  February  9th  Faron  announced  that  it  had  received  a 
third Independent Date Monitoring Committee recommen-
dation to continue the INTEREST trial as planned.

•  On  20  February  2017,  Faron  announced  a  first  patient  re-

cruited in the Traumakine INFORAAA trial.

•  On  28  February  2017,  Faron  announced  a  proposed  plac-
ing of up to 1,422,340 new ordinary shares in the capital of 
the Company at a price of 350 pence per share (the “Issue 
Price”) to raise, in aggregate, up to approximately €5.8 mil-
lion before expenses.

•  On 1 March 2017, Faron announced that it had issued and 
placed 1,422,340 new ordinary shares at the Issue Price of 
350 pence per share raising approximately €5.8 million new 
capital before expenses.

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 
Company has also other financial instruments 
such as leasing facilities that arise directly from its operations. 
The  Company  has  a  policy,  which  has  been  consistently  fol-
lowed, of not trading in financial instruments and to minimize 
currency  exposure  by  actively  matching  currency  expenses 
and income to the extent possible. The Company’s cash is held 
on  bank  accounts  in  reputable  bank  in  Finland.  The  Group’s 
treasury policy is reviewed annually. See Note 1.16 ‘Financial 
instruments’  and  Note  2,  Principles  of  financial  risk  manage-
ment in the Notes to the Financial Statements for IFRS disclo-
sure regarding financial instruments.

33

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016Substantial shareholdings

On 31 December 2016 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

Markku Jalkanen

Legal & General Investment Management

Juho Jalkanen*

Sirpa Jalkanen

Maija-Leena Hollmén**

Katriina Peltola***

City Financial

Timo Syrjälä****

3,408,409

3,389,570

2,552,523

1,983,321

1,794,890

1,365,000

1,082,570

1,078,500

1,078,500

1,078,500

1,000,000

936,076

%

12.95

12.88

9.70

7.54

6.82

5.19

4.11

4.10

4.10

4.10

3.80

3.56

* 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 415,246  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 in 16 May 2017 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
28 March 2017

34

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016corpor ate gov erna nce

Corporate Governance Report

The Board

At  31  December  2016,  the  Board  com-
prised six Non-Executive Directors, and 
two Executive Directors.

The  composition  of  the  board  of 
directors  as  well  as  Directors’  biogra-
phies  are  described  on  pagesBoard  of 
Directors.

The Board is responsible to the share-
holders  for  the  proper  management  of 
the  Company  and  meets  regularly  to 
set  the  overall  direction  and  strategy 
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-
Executive  Directors  have  all  relevant 
information  on  matters  to  be  decided. 
The  Chief  Executive  Officer  is  respon-
sible  for  implementing  the  strategy  of 
the Board and managing the day-to-day 
business activities of the Company. The 
management of the Company prepares 
a  monthly  management  and  financial 
accounts  pack,  which  is  distributed  to 
the Board every month and 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 experience in 
terms  of  their  knowledge  of  the  scien-
tific,  operational  and  financial  develop-
ment  of  biopharmaceutical  products 
and  companies.  Where  necessary,  the 
Company facilitates that Non-Executive 
Directors  obtain  specialist  external  ad-
vice  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. 

Performance Evaluation

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.

Remuneration Committee

The  Remuneration  Committee  com-
prises  Frank  Armstrong  as  Chairman 

together  with  Huaizheng  Peng  and 
Leopoldo Zambeletti. The committee is 
responsible  for  the  review  and  recom-
mendation of the scale and structure of 
remuneration  for  senior  management, 
including  any  bonus  arrangements  or 
the award of share options with due re-
gard to the interests of the Shareholders 
and  the  performance  of  the  Company. 
The Remuneration Committee held four 
meetings during 2016. 

Audit Committee

The  Audit  Committee,  which  compris-
es  Leopoldo  Zambeletti  as  Chairman 
together  with  Frank  Armstrong  and 
Huaizheng  Peng,  meets  not  less  than 
twice  a  year.  The  committee  is  respon-
sible  for  making  recommendations  to 
the  New  Board  on  the  appointment  of 
auditors and the audit fee and for ensur-
ing that the financial performance of the 
Company  is  properly  monitored  and  re-
ported. In addition, the Audit Committee 
will receive and review reports from man-
agement and the auditors relating to the 
interim report, the annual report and ac-
counts and the internal control systems 
of  the  Company.  The  audit  committee 
held one meeting during 2016.

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  held 
one meeting during 2016.

35

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016Risk management and  
Internal control

Corporate Social Responsibility

Attendance at Board 
meetings

The Board is responsible for the systems 
of internal control and for reviewing their 
effectiveness. The  internal  controls  are 
designed  to  manage  rather  than  elim-
inate  risk  and  provide  reasonable  but 
not  absolute  assurance  against  mate-
rial  misstatement  or  loss.  The  Board 
reviews  the  effectiveness  of  these  sys-
tems  annually  by  considering  the  risks 
potentially  affecting  the  Company. The 
Company  does  not  consider  it  neces-
sary  to  have  an  internal  audit  function 
due to the small size of the administra-
tive 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 Company’s results, com-
pared  with  the  budget,  are  reported  to 
the  Board  on  a  monthly  basis  and  dis-
cussed 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.

The  Company  is  committed  to  main-
taining  and  promoting  high  standards 
of  business  integrity.  Company  values, 
which 
incorporate  the  principles  of 
Corporate 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, 
has 
www.faronpharmaceuticals.com, 
a  section  dedicated  to  investor  matters 
and  provides  useful  information  for  the 
Company’s owners. 

During  2016  the  Board  held  10  meet-
ings. The table below lists the Directors 
attendance  to the Board meetings dur-
ing the year:

Faron Board

Attendance 
to meetings

Executive Directors

Markku Jalkanen

Yrjö E K Wichmann

Non-Executive 
Directors

Frank M Armstrong

Matti Manner

Juho Jalkanen

Jonathan Knowles

Huaizheng Peng

Leopoldo Zambeletti

10/10

10/10

10/10

10/10

9/10

8/10

10/10

8/10

36

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016Compliance with the Principles of the QCA Code

The Principles of the QCA Code

1.  Setting out the vision and strategy

2.   Managing and communicating risk and implementing 

internal control

3.   Articulating strategy through corporate communication and 

investor relations

Comply/
Explain

Comply

Comply

Reference

Strategic Report

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

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

7.   Developing structures and processes

8.   Being responsible and accountable

9.   Having balance on the Board

10.  Having appropriate skills and capabilities on the Board

11.  Evaluating Board performance and development

12.  Providing information and support

Comply

Comply

Comply

Comply

Comply

Comply

Comply

Strategic Report

Strategic Report

CGR (The Board)

CGR (The Board)

CGR (The Board)

CGR (Performance evaluation)

CGR (The Board)

CGR = Corporate Governance Report

37

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016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 ended 31 December 2016 is set out below:

For the year ended 31 December 
2016

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 Executive 
Director’s performance and contribution 
to the Company during the year. 

Bonuses

Annual  bonuses  are  based  on  the 
achievement of Company strategic and 
financial  targets  and  personal  perfor-
mance  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 estab-
lished  that  the  annual  bonus  potential 
will  be  40%  for  the  Executive  Directors. 
On 15 February 2017 the Chief Executive 
Officer was awarded a bonus represent-
ing  40%  and  the  Chief  Financial  Officer 
was awarded a bonus representing 35% 
of their 2016 gross basic salaries.

In  order  to  further 
incentivise  the 
Executive 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 
members 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  it  pays  fixed  contri-
butions into a separate entity. The plan 
covers  all  the  employees  of  Faron  in-
cluding  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. 

38

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016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 constitutes 
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 Executive Directors’ contracts are summarised below:

Markku Jalkanen

Yrjö E K Wichmann

CEO

CFO

16.09.2015

6 months1

16.09.2015

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 be-
yond 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 
Directors are entitled to be reimbursed in respect of their reasonably and properly 
incurred  travelling,  accommodation  and  incidental  expenses  for  attending  and  re-
turning from meetings of the Board, committee meetings or the general meetings 
of Shareholders.

The Non-Executive Directors do not receive any pension, bonus or benefits from 
the Company. The contracts of the Non-Executive Directors, excluding remuneration 
and compensation, are reviewed by the Board annually. 

Current contracts are summarised below:

Non-Executive Directors' Contracts

Contract

Date of Contract

Frank M Armstrong

Chairman

16.09.2015

Matti Manner

Juho Jalkanen

Jonathan Knowles

Huaizheng Peng

Leopoldo Zambeletti

Vice-chairman

16.09.2015

member

16.09.2015

member

16.09.2015

member

16.09.2015

member

16.09.2015

39

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016The  appointments  of  Non-Executive  Directors  are  terminable  with  immediate  ef-
fect  in  accordance  with  the  Articles  of  Association  and  pursuant  to  the  Finnish 
Companies 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’ notice to the Registered Office of the Company or through tendering such 
resignation at a meeting of the Board, after a fixed 6 month’s period from Admission.

Audited Information
Directors’ remuneration 

The Directors received the following remuneration during the year:

Executive

Markku Jalkanen

Yrjö E K Wichmann

Non-Executive

Frank M Armstrong

Matti Manner

Juho Jalkanen

Jonathan Knowles

Huaizheng Peng

Leopoldo Zambeletti

Salaries and fees

Bonus 2016

Taxable benefits

Total

188 244,00

80 000,00

12 720,00

280 964,00

148 800,00

52 340,00

744,00

201 884,00

73 000,00

40 000,00

35 000,00

35 000,00

35 000,00

40 000,00

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

73 000,00

40 000,00

35 000,00

35 000,00

35 000,00

40 000,00

595 044,00

132 340,00

13 464,00

740 848,00

Directors’ share options

Aggregate 
remunerations  disclosed 
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 
Company  to  offer  options  for  subscrip-
tion  free  of  charge  to  members  of  the 
Board, and to such officers and employ-
ees of the Company as the Board sees 
fit. Each option will entitle the holder of 
the option 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  maxi-
mum  of  400,000  “A”  options,  the  sub-
scription  period  for  which  ended  on  9 
May  2016  (such  options  exercisable 
between 9 May 2016 and 30 September 
2021),  a  maximum  of  400,000  “B”  op-
tions  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  maximum  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 exercise price for Ordinary Shares 
based  on  “A”  options  shall  be  €3.71. 
The  exercise  price  for  Ordinary  Shares 
based  on  “B”  options  shall  be  €2.90. 
The  exercise  price  for  Ordinary  Shares 
based on “C” and “D” options shall be de-
termined  by  the  Euro  equivalent  to  the 
average share price of the publicly trad-
ed Ordinary Shares of the Company on 
AIM between 1 July and 30 September 
of 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. 

40

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016Details of these options are as follows:

2015A Options 

Date of 
grant of A 
options 1) 

At 1 Jan 
2016 

Granted 
during 
the 
period

Cancelled 
during the 
period

At 31 
Dec 
2016 

Subscription 
Price per 
share, €

Date from 
which exer-
cisable 

Expiry date 
of A 
options 

Markku Jalkanen

16.09.2015

80 000

Yrjö E K 
Wichmann

Frank M 
Armstrong

16.09.2015

30 000

16.09.2015

40 000

Matti Manner

16.09.2015

20 000

Juho Jalkanen

16.09.2015

20 000

Jonathan Knowles

16.09.2015

20 000

Huaizheng Peng

16.09.2015

20 000

Leopoldo 
Zambeletti

16.09.2015

20 000

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

80 000

30 000

40 000

20 000

20 000

20 000

20 000

20 000

3,71

02.11.2015

30.09.2021

3,71

02.11.2015

30.09.2021

3,71

02.11.2015

30.09.2021

3,71

02.11.2015

30.09.2021

3,71

02.11.2015

30.09.2021

3,71

02.11.2015

30.09.2021

3,71

02.11.2015

30.09.2021

3,71

02.11.2015

30.09.2021

250 000

250 000

2015B Options 

Date of 
subscrip-
tion of B 
options1) 

At 1 
Jan 
2016 

Granted 
during 
the 
period

Cancelled 
during the 
period

At 31 
Dec 
2016 

Subscription 
Price per 
share, €

Date from 
which exer-
cisable 

Expiry date 
of A 
options 

Markku Jalkanen

18.11.2016

Yrjö E K 
Wichmann

Frank M 
Armstrong

18.11.2016

18.11.2016

Matti Manner

18.11.2016

Juho Jalkanen

18.11.2016

Jonathan Knowles

18.11.2016

Huaizheng Peng

18.11.2016

Leopoldo 
Zambeletti

18.11.2016

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

80 000

30 000

40 000

20 000

20 000

20 000

20 000

20 000

2,90

02.11.2015

30.09.2021

2,90

02.11.2015

30.09.2021

2,90

02.11.2015

30.09.2021

2,90

02.11.2015

30.09.2021

2,90

02.11.2015

30.09.2021

2,90

02.11.2015

30.09.2021

2,90

02.11.2015

30.09.2021

2,90

02.11.2015

30.09.2021

250 000

250 000

1)  Additionally, the Directors have the right to subscribe equal amounts of “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).

41

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016 
 
Total Options

At 1 January 2016

Granted during 
the period

Cancelled during 
the period

Markku Jalkanen

Yrjö E K Wichmann

Frank M Armstrong

Matti Manner

Juho Jalkanen

Jonathan Knowles

Huaizheng Peng

Leopoldo Zambeletti

80 000

30 000

40 000

20 000

20 000

20 000

20 000

20 000

80 000

30 000

40 000

20 000

20 000

20 000

20 000

20 000

250 000

250 000

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Average subs.price 
per shares, €

3,31

3,31

3,31

3,31

3,31

3,31

3,31

3,31

At 31 
December 
2016

160 000

60 000

80 000

40 000

40 000

40 000

40 000

40 000

500 000

Directors’ shareholdings

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

Executive

Ordinary shares

Percentage held

Ordinary shares

Avergare exercise  
price, euro cent

Issued Share Capital

Share options

Markku Jalkanen¹)

Juho Jalkanen²)

Matti Manner

Yrjö Wichmann

Jonathan Knowles

Leopold Zambeletti

Frank Armstrong3)

Huaizheng Peng

2 873 390

1 082 570

484 900

69 440

27 712

17 461

7 846

4 000

10.9%

160 000

4.1%

1,8%

0.3%

0.1%

0.1%

0.0%

0.0%

40 000

40 000

60 000

40 000

40 000

80 000

40 000

4 567 319

17,4%

500 000

3,31

3,31

3,31

3,31

3,31

3,31

3,31

3,31

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’s Jalkanens’ family being Aaro Jalkanen, 
Enna Jalkanen and Heikki Jalkanen.
3) held by Frank Armstrongs’ company Shore Capital.

42

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016corpor ate gov erna nce

Statement of Responsibilities

Under  the  Finnish  Companies  Act  and 
the Finnish Accounting Act the Company 
must  prepare  an  Annual  Report  and  fi-
nancial  statements  in  accordance  with 
applicable law and regulations. 

The  Board  of  Directors  and  the 
responsible 
Managing  Director  are 
for  the  preparation  of  financial  state-
ments  that  give  a  true  and  fair  view  in 
accordance with International Financial 
Reporting Standards (IFRS) as adopted 
by the EU, as well as for the preparation 
of  financial  statements  and  the  report 
of  the  Board  of  Directors  that  give  a 
true  and  fair  view  in  accordance  with 
the laws and regulations governing the 
preparation  of  the  financial  statements 
and the report of the Board of Directors 
in Finland. The Board of Directors is re-
sponsible  for  the  appropriate  arrange-
ment of the control of the company’s ac-
counts and finances, and the Managing 
Director 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  Alternative 
Investment Market, the Company is also 
required  to  prepare  annual  accounts 
and financial statements under IFRS. 

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

Website publication

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 
Corporate  Governance  Code  for  Small 
and Medium Sized Companies.

On behalf of the Board
Frank Armstrong
Chairman
28 March 2017

•  select  suitable  accounting  policies 

and then apply them consistently;

•  make 

judgements  and  accounting 
estimates  that  are  reasonable  and 
prudent;

•  state  whether  they  have  been  pre-
pared  in  accordance  with  IFRSs  as 
adopted  by  the  European  Union,  sub-
ject  to  any  material  departures  dis-
closed  and  explained  in  the  financial 
statements;

•  prepare  the  financial  statements  on 
the going concern basis unless it is in-
appropriate to presume that the com-
pany will continue in business.

The  Board  of  Directors  and 
the 
Managing  Director  are  responsible  for 
keeping  adequate  accounting  records 
that  are  sufficient  to  show  and  explain 
the  company’s  transactions  and  dis-
close  with  reasonable  accuracy  at  any 
time  the  financial  position  of  the  com-
pany and enable them to ensure that the 
financial  statements  comply  with  the 
requirements of the Finnish Accounting 
Act. They  are  also  responsible  for  safe-
guarding  the  assets  of  the  company 
and  hence  for  taking  reasonable  steps 
for the prevention and detection of fraud 
and other irregularities.

43

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016 
financia l statem en ts

Statement of Comprehensive Income

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

Loss before income taxes

Income tax expense

Total comprehensive income for the financial 
year

Total comprehensive income, attributable to:

Note 

3; 4

5

6; 7

6; 7

2; 8

2; 8

9

Year ended 31 Dec 2016  
€’000

Year ended 31 Dec 2015 
€’000 

 1 153

 1 153

1 742

(2 161)

(9 592)

(8 858)

0

(361)

(361)

(9 219)

(75)

(9 294)

520

(25)

496

701

(3 061)

(3 971)

(5 835)

0

(311)

(311)

(6 146)

(42)

(6 188)

Equity holders of the Company

(9 294)

(6 188)

Loss per share attributable to equity holders of 
the Company

10

Basic and diluted loss per share, euro

(0,39)

(0,30)

44

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016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

Total assets

Equity and liabilities

11

11

12

13

14

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 2016  
€’000

Year ended 31 Dec 2015  
€’000

21

933

954

 1 451

 3 404

11 478

 16 333

 17 287

28

1 001

1 029

649

2 074

11 068

13 791

14 821

2 691

2 691

34 006

(25 814)

 10 884

2  033

2 033

93

 1 874

 2 403

 4 371

 6 404

 17 287

24 533

(16 046)

11 178

1 446

1 446

245

436

1 517

2 197

3 643

14 821

45

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016financia l statem en ts

Statement of Cash Flows

Stated in euro

Cash flow from operating activities

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

Adjustments for

Depreciation and amortisation

Financial items

Income taxes

Expensed R&D

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)

Cash flow from financing activities

Proceeds from issue of share capital/issue, net

Proceeds from issue of convertible notes

Proceeds from current borrowings

Proceeds from non-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

Year ended 31 Dec 2016 
€’000

Year ended 31 Dec 2015 
€’000

(9 294)

(6 188)

168

361

75

480

(1 330)

(802)

 2 325

(361)

0

(75)

(8 452)

(92)

(92)

8 519

(151)

587

8 955

410

11 068

11 478

184

298

42

78

474

(2 035)

50

278

(285)

0

(42)

(7 146)

(107)

(107)

18 080

18 080

10 827

242

11 068

46

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016 
financia l statem en ts

Statement of Changes in Equity

Stated in euro 

Share 
capital 
€’000

Un-registered 
share capital 
€’000

Reserve for invested 
non-restricted equity
€’000

Retained 
earnings
€’000

Total equity
€’000 

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

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

Total comprehensive income for the 
financial year 2016

Transactions with equity holders of 
the Company

Share base payment

Increase of share capital

Transaction costs on share capital 
issued

Conversion of convertible notes

(9 294)

(9 294)

9 330

(811)

480

480

9 330

(811)

8 519

(8 814)

(295)

Balance at 31 December 2016

2 691

33 052

(24 860)

 10 884

For further information on equity transactions see Note 15. Equity and reserves.

47

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016 
 
 
financia l statem en ts

Notes

NOTE 1
1. Summary of significant accounting policies

1.1 Corporate information

Faron Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (hereafter ”Faron” or ”Company”) 
is a Finnish limited liability company organized under the laws 
of Finland and domiciled in Turku, Finland. The Company’s reg-
istered address is Joukahaisenkatu 6 B, 20520 Turku, Finland.  
The  former  parent  company  of  Faron  Pharmaceuticals 
Ltd., Faron Holding Ltd., merged into Faron Pharmaceuticals 
Ltd. as at 31 December 2013. Faron has no interests in other 
entities. The shares of Faron Pharmaceuticals Ltd. are held 
by multiple shareholders.  

Faron  Pharmaceuticals  Ltd.  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, 
which passed successfully a phase I/II trial in the UK to treat 
vascular  leakage  in  ARDS1  patients,  moved  to  a  pan-Europe-
an  pivotal  phase  III  study  (INTEREST  –study)  during  2015. 
INTEREST  recruited  its  first  patient  in  late  December  2015. 
Faron  has  been  granted  an  orphan  drug  status  for  the  treat-
ment  of  ARDS  with  interferon-beta  by  the  EU  Commission 
and European Medicines Agency (EMA) under the registration 
number  EU/3/07/505.  Faron  has  also  been  granted  several 
patents both in USA, Europe and Japan, and has several pend-
ing applications in other territories for the use of interferon-be-
ta to treat various ischemic conditions.  

Faron’s second product FP-1305, also known as Clevegen, 
is in pre-clinical stage and will be taken into clinical trials aim-
ing  to  prove  its  safety  and  efficacy  in  reduction  of  tumour 
immunosuppression  and  macrophage  activation.  Also  for 
Clevegen Faron has been granted several patents both in USA, 
Europe  and  Japan,  and  has  several  pending  applications  in 
other territories for the molecule, the antibody as well as other 
key characteristics related to their use and efficacy. 

In its meeting on 28 March 2017 the Board of Directors of 
Faron Pharmaceuticals Ltd. approved the publishing of these 

financial statements. According to the Finnish Limited Liability 
Companies’ Act, shareholders have the right to approve or re-
ject  the  financial  statements  in  the  Annual  General  Meeting 
held after the publication of the financial statements.  

The principal accounting policies applied in the preparation 

of these financial statements are set out below. 

1.2 Basis of preparation

These  are  Faron’s  third  full  year  financial  statements  pre-
pared  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 2016. In the EU IFRS 
are standards and their interpretations adopted in accordance 
with the procedure laid down in regulation (EC) No 1606/2002 
of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council.  Faron  has 
consistently applied these policies to all the years presented, 
unless  otherwise  stated.  The  Company  has  not  applied  any 
standard,  interpretation  or  amendment  thereto  before  its  ef-
fective date.  

Faron’s  date  of  transition  to  IFRS  is  1  January  2012. 
The  Company  has  applied  IFRS  1  First-time  Adoption  of 
International Financial Reporting Standards in preparing these 
financial  statements.  Until  31  December  2011  Faron’s  sepa-
rate financial statements have been 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 
December. The figures in the financial statements are present-
ed  in  thousands  of  euro  unless  otherwise  stated.  All  figures 
presented 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 

48

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016until  receipt  of  marketing  approval  from  the  relevant  regula-
tory  agencies.  After  such  approval,  Faron  would  either  seek 
to  form  partnerships  with  global,  regional  or  local  pharma-
ceutical  companies  that  have  the  necessary  marketing  and 
distribution  capabilities  and  resources  or  take  the  approved 
product to the markets itself. In the case of partnership, Faron 
would  typically  grant  geographically  limited  licenses  to  prod-
ucts in exchange for contractually agreed payments, license 
fees and royalties on future product sales. In some cases, one 
element  of  such  agreements  may  include  a  collaboration  in 
which  Faron  will  also  receive  funding  for  R&D  services  pro-
vided at a cost plus basis. In case of choosing to market the 
product itself, Faron would need to secure necessary funding 
to cover the costs of taking the product through the approval, 
pricing and regional registering process in addition to required 
marketing costs. In absence of collaboration agreement such 
funding would mainly come in form of equity funding.  

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 clinical trials. The Company conducts these either to-
gether with development partners or by itself. In both cases 
these  activities  require  substantial  amounts  of  funds.  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 
estimates  and  assumptions  are  based  on  historical  experi-
ence and other justified assumptions that are believed to be 
reasonable under the circumstances at the end of the report-
ing period and the time when they were made. Although these 
estimates  are  based  on  management’s  best  knowledge  of 
current events and actions, actual results may ultimately differ 
from those estimates. The estimates and underlying assump-
tions are reviewed on an on-going basis and when preparing 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 detail in chapter 1.20. 

1.3 Foreign currency transactions and balances

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. 

1.4 Revenue recognition

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 
sales and milestone payments. 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 group’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 actual control usually associated with 
ownership  of  the  goods  have  been  transferred  to  the  buyer. 
From 2013 to 2016 Faron has generated revenues from sales 
of 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 recognized 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: 

49

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016•  customer  has  verifiably  accepted  that  the  milestone  has 

been reached

•  Faron has no further performance obligations related to the 

milestone in question; 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.  

1.6 Research and development costs

All costs related to research activities are presented under the 
caption  research  and  development  expenses  in  the  income 
statement. Research and development expenses include sal-
aries and other expenditure directly attributable to Faron’s re-
search and development activities. Furthermore, costs attrib-
utable to supporting the research and development activities, 
such as rental expenses for facilities, are included. Research 
and development expenses are directly related to the develop-
ment phases of Faron’s projects and may therefore fluctuate 
strongly from year to year.  
No  internal  development  expenses  related  to  Company’s  un-
approved  product  candidates  have  yet  been  capitalized  as 
management considers that the uncertainties inherent in de-
veloping pharmaceutical products prohibits the capitalization 
of internal development expense as an intangible asset until 
marketing  approval  has  been  received  from  the  relevant  reg-
ulatory agencies.  
Costs  incurred  on  internal  development  projects  are  rec-
ognised  as  intangible  assets  as  of  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 external entity. 
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 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  programs  under  which  board  mem-
bers  and  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 valuation 
model. The cost is recognized together with a corresponding 
increase  in  equity  over  the  period  in  which  the  performance 
and service conditions are fulfilled, the vesting period. The fair 
value determined at the grant date of the equity-settled share-
based payment is expensed on a straight line basis. 

No expense is recognized 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 allow the use of additional line items and subtotals in the 
income  statement.  Faron  has  defined  operating  result  to  be 
a relevant subtotal in understanding the Company’s financial 
performance. In Faron, 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, if any. 

50

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016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. 

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 

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.  

Deferred  tax  liability  tax  is  generally  provided  for  in  full. 
Deferred  tax  assets  are  recorded  up  to  the  amount  that  rep-
resents  probable  taxable  income  received  in  the  future  and 
against  which  temporary  differences  can  be  utilized.  The 
amount and probability of the utilization 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 realized 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. Equipment 
that Faron owns comprises mainly office equipment and per-
sonal computers. Equipment is stated at historical cost less 
depreciation  and  any  impairment  losses.  Historical  cost  in-
cludes  expenditure  that  is  directly  attributable  to  the  acqui-
sition  of  the  items.  Repairs  and  maintenance  costs  are  ex-
pensed as incurred. 

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 amortization 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-

ate probable future economic benefits,

•  adequate  technical,  financial  and  other  resources  to  com-
plete 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  ingredient, 
API  (“API  documentation”)  The  development  activities  and 
documentation relate to stability testing of a drug substance 
(API), that is sellable as such, but the usage value of which im-
proves as the prolonged stability is proven and documented. 
In addition to its own use, Faron may also, for a fee, license 
the  documentation  to  companies  that  can  utilise  documen-
tation  in  their  own  drug  candidate  approval  and  registration 
documentation. Provision of such access does in no way limit 
Faron’s ability to use the documentation 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  estimated  useful  lives  of  intangible  assets  are  regularly 

51

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016reviewed. The estimated useful life for intangible assets is cur-
rently 10 years. The effect of any adjustment to useful lives is 
recognised prospectively 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  capitalized.  Before  this  trigger  point  all  drug  product 
related development costs are typically expensed as incurred. 
Faron  has  not  capitalized  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 
capitalized at a later date.

1.13 Impairment of non-financial assets

Assets  that  are  subject  to  depreciation/amortisation  are  re-
viewed  for  impairment  whenever  there  are  any  indications 
that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. As a clinical 
stage drug discovery and development company Faron pays 
attention  on  the  following  factors,  among  others:  changes 
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 amortization 
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 
(Commission’s FP7 program). 

the  EU 

Grants  from  governments  or  similar  organizations  to  sup-
port  certain  projects  are  accounted  for  as  grants  related  to 
income. They are initially recognised at their fair value. 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 management has rea-
sonable assurance that the grant will be received 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

Inventories are stated at the lower of cost and net realizable 
value. Cost is determined using average cost method instead 
of FIPO –method. The change of method had no impact on 
the inventory value. The cost of finished goods comprises pur-
chase 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 
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. 

52

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016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  (in-
cluding  reimbursable  costs)  in  the  ordinary  course  of  busi-
ness.  Trade  receivables  are  carried  at  the  original  invoice 
amount  less  allowances  made  for  doubtful  receivables,  dis-
counts and rebates and similar allowances, when applicable. 
Impairment  is  recognised  on  doubtful  receivables  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 financial 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.

1.17 Financial liabilities and equity

Faron classifies an instrument, or its component parts, on in-
itial 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

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  three  government  loans  with  a  below-market 
rate  of  interest  from  Tekes  (The  Finnish  Funding  Agency 
for Technology and Innovation). Two of 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  accounted  for  the  below-market  grant  separately. 
Subsequently, these loans are carried at amortised cost using 
the effective interest rate.  

In January 2016 the Company raised first instalment of a 
new  €1.5  million Tekes  development  loan  for  funding  of  the 
pre-clinical  development  of  Clevegen.  As  the  third  loan  was 
draw  down  after  the  date  to  transition  to  IFRS  (i.e.  after  1 
January 2014) it is therefore treated according to IAS 20 and 
IAS 39.  The benefit of a government loan at a below market 
rate of interest is treated as a government grant and account-
ed for in accordance with IAS 20.  

The  loan  component  is  recognized  and  measured  in  ac-
cordance  with  IAS  39  initially  at  fair  value  and  subsequently 
at amortised cost over the loan period by using the effective 
interest method. The benefit of the below market rate is meas-
ured as the difference between the initial carrying value of the 
loan,  i.e.  the  fair  value,  and  the  proceeds  received  from  the 
government.  Government  grants  are  recognised  as  profit  or 
loss on a systematic basis over the periods in which the entity 
recognises as expenses the related costs for which the grants 
are intended to compensate.  

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 contractual obligation to 
deliver cash or other financial assets, and it can be converted 
to  fixed  amount  of  the  Company’s  shares,  it  is  classified  as 
equity.  If  the  conversion  option  is  to  variable  amount  of  the 
Company’s  shares,  and  it  includes  contractual  obligation  to 
deliver  cash,  the  instrument  is  a  liability  that  contain  embed-
ded derivatives, and it is 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 

53

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016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. 

As  of  31  December  2016,  Faron  had  no  outstanding  con-

vertible loans.

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 issuance of new 
shares  to  the  stock  market  in  September  2015,  or  are  other-
wise 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  capitalized 
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 ex-
pensed.  An  asset  recognised  under  a  finance  lease  is  depre-
ciated 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. 

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  recognized  when  the  criteria 
for  revenue  recognition  is  met  for  each  component.  Non-
refundable  milestones  are  recognized  as  revenue  when  the 
milestone has been achieved and the Company does not have 
future  obligations  related  to  that  milestone.    This  is  normal-
ly 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 deferred revenue in the 
balance sheet/statement of financial position and recognized 
as  revenue  when  the  service/goods  has  been  delivered  and 
there are no remaining obligations or contingencies. For some 
transactions  this  may  result  in  recognizing  cash  receipts  in-
itially  as  deferred  income  and  then  released  to  income  over 
subsequent financial years on the basis of meeting the condi-
tions 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  capitalization.  This  determination  re-
quires  significant  judgement.  When  an  internal  development 
project fulfils the criteria for capitalization, costs incurred are 
capitalized  from  that  point  forward.  The  in-process  devel-
opment  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 
capitalized  until  marketing  approval  has  been  received  from 

54

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016the  relevant  regulatory  agencies,  as  this  is  considered  to  be 
the  first  point  at  which  it  may  be  concluded  that  that  future 
revenues 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”), fulfils the criteria of IFRS for capitalizing costs 
of internally developed intangible assets despite the nature of 
the Company’s operations where capitalization 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 usage val-
ue of the drug substance improves as the prolonged stability 
is proven and documented. In addition to its own use, Faron 
may also, for a fee, license the documentation to companies 
that can utilise documentation in their drug candidate approv-
al and registration documentation. The costs of this internally 
developed intangible asset have been capitalized as of the cri-
teria for capitalization 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 differenc-
es can be utilized. Various internal and external factors may 
have  favourable  or  unfavourable  effects  on  the  deferred  tax 
assets 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-
izable value. Net realizable 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 

sale.  Net  realizable  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 realized from their 
sale or use.  

Management has assessed, that GMP3 manufactured drug 
ingredient also fulfils 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 inter-
pretations applicable in future financial years 

New  and  forthcoming  IFRS  standards,  effective  1  January 
2016 or period thereafter 
In  preparing  these  financial  statements,  Faron  has  followed 
the  same  accounting  policies  as  in  the  annual  financial  state-
ments  for  2015  except  for  the  effect  of  changes  required  by 
the  adoption  of  the  following  new  standards,  interpretations 
and  amendment  to  existing  standards  and  interpretations  on 
1 January 2016. 

Clarification  of  Acceptable  Methods  of  Depreciation  and 
Amortisation – Amendments to IAS 16 and IAS 38 (Effective 
date 1 January 2016)   
The amendments clarify that a revenue-based method of de-
preciation or amortisation is generally not appropriate. 

The  IASB  has  amended  IAS  16  Property,  Plant  and 
Equipment  to  clarify  that  a  revenue-based  method  should 
not be used to calculate the depreciation of items of property, 
plant and equipment. 

IAS  38  Intangible  Assets  now  includes  a  rebuttable  pre-
sumption that the amortisation of intangible assets based on 
revenue is inappropriate. This presumption can be overcome 
if either 

•  The intangible asset is expressed as a measure of revenue 
(ie where a measure of revenue is the limiting factor on the 
value that can be derived from the asset), or

•  It can be shown that revenue and the consumption of eco-
nomic benefits generated by the asset are highly correlated.

None of the above-listed annual improvements had any effect 
on the financial statements for 2016.

55

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016Annual  Improvements  to  IFRSs  2012-2014  cycle  (Effective 
date 1 January 2016) The latest annual improvements clarify: 
•  IFRS 5 – when an asset (or disposal group) is reclassified 
from ‘held for sale’ to ‘held for distribution’ or vice versa, this 
does not constitute a change to a plan of sale or distribution 
and does not have to be accounted for as such;

•  IFRS 7 – specific guidance for transferred financial assets 
to help management determine whether the terms of a ser-
vicing arrangement constitute ‘continuing involvement’ and, 
therefore, whether the asset qualifies for derecognition;

•  IFRS 7 – that the additional disclosures relating to the off-
setting of financial assets and financial liabilities only need 
to be included in interim reports if required by IAS 34

•  IAS  19  –  that  when  determining  the  discount  rate  for 
post-employment benefit obligations, it is the currency that 
the liabilities are denominated in that is important and not 
the country where they arise

•  IAS 34 – what is meant by the reference in the standard to 
‘information disclosed elsewhere in the interim financial re-
port’; entities taking advantage of the relief must provide a 
cross-reference from the interim financial statements to the 
location of that information and make the information avail-
able to users on the same terms and at the same time as 
the interim financial statements.

None of the above-listed annual improvements had any effect 
on the financial statements for 2016. 

Disclosure Initiative - Amendments to IAS 1 (Effective date 1 
January 2016) 
The  amendments  to 
IAS  1  Presentation  of  Financial 
Statements are made in the context of the IASB’s Disclosure 
Initiative, which explores how financial statement disclosures 
can be improved. The amendments provide clarifications on a 
number of issues, including: 

•  Materiality – an entity should not aggregate or disaggregate 
information  in  a  manner  that  obscures  useful  information. 
Where  items  are  material,  sufficient  information  must  be 
provided  to  explain  the  impact  on  the  financial  position  or 
performance.

•  Disaggregation and subtotals – line items specified in IAS 
1  may  need  to  be  disaggregated  where  this  is  relevant  to 
an understanding of the entity’s financial position or perfor-
mance. There is also new guidance on the use of subtotals.
•  Notes – confirmation that the notes do not need to be pre-

sented in a particular order.

•  OCI arising from investments accounted for under the equi-
ty method – the share of OCI arising from equity-accounted 
investments is grouped based on whether the items will or 
will not subsequently be reclassified to profit or loss. Each 

group should then be presented as a single line item in the 
statement of other comprehensive income.

According to the transitional provisions, the disclosures in IAS 
8  regarding  the  adoption  of  new  standards/accounting  poli-
cies are not required for these amendments. 

None of the above-listed annual improvements had any ef-

fect on the financial statements for 2016. 

Forthcoming  requirements  of  IFRS  standards,  interpreta-
tions and amendments 

IFRS  9  Financial 
Instruments  and  associated  amend-
ments  to  various  other  standards  (Effective  date  1  January 
2018)  
IFRS  9  “Financial  Instruments”  replaces  the  multiple  classifi-
cation  and  measurement  models  in  IAS  39  and  it  will  bring 
changes  to  classification  and  measurement  of  financial  as-
sets their impairment assessment hedge accounting.   

A debt instrument is measured at amortised cost only if the 
objective of the business model is to hold the financial asset 
for the collection of the contractual cash flows, and the con-
tractual cash flows under the instrument solely represent pay-
ments of principal and interest. 

All  other  debt  and  equity  instruments,  including  invest-
ments  in  complex  debt  instruments  and  equity  investments, 
must  be  recognised  at  fair  value.  All  fair  value  movements 
on  financial  assets  are  taken  through  the  statement  of  prof-
it or loss, except for equity investments that are not held for 
trading, which may be recorded in the statement of profit or 
loss or in reserves (without subsequent recycling to profit or 
loss). In addition debt instruments can be classified at fair val-
ue through other comprehensive income according to entity’s 
business model.   

As of the date of these financial statements Faron is still to 

assess the impacts of the standard. 

IFRS 15 Revenue from contracts with customers and associ-
ated amendments to various other standards (Effective date 
1 January 2018) 
The  IASB  has  issued  a  new  standard  for  the  recognition  of 
revenue. This  will  replace  IAS  18  which  covers  contracts  for 
goods  and  services  and  IAS  11  which  covers  construction 
contracts. 

The  new  standard  is  based  on  the  principle  that  revenue 
is recognised when control of a good or service transfers to 
a  customer  –  so  the  notion  of  control  replaces  the  existing 
notion of risks and rewards. 

A  new  five-step  process  must  be  applied  before  revenue 

can be recognised: 

56

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016•  identify contracts with customers
•  identify the separate performance obligation
•  determine the transaction price of the contract
•  allocate the transaction price to each of the separate perfor-

mance obligations, and

•  recognise  the  revenue  as  each  performance  obligation  is 

satisfied. Key changes to current practice are: 

The Company is still to assess the impacts of the standard.

IFRS 16 Leases (effective for financial years beginning on or 
after 1 January 2019) 
IFRS 16 will affect primarily the accounting by lessees and will 
result in the recognition of almost all leases on balance sheet. 
The standard removes the current distinction between operat-
ing and financing leases and requires recognition of an asset 
(the right to use the leased item) and a financial liability to pay 
rentals for virtually all lease contracts. An optional exemption 
exists for short-term and low-value leases.  

The  income  statement  will  also  be  affected  because  the 
total expense is typically higher in the earlier years of a lease 
and  lower  in  later  years.  Additionally,  operating  expense  will 
be replaced with interest and depreciation, so key metrics like 
EBITDA will change.  

Operating cash flows will be higher as cash payments for 
the principal portion of the lease liability are classified within 
financing activities. Only the part of the payments that reflects 
interest can continue to be presented as operating cash flows.  
The  accounting  by  lessors  will  not  significantly  change. 
Some differences may arise as a result of the new guidance 
on  the  definition  of  a  lease.  Under  IFRS  16,  a  contract  is,  or 
contains,  a  lease  if  the  contract  conveys  the  right  to  control 
the use of an identified asset for a period of time in exchange 
for consideration.  

The Company is still to assess the impacts of the standard.

Recognition of Deferred Tax Assets for Unrealised Losses – 
Amendments  to  IAS  12  (effective  for  financial  years  begin-
ning on or after 1 January 2017)  
Amendments  made  to  IAS  12  in  January  2016  clarify  the 
accounting  for  deferred  tax  where  an  asset  is  measured  at 
fair  value  and  that  fair  value  is  below  the  asset’s  tax  base. 
Specifically, the amendments confirm that: 

•  A temporary difference exists whenever the carrying amount 
of an asset is less than its tax base at the end of the report-
ing period.

•  An entity can assume that it will recover an amount higher 
than the carrying amount of an asset to estimate its future 
taxable profit.

•  Where  the  tax  law  restricts  the  source  of  taxable  profits 
against  which  particular  types  of  deferred  tax  assets  can 
be  recovered,  the  recoverability  of  the  deferred  tax  assets 
can only be assessed in combination with other deferred tax 
assets of the same type.

•  Tax  deductions  resulting  from  the  reversal  of  deferred  tax 
assets are excluded from the estimated future taxable profit 
that is used to evaluate the recoverability of those assets.

The Company is still to assess the impacts of the standard.

Disclosure Initiative – Amendments to IAS 7(effective for fi-
nancial years beginning on or after 1 January 2017). 
Going forward, entities will be required to explain changes in 
their liabilities arising from financing activities. This includes 
changes arising from cash flows (e.g. drawdowns and repay-
ments of borrowings) and non-cash changes such as acquisi-
tions, disposals, accretion of interest and unrealised exchange 
differences.  

Changes  in  financial  assets  must  be  included  in  this  disclo-
sure if the cash flows were, or will be, included in cash flows from 
financing activities. This could be the case, for example, for as-
sets that hedge liabilities arising from financing liabilities.  

Entities  may  include  changes  in  other  items  as  part  of  this 
disclosure,  for  example  by  providing  a  ‘net  debt’  reconciliation. 
However,  in  this  case  the  changes  in  the  other  items  must  be 
disclosed separately from the changes in liabilities arising from 
financing activities.  

The information may be disclosed in tabular format as recon-
ciliation from opening and closing balances, but a specific format 
is not mandated.  

The Company is still to assess the impacts of the standard.

Sale or contribution of assets between an investor and its as-
sociate or joint venture – Amendments to IFRS 10 and IAS 28 
(effective date has not been established yet, not yet endorsed 
by EU).  
The  IASB  has  made  limited  scope  amendments  to  IFRS  10 
Consolidated  financial  statements  and  IAS  28  Investments 
in associates and joint ventures. The amendments clarify the 
accounting  treatment  for  sales  or  contribution  of  assets  be-
tween  an  investor  and  its  associates  or  joint  ventures. They 
confirm  that  the  accounting  treatment  depends  on  whether 
the non-monetary assets sold or contributed to an associate 
or joint venture constitutes a ‘business’ (as defined in IFRS 3 
Business Combinations). 

Where the non-monetary assets constitute a business, the 
investor will recognise the full gain or loss on the sale or con-
tribution of assets. If the assets do not meet the definition of a 
business, the gain or loss is recognised by the investor only to 

57

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016‘‘Share-based Payment Transactions’ – Amendments to IFRS 
2 (effective date 1 January 2018, not yet endorsed by EU). 
Clarifies how to account for certain types of share-based pay-
ment transactions and provide requirements on the account-
ing for:  

•  the  effects  of  vesting  and  non-vesting  conditions  on  the 

measurement of cash-settled share-based payments;

•  share-based  payment  transactions  with  a  net  settlement 

feature for withholding tax obligations; and

•  a modification to the terms and conditions of a share-based 
payment that changes the classification of the transaction 
from cash-settled to equity-settled

The Company is still to assess the impacts of the standard.

IFRIC  22:  Foreign  Currency  Transactions  and  Advance 
Considerations 2 (effective date 1 January 2018, not yet en-
dorsed by EU). 
IFRIC  22  provides  requirements  about  which  exchange  rate 
to  use  in  reporting  foreign  currency  transactions  (such  as 
revenue transactions)  when payment is made or  received in 
advance.  

The Company is still to assess the impacts of the standard. 

Transfers  of  Investment  Property  –  Amendments  to  IAS  40 
(effective date 1 January 2018, not yet endorsed by EU). 
Clarification.  The  amendment  was  made  to  reinforce  the 
principle  for  transfers  into,  or  out  of,  investment  property  in 
respect of properties under construction or development.  

The Company is still to assess the impacts of the standard. 

the extent of the other investor’s investors in the associate or 
joint venture. The amendments apply prospectively.  

The Company is still to assess the impacts of the standard. 

Clarifications  to  IFRS  15  Revenue  from  Contracts  with 
Customers  (effective date 1 January 2018, not yet endorsed 
by EU) 
The amendments comprise clarifications of the guidance on 
identifying  performance  obligations,  accounting  for  licenses 
of  intellectual  property  and  the  principal  versus  agent  as-
sessment (gross versus net revenue presentation). New and 
amended  illustrative  examples  have  been  added  for  each  of 
these areas of guidance. The IASB has also included addition-
al practical expedients related to transition to the new revenue 
standard.   

The Company is still to assess the impacts of the standard .

Annual  improvements  to  IFRSs  2014-2016  cycle  (effective 
date 1 January 2017, not yet endorsed by EU). 
These annual improvements clarify:  

•  IFRS 12 – that the disclosure requirements in IFRS 12, other 
than those relating to summarised financial information for 
subsidiaries, joint ventures and associates, apply to an en-
tity’s interests in other entities that are classified as held for 
sale or discontinued operations in accordance with IFRS 5.

IAS  28  –  that  an  entity  has  an  investment-by-investment 
choice  for  measuring  investees  at  fair  value  in  accordance 
with IFRS 9 by a venture capital organisation, or a mutual fund, 
unit trust or similar entities including investment linked insur-
ance  funds.  Additionally,  an  entity  that  is  not  an  investment 
entity may have an associate or joint venture that is an invest-
ment entity. IAS 28 permits such an entity the choice to retain 
the  fair  value  measurements  used  by  that  investment  entity 
associate  or  joint  venture  when  applying  the  equity  method. 
The amendments clarify that this choice is also available on 
an investment-by-investment basis.  

The Company is still to assess the impacts of the standard. 

‘Insurance Contracts’ – Amendments to IFRS 4 (effective date 
1 January 2018, not yet endorsed by EU). 
The amendment provides exceptions in applying IFRS 9 with 
IFRS 4 Insurance Contracts when entity has issued insurance 
contracts.  

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.

58

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016NOTE 2
2.1 Principles of financial risk management

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

- liquidity risk
- credit risk, and
- market risk

Faron’s overall risk management seeks to minimise potential 
adverse effects on the Company’s financial performance. Risk 
management  is  carried  out  by  the  financial  management  of 
Faron.  The  financial  management  identifies,  evaluates  and 
hedges  financial  risks.  So  far  Faron  has  not  used  derivative 
financial instruments to hedge any risk exposures. Faron’s risk 
management focuses on liquidity and market risks.

Liquidity risk

Liquidity risk is the risk that Faron will encounter difficulty in 
meeting  obligations  associated  with  financial  liabilities  that 
are settled by delivering cash or another financial asset.

Management  forecasts  the  Company’s  liquidity  require-
ments  to  ensure  it  has  sufficient  cash  to  meet  operational 
needs.  Such  forecasting  takes  into  consideration  Faron’s  fi-
nancing plans and expected cash flow. In 2016, Company is-
sued new shares to institutional investors on AIM market and 
received new equity, less direct costs, to the amount of EUR 
8,519  thousands.  This  new  capital  significantly  reduced  the 
liquidity risk for the Company in the near future.

In  2012  the  European  Commission  awarded  a  EUR  5,963 
thousand  grant  to  the  Faron  network  (“Consortium”)  to  sup-
port the FP-1201-lyo clinical phase III program (“Traumakine”). 
The  Consortium  consists  of  the  European  Commission  as  a 
granting agency, Faron as a coordinator and three other partic-
ipating partners of the Traumakine program; University College 
London  Hospital  (UCLH),  University  Sapienza  Roma  and 
University of Turku. The first pre-payment for the Consortium 
under the grant was received in 2013, amounted to EUR 2,299 
thousand, and Faron recognised EUR 660 thousand as other 
operating income. The second Consortium pre-payment, EUR 
1,018  thousand  was  received  at  the  end  of  2014  and  Faron 
recognised EUR 111 thousand as other operating income. In 
2015, Faron recognised EUR 701 thousand as other operating 
income.The  third  pre-payment,  EUR  1,781  thousand  was  re-
ceived in 2016, and Faron recognised EUR 1,502 thousand as 
other  operating  income.  In  conjunction  to  each  pre-payment 
Faron has forwarded each Consortium member their respec-
tive shares of pre-payments.

During  2016  the  Company  negotiated  a  further  two  year 
extension  to  the  loan  and  an  equal  postponement  of  the  in-
stallments of the first R&D loan from Tekes, for which the first 
installment was due in 2016. Tekes provided Faron with an ad-
ditional two years to make in respect to first installment which 
is now therefore due in 2018. Faron also has had a committed 
credit limit available, up to EUR 800 thousand, which was end-
ed 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 Maruish in 2017 
and  income  from  other  commercial  agreements,  will  enable 
Faron to fund its operating expenses as planned during 2017.

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

The  Finnish  Funding  Agency  for  Technology  and  Innovation 
(Tekes)  has  granted  three  loans  to  the  Company.  The  total 
amount  of  the  first  two  loans  had  been  drawn  down  by  the 
Company by the end of the year 2011. Both loans are govern-
ment loans with a below-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%, however, the interest rate will not fall below 
a  3%  minimum.  Repayment  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 following the general terms of the 
loans. The loans do not include any covenants. The Company 
has negotiated with Tekes four year extension to the first loan 
and  an  equal  postponement  of  the  installments. The  first  in-
stalment of the third loan have been drawn down during 2016. 

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 oblication 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.

59

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016C) Loans

Stated in euro 

Contractual maturity of loans and 
their interest payments at 31 Dec 
2016

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

2016 
€’000

2017 
€’000

2018 
€’000

2019
€’000

Later years 
€’000

Total 
€’000

0

26

93

26

338

24

338

20

1 847

55

2 617

150

1824

1850

119

362

358

1 902

1 824

4 591

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 would turn 
out to be unsuccesfull the lender can forgive the loans either 
partially or fully. 

address  and  describe  remedies  for  situations  in  which  inter-
ests 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.

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.

Currently Faron does business with only few external coun-
terparties,  which  all  are  licensees  of  Company’s  technology 
and products. Over the coming years, funding (milestone pay-
ments and reimbursable research expenses ) from licensees 
remain important to Faron’s product  development programs 
and are considered the main area of credit risk. However, this 
risk  is  partly  mitigated  by  the  fact  that  Faron’s  current  licen-
sees  are  large  and  internationally  reputable  pharmaceutical 
companies that are financially solid. These collaborations are 
normally governed by contractual relationships that typically 

The Company has not incurred any credit losses over the re-
porting periods 2012-2016, and management does not expect 
losses from non-performance by counterparties. Therefore, at 
present, credit risk is limited.

Faron  has  historically  had  very  little  trade  receivables  by 
year-end 2012-2015, In the year ended 31 Dec 2016 the trade 
receivables  were  EUR  579  thousand  and  they  are  all  from 
Maruishi  and  one  client  which  is  a  very  large  international 
pharmaceuticals company. There has not been any irregulari-
ties in the payments of these clients. All the trade receivables 
are due in 30 days. Thus no further ageing analysis of trade 
receivables is presented.

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:

60

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016• 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 
English  Pound.  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  Ph  III  clinical  trials  with 
a  UK  -based  Clinical  Research  Organisation  as  main  service 
provider, the Companys’ sterling denominated expensess and 
trade payables have become significant. The Company convert-
ed most of the pound -denominated IPO -proceeds into euros 
immediatelly after the IPO, but held- and still holds - a sizeable 
amounts of pounds on its pound -bank accounts. This forms 
a  natural  hedge  against  euro-pound  exchange  rate  changes, 
as the funds held in pounds roughly match with the estimated 
pound expenses during 2017. As a result of the sizeable pound 
-holdings, the depreciation of english pound against euro had a 
negative  effect  on  the  financial  statements.  As  the  exchange 
rate  may  move  also  to  other  direction  during  2017,  the  man-
agement believes that natural hedge strategy best protects the 
Company from adverse exchange rate changes and this protec-
tion overweights 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 
changes in market interest rates. 

The  Company’s  interest  rate  risk  arises  from  long-term 
borrowings.  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 partially 
offset  by cash held at variable rates which, on the other 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 programs into commer-
cialised pharmaceutical products requires significant financial 
resources.  Faron  relies  on  its  ability  to  fund  its  operations 
through three major sources of financing:

1)  Equity  financing:  Faron’s  funding  is  partly  organised 
through  equity  financing.  Management  monitors  li-
quidity 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  re-
ceive  upfront  and  milestone-dependent  payments 
from these partners. Activities in the area of business 
development  are  targeted  at  securing  such  agree-
ments. These activities are integral part of the duties 
of  the  management  and  are  monitored  by  the  Board 
of Directors, which ultimately 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 econom-
ic  and  technological  progress  in  the  region  in  which 
Faron  operates.  Such  funds  have  been  historically 
available to Faron at substantial levels. Faron is in reg-
ular contact with the funding agencies. The availability 
of such funds in the future cannot be guaranteed.

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.

61

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 20162.3 Fair value estimation

NOTE 5
Other operating income

Some of Faron’s accounting policies and disclosures require 
the measurement of fair values. For Faron this applies primar-
ily to financial assets and liabilities. 

For financial instruments that are measured in the balance 
sheet at fair value, IFRS requires disclosure of fair value meas-
urements  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 indi-
rectly (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  meas-
urement  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 2015 revenue consisted of milestone income from Maruishi 
and sales of API reference material as well as analyse material 
sales.  In  2016  revenue  consisted  of  sale  of  API  and  sale  of 
clinical material to Maruishi.

NOTE 4
Segment reporting

Faron is a late clinical stage biotechnology company. It’s op-
erations  have  been  focused  on  the  development  of  its  main 
drug candidate, Traumakine. Faron’s chief operating decision 
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. 
Faron’s country of operation is Finland.

Stated in euro 

Grants from EU

Grant component of 
goverment loans

Other items

2015 
€’000

701

2016
€’000

1 502

237

4

Total other operating income

1 742

701

In  2012  the  European  Commission  awarded  a  EUR  5,963 
thousand  grant  to  the  Faron  network  (“Consortium”)  to  sup-
port the FP-1201-lyo clinical phase III program (“Traumakine”). 
The  Consortium  consists  of  the  European  Commission  as  a 
granting agency, Faron as the funds receiving and further dis-
tributing coordinator and three other participating partners of 
the Traumakine program; University College London Hospital 

(UCLH), University Sapienza Roma and University of Turku. 
The first pre-payment for the Consortium under the grant was 
received in 2013, amounted to EUR 2,299 thousand, and Faron 
recognised EUR 660 thousand as other operating income. The 
second  Consortium  pre-payment,  EUR  1,018  thousand  was 
received  at  the  end  of  2014  and  Faron  recognised  EUR  111 
thousand  as  other  operating  income.  In  2015,  Faron  recog-
nised EUR 701 thousand as other operating income.The third 
pre-payment, EUR 1,781 thousand was received in 2016, and 
Faron  recognised  EUR  1,502  thousand  as  other  operating 
income.  In  conjunction  to  each  pre-payment  Faron  has  for-
warded each Consortium member their respective shares of 
pre-payments.

According to IFRS 39 below-market level goverment loans 
must  be  divided  into  Fair-value  -component  and  Grant  com-
ponent. Thus the Tekes -loans raised during 2016 have been 
decomposed and the grant component of 237 thousand euro 
is recorded in Other operating income.

The Other items are 4 thousand euro legal costs returned 

to the Company.

62

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016NOTE 6

NOTE 7

Employee benefit expense

Depreciation and amortisation

Stated in euro 

2016
€’000

2015 
€’000

Stated in euro 

2016
€’000

2015 
€’000

Salaries

(1 636)

(940)

Depreciation and amortisation allocated to functions

Research and development

(219)

(90)

(480)

(115)

(63)

(474)

Administration

Total depreciation and 
amortisation

(161)

(7)

(175)

(9)

(168)

(184)

(2 426)

(1 591)

Depreciation and amortisation by asset categories

Contributions to defined 
contribution post-employment 
plans

Social security contributions

Share based payments

Total employee benefit 
expenses

Average number of personnel

Finland

Total

10

10

6

6

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

Machinery and equipment

Total depreciation

Intangible assets

Patents

Other intangible assets

IFRS depreciation adjustment

(7)

(7)

(71)

(90)

(9)

(9)

(65)

(90)

(20)

Total amortisation

(161)

(175)

Total depreciation and 
amortisation

(168)

(184)

The Company has not recorded any impairment losses for the 
years ended 31 December 2012 to 2016.

63

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016NOTE 8 
Financial income and expenses

Faron  has  received  three  goverment  loans  for  research  and 
development  purposes  with  below-market  interest  rate  from 
Tekes  (The  Finnish  Funding  Agency  for  Technology  and 
Innovation). Two of theses loans were drawn down before the 
date to transition to IFRS (i.e. prior to 1 January 2014). 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 amortized cost using the effective interest rate. 
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%, however, the interest rate will not 
fall below a 1% minimum. Repayment 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,  ex-
tend  the  loan  terms,  convert  the  loans  into  capital  loans  or 
exempt  the  Company  from  repayment  following  the  general 
terms  of  the  loans. The  loans  do  not  include  any  covenants. 
The Company has negotiated with Tekes four years extension 
to  the  first  loan  and  an  equal  postponement  of  the  install-
ments  and  a  years  extension  to  the  first  loan  and  an  equal 
postponement  of  the  installments.  Therefore  the  first  instal-
ment of the first loan is due in April 2018 and for the second 
loan in February 2019. 

The third Tekes loan has been partially drawn down during 
2016. Its loan period is also 10 years from first draw down with 
first repayment after 5 years. Therefore the first instalment of 
the third loan is due in April 2022. In all other material respact 
the  terms  of  the  third  loan  are  identical  to  those  of  the  first 
two  loans.    As  the  third  loan  was  draw  down  after  the  date 
to transition to IFRS (i.e. after 1 January 2014) and therefore 
it is treated according to IAS 20 and IAS 39.  The benefit of a 
government loan at a below market rate of interest is treated 
as a government grant and accounted for in accordance with 
IAS 20. 

The  loan  component  is  recognized  and  measured  in  ac-
cordance  with  IAS  39  initially  at  fair  value  and  subsequently 
at amortised cost over the loan period by using the effective 
interest method. The benefit of the below market rate is meas-
ured as the difference between the initial carrying value of the 
loan,  i.e.  the  fair  value,  and  the  proceeds  received  from  the 
government.  Government  grants  are  recognised  in  profit  or 
loss on a systematic basis over the periods in which the entity 
recognises as expenses the related costs for which the grants 
are intended to compensate. 

Other significant financial expense items are the exchange 
rate  losses  when  transfering  GBP  to  Euro,  when  issuing  the 

new  shares  entering  London  stock  exchange,  expenses  on 
loan guarantees, interest on convertible loans and credit limit 
interest from bank. 

See also Note 2 Financial risk management.

Stated in euro 

2016
€’000

2015 
€’000

Financial income

Interest from bank balances

Interest from account receivables

Exchage rate profit

Total financial income

Financial expenses

0

0

0

Interest on government loans (Tekes)

(19)

Interest on bank loans

Interest on accounts payables

(5)

(1)

0

0

(18)

(19)

(1)

Exchange rate losses

(333)

(247)

Bank guarentee costs and provisions

Other financial expenses

(2)

(1)

(9)

(17)

Total financial expenses

(361)

(311)

Total financial income and expenses

(361)

(311)

64

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016NOTE 9

Income taxes

Stated in euro 

Withholding tax

Total income taxes

2016
€’000

(75)

(75)

2015 
€’000

(42)

(42)

Stated in euro 

2016
€’000

2015 
€’000

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

Loss before income tax

(9 294)

(6 188)

Taxes paid in the year ended 31 December 2015 and 2016 re-
late to milestone payment from Maruishi and signing fee from 
PharmBio.

Tax using Faron’s domestic 
corporate tax rate

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

Taxes in the income statement

 1 859

1 238

(1 859)

(1 238)

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

13 928

 5 434 

16 744

 8 250 

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 2025. The amount 
presented  for  the  year  ended  31  December  2016  does  not 
include the deductible temporary difference arisen from the 
net loss for the financial year 2016 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 in 
the balance sheet due to the uncertainty as to whether they 
can be utilised.

65

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016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.

Stated in euro 

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

2016
€’000

(9 294)

2015 
€’000

(6 188)

Weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue

 23 979 650

 20 686 854

Basic (and dilutive) loss per share, EUR

(0,39)

(0,30)

Weighted-average number of ordinary shares

Issued ordinary shares at 1 January

Effect of shares issued

Weighted-average number of ordinary shares at 31 December

 23 111 704

 867 945

 23 979 650

 15 456 250

 5 230 604

 20 686 854

Diluted

Diluted lossper share is calculated by adjusting theweighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding to assume conver-
sion of all dilutive potential ordinary shares.

Stated in euro

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

Interest adjustment

Convertible loan interest adjusted loss attrib to equity holders

2016
€’000

(9 294)

(9 294)

2015 
€’000

(6 188)

9

(6 179)

Diluted weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue

 23 979 650

 20 686 854

Basic loss per share, EUR

(0,39)

(0,30)

Weighted-average number of ordinary shares

Issued ordinary shares at 1 January

Effect of shares issued

Weighted-average number of ordinary shares at 31 December

Dilution effect of convertible loans’

 23 111 704

 867 945

23 979 650

 15 456 250

 5 230 604

20 686 854

-

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

 23 979 650

 20 686 854

66

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016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

2016
€’000

2015 
€’000

39

39

(11)

(7)

(18)

28

21

2

37

39

(1)

(9)

(11)

0

28

2016
€’000

2015 
€’000

716

92

646

70

Balance at 31 December

809

716

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

(434)

(71)

(505)

283

304

(369)

(65)

(434)

277

283

67

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016Documentation assets in process

Stated in euro 

Cost

Balance at 1 January

Cost

Additions

Disposals

Transfers

2016
€’000

2015 
€’000

907

907

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

(188)

(90)

(278)

719

629

2016
€’000

1 623

92

(188)

(188)

907

719

2015 
€’000

1 553

70

Balance at 31 December

1 716

1 623

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

(622)

(161)

(783)

1 001

933

(369)

(253)

(622)

1 184

1 001

68

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016Total machinery and equipment and intangible assets

Stated in euro 

Cost

Balance at 1 January

Cost

Additions

Disposals

Transfers

2016
€’000

1 662

92

2015 
€’000

1 555

107

Balance at 31 December

1 754

1 662

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

(632)

(168)

(800)

1 029

954

(370)

(262)

(632)

1 185

1 029

Finance leases

Orphan drug status

On 31 December 2016 the company had finance leases a total 
of 49 thousand euros.

The Interest charges related to the financial leases are re-

corded in the financial expenses. See note 8.

Documentation assets

The cost of the documentation arisen in conjunction to the de-
velopment work of Faron is recorded in intangible assets. This 
documentation consists of API documentation1 (see Note 1, 
1.10.2 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 a drug 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.

69

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016 
NOTE 12
Inventories

Stated in euro 

Pre-payment of unfinnished products

Finished goods

Inventories total

2016
€’000

 952

499

 1 451

2015 
€’000

649

649

Inventories consists of pre-payments of unfinnished materials and finnished goods. The unfinnished materials consists of an 
on-going production lot of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) used in production of FP-1201-lyo. The finnished goods con-
sists of deep-frozen bags of API which have a limited expiry time but which can be extended by conducting additional stability 
studies.

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

(2016: zero; 2015: zero). 

The Company has not recorded any impairment losses in years from 2012 to 2016.

NOTE 13
Current receivables

Stated in euro 

Trade receivables

Prepayments

Accrued items

Other receivables

Total trade and other receivables

2016
€’000

579

1 250

134

 1 441

 3 404

2015 
€’000

37

1 248

17

772

2 074

The majority of prepayments relate to the Clinical Service Agreement with the clinical research organisation (CRO), 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

2016
€’000

11 478

11 478

2015 
€’000

11 068

11 068

70

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016NOTE 15
Equity and reserves

Equity and reserves

In issue at 1 January 2013

Conversion of convertible notes to

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

31 December 2015

Share base payments

Emission of new shares

31 December 2016

Number of shares 
(pcs)

Share capital 
(1,000 €)

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

Total 
(1,000 €)

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

23 111 704

1 296

120

0

0

1 416

1 275

0

0

2 691

0

2 691

0

0

5 328

0

0

0

6 624 

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

13 030

24 533

0

0

13 030

27 224

0

3 200 000

26 311 704

8 519

8 519

2 691

33 052

35 743

Faron  Pharmaceuticals  Ltd.  has  one  class  of  shares.  The 
shares  amounted  to  23,111,704  at  1  January  2016.  The  fol-
lowing increases were made during 2016:

By a resolution of a Board Meeting held on 21 September 
2016 made pursuant to an authority granted to the Board of 
Directors at the Annual General Meeting held on 26 May 2016, 
the Company resolved to issue a total of 3,200,000 Ordinary 
Shares.

The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 
November 2015. The share has no nominal value. Each share 
entitles the holder to one vote at the Annual General Meeting. 
All shares entitle holders to an equal dividend. 

At the 31 December 2016 Faron’s share capital, entered in 
the Finnish trade register, amounted to EUR 2,691 thousand.
The  number  of  Ordinary  Shares  at  31  December  2015  was 
26,311,704.

Details on the management shareholding are disclosed in 

Note 21. Transactions with Related Parties. 

71

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016Nature and purpose of reserves

Share capital

The subscription price of a share received by the company in 
connection with share issues is recorded 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.

72

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016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 
Admission 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  ended  on  9  May 
2016  (exercisable  between  9  May  2016  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 September 2021), a max-
imum 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 September 2019 (exercisable between 8 October 
2018 and 30 September 2021).

The terms of the 2015 option plan require that the option 
holder  remain  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 and the exercise price 
for Ordinary Shares based on “A” Options is  €2.90. The exer-
cise  price  for  ordinary  shares  based  on  tranches  “C”  and  “D” 
Options shall be determined by the Euro equivalent to the av-
erage share price of the publicly traded ordinary shares of the 
Company on AIM between 1 July and 30 September of 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 2016

Option under the 2015 Option Plan

Option tranche 

A 

B 

C 

D 

Total 

Status

Granted

Granted

Allocated*

Allocated*

Outstanding at 1 Jan.

250 000

250 000

250 000

250 000

1 000 000

Amount

Forfeited

Exercised

150 000

150 000

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

300 000

0

0

Average exercise 
price in €

3.31

3.31

Outstanding at 31 Dec.

400 000

400 000

250 000

250 000

1 300 000

3.31

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

73

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016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

The Company has granted warrants over 151,400 ordinary shares in 2015. 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.

74

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016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 1,451,400 granted and allocated options and warrants, 
951,400 were exercisable as at 31 December 2016. None were 
exercised by year end 2016. 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 us-
ing  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/
allocation 

Years of 
vesting 

Share price € 

Contractual 
months 
remaining

Estimated 
excercise 
price €

Volatility 

Risk-free 
interest rate 

A Options - Sept 2015

2015-2021

B Options - Sept 2015

2016-2021

C Options - Sept 2015

2017-2021

D Options - Sept 2015

2018-2021

Warrants A - Sept 2015

2015-2018

Warrants B - Sept 2015

2015-2018

57

57

57

57

17

14

2.88

2.78

2.69

2.69

2.69

2.69

3.71

2.90

4.51

4.96

1.55

2.01

50-53%

50-53%

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 480,256 in 2016. 2015 is Companies 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. Measuring 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 liabilities

2016
€’000

2015 
€’000

2 033

1 446

2 033

1 446

2 033

1 446

The “Prepayments” above contains the residual of the EU grant prepayments paid to Company in 2014, 2015 and 2016 deduct-
ed with the amounts that are recorded as Other operational income. (See Note 5, Other operational income). In addition the 
Prepayments include the 750 thousand euro signing fee paid by PharmBio.

Further information on Faron’s financial liabilities and related arrangements is presented in Note 2. Financial risk manage-

ment. See also Note 18. Current financial liabilities and other liabilities below.

75

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016 
 
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

2016
€’000

2015 
€’000

93

93

 1 874

 1 874

 1 718

620

65

 2 403

 4 371

245

245

436

436

973

515

29

1 517

2 197

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 were a major portion of the accrued 
expenses.

76

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016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 
Faron 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. 

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  is  presented 
below.  The  third  Tekes  loan  has  been  partially  drawn  down 
during 2016. As the third loan was draw down after the date 
to transition to IFRS (i.e. after 1 January 2014) and therefore 
it  is  treated  according  to  IAS  20  and  IAS  39.  See  note  8.  for 
more details

Stated in euro 

Carrying amount1

2016
€’000

2 126

2015 
€’000

1 691

1 Includes both the non-current and current portions

Stated in euro 

Corporate mortgages

2016
€’000

800

800

2015 
€’000

800

800

The corporate mortage was 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-can-
cellable operating leases are as follows

Stated in euro 

No later than 1 year

Later than 1 year and no 
later than 5 years

Later than 5 years

Total

2016
€’000

 144

261

 405

2015 
€’000

82

14

96

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 

long-term operating lease.

77

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016NOTE 21
Transactions with related parties

Related parties of the Company

Stated in euro 

2016 
€’000

2015 
€’000

Faron’s related party comprise of the following:

Remuneration of key management personnel*

Faron had no interests in other entities at the end of the report-
ing periods presented in these financial statements.

Remuneration to the Board of Directors **

Salaries and other short-term benefits

•  A&B (HK) Company Limited, an investment company exist-
ing  under  the  laws  of  Hong  Kong  having  significant  influ-
ence in Faron Pharmaceuticals Oy, given their shareholding 
of 12.9%, as at 31 December 2015.

•  Marko  Salmi,  a  private  person  having  significant  influence 
over  Faron  Pharmaceuticals  Oy,  given  his  shareholding  of 
12.9%, as at 31 December 2016.

•  Board of Directors; and
•  the Company’s key management personnel (see below)

Key management personnel

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

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

Salaries and other short-term employee 
benefits

Share based payment

Post-employment benefits 
(defined contribution plans)

832

769

274

 122

Total

1 106

 891

Stated in euro 

Share based payment

Total

2016 
€’000

2015 
€’000

258

38

296

124

155

279

*Presented  information  for  the  Management  Includes  the  ex-
ecutive directors of the Board 
**Presented information for the Board includes only non-exec-
utive directors.

78

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016Management and Board shareholding

Management* shareholding, 31 December 2016

Number of shares (pcs)

Shareholding, percentage

Board** shareholding, 31 December 2016

(excluding the shareholding of CEO 
and CFO)

Number of shares (pcs)

Shareholding, percentage

Total number of shares outstanding 
at 31 December 2016 (pcs)

2 965 170

11,3%

1 607 489

6.1%

26 311 704

*Presented  information  for  the  Management  Includes  the  ex-
ecutive directors of the Board 
**Presented information for the Board includes only non-exec-
utive directors.

Transactions with related parties

Faron  has  not  carried  out  any  transactions  with  related  par-
ties  in  the  financial  years  presented  in  these  financial  state-
ments,  except  that  the  former  parent  company  of  Faron 
Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Faron Holding Ltd., merged into its sub-
sidiary Faron Pharmaceuticals Ltd. on 31 December 2013. 

NOTE 22
Events after the balance sheet date

On 1 March 2017, Faron announced that the Company raised 
€5.8 million before expenses by way of the placing of 1,422,340 
ordinary shares at the Issue Price of 350 pence per share.

79

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 2016Results and dividends

The Statement of Comprehensive Income for the year is set out on page 44. 
The Company’s loss for the financial year after taxation and other comprehensive 
losses was € 9,293,930.28  (2015:€6,187,917.23).

The Directors do not recommend the payment of a dividend (2015: nil).

Board signatures

Turku, 28 March  2017

Frank Armstrong, Chairman 

Markku Jalkanen

Juho Jalkanen

Yrjö Wichmann

Jonathan Knowles

Huaizheng Peng

Leopoldo Zambeletti

Matti Manner

The Auditor’s Note

Our auditor’s report has been issued today

Turku, 28 March  2017

PricewaterhouseCoopers 

Kalle Laaksonen
Authorized Public Accountant

80

FARON PHARMACEUTICALS LTDANNUAL REPORT 20161 (3) 

Auditor’s Report (Translation of the Finnish 
Original) 

To the Annual General Meeting of Faron Pharmaceuticals Ltd. 

Report on the Audit of the Financial Statements  

Opinion  
In our opinion, the financial statements give a true and fair view of the company’s financial performance and 
financial position in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as adopted by the EU. 

What we have audited 

We have audited the financial statements of Faron Pharmaceuticals Ltd  (business identity code 2068285-4) for 
the year ended 31 December 2016. The financial statements comprise the balance sheet, income statement, 
statement of comprehensive income, statement of changes in equity and statement of cash flow and notes to the 
financial statements. 

Basis for Opinion  
We conducted our audit in accordance with good auditing practice in Finland. Our responsibilities under good 
auditing practice are further described in the Auditor’s Responsibilities for the Audit of Financial Statements 
section of our report. 

We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our 
opinion. 

Independence 

We are independent of the company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are applicable in Finland 
and are relevant to our audit, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these 
requirements. 

Responsibilities of the Board of Directors and the Managing Director for the Financial  
Statements 
The Board of Directors and the Managing Director are responsible for the preparation of financial statements that 
give a true and fair view in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as adopted by the 
EU. The Board of Directors and the Managing Director are also responsible for such internal control as they 
determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, 
whether due to fraud or error. 

In preparing the financial statements, the Board of Directors and the Managing Director are responsible for 
assessing the company’s ability to continue as going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters relating to going 
concern and using the going concern basis of accounting. The financial statements are prepared using the going 
concern basis of accounting unless there is an intention to liquidate the company or cease operations, or there is 
no realistic alternative but to do so. 

PricewaterhouseCoopers Oy, Authorised Public Accountants, P.O. Box 1015 (Itämerentori 2), FI-00101 HELSINKI 
Phone +358 20 787 7000, fax +358 20 787 8000,  www.pwc.fi   
Reg. Domicile Helsinki, Business ID 0486406-8 

 
 
  
 
 
 
2 (3) 

Auditor’s Responsibilities for the Audit of the Financial Statements 
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance on whether the financial statements as a whole are free from 
material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. 
Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance 
with good auditing practice will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise 
from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in aggregate, they could reasonably be expected 
to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of the financial statements.  

As part of an audit in accordance with good auditing practice, we exercise professional judgment and maintain 
professional skepticism throughout the audit. We also: 

•  

Identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or 
error, design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, and obtain audit evidence that is 
sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. The risk of not detecting a material 
misstatement resulting from fraud is higher than for one resulting from error, as fraud may involve collusion, 
forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal control. 

•   Obtain an understanding of internal control relevant to the audit in order to design audit procedures that are 
appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the 
company’s internal control.  

•   Evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates and 

related disclosures made by management. 

•   Conclude on the appropriateness of the Board of Directors’ and the Managing Director’s use of the going 

concern basis of accounting and based on the audit evidence obtained, whether a material uncertainty exists 
related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the company’s ability to continue as a going 
concern. If we conclude that a material uncertainty exists, we are required to draw attention in our auditor’s 
report to the related disclosures in the financial statements or, if such disclosures are inadequate, to modify 
our opinion. Our conclusions are based on the audit evidence obtained up to the date of our auditor’s report. 
However, future events or conditions may cause the company to cease to continue as a going concern.  

•   Evaluate the overall presentation, structure and content of the financial statements, including the disclosures, 
and whether the financial statements represent the underlying transactions and events so that the financial 
statements give a true and fair view.  

We communicate with those charged with governance regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and 
timing of the audit and significant audit findings, including any significant deficiencies in internal control that we 
identify during our audit. 

Other Reporting Requirements 

Other Information  
The Board of Directors and the Managing Director are responsible for the other information. The other 
information comprises of the strategic report, director’s report, director´s remuneration report and the statement 
of director´s responsibilities. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information. 

 
 
 
3 (3) 

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the reports mentioned above 
and, in doing so, consider whether the information included in the reports are materially inconsistent with the 
financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated.  

In our opinion the information given in the strategic report, director’s report, director´s remuneration report and 
the statement of director´s responsibilities are prepared are consistent with the financial statements. 

If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement in the reports 
mentioned above, we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report in this regard.  

Turku 28th of March 2017 
PricewaterhouseCoopers Oy 
Authorised Public Accountants 

Kalle Laaksonen 
Authorised Public Accountant (KHT) 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Faron Pharmaceuticals Ltd
Joukahaisenkatu 6, Intelligate
FI-20520 TURKU
Finland

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