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PureTech Health plc
Annual Report 2018

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FY2018 Annual Report · PureTech Health plc
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PureTech Health plc  
Annual report and accounts 2018

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D E V E L O P I N G

M E D I C I N E S

B R A I N     I M M U N E     G U T

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
PureTech Health 

Developing BIG medicines

PureTech Health

PureTech Health, plc (HQ: Boston, 
MA; LSE: PRTC) (“PureTech Health”, 
“PureTech” or the “Company”) is an 
advanced biopharmaceutical company 
developing medicines for dysfunctions 
of the Brain-Immune-Gut (BIG) axis 
across its affiliates and its own internal 
labs. The Company’s focus is driven 
by deep insights into the connection 
amongst these three systems that make 
up the BIG axis and their resulting roles 
in diseases that have proven resistant to 
established therapeutic approaches. By 
harnessing this emerging field of human 
biology, PureTech Health is developing 
new categories of medicines with the 
potential to have great impact on 
people with serious diseases.

PureTech’s entrepreneurial, non-binary, 
and capital-efficient innovation engine 
is led by a team with a proven track 
record of developing new therapeutics 
and building shareholder value. 
Together, this team has achieved 
numerous significant milestones by 
progressing therapeutic candidates 
through human proof-of-concept 
to regulatory clearance and forging 
strategic relationships with major 
pharmaceutical companies, leading 
academic scientists and institutions.

Overview 

Highlights of the Year  

Affiliate pipeline 

Internal R&D pipeline  

Letter from the Chairman 

Strategic report

Letter from the Chief Executive Officer 

Letter from the Chief Scientific Officer 

Letter from the Chief Financial Officer 

How PureTech Health is building value for investors 

Affiliate snapshots 

Internal R&D snapshot 

Governance

Risk management 

Viability 

Key performance indicators  

Financial review 

Chairman’s overview 

Board of Directors 

Management team 

Dedicated to tackling some of the 
most important health issues facing 
society in order to improve patients’ 
lives and generate significant value 
for PureTech’s shareholders, PureTech 
Health is pioneering new frontiers in 
medicine with:

•  a proven and seasoned 

management team of business 
leaders with an outstanding Board of 
actively-engaged industry pioneers 
and academic stalwarts and an 
extensive network of leading scientific 
experts from around the world;

•  an impressive track record of 

•  relationships with leading 

execution – including one United 
States Food and Drug Administration 
(FDA)-cleared product (Gelesis’ 
PLENITY™) and one actively seeking 
FDA clearance (Akili’s AKL-T01) – with 
several high value catalysts expected 
over the next 12 to 18 months;

•  multiple novel clinical stage 

platforms and programmes that have 
cleared key safety and/or efficacy 
regulatory hurdles; 

•  a strong capital base with 

$425.0 million in group cash and 
short-term investments as at 
31 December 20181;

pharmaceutical companies or their 
investments arms, including Amgen 
Ventures, Boehringer Ingelheim, 
Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, 
Janssen Biotech Inc., Merck Ventures, 
Novartis, and Roche;

•  an innovative and entrepreneurial 
culture that attracts and retains 
top talent and is poised to bring 
ground-breaking new medicines to 
patients; and

•  a strong and growing IP portfolio 
of more than 500 patents and 
patent applications providing long 
periods of exclusivity for innovative 
product candidates.

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4

6

7

8

10

12

14

18

34

36

39

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41

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49

The Board 

Corporate and Social Responsibility 

Directors’ Report 

Report of the Nomination Committee 

Report of the Audit Committee 

Directors’ Remuneration Report 

Directors’ Remuneration Policy 

Annual Report on Remuneration 

Financial statements

51

55

58

63

64

66

68

72

Independent Auditor’s Report to the Members of PureTech Health plc  79

Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income/(Loss) 

Consolidated Statements of Financial Position 

Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity 

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows 

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements 

PureTech Health plc Statement of Financial Position 

PureTech Health plc Statement of Changes in Equity 

PureTech Health plc Statement of Cash Flows 

Notes to the Financial Statements 

Directors, Secretary, and Advisors to PureTech Health plc 

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136

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139

140

1 

 Group cash and short-term investments includes consolidated cash and short-term investments plus the cash and short-term investment position of 
Independent Affiliates (resTORbio and Akili) which are not included in our consolidated statement of financial position.

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    1

OverviewHighlights of the Year – 2018

Highlights of the Year  — continued

2018 PureTech cash and  
short-term investments

2018 consolidated cash  
and short-term investments 

2018 group cash and short-term 
investments (APM) 

Amount of funding secured  
for affiliates

Cumulative number of patents 
and patent applications

Number of  
partnerships entered

$177.7m1

$250.9m1

$425.0m1,2

2017: $126.7m 
2016: $192.1m 
2015: $255.5m 
2014: $53.2m

2017: $188.7m 
2016: $281.5m 
2015: $313.7m 
2014: $62.7m

2017: $242.1m 
2016: $281.5m 
2015: $313.7m 
2014: $62.7m

In 2018, PureTech Health made significant clinical progress across its Affiliates division, which includes seven clinical-
stage programmes and three preclinical programmes focused on the biological processes associated with the Brain-
Immune-Gut (BIG) axis. Clinical developments included the following:

•  Gelesis filed an application with the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for review of its lead product 

candidate in weight management. In the April 2019 post-period, Gelesis received FDA clearance for PLENITY™ as an aid 
for weight management in adults with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 25-40 kg/m2, when used in conjunction with diet and 
exercise. Gelesis also filed PLENITY for marketing authorisation in Europe in the first quarter of 2019 and expects to receive 
feedback in 2019. 

•  Akili also filed an application with FDA in 2018 for review of its lead product candidate in paediatric attention deficit/

hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Also in 2018, Akili successfully completed a Phase 2 study of AKL-T03 in depression and 
a proof-of-concept study of AKL-T03 in multiple sclerosis. Full analyses are underway, and – based on the results of the 
studies – both programmes are expected to advance into larger studies in 2020. 

•  resTORbio announced positive results from a Phase 2b study of its proprietary target of rapamycin complex 1 (TORC1) 

inhibitor, RTB101. In the March 2019 post-period, resTORbio announced a positive end of Phase 2 meeting with the FDA 
and the planned initiation of a global Phase 3 programme for RTB101 in 2019. In the April 2019 post-period, resTORbio 
announced the initiation of a Phase 1b/2a trial of RTB101 alone or in combination with sirolimus, in Parkinson’s disease.
•  Karuna initiated a Phase 2 study of KarXT (Karuna-Xanomeline-Trospium), its lead product candidate, for the treatment of 

psychosis in schizophrenia, with results anticipated by the end of 2019. Karuna is using a proprietary co-formulation of KarXT 
that successfully demonstrated tolerability at a dose level exceeding those shown to be efficacious in previous studies of 
xanomeline alone. 

•  Vedanta Biosciences advanced two clinical-stage product candidates. In October, the company announced results from 
a successful Phase 1a/1b study of lead candidate VE303 in recurrent Clostridium difficile (rCDI). A Phase 2 study of VE303 
was initiated in December 2018, and results are anticipated in early 2020. In November, Vedanta Biosciences’ partner 
Janssen Biotech, Inc. also initiated a Phase 1 clinical study of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) candidate VE202. Results are 
anticipated in the second half of 2019. 

•  Follica made significant progress towards the initiation of a pivotal study in androgenetic alopecia, which is anticipated to 

begin in 2019 following the completion of an ongoing optimisation study. 

•  Sonde has expanded development of its proprietary technology in neurodegenerative disease, respiratory and 

cardiovascular disease, and other health and wellness conditions.

PureTech Health also announced the formation of its internal labs, with a focus on tissue selective immunomodulation. 
Key developments included the following:

•  In July, PureTech Health announced a collaboration with Roche to advance PureTech’s milk-derived exosome platform 

technology for the oral administration of Roche’s Locked Nucleic Acid (LNA) antisense oligonucleotide platform, designed 
to facilitate the oral administration of complex payloads. PureTech Health receives up to $36 million in upfront payments, 
research support, and preclinical milestones and is eligible to potentially receive over $1 billion in development milestones.

•  Also in July, PureTech’s central nervous system (CNS) lymphatics programme was published as the cover story in Nature. 

The publication by our collaborator Jonathan Kipnis, PhD, revealed that modulation of lymphatic function in the brain may 
prevent or delay diseases associated with ageing, including Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington’s disease and age-associated 
cognitive decline. The same programme was also published in Nature Neuroscience in September, highlighting the key role 
of brain lymphatics in neuroinflammatory conditions like multiple sclerosis.

•  In the April 2019 post-period, PureTech Health presented posters detailing its immuno-oncology programmes at the 

American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting. The posters detailed PureTech’s development of first-
in-class, fully-human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) targeting Galectin-9 (LYT-200) and immunosuppressive γδ1 (gamma 
delta) T cells (LYT-210). LYT-200 and LYT-210 are unique mAbs targeting foundational, novel mechanisms of tumoural 
immune escape and immunosuppression in cancer, and have been tested as single agents, as well as in combination with 
anti-PD1 in preclinical murine and human-derived ex vivo models. Also in the April 2019 post-period, PureTech Health 
entered into a partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) to advance BI’s immuno-oncology product candidates using 
PureTech’s lymphatic targeting platform. Under the terms of the agreement, PureTech Health will receive up to $26 million, 
including upfront payments, research support, and preclinical milestones, and is eligible to receive more than $200 million in 
development and sales milestones, in addition to royalties on product sales.

$274.0m3,4

2017: $102.9m 
2016: $98.2m 
2015: $74.6m 
2014: $8m

5455

2017: 5216 
2016: 288 
2015: 209 
2014: 111

53

2017: 8 
2016: 6 
2015: 4 
2014: 2

Affiliates attracted $274 million in equity investments and non-dilutive funding, including $242 million from third parties: 

•  Karuna received gross proceeds of approximately $124 million in preferred stock financings in 2018 and in the 2019 post-

period. A $42 million Series A round, including the issuance of $22 million in shares upon conversion of debt into equity, was 
announced in August 2018. In the 2019 post-period, Karuna completed an $82 million Series B financing round, including the 
issuance of $7 million in shares upon conversion of debt into equity. Proceeds will be used to advance Karuna’s lead product 
candidate, KarXT (Karuna-xanomeline-trospium chloride), which is being evaluated in a Phase 2 study in patients with 
schizophrenia and the expansion into other therapeutic areas, including a non-opiate pain indication.

•  Akili completed a $68 million financing round in 2018 to advance its pipeline of prescription digital treatment candidates. 

In the March 2019 post-period, Akili entered into a strategic partnership with Shionogi & Co., Ltd. for the commercialisation 
of two of Akili’s digital medicine product candidates, AKL-T01 and AKL-T02 (in development for children with Autism 
Spectrum Disorder), in Japan and Taiwan. Under the terms of the agreement, Akili will build and own a newly created R&D 
and commercial platform and receives upfront payments totalling $20 million with potential milestone payments for Japan 
and Taiwan commercialisation of up to an additional $105 million in addition to substantial royalties.

•  resTORbio completed an initial public offering (IPO) on NASDAQ in 2018, raising gross proceeds of $97.8 million. In the 
March 2019 post-period, resTORbio completed another offering raising gross proceeds of approximately $50 million.
•  Gelesis completed a $30 million financing round in March 2018 to support commercial-stage manufacturing, product 

launch preparations, company operations and the clinical advancement of its pipeline of additional product candidates 
for gastrointestinal disorders, including type 2 diabetes and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis/non-alcoholic fatty liver disease 
(NASH/NAFLD).

•  Vor completed a $42 million Series A round in the February 2019 post-period to advance its lead cell therapy product 

candidate for the treatment of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML).

•  Vedanta Biosciences announced a $27 million Series C financing in December 2018 to advance its clinical pipeline of 

microbiome-derived product candidates.

•  Sonde completed a $16 million Series A round, including the issuance of $6 million in shares upon conversion of debt into 
equity, in the April 2019 post-period to expand its capability across additional health conditions and device types and to 
fund commercialisation activities.

•  Alivio was awarded a $3.3 million grant in September 2018 from the US Department of Defense to support Alivio’s preclinical 
research and development activities for product candidate, ALV-107, which is being advanced for the treatment of interstitial 
cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) with Hunner’s lesions. ALV-107 is also being advanced under a partnership with 
Purdue Pharma LP, which was announced in the January 2019 post-period. Under the terms of the agreement, Alivio will 
receive up to $14.75 million in upfront and near-term license exercise payments and is eligible to receive royalties on product 
sales and over $260 million in research and development milestones. 

The Group continued to build on its leading intellectual property position, with more than 500 owned and licensed 
patents and patent applications as of 31 December 2018, including the issuance of:

•  A first-in-class US patent broadly covering compositions and therapeutic methods related to Vor’s technology platform 

for the treatment of haematological malignancies, including acute myeloid leukaemia (AML).

•  Two key US patents broadly covering compositions of matter and other aspects of Alivio’s inflammation-targeting 

technology platform.

•  Broad coverage in the US and Australia for methods of assessing mental and physical conditions from human speech for 

Sonde’s vocal biomarkers technology.

1 

2 

 Vor’s fundraising of $42.0 million, Karuna’s fundraising of $82.0 million, and Sonde’s fundraising of $16 million occurred in the 2019 post-period and 
are therefore not included in these figures.
 Group Cash is an alternative performance measure (APM) which includes $174.1 million of cash reserves and short-term investments from our 
Independent Affiliates (resTORbio and Akili). These Independent Affiliates are not included in the consolidated statement of financial position. 
Therefore Group Cash is considered to be more representative of the Group’s cash available to advance product candidates within its Independent 
Affiliates which could ultimately result in value accretion for the Group.

3  Number represents figure for the relevant fiscal year only and is not cumulative.
4 

 This number includes the issuance of $22 million in shares upon conversion of debt into equity as part of Karuna’s Series A financing round. 
Of the $22 million converted into equity, $2 million came from the $8 million Wellcome Trust award. Excluded from the amount of funding secured 
for affiliates is $12 million in milestone payments made to Vedanta Biosciences from Janssen Biotech, Inc as part of an ongoing collaboration.
 This number does not include issued patents or patent applications exclusively licensed or owned by Independent Affiliates, resTORbio and Akili.
 This number does not include issued patents or patent applications exclusively licensed or owned by Independent Affiliate, resTORbio.

5 
6 

2    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    3

OverviewOverview 
 
 
 
 
Affiliate pipeline

For Internal R&D pipeline, see page 6

Our affiliate pipeline   — continued

PRTC Ownership2

Preclinical

Phase 1

Phase 2

Phase 3/Pivotal

FDA Filing

Clearance/Approval

Brain

Immune

Gut

Targeting and activating specific 
neural systems in the brain to 
treat cognitive dysfunction

Targeting muscarinic receptors 
in the brain while overcoming GI 
tolerability issues for the treatment 
of neuropsychiatric disorders

Developing vocal biomarkers to 
monitor and diagnose neurological, 
immune and other conditions

Inhibiting TORC1 for conditions of 
ageing, e.g., immunosenescence 
and neurodegeneration

Modulating the immune system 
via the gut microbiome to address 
immune-mediated diseases

Enabling follicle neogenesis 
and skin rejuvenation through 
immune response to wounding

Selectively targeting cancer 
cells while sparing normal 
cells using modified HSCs

Site specific inflammation targeting 
that spares non-inflamed tissue 
in GI and other systems

Developing mechanotherapeutics 
to treat obesity, GI disorders 
and repair the gut barrier

Enabling the delivery of biologics 
via the gut epithelium to local 
and distal sites of the body 

Akili* 

35.1%

KarunaR 

35.9%

Sonde 

55.8%

resTORbio* 

27.8%

Vedanta 

63.0%

FollicaR 

62.3%

Vor 

30.2%

Alivio 

82.8%

GelesisR 

19.7%

Entrega 

73.9%

FDA 
Cleared

Potential value-driving catalysts 
expected over the next 12 months1:

1  potential FDA 

clearance

1  potential CE mark 

2  Phase 2 readouts 

1  Phase 1 readout 

2  Phase 3 initiations 

3  Phase 2 initiations 

1  Phase 1 initiation 

Multiple financings 
and strategic 
transactions

1  Company expectations.

2 

 Relevant ownership interests were calculated on a diluted basis as of 31 December 2018 (Vor: 14 February 2019, resTORbio: 22 March 2019, 
Karuna: 8 April 2019, Sonde: 11 April 2019), including issued and outstanding shares, outstanding options and warrants, and written commitments 
to issue options, but excluding unallocated shares authorised to be issued pursuant to equity incentive plans and any shares issuable upon conversion 
of outstanding convertible promissory notes.

*   Independent affiliate
R  PureTech Health has a right to royalty payments as a percentage of net sales from Gelesis, Karuna, and Follica.

4    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    5

OverviewOverviewInternal R&D Pipeline: Focusing on the BIG axis through  
the lens of tissue-selective immunomodulation

Letter from the Chairman

Our approaches to tissue-selective immunomodulation:

Target newly 
discovered foundational 
immunosuppressive 
mechanisms in oncology

Harness the lymphatic 
infrastructure for 
autoimmune, oncology, 
and CNS indications

Our programmes

Discovery

Lead Optimisation

IND-Enabling

Clinical

LYT-200
Anti-Galectin-9 MAb

LYT-210
Anti-Delta-1 MAb

Lymphatic therapeutics  
programme #1

Lymphatic therapeutics  
programme #2

Lymphatic therapeutics  
programme #3 (CNS)

Solid tumours

Expect to file 
IND H1 2020

Solid tumours

Collaboration 
with Roche

Collaboration 
with Boehringer 
Ingelheim

“ Reflecting on PureTech’s most ambitious year yet, it 
has been a pleasure to observe the growth in value 
across the breadth and depth of its programmes.”

Reflecting on PureTech’s most 
ambitious year yet, it has been 
a pleasure to observe the growth in 
value across the breadth and depth 
of its programmes. First-ever late 
stage milestones, including filings for 
regulatory review of two first-in-class 
therapeutics and multiple other clinical 
advances, have complemented the 
expansion and validation of our internal 
R&D activity, which we see as a major 
driver of long-term, sustainable growth. 

Scientific excellence, value-driving 
partnerships, and prudent stewardship 
of growth are the heart of biopharma 
development. As Chairman, I have 
found it rewarding to watch PureTech 
Health continue to deliver on all these 
fronts, burnishing its credentials as one 
of the most productive and innovative 
biopharma companies in the industry 
with a management team that leads 
with a highly effective combination 
of vision and practicality.

Our Board of Directors includes some 
of the most seasoned and experienced 
healthcare experts, and I thank them 
for another year of steady oversight and 
thoughtful counsel. Their guidance and 
commitment to the highest standards 
of governance enable PureTech Health 
to focus on its core mission of delivering 
bold ideas to transform healthcare. 

To that end, PureTech Health 
has fostered the development of 
multiple exceptional technologies, 
drawing on its emergence as a major 
global hub of expertise around the 
Brain-Immune-Gut (BIG) axis. This 
biological framework continues to gain 
momentum as the key to understanding 
the human body’s response to the 
external environment via adaptive, 
inherently modifiable systems.

PureTech Health has already achieved 
remarkable things in this field through 
its Affiliate division and is breaking 
new scientific ground to address 
indications with significant unmet 
need. In April 2019, Gelesis achieved 
a truly exciting milestone as it received 
clearance from the United States Food 
and Drug Administration (FDA) for its 
first product, PLENITY™, a new and 
highly differentiated aid for weight 
management in adults with a Body 
Mass Index (BMI) of 25-40 kg/m2, in 
conjunction with diet and exercise. 
Akili also is seeking clearance from FDA 
for its digital medicine that is designed 
for the targeted activation of specific 
neural systems in the brain to treat 
cognitive dysfunction in paediatric 
ADHD without pharmacological 
intervention – a treatment that is the 
first of its kind.

Internal R&D programmes, meanwhile, 
have rapidly advanced by leveraging 
the Group’s considerable expertise in 
the BIG axis. Drawing on these insights, 
the PureTech Health team is identifying 
promising technologies, including the 
exciting prospect of intervening in 
a wide range of diseases by modulating 
immunity at a local level, such as 
via the immune-cell highway of the 
lymphatic system.

Within PureTech Health lies the vision, 
talent and organisational capability 
to seize opportunities where others 
do not think to look, and I thank our 
shareholders for supporting and 
enabling that vision. Every year, the 
PureTech Health team’s success 
validates its daring and transformative 
spirit and takes the company to new 
heights. I very much look forward to 
the advances and milestones that lie 
ahead in 2019. 

Joichi Ito 
Chairman

16 April 2019

6    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    7

OverviewOverviewLetter from the Chief Executive Officer

Letter from the Chief Executive Officer  — continued

“ At PureTech Health, our vision is to pioneer new 
frontiers in medicine. In the past year, I’m pleased 
to report that we have taken major strides toward 
that goal, delivering significant value for both the 
business and patients as we continued to pursue 
breakthroughs in harnessing the Brain-Immune-Gut 
(BIG) axis, the heart of PureTech’s R&D strategy.”

At PureTech Health, our vision is to 
pioneer new frontiers in medicine. In 
the past year, I’m pleased to report that 
we have taken major strides toward 
that goal, delivering significant value 
for both the business and patients as 
we continued to pursue breakthroughs 
in harnessing the Brain-Immune-Gut 
(BIG) axis, the heart of PureTech’s 
R&D strategy. We have demonstrated 
repeatedly that our talented team can 
turn momentous discoveries in the 
lab into novel therapeutic candidates 
designed to have maximum impact 
for patients – and then guide those 
candidates successfully through clinical 
study and into regulatory review.

Our most important affiliate milestone 
to date came in April 2019, when Gelesis 
received clearance from the US Food 
and Drug Administration to market its 
first product, PLENITY1, a first-in-class 
aid for weight management.

PLENITY is the only prescription weight 
management product to be cleared for 
use by overweight adults with a BMI as 
low as 25 kg/m2 (the beginning of the 
overweight range) through 40 kg/m2, 
whether or not they have other weight-

related health issues. That broad label 
makes PLENITY a brand new option 
for adults with overweight or obesity 
who may forego treatment due to the 
side effects or surgical nature of other 
available therapies.

Gelesis plans to initiate a targeted US 
launch of PLENITY in the second half 
of 2019 and anticipates PLENITY will 
be broadly available by prescription in 
the US in 2020.

PLENITY’s clearance was a landmark 
moment for PureTech Health, as it 
showcased our ability to identify unique 
and transformational technologies and 
bring them all the way from concept to 
FDA clearance. It also has the potential 
to deliver significant value to our 
shareholders.

Another example of a frontier we are 
pioneering is Akili, which has developed 
a ground-breaking approach to 
leverage the plasticity of the brain 
and central nervous system (CNS) for 
therapeutic effect across multiple 
neurology and psychiatry conditions, 
including attention-deficit hyperactivity 
disorder (ADHD), major depressive 

1 

Important safety information regarding PLENITY can be found at www.myplenity.com.

8    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

disorder (MDD), multiple sclerosis (MS), 
and autism spectrum disorders (ASD), 
through the activation of specific neural 
systems in the brain through precisely 
targeted sensory and motor stimuli.

As you will see throughout this report, 
these are just two examples of the 
excellent progress at PureTech Health 
as we advance ground-breaking science 
stemming from our focus on the BIG 
axis across our affiliates and our internal 
labs. Our nimble, entrepreneurial 
structure and commitment to unbiased 
drug development allows us to move 
resources quickly to capitalise on 
exciting ideas – and to move resources 
away from programmes where 
emerging data suggests they will not 
deliver the high bar for patient impact 
we set for our programmes.

Among our milestones in 2018:

•  Our Internal division secured 

validating partnerships with two 
major pharmaceutical companies. 
We are now engaged in collaborative 
research with Roche to advance our 
milk-derived exosome technology. 
PureTech Health receives up to 
$36 million in upfront fees, R&D 
support and early preclinical 
payments; total payments in 
development milestones could 
exceed $1 billion. PureTech is also 
eligible to receive royalties on 
product sales under this partnership 
with Roche. Another partnership with 
Boehringer Ingelheim (BI), announced 
in April 2019, opens the potential for 
broad validation of our lymphatic 
targeting platform. The approach will 
be paired with BI’s immuno-oncology 
therapies. Our scientific concept is 
that the body will direct therapies 
– once wrapped in the lymphatic 
targeting technology – into the 
lymphatic vasculature around the gut, 
offering a far more targeted way to 
ferry drugs directly to sites of immune 
cell education and trafficking. 
PureTech Health stands to receive 
up to $26 million, including upfront 
payments, research support, and 
preclinical milestones, and is eligible 
to receive more than $200 million in 
development and sales milestones, in 
addition to royalties on product sales. 
This partnership has the potential 
to improve the efficacy of important 
cancer drugs – and potentially a wide 
array of other therapeutics – for 
patients worldwide.

•  Our affiliates also secured significant 
partnerships: Vedanta Biosciences 
announced a clinical trial collaboration 
to evaluate Bristol-Myers Squibb’s 
PD-1 immune checkpoint 
inhibitor OPDIVO® (nivolumab) 
in combination with VE800, 
a patented and rationally-defined 
human bacterial consortium, in 
patients with advanced or metastatic 
cancers. Also, Alivio Therapeutics 
announced a deal in January 2019 
with Purdue Pharma to advance 
Alivio’s non-opioid therapy under 
development for the treatment 
of interstitial cystitis/bladder pain 
syndrome (IC/BPS). Alivio will receive 
up to $14.75 million in upfront fees 
and is eligible for future milestone and 
royalty payments. Purdue also has an 
option to invest in Alivio’s next equity 
financing. This is another example of 
significant validation of an exciting 
new technology developed and 
advanced rapidly toward the clinic 
through the PureTech Health model. 
Additionally, in the March 2019 post-
period, Akili entered into a strategic 
partnership with Shionogi & Co., 
Ltd. for the commercialisation of two 
of Akili’s digital medicine product 
candidates in Japan and Taiwan. 
Under the terms of the agreement, 
Akili receives upfront payments 
totalling $20 million with potential 
milestone payments for Japan and 
Taiwan commercialisation of up to an 
additional $105 million in addition to 
substantial royalties.

•  Our affiliates raised $274 million2 

in financing transactions, including 
$242 million from third party 
investors. In the 2019 post-period, 
our affiliates have raised $140 million3, 
of which $121.2 million was from third 
party investors.

•  Our affiliates and collaborators 

published cutting-edge research in 
the top-tier journals, including multiple 
in Nature, Nature Neuroscience, 
Science Translational Medicine, Nature 
Communications, and Obesity, and 
were invited to present at top scientific 
conferences like AACR, ObesityWeek, 
ENDO, and EASL.

•  Our affiliates were granted 

foundational IP with broad US patents 
in fields including oncology (Vor), 
inflammation (Alivio) and digital 
medicine (Akili and Sonde).

“ These successes advancing a portfolio of 

therapeutics built on our unique expertise around 
the BIG axis made 2018 an incredibly rewarding 
year for our team. We approach 2019 more 
energetic than ever about delivering on our vision.”

Daphne Zohar with Paul Biondi, Senior Vice President, Strategy and Business Development 
at Bristol-Meyers Squibb, during the annual PureTech Health BIG Summit.

All this activity is ultimately directed 
toward delivering new medicines to 
patients, so I am especially pleased to 
have reported the conclusion of several 
successful clinical trials.

We are exceedingly proud of the 
achievements of our Affiliates, 
and of how we’ve leveraged those 
achievements to the benefit of all our 
operations. We are applying similar 
strategies and unbiased scientific 
rigour to identify, discover and develop 
promising new medicines in our Internal 
division, which is centred on tissue-
selective immunomodulation for the 
treatment of oncology, autoimmune, 
and CNS-related disorders. Our lead 
candidate for the potential treatment 
of pancreatic, colorectal and other 
cancers is moving rapidly toward the 
clinic, and we expect to file an IND in 
the first half of 2020 and we have been 
reviewing a few promising clinical-
stage compounds that leverage our 
insights into these recently appreciated 
foundational immune mechanisms. 
We are fortunate to have the scientific 
leadership of our Chief Scientific Officer 
Joe Bolen, a leading immunologist 
who has successfully brought dozens of 
oncology and autoimmune medicines 
through the clinic, including several 

to FDA approval. Joe highlights the 
potential of our internal R&D efforts 
on the next page.

These successes advancing a portfolio 
of therapeutics built on our unique 
expertise around the BIG axis made 
2018 an incredibly rewarding year 
for our team. We approach 2019 
more energetic than ever about 
delivering on our vision, and as part 
of our ongoing evolution, we may also 
consider evaluating capital markets 
opportunities in the United States.

I’d like to thank the incredibly dedicated 
PureTech Health team, as well as our 
Directors and collaborators, for the 
terrific progress we’ve made this year. 
I am also appreciative for the support of 
our new and existing shareholders as we 
advance our shared vision of bringing 
high-value, first-in-class therapies to 
patients in need.

Daphne Zohar 
Chief Executive Officer

16 April 2019

2 

3 

 This number includes an issuance of $22 million in shares upon conversion of debt into equity as part of Karuna’s Series A financing round. Of the 
$22 million converted into equity, $2 million came from the $8 million Wellcome Trust award. Excluded from the amount of funding secured for 
affiliates is $12 million in milestone payments made to Vedanta Biosciences from Janssen Biotech, Inc as part of an ongoing collaboration.

 This number includes an issuance of $7 million in shares upon conversion of debt into equity as part of Karuna’s Series B financing round, all of which 
came from the Wellcome Trust award announced in June 2018. It also included an issuance of $7.3 million and $6 million in shares upon conversion of 
debt into equity as part of Vor’s Series A financing round and Sonde’s Series A-2 financing round, respectively.

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    9

Strategic reportStrategic reportLetter from the Chief Scientific Officer

Letter from the Chief Scientific Officer  — continued

“ There’s never been a more exciting time to be in 

drug development, and there are few places more 
rewarding to do that work than PureTech Health, 
where I believe we have created something special: 
an innovative yet critical and scientifically creative 
culture that has made us a true trailblazer.”

There’s never been a more exciting time 
to be in drug development, and there 
are few places more rewarding to do 
that work than PureTech Health, where 
I believe we have created something 
special: an innovative yet critical and 
scientifically creative culture that has 
made us a true trailblazer. 

Our affiliates have advanced our 
work targeting the Brain-Immune-
Gut (BIG) axis through a variety of 

highly differentiated approaches, 
building a compelling evidence 
base for our key thesis that we can 
develop powerful new medicines 
by harnessing and modulating the 
crosstalk between these biological 
systems. PureTech Health is now 
moving to seize an even more defined 
leadership position by focusing internal 
R&D on a critical part of this axis: 
tissue-selective immunomodulation, 
which involves regionally directing 

The ‘BIG’ axis is rich with therapeutic opportunity

and tuning the immune response 
according to medical need.

Our internal R&D focuses on two core 
areas. First, we seek to leverage the 
underappreciated and undeniably 
powerful lymphatic infrastructure to 
develop new modalities for treating 
autoimmune, oncology, and central 
nervous system (CNS) indications. 
Second, we are targeting newly 
discovered immunosuppressive 
mechanisms in oncology. Our goal 
with both programmes – as with all 
our R&D – is to develop and deliver 
novel therapies that will truly make 
a difference to patients living with 
incredibly difficult diseases. As excited 
as we get by advances in the lab, we 
are always thinking about that goal: 
leveraging our insights to develop 
transformational therapies that will 
improve patients’ quality of life.

One of our core research priorities 
involves modulating foundational 
immune mechanisms to treat cancer, 
and we were pleased to have debuted 
our programmes with two accepted 
abstracts at the prestigious American 
Association for Cancer Research 2019 
Annual Meeting. 

Our lead programme in this category 
is LYT-200, an antibody designed 
to target Galectin-9, a protein that 
mediates multiple pathways of 
immunosuppression in tumours. 
Exciting preclinical data indicate that 
targeting Galectin-9 activates T cells in 
the patient’s tumours – and significantly 
extends survival in animal models of 
pancreatic cancer. These data suggest 
that LYT-200 has strong single-agent 
activity; we intend to test it both as 
a monotherapy and potentially in 

combination with existing immuno-
oncology therapies. We are moving 
rapidly through additional preclinical 
work on LYT-200 and expect to file an 
IND in the first half of 2020.

Just behind LYT-200 in our internal 
pipeline is LYT-210, an anti-Delta-1 
antibody to target the gamma-delta 
T cell class, which is connected to 
immunosuppression in the tumour 
microenvironment. We believe this 
approach has strong potential in solid 
tumours such as pancreatic, colon 
and breast cancers, which harbour 
immunosuppressive gamma-delta 
T cells. Our preclinical data show 
that by targeting those cells, LYT-210 
spurs activation of anti-tumour T cells. 
We believe LYT-210 can modulate 
both innate and adaptive immune 
responses and generate strong anti-
tumour activity.

A second core research priority involves 
leveraging new insights into the 
lymphatic system to develop first-in-
class therapeutics.

For years, the vast network of lymphatic 
vasculature that extends throughout 
our bodies was overlooked, dismissed 
as a relatively unimportant cousin of 
the circulatory system. Conventional 
wisdom held that there was no 
lymphatic vasculature in the brain – 
until one of our scientific collaborators 
proved otherwise.

We now know that the lymphatic system 
plays a crucial role in programming 
immune cells for specific functions and 
trafficking them to specific tissues. 
The mesenteric lymph nodes around 
the intestine, for instance, programme 
as many as 70 per cent of circulating

adaptive immune cells, which suggests 
potentially huge systemic ramifications 
from their dysfunction. Intervening in 
this process could give us a potentially 
powerful tool for modulating 
the immune system to develop 
therapeutics for gastrointestinal, CNS 
and autoimmune diseases, as well as 
immunotherapies for cancer. 

Our rigorous focus on the lymphatic 
system also gives us an exciting new 
lens for exploring disease states and 
identifying new modalities of treatment. 
For example, we are advancing 
approaches to mask drugs as fats 
through our proprietary lymphatic 
targeting platform. Enabling the 
body to process therapeutics like fat 
may make it possible to bypass the 
primary metabolism of the liver and 
give the drug access to the mesenteric 
lymph nodes, the crucial ‘regional 
immune centres’, which could shunt the 
‘disguised’ drug straight into systemic 
circulation. It’s a prospect we’re 
progressing with great excitement. 

This approach recently received 
significant external validation when 
we announced a partnership with 
Boehringer Ingelheim to affix our 
lymphatic targeting platform to their 
GI-directed immunotherapies. The 
drug, now masked as a fat, should enter 
the lymphatic vasculature and from 
there, be ferried directly into the gut – 
and into direct contact with the tumour 
cells it’s targeting. We are hopeful 
that this approach could improve 
the efficacy and reduce the toxicity 
of cancer drugs – and eventually, 
a wide array of other therapeutics – 
for patients worldwide.

Our selection of technologies has 
been highly strategic and informed 
by some of the most exceptional 
science I’ve seen in my career. Our CNS 
lymphatics technology was published 
as a cover story in Nature in 2018. The 
publication revealed that modulation 
of lymphatic function in the brain may 
prevent or delay diseases associated 
with ageing, including Alzheimer’s 
and Huntington’s. A subsequent 
publication in Nature Neuroscience 
then identified the direct connection 
between the brain and the meningeal 
lymphatic system, which point to 
a novel pathway to potentially address 
debilitating neuroinflammatory diseases 
such as multiple sclerosis. These 
publications built on the discovery 
of lymphatic vessels in the brain by 
our collaborator Dr Jonathan Kipnis. 
We hold an exclusive license to this 
technology platform and look forward 
to taking these recent discoveries into 
therapeutic development.

I am truly excited to continue moving 
forward our innovative R&D, with the 
urgent goal of delivering powerful 
new therapies to patients. Thanks to 
the foundation we’ve laid this past 
year, PureTech Health is positioned 
to deliver the next generation of 
immune modulating medicines. I look 
forward to sharing additional updates 
as we advance.

Dr Joseph Bolen 
Chief Scientific Officer

16 April 2019

Brain

The CNS, immune system, and lymphatic system form 
an interconnected adaptive network to respond to acute 
environmental change.

Immune

The lymphatic system is a ‘global’ channel for immune cell 
trafficking. The CNS-immune network is heavily influenced 
by diet and the GI tract microbiome.

Gut

Approximately 70 per cent of immune cells and 500 million 
neurons converge in the GI tract. The mesenteric lymph nodes 
are the major interface between the gut and immune system.

10    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    11

Strategic reportStrategic reportLetter from the Chief Financial Officer

Letter from the Chief Financial Officer  — continued

“In my prior position as a portfolio manager, 
I spent significant time evaluating companies 
in search of the most compelling mix of talent, 
technology, and need...In my first year on the 
team I have only grown more impressed with 
PureTech’s capabilities and the depth of its 
value-creating activities.”

In my prior position as a portfolio 
manager, I spent significant time 
evaluating companies in search of 
the most compelling mix of talent, 
technology, and need. When I met 
the team at PureTech Health in 2017, 
the Company immediately struck me 
as unique for its new R&D model and 
its genuinely novel technologies. This 
strength was further bolstered by the 
calibre of the team and the active 
involvement of a wide-ranging and 
expert scientific advisory network.

These are some of the most insightful 
and informed researchers and 
innovators in the world, pulling together 
to identify breakthrough opportunities. 
I joined the team in early 2018, drawn 
by their passion, experience, and 
commitment to maximising patient 
impact. In my first year on the team 
I have only grown more impressed 
with PureTech’s capabilities and the 
depth of its value-creating activities.

Our affiliate structure, expert advisors, 
high-value partnerships, and nimble 
spirit of entrepreneurship enable us to 
capture and evaluate new technologies 
in a highly capital-efficient manner. 
We have demonstrated an ability 
to translate these technologies 
into promising therapeutic options 
for complex chronic diseases that 
could move the standard-of-care 
from management to prevention or 
potential cure. 

In less than four years since listing, 
PureTech Health has taken multiple 
technologies to an advanced 
stage, a great achievement for any 
therapeutics developer, but even more 
remarkable for having occurred in 
such a capital efficient way and across 
a number of highly differentiated 
R&D programmes through our 
Affiliate division. 

The PureTech Health team benefits 
from the strength of its operations 
and portfolio, creating a critical 
mass of expertise, creativity, and 
experience that continues to deliver 
value across the organisation. We 
see this value reflected every day in 
our culture, research excellence and 
entrepreneurial climate. This virtuous 
cycle has resulted in an internal R&D 
pipeline that has put us on the map as 
a pre-eminent Brain-Immune-Gut (BIG) 
axis biopharma of note. 

With a strong capital base, PureTech 
Health is in an excellent position to 
deliver additional meaningful catalysts 
across its Affiliate and Internal divisions 
in the foreseeable future. In April 2018, 
PureTech Health successfully raised 
gross proceeds of approximately 
$100 million (£72 million) through 
a placing. As discussed in the Highlights 
of this report, our affiliates raised an 
aggregate sum of $274.0 million last 
year. The Group’s cash reserves at 
31 December 2018 were $425.0 million 
(30 June 2018: $416.9 million), of which 
$177.7 million (30 June 2018: $196.7 
million) was held on a PureTech Health 
parent company level. 

I look forward to the exciting milestones 
ahead and am proud to work with 
this team in building the capabilities 
and successes of a remarkable 
organisation. Special thanks to our 
shareholders, both long-term and new; 
we welcome your continued support in 
the years ahead.

Dr Joep Muijrers  
Chief Financial Officer

16 April 2019

PureTech Health R&D Model – Capital efficient, non-binary, and unbiased

D E V E L O P I N G

M E D I C I N E S

B R A I N     I M M U N E     G U T

Collaboratively advancing 
BIG science with a strong R&D 
team and leading scientists

Capital efficient – 
entrepreneurial, shared 
resources, nimble

Non-binary with multiple 
sources of significant upside

Unbiased decision-making – 
aligned with shareholders

12    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    13

Strategic reportStrategic reportHow PureTech Health is building value for investors

How PureTech Health is building value for investors  — continued

“PureTech’s proven track record has resulted 
in deep intellectual insights and financial 
resources that support two ways to advance 
new medicines.”

PureTech Health, which is comprised 
of PureTech Health plc and its 
affiliates1 (together, “the Group,” or 
“the Company”), was founded with 
a vision to advance breakthrough 
science into promising new medicines 
for patients. Each programme was 
historically housed in an independent 
corporate entity, and cash was raised 
as needed from internal resources and 
validating third-party investors. Over 
the years, the Group has successfully 
executed against this vision by 
progressing BIG (Brain-Immune-Gut) 
medicines for serious diseases through 
human proof-of-concept to regulatory 
clearance. At the same time, the Group 
has also forged strategic relationships 
with major pharmaceutical companies 
and leading academic scientists and 
institutions. All of this has been achieved 
in a capital-efficient manner while 
maintaining significant ownership in 
each entity. 

PureTech’s proven track record has 
resulted in deep intellectual insights 
and financial resources that support 
two ways to advance new medicines. 
The first path is through the affiliates, 
which includes one product that has 
been cleared by the US Food and 
Drug Administration (FDA) (Gelesis’ 
PLENITY™), as well as multiple 
other product candidates that have 
demonstrated clinical proof-of-
concept. The affiliates have access to 
various avenues of funding to fuel their 
continued growth, including potential 
private rounds of equity financing, IPOs, 
strategic transactions, and industry 
partnerships at the global or regional 
levels. PureTech’s advantageous 
position of having significant ownership 
in the affiliates creates near- to mid-term 
value as well as a source of non-dilutive 
funding at the parent company level. 

The second path is through PureTech’s 
internal labs. Derived from PureTech’s 
deep understanding of the BIG axis, 

these programmes are centred on 
tissue-selective immunomodulation for 
the treatment of oncology, autoimmune, 
and CNS-related disorders, with 
a near-term focus on targeting 
newly-discovered, foundational 
immunosuppressive mechanisms in 
oncology and novel approaches that 
harness the lymphatic infrastructure. To 
date, PureTech Health has announced 
four of the programmes that have been 
consolidated into this internal pipeline, 
including two programmes inspired 
by the gut-immune interface that 
enable oral administration of a range 
of therapeutics (formerly known as 
Glyph and Calix), an immuno-oncology 
programme (formerly known as Nybo) 
and a central nervous system (CNS) 
lymphatics programme. 

The Company will continue its sourcing 
activities to identify and review 
additional innovative approaches 
and clinical stage assets, that will 
also focus around tissue-selective 
immunomodulation to further grow this 
Internal pipeline. Equity investors can 
only access these internal programmes 
through shareholding on a PureTech 
Health parent company level. 

PureTech’s affiliates and internal pipeline 
are connected through a shared focus 
on the BIG axis and a mission to address 
some of the greatest medical needs. 
Together with a seasoned management 
team, an outstanding Board, and 
leading scientific advisors, the Company 
has made exceptional progress in 
2018 across both divisions towards 
executing this vision.

Affiliates 

PureTech’s affiliates have made excellent 
progress over the course of 2018, with 
multiple programmes advancing in 
clinical development and approaching 
commercialisation. 

Clinical stage affiliates

In 2018, Gelesis and Akili filed 
applications with the US FDA for review 
of their lead product candidates in 
weight management and paediatric 
attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder 
(ADHD), respectively. In the April 2019 
post-period, Gelesis received FDA 
clearance for PLENITY™ as an aid for 
weight management in adults with 
a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 25-40 kg/m2, 
when used in conjunction with diet 
and exercise. Gelesis plans to initiate 
a targeted US launch of PLENITY in 
the second half of 2019 and anticipates 
PLENITY will be broadly available by 
prescription in the US in 2020. Gelesis 
also filed PLENITY for marketing 
authorisation in Europe in the first 
quarter of 2019 and expects to receive 
feedback in 2019.

Building on its success with PLENITY, 
Gelesis also advanced its broad pipeline 
of additional product candidates 
based on its novel mechanobiology 
platform in 2018. Gelesis200, a hydrogel 
optimised for weight loss and glycaemic 
control in people with type 2 diabetes 
and prediabetes, is currently being 
evaluated in a Phase 2 study that is 
expected to read out in 2020. Gelesis 
also completed preclinical work on its 
third product candidate, GS300, which 
is being evaluated for the treatment 
of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis 
(NASH) and non-alcoholic fatty 
liver disease (NAFLD). A proof-of-
concept study is expected to begin 
in 2019. Preclinical work on GS400 for 
inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and 
intestinal mucositis is ongoing, and 
a pivotal study of GS500 in chronic 
idiopathic constipation (CIC) is expected 
to begin in 2020. To support this 
ongoing clinical and preclinical work and 
build towards commercialisation prior 
to FDA clearance, Gelesis completed 
a $30 million raise in March 2018. 

1 

 As used herein, “affiliates” means Gelesis, Akili, resTORbio, Karuna, Vedanta, Sonde, Follica, Alivio, Vor, and Entrega. resTORbio and Akili are referred 
to herein as independent affiliates as they were deconsolidated in the Group’s financial statements in 2018. PureTech Health maintains an equity stake 
in all four independent affiliates, but it no longer holds a majority equity position or majority board control in each of these independent companies.

In addition to filing with the US FDA 
for review of lead product candidate 
AKL-T01 in paediatric ADHD, Akili 
progressed a number of other product 
candidates from its industry-leading 
pipeline of digital medicines to treat 
cognitive deficiency and improve 
symptoms associated with medical 
conditions across neurology and 
psychiatry. In late 2018, Akili successfully 
completed a Phase 2 study of AKL-T03 
in major depressive disorder (MDD) and 
a proof-of-concept study of AKL-T03 in 
multiple sclerosis. Based on the results 
of these studies, Akili plans to initiate 
larger clinical studies in both indications 
in 2020. Results of a successful pilot 
study of Akili’s AKL-T02, a third 
product candidate being evaluated in 
children with autism spectrum disorder 
(ASD) with co-occurring ADHD, were 
published in December. Early-stage 
clinical evaluation of Akili’s technology 
platform in additional indications is 
also underway, including in Parkinson’s 
disease, traumatic brain injury, ICU 
delirium, and lupus. In addition to 
this clinical work, Akili is developing 
complementary and integrated clinical 
monitors and measurement-based 
care applications. To further advance 
development and deployment of its 
pipeline, Akili completed a $68 million 
financing in 2018.

In the March 2019 post-period, Akili 
entered into a strategic partnership 
with Shionogi & Co., Ltd. for the 
commercialisation of two of Akili’s 
digital medicine product candidates, 
AKL-T01 and AKL-T02 (in development 
for children with Autism Spectrum 
Disorder), in Japan and Taiwan. Under 
the terms of the agreement, Akili will 
build and own a newly created R&D 
and commercial platform and receives 
upfront payments totalling $20 million 
with potential milestone payments for 
Japan and Taiwan commercialisation 
of up to an additional $105 million in 
addition to substantial royalties.

resTORbio continued to advance its lead 
product candidate, RTB101, a selective 
inhibitor of the target of rapamycin 
complex 1 (TORC1), for the improvement 
of the function of the ageing immune 
system. Following its January 2018 IPO 
on NASDAQ, resTORbio announced 
positive topline results from its dose-
ranging Phase 2b clinical trial of RTB101 
in elderly patients at increased risk of 
morbidity and mortality associated 
with respiratory tract infections (RTIs). 
Additional 24-week data from the Phase 
2b study was released in the second half 
of 2018, and in the March 2019 post-

period, resTORbio announced a positive 
end of Phase 2 meeting with the FDA. 
The initiation of a global Phase 3 
programme for RTB101 is expected to 
begin in the second quarter of 2019. 
In the April 2019 post-period, resTORbio 
also initiated a Phase 1b/2a study in 
Parkinson’s disease.

Karuna has also completed work in 
2018 to advance its pipeline based on 
the targeting of muscarinic cholinergic 
receptors for the treatment of psychosis 
and cognitive impairment across 
central nervous system (CNS) disorders, 
including schizophrenia, psychosis 
in Alzheimer’s disease, and pain. 
In October, Karuna announced the 
initiation of a Phase 2 study of KarXT 
(Karuna-Xanomeline-Trospium), its lead 
product candidate, for the treatment of 
psychosis in schizophrenia, with results 
anticipated by the end of 2019. Karuna 
is using a proprietary co-formulation 
of KarXT in its Phase 2 study that 
successfully demonstrated tolerability 
at a dose level exceeding those shown 
to be efficacious in previous studies of 
xanomeline alone. Additionally, Karuna 
plans to initiate a Phase 1b experimental 
pain study in healthy volunteers 
and clinical work towards treating 
Alzheimer’s disease psychosis later this 
year. In August 2018, Karuna successfully 
completed a $42 million Series A 
financing round, including the issuance 
of $22 million in shares upon conversion 
of debt into equity, and in the 2019 post-
period the company also completed 
an $82 million Series B, including the 
issuance of $7 million in shares upon 
conversion of debt into equity.

During the past year, Vedanta 
Biosciences rapidly advanced its 
pipeline of rationally-defined bacterial 
consortia-based product candidates to 
address immune-mediated diseases, 
including results from one clinical study 
and the initiation of two additional 
studies. In October, the company 
announced results from a successful 
Phase 1a/1b study of lead candidate 
VE303 in recurrent Clostridium 
difficile (rCDI). A Phase 2 study of 
VE303 was initiated in December, 
and results are anticipated in 2020. 
In November, Vedanta Biosciences 
also initiated a Phase 1 clinical study 
of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) 
candidate VE202 with Janssen Biotech, 
Inc., which licensed VE202 from 
Vedanta Biosciences in 2015 as part of 
a collaboration that has development 
and commercialisation milestone 
payments of up to a total of $339 million, 
in addition to royalty payments. Top-line 

results from this study are anticipated 
in the second half of 2019. In December, 
the company announced a clinical 
collaboration to evaluate Bristol-
Myers Squibb’s programmed death-1 
(PD-1) immune checkpoint inhibitor 
Opdivo (nivolumab) in combination 
with Vedanta Biosciences’ VE800, 
a rationally-defined human bacterial 
consortium, in patients with advanced or 
metastatic cancers. Vedanta Biosciences 
will maintain control of its VE800 
programme, including global R&D and 
commercial rights, and a Phase 1b/2 
study is expected to begin mid-2019. 
Preclinical research supporting the 
identification and development of 
VE800 was published in one of the top 
scientific journals Nature in the January 
post-period. Vedanta Biosciences also 
announced a $27 million financing round 
in December to advance its clinical 
pipeline of microbiome-derived product 
candidates. Vedanta Biosciences 
anticipates the initiation of a Phase 1b/2 
study of product candidate VE416 in 
food allergy in 2019. 

Sonde has advanced its vocal biomarker 
technology, which has demonstrated 
the potential to effectively screen and 
monitor for disease using information 
obtained from an individual’s voice 
on commonly-owned devices. Sonde 
has made its scalable cross-platform 
mobile research app and administrator 
interface available to academic 
collaborators and study participants. 
Sonde generated and analysed voice 
data from over 14,000 subjects for the 
detection of depression, suicidality, 
asthma, congestive heart failure, 
and Parkinson’s disease. In the April 
2019 post-period, Sonde completed 
a $16 million Series A round, including 
the issuance of $6 million in shares 
upon conversion of debt into equity, to 
expand its capability across additional 
health conditions and device types and 
to fund commercialisation activities.

Follica has made good progress 
towards the initiation of a pivotal study 
in androgenetic alopecia. The company 
expects to begin a pivotal study in 2019 
following the completion of an ongoing 
optimisation study.

Preclinical affiliates

Alivio, Vor, and Entrega have all made 
significant progress towards human 
clinical trials in 2018.

Alivio advanced its inflammation-
targeting immunomodulation platform 
towards the clinic, which received 
two US patents broadly covering 

14    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    15

Strategic reportStrategic reportHow PureTech Health is building value for investors   — continued

How PureTech Health is building value for investors  — continued

“ PureTech Health has also made progress advancing 
its pipeline of internal programmes centred on tissue-
selective immunomodulation for the treatment of 
oncology, autoimmune, and CNS-related disorders.”

“ In the April 2019 post-period PureTech Health 
announced a collaboration with Boehringer 
Ingelheim (BI) to advance BI’s immuno-oncology 
product candidates using this lymphatic 
targeting platform.”

compositions of matter and other 
aspects of the inflammation-targeting 
microfibre materials with embedded 
molecules of interest. Alivio’s pipeline 
includes candidates for interstitial 
cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/
BPS), inflammatory pouchitis, and 
inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and 
the platform technology has been 
validated in multiple preclinical models, 
including in models of osteoarthritis, 
the results of which were published in 
one of the leading scientific journals, 
Nature Communications, in April. 
Additionally, Alivio’s work in IC/BPS with 
Hunner’s lesions was awarded a $3.3 
million US Department of Defense (DoD) 
Technology/Therapeutic Development 
grant in September, which supports 
preclinical research and development 
activities for product candidate, ALV-107. 
ALV-107 is also being advanced under 
a partnership with Purdue Pharma LP, 
which was announced in the January 
2019 post-period. Under the terms of 
the agreement, Alivio will receive up to 
$14.75 million in upfront and near-term 
license exercise payments and is eligible 
to receive royalties on product sales 
and over $260 million in research and 
development milestones. Purdue also 
has an option to collaborate on a limited 
number of additional compounds 
utilising Alivio’s inflammation-
targeting technology.

Vor has also progressed its engineered 
haematopoietic stem cell (HSC) 
therapy platform, and in November 
the company was granted a first-in-
class patent broadly covering this 
technology platform for the treatment 
of haematological malignancies. This 
foundational patent is the first of its 
kind in the immuno-oncology field 
and it broadly covers compositions 
and therapeutic methods related to 
using novel modified HSCs to enable 
targeted immunotherapies. In the 
February post-period, Vor announced 
a $42 million Series A financing round, 
the proceeds from which will be used 
to advance Vor’s lead candidate 
for the treatment of acute myeloid 
leukaemia (AML) towards the clinic, 

and to further build its pipeline to treat 
haematologic malignancies.

Entrega has continued to progress 
its platform for the oral delivery of 
biologics, vaccines, and other drugs that 
are otherwise not efficiently absorbed 
when taken orally. Entrega’s research 
collaboration with Eli Lilly progressed 
over the past year as they worked 
to apply Entrega’s peptide delivery 
technology to certain Lilly therapeutic 
candidates. Entrega has also generated 
proof-of-concept data demonstrating 
delivery of therapeutic peptides into 
the bloodstream of large animals, with 
additional formulation work in large 
animals ongoing. 

In the January 2019 post-period, 
PureTech Health made the decision 
to de-prioritise Commense. PureTech 
Health has decided to retain all 
intellectual property, but it will not 
allocate further resources to this 
programme pending the outcome 
of ongoing preclinical research with 
academic collaborators.

Internal R&D

PureTech Health has also made progress 
advancing its pipeline of internal 
programmes centred on tissue-selective 
immunomodulation for the treatment 
of oncology, autoimmune, and CNS-
related disorders. 

PureTech’s lead internal programme is 
an immuno-oncology approach focused 
on developing two first-in-class, fully 
human monoclonal antibodies that 
are aimed at countering fundamental 
mechanisms of immunosuppression 
in cancer. LYT-200 is a human IgG4 
directed against Galectin-9 which 
exerts immunosuppression by binding 
to multiple partners, facilitating 
a tumour-permissive microenvironment. 
LYT-200 has the potential to target 
difficult to treat cancers that do not 
respond well to approved checkpoint 
inhibitors, such as pancreatic cancer, 
cholangiocarcinoma, and certain 
types of colon cancer. The programme 
has rapidly progressed to select and 

characterise the lead clinical candidate. 
Preclinical pharmacology efficacy/mode 
of action studies have been executed, 
with toxicology and analytics under way, 
to enable the filing of an investigational 
new drug (IND) application in the first 
half of 2020. The second immuno-
oncology candidate, LYT-210, is directed 
against immunosuppressive γδ T cells, 
which have a distinct phenotype, as 
well as functional properties to make 
them uniquely targetable in cancer. 
PureTech Health has demonstrated that 
targeting immunosuppressive γδ T cells 
in multiple aggressive solid tumours 
that do not respond to checkpoint 
inhibitors re-activates effector T cells. 
In the April 2019 post-period, PureTech 
Health presented two posters detailing 
LYT-200 and LYT-210 development 
and preclinical efficacy data at the 
prestigious American Association 
for Cancer Research (AACR) 2019 
Annual Meeting. 

PureTech Health has also progressed 
its milk exosome-based technology, 
which is designed to facilitate the oral 
administration of complex payloads 
such as nucleic acids, peptides and 
small molecules. In July, the Company 
announced a multiyear collaboration 
with Roche to advance this technology 
for the oral administration of Roche’s 
LNA antisense oligonucleotide 
platform. Under the terms of the 
agreement, PureTech Health receives 
up to $36 million, including upfront 
payments, research support and early 
preclinical milestones. PureTech Health 
is also eligible to receive development 
milestone payments of over $1 billion, 
in addition to sales milestones 
and royalties.

PureTech Health is also developing 
a lymphatic targeting approach that 
uses the body’s natural lipid transport 
mechanisms to substantially enhance 
the transport of orally-administered 
drugs into the lymphatic system. This 
proprietary platform achieves this by 
reversibly attaching a dietary fat to the 
drug of interest via a linker optimised to 
release the drug at the site of interest. 

Numerous upcoming milestones are expected to drive PureTech’s value in 2019 and 2020

• IND filing for LYT-200
• IND-enabling CMC and related activities for LYT-210
• Continued development of milk exosome technology 

in collaboration with Roche

• PK/PD results from IBD Ph1 healthy subject trial
• Topline data results from Ph2 in rCDI
• Initiation of and topline data results from Ph1b/2 in food allergy
• Initiation of and topline data results from Ph1b/2 for cancer 

• Continued development of lymphatic targeting platform 

immunotherapy candidate

in collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim

• Selection of clinical candidates for lymphatic and tissue selective 

immunomodulation therapeutics programmes

• Potential FDA clearance of AKL-T01 in paediatric ADHD
• Proof-of-concept results in additional indications

• Topline data results from Gelesis200 Ph2
• Initiation of Ph2 in NASH/NAFLD
• Initiation of FIM study for Gelesis100 for weight loss in adolescents 

with overweight and obesity

• Initiation of pivotal study in androgenetic alopecia following 

• Initiation of pivotal study for GS500 for chronic constipation

completion of ongoing optimisation study

• Initiation of and topline data results from Ph3 in RTIs
• Topline data results from Ph1b/2a in Parkinson’s disease

• Topline data results from Ph2
• Initiation of Ph1b experimental pain trial in healthy volunteers
• Initiation of clinical work in geriatric psychosis

Financings & strategic transactions likely

Continued progress of Internal R&D and preclinical affiliates

PureTech Health has successfully 
extended this approach to encompass 
new drugs and linker chemistries, which 
have demonstrated promising selective 
lymphatic targeting in preclinical 
studies. Successful pharmacokinetic 
studies in large animals are supportive 
of translation of this technology into 
higher species. In the April 2019 post-
period PureTech Health announced 
a collaboration with Boehringer 
Ingelheim (BI) to advance BI’s immuno-
oncology product candidates using this 
lymphatic targeting platform. Under 
terms of the agreement, PureTech 
Health will receive up to $26 million, 
including upfront payments, research 
support, and preclinical milestones, 
and is eligible to receive more than 

$200 million in development and sales 
milestones, in addition to royalties on 
product sales.

Foundational science underlying 
another internal programme centred 
around the central nervous system 
(CNS) lymphatics system was published 
by our collaborator in July as the cover 
story in the prestigious scientific journal 
Nature. The research revealed that 
modulation of lymphatic function in the 
brain may prevent or delay diseases 
associated with ageing, including 
Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington’s 
disease and age-associated cognitive 
decline. In September, additional 
research from our collaborator was 
featured in Nature Neuroscience that 
identified the physical connection 

between the brain’s fluid reservoirs 
and the meningeal lymphatics, through 
which immune cells traffic out of the 
central nervous system (CNS). The 
publication also demonstrated that 
modulation of this trafficking pattern 
has the potential to improve symptoms 
in many neuroinflammatory conditions, 
such as multiple sclerosis (MS). 

By Order of the Board

Stephen Muniz 
Company Secretary

16 April 2019

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Gelesis

Mechanism

Indication(s)

Preclinical

Phase 1

Phase 2

Phase 3

FDA filing

Mechanotherapeutics for  
GI-Related Diseases

Obesity, NAFLD,  
NASH, IBD, CIC

Clearance/
Approval

FDA 
Clearance

Gelesis hydrogels in the gastrointestinal tract

Developing 
mechanotherapeutics to 
treat obesity, GI diseases 
and repair the gut barrier

Founded by PureTech Health, 
Gelesis is developing first-in-class 
hydrogel therapeutics based 
on a novel platform technology 
to treat obesity and other 
chronic diseases related to the 
gastrointestinal (GI) pathway. 
Gelesis’ proprietary approach is 
designed to act mechanically in the 
GI pathway to potentially alter the 
course of chronic diseases. In April 
2019, Gelesis received clearance 
from the US Food and Drug 
Administration for its first product, 
PLENITY™ (Gelesis100), a first-in-
class aid for weight management 
in adults with a Body Mass Index 
of 25-40 kg/m2, when used in 
conjunction with diet and exercise1. 

Additionally, Gelesis is conducting 
a proof-of-concept study for its 
second candidate, Gelesis200, 
which is optimised for weight 
loss and glycaemic control in 
patients with type 2 diabetes 
and prediabetes. Novel hydrogel 
mechanotherapeutics based on 
the Gelesis platform technology 
are also being advanced through 
a pipeline with preclinical studies 
in other GI-related conditions 
where gut barrier dysfunction 
and gut permeability potentially 
play a role, such as non-alcoholic 
fatty liver disease (NAFLD), non-
alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), 
and inflammatory bowel disease 
(IBD). Gelesis has also completed 
a pilot study in chronic idiopathic 
constipation (CIC) and plans to 
initiate a pivotal study in 2020.

As of 31 December 2018, 
PureTech’s percentage ownership 
of Gelesis was approximately 
19.7 per cent on a diluted basis. 
This calculation includes issued 
and outstanding shares as well as 
options and warrants to purchase 
shares, but excludes unallocated 
shares authorised to be issued 
pursuant to equity incentive plans.

Patient 
need and 
market 
potential

• In the US, more than two thirds of adults are overweight or have obesity. Globally there are more 

than 1.9 billion adults 18 years of age or older who are overweight or have obesity.

• Obesity-related conditions, such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, NASH/NAFLD and 

certain types of cancer, are some of the leading causes of preventable death.

• Previously approved oral therapies for weight loss have risk/benefit profiles that impact their 

overall utility.

Innovative 
approach 
for solving 
the problem

• Given challenges associated with pharmacological and invasive surgical treatments for obesity, 

Gelesis designed an approach with an oral, non-invasive, non-systemic mechanism of action and 
a highly favourable safety and efficacy profile. 

• Gelesis’ product candidates work in the GI tract and pass through the body without being 

absorbed. They are synthesised from two naturally derived food ingredients (citric acid and 
cellulose) that form a novel, patent-protected three-dimensional structural composition and 
occupies volume in the stomach and small intestine to promote satiety and fullness.

• Because Gelesis’ technology acts mechanically and is not systemically absorbed, the product 

candidates are treated as devices for regulatory approval purposes.

Intellectual 
property

• Gelesis’ platform has broad intellectual property coverage worldwide, including 172 applications 

in eleven (11) families of patents, several of which are issued in the US and numerous foreign 
jurisdictions, including the EU, Canada, Japan, Russia, and South Korea.

• The filings cover pharmaceutical composition of matter, methods of use, and methods of making 
polymer hydrogels for use in weight management and glycaemic control, as well as predicting 
weight loss and treating obesity.

Team

• The Gelesis team has extensive expertise in obesity research and materials science to develop 

and commercialise its product candidates. 

• Gelesis was developed and is led by Mr Yishai Zohar (previously PureTech Health). The team 

includes Dr David Pass, (previously Boehringer Ingelheim), Dr Harry Leider (previously Walgreens), 
Dr Hassan Heshmati (previously Sanofi), Dr Elaine Chiquette (previously Amylin), and Dr Alessandro 
Sannino (inventor of Gelesis’ technology platform).

• Key advisors include Dr Caroline Apovian (Boston Medical Center), Dr Louis J Aronne (Weill-

Cornell Medical College), Dr Lee M Kaplan (Massachusetts General Hospital), Dr Arne Astrup 
(University of Copenhagen), Dr Ken Fujioka (Scripps Clinic), Dr Allan Geliebter (St Luke’s-Roosevelt 
Hospital), Dr James Hill (University of Colorado, Past President of the Obesity Society (TOS)), 
Dr Angelo Tremblay (Laval University), Dr John LaMattina (previously Pfizer), Mr Elon Boms 
(Launch Capital), Dr Raju Kucherlapati (Abgenix (acquired by Amgen), Millennium Pharmaceuticals 
(acquired by Takeda)), and Paul Fonteyne, MBA (Chairman of Boehringer Ingelheim USA).

Milestones 
achieved 

• Gelesis has received FDA clearance for PLENITY™ as an aid for weight management in adults with 

a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 25-40 kg/m2, when used in conjunction with diet and exercise.1

• Gelesis has submitted a CE Mark application for Gelesis100 in the European Union. 
• Gelesis announced expanded data from its Gelesis Loss of Weight (GLOW) clinical study, a pivotal 

multi-centre, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of Gelesis100. 

• Gelesis presented three posters at ENDO 2019, the premier event in endocrine science and 

medicine. Two of the presentations shared expanded clinical data from the pivotal GLOW study 
of Gelesis100, and a third highlighted preclinical data suggesting a different product candidate 
derived from Gelesis’ proprietary hydrogel platform can restore gut barrier function in mice with 
severe gut wall injury.

• Gelesis presented one poster at the 2019 annual EASL meeting (The International Liver Congress) 

suggesting that the Company’s proprietary hydrogel formulation, Gel-B (GS300 prototype), 
prevents harmful effects of a high-fat diet on the liver.

• Gelesis completed a $30 million financing round in March 2018.
• To date, Gelesis has completed seven clinical trials with more than 550 people treated with either 

Gelesis100 or Gelesis200 and their prototypes, demonstrating no increased safety risks over 
placebo and no serious adverse events.

• The pivotal weight loss data from Gelesis’ GLOW clinical study were published in the journal 
Obesity and the paper was selected as an Editor’s Choice manuscript. The data were also 
presented as three posters, one receiving a special recognition award, and an oral session at 
ObesityWeek 2018, the annual combined congress of the American Society for Metabolic and 
Bariatric Surgery and The Obesity Society. 

• Gelesis plans to initiate a targeted US launch of PLENITY in the second half of 2019 and anticipates 

PLENITY will be broadly available by prescription in the US in 2020.

• Gelesis anticipates potential CE mark approval for PLENITY in the European Union. 
• Gelesis plans to initiate a first in man study of Gelesis100 for weight loss in adolescents with 

overweight or obesity in 2020. 

• Gelesis plans to initiate a pivotal study of GS500 for chronic constipation in 2020.
• Gelesis expects to initiate proof-of-concept studies for NASH/NAFLD in 2019.
• Results are anticipated from the Gelesis200 LIGHT-UP study for weight loss and glycaemic control 

in people with prediabetes or type 2 diabetes in 2020.

External 
validation

Expected 
milestones

1 

Important Safety Information: PLENITY is contraindicated in patients who are pregnant or are allergic to cellulose, citric acid, sodium stearyl fumarate, 
gelatin, or titanium oxide. PLENITY may alter the absorption of medications. Read Sections 6 and 8.3 of the Instructions for Use carefully. Avoid 
use in patients with the following conditions: esophageal anatomic anomalies, including webs, diverticuli, and rings; suspected strictures (such as 
patients with Crohn’s disease); or complications from prior gastrointestinal (GI) surgery that could affect GI transit and motility. Use with caution 
in patients with: active GI conditions such as gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD), ulcers, or heartburn. Overall, the most common treatment 
related adverse events (TRAEs) were GI-related TRAEs with 38 per cent of adults in the PLENITY group and 28 per cent of adults in the placebo 
group experiencing a GI-related TRAE. The overall incidence of AEs in the PLENITY group was no different than the placebo group. Rx Only. For the 
safe and proper use of PLENITY, refer to the Instructions for Use.

Gelesis hydrogel 
capsules 
administered 
with water prior 
to a meal

Particles released 
and expand 
in stomach by 
absorbing water

Particles mix 
homogeneously 
with food 
enhancing 
fullness due to 
increased volume 
and elasticity of 
stomach contents

Particles maintain 
their 3D structure 
throughout the 
digestion process 
and are cleared 
with the digested 
food to the 
small intestine

Particles are 
designed to 
restore & protect 
the mucosa and 
epithelial barrier 
in the intestines

Particles degrade 
in the large 
intestine, water 
is released and 
reabsorbed 
by body, and 
remnants are 
eliminated 
from body

The Gelesis platform is targeting multiple significant GI-related diseases

Product

Research Focus

Preclinical

Clinical

Pivotal

FDA Clearance

Next Milestone

PLENITY™ 
(GELESIS100)

Weight Loss in Overweight 
and Obese Patients

Completed

FLOW  
Completed

GLOW*  
Completed

Cleared  
by FDA

GELESIS100*

Weight Loss in Adolescent 
Overweight and Obese Patients

GELESIS200*

Weight Loss and Glycaemic 
Control in Patients with Type 2 
Diabetes and Pre-diabetes

GS300*

NAFLD/NASH

Ongoing

GS400*

Mucositis/IDD

Ongoing

LIGHT-UP  
Ongoing

GS500*

Chronic Constipation (CIC)

Pilot Clinical  
Study Completed

*  Products are investigational and have not been cleared by the FDA for use in the United States. 

PLENITY is a first-ever prescription weight management option for a large and underserved group

US Population BMI 25-40+ kg/m2

>75% of Overweight/Obese 

47m

50m

33m

23m

BMI 
25-27

BMI 
27-30

BMI 
30-35

BMI 
35-40

19m

BMI 
>40

Low

Patient/Physician Willingness to Accept Safety Risk

High

US launch and 
EU regulatory 
clearance

Initiation of FIM 
Study 2020

Data Readout 
2020

POC Study 
Start 2019

Pivotal Study 
Initiation 2020

Current Rx options have challenges 
related to safety, tolerability and 
label limitations

So prescription therapies are 
largely limited to highest risk high 
BMI patients (60 per cent of use in 
25 per cent of the population)

The weight loss they offer is 
not generally satisfying for 
higher BMI patients

PLENITY™ (Gelesis100) indicated to aid in weight management in overweight and obese adults with  
a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 25-40 kg/m2, when used in conjunction with diet and exercise.

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Akili

Mechanism

Indication(s)

Preclinical

Phase 1

Phase 2

Phase 3

FDA filing

Clearance/
Approval

Total Treatment Systems (TTS)

Targeting and activating specific 
neural systems in the brain to 
treat cognitive dysfunction

ADHD, ASD, MS, MDD, 
Neurodegeneration, 
Cognitive Dysfunction1

Digital medicine platform 
for the treatment 
and assessment of 
cognitive dysfunction

Patient 
need and 
market 
potential

Founded by PureTech Health as 
part of its cognition initiative, 
Akili is combining scientific and 
clinical rigour with the ingenuity 
of the tech industry to reinvent 
medicine. Akili is pioneering 
the development of treatments 
with direct therapeutic activity, 
delivered not through a traditional 
pill but via a high-quality action 
video game experience. Akili is 
a leader in the digital therapeutics 
field and is a founding member of 
the Digital Therapeutic Alliance.

Akili is advancing a broad pipeline 
of programmes to potentially treat 
cognitive deficiency and improve 
symptoms associated with medical 
conditions across neurology and 
psychiatry, including attention-
deficit hyperactivity disorder 
(ADHD), major depressive 
disorder (MDD), autism spectrum 
disorders (ASD), multiple 
sclerosis (MS), and various other 
inflammatory diseases. Akili is 
also developing complementary 
and integrated clinical 
monitors and measurement-
based care applications.

As of 31 December 2018, 
PureTech’s percentage ownership 
of Akili was approximately 35.1 per 
cent on a diluted basis. This 
calculation includes issued and 
outstanding shares as well as 
options and warrants to purchase 
shares, but excludes unallocated 
shares authorised to be issued 
pursuant to equity incentive plans.

Innovative 
approach 
for solving 
the problem

• Cognitive dysfunction is a key feature of ADHD, ASD, MS, Alzheimer’s disease, and MDD, including 
attentional dysfunction in ADHD, processing speed in patients with MS and related deficits. The 
markets for treatment of these conditions are currently only partially served by centrally-acting drugs 
with challenging safety profiles or by in-person behavioural therapy.

• There are approximately 5.4 million paediatric ADHD patients in the US, and Akili believes that 
this market – and other markets where Akili’s cognitive-dysfunction targeting products may act 
as a stand-alone medical treatment, add-on therapy, or digital biomarker – represent significant 
opportunities for Akili.

• Akili’s platform is based on a new patented technology that deploys sensory and motor stimuli that 

targets and activates the neurological systems known to play a key role in certain cognitive functions, 
including attentional control. By improving neural processing at the functional level, symptoms and 
impairments related to cognitive deficiencies can be improved. The treatment is delivered through 
an immersive action video-game, resulting in non-invasive, patient-friendly medicine that can be 
used at home.

• By leveraging medical-grade science and consumer-grade entertainment, Akili is seeking to produce 
a new type of medical product that can potentially offer safe and effective scalable and personalised 
treatment and better monitoring for patients across a range of mental health and neurological conditions.

• Notably, Akili is building and will own a newly created global R&D and commercial platform 

specifically designed for digital therapeutics that is flexible and scalable. The platform will allow Akili 
to continually engage with patients, care givers, and key stakeholders in the healthcare system to 
improve their experience and access.

Intellectual 
property

• Akili has broad intellectual property coverage worldwide, currently owning or having exclusive rights 

to a total of three (3) issued patents and ninety-nine (99) patent applications in twenty-seven (27) 
families of patent filings.

• Akili’s IP portfolio covers digital intervention that targets interference processing through 

a proprietary mechanism with adaptive algorithms to treat cognitive disorders and improve 
symptoms associated with neurological and psychiatric conditions, including ADHD, Parkinson’s 
disease, ASD, MS, and various inflammatory diseases. The IP estate also covers novel adaptive 
algorithms and reward structures invented by Akili to apply to various neural targeting algorithms.
• In September 2018, Akili announced an exclusively licensed new digital technology from the Regents 
of the University of California integrating neural systems that target cognitive function combined 
with physical activity. The technology, which is currently being studied in multiple clinical trials, is 
delivered through a novel motion-capture video game experience and holds potential to improve 
cognitive function in patients with a wide range of medical conditions. 

• The company has also actively filed utility patents on other neural-targeting algorithm platforms 
invented at Akili in collaboration with neuroscience advisors, and design patents for their various 
video game delivery mechanics.

Team

• Akili’s cross-disciplinary team has expertise in neuroscience, clinical trials in related disorders, video 

game design, data science, and consumer entertainment.

• Akili was developed and is run by Dr Eddie Martucci (previously PureTech Health) and team members, 
Mr Matthew Omernick (previously LucasArts And DreamWorks), Mr LeRoux Jooste (previously Ocata 
Therapeutics, Antares Pharma, and Cephalon), and Mr Scott Kellogg (previously PureTech Health, 
Sontra Medical, and UltraCision). Rob Perez (previously CEO of Cubist) is Executive Chairman. 
The Akili management team has recently been expanded to include Santosh Shanbhag (previously 
Vertex), Jacqueline Studer (previously IDEXX, Allscripts and GE Healthcare IT), and Dr Anil Jina 
(previously Pfizer, Sanofi and Shire).

• In 2018, Akili established a Clinical Advisory Committee comprised of distinguished medical and 

healthcare professionals who have made significant contributions to advancing their respective fields 
and includes Dr Carmen Bozic (Biogen), Dr Adam Gazzaley (UCSF), Dr Scott Kollins (Duke University), 
Dr Philip Ninan (East Carolina University and eMindScience), Dr Bennett Shapiro (PureTech Health 
Board, previously Merck and University of Washington).

• Akili continues to work with its advisory board members who are world-leaders in their fields, 
including from UCSF, University of Geneva, SUNY Upstate Medical University, University of 
Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Duke University.

Milestones 
achieved 

• Akili filed its lead product candidate, AKL-T01, with the US FDA for review and has successfully 

completed studies targeting cognitive dysfunction in depression and separately MS for AKL-T03, 
with full analysis underway. 

• In August 2018, Akili completed a $68 million financing round, with participation from Temasek, 

Baillie Gifford, Amgen, M Ventures, JAZZ Ventures, Canepa Advanced Healthcare Fund, 
Brooklands Capital Strategies and others. 

• In March 2019, Akili entered into a strategic partnership with Shionogi, valued at up to $125 million, 

to bring its novel paediatric digital medicines to key markets in Asia.

External 
validation

• With Akili’s partnership with Shionogi a digital therapeutic is being valued, for the first time, as 

a standalone treatment like a molecule and Akili will retain full control over the commercial access 
and distribution platform.

• Akili has relationships with two major biopharma companies’ investment affiliates: M Ventures and 
Amgen Ventures, in addition to a strong group of venture investors with expertise in neuroscience, 
medical devices, and drug development.

Expected 
milestones

• Akili is seeking clearance from FDA for its lead product candidate in paediatric ADHD, with clearance 

potentially in 2019.

• Akili is currently conducting multiple clinical trials across a variety of patient populations, including 

ASD, MDD, MS, and Parkinson’s disease.

• Akili expects to advance AKL-T03 into larger studies in 2020 targeting cognitive dysfunction in 

depression and separately MS.

1  See page 21 for a description of the current phase for each indication.

20    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

Integrated suite of medical device products for patients, caregivers, and doctors 

Treatments

Potential for first-in-class FDA-cleared 
products for the treatment of disease

Healthcare Solutions (‘HCS’)

Integrated applications for behaviour 
and symptom management

If cleared by the FDA:

•  Class II medical devices

•  Prescribed as standalone or in association 

with other treatments

•  Payment/economic model similar to 

today’s drug medicine

Akili pipeline

•  Can be used in association with or 
independent from Akili treatments

•  Rich data repository for patients 

on Akili treatments AND 
non-Akili treatments

Research focus

Programme

Indication

Feasibility

Phase 2 P.O.C. Phase 3 Pivotal

FDA Filing

Regulatory 
clearance

AKL-T01

Paediatric ADHD1

Behavioural

AKL-T02

Paediatric Autism2

Mood &  
affective

AKL-T03

AKL-T04

Major Depressive 
Disorder3

Major Depressive 
Disorder

Immune

AKL-T03

Multiple Sclerosis

Other

Parkinson’s/MCI

Traumatic Brain Injury

Research focus

Programme

In Development

Clinical Trials

Released

Health care 
solutions apps

AKL-X03

Physician Portal

AKL-X01 
AKL-S01 
AKL-M01

ADHD Caregiver App 
AD Screen 
Cog Monitor

1 

 Davis et al., PLoSONE. 2018, 13(1):e0189749 
Kollins et al., JAACAP. 2018 Oct. V57(10) S172 
NCT02828644. No data published yet 
NCT03649074. On-going 
NCT03844269. On-going

2  Yerys et al. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 2018 Dec. 

3  Anguera et. al. Depression and Anxiety. Jan. 2017 

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    21

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Karuna

Mechanism

Indication(s)

Preclinical

Phase 1

Phase 2

Phase 3

FDA filing

Clearance/
Approval

KarXT: Selectively targeting muscarinic receptors in the brain

Selective Muscarinic Receptor 
Targeting for CNS Disorders

Schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s 
Disease Psychosis, Pain 

Targeting muscarinic 
receptors in the brain 
while overcoming GI 
tolerability issues

Founded by PureTech Health, 
Karuna is targeting muscarinic 
cholinergic receptors for the 
treatment of psychosis and 
cognitive impairment across 
central nervous system (CNS) 
disorders, including schizophrenia 
and Alzheimer’s disease 
psychosis, as well as pain. 

KarXT (Karuna-Xanomeline-
Trospium) is Karuna’s lead 
investigational product candidate. 
It consists of xanomeline, a novel 
muscarinic acetylcholine receptor 
agonist that has demonstrated 
efficacy in placebo-controlled 
human trials in schizophrenia 
and Alzheimer’s disease, and 
trospium chloride, an FDA-
approved and well-established 
muscarinic receptor antagonist 
that has been shown not to 
measurably cross the blood-
brain barrier. KarXT is designed 
to selectively stimulate M1/M4 
muscarinic receptors in the brain 
without stimulating muscarinic 
receptors in peripheral tissues to 
significantly improve tolerability.

KarXT is being evaluated in 
a Phase 2 study in people with 
schizophrenia experiencing 
acute psychosis. Karuna has 
a worldwide exclusive license 
for xanomeline and has a patent 
portfolio more broadly covering 
selective muscarinic targeting 
enabled by the KarXT approach.

As of 1 April 2019, PureTech’s 
percentage ownership of Karuna 
was approximately 35.9 per 
cent on a diluted basis. This 
calculation includes issued and 
outstanding shares as well as 
options to purchase shares, but 
excludes unallocated shares 
authorised to be issued pursuant 
to equity incentive plans.

Patient 
need and 
market 
potential

• Psychosis and cognitive impairments are debilitating features of schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s 

disease and other mental illnesses that affect tens of millions of people, but there are no existing 
medicines that sufficiently and safely treat psychosis and cognition impairments.

• Antipsychotics are the mainstay therapy; however, drugs currently in use all rely on the same 

fundamental mechanism of action and, despite widespread use, the prognosis for patients remains 
poor – 70 per cent don’t live independently, 80-90 per cent don’t maintain full time employment, 
and tragically 5 per cent end their life with suicide.

• Current antipsychotics only address psychosis, also known as positive symptoms (e.g. hallucinations 
and delusions), but patients often experience residual positive symptoms throughout their lives; 
while negative and cognitive symptoms are left untreated. There are no approved treatments for the 
negative (e.g. apathy, loss of motivation) or cognitive symptoms (e.g. changes in working memory 
and attention) of schizophrenia, or the treatment of psychosis associated with Alzheimer’s disease. 

• Current antipsychotics are associated with serious side effects, including potentially irreversible 

movement disorders (tardive dyskinesia), metabolic dysfunction, glucose intolerance, weight gain, 
sedation, and cardiovascular mortality in the elderly.

• There is a desperate need for new treatments in schizophrenia that could address the positive, 

negative, and cognitive symptoms and are free of the problematic safety issues with existing medicines.
• In addition to clinical data, xanomeline has shown potent activity preclinically in a number of models 
of analgesia, demonstrating the potential of KarXT to treat a variety of pain indications, including 
acute, inflammatory and neuropathic pain, and addressing the need for non-opioid pain medications.

Innovative 
approach 
for solving 
the problem

• Xanomeline, a muscarinic agonist that Karuna exclusively licensed, was previously studied (by Eli 

Lilly & Co) in randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials in schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s 
disease, demonstrating efficacy in the treatment of psychosis and beneficial effects on cognition. 
To PureTech’s knowledge, xanomeline is the only muscarinic agonist that has demonstrated human 
efficacy in either schizophrenia or Alzheimer’s disease.

• Eli Lilly discontinued development of xanomeline given tolerability issues associated with the 
activation of peripheral muscarinic receptors (but did not observe the serious side effects 
associated with the current antipsychotics).

• By pairing xanomeline with trospium chloride, a muscarinic antagonist that does not measurably 
cross the blood-brain barrier and has been approved in the US and Europe for the treatment of 
overactive bladder, Karuna believes KarXT could potentially alleviate the tolerability issues seen 
with xanomeline while maintaining the excellent efficacy profile previously demonstrated. In 
Karuna’s Phase 1 tolerability proof-of-concept study, KarXT was significantly better tolerated than 
xanomeline plus placebo and no serious or severe adverse events were reported.

Intellectual 
property

• Karuna has broad intellectual property coverage worldwide, including exclusive rights to six (6) 

patent applications which cover pharmaceutical compositions of its clinical candidate and methods 
of use for the treatment of disorders ameliorated by muscarinic receptor activation.

Team

• Karuna has assembled a seasoned team, including some of the pre-eminent neuroscience drug 

research and development experts 

Milestones 
achieved

• In August 2018, Dr Steven Paul (former President of Lilly Research Laboratories and Co-founder of 
Sage and Voyager) was appointed Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Karuna. 
Dr Andrew Miller (previously PureTech Health) is Founder and Chief Operating Officer. 

• Key advisors include Dr Jeff Jonas (Chief Executive Officer at Sage Therapeutics), Dr Edmund 

Harrigan (previously Senior Vice President at Pfizer), Dr Alan Breier (Indiana University School of 
Medicine and previously Chief Medical Officer at Eli Lilly), and Dr Atul Pande (previously Senior Vice 
President at GlaxoSmithKline).

• In October 2018, Karuna announced the initiation a Phase 2 study in schizophrenia. The dose 
selection to be carried forward into Phase 2 is supported by results from Karuna’s Phase 1 
dose-ranging study that enrolled 69 healthy volunteers and successfully demonstrated tolerability 
at dose levels exceeding those shown to be efficacious in previous studies of xanomeline alone. 
The co-formulation also achieved exposure levels equivalent to or higher than the separate dosage 
forms used previously. 

• Current treatments are associated with severe side effects, including sedation, extrapyramidal side 
effects such as motor rigidity, tremors and slurred speech, and significant weight gain, sometimes 
resulting in the complications of diabetes, hyperlipidaemia, hypertension and cardiovascular 
disease. The clinical benefit of current antipsychotics is further limited by poor adherence to 
medication regimens. 

• Xanomeline has been dosed in studies enrolling over 800 patients and has demonstrated efficacy 

in reducing psychosis and shown beneficial effects on cognition in placebo-controlled human trials 
in both Alzheimer’s disease and schizophrenia.

External 
validation

• In April 2019, Karuna completed an $82 million Series B financing round, including the issuance of 

$7 million in shares upon conversion of debt into equity. 

• In August 2018, Karuna completed a $42 million Series A financing round, including the issuance 

of $22 million in shares upon conversion of debt into equity. 

• Karuna licensed xanomeline from Eli Lilly, and company advisors and management include the 

former Chief Medical Officer and former Executive Vice President of Research and Development 
from Eli Lilly.

• Karuna received a second Wellcome Trust Translational Fund Award for up to $8 million. The funding 

is being used to further advance clinical development of KarXT through the Phase 2 study in 
patients with schizophrenia.

• Karuna expects to read out topline results from its Phase 2 clinical study in schizophrenia by the 

end of 2019. 

• Karuna expects to initiate an experimental medicine study evaluating the effect of KarXT 

on induced pain in healthy volunteers in 2019.

Expected 
milestones

Muscarinic 
agonist

Muscarinic 
antagonist

Brain: agonist only

(xanomeline)

Periphery: 
agonist + antagonist

(xanomeline + trospium)

KarXT: Ideal muscarinic combination

Strong IP portfolio covering composition and methods of use of muscarinic combinations

Xanomeline

Xanomeline

Trospium Chloride

•  Exclusively licensed from Eli Lilly

•  Studied in >800 subjects and 
150 for 6+ months

•  Human PoC in double-blind, 
placebo-controlled trials in 
schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s

•  Generic, marketed drug for 

treatment of overactive bladder 
used since the 1960s

•  No metabolic overlap 

with xanomeline

•  Does not measurably 

enter the brain

Trospium Chloride

Karuna Pipeline

Programme

Indication

Preclinical

Phase 1

Phase 2

Phase 3

Schizophrenia

KarXT

Pain

Phase 1b experimental pain trial in healthy volunteers expected in 2019

Geriatric Psychosis

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Strategic reportStrategic reportHow PureTech Health is building value for investors  — continued

Vedanta Biosciences

How PureTech Health is building value for investors  — continued

Mechanism

Indication(s)

Preclinical

Phase 1

Phase 2

Phase 3

FDA filing

Clearance/
Approval

Milestones 
achieved

Microbiome-Derived Immune 
Modulators for Immune and 
Infectious Disease 

Infections, Autoimmune 
Disorders, Food Allergy, 
Immuno-Oncology

Patient 
need and 
market 
potential

Innovative 
approach 
for solving 
the problem

• Despite profound survival improvements in some patients, checkpoint inhibitors (PD-1/

PDL-1, CTLA-4) are only effective in 20-30 per cent of patients. Common tumour types where 
checkpoint inhibitors are utilised include lung, bladder, skin, and renal cancers. Vedanta 
Biosciences’ immuno-oncology product candidate, VE800, is designed to act in combination 
with approved checkpoint inhibitors and potentially other immunotherapies to safely improve 
their efficacy. 

• Food allergies are a growing US public health concern – they affect eight per cent of children and 
have an annual economic cost near $25 billion. Current treatment options primarily centre around 
allergen avoidance. Desensitisation regimens in development have limited efficacy, are risky, and 
require treatment for life. Vedanta Biosciences’ product candidate, VE416, is being developed to 
safely induce permanent tolerance to food allergens including peanut allergy.

• Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is estimated to affect over one million people in the US and 

four million worldwide, and other autoimmune diseases affect over 20 million people in the US. 
Many of the existing interventions are limited by toxicities and systemic immune suppression. 
Vedanta Biosciences’ collaborator, Janssen Biotech Inc., is advancing a product candidate, 
VE202, designed to modulate the activity of regulatory T cells and thereby potentially treat IBD. 

• The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) considers C. difficile infections one 
of the most urgent bacterial threats. C. difficile infections account for nearly 15,000 deaths 
each year in the US alone. Existing interventions include antibiotics such as vancomycin or 
metronidazole, which have the undesirable side effect of damaging the gut microbiome and 
leaving patients vulnerable to re-infection. A related intervention, faecal transplantation, is an 
experimental procedure which is exceedingly difficult to standardise and scale and is fraught 
with potential safety issues. Vedanta Biosciences’ lead, orally-administered live biotherapeutic 
product candidate, VE303, is designed to restore colonisation resistance against gut pathogens, 
including C. difficile, following recurrence.

• Unlike faecal transplants, which require use of donors and are untargeted, inherently variable 

procedures, Vedanta Biosciences’ approach is based on bacterial consortia therapeutics, which 
are defined drug compositions produced from clonally isolated bacteria that can trigger targeted 
immune responses. Unlike reductionistic approaches such as single strain probiotics, defined 
consortia can robustly shift the composition of the gut microbiota and provide colonisation 
resistance against a range of intestinal infectious pathogens. These therapeutics can also 
stimulate a range of immune responses ranging from immunoregulatory responses, which 
hold potential in the treatment of autoimmune and allergic diseases, to immunopotentiating 
responses, which hold potential in cancer and vaccination.

• Vedanta Biosciences’ collaborators have pioneered the fields of innate immunity, Th17, and 

regulatory T cell biology. These discoveries, which have formed the leading scientific foundation 
for Vedanta Biosciences, have been reported in seminal scientific papers and published in 
leading journals such as Science, Nature and Cell, demonstrating that the gut microbiome 
influences important processes related to the proper functioning of the immune system and 
resistance to infection.

• Vedanta Biosciences’ novel product candidates are administered in a lyophilised powder in 

a capsule dosage form, designed to have specific effects on the immune system, with the aim of 
restoring the balance of the microbiome in the gut to treat immune and infectious diseases safely 
and effectively.

Intellectual 
property

• Vedanta Biosciences has broad intellectual property coverage worldwide, currently owning or 

having exclusive rights to one hundred and eight (108) patent applications and issued patents in 
sixteen (16) families of patent filings, including seven (7) patents that issued in 2018. 

Team

• Vedanta Biosciences’ IP estate positions the company as a leader in the microbiome field.
• Vedanta Biosciences’ IP portfolio includes foundational patents covering compositions and 

therapeutic uses of products containing microbiome bacteria belonging to Clostridium clusters 
IV and XIVa, which are among the most abundant colonisers of the human intestine and play 
an important role in human health, including regulating inflammatory responses and other 
immune responses.

• The IP estate includes issued patents in the major pharmaceutical markets (US, Europe, and 

Japan). These patents provide coverage through at least 2031, with priority filing dates as early 
as 2010.

• Dr Bernat Olle (previously PureTech Health) serves as Chief Executive Officer, Dr Bruce Roberts 
(previously Sanofi-Genzyme) serves as Chief Scientific Officer, and Mr Dan Couto (previously 
ContraFect Corp) serves as Chief Technical Officer and head of manufacturing.

• Scientific co-founders and advisory board members include some of the world’s leading 

immunologists, including Dr Ruslan Medzhitov (Yale and Howard Hughes Medical Institute 
(HHMI)), Dr B Brett Finlay (University of British Columbia and HHMI), Dr Kenya Honda (inventor 
of Vedanta Biosciences’ IBD product candidate; Keio University and RIKEN), Dr Dan Littman 
(NYU School of Medicine, Howard Hughes Medical Institute; member of the Board of Pfizer), 
Dr Alexander Rudensky (Sloan Kettering and HHMI), and Dr Jeremiah Faith (Mount Sinai School 
of Medicine).

Modulating the 
immune system via the 
gut microbiome

Founded by PureTech Health as 
part of its microbiome initiative, 
PureTech’s Vedanta Biosciences 
is developing a new category of 
therapies for immune-mediated 
diseases based on a rationally-
defined consortia of human 
microbiome-derived bacteria. 
Vedanta Biosciences is a leader 
in the microbiome field with 
capabilities and deep expertise 
to discover, develop, and 
manufacture live bacteria drugs. 
These include what is believed 
to be a leading IP position with 
the largest collection of human 
microbiome-associated bacterial 
strains, a suite of proprietary assays 
to select pharmacologically potent 
strains, vast proprietary datasets 
from human interventional studies, 
and facilities for cGMP-compliant 
manufacturing of rationally-
defined bacterial consortia in 
powder form. Vedanta Biosciences’ 
pioneering work, in collaboration 
with its scientific co-founders, has 
led to the identification of human 
commensal bacteria that induce 
a range of immune responses – 
including induction of regulatory 
T cells, CD8+ T cells, and Th17 
cells, among others. These 
advances have been published in 
leading peer-reviewed journals, 
including Science (multiple), 
Nature (multiple), Cell, and Nature 
Immunology. Vedanta Biosciences 
has harnessed these biological 
insights and its capabilities 
to generate a clinical pipeline 
of programmes in infectious 
disease, autoimmune disease, 
allergy, and immuno-oncology.

Unlike faecal transplants or single 
strain approaches to microbiome 
modulation, Vedanta Biosciences 
uses pure, clonal cell banks to 
produced defined collections, 
or consortia, of bacterial strains 
designed to effect durable 
therapeutic changes in a patient’s 
gut microbiota. This bypasses the 
need to rely on direct sourcing 
of faecal donor material of 
inconsistent composition.

As of 31 December 2018, 
PureTech’s percentage ownership 
of Vedanta Biosciences was 
approximately 63.0 per cent on 
a diluted basis. This calculation 
includes issued and outstanding 
shares as well as options to 
purchase shares, but excludes 
unallocated shares authorised 
to be issued pursuant to 
equity incentive plans.

• Vedanta Biosciences initiated the Phase 2 study for its lead, orally-administered, live biotherapeutic product (LBP) candidate for 

recurrent Clostridium difficile infection (rCDI), VE303, in December 2018. Dose selection for this study was based on the results from 
the Phase 1a/1b study in healthy volunteers, which demonstrated safety, tolerability, and proof of mechanism for VE303. Specifically, 
the Phase 1a/1b showed that VE303 treatment resulted in rapid, durable, dose-dependent colonisation and accelerated gut microbiota 
restoration after antibiotics.

• Preclinical data announced at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer’s (SITC) 33rd Annual Meeting showed that VE800 elicited an anti-
tumour immune response as a monotherapy and also enhanced the effects of checkpoint inhibitors. Additionally, the results describe 
a mechanism of action for VE800 as the robust interferon-gamma producing CD8+ (cytotoxic) T cell response was elicited via activation 
of dendritic cells. 

• Vedanta Biosciences announced the initiation of a Phase 1 clinical study in healthy volunteers of VE202, its orally-administered LBP 

candidate for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The study is being conducted by Janssen Research & Development, LLC. In conjunction 
with the initiation of this study, Vedanta Biosciences will receive $12 million from Janssen in milestone payments as part of its ongoing 
collaboration.

• In December 2018, Vedanta Biosciences completed a $27 million financing round with participation from the Bill & Melinda Gates 
Foundation, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Rock Springs Capital, Invesco Asset Management, Seventure Partners, and PureTech Health.

External 
validation

• In January 2019, important research that underlies Vedanta’s proprietary oral immuno-oncology product candidate, VE800, was 

published in one of the top scientific journals, Nature. The research revealed a new mechanism by which human microbiota induce an 
important immune cell that is key to the body’s ability to generate anti-tumour immunity.

• Additional data on Vedanta Biosciences’ microbiome technologies has been featured in high impact academic journals such as Nature, 

Science, and Cell. 

• Vedanta Biosciences announced a clinical collaboration with Bristol-Myers Squibb to evaluate VE800 in combination with Bristol-Myers 

Squibb’s programmed death-1 (PD-1) immune checkpoint inhibitor Opdivo (nivolumab) in patients with advanced or metastatic cancers. 
Bristol-Myers Squibb is a strategic equity investor in Vedanta Biosciences. Under the terms of the agreement, Vedanta Biosciences will 
maintain control of its VE800 programme, including global R&D and commercial rights.

• As part of the collaboration with Janssen Biotech, Vedanta Biosciences has received $24 million in payments and is entitled to milestone 

payments up to $339 million, plus royalties.

• Vedanta Biosciences received funding from the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation to advance its new microbiome-derived therapeutic 

programme for the treatment and potential interception of IBD.

• Vedanta Biosciences has exclusively licensed key intellectual property from Keio University to develop and commercialise microbiome-

derived cancer immunotherapies based on live biotherapeutics.

Expected 
milestones

• PK/PD results are anticipated in the second half of 2019 from the Phase 1 healthy subject study of VE202.
• Initiation of a Phase 1b/2 clinical study of VE416 for peanut allergy is expected in 2019.
• Initiation of a Phase 1b/2 clinical study of VE800 in combination with Bristol-Myer-Squibb’s Opdivo in patients with metastatic or 

advanced cancers is anticipated in 2019.

• Clinical efficacy results for VE303, VE800, and VE416 are anticipated in 2020. 

Vedanta Pipeline

Programme

Indication

Preclinical

Manufacturing

Phase 1

Phase 2

Clinical Readout

VE303*

C. difficile

VE202

Inflammatory 
Bowel Disease

VE416

Food Allergy

VE800*

VE800*

Cancer Immunotherapy 
Indication #1

Cancer Immunotherapy 
Indication #2

*  Vedanta retains 100 per cent of global R&D and commercial rights to VE800 and VE303

The Human Microbiome Plays Key Roles in Preventing Infection and Driving Immune Responses

Early 2020  
Ph 2 RCT efficacy 
(n = 146)

H2 2019 
Ph 1 safety, PK/PD 
in healthy volunteers

H1 2020 
Ph 1/2 RCT efficacy 
(n = 40)

Mid-2020 
Ph 1/2 preliminary 
efficacy  
(n = 156)

10-100 trillion bacteria

1-10x as many bacteria as 
there are human cells

100x genes in microbiome 
outnumber human 
genes 100 to 1

Regulate Metabolism

Prevent Infections

Educate Immune System

Immune and infectious diseases 
can arise or worsen when microbiome 
balance is altered

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Strategic reportStrategic reportHow PureTech Health is building value for investors  — continued

How PureTech Health is building value for investors  — continued

resTORbio

Mechanism

Indication(s)

Preclinical

Phase 1

Phase 2

Phase 3

FDA filing

Clearance/
Approval

Selective inhibition of TORC1 may have therapeutic benefit for the treatment of ageing-related diseases

Novel therapeutics for the 
treatment of ageing-related disease

Immunosenescence and Ageing-
Related Disorders, Clinically 
Symptomatic Respiratory Illness

Selectively inhibiting TORC1 
for conditions of ageing, 
including immunosenescence 
and neurodegeneration

Patient 
need and 
market 
potential

• Immunosenescence, the age-dependent decline in immune function, is associated with 

a decreased ability to fight infections, an increase in cancer incidence, and a decline in organ 
function in the elderly. With a rapidly ageing population, there is an urgent need to address 
these and other ageing-related diseases.

• Respiratory Tract Infections (RTIs) are the second leading cause of hospitalisation in people aged 

Inhibition of TORC1 
by genetic mutation 
extends lifespan

(Science, 2012)

mTOR

TORC1

TORC2

Inhibition of TORC2 by genetic 
mutation decreases lifespan 
and causes hyperglycaemia and 
hyperlipidaemia in mice 

(Science, 2012; Aging Cell, 2014)

Founded by PureTech Health, 
resTORbio is developing 
innovative medicines that target 
the biology of ageing to prevent 
or treat ageing-related disorders. 
resTORbio’s lead programme 
selectively inhibits the target of 
rapamycin complex 1 (TORC1), 
an evolutionary conserved 
pathway that contributes to the 
decline in function of multiple 
organ systems, including the 
immune, cardiovascular, and 
central nervous systems. 

resTORbio’s lead product 
candidate, RTB101, is an oral, 
selective, and potent inhibitor 
of TORC1. RTB101 inhibits the 
phosphorylation of multiple 
targets downstream of TORC1. 
Inhibition of TORC1 has been 
observed to extend lifespan and 
healthspan in ageing preclinical 
species and to improve immune, 
cardiac and neurologic functions, 
suggesting potential benefits in 
several ageing-related diseases.

As of 22 March 2019, PureTech 
Health owns 9,800,396 shares 
of resTORbio, which is equal to 
approximately 27.8 per cent of the 
outstanding shares of resTORbio.

85 and over, and fourth for those 65 and older.

• The majority of RTIs are caused by unknown viruses, with few therapies to treat them.
• The very elderly (age 80 and over) is the fastest growing population in the US.
• resTORbio intends to leverage learnings from its clinical study in RTIs to expand its programme 

into additional ageing-related indications.

Innovative 
approach 
for solving 
the problem

• mTOR is a protein serine/threonine kinase that regulates multiple cell functions, including cell 

growth and metabolism, via two complexes: TORC1 and TORC2.

• TORC1 inhibition has been shown in preclinical models to have many beneficial effects 

on ageing, including increased lifespan, while TORC2 inhibition in preclinical models has 
been associated with adverse events, including decreased lifespan, hyperglycaemia, and 
hypercholesterolemia.

• resTORbio’s product candidate, RTB101, selectively inhibits TORC1s and may therefore have 

therapeutic potential to ameliorate multiple ageing-related conditions. Preclinical data suggests 
that TORC1 inhibitors may enhance immune response to vaccines and improve tendon stiffening, 
cardiac dysfunction, cognitive dysfunction, ageing-related mobility issues, and laminopathies.

Intellectual 
property

• resTORbio has broad intellectual property coverage worldwide, having exclusive rights 

to a patent portfolio licensed from Novartis International Pharmaceutical Ltd. directed to 
composition of matter of RTB101 and its salts, formulations of everolimus, and methods of using 
RTB101 in combination with everolimus to enhance the immune response, among treatment of 
other diseases and conditions.

S6K

4EBP1

UIk1

Knock out of 
S6K extends 
lifespan and 
healthspan

(Science, 2009)

Overexpression 
extends 
lifespan

(Cell, 2009)

Atg

Transgenic 
overexpression 
extended 
lifespan

(Nat Comm, 
2013)

Team

• Mr Chen Schor (previously Teva Pharmaceuticals) serves as Chief Executive Officer, Dr Joan 

resTORbio Pipeline

Mannick (previously Novartis Institute of Biomedical Research) serves as Chief Medical Officer, 
and Ms Meredith Manning (previously Shire) serves as Chief Commercial Officer. 

• The Board of Directors consists of Mr Chen Schor, Mr Jonathan Silverstein (OrbiMed), JD, Mr Paul 

Fonteyne (previously Boehringer Ingelheim), Ms Lynne Sullivan (Biogen), Mr David Steinberg 
(Longwood Fund), Dr Jeffrey Chodakewitz (previously Vertex Pharmaceuticals), and Mr Michael 
Grissinger (previously Johnson & Johnson).

Milestones 
achieved

• In April 2019, resTORbio announced the initiation of a Phase 1b/2a trial of RTB101 alone or in 

combination with sirolimus, in Parkinson’s disease.

• In March 2019, resTORbio announced a positive End-of-Phase 2 meeting with the FDA and 

planned initiation of a global Phase 3 programme for RTB101.

• In October 2018, resTORbio announced additional positive results from its Phase 2b study of 

RTB101, as well as results from pre-specified analyses for any infection and urinary tract infections 
(UTIs). The data demonstrated decreased incidence of laboratory-confirmed RTIs with severe 
symptoms, total infections, and UTIs. 

• In July 2018, resTORbio announced positive topline results from its Phase 2b study of RTB101. 

The Phase 2b study successfully identified dose and patient populations with high unmet need 
for planned Phase 3 clinical trials.

External 
validation

• In July 2018, the results of resTORbio’s Phase 2a study of its TORC1 programme were published 
in leading scientific journal, Science Translational Medicine. The results from the Phase 2a study 
showed that inhibition of TORC1 with RTB101 alone or in combination with everolimus improved 
immune function and reduced the incidence of all infections, including RTIs, in people aged 65 
and older. 

Expected 
milestones

• resTORbio expects to initiate a Phase 3 study of RTB101 in clinically symptomatic respiratory 
illness in the second quarter of 2019, with data expected in 2020, pending trial enrolment. 

Research focus

Programme

Indication

Discovery

Preclinical

Phase 1

Phase 2

Phase 3

Current 
Indications

Potential 
Indications*

Discovery

RTB101

Clinically Symptomatic 
Respiratory Illness

RTB101+ sirolimus Parkinson’s disease

RTB101

Urinary Tract Infections

RTB101 
RTB101 + rapalog

Heart Failure with 
Preserved Ejection 
Fraction

Additional  
TORC1 Inhibitor

Undisclosed

 Additional Ageing-
Related Target

Undisclosed

Announced positive 
End-of-Phase 
meeting in 1Q19

Initiated Phase 
1b/2a 2Q19*

26    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    27

*  For heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, Parkinson’s disease and certain other infections, we may be required to file an investigational new 

drug application, or IND, prior to initiating Phase 2 clinical trials. We expect to have the ability to initiate these Phase 2 clinical trials without the need 
to conduct prior Phase 1 trials.

Strategic reportStrategic reportHow PureTech Health is building value for investors  — continued

How PureTech Health is building value for investors  — continued

Sonde

Mechanism

Indication(s)

Preclinical

Phase 1

Phase 2

Phase 3

FDA filing

Clearance/
Approval

Voice is a Powerful Vital Sign That Sonde is Harnessing to Address Major Disease Measurement Needs

Vocal Biomarkers for Detecting, 
Monitoring, and Managing 
Physical and Mental Health 

Broadly applicable to diseases 
affecting brain, respiratory, or 
muscle function

Changing Disease Physiology Alters Acoustic 
Features & Their Temporal Coordination

Major Acoustic 
Feature Categories

Developing vocal 
biomarkers spanning 
neurological, respiratory, 
and other conditions

Founded by PureTech Health, 
Sonde is developing a voice-based 
technology platform to monitor 
and diagnose psychological and 
physical medical conditions. 
Sonde’s proprietary technology 
works by sensing and analysing 
subtle changes in the voice to 
create a range of persistent 
brain, muscle, and respiratory 
health measurements that 
provide a more complete picture 
of health in just seconds. 

To date, Sonde has collected 
voice data from over 14,000 
subjects as a part of the ongoing 
validation of its platform, and 
it has also initiated research 
and development to expand 
its proprietary technology 
into Alzheimer’s, respiratory, 
and cardiovascular disease, 
as well as other health and 
wellness conditions. 

Sonde’s Vocal Biomarker 
programme has demonstrated 
the potential to effectively screen 
and monitor for disease using 
information obtained from an 
individual’s voice on commonly-
owned devices and it has the 
potential to fundamentally change 
the way mental and physical health 
is monitored and diagnosed.

As of 11 April 2019, PureTech’s 
percentage ownership of 
Sonde was approximately 
55.8 per cent on a diluted basis. 
This calculation includes issued 
and outstanding shares as well 
as options to purchase shares, 
but excludes unallocated shares 
authorised to be issued pursuant 
to equity incentive plans.

Patient 
need and 
market 
potential

• The lag between onset of disease and accurate diagnosis and beginning of treatment can be 
measured in years for many high-burden health conditions, including depression, Alzheimer’s 
disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, 
to name just a few. High-tech devices that continuously stream sensor data are ubiquitous, 
but there remains a major gap in converting this information into broadly actionable health 
insights. Near-continuous health information, powered by Sonde’s technology, has the potential 
to improve diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment of high-cost conditions, broadly improving 
outcomes and care efficiency.

• Development of effective therapies for central nervous system diseases and disorders is 

hampered by the high cost and inherent variability of these diseases and the reference diagnostic 
measures used to characterise them. Objective digital tools that can augment and perhaps one 
day replace the current clinical endpoints with novel measures that can be quantified with more 
meaningful accuracy and less burden can improve patient enrolment and drug development for 
a range of important conditions.

• Despite having no independent diagnostic value, the clinical thermometer has guided individuals 

with simple information that helps them make informed decisions like when to stay home to 
avoid potential infection spread with a low-grade fever or when to seek medical attention when 
high fevers indicate risk of more serious complications without treatment. Vocal biomarker 
measurements providing similar objective measures of changes in general brain, respiratory, 
and muscle health have the potential to similarly inform decision making about when and how to 
adjust behaviours and utilise care options to maximise our health.

Innovative 
approach 
for solving 
the problem

• Sonde’s proprietary technology is being developed to enable a range of consumer devices such 
as smartphones and smart speakers to provide effective disease screening and management 
solutions based on an analysis of seconds of voice capture. By tailoring the information produced 
from these objective voice measures to correlate with existing screening and diagnostic 
measures that integrate seamlessly with patient care flows and individuals’ daily lives, Sonde 
is creating services to address a range of health care needs from depression to respiratory to 
cardiovascular and ageing-related conditions.

Intellectual 
property

• Sonde has broad intellectual property coverage worldwide, currently owning or having exclusive 
rights to seventeen (17) patent applications, including three (3) issued patents in five (5) families 
of patent filings. Sonde has filed several patent applications covering a number of facets of its 
technology in addition to the IP that was licensed from MIT.

Team

• Sonde is led by Dr Jim Harper (previously MIT), Dr Eric Elenko (PureTech Health), and 

Mr Yogendra Jain (previously Alliance).

• Key advisors include Dr Maurizio Fava (MGH), Dr Ian Gotlib (Stanford University), Dr Helen 
Christensen (Black Dog Institute and Professor of Mental Health at the University of New 
South Wales), Dr Aimee Danielson (MedStar Georgetown University Hospital), Dr Julien Epps 
(University of New South Wales), Dr Robert Horvitz (PureTech Health, Nobel Laureate, HHMI, 
MIT), and Thai Lee, MBA (SHI International Corporation). 

Milestones 
achieved

• Sonde completed a $16 million Series A financing, including the issuance of $6 million in shares 

upon conversion of debt into equity, in the April 2019 post-period to expand its capability across 
additional health conditions and device types and to fund commercialisation activities.
• To date, Sonde has collected data from over 14,000 volunteers gathered for detection of 

depression, suicidality, and Parkinson’s disease.

External 
validation

• Sonde has expanded development of its proprietary technology in neurodegenerative disease, 

respiratory and cardiovascular disease, and other health and wellness conditions.

• Sonde’s vocal biomarker technology discovery platform uses scaling with corporate, clinical, and 

academic collaborators, and Sonde study participants. 

• Sonde’s technology has demonstrated best-in-class accuracy for measuring depression in 

individuals from brief samples of speech.

• Sonde is collaborating with the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and Black Dog Institute to 
create the first mobile device-based automatic assessment of depression from acoustic speech. 
UNSW was awarded a Linkage Project, funded by the Australian Government through the 
Australian Research Council (ARC) for international collaboration and partnership in research and 
innovation. The Linkage Project aims to support long-term strategic research alliances between 
organisations in order to apply knowledge to highly technological and high-risk problems.

• Pilot studies using Sonde’s core technology have also demonstrated the potential to detect and 
objectively measure symptoms in a range of important conditions including depression, mild 
traumatic brain injury (mTBI), concussion, cognitive impairment, and Parkinson’s disease.
• To increase efforts to accelerate understanding and use of vocal biomarker technology for 
mental and physical health, Sonde has entered into collaborative partnerships with leading 
institutions, including UMass Memorial Medical Center, Yale University, Partners MGH and 
multiple other ex-US hospitals, clinics and academic medicine centres.

Expected 
milestones

• Results are anticipated from ongoing collaborations with Yale University, University of New South 
Wales, Black Dog Institute, UMass Memorial Medical Center, Partners Massachusetts General 
Hospital, and multiple ex-US hospitals, clinics, and academic medical centres.

Individual 
Feature Examples 
(from ~thousands)

•  Pitch Slope
•  Phone Duration Dynamics
•  Intensity/Energy
•  Spectral features

•  Formant Frequencies/Tracking
•  Mel Frequency Cepstral 
Coefficients (MFCCs)
•  Vocal Tract Coordination

•  Prosody  
(Melody)

Signal  
Processing

•  System  

(Vocal Tract Movements)

Brain

Muscles

Lungs,  
Heart

•  Source  

(Vocal Fold Dynamics)

•  Harmonic to Noise Ratio (HNR)
•  Cepstral Peak 

Prominence (CPP)

Ability to Understand and Respond to Just 6 Seconds of Speech Is Changing Our World

>$32B by 20251

Automatic Speech Recognition (Focus since 1952)

Linguistic Features

Vocal Biomarkers

Automatic Health Recognition 

Objective Acoustic  
Changes

Clinical Grade 
health data

Voice  
assistants 
that automate 
routine tasks

Passive health 
measurements 
to address 
major healthcare 
management 
needs

Sonde Has Real-World Proof of Feasibility In Some of Health Care’s Most Challenging Measurement Problems

Depression Screening Example2

Suicidal Thought Example

“Thoughts that you would be 
better off dead, or of hurting 
yourself in some way…”

1.0

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

e
t
a
R
e
v
i
t
i
s
o
P
e
u
r
T

0

0

Positive FDA pre-submission meeting, 
2019 target for FDA trial and submission

Female

Male

0.2

0.6
0.4
False Positive Rate

0.8

1.0

r
e
k
r
a
m
o
B

i

l

a
c
o
V
y
t
i
l

a
d
c

i

i

u
S

0.04

0.03

0.02

0.01

0

Performance on par with gold standard clinical screening instrument 
(smartphones, 6 seconds of speech, no baseline, >4K individuals)

Potential to provide the most accessible 
data source for suicide risk alert 

Not
at all

Several
days

More
than half
the days

Nearly
every
day

Reported Frequency (last 2 weeks)

1  Grand view research, inc. 2018

2  Sonde models, single manufacturer initial results

Up to 4x vocal biomarker change in most severe category  
(smartphones, 6-30 seconds of speech, >2K individuals)

28    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    29

Strategic reportStrategic report 
 
 
 
 
 
How PureTech Health is building value for investors  — continued

How PureTech Health is building value for investors  — continued

Alivio

Follica

Mechanism

Indication(s)

Preclinical

Phase 1

Phase 2

Phase 3

FDA filing

Clearance/
Approval

Mechanism

Indication(s)

Preclinical

Phase 1

Phase 2

Phase 3

FDA filing

Clearance/
Approval

Targeted Disease 
Immunomodulation for Acute and 
Chronic Inflammatory Disorders

Inflammatory Diseases,  
IC/BPS, Inflammatory Pouchitis,  
IBD

Regenerative Biology Platform 
for Androgenetic Alopecia and 
Aesthetic-related indications

Androgenetic Alopecia, 
Epithelial Ageing, and 
other aesthetic indications

Site specific inflammation 
targeting that spares 
non-inflamed tissue in 
GI and other systems

Founded by PureTech Health, Alivio 
Therapeutics is pioneering targeted 
disease immunomodulation as 
a novel strategy to treat a range 
of chronic and acute inflammatory 
disorders. Targeted disease 
immunomodulation involves tuning 
the immune system exclusively at 
the site of disease in the body, with 
minimal impact on the rest of the 
immune system. This long sought-
after approach has the potential to 
treat a range of chronic and acute 
inflammatory disorders, including 
ones that would otherwise be 
difficult to treat. Based on the 
research of Dr Jeffrey Karp, 
Professor of Medicine at Harvard 
Medical School and Brigham 
and Women’s Hospital, and 
Dr Robert Langer, David H Koch 
Institute Professor at MIT, Alivio’s 
proprietary inflammation-targeting 
platform is designed to administer 
therapeutics to the sites of 
inflammation, while sparing normal 
tissues from unnecessary drug 
exposure. The technology is also 
engineered to respond dynamically 
to inflammation, releasing the 
enclosed therapeutics based 
on the degree of inflammation 
present. Alivio’s pipeline includes 
candidates for interstitial cystitis/
bladder pain syndrome (IC/
BPS), inflammatory pouchitis, and 
inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). 

The technology platform has 
been published in multiple 
peer-reviewed journals, including 
Science Translational Medicine 
and Nature Communications, and 
the technology is the first of its 
kind to demonstrate reproducible 
targeting of immunomodulatory 
compounds to inflamed tissue 
in preclinical models, having 
been validated in multiple labs 
and in ten different preclinical 
models of inflammation where 
the inflammation occurred in 
different parts of the body (e.g., 
the GI system, the bladder, 
joints, skin, etc.). With this 
platform, Alivio aims to address 
the dozens of conditions where 
inflammation is a central part of 
the underlying disease pathology, 
but where targeted and effective 
treatment options are lacking. 

As of 31 December 2018, PureTech’s 
percentage ownership of Alivio 
was approximately 82.8 per cent 
on a diluted basis. This calculation 
includes issued and outstanding 
shares as well as options to 
purchase shares, but excludes 
unallocated shares authorised 
to be issued pursuant to equity 
incentive plans and any shares 
issuable upon conversion of 
convertible promissory notes.

Patient 
need and 
market 
potential

Innovative 
approach 
for solving 
the problem

• There is a substantial opportunity for targeted therapies that selectively reduce disease 

associated inflammation without leading to broad immunosuppression or other systemic effects.

• Results in preclinical models suggest the Alivio technology could be applied to diseases such 
as IBD, inflammatory arthritis, organ transplantation, and interstitial cystitis. These diseases 
collectively impact tens of millions of patients in the US alone and have limited treatment options.

• Alivio’s inflammation-targeted technology platform is designed to help immunomodulatory 

compounds specifically target inflamed tissue and become bioavailable based on signals from 
the diseased tissue on the severity of the local inflammation.

• The innovative properties of Alivio’s technology may enable currently approved drugs to be 

used in existing as well as new indications with a better safety profile and improved efficacy. The 
technology also has the potential to allow drugs with challenging pharmacokinetics or safety 
profiles to come to market when they would not otherwise have done so.

Intellectual 
property

• Alivio has broad intellectual property coverage worldwide, currently owning or having exclusive 
rights to twenty-seven (27) patent applications in eight (8) families of patent filings, two of which 
patent applications were allowed in the US in 2018.

• Alivio’s IP estate covers composition of matter, novel formulations, and methods of using 

nanostructured gels for the delivery of therapeutic agents.

Team

• The Alivio team has strong backgrounds in biomaterials, preclinical model development, and 

analytical chemistry.

• Scientific co-founders include Dr Robert Langer (PureTech Health and MIT) and Dr Jeffrey Karp 

(BWH and Harvard Medical School).

• In September 2018, Alivio announced a $3.3 million US Department of Defense (DoD) 

Technology/Therapeutic Development Award. The funds will support Alivio’s preclinical research 
and development activities for product candidate, ALV-107, for treatment of interstitial cystitis/
bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) with Hunner’s lesions.

• In January 2019, Alivio entered into a partnership with Purdue Pharma LP to advance Alivio’s product 
candidate ALV-107, a non-opioid product candidate for IC/BPS, through clinical development with an 
option exercisable by Purdue to collaborate on a limited number of additional compounds utilising 
Alivio’s inflammation-targeting technology. Under the terms of the agreement, Alivio will receive 
up to $14.75 million in upfront and near-term license exercise payments and is eligible to receive 
royalties on product sales and over $260 million in research and development milestones.

•  Alivio expects to initiate a clinical study for its lead product, ALV-306, in pouchitis in 2020.

External 
validation

Expected 
milestones

Alivio Therapeutic Platform

Medicines that Act in the Inflamed Tissue without Causing Systemic Immunosuppression

Alivio’s Medicines

Benefits

Disease

•  Target Inflammation in 
the Diseased Tissue by 
binding to inflamed tissue

•  Minimal Systemic 

Immunosuppression 
by staying within the 
diseased tissue and not 
circulating in the blood

•  Drugs that are 

First-in-Indication

•  Enable New 

MOA Approaches

•  Superior Safety Profile

Multiple High Impact Papers

Time

Science Translational Medicine

Nature Communications

Zhang et al. 2015 
Gajanayake et al. 2014

Joshi et al. 2018

n
o
i
t
a
r
t
n
e
c
n
o
c
d
o
o
B

l

New Class of Medicines with Precise Structural Design

•  Patented1, structurally-designed medicines designed to bind & respond to inflammation

•  Multiple dosage forms validated, including oral capsules & liquid suspensions

Enabling follicle neogenesis 
and skin rejuvenation 
through immune 
response to wounding

Founded by PureTech Health, 
Follica’s regenerative biology 
platform is based on seminal 
findings from the University of 
Pennsylvania that demonstrated 
the creation of skin organs (hair 
follicles) in adult mammals after 
abrasion. This technology is being 
applied to treat androgenetic 
alopecia and other aesthetic-
related indications. Follica’s 
technology is the first, to 
PureTech’s knowledge, designed 
to create new follicles and hair 
through disruption of the skin, 
followed by treatment to enhance 
the effect. Follica completed 
three human clinical studies 
of patients with androgenetic 
alopecia to demonstrate hair 
growth and new hair follicle 
formation and has been optimising 
its device and conducting tests 
in androgenetic alopecia and 
other aesthetic indications.

Follica has preclinical data 
which show the potential for 
next-generation proprietary 
compounds to further enhance 
the effect of new hair follicle 
formation. Follica completed its 
clinical-stage development of 
a next-generation device and 
drug combination product for 
androgenetic alopecia, which is 
currently in an optimisation study. 
Further phases of preclinical 
testing are also ongoing 
towards the prioritisation and 
development of next-generation, 
proprietary compounds 
based on Follica’s intellectual 
property. Follica’s pivotal study 
is expected to commence 
following the completion of 
the optimisation study.

As of 31 December 2018, 
PureTech’s percentage ownership 
of Follica was approximately 
62.3 per cent on a diluted basis. 
This calculation includes issued 
and outstanding shares as well 
as options and warrants to 
purchase shares, but excludes 
unallocated shares authorised 
to be issued pursuant to equity 
incentive plans and any shares 
issuable upon conversion of 
convertible promissory notes.

Patient 
need and 
market 
potential

• Androgenetic alopecia represents the most common form of hair loss in men and women, 

with an estimated 65 million people who are eligible for treatment in the US alone.

• Only two drugs, both with limited regrowth efficacy, are currently approved for the treatment of 
androgenetic alopecia. The most effective current approach for the treatment of hair loss is hair 
transplant surgery, comprising a range of invasive procedures.

• As a result, Follica believes that there is significant unmet need for safe, effective, non-surgical 

treatments which grow new hair.

• Follica’s regenerative biology platform has applications beyond hair growth to other ageing-

related conditions and wound healing.

Innovative 
approach 
for solving 
the problem

Intellectual 
property

• Follica’s approach is based on generating an “embryonic window” in adults via a series of micro 
skin abrasions, creating new hair follicles from epithelial stem cells, and enhancing the effects 
through the application of specific compounds.

• Follica’s regenerative biology programme has broad worldwide intellectual property coverage, 

including ninety-two (92) patent applications, including thirty-three (33) issued patents, in ten (10) 
families of patent filings, which are company-owned or exclusively licensed.

• The intellectual property covers composition of matter and methods of treatment including 

combination therapies employing disruption approaches and active agents, as well as devices to 
promote hair follicle regeneration.

Team

• Follica is led by Jason Bhardwaj (previously Bain & Company) and team members Jonathan Bissett 

Milestones 
achieved 

(previously NeoSync) and David Chastain (previously Cambridge Consultants and Continuum).

• Key advisors include Dr R Rox Anderson (Director of MGH Wellman Labs and Inventor of 

CoolSculpting by Zeltiq), Dr George Cotsarelis (University of Pennsylvania Medical School and 
Founder of Kythera), and Dr Ken Washenik (Bosley Medical Group and previously Aderans 
Research Institute).

• Follica conducted three clinical studies of patients with androgenetic alopecia, which 

demonstrated hair follicle neogenesis via biopsy following skin disruption, and hair growth 
through target area hair count. One of these studies demonstrated that skin disruption alone 
was safe and generates not only new hair follicles but also terminal (visible, thick hairs). Follica is 
further developing and testing compounds that enhance these effects.

• The product concept originated from ground-breaking science demonstrating new mammalian 

skin formation in adult mice following abrasion. The results were published in the top tier medical 
science journal, Nature.

Expected 
milestones

• Follica’s pivotal study in androgenetic alopecia is expected to begin in 2019 following the 

completion of an ongoing optimisation study.

Significant translation of exciting science

15 Days

17 Days

19 Days

Control 
Mean: 38 new hairs

Wnt (transgenic) 
Mean: 100 new hairs

1.   Targeted skin disruption activates  

2.   Stimulating Wnt pathway 

new hair growth (murine)

Follica findings

•  Hair growth effect demonstrated in 
humans (3 studies FOL-001 to -003)

•  Clinically significant hair growth 

amplifies new hair 
growth effect

Follica findings

•  Small molecule shown to amplify 
new hair growth during healing

demonstrated with tolerable, safe procedure

•  Short-term use, systemically safe 

•  Proprietary device developed and optimal 
paradigm designed based on clinical data

options identified

Near-term clinical development of 
a “game changing” platform

Future pipeline to  
further amplify effect

1  US #9,974,859; US #9,962,339 & multiple other patent applications

Source: Ito M., Cotsarelis G., et al. Wnt-dependent de novo hair follicle regeneration in adult mouse skin after wounding. Nature. 2007

30    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    31

Strategic reportStrategic report 
How PureTech Health is building value for investors  — continued

How PureTech Health is building value for investors  — continued

Entrega

Vor

Mechanism

Indication(s)

Preclinical

Phase 1

Phase 2

Phase 3

FDA filing

Clearance/
Approval

Mechanism

Indication(s)

Preclinical

Phase 1

Phase 2

Phase 3

FDA filing

Clearance/
Approval

Engineered Hydrogels to 
Enable Oral Delivery of Peptides

Metabolic Disease, 
Endocrine Disorders 

Unleashing Targeted Immunotherapy 
for Heme Malignancies

Haematological malignancies 
including Acute Myeloid 
Leukaemia (AML)

Patient 
need and 
market 
potential

Innovative 
approach 
for solving 
the problem

Intellectual 
property

Team

Milestones 
achieved

External 
validation

• The total global biologics market could be close to $400 billion by 2025.
• Injectable formulations can be limited in their therapeutic potential as a result of issues with 

compliance, and they can be difficult and potentially unsafe to deliver to patients.

• The Entrega platform is designed to enable oral delivery of biologics, vaccines and other forms 

of medication that are not efficient in reaching the bloodstream when taken orally.

• Entrega has broad intellectual property coverage worldwide, including nineteen (19) patent 

applications in six (6) families of patent filings.

• Entrega’s patent portfolio covers oral drug devices, drug formulations, compositions of matter, 
methods of use, and methods of making hydrogel dosage forms for delivery of active agents.

• The Entrega team is comprised of experts in drug formulation and drug delivery engineering.
• Key advisors include Dr Robert Langer (PureTech Health and MIT), Dr Colin Gardner (previously 

TransForm Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson, and Merck), Dr Samir Mitragotri (Wyss Institute 
at Harvard University, previously UC Santa Barbara), Mr Rob Armstrong (Boston Pharmaceuticals 
and previously Eli Lilly), and Mr Howie Rosen (previously ALZA Corporation).

• Entrega has generated proof-of-concept data demonstrating successful delivery of peptides in 

large animals.

• Entrega received $5 million in equity and research funding from Eli Lilly to investigate the 

application of its peptide delivery technology to certain Lilly therapeutic candidates.

Enabling the delivery 
of biologics via the gut 
epithelium to local and 
distal sites of the body.

Founded by PureTech Health, 
Entrega is focused on the oral 
delivery of biologics, vaccines, 
and other drugs that are otherwise 
not efficiently absorbed when 
taken orally. The vast majority 
of biologic drugs (including 
peptides, proteins, and other 
macromolecules) are currently 
administered by injection, 
which can present challenges 
for healthcare delivery and 
compliance with treatment 
regimes. Oral administration 
thus represents an ideal delivery 
approach for this increasingly 
large class of therapies reshaping 
many areas of medicine, including 
the treatment of diabetes. 

Entrega’s technology platform 
is an innovative approach to oral 
delivery which uses a proprietary, 
customisable hydrogel dosage 
form to control local fluid 
microenvironments in the GI 
tract to both enhance absorption 
and reduce the variability of 
drug exposure. To validate its 
technology, Entrega generated 
proof-of-concept data 
demonstrating delivery of 
therapeutic peptides into the 
bloodstream of large animals.

As of 31 December 2018, 
PureTech’s percentage ownership 
of Entrega was approximately 
73.9 per cent on a diluted basis. 
This calculation includes issued 
and outstanding shares as well 
as options to purchase shares, 
but excludes unallocated shares 
authorised to be issued pursuant 
to equity incentive plans.

Selectively targeting cancer 
cells while sparing normal 
cells using modified HSCs

Founded by PureTech Health, 
Vor is developing cell therapies 
with broad potential for treating 
cancer. Vor’s key differentiation 
is a focus on technologies that 
can selectively target cancer 
cells without impacting normal 
cells. Engineered cells, such as 
chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) 
T cells, are now FDA-approved 
drugs for treating haematologic 
malignancies. However, these and 
similar technologies target both 
cancer and normal cells, causing 
substantial toxicities and limiting 
their potential. Vor is taking 
a fundamentally novel approach 
for targeting cancer selectively 
by developing engineered 
haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). 
Vor’s engineered HSCs generate 
healthy, functional cells that are 
protected from depletion by 
cancer-targeted therapies.

Vor’s platform is broad and can 
potentially be used to vastly 
improve the therapeutic window of 
several targeted immunotherapies, 
such as T cell engagers, antibody 
drug conjugates, and CAR T cells 
and others, expanding the reach 
beyond B-cell malignancies to 
other myeloid leukaemias, such 
as acute myeloid leukaemia, 
as well as enhancing the 
effectiveness of other therapies 
such as antibody-drug conjugates 
or conventional antibodies 
targeted against leukaemias. 
When combined with targeted 
therapies, this technology could 
potentially enable transformative 
outcomes in patients with 
otherwise grim prognoses.

As of 14 February 2019, PureTech’s 
percentage ownership of Vor 
was approximately 30.2 per 
cent on a diluted basis. This 
calculation includes issued and 
outstanding shares as well as 
options to purchase shares, but 
excludes unallocated shares 
authorised to be issued pursuant 
to equity incentive plans.

Patient 
need and 
market 
potential

Innovative 
approach 
for solving 
the problem

• The prognosis for relapsed and refractory blood-borne malignancies is very poor and can be 

measured in a few short months, depending on patient-specific risk factors. Specifically for AML, 
only about 30 per cent of patients survive past 12 months following a first relapse.

• Targeted immunotherapies, including T cell engagers, antibody drug conjugates, and CAR T 

cells, have been successfully applied to treat B-cell malignancies. However, these therapies cause 
substantial on-target toxicities, making aggressive cell surface antigen-targeted therapy in non-
B-cell malignancies not viable. More specifically, extending the applicability of extremely potent 
targeted immunotherapies, like CAR T cells, beyond B-cell malignancies has been difficult due to 
challenges in selectively targeting cancer cells without affecting healthy normal cells.

• There is a need for new approaches that could enable successful treatment of blood-borne 

malignancies by overcoming on-target toxicities – Vor’s approach has the potential to address 
this need.

• Vor’s technology may also be used to substantially improve the safety profile of existing targeted 

immunotherapies (including CAR T technology) for several blood-borne malignancies.

• Vor is advancing a new approach to selectively protect healthy normal cells from targeted 

therapies that are being used to treat haematologic malignancies. It also enables new targeted 
therapies to be developed that otherwise would be too toxic to consider developing.

• Vor’s technology addresses the toxic effects of on-target toxicity to healthy tissue via 

haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) with engineered haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). 
• Vor’s engineered HSCs generate healthy, functional haematopoietic cells that are protected from 
depletion by cancer-targeted therapies. This enables maximal targeted immunotherapy doses to 
be administered without fear of on-target toxicity.

• HSCT, which is a standard procedure for many patients, can be performed prior to the targeted 

therapy, or the targeted therapy can be used prior to the HSCT.

• In this way, the population of potential target antigens can expand beyond tumour-specific 

antigens or B-cell antigens.

Intellectual 
property

• Vor has broad intellectual property coverage worldwide relating to compositions of matter 

and methods of using modified haematopoietic stem cells to broaden the number of potential 
antigens that can be targeted safely by engineered cell therapies.

• Vor’s IP portfolio currently consists of seventeen (17) patent applications in four (4) families, 
including a patent that issued in 2018. This includes IP licensed exclusively from Columbia 
University as well as IP owned by Vor.

Team

• In February 2019, Dr Kush Parmar (5AM Ventures) joined the Board of Directors as Executive Chairman. 
Additional board members include Dr Bharatt Chowrira (PureTech Health) and Dr Josh Resnick 
(RA Capital Management). Dr Aleks Radovic-Moreno (PureTech Health) serves as operations lead.

• Advisors include Dr Siddhartha Mukherjee (Columbia University and Pulitzer Prize Winning 

Author, The Emperor of All Maladies), Dr Joseph Bolen (PureTech Health, previously President 
and Chief Scientific Officer at Moderna and Chief Scientific Officer at Millennium), Dr Hans-Peter 
Kiem (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center), Dr Dan Littman (NYU School of Medicine, 
Howard Hughes Medical Institute; member of the Board of Pfizer), Dr Derrick Rossi (Harvard 
Medical School; Founding CEO of Convelo Therapeutics; Co-founder of Moderna Therapeutics, 
Intellia Therapeutics, Magenta Therapeutics, and Stelexis Therapeutics), and Dr Justin Stebbing 
(Imperial College London; published over 600 peer-reviewed papers). 

Milestones 
achieved

• Vor has achieved ex vivo proof-of-concept for its technology.
• Vor received validation of its technology in engineered humanised mouse models.
• Vor has been granted foundational intellectual property which covers its therapeutic approach.

External 
Validation

• In February 2019, Vor completed a $42 million financing round led by 5AM Ventures and RA 

Capital Management, with participation from Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, Novartis 
Institutes for BioMedical Research, Osage University Partners, and PureTech Health.

Vor Therapy in Practice

Patient Flow (Standard of Care)

Vor Manufacturing

Diagnosis of Heme Malignancy

Short (<5 Day) Process

Conventional 
IV Infusion

Chemotherapy

Limited

Conventional 
Transplant

Limited

Broader 
Pool

VOR Therapy

Targeted Immunotherapy

Two Product Opportunities

Stem 
Cell

Vor 
Stem 
Cells

32    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    33

Strategic reportStrategic reportPureTech’s Internal R&D
Internally-funded, immunology-focused pipeline

PureTech Health has been advancing research and development projects around tissue-selective immunomodulation for 
the past two years. This work reached an inflection point earlier in 2018, generating compelling preclinical data, and key 
intellectual property, and was consolidated into a separate Internal division which was announced together with a partnership 
with Roche in July.

PureTech’s approaches to tissue selective immunomodulation are two-fold: targeting newly discovered foundational 
immunosuppressive mechanisms in oncology, and harnessing the lymphatic infrastructure for autoimmune, oncology, and 
CNS indications. Through a combination of in-house discoveries and collaborative innovation, PureTech Health is poised to 
capitalise on these major emerging areas of biology and insight.

LYT200, LYT210

Mechanism

Monoclonal antibodies targeting 
foundational immune modulators 

Indication(s)

Solid tumours

A monoclonal antibody-
based therapeutic approach 
to pancreatic cancer and 
other solid tumours

Patient 
need and 
market 
potential

PureTech Health is developing 
two first-in-class, fully 
human antibodies which 
are aimed at countering 
fundamental mechanisms of 
immunosuppression. PureTech’s 
therapeutic candidates are 
designed to address cancers that 
are suboptimally treated with 
currently available standard of care 
and immunotherapies because 
the body’s natural defences are 
compromised by persistent tumour 
immune evasion. These antibodies 
have the potential to be used as 
single agents in addition to being 
used in combinatorial approaches 
(e.g., with checkpoint inhibitors).

LYT-200 is a human IgG4 
antibody directed against 
galectin-9, a global 
immunosuppressor. Galectin-9 
exerts immunosuppression by 
binding to multiple partners 
and facilitating a tumour-
permissive microenvironment. 
LYT-210 is directed against 
immunosuppressive γδ T cells 
which are upregulated in 
multiple solid tumours and have 
a distinct phenotype as well as 
functional properties to make 
them uniquely targetable in 
cancer. Both antibodies have 
shown excellent physical and 
functional properties, and exciting 
proof-of-concept data has been 
generated in both mouse and 
human cancer preclinical models.

An IND filing is anticipated for 
LYT-200 in the first half of 2020, 
and PureTech Health expects to 
soon confirm its lead IgG1 human 
candidate for LYT-210, followed 
by IND-enabling studies.

Innovative 
approach 
for solving 
the problem

Intellectual 
property

Milestones 
achieved

External 
validation

Expected 
milestones

Preclinical

Phase 1

Phase 2

Phase 3

FDA filing

Clearance/
Approval

• With a five-year survival rate at less than seven per cent, pancreatic cancer is the third leading 

cause of cancer death.

• Globally, approximately 400,000 people are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer each year, with 

more than 90 per cent diagnosed at an advanced/metastatic stage.

• Colorectal cancer (CRC) is among the largest cancer burdens in the world today with 

approximately 700,000 people being diagnosed globally each year. Median survival of patients 
with unresectable metastatic CRC remains less than three years. Death from CRC is expected to 
nearly double within the next 20 years. Current immunotherapies are only efficacious in a small 
proportion of CRC patients (less than 15 per cent) whose tumours demonstrate mismatch repair 
deficiency. Hence novel, more broadly effective therapeutic strategies to engage the patients’ 
immune system are needed.

• Currently approved immunotherapies have been generally unsuccessful in this disease setting 
due to a highly immunosuppressive environment that wards off the body’s natural defences.
• PureTech’s galectin-9/gamma delta T-cell programme aims to address this underlying issue and 
the great unmet need in malignancies, particularly those with dismal prognoses that derive little 
benefit from current standards of care.

• Preclinical models validating PureTech’s therapeutic concept show survival extensions in gold-
standard animal models of pancreatic cancer that are superior to those previously observed in 
literature using approved treatments.

• PureTech’s approach is differentiated from traditional checkpoint inhibitors in immuno-oncology, 

yet it has potential synergies with existing immunotherapies and current standards-of-care. It 
may also have broader applicability in the immuno-oncology space, with research underway 
expanding this initial work in pancreatic cancer and other solid tumours, including CRC, 
cholangiocarcinoma, gastric and breast cancers.

• PureTech Health has broad intellectual property coverage for this antibody-based 

immunotherapy technology, including exclusive rights to fifteen (15) patent applications in four (4) 
families of patent filings that are exclusively licensed from or co-owned with New York University 
which cover antibodies that target immunosuppressive T-cells and methods of use for the 
treatment of solid tumours. 

• In April 2017, PureTech Health publicly disclosed these programmes (originally called “Nybo”) 

concurrent with a publication in Nature Medicine.

• PureTech Health has developed fully human monoclonal antibodies to target newly discovered 

immunosuppressive mechanisms in pancreatic cancer and other solid tumours. Proof-of-concept 
data has been generated in both mouse and human cancer preclinical models.

• PureTech’s gamma delta T-cells/galectin-9 technology is exclusively licensed from the NYU 
School of Medicine and is based on the pioneering work of Dr George Miller, Director of S. 
Arthur Localio Laboratories and Director of the Cancer Immunology Programme at NYU School 
of Medicine. Part of the body of data supporting this approach was published in Nature Medicine 
and builds upon Dr Miller’s work previously published in Cell.

• PureTech Health expects to file an IND for its lead candidate, LYT-200, in the first half of 2020.

Internally-funded, immunology-focused pipeline  — continued

Harnessing lymphatic infrastructure

Lymphatic targeting platform

PureTech Health is developing a lymphatic 
targeting approach that leverages the 
body’s natural lipid transport mechanisms 
to substantially enhance the transport of 
compounds into the lymphatic system 
from an oral route. Nearly all dietary lipids 
(such as triglycerides) are absorbed from 
the small intestine into lymphatic vessels 
(lacteals), and these vessels transport lipids 
and immune cells to the mesenteric lymph 
nodes in the gut before entering systemic 
circulation. To access this absorption 
pathway, a triglyceride is reversibly attached 
to a drug of interest via a linker optimised 
to release the drug at the site of interest. 

An important benefit of the lymphatic 
trafficking route is the potential ability to 
target the mesenteric lymph nodes, as 70 per 
cent of the body’s immune cells are found in 
these lymph nodes. PureTech’s approach is to 
manipulate the body’s immune “headquarters” 
through the gut, via an orally-administered 
treatment. An additional advantage of the 
lymphatic transport strategy is that uptake of 
the drug into the lymphatic system avoids “first 
pass metabolism” of the drug by the liver. 

Milk-derived exosomes

One of the liver’s key functions is to break 
down certain compounds, and this can 
severely limit how much of some drugs 
survive the journey from the stomach 
to the main circulatory system. 

This platform has been optimised to enable the 
therapeutic to integrate into the body’s natural 
lipid absorption pathways and subsequently 
be released at the site of interest. Relative 
to other approaches using more simplistic 
hydrophobic modifications, the PureTech 
Health platform demonstrates one to two 
orders of magnitude improvement in lymphatic 
transport and target location exposure. This 
was achieved by re-imagining the therapeutic 
to include actual dietary lipid components – 
triglycerides – to more closely integrate within 
the natural lipid absorption pathway. PureTech 
Health has successfully extended the lymphatic 
targeting platform to encompass more than 
twenty potential drugs as well as a range of new 
linker chemistries, which have demonstrated 
promising lymphatic targeting in preclinical 
studies, frequently directing above 20 per 
cent of the orally administered dose into the 
lymph. Successful pharmacokinetic studies 

in large animals are supportive of translation 
of this technology into higher species.

In the April 2019 post-period, PureTech Health 
entered into a partnership with Boehringer 
Ingelheim (BI) to advance BI’s immuno-
oncology product candidates using PureTech’s 
lymphatic targeting platform. Under the terms 
of the agreement, PureTech Health will receive 
up to $26 million, including upfront payments, 
research support, and preclinical milestones, 
and is eligible to receive more than $200 million 
in development and sales milestones, in 
addition to royalties on product sales.

Intellectual property

PureTech Health has broad intellectual 
property coverage for this technology, 
currently owning or having exclusive rights to 
twenty nine (29) patent applications in seven 
(7) families of patent filings that are licensed 
from Monash University, which intellectual 
property is directed to compositions of 
matter, methods of use, and methods of 
treatment that cover classes of pro-drugs as 
well as the broad platform technologies.

PureTech’s novel milk exosome-based 
technology may be uniquely positioned to 
facilitate the oral administration of complex 
payloads such as nucleic acids, peptides, and 
small molecules, by harnessing our growing 
understanding of the biology at the gut-immune 
interface. Milk exosomes represent a versatile 
engineerable platform to potentially resolve the 
long-standing challenge of oral bioavailability of 
macromolecules and complex small molecules.

of mammalian exosomes are not suitable or 
viable as vehicles for oral administration of 
therapeutics due to their lack of stability under 
the harsh physiologic conditions associated 
with transit through the gastrointestinal tract. 
The milk-derived exosomes that form the 
basis for PureTech’s technology have evolved 
naturally and specifically to accomplish the 
task of oral transport of complex biological 
molecules through this environment.

research support and early preclinical 
milestones. PureTech Health is also eligible to 
receive development milestone payments of 
over $1 billion, in addition to sales milestones 
and royalties. PureTech Health retains the 
rights to other applications spanning all 
complex small molecules, peptide/proteins, 
and nucleic acid-based therapeutics (such as 
mRNA, siRNA, and other non-LNA antisense 
oligonucleotide-based approaches).

Exosomes, which are composed of a multitude 
of components spanning lipids, proteins and 
nucleic acids, have been recognised as key 
players in intercellular communication and 
the transport of macromolecules between 
cells and tissues. Mammalian cell-derived 
exosomes have attractive potential as vehicles 
for the administration of a variety of drug 
payloads, especially nucleic acids, since their 
natural composition will likely provide superior 
tolerability over the variety of synthetic 
polymer-based approaches that are being used 
and tested in the clinic. However, most sources 

PureTech Health is continuing to build on 
the expertise developed for isolating milk 
exosomes and potentially expand the scope 
of complex payloads that might leverage its 
current approach for targeting of biologic 
payloads to the lymphatics. Building on these 
advances, in July 2018, PureTech Health 
announced a multiyear collaboration with 
Roche to advance this technology for the 
oral administration of Roche’s LNA antisense 
oligonucleotide platform. Under the terms of 
the agreement, PureTech Health will receive 
up to $36 million, including upfront payments, 

Intellectual property

PureTech Health has broad intellectual property 
coverage for this platform technology, currently 
owning or having exclusive rights to twenty (20) 
patent applications in ten (10) families of patent 
filings that are licensed from 3P Biotechnologies 
and the University of Nebraska, which 
intellectual property is directed to compositions 
of matter, methods of use, and methods of 
treatment that cover classes of therapeutics 
as well as the broad platform technologies.

CNS Lymphatics

PureTech Health is pursuing an approach 
to address neurodegenerative and 
neuroinflammatory conditions by 
harnessing the recently discovered 
lymphatic system in the brain.

In July 2018, the foundational science that 
underlies PureTech’s internal CNS lymphatics 
technology was published as the cover story 
in the prestigious scientific journal Nature. 
The publication revealed that modulation of 
lymphatic function in the brain may prevent 
or delay diseases associated with ageing, 
including Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington’s 
disease, Parkinson’s disease, and age-
associated cognitive decline. An additional 
Nature Neuroscience publication in September 

2018 highlighted the key role of brain 
lymphatics in neuroinflammatory conditions 
such as multiple sclerosis. More recently, the 
role of meningeal lymphatics has been validated 
by other research groups as a key mediator 
in the clearance of macromolecules such as 
tau-related proteins and α-synuclein, from the 
CNS, which speaks to the potentially important 
role played by this system in tauopathies 
and Parkinson’s disease respectively.

The approach is based on the work of PureTech 
Health collaborator Jonathan Kipnis, PhD, 
Harrison Distinguished Teaching Professor 
and Chair, Department of Neuroscience, 
and Director, Centre for Brain Immunology 
and Glia, at the University of Virginia (UVA) 

School of Medicine. Exclusively licensed 
from the UVA Licensing & Ventures Group, 
the technology will be developed by 
PureTech Health in collaboration with 
Dr Kipnis to potentially address debilitating 
and devastating CNS disorders.

Intellectual property

PureTech Health has broad intellectual 
property coverage, currently having exclusive 
rights to fifteen (15) patent applications 
in five (5) families of patent filings that are 
licensed from the University of Virginia 
and which cover compositions of matter, 
methods of use, and methods of treatment 
across the platform technology.

34    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    35

Strategic reportStrategic reportRisk management

The execution of the Group’s strategy is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. As a developer of advanced and early 
stage technologies addressing significant unmet medical needs, the Group inherently operates in a high-risk environment. 
The overall aim of the Group’s risk management effort is to achieve an effective balancing of risk and reward, although 
ultimately no strategy can provide an absolute assurance against loss.

Risks are formally identified by the Board and appropriate processes are put in place to monitor and mitigate them. If more 
than one event occurs, it is possible that the overall effect of such events would compound the possible effect on the Group. 
The principal risks that the Board has identified as the key business risks facing the Group are set out in the table below along 
with the consequences and mitigation of each risk. Any number of these could have a material adverse effect on the Group or 
its financial condition, development, results of operations, subsidiary companies and/or future prospects.

Risk

1

Impact

Mitigation

The science and technology being developed 
or commercialised by some of the Group’s 
businesses may fail and/or the Group’s businesses 
may not be able to develop their intellectual 
property into commercially viable products 
or technologies.

There is also a risk that certain of the businesses 
may fail or not succeed as anticipated, resulting in 
significant decline of the Group’s value.

The failure of any of the Group’s 
businesses could decrease the Group’s 
value. A failure of one of the major 
businesses could also impact on the 
perception of the Group as a developer 
of high value technologies and possibly 
make additional fundraising at the 
PureTech or subsidiary company level 
more difficult.

A critical failure of a clinical trial may result 
in termination of the programme and 
a significant decrease in the Group’s 
value. Significant delays in a clinical trial to 
support the appropriate regulatory 
approvals could impact the amount of 
capital required for the business to 
become fully sustainable on 
a cash flow basis.

2

Clinical trials and other tests to assess the 
commercial viability of a product candidate are 
typically expensive, complex and time-consuming, 
and have uncertain outcomes.

Conditions in which clinical trials are conducted 
differ, and results achieved in one set of conditions 
could be different from the results achieved in 
different conditions or with different subject 
populations. If the Group’s product candidates fail 
to achieve successful outcomes in their respective 
clinical trials, the products will not receive 
regulatory approval and in such event cannot be 
commercialised. In addition, if the Group fails to 
complete or experiences delays in completing 
clinical tests for any of its product candidates, it 
may not be able to obtain regulatory approval or 
commercialise its product candidates on a timely 
basis, or at all.

Before making any decision to develop 
any technology, extensive due diligence 
is carried out by the Group that covers all 
the major business risks, including 
technological feasibility, market size, 
strategy, adoption and intellectual 
property protection.

A capital efficient approach is pursued 
such that some level of proof of concept 
has to be achieved before substantial 
capital is committed and thereafter 
allocated. Capital deployment is generally 
tranched so as to fund programmes only 
to their next value milestone. Members of 
the Group’s Board serve on the Board of 
directors of each business so as to 
continue to guide each business’s 
strategy and to oversee proper execution 
thereof. The Group uses its extensive 
network of advisors to ensure that each 
business has appropriate domain 
expertise as it develops and executes on 
its strategy. Additionally, the Group has 
a diversified model with numerous assets 
such that the failure of any one of the 
Group’s businesses would not result in 
a significant decline of the Group’s value.

The Group has a diversified model such 
that any one clinical trial outcome would 
not significantly impact the Group’s ability 
to operate as a going concern. It has 
dedicated internal resources to establish 
and monitor each of the clinical 
programmes in order to try to maximise 
successful outcomes. Significant scientific 
due diligence and preclinical experiments 
are done prior to a clinical trial to attempt 
to assess the odds of the success of the 
trial. In the event of the outsourcing of 
these trials, care and attention is given to 
assure the quality of the vendors used to 
perform the work.

Impact

Mitigation

The failure of one of the Group’s products 
to obtain any required regulatory 
approval, or conditions imposed in 
connection with any such approval, may 
result in a significant decrease in the 
Group’s value.

The Group manages its regulatory risk by 
employing highly experienced clinical 
managers and regulatory affairs 
professionals who, where appropriate, will 
commission advice from external advisors 
and consult with the regulatory authorities 
on the design of the Group’s preclinical 
and clinical programmes. These experts 
ensure that high quality protocols and 
other documentation are submitted 
during the regulatory process, and that 
well-reputed contract research 
organisations with global capabilities are 
retained to manage the trials. 
Additionally, the Group has a diversified 
model with numerous assets such that the 
failure to receive regulatory approval or 
subsequent regulatory difficulties with 
respect to any one product would not 
result in a significant decline of the 
Group’s value.

Adverse reactions or unacceptable side 
effects may result in a smaller market for 
the Group’s products, or even cause the 
products to fail to meet regulatory 
requirements necessary for sale of the 
product. This, as well as any claims for 
injury or harm resulting from the Group’s 
products, may result in a significant 
decrease in the Group’s value.

The Group designs its products with 
safety as a top priority and conducts 
extensive preclinical and clinical trials 
which test for and identify any adverse 
side effects. Insurance is in place to cover 
product liability claims which may arise 
during the conduct of clinical trials.

The failure of the Group to obtain 
reimbursement from third party payers, as 
well as competition from other products, 
could significantly decrease the amount 
of revenue the Group may receive from 
product sales for certain products. This 
may result in a significant decrease in the 
Group’s value.

The Group engages reimbursement 
experts to conduct pricing and 
reimbursement studies for its products 
to ensure that a viable path to 
reimbursement, or direct user payment, 
is available. The Group also closely 
monitors the competitive landscape 
for all of its products and adapts 
its business plans accordingly.

Risk management  — continued

Risk

3

The pharmaceutical industry is highly regulated. 
Regulatory authorities across the world enforce 
a range of laws and regulations which govern the 
testing, approval, manufacturing, labelling and 
marketing of pharmaceutical products. Stringent 
standards are imposed which relate to the quality, 
safety and efficacy of these products. These 
requirements are a major determinant of whether 
it is commercially feasible to develop a drug 
substance or medical device given the time, 
expertise, and expense which must be invested. 
The Group may not obtain regulatory approval for 
its products. Moreover, approval in one territory 
offers no guarantee that regulatory approval will 
be obtained in any other territory. Even if products 
are approved, subsequent regulatory difficulties 
may arise, or the conditions relating to the 
approval may be more onerous or restrictive than 
the Group expects.

4

There is a risk of adverse reactions with all drugs 
and medical devices. If any of the Group’s 
products are found to cause adverse reactions or 
unacceptable side effects, then product 
development may be delayed, additional 
expenses may be incurred if further studies are 
required, and, in extreme circumstances, it may 
prove necessary to suspend or terminate 
development. This may occur even after regulatory 
approval has been obtained, in which case 
additional trials may be required, the approval 
may be suspended or withdrawn or additional 
safety warnings may have to be included on the 
label. Adverse events or unforeseen side effects 
may also potentially lead to product liability claims 
being raised against the Group as the developer 
of the products and sponsor of the relevant 
clinical trials.

5

The Group may not be able to sell its products 
profitably if reimbursement from third-party payers 
such as private health insurers and government 
health authorities is restricted or not available 
because, for example, it proves difficult to build 
a sufficiently strong economic case based on the 
burden of illness and population impact.

Third-party payers are increasingly attempting to 
curtail healthcare costs by challenging the prices 
that are charged for pharmaceutical products and 
denying or limiting coverage and the level of 
reimbursement. Moreover, even if the products 
can be sold profitably, they may not be accepted 
by patients and the medical community.

Alternatively, the Group’s competitors – many of 
whom have considerably greater financial and 
human resources – may develop safer or more 
effective products or be able to compete more 
effectively in the markets targeted by the Group. 
New companies may enter these markets and 
novel products and technologies may become 
available which are more commercially successful 
than those being developed by the Group.

36    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    37

GovernanceGovernanceRisk management  — continued

Risk

6

The Group may not be able to obtain patent 
protection for some of its products or maintain the 
secrecy of its trade secrets and know-how. If the 
Group is unsuccessful in doing so, others may 
market competitive products at significantly lower 
prices. Alternatively, the Group may be sued for 
infringement of third-party patent rights. If these 
actions are successful, then the Group would have 
to pay substantial damages and potentially 
remove its products from the market. The Group 
licenses certain intellectual property rights from 
third parties. If the Group fails to comply with its 
obligations under these agreements, it may 
enable the other party to terminate the 
agreement. This could impair the Group’s 
freedom to operate and potentially lead to third 
parties preventing it from selling certain of 
its products.

7

The Group expects to continue to incur substantial 
expenditure in further research and development 
activities. There is no guarantee that the Group 
will become profitable, either through commercial 
sales, strategic partnerships or sales of a business, 
and, even if it does so, it may be unable to 
sustain profitability.

Impact

Mitigation

The failure of the Group to obtain patent 
protection and maintain the secrecy of 
key information may significantly decrease 
the amount of revenue the Group may 
receive from product sales. Any 
infringement litigation against the Group 
may result in the payment of substantial 
damages by the Group and result in 
a significant decrease in the 
Group’s value.

The Group spends significant resources in 
the prosecution of its patent applications 
and has an in-house patent counsel. Third 
party patent filings are monitored to 
ensure the Group continues to have 
freedom to operate. Confidential 
information (both of the Group and 
belonging to third parties) is protected 
through use of confidential disclosure 
agreements with third parties, and 
suitable provisions relating to 
confidentiality and intellectual property 
exist in the Group’s employment and 
advisory contracts. Licenses are 
monitored for compliance 
with their terms.

The strategic aim of the business is to 
generate profits for its shareholders 
through the commercialisation of 
technologies through product sales, 
strategic partnerships and sales of 
businesses. The timing and size of these 
potential inflows is uncertain, and should 
revenues from our activities not be 
achieved, or in the event that they are 
achieved but at values significantly less 
than the amount of capital invested, then 
it would be difficult to sustain the 
Group’s business.

The Group retains significant cash in 
order to support funding of its affiliate 
companies and its Internal division. The 
Group has close relationships with a wide 
group of investors and strategic partners 
to ensure it can continue to access the 
capital markets and additional 
monetisation and funding for its 
businesses. Additionally, its affiliate 
companies are able to raise money 
directly from third party investors and 
strategic partners.

8

The Group operates in complex and specialised 
business domains and requires highly qualified 
and experienced management to implement its 
strategy successfully. The Group and many of its 
businesses are located in the United States which 
is a highly competitive employment market.

The failure to attract highly effective 
personnel or the loss of key personnel 
would have an adverse impact on the 
ability of the Group to continue to grow 
and may negatively affect the Group’s 
competitive advantage.

Moreover, the rapid development which is 
envisaged by the Group may place unsupportable 
demands on the Group’s current managers and 
employees, particularly if it cannot attract sufficient 
new employees. There is also risk that the Group 
may lose key personnel.

Brexit

The Board annually seeks external 
expertise to assess the competitiveness of 
the compensation packages of its senior 
management. Senior management 
continually monitors and assesses 
compensation levels to ensure the Group 
remains competitive in the employment 
market. The Group maintains an extensive 
recruiting network through its Board 
members, advisors and scientific 
community involvement. The Group also 
employs an executive as a full-time 
in-house recruiter.

On 23 June 2016, the UK held a referendum on the UK’s continuing membership of the EU, whereby the UK electorate voted to 
leave the EU (Brexit). The progress of current negotiations between the UK Government and the EU and the ratification of the 
outcome of those negotiations by the UK and EU parliaments will likely determine the future terms of the UK’s relationship with 
the EU, as well as to what extent the UK will be able to continue to benefit from the EU’s single market and other arrangements.

Although the Board has considered the potential impact of Brexit as part of its risk management, given that the Group 
principally operates in the United States and holds substantially all assets in US dollars, the Group does not believe there is 
significant risk associated with Brexit.

Viability

PureTech Health plc Viability 
Statement

In accordance with the provision of 
C.2.2 of the UK Corporate Governance 
Code 2016, the Directors have assessed 
the prospects of the Group over a three 
year period into the first quarter of 2022. 
This period is deemed appropriate as 
it progresses the Group’s pipeline, with 
meaningful outcomes for key affiliates 
and programmes.

The Group’s funding would be used 
to fund its growth stage affiliate 
programmes through their next 
value milestones in conjunction with 
the Company’s external partners; 
advance one or more of the Group’s 
internal programmes to human clinical 
testing by the end of 2020; invest in 
the development of new high-impact 
product candidates; and fund the 
Company’s head office costs into 
the first quarter of 2022. This budget 
projection is conservative as it does not 
include potential inflows of cash.

The Directors confirm they have 
a reasonable expectation that the 
Group will continue to operate and 
meet its obligations as they fall due 
over the period of the assessment. In 
making this statement the Directors 
carried out a robust assessment of 
the principal risks facing the Group, 
including those that would threaten its 
business model, future performance, 
solvency or liquidity.

This assessment was made in 
consideration of the Group’s strong 
financial position, current strategy 
and management of principal risks 
facing the Group. The following facts 
support the Directors’ view of the 
viability of the Group:

•  The Group has significant influence 
over the direction of its affiliates 
and programmes.

•  The Group’s business model is 

structured so that the Group is not 
reliant on the successful outcomes of 
any one affiliate or programme.

In addition, the fact that the affiliates 
and programmes are currently in the 
research and development stage means 
that these affiliates and programmes 
are not reliant on cash inflows from 
sales of products or services during 
the period of this assessment. This 
also means that the Group is not highly 
susceptible to conditions in one or 
more market sectors in this timeframe. 
Although engaging with collaboration 
partners is highly valuable to the Group 
from a validation and, in some cases, 
funding perspective, the Group is not 
solely reliant on cash flows from such 
sources over the period of assessment.

The PureTech Health-level year end 
2018 cash balance of $177.7 million 
is highly liquid and forecast to 
support infrastructure costs, pipeline 
development activities and the 
necessary funding of its affiliates 
to reach significant development 
milestones over the period of 
the assessment.

The Board reviews the near-term 
liquidity of the Group and regularly 
considers funding plans of the 
affiliates and its Internal division in 
its assessment of long-term cash 
flow projections.

While the review has considered all 
of the principal risks identified by 
the Group, the Board is focused on 
the pathway to regulatory approval 
of each affiliate and programme 
product candidate. Further, the Board 
has considered milestone funding 

based on existing collaboration and 
partnership arrangements, and the 
ability of each affiliate and programme 
to enter new collaboration agreements, 
which could all be expected to generate 
cash in-flows but were not included in 
the assessment. Additionally, given that 
affiliate and programme investment 
decisions are largely discretionary, there 
is management control on reducing 
discretionary spending if unforeseen 
liquidity risks arise.

The Directors note the Group’s 
ownership stakes in the affiliates and 
programmes are expected to be 
illiquid in nature, with the exception 
of resTORbio, which is publicly traded 
on NASDAQ. The Group anticipates 
holding these ownership stakes 
through the achievement of significant 
milestones or other liquidity events. 
It is also expected that certain of these 
subsidiaries may not be successful and 
could result in a loss of the amounts 
previously invested with no opportunity 
for recovery. However, even in this 
scenario, the Group’s liquidity is 
expected to remain sufficient to achieve 
remaining milestone events and fund 
infrastructure costs.

The Directors have concluded, based 
on the Group’s strong financial 
position and readily available cash 
reserves (inclusive of short-term 
investments), that the Group is likely 
to be able to fund the requirements 
of the infrastructure and pipeline 
development activities and the amounts 
considered necessary for growth 
stage affiliates to reach significant 
development milestones over the 
period of the assessment. Therefore, 
there is a reasonable expectation that 
the Group has adequate resources and 
will continue to operate over the period 
of the assessment. 

38    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    39

GovernanceGovernanceKey Performance Indicators – 2018

Financial Review

The key performance indicators below measure the Group’s performance against its strategy

Cumulative number of patents and 
patent applications1

Number of theme-based 
technologies evaluated3

Number of project stage 
programmes created

545

2017: 5212 
2016: 288 
2015: 209 
2014: 111

Progress

The Group continued to aggressively 
pursue patent protection for its 
technologies during 2018.

Number of  
partnerships entered3 

5

2017: 8 
2016: 6 
2015: 4 
2014: 2

Progress

In 2018, the Group entered 
into research and development 
partnerships with Roche, Bristol-
Myers Squibb, University of Nebraska, 
University of Virginia, and University of 
California, San Francisco. 

1449

2017: 951 
2016: 918 
2015: 776 
2014: 521

Progress

1

2017: 1 
2016: 3 
2015: 3 
2014: 2

Progress

As a part of its internal R&D, PureTech 
Health advanced its CNS lymphatics 
technology, which is designed to 
address neurodegenerative and 
neuroinflammatory conditions by 
harnessing the recently discovered 
lymphatic system in the brain.

The Company continued to identify 
and review innovative technologies 
that form the basis of its internal 
pipeline. Current sourcing activities 
(including diligence and experiments) 
are centred on immunology candidates, 
including clinical stage assets, that may 
complement PureTech’s focus on tissue-
selective immunomodulation for the 
treatment of oncology, autoimmune, 
and CNS-related disorders.

Amount of funding secured  
for affiliates3,4

$274.0m

2017: $102.9m 
2016: $98.2m 
2015: $74.6m 
2014: $8m

Progress

Karuna, Gelesis, Akili, Vedanta 
Biosciences, resTORbio and Alivio 
raised funds in the form of financings 
and non-dilutive grants in 2018, 
including $242.4 million by third-party 
financial and strategic investors.

During 2018, PureTech Health continued 
to prudently deploy its cash reserves to 
advance both its affiliate and internal 
pipeline. The Company has progressed 
research and clinical activities across 
the pipeline in line with its forecasted 
expectations and continues to invest in 
infrastructure to support the potential 
launches (pending regulatory approval) 
of both Gelesis100 for the treatment of 
obesity and AKL-T01 for the treatment 
of paediatric ADHD.

Additionally, the Company continued 
to attract capital both at PureTech 
Health and the Affiliates division. 
$97.5 million (net) proceeds were 
raised at the PureTech Health level 
as part of the Company’s offering 
in April 2018 which will be used to 
advance both the Affiliates and 
Internal divisions. In addition to the 
PureTech raise, $242.4 million was 
attracted from third-party, validating, 
financial and strategic investors 

across the Group in 2018, resulting 
in total attracted capital for the 
Group of $274.0 million. This included 
resTORbio’s initial public offering 
(IPO), which generated $97.8 million of 
gross proceeds (including PureTech’s 
$3.5 million investment). 

Additionally, PureTech Health has 
continued to develop its Internal 
division focusing on the Brain-Immune-
Gut (BIG) Axis. As a result, the Company 
entered into a multiyear collaboration 
agreement with Roche to advance 
PureTech’s milk-derived exosome 
platform technology. Under the terms 
of the agreement, PureTech Health will 
receive up to $36.0 million, including 
upfront payments, research support, 
and early preclinical milestones. 
PureTech Health will be eligible to 
potentially receive development 
milestone payments of over $1.0 billion 
and additional sales milestones 

and royalties for an undisclosed 
number of products.

The Affiliates division also had key 
events in 2018. Akili and Gelesis filed 
applications with the FDA for review 
of their lead product candidates 
and Gelesis received FDA clearance 
for PLENITY as an aid for weight 
management in April 2019. resTORbio 
completed its IPO on NASDAQ and 
Gelesis, Vedanta, Akili and Karuna 
each completed major equity 
financings in 2018. 

The Group continues to source and 
develop new ideas as well as execute 
on pipeline opportunities. In addition, 
PureTech Health continues to evolve 
shared functions to support the 
increased level of activities of its 
Internal division and Affiliates division.

Financial Highlights

Cash Reserves
Group Cash Reserves – Alternative Performance Measure (APM)1,2
Consolidated Cash Reserves2
PureTech Health Level Cash Reserves2

Results of Operations
Revenue
Operating Loss
Adjusted Operating Loss3
Loss for the Period
Adjusted Loss for the Period (APM)4

2018
$ millions

2017
$ millions

425.0
250.9
177.7

20.7
(104.0)
(88.6)
(70.7)
(85.4)

242.1
188.7
126.7

2.5
(115.4)
(100.8)
(75.1)
(99.6)

1  Group Cash Reserves is an alternative performance measure (APM) which includes cash reserves held at deconsolidated affiliates of $174.0 million 

that are not included in the consolidated statement of financial position. Group Cash Reserves is therefore considered to be more representative of 
the Group’s cash available to advance product candidates within the full breadth of its operations, as the cash held at deconsolidated affiliates not 
included in Consolidated Cash Reserves will be invested in activities that could ultimately result in value accretion for the Group.

2  Cash Reserves includes cash balances and short-term investments and long-term investments, but does not include future committed tranches of 

previously closed financings which will be received in future periods. PureTech Level Cash Reserves represent cash and short-term investments held 
at PureTech Health LLC, PureTech Management, Inc., PureTech Health PLC, and PureTech Securities Corporation.

3  Stated before the effect of share-based payment of $12.6 million (2017 – $11.8 million), depreciation of $2.5 million (2017 – $1.6 million), amortisation of 
$0.3 million (2017 – $0.5 million) and impairment of tangible assets of nil (2017 – $0.6 million). These items are non-cash charges. Adjusted operating 
loss is therefore considered to be more representative of the operating performance of the Group. Non-cash items are excluded due to the nature of 
the Group in that the businesses require the cash investment in order to operate and continue with their R&D activities and this is therefore deemed to 
be an appropriate alternative performance measure.

4  Stated before the charges discussed in note 3 above as well as the fair value accounting income of $22.6 million (2017 – charge of $71.7 million) and 

finance cost – subsidiary preferred shares of $0.1 million (2017 – $9.5 million) and share of net loss of associates accounted for using the equity method 
of $11.5 million (2017 – $17.6 million). Adjusted Loss for the Period is also adjusted for the non-cash gain from the deconsolidation of subsidiary of 
$41.7 million (2017 – $85.0 million) and a Loss on investments held at fair value of $20.3 million for the year ended 31 December 2018, compared to 
a Gain on available for sale investments of $57.3 million for the year ended 31 December 2017. These items are also non-cash expenses and income, 
respectively. Adjusted loss for the period is therefore considered to be more representative of the operating performance of the Group. 

1  This number does not include issued patents or patent applications exclusively licensed or owned by independent affiliates resTORbio and Akili.

2  This number does not include issued patents or patent applications exclusively licensed or owned by independent affiliate resTORbio.

3  Number represents figure for the relevant fiscal year only and is not cumulative.

4  This number includes the issuance of $22 million in shares upon conversion of debt into equity as part of Karuna’s Series A financing round. 

Of the $22 million converted into equity, $2 million came from the $8 million Wellcome Trust award. Excluded from the amount of funding secured 
for affiliates is $12 million in milestone payments made to Vedanta Biosciences from Janssen Biotech, Inc. as part of an ongoing collaboration.

40    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    41

GovernanceGovernanceFinancial Review  — continued

Financial Review  — continued

Revenue

Revenue for 2018 relates primarily to 
Vedanta’s collaboration agreement and 
grant awards, the Internal division’s 
Roche agreement and Entrega’s 
research agreement. Future revenues 
may be earned under existing and 
license and collaboration agreements, 
including pursuant to the Roche 
agreement. Management evaluates 
opportunities to enter new license 
and collaboration agreements with 
the aim of balancing the value of these 
partnerships and retaining ownership in 
our programmes to achieve meaningful 
milestones. Revenue from license and 
collaboration agreements during the 
development and approval period 
is typically driven by achievement of 
contractual milestones, which tend to 
be event-driven. Furthermore, grant 
revenues are typically associated with 
specific deliverables that have finite 
timelines. Therefore, significant period 
to period changes in revenue are to 
be expected and are not necessarily 
indicative of the Consolidated Group’s 
overall revenue trend.

Operating Expenses

Adjusted Operating Expenses (before 
the impact of the non-cash items 
noted in Footnote 3 of the Results of 
Operations Schedule above) increased 
by 5.7 per cent on a year-over-year 
basis. The largest driver of the increase 
was related to an increase in General 
and Administrative Spending, which is 
a result of the pre-launch preparations 
for Akili and additional costs related 
to Vedanta Biosciences as well as 
PureTech Health, which grew in line 
with expectations. Adjusted Research 
& Development Expense (APM)1 
increased by 5.0 per cent on a year-
over-year basis. 

The Group carried out development 
activities to advance its Affiliates 
division and Internal division 
by initiating new clinical trials, 
expanding its current clinical studies 
and increasing headcount, which 
resulted in an increase of $5.7 million, 
or 8.0 per cent, in research and 
development expenses for the year 
ended 31 December 2018, compared 
to the year ended 31 December 2017. 

General and administrative expenses 
increased by $1.1 million, or 
2.3 per cent, for the year ended 
31 December 2018, compared to the 
year ended 31 December 2017. The 
slight year-over-year increase in general 
and administrative expenses reflects 
the ability of the Group to leverage its 
existing infrastructure.

The 2017 Adjusted Operating 
Expenses included resTORbio, which 
was deconsolidated as of November 
2017, and six months of expense for 
Akili, which was deconsolidated as 
of 8 May 2018. Excluding these two 
entities in both periods, Adjusted 
Operating Expenses increased 
by 37.2 per cent, which included 
a 44.0 per cent increase to research 
and development expenses and 
a 26.8 per cent increase to general 
and administration costs. Research 
and development expense growth 
excluding these two subsidiaries was 
mainly driven by Vedanta Biosciences, 
Karuna and the Internal division.

The Directors anticipate that operating 
expenses, particularly research and 
development-related expenses, 
will continue to increase as the 
Consolidated Group advances its 
pipeline. These operating expenses 
will include regulatory activities, 
preparation for the potential 
commercial launch of Gelesis, clinical 
and preclinical studies, intellectual 
property registration and the 
cost of acquiring, developing and 
manufacturing clinical study materials. 
General and administrative costs, 
consisting primarily of personnel-
related costs, lease costs and 
professional fees, are anticipated 
to grow as well, and are primarily 
attributed to both marketing and sales 
efforts for Gelesis as well as increases in 
overall corporate expenses.

Net finance income/(cost)

The Consolidated Group’s results of 
finance activities before consideration 
of the items noted in Footnote 4 in the 
Results of Operations Schedule above 
increased by $2.2 million to $3.4 million 
for the year ended 31 December 2018, 
compared to $1.2 million for the year 
ended 31 December 2017. The income 

in both periods is related to interest 
received on short-term investments 
held at PureTech Health and certain 
subsidiaries. The Consolidated Group, 
as described below, has adopted 
a conservative cash management 
policy and invested the significant cash 
reserves generated since the IPO in US 
Treasuries, which resulted in $3.4 million 
and $1.7 million of income from interest 
earned on these securities for the 
years ended 31 December 2018 and 
2017, respectively.

On 1 January 2018 the Consolidated 
Group adopted IFRS 9. Under IFRS 9, 
the Consolidated Group reassessed 
certain financial instruments and 
whether it qualified for fair value 
accounting, and concluded that it did 
qualify. As a result of the adoption of 
IFRS 9, there was a cumulative effect 
adjustment to equity of $12.2 million. 
The net finance income in 2018 was 
mainly attributable to fair value 
adjustments associated with third-
party financial instruments, including 
preferred stock, convertible notes, 
and warrants held at the subsidiary 
level. Consistent with IAS 39, when the 
Consolidated Group realises a change 
in the value of the subsidiaries that are 
consolidated for accounting purposes, 
income or expense will be recognised 
when there are external preferred 
shareholders. The Consolidated 
Group continues to hold certain 
financial instruments at amortised cost, 
resulting in modest costs categorised 
as Finance cost – subsidiary preferred 
shares. These costs are expected to be 
insignificant in future periods.

The income generated within Finance 
income/(costs) – fair value accounting 
during 2018 is a result of the reduction 
of the fair value liability, which is 
primarily attributable to a decrease in 
the third-party liability for Akili. The 
third-party liability attributable to 
the Akili shares decreased as a result 
of the proceeds from the Series C 
financing having first order liquidation 
preference, decreasing the fair value 
of the other outstanding preferred 
securities. Excluding Akili, the fair value 
of liabilities decreased by $7.8 million, 
attributable to the growth in the 
underlying value of the subsidiaries.

1  Adjusted Research & Development Expenses is an alternative performance measures (APM) which represents the Research & Development Expense 

stated before the effect of non-cash items, including a share-based payment of $7.3 million (31 December 2017: $4.2 million), depreciation of 
$1.4 million (31 December 2017: $1.5 million), and impairment of tangible assets of nil (31 December 2017: $0.6 million). Non-cash items are excluded 
due to the fact that the Group’s businesses require the cash investment in order to operate and continue with their R&D activities. Adjusted Research 
& Development Expense is therefore considered to be an appropriate alternative performance measure, as it is more representative of the research 
spending of the Group.

The balance of subsidiary preferred 
stock held by external parties, and 
therefore the related balance of the 
aggregate liquidation preference, 
decreased during the first half of 2018 
due to the deconsolidation of Akili and 
the asset sale of The Sync Project to 
Bose Corporation, which was partially 
offset by new issuances of Series 2 
Growth Preferred Stock by Gelesis. 

Refer to note 15 in the financial 
statements for more information. 

During the year ended 
31 December 2018, the Group 
realised a year-over-year increase of 
$94.3 million as it recognised finance 
income of $22.6 million, compared 
to a finance cost of $71.7 million for 
the year ended 31 December 2017. 
The increase resulted from the change 
in fair value of the Group’s preferred 
shares and convertible note liabilities. 

Deconsolidation of Akili 
Interactive Labs

In May 2018, Akili completed the first 
closing of its Series C Preferred Stock 
financing, which reduced PureTech’s 
voting ownership percentage of 
Akili to 44.7 per cent (from 53.7 per 
cent), triggering deconsolidation. 
Although PureTech Health no longer 
controls Akili, PureTech Health 
maintains significant influence over the 
Company’s strategy and the direction 
of the Company by virtue of its large, 
albeit non-majority, ownership stake 
and continued representation on Akili’s 
Board of Directors.

Upon deconsolidation, PureTech Health 
recognised the fair value of the Series 

A-1, Series A-2, and Series B Preferred 
Stock (collectively the “Akili Preferred 
Stock”) held in Akili, resulting in a gain 
of $41.7 million. The Akili Preferred 
Stock was classified as an Investment 
held at fair value upon deconsolidation. 
On 9 August 2018, Akili completed 
a second closing of its Series C 
Preferred Stock financing, which raised 
an additional $13.0 million. This resulted 
in PureTech’s voting ownership 
decreasing to 41.9 per cent. 

PureTech Health does not hold 
common stock in Akili and therefore 
is not subject to equity method 
accounting under IAS 28. PureTech 
Health will continue to account for the 
Akili Preferred Stock as an Investment 
held at fair value until such time that 
Akili Preferred Stock is converted to 
common stock. 

Refer to note 5 in the financial 
statements for further information. 

Financial Position

Cash and short-term investments 
make up a significant portion of the 
Consolidated Group’s current assets 
of $259.8 million for the year ended 
31 December 2018, compared to 
$198.1 million for the year ended 
31 December 2017. Amounts that 
cannot be immediately deployed 
have been used to purchase US 
Treasuries with durations of less 
than two years. The consolidated 
cash reserves, consisting of cash, 
cash equivalents and US Treasuries, 
which are classified as both long 
and short term, were $250.9 million 
at 31 December 2018, compared 

to $188.7 million for the year ended 
31 December 2017. Of this amount, 
$177.7 million (31 December 2017 
– $126.7 million) of cash reserves is 
held at the PureTech Health level to 
fund activities of the Group, including 
supporting future activities, progressing 
affiliate programmes toward meaningful 
milestone events, funding the 
internal pipeline and maintaining an 
appropriate infrastructure.

Other significant items impacting 
the Consolidated Group’s financial 
position include:

• 

Investments held at fair value 
and Investments in associates 
increased by $38.4 million to 
$169.8 million, primarily driven by the 
deconsolidation of Akili but partially 
offset by the fair value decrease 
and equity method accounting 
of the Series A Preferred Stock in 
resTORbio, which was converted 
to common stock at the time of 
resTORbio’s IPO. PureTech holds 
9,800,396 shares of resTORbio’s 
common stock, which is publicly 
traded on NASDAQ.

•  Current Liabilities decreased by 
$8.1 million, or 3.0 per cent, to 
$265.8 million for the year ended 
31 December 2018, compared 
to $273.9 million for the year 
ended 31 December 2017, which 
is primarily attributable to the 
change in fair value of the preferred 
shares and convertible notes held 
by subsidiaries, partially offset 
by additional issuances of these 
financial instruments during the year 
ended 31 December 2018.

Financial Position

Non-current assets
Current assets

Total assets

Non-current liabilities
Total current liabilities

Total liabilities

2018
$ millions

2017
$ millions

182.0
259.8

441.8

9.0
265.8

274.8

141.7
198.1

339.8

6.4
273.9

280.3

42    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    43

GovernanceGovernanceFinancial Review  — continued

Chairman’s overview

As noted above, the Group increased 
spending as expected. The Directors 
anticipate that the Consolidated 
Group’s funds are sufficient to continue 
to progress both the deconsolidated 
affiliates and Affiliates division 
programmes to meaningful milestone 
events, and to invest in the Internal 
division into the first quarter of 2022.

Cash Flows

The Group’s net cash used in operating 
activities reflects the payment of 
operating expenses, which, with the 
exception of its non-cash charges 
highlighted in footnotes 3 and 4 of the 
Results of Operations Schedule above, 
are primarily cash based.

The net cash outflow from investing 
activities during 2018 relates to 
investments in US Treasuries with 
durations of less than two years as 
well as the deconsolidation of Akili’s 
cash balance as of 8 May 2018 which 
totalled $13.4 million. In addition, 
PureTech Health invested $3.5 million in 
resTORbio’s IPO and the Consolidated 
Group expended $2.0 million for 
property and equipment. 

The net cash inflow from financing 
activities during 2018 primarily relates 
to the April 2018 offering completed by 
PureTech Health, where the Company 
issued 45,000,000 ordinary shares at 160 
pence per share, which were admitted 
to the premium listing segment 
of the Official List of the Financial 
Conduct Authority and are trading on 
the Main Market for listed securities 
of the London Stock Exchange plc. 
The placing represented a discount 
of approximately 3.0 per cent to the 
closing price of the Company’s ordinary 
shares on 12 March 2018. Existing 
shareholder Invesco Asset Management 
Limited participated in the offering, 
purchasing 14,365,000 ordinary shares 
at the placing price of 160 pence per 
share. Based on the exchange rates 
at the time of the completion of the 
transaction, the gross proceeds of 
£72 million translated into $101.2 million. 
There were approximately $3.7 million 
of transaction costs associated 
with the offering, resulting in net 
proceeds of $97.5 million. In addition 
to the PureTech Offering, Gelesis 
received $8.5 million as part of its 
Series 2 Growth Preferred financing. 

Offsetting the two aforementioned 
cash inflows was an outflow of 
$1.1 million related to distribution to 
third-party Sync preferred shareholders 
as a result of the asset purchase by 
Bose Corporation.

The Group is focused on maintaining 
liquidity as well as capital preservation 
of investments. As a result, surplus cash 
reserves have been placed in highly-
rated, short duration vehicles, primarily 
US Treasuries with maturities under 
one year. The Group monitors market 
conditions to manage any risk to the 
investment portfolio and investigates 
opportunities to increase the yield on 
the amounts invested, while maintaining 
the Group’s liquidity and capital 
preservation objectives.

At 31 December 2018, the Group had 
$2.0 million of cash reserves held in 
Euros. These cash reserves are used 
to fund the operation of Gelesis’ 
Italian manufacturing and research 
and development subsidiary. The 
Directors believe it is prudent to have 
these cash reserves denominated in 
Euro to fund operations.

Cash Flows

Operating Cash Flows
Investing Cash Flows
Financing Cash Flows

2018
$ millions

2017
$ millions

(72.8)
(39.6)
156.9

(88.7)
83.7
14.7

“ We believe that good corporate 

governance is essential for building 
a successful and sustainable business.”

Dear Shareholder

I am pleased to introduce our Corporate 
Governance Report. This section sets 
out our governance framework and the 
work of the Board and its committees.

As a Board we are responsible 
for ensuring there is an effective 
governance framework in place. 
This includes setting the Company’s 
strategic objectives, ensuring the right 
leadership and resources are in place 
to achieve these objectives, monitoring 
performance, ensuring that sufficient 
internal controls and protections are in 
place and reporting to shareholders. 
An effective governance framework is 
also designed to ensure accountability, 
fairness and transparency in the 

Company’s relationships with all of its 
stakeholders, whether shareholders, 
employees, partners, the government 
or the wider patient community. We 
believe that good corporate governance 
is essential for building a successful and 
sustainable business.

The Board is committed to the highest 
standards of corporate governance 
and undertakes to maintain a sound 
framework for the control and 
management of the Group. In this report 
we provide details of that framework.

applied the principles and provisions 
of the Governance Code and how 
it intends to apply those principles 
in the future.

The Board looks forward to being 
able to discuss these matters with our 
shareholders at the Group’s AGM or 
indeed at any other time during the year.

The key constituents necessary to 
deliver a robust structure are in place 
and, accordingly, this report includes 
a description of how the Company has 

Joichi Ito 
Chairman

16 April 2019

44    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    45

GovernanceGovernance 
Board of Directors

(alphabetically)

Board of Directors  — continued

PureTech Health is led by a seasoned and accomplished 
Board of Directors and management team with extensive 
experience in maximising shareholder value, discovering 
scientific breakthroughs, and delivering products to market.

Joichi Ito 
Chairman of the Board of Directors

Joichi “Joi” Ito, PhD, is the director of the MIT Media Lab and the chairman of PureTech Health’s Board of 
Directors. He is an activist, entrepreneur, venture capitalist and scholar focusing on the ethics and governance 
of technology, tackling complex problems such as climate change and redesigning the systems that support 
scholarship and science. As director of the MIT Media Lab and a professor of the practice in media arts and 
sciences, he supports researchers at the MIT Media Lab to deploy design, science and technology such AI, 
blockchain and synthetic biology to transform society in substantial and positive ways.

Together with The Venerable Tenzin Priyadarshi, Dr Ito teaches Principles of Awareness, a class devoted to 
explaining the contribution that awareness and focus can bring to the creativity process. Dr Ito is a member of 
the 2017 class of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a Visiting Professor of Law from Practice at 
the Harvard Law School, where he and professor Jonathan Zittrain teach The Ethics and Governance of Artificial 
Intelligence. Dr Ito previously served as board chair and chief executive of Creative Commons. He serves on 
the boards of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation 
and The New York Times Company. In Japan, he was a founder of Digital Garage and helped establish and 
later became CEO of the country’s first commercial Internet service provider. Dr Ito also was an early investor in 
numerous companies, including Flickr, Last fm, littleBits, Optimus Ride, FormLabs, Kickstarter and Twitter. 

In 2011, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Oxford Internet Institute. He received an honorary 
Doctor of Letters degrees from The New School in New York City in 2013 and two years later, an honorary 
Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Tufts University. In 2017, he received the IRI Medal. He earned a PhD 
from Keio University Graduate School of Media and Governance in 2018 for his thesis, “The Practice of Change,” 
which is being edited into a book to be published by MIT Press. He serves as a distinguished researcher at the 
Keio Research Institute at SFC’s Internet and Society Laboratory. Dr Ito is co-author with Jeff Howe of Whiplash: 
How to Survive Our Faster Future (Grand Central Publishing, December 2016), and he writes a monthly column 
for WIRED magazine.

Raju Kucherlapati, PhD 
Independent Non-Executive Director, Scientific Advisory Board Member

Raju Kucherlapati, PhD, is the Paul C. Cabot Professor of Genetics and Professor of Medicine at Harvard 
Medical School and is an independent non-executive director at PureTech Health and sits on PureTech’s 
Scientific Advisory Board. He was a founder and formerly a board member of Abgenix (acquired by Amgen 
for $2.2 billion) and Millennium Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Takeda for $8.8 billion). He was the first scientific 
director of the Harvard-Partners Center for Genetics and Genomics. He is a fellow of the American Association 
for the Advancement of Science and a member of the National Academy of Medicine. He was a member of the 
presidential commission for the study of bioethical issues during the Obama administration.

Dr Kucherlapati’s laboratory was a part of the Human Genome Programme that was responsible for mapping 
and sequencing the human genome. He developed methods for modifying mammalian genes that lead to gene 
targeting in mice. He has developed many mouse models for human disease, including a large set of models 
for human colorectal cancer. He was involved in successfully cloning many human disease genes with a focus 
on human syndromes with significant cardiovascular involvement. His laboratory was a part of the Cancer 
Genome Atlas (TCGA) programme that uses genetic/genomic approaches to understand the biology of cancer. 
He is a promoter of personalised/precision medicine. Dr Kucherlapati served on the editorial board of the New 
England Journal of Medicine and was editor-in-chief of the journal Genomics.

John LaMattina, PhD 
Independent Non-Executive Director

John LaMattina, PhD, is an independent non-executive director at PureTech Health and was previously president 
of Pfizer Global Research and Development and senior vice president of Pfizer. During his 30-year career 
at Pfizer, Dr LaMattina held positions of increasing responsibility for Pfizer Central Research, including vice 
president of US Discovery Operations in 1993, senior vice president of Worldwide Discovery Operations in 1998, 
and senior vice president of Worldwide Development in 1999.

During Dr LaMattina’s leadership tenure, Pfizer discovered and/or developed a number of new medicines to 
treat cancer, AIDS, pain, smoking addiction, rheumatoid arthritis and neurological disorders. He is the author 
of numerous scientific publications and US patents. In addition, Dr LaMattina is the author of “Drug Truths: 
Dispelling the Myths About Pharma R&D” and “Devalued and Distrusted: Can the Pharmaceutical Industry 
Restore Its Broken Image.” Dr LaMattina was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University 
of New Hampshire in 2007 and in 2010 was the recipient of the American Chemical Society’s Earle B. Barnes 
Award for leadership in chemical research management.

Dr LaMattina received a BS in chemistry from Boston College in 1971 and received a PhD in organic chemistry 
from the University of New Hampshire in 1975. He then moved on to Princeton University as a National Institutes 
of Health Postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Professor E. C. Taylor. Dr LaMattina also serves on the Board of 
Directors of Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Zafgen, Immunome, Vedanta Biosciences and Gelesis (chairman). He is the 
author of the Drug Truths blog at Forbes.com.

Robert Langer, ScD 
Co-Founder & Non-Executive Director, Scientific Advisory Board Member

Robert S. Langer, ScD, is a co-founder and non-executive director at PureTech Health and sits on PureTech’s 
Scientific Advisory Board and the Boards of Alivio and Entrega. He is one of 10 Institute Professors at MIT; being 
an institute professor is the highest honour that can be awarded to a faculty member at MIT. Dr Langer has 
written more than 1,400 articles. He also has over 1,300 issued and pending patents worldwide. Dr Langer’s 
patents have been licensed or sublicensed to over 350 pharmaceutical, chemical, biotechnology and medical 
device companies. He is the most cited engineer in history (h-index 263 with over 278,000 citations according to 
Google Scholar). He served as a member of the US Food and Drug Administration’s SCIENCE Board, the FDA’s 
highest advisory board, from 1995-2002 and as its chairman from 1999-2002. 

Dr Langer has received over 220 major awards. He is one of four living individuals to have received both the 
United States National Medal of Science (2006) and the United States National Medal of Technology and 
Innovation (2011). He also received the 1996 Gairdner Foundation International Award, the 2002 Charles Stark 
Draper Prize, considered the equivalent of the Nobel Prize for engineers, the 2008 Millennium Prize, the world’s 
largest technology prize, the 2012 Priestley Medal, the highest award of the American Chemical Society, the 
2013 Wolf Prize in Chemistry, the 2014 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, and the 2014 Kyoto Prize. In 2015, 
Dr Langer received the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering. Among numerous other awards he has received 
are the Dickson Prize for Science (2002), the Heinz Award for Technology, Economy and Employment (2003), 
the Harvey Prize (2003), the John Fritz Award (2003) (given previously to inventors such as Thomas Edison and 
Orville Wright), the General Motors Kettering Prize for Cancer Research (2004), the Dan David Prize in Materials 
Science (2005), the Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research (2005), the largest prize in 
the US for medical research, induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame (2006), the Max Planck Research 
Award (2008), the Prince of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research (2008), the Warren Alpert 
Foundation Prize (2011), the Terumo International Prize (2012), the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Science (2016), 
and the Kabiller Prize in Nanoscience and Nanomedicine (2017). In 1998, he received the Lemelson-MIT prize, 
the world’s largest prize for invention for being “one of history’s most prolific inventors in medicine.” In 1989, 
Dr Langer was elected to the National Academy of Medicine, in 1992 he was elected to both the National 
Academy of Engineering and to the National Academy of Sciences, and in 2012 he was elected to the National 
Academy of Inventors.

Forbes Magazine (1999) and BioWorld (1990) have named Dr Langer as one of the 25 most important individuals 
in biotechnology in the world. Discover Magazine (2002) named him as one of the 20 most important people in 
this area. Forbes Magazine (2002) selected Dr Langer as one of the 15 innovators worldwide who will reinvent 
our future. Time Magazine and CNN (2001) named Dr Langer as one of the 100 most important people in 
America and one of the 18 top people in science or medicine in America (America’s Best). Parade Magazine 
(2004) selected Dr Langer as one of six “Heroes whose research may save your life.” Dr Langer has received 
34 honorary doctorates. He received his bachelor’s degree from Cornell University in 1970 and his ScD from 
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1974, both in chemical engineering.

Dame Marjorie Scardino 
Senior Independent Director

Dame Marjorie Scardino is the senior independent director of PureTech’s Board of Directors. She served as chief 
executive of The Economist for 12 years and then from 1997 through 2012 was the chief executive of Pearson plc, 
the world’s leading education company and the owner of Penguin Books and The Financial Times Group. Prior 
to that, she was a lawyer and she and her husband founded a weekly newspaper in Georgia which won a Pulitzer 
Prize. At the end of 2017, she stepped down from serving and chairing The MacArthur Foundation for 12 years 
and became the Chairman of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. 

Until the end of 2018, she was on the board of Twitter, where she was the senior independent director and was 
a member of the board of IAG (the holding company of British Airways, Iberia and other airlines). Non-profit 
boards she sits on are The Carter Center and The Royal College of Arts. Dame Marjorie has received a number 
of honorary degrees, and in 2003 was dubbed a Dame of the British Empire. She is also a member of the Royal 
Society of the Arts in the UK and the American Association of Arts and Sciences.

Dr Bennett Shapiro 
Non-Executive Director

Ben Shapiro, MD, is a co-founder and non-executive director at PureTech Health. He was previously executive 
vice president of worldwide research at Merck, where he was responsible for all basic and preclinical research 
and licensing activities worldwide, a programme that resulted in FDA registration of some 25 drugs and 
vaccines. Previously, he was professor and chairman of the Department of Biochemistry at the University of 
Washington and is the author of over 120 papers on the molecular regulation of cellular behaviour. He has been 
a Guggenheim Fellow, a fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, a visiting professor at the 
University of Nice, France and has served on many institutional advisory boards and scientific review panels, 
as well as on the board of various life science companies including Momenta, Celera and Ikaria. He currently is 
a board director of VBL Therapeutics and the Drugs for Neglected Disease Initiative. 

*  Biographies for our Executive Directors, Daphne Zohar and Stephen Muniz, can be found on page 50.

46    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

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GovernanceGovernanceBoard of Directors  — continued

Management team

(alphabetically)

Christopher Viehbacher 
Independent Non-Executive Director

Chris Viehbacher is the Managing Partner of Gurnet Point Capital, a Boston based investment fund associated 
with the Bertarelli family and has a $2 billion capital allocation. He is the former CEO and member of the 
Board of Directors of Sanofi and was also the Chairman of the Board of Genzyme in Boston. Prior to joining 
Sanofi, Mr Viehbacher spent 20 years with GlaxoSmithKline in Germany, Canada, France and, latterly, the US as 
President of GSK North America. Mr Viehbacher currently serves on the Boards of Axcella, BeforeBrands Boston 
Pharmaceuticals Crossover, Innocoll, Macrolide, Nuvelution, and Vedanta Biosciences. He is also a Trustee of 
Northeastern University and a member of The Board of Fellows at Stanford Medicine. 

Mr Viehbacher has been a strong advocate for the healthcare industry. Current and past advocacy roles include: 
former co-chair with Bill Gates of the CEO Roundtable on Neglected Diseases; past-chairman of the CEO 
Roundtable on Cancer; chairman of the Board of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America 
in Washington; and President of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations 
in Brussels. 

In the past, Mr Viehbacher has served on various advisory groups at MIT, Duke University and Queen’s 
University at Kingston, Ontario. He has received the Pasteur Foundation Award for outstanding commitment 
to safeguarding and improving health worldwide and received France’s highest civilian honour, the 
Legion d’Honneur.

Robert Horvitz, PhD** 
Board Advisor & Scientific Advisory Board Chair

H Robert Horvitz, PhD, is a board advisor and Scientific Advisory Board chair of PureTech Health. He received 
the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine and is the David H. Koch Professor of Biology at Massachusetts 
Institute of Technology, an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, neurobiologist (Neurology) at 
Massachusetts General Hospital, a member of the MIT McGovern Institute for Brain Research and the MIT Koch 
Institute for Integrative Cancer Research. He is cofounder of multiple life science companies, including Epizyme 
(EPZM), Mitobridge (acquired by Astellas) and Idun Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Pfizer), and was a member of 
the Board of Scientific Advisors of the Novartis Institute for Biomedical Research.

Dr Horvitz is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Massachusetts General Hospital and is chairman of the 
Board of Trustees of the Society for Science and the Public. He previously served as president of the Genetics 
Society of America. Dr Horvitz is a member of the US National Academy of Sciences, the US National Academy 
of Medicine and the American Philosophical Society, and is a foreign member of the Royal Society of London. 
He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and of the American Academy of Microbiology.

Dr Horvitz received the US National Academies of Science Award in Molecular Biology, the Charles A. Dana 
Award for Pioneering Achievements in Health; the Ciba-Drew Award for Biomedical Science; the General Motors 
Cancer Research Foundation Alfred P. Sloan, Jr. Prize; the Gairdner Foundation International Award; the March 
of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology; the Genetics Society of America Medal; the Bristol-Myers Squibb 
Award for Distinguished Achievement in Neuroscience; the Wiley Prize in the Biomedical Sciences; the Peter 
Gruber Foundation Genetics Prize; the American Cancer Society Medal of Honour; the Alfred G. Knudson 
Award of the National Cancer Institute; and the UK Genetics Society Mendel Medal. He has received honorary 
doctoral degrees from the University of Rome, Cambridge University, Pennsylvania State University and the 
University of Miami.

Joseph Bolen, PhD 
Chief Scientific Officer

Joseph Bolen, PhD, is chief scientific officer at PureTech Health where he works with the Company’s discovery 
and preclinical team to identify and pursue promising new technologies. Dr Bolen has more than 30 years of 
industry and research experience and has been at the forefront of cancer and immunology research. He began 
his career at the NIH, where he contributed to the discovery of a class of proteins known as tyrosine kinase 
oncogenes as key regulators of the immune system. Dr Bolen most recently oversaw all aspects of research 
and development for Moderna Therapeutics as president and chief scientific officer. Previously, he was chief 
scientific officer and global head of oncology research at Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company. Prior to 
joining Millennium in 1999, Dr Bolen held senior R&D positions at Hoechst Marion Roussel, Schering-Plough, 
and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Dr Bolen graduated from the University of Nebraska with a BS degree in Microbiology 
& Chemistry and a PhD in Immunology and conducted his postdoctoral training in Molecular Virology at the 
Kansas State University Cancer Center.

Bharatt Chowrira, PhD, JD 
President and Chief of Business and Strategy

Bharatt Chowrira, JD, PhD, has been the president and chief of business and strategy at PureTech Health since 
March 2017. Prior to joining PureTech Health, Dr Chowrira was the president of Synlogic, a biopharmaceutical 
company focused on developing synthetic microbiome-based therapeutics, from September 2015 to February 
2017, where he oversaw and managed corporate and business development, alliance management, financial, 
human resources, intellectual property and legal operations. Prior to joining Synlogic, Dr Chowrira was the chief 
operating officer of Auspex Pharmaceuticals from 2013 to 2015, which was acquired by Teva Pharmaceuticals 
in the Spring of 2015. Previously, he was president and chief executive officer of Addex Therapeutics from 
2011 to 2013, a biotechnology company publicly-traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange. Prior to that Dr Chowrira 
held various leadership and management positions at Nektar Therapeutics (COO), Merck & Co (VP), Sirna 
Therapeutics (GC; acquired by Merck &Co) and Ribozyme Pharmaceuticals (chief patent counsel). Dr Chowrira 
is currently a member of the board of directors of Akili Interactive, Karuna Therapeutics, Vedanta Biosciences, 
and Vor Biopharma. Dr Chowrira received a JD from the University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law, a PhD in 
Molecular Biology from the University of Vermont College of Medicine, an MS in Molecular Biology from Illinois 
State University and a BS in Microbiology from the UAS, Bangalore, India.

Eric Elenko, PhD 
Chief Innovation Officer

Eric Elenko, PhD, is the chief innovation officer at PureTech Health where he has led the development of 
a number of affiliates, including Akili Interactive, Gelesis, Karuna Therapeutics, and Sonde Health. Prior to 
joining PureTech Health, Dr Elenko was a consultant with McKinsey and Company where he advised senior 
executives of both Fortune 500 and specialty pharmaceutical companies on a range of issues such as 
product licensing, mergers and acquisitions, research and development strategy and marketing. Dr Elenko 
received his BA in Biology from Swarthmore College and his PhD in Biomedical Sciences from University of 
California, San Diego.

**  Dr Horvitz is not a member of the PureTech Health Board of Directors but is rather an advisor to the Board and 

the Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board. He attends all Board of Directors meetings as an observer.

48    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

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GovernanceGovernanceManagement team  — continued

Joep Muijrers, PhD 
Chief Financial Officer

Joep Muijrers, PhD, is the chief financial officer at PureTech Health. Dr Muijrers has two decades of experience 
in corporate and capital finance, specifically focused on public market investment, M&A, portfolio management, 
strategic asset allocation, financial and regulatory reporting, and fundraising. Prior to joining PureTech Health, 
he was a portfolio manager and partner at LSP (Life Sciences Partners), a trans-Atlantic investor group with 
exclusive focus on life sciences. At LSP, Dr Muijrers was responsible for investing in publicly-traded companies, 
a strategy that generated a total return in excess of 900 per cent, more than twice the return of the Nasdaq 
Biotechnology Index during the same period (Q2 2008 – Q1 2018). Notable investments included companies 
that were acquired by large pharma (Ablynx, Colucid, InterMune, Kite Pharma, NeuroDerm) and/or became 
leaders in their respective areas of activity (Evotec, Genmab, GW Pharmaceuticals, MorphoSys, Neurocrine). 
Prior to joining LSP, he held the position of director corporate finance and capital markets at Fortis Bank, 
currently part of ABN AMRO. Dr Muijrers holds a PhD degree in Molecular Biology from the European Molecular 
Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany and a Master’s degree in Biochemistry from the University of 
Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

Stephen Muniz, JD 
Chief Operating Officer and a Member of the Board of Directors

Stephen Muniz, JD, is the chief operating officer and a member of PureTech Health’s Board of Directors. Prior 
to joining PureTech Health, Mr Muniz was a partner in the corporate department of Locke Lord LLP, where he 
practiced law for 10 years. Mr Muniz’s practice at Locke Lord LLP focused on the representation of life science 
venture funds as well as their portfolio companies in general corporate matters and in investment and liquidity 
transactions.

Prior to joining Locke Lord LLP, Mr Muniz was a law clerk to Hon. Raya Dreben at the Massachusetts Appeals 
Court. He was also a Kauffman Entrepreneur Fellow, a programme sponsored by the Kauffman Foundation. 
Mr Muniz also sits on the board of directors of Entrega, Follica, and Gelesis. Mr Muniz has a BA in Economics 
and Accounting from The College of the Holy Cross and a JD from the New England School of Law where 
he graduated summa cum laude. Mr Muniz was Valedictorian of the 1997 New England School of Law 
Commencement and has been awarded the Amos L. Taylor Award for Excellence in Scholarship, the New 
England Scholar Award and the NESL Trustee Scholar Award.

Ms Daphne Zohar 
Founder and Chief Executive Officer

Daphne Zohar is the founder and chief executive officer of PureTech Health and a member of the Board 
of Directors. PureTech Health is an advanced biopharmaceutical company developing novel medicines 
for dysfunctions of the brain-immune-gut (BIG) axis. The Company has developed deep insights into the 
connection between these systems and the resulting role in diseases that have proven resistant to established 
therapeutic approaches. By harnessing this emerging field of human biology, PureTech Health is developing new 
categories of medicines with the potential to have great impact on people with serious diseases.

PureTech Health is advancing a rich pipeline of innovative therapies with an unbiased, non-binary, and capital 
efficient R&D model across its affiliates and its internal labs. PureTech’s affiliates include seven clinical-stage 
platforms with two product candidates that have been filed with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 
for review and other novel preclinical programmes. The PureTech Health pipeline includes ground-breaking 
platforms and therapeutic candidates that were developed in collaboration with some of the world’s leading 
experts. PureTech’s internal research and development is centred on tissue-selective immunomodulation for the 
treatment of oncology, autoimmune, and CNS-related disorders, with a near-term focus on targeting newly-
discovered, foundational immunosuppressive mechanisms in oncology and novel approaches that harness the 
lymphatic infrastructure. 

Ms Zohar created PureTech Health, assembling a leading team to help implement her vision for the Company. 
Ms Zohar has been recognised as a top leader and innovator in biotechnology by a number of sources, 
including EY, BioWorld, MIT’s Technology Review, The Boston Globe, and Scientific American. She is an 
Editorial Advisor to Xconomy.

The Board

Roles and responsibilities 
of the Board

The Board is responsible to 
shareholders for the overall 
management of the Group as a whole. 
The main roles of the Board are:

•  creating value for shareholders;

•  providing business and scientific 

leadership to the Group;

•  approving the Group’s 
strategic objectives;

•  ensuring that the necessary financial 
and human resources are in place to 
meet strategic objectives;

•  overseeing the Group’s system of 

risk management; and

•  setting the values and standards for 
both the Group’s business conduct 
and governance matters.

The Directors are also responsible 
for ensuring that obligations to 
shareholders and other stakeholders 
are understood and met and that 
communication with shareholders 
is maintained. The responsibility of 
the Directors is collective, taking 
into account their respective roles 
as Executive Directors and Non-
Executive Directors. All Directors are 
equally accountable to the Company’s 
shareholders for the proper stewardship 
of its affairs and the long-term 
success of the Group.

The Board reviews strategic issues on 
a regular basis and exercises control 
over the performance of the Group by 
agreeing on budgetary and operational 
targets and monitoring performance 
against those targets. The Board has 
overall responsibility for the Group’s 
system of internal controls and risk 
management. Any decisions made by 
the Board on policies and strategy to 
be adopted by the Group or changes 
to current policies and strategy are 
made following presentations by 
the Executive Directors and other 
members of management, and only 
after a detailed process of review 
and challenge by the Board. Once 
made, the Executive Directors and 
other members of management 
are fully empowered to implement 
those decisions.

Except for a formal schedule of matters 
which are reserved for decision and 
approval by the Board, the Board has 
delegated the day-to-day management 
of the Group to the Chief Executive 
Officer who is supported by other 
members of the senior management 
team. The schedule of matters reserved 

for Board decision and approval are 
those significant to the Group as 
a whole due to their strategic, financial 
or reputational implications.

The Company’s schedule of matters 
reserved for the Board includes the 
following matters:

•  approval and monitoring of 
the Group’s strategic aims 
and objectives;

•  approval of the annual operating and 

capital expenditure budget;

•  changes to the Group’s capital 

structure, the issue of any securities 
and material borrowing of the Group;

•  approval of the annual report 

and half-year results statement, 
accounting policies and practices 
or any matter having a material 
impact on future financial 
performance of the Group;

•  ensuring a sound system of internal 

control and risk management;

•  approving Board appointments and 
removals, and approving policies 
relating to directors’ remuneration;

•  strategic acquisitions by the Group;

•  major disposals of the Group’s assets 

or subsidiaries;

•  approval of all circulars, prospectuses 

and other documents issued to 
shareholders governed by the 
Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) 
Listing Rules, Disclosure Guidance 
and Transparency Rules or the City 
Code on Takeovers and Mergers;

•  approval of terms of reference and 
membership of Board committees;

•  considering and, where appropriate, 

approving directors’ conflicts 
of interest; and

•  approval, subject to shareholder 

approval, of the appointment and 
remuneration of the auditors.

The schedule of matters reserved to 
the Board is available on request from 
the Company Secretary or within the 
Investors section of the Group’s website 
at www.puretechhealth.com.

The Board delegates specific 
responsibilities to certain committees 
that assist the Board in carrying out 
its functions and ensure independent 
oversight of internal control and risk 
management. The three principal Board 
committees (Audit, Remuneration 
and Nomination) play an essential role 
in supporting the Board in fulfilling 
its responsibilities and ensuring that 
the highest standards of corporate 

governance are maintained throughout 
the Group. Each committee has its own 
terms of reference which set out the 
specific matters for which delegated 
authority has been given by the Board.

The terms of reference for each of the 
committees are fully compliant with the 
provisions of the Governance Code. All 
of these are available on request from 
the Company Secretary or within the 
Investors section of the Group’s website 
at www.puretechhealth.com.

Board size and composition

As at 31 December 2018 and up to the 
date of approval of this Annual Report, 
there were nine Directors on the 
Board: the Non-Executive Chairman, 
two Executive Directors and six Non-
Executive Directors. The biographies 
of these Directors are provided 
on pages 46 to 50. There were no 
changes to the composition of the 
Board during 2018.

The Company’s policy relating to 
the terms of appointment and the 
remuneration of both Executive and 
Non-Executive Directors is detailed in 
the Directors’ Remuneration Report on 
pages 72 to 78.

The size and composition of the Board 
is regularly reviewed by the Nomination 
Committee to ensure there is an 
appropriate and diverse mix of skills 
and experience on the Board.

The Board may appoint any person 
to serve as a Director, either to fill 
a vacancy or as an addition to the 
existing Board. Any Director so 
appointed by the Board shall hold office 
only until the following AGM and then 
shall be eligible for election by the 
shareholders. In accordance with the 
Governance Code, all of the Directors 
will be offering themselves for election 
at the AGM to be held on 29 May 2019, 
full details of which are set out in the 
notice of meeting accompanying this 
Annual Report.

Non-Executive Directors

The Company’s Non-Executive 
Directors are Mr Joichi Ito (Chairman), 
Dr Raju Kucherlapati, Dr John 
LaMattina, Dr Robert Langer, 
Dame Marjorie Scardino, Dr Bennett 
Shapiro, and Mr Christopher 
Viehbacher. The Non-Executive 
Directors provide a wide range of skills 
and experience to the Group. Each 
Non-Executive Director has significant 
senior level experience as well as an 
extensive network in each of their 
own fields, an innovative mindset and 

50    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    51

GovernanceGovernanceThe Board  — continued 

The Board  — continued 

independent judgement on issues of 
strategy, performance and risk, and is 
well placed to constructively challenge 
and scrutinise the performance of 
management. In addition, most of our 
Non-Executive Directors also serve 
as members of one or more boards 
of directors of the Group’s affiliate 
companies and are key drivers for the 
Group’s Internal division.

Senior Independent Director

The Company’s Senior Independent 
Director is Dame Marjorie Scardino. 
A key responsibility of the Senior 
Independent Director is to be available 
to shareholders in the event that they 
may feel it inappropriate to relay 
views through the Chairman or Chief 
Executive Officer. In addition, the 
Senior Independent Director serves 
as an intermediary between the 
rest of the Board and the Chairman 
where necessary. Further, the Senior 
Independent Director will lead the 
Board in its deliberations on any 
matters on which the Chairman 
is conflicted.

The roles of Chairman and 
Chief Executive Officer

The Company’s Chairman is Mr Joichi 
Ito. There is a clear division of 
responsibilities between the Chairman 
and the Chief Executive Officer.

The Chairman is responsible for 
the leadership and conduct of the 
Board and for ensuring effective 
communication with shareholders.

The Chairman facilitates the full 
and effective contribution of Non-
Executive Directors at Board and 
Committee meetings, ensures that they 
are kept well informed and ensures 
a constructive relationship between the 
Executive Directors and Non-Executive 
Directors. The Chairman also ensures 
that the Board committees carry out 
their duties, including reporting back 
to the Board either orally or in writing 
following their meetings at the next 
Board meeting.

The role of the Chief Executive Officer, 
Ms Daphne Zohar, is to lead the 
execution of the Company’s strategy 
and the executive management of the 
Group. She is responsible, amongst 
other things, for the development 
and implementation of strategy and 
processes which enable the Group to 
meet the requirements of shareholders, 
for delivering the operating plans and 

budgets for the Group’s businesses, 
for monitoring business performance 
against key performance indicators 
(KPIs) and reporting on these to the 
Board and for providing the appropriate 
environment to recruit, engage, retain 
and develop the high quality personnel 
needed to deliver the Group’s strategy.

Independence

The UK Corporate Governance Code 
requires that at least 50 per cent of the 
Board of a UK premium listed company, 
excluding the Chairman, consists of 
Non-Executive Directors determined 
by the Board to be independent in 
character and judgement and free from 
relationships or circumstances which 
may affect, or could appear to affect, 
the Directors’ judgement. The Board 
regards Dr Kucherlapati, Dr LaMattina, 
Dame Marjorie Scardino and 
Mr Viehbacher as Independent Non-
Executive Directors for the purposes 
of the UK. Corporate Governance 
Code. In reaching this determination, 
the Board duly considered (i) their 
directorships and links with other 
Directors through their involvement 
in other subsidiary companies; and (ii) 
their equity interests in PureTech and/or 
the affiliate companies.

The Board is satisfied that the 
judgement, experience and challenging 
approach adopted by each of these 
Directors should ensure that they 
each make a significant contribution 
to the work of the Board and its 
committees. Therefore, the Board 
has determined that Dr Kucherlapati, 
Dr LaMattina, Dame Marjorie 
Scardino and Mr Viehbacher are 
of independent character and 
judgement, notwithstanding the 
circumstances described at (i) and (ii) 
above. Accordingly, 50 per cent of 
the Company’s Board, excluding the 
Chairman, consists of Non-Executive 
Directors determined by the Board 
to be independent in character and 
judgement and free from relationships 
or circumstances which may affect, 
or could appear to affect, the 
Directors’ judgement.

The Governance Code also 
requires that, on appointment, the 
Chairman meets the independence 
criteria set out in the Governance 
Code. The Board considers Mr Ito 
to have been independent in 
character and judgement on his 
appointment as Chairman.

Board support, indemnity 
and insurance

The Company Secretary, Mr Stephen 
Muniz, is responsible to the Board 
for ensuring Board procedures 
are followed, applicable rules and 
regulations are complied with and that 
the Board is advised on governance 
and relevant regulatory matters. 
All Directors have access to the 
impartial advice and services of the 
Company Secretary.

There is also an agreed procedure 
for Directors to take independent 
professional advice at the Company’s 
expense. In accordance with the 
Company’s Articles of Association 
and a contractual Deed of Indemnity, 
the Directors have been granted an 
indemnity issued by the Company 
to the extent permitted by law in 
respect of liabilities incurred to third 
parties as a result of their office. The 
indemnity would not provide any 
coverage where a Director is proved to 
have acted fraudulently or with wilful 
misconduct. The Company has also 
arranged appropriate insurance cover 
in respect of legal action against its 
Directors and officers.

Board meetings and decisions

The Board meets regularly during 
the year, as well as on an ad hoc basis 
as required by business need. The 
Board meets regularly during the 
year, as well as on an ad hoc basis as 
required by business need. Ms Zohar 
chaired the meeting which Mr Ito 
did not attend. The Board had seven 
scheduled meetings in 2018, and 
details on attendance are set forth in 
the table below:

Director

Daphne Zohar

Joichi Ito

Raju Kucherlapati

John LaMattina

Robert Langer

Marjorie Scardino

Bennett Shapiro

Christopher Viehbacher

Stephen Muniz

Number of 
Board Meetings 
Attended

7/7

6/7

7/7

7/7

6/7

6/7

7/7

7/7

7/7

The Board also acted by unanimous 
written consent twice in 2018. 

At each meeting of the Board, there 
was a closed session held in which only 
the Chairman and the Non-Executive 
Directors participated.

The schedule of Board and Committee 
meetings each year is, so far as is 
possible, determined before the 
commencement of that year and 
all Directors or, if applicable, all 
Committee members, are expected to 
attend each meeting.

Supplementary meetings of the Board 
and/or the Committees are held as 
and when necessary. Each member of 
the Board receives in advance of each 
scheduled meeting detailed Board 
packages, which include an agenda 
based upon matters to be addressed 
and appropriate presentation and 
background materials. If a Director 
is unable to attend a meeting due to 
exceptional circumstances, he or she 
will nonetheless receive the meeting 
materials and discuss the materials with 
the Chief Executive Officer.

The Chairman, Chief Executive Officer 
and senior management team work 
together to ensure that the Directors 
receive relevant information to enable 
them to discharge their duties and that 
such information is accurate, timely 
and clear. This information includes 
quarterly management accounts 
containing analysis of performance 
against budget as well as a summary 
of the operational performance of 
each of the Group’s businesses against 
its goals. Additional information is 
provided as appropriate for the topics 
being addressed at the meeting. At 
each meeting, the Board receives 
presentations from the Chief Executive 
Officer and, by invitation, other 
members of senior management as 
required. This ensures that all Directors 
are in a position to monitor effectively 
the overall performance of the Group, 
and to contribute to the development 
and implementation of its strategy.

The majority of Board meetings are 
held at the Group’s offices in Boston, 
Massachusetts, US, which gives 
members of the Company’s senior 
management team, as well as the senior 
management of the affiliate companies, 
the opportunity to formally present 
to the Board on new technology 
development and business strategies.

Most Directors also serve on the boards 
of directors of the Group’s affiliate 
companies. These affiliate company 
boards of directors meet regularly 
during the year, as well as on an ad hoc 
basis as required by business need. 

This service enables the Directors 
to have deep understanding of the 
businesses and contribute significantly 
to the strategy and oversight of 
these businesses.

Directors’ conflicts of interest

Each Director has a statutory duty 
under the Companies Act 2006 (the CA 
2006) to avoid a situation in which he or 
she has or can have a direct or indirect 
interest that conflicts or may potentially 
conflict with the interests of the 
Company. This duty is in addition to the 
continuing duty that a director owes to 
the Company to disclose to the Board 
any transaction or arrangement under 
consideration by the Company in which 
he or she is interested. The Company’s 
Articles of Association permit the 
Board to authorise conflicts or potential 
conflicts of interest. The Board has 
established procedures for managing 
and, where appropriate, authorising 
any such conflicts or potential conflicts 
of interest. In deciding whether to 
authorise any conflict, the Directors 
must have regard to their general duties 
under the CA 2006 and their overriding 
obligation to act in a way they consider, 
in good faith, will be most likely to 
promote the Company’s success. In 
addition, the Directors are able to 
impose limits or conditions when giving 
authorisation to a conflict or potential 
conflict of interest if they think this is 
appropriate. The authorisation of any 
conflict matter, and the terms of any 
authorisation, may be reviewed by the 
Board at any time. The Board believes 
that the procedures established to 
deal with conflicts of interest are 
operating effectively.

Induction, awareness 
and development

In preparation for the IPO, all Directors 
received an induction briefing from 
the Company’s legal advisors on their 
duties and responsibilities as Directors 
of a publicly quoted company. The 
Directors also received presentations 
from the Company’s corporate brokers 
prior to the Company’s initial public 
offering. In addition, in order to ensure 
that the Directors continue to further 
their understanding of the challenges 
facing the Group’s affiliate companies 
and Internal division, the Board 
periodically receives the presentations 
and reports covering the business and 
operations of each of the Group’s affiliate 
companies as well as its Internal division.

Board effectiveness and 
performance evaluation

The Board periodically reviews its 
effectiveness and performance. 
The Board seeks the assistance of 
an independent third party provider 
at least once every three years in its 
evaluation in compliance with the 
Governance Code, and will otherwise 
carry out an internally facilitated 
Board evaluation led by the Senior 
Independent Director, assisted by 
the Company Secretary, covering the 
effectiveness of the Board as a whole, its 
individual Directors and its Committees. 

In January 2019, the Company engaged 
Dr Tracy Long, an independent third-
party advisor, to conduct an evaluation 
of effectiveness of the Company’s 
Board. The evaluation focused on 
the Board’s strengths and challenges 
as identified by the Directors in 
questionnaires provided to Dr Long. 
Dr Long initially held a number of 
pre-briefings with the Directors. 
A workshop was thereafter led by 
Dr Long during which the Directors 
exchanged ideas on how the Board 
could optimise its contribution to the 
success of PureTech and prepare for the 
future. It was concluded that the Board 
is effectively carrying out its duties.

In consultation with Dr Long, the 
Directors also evaluated the following:

•  shareholder and stakeholder 

relationships and 
communication channels; 

•  clarity of the role and objectives 

of the Board, and the quality of its 
debate and decision making; 

•  the leadership of the Chairman, 

and encouragement of individual 
and collective contribution; 

•  the roles and relationships 

between Executive and Non-
Executive Directors; 

•  the Board’s composition, its blend of 
voices, and succession planning;

•  management’s use of formal and 

informal Board time; and

•  use and reporting of Committees 
and the governance framework.

The Board will continue to consult 
with Dr Long as it implements the 
concepts discussed in the workshop. 
A summary of the results of the review, 
together with Dr Long’s observations 
and recommendations, will be prepared 
and shared with members of the Board.

52    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

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GovernanceGovernanceThe Board  — continued

Corporate and Social Responsibility

In addition to the above, the Non-
Executive Directors, led by the Senior 
Independent Director, will periodically 
appraise the Chairman’s performance, 
following which the Senior Independent 
Director will provide feedback to 
the Chairman. The performance of 
each of the Directors on the Board 
will be reviewed by the Chairman as 
deemed necessary. The performance 
of Executive Directors will be reviewed 
by the Board on an ongoing basis, as 
deemed necessary, in the absence of 
the Executive Director under review.

Committees of the Board

Control environment and procedures 
The Group has a clear organisational 
structure with defined responsibilities 
and accountabilities. It adopts the 
highest values surrounding quality, 
integrity and ethics, and these values 
are communicated clearly throughout 
the whole organisation. Detailed 
written policies and procedures 
have been established covering key 
operating and compliance risk areas. 
These policies and procedures are 
reviewed and the effectiveness of the 
systems of internal control is assessed 
periodically by the Board.

The Board has three committees: the 
Nomination Committee, the Audit 
Committee and the Remuneration 
Committee. The composition of 
the three committees of the Board 
and the attendance of the members 
throughout the year is set out in 
the respective committee reports 
contained in this Annual Report. The 
terms of reference of each committee 
are available on request from the 
Company Secretary and within the 
Investors section of the Group’s website 
at www.puretechhealth.com.

Identification and evaluation of risks
The Board actively identifies and 
evaluates the risks inherent in the 
business, and ensures that appropriate 
controls and procedures are in place to 
manage these risks. The Board obtains 
an update regarding its Internal division 
and all affiliate companies on a regular 
basis, and reviews the performance of 
the Group and its Internal division and 
affiliate companies on a quarterly basis, 
although performance of business units 
may be reviewed more frequently if 
deemed appropriate.

Internal Control

The Board fully recognises the 
importance of the guidance contained 
in the Guidance on Risk Management, 
Internal Control and Related Financial 
and Business Reporting. The Group’s 
internal controls were in place during 
the whole of 2018, were reviewed by 
the Audit Committee of the Board of 
Directors and were considered to be 
effective throughout the year ended 
31 December 2018.

The Board is responsible for 
establishing and monitoring internal 
control systems and for reviewing the 
effectiveness of these systems. The 
Board views the effective operation of 
a rigorous system of internal control 
as critical to the success of the Group; 
however, it recognises that such 
systems are designed to manage 
rather than eliminate risk of failure and 
can provide only reasonable and not 
absolute assurance against material 
misstatement or loss. The key elements 
of the Group’s internal control system, 
all of which have been in place during 
the financial year and up to the date 
these financial statements were 
approved, are as follows:

The key risks and uncertainties 
faced by the Group, as well as the 
relevant mitigations, are set out on 
pages 36 to 38.

Information and financial 
reporting systems
The Group evaluates and manages 
significant risks associated with the 
process for preparing consolidated 
accounts by having in place systems 
and controls that ensure adequate 
accounting records are maintained and 
transactions are recorded accurately 
and fairly to permit the preparation 
of financial statements in accordance 
with IFRS. The Board approves the 
annual operating budgets and regularly 
receives details of actual performance 
measured against the budget.

Principal risks and uncertainties

The operations of the Group and the 
implementation of its objectives and 
strategy are subject to a number of 
key risks and uncertainties. Risks are 
formally reviewed by the Board at least 
annually and appropriate procedures 
are put in place to monitor and, to the 
extent possible, mitigate these risks.

A summary of the key risks affecting the 
Group and the steps taken to manage 
these risks is set out on pages 36 to 38.

Relations with stakeholders

The Company is committed 
to a continuous dialogue with 
shareholders as it believes that 
this is essential to ensure a greater 
understanding of and confidence 
amongst its shareholders in the medium 
and longer term strategy of the Group 
and in the Board’s ability to oversee its 
implementation. It is the responsibility 
of the Board as a whole to ensure that 
a satisfactory dialogue takes place.

The Board’s primary shareholder 
contact is through the Chief Executive 
Officer. The Chairman, the Senior 
Independent Director and other 
Directors, as appropriate, make 
themselves available for contact 
with major shareholders and other 
stakeholders in order to understand 
their issues and concerns.

The Company plans to use the AGM 
as an opportunity to communicate 
with its shareholders. Notice of the 
AGM, which will be held at 3.00 pm 
on 29 May 2019 at DLA Piper UK 
LLP, 160 Aldersgate Street, London 
EC1A 4HT, is enclosed with this report. 
Details of the resolutions and the 
explanatory notes thereto are included 
with the Notice. To ensure compliance 
with the Governance Code, the Board 
proposes separate resolutions for 
each issue and proxy forms allow 
shareholders who are unable to attend 
the AGM to vote for or against or to 
withhold their vote on each resolution. 
In addition, to encourage shareholders 
to participate in the AGM process, the 
Company proposes to offer electronic 
proxy voting through the Registrar’s 
website and through the CREST service. 
The results of all proxy voting will be 
published on the Group’s website after 
the AGM. Shareholders who attend 
the AGM will have the opportunity to 
ask questions.

The Group’s website at 
www.puretechhealth.com is the primary 
source of information on the Group. 
The website includes an overview of 
the activities of the Group, details of 
its businesses, and details of all recent 
Group announcements.

Political expenditure

It is the Board’s policy not to incur 
political expenditure or otherwise 
make cash contributions to political 
parties and it has no intention of 
changing that policy.

Policy statement

PureTech Health aims to conduct 
its business in a socially responsible 
manner, to contribute to the 
communities in which it operates and to 
respect the needs of its employees and 
all of its stakeholders.

The Group is committed to growing 
the business while ensuring a safe 
environment for employees as well 
as minimising the overall impact on 
the environment.

PureTech endeavours to conduct its 
business in accordance with established 
best practice, to be a responsible 
employer and to adopt values and 
standards designed to help guide 
staff in their conduct and business 
relationships.

Our business ethics and 
social responsibility

PureTech seeks to conduct all of its 
operating and business activities in an 
honest, ethical and socially responsible 
manner. The Group is committed to 
acting professionally, fairly and with 
integrity in all its business dealings 
and relationships wherever it operates, 
and ensuring its Directors and staff 
have due regard to the interest of 
all of its stakeholders including its 
shareholders, its employees, its 
partners, the government and the wider 
patient community.

The Group takes a zero tolerance 
approach to bribery and corruption 
and implements and enforces effective 
systems to counter bribery. The 
Group is bound by the laws of the UK, 
including the Bribery Act 2010, and has 
implemented policies and procedures 
based on such laws.

The Group’s management and 
employees are fundamental to its 
success, and as a result the Group 
is committed to encouraging their 

ongoing development with the aim 
of maximising the Group’s overall 
performance. Emphasis is placed on 
staff development through work-based 
learning, with senior members of staff 
acting as coaches and mentors.

Greenhouse gas emissions

Given the overall size of the Group, 
we consider the direct environmental 
impact of the Group as relatively 
low. However, we firmly recognise 
our responsibility to ensure that our 
business operates in an environmentally 
responsible and sustainable manner.

The Group complies with all current 
regulations on emissions, including 
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, 
where such regulation exists 
in our markets.

Though the Group’s day-to-day 
operational activities have a relatively 
limited impact on the environment, the 
Company does recognise that the more 
significant impact occurs indirectly 
through the nature and operations of its 
affiliate companies.

The Group therefore considers it 
important that its affiliate companies 
also comply with existing applicable 
environmental, ethical and social 
legislation. These affiliate companies 
should also demonstrate that an 
appropriate strategy is in place to 
meet future applicable legislative and 
regulatory requirements and that these 
affiliate companies can operate to 
specific industry standards, striving for 
best practice.

For the 2018 year, we have included our 
voluntary reporting of GHG emissions, 
as well as wider details on the Group’s 
environmental impact. The reporting 
period is the same as the Group’s 
financial year.

Organisation boundary 
and scope of emissions

We have reported on all of the emission 
sources required under the Companies 
Act 2006 (Strategic Report and 
Directors’ Reports) Regulations 2013. 
These sources fall within the Group’s 
consolidated financial statement.

An operational control approach 
has been used in order to define our 
organisational boundary. This is the 
basis for determining the Scope 1, 2 
and 3 emissions for which the Group 
is responsible. 

Methodology

For the Group’s reporting, the 
Group has employed the services 
of a specialist adviser, Verco, to 
quantify and verify the GHG emissions 
associated with the Group’s operations.

The following methodology was 
applied by Verco in the preparation and 
presentation of this data:

•  the Greenhouse Gas Protocol 

published by the World 
Business Council for Sustainable 
Development and the World 
Resources Institute (WBCSD/WRI 
GHG Protocol); 

•  application of appropriate emission 
factors to the Group’s activities to 
calculate GHG emissions;

• 

implementation of the new 
Scope 2 reporting methods – 
application of location-based and 
market-based emission factors for 
electricity supplies;

• 

inclusion of all the applicable Kyoto 
gases, expressed in carbon dioxide 
equivalents, or CO2e; and

•  presentation of gross emissions as 

the Group does not purchase carbon 
credits (or equivalents). 

54    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

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GovernanceGovernanceCorporate and Social Responsibility  — continued 

Corporate and Social Responsibility  — continued 

Absolute Emissions

The total Scope 1, 2 and 3 GHG 
emissions from the Group’s 
operations in the year ending 
31 December 2018 were: 

•  1,378.7 tonnes of CO2 equivalent 
(tCO2e) using a ‘location-based’ 
emission factor methodology for 
Scope 2 emissions;

•  1,378.7 tonnes of CO2 equivalent 
(tCO2e) using a ‘market-based’ 
emission factor methodology for 
Scope 2 emissions.

This is the third year of reporting for 
the Group so we show a comparison 
between FY2018, FY2017 and FY2016. 
The Group’s total employee number has 
increased considerably between years. 

Overall, there has been an increase 
in total emissions. There have been 
increases across all three scopes. 
Scope 3 emissions have had the most 
significant increase which is due to 
there being more employees, more 
business travel (especially air travel), 
and more commuting. Scope 2 
emissions have doubled due to an 
increase in consumption. Scope 1 
has increased due to increased use 
of natural gas at the Company’s 
office headquarters.

result from the operation of the Group’s 
offices and the day-to-day activities of 
the employees. 

For 2018, the intensity metrics have 
increased from 0.07 tCO2e per m2 to 
0.09 tCO2e per m2 for both the location-
based method and the market-based 
method. The employee number metrics 
have decreased from 1.58 tCO2e 
per FTE to 0.78 tCO2e per FTE using 
the location-based method and the 
market-based method. 

Intensity Ratio

As well as reporting the absolute 
emissions, the Group’s GHG emissions 
are reported below on the metrics of 
tonnes of CO2 equivalent per employee 
and tonnes of CO2 equivalent per 
square metre of the occupied areas. 
These are the most appropriate metrics 
given that the majority of emissions 

Target and Baselines

Given the comparatively low GHG 
impact of the Group’s operations, 
the Group’s objective is to maintain 
or reduce its GHG emissions per 
employee and per square meter 
of office space each year and will 
report each year whether it has been 
successful in this regard.

Key figures

Breakdown of emissions by scope

Tonnes of CO2e

2018 (market-based)

2% 

11% 

2018 (location-based)

2% 

11% 

Scope 1

Scope 2

Scope 3

87%

87%

GHG emissions

2018

2017

2016

Tonnes
CO2e

Tonnes
CO2e  
per m2

Tonnes
CO2e  
per FTE

Scope 11
Scope 22
Scope 23
Subtotal (location-based)
Subtotal (market-based)
Scope 34 
Scope 35 

33.3
145.5
145.6
178.8
178.8
1,199.9 
1,199.9 

Total GHG emissions  
(Location-based Scope 2)  1,378.7 

Total GHG emissions  
(Market-based Scope 2) 

1,378.7 

0.02
0.07
0.07
0.09
0.09
—
—

—

—

0.15
0.64
0.64
0.78
0.78
—
—

—

—

Tonnes
CO2e

25.1
120.1
120.2
145.2
145.3
791.9
791.9 

937.0

937.2 

Tonnes
CO2e  
per m2

Tonnes
CO2e  
per FTE

0.01
0.06
0.06
0.07
0.07
—
—

—

—

0.76
0.82
0.82
1.58
1.58
—
—

—

—

Tonnes
CO2e

24.4
75.8
92.1
100.2
116.5
505.7
509.2 

605.9

625.7 

Tonnes
CO2e  
per m2

Tonnes
CO2e  
per FTE

0.01
0.04
0.04
0.05
0.06
—
—

—

—

0.29
0.90
1.10
1.19
1.39
—
—

—

—

1  Scope 1 being emissions from the Group’s combustion of fuel and operation of facilities.

2  Scope 2 being electricity (from location-based calculations), heat, steam and cooling purchased for the Group’s own use.

3  Scope 2 being electricity (from market-based calculations), heat, steam and cooling purchased for the Group’s own use.

4  Scope 3 being all indirect emissions (not in Scope 2) that occur in the value chain of the reporting company, including both upstream and 

downstream emissions (location-based)

5  Scope 3 being all indirect emissions (not in Scope 2) that occur in the value chain of the reporting company, including both upstream and 

downstream emissions (market-based)

Employee diversity, employment 
policies and human rights

The Group seeks to operate as 
a responsible employer and has 
adopted standards which promote 
corporate values designed to help and 
guide employees in their conduct and 
business relationships. The Group seeks 
to comply with all laws, regulations and 
rules applicable to its business and 
to conduct the business in line with 
applicable established best practice. 

The Group’s policy is one of equal 
opportunity in the selection, training, 
career development and promotion 
of employees, regardless of age, 
gender, sexual orientation, ethnic 
origin, religion and whether disabled or 
otherwise. The Group, including affiliate 
companies, has 225 full-time employees 
(as at 31 December 2018). A breakdown 
of staff by gender can be seen in the 
adjacent illustrations.

The Group supports the rights of all 
people as set out in the UN Universal 
Declaration of Human Rights and 
ensures that all transactions the Group 
enters into uphold these principles.

Breakdown of staff by gender

The following is a breakdown of the 
Company’s staff by gender as of 
31 December 2018.1

Director

Staff

Female Male

8 (67%) 4 (33%)

Senior Management 5 (38%) 8 (62%)

Board of Directors

2 (22%) 7 (78%)

1  Does not include employees of affiliate 

companies. The Group, including affiliate 
companies, has 225 full-time employees (as 
at 31 December 2018).

56    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    57

GovernanceGovernance 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Directors’ Report for the year ended 31 December 2018

Directors’ Report for the year ended 31 December 2018  — continued 

The Directors present their report and 
the audited consolidated financial 
statements for the financial year ended 
31 December 2018.

Certain disclosure requirements for 
inclusion in this report have been 
incorporated by way of cross reference 
to the Strategy report and the Directors’ 
Remuneration Report, which should be 
read in conjunction with this report.

The Company was incorporated on 
8 May 2015 as a public company limited 
by shares in the UK with its registered 
office situated at 5th Floor, 6 St Andrew 
Street, London, EC4A 3AE, United 
Kingdom. The Company was admitted 
to the premium listing segment of 
the Official List of the UK Listing 
Authority and to trading on the main 
market of the London Stock Exchange 
on 24 June 2015.

Directors

The membership of the Board can be 
found below and biographical details 
of the directors can be found on 
pages 46 to 50 and are deemed to be 
incorporated into this report.

Descriptions of the terms of the service 
contracts of the directors is set forth on 
page 76 of this report.

All directors shall retire from 
office and will offer themselves for 
reappointment by the members at the 
Company’s upcoming AGM.

Details of the interests of directors in 
the share capital of the Company as of 
31 December 2018 are set out in the 
Directors’ Remuneration Report on 
page 76 and note 24 to the financial 
statements, page 131. There have 
been no changes in such interests from 
31 December 2018 to 16 April 2019.

Results and dividends

Substantial shareholders

The Group generated a loss for the 
year ended 31 December 2018 of 
$70.7 million (2017 $75.1 million – as 
adjusted, see note 1 on page 102).

The Directors do not recommend the 
payment of a dividend for the year 
ended 31 December 2018 (2017 nil).

Share capital

As at 31 December 2018, the ordinary 
issued share capital of the Company 
stood at 282,493,867 shares of £0.01 
each. Details on share capital are 
set out in note 14 to the financial 
statements, page 116.

The Company’s issued ordinary 
share capital comprises a single 
class of ordinary shares. Details on 
movements in issued share capital can 
be found in note 14 to the financial 
statements, page 116.

Rights of ordinary shares

All of the Company’s issued ordinary 
shares are fully paid up and rank pari 
passu in all respects and there are no 
special rights with regard to control of 
the Company. There are no restrictions 
on the transfer of ordinary shares or on 
the exercise of voting rights attached 
to them, which are governed by the 
Articles of Association and relevant UK 
legislation. The Directors are not aware 
of any agreements between holders of 
the Company’s shares that may result in 
restrictions on the transfer of securities 
or in voting rights.

As at 16 April 2019, the Company had 
been advised that the shareholders 
listed on page 59 hold interests of 3 per 
cent or more in its ordinary share capital 
(other than interests of the Directors 
which are detailed on page 76 of the 
Directors’ Remuneration Report). 
Other than as shown, so far as the 
Company (and its Directors) are aware, 
no other person holds or is beneficially 
interested in a disclosable interest 
in the Company.

Relationship Agreement

In accordance with Listing Rule 9.8.4(14)
R, the Company has set out below 
a statement describing the relationship 
agreement entered into by the 
Company with its principal shareholder.

On 18 June 2015, the Company entered 
into a Relationship Agreement with 
Invesco Asset Management Limited 
(Invesco), which came into force at the 
Company’s IPO. The principal purpose 
of the Relationship Agreement is to 
ensure that the Company is capable 
at all times of carrying on its business 
independently of Invesco.

If any person acquires control of the 
Company or the Company ceases 
to be admitted to the Official List, 
the Relationship Agreement may 
be terminated by Invesco. If Invesco 
(together with its associates) ceases to 
hold 30 per cent or more of the voting 
rights over the Company’s shares, the 
Relationship Agreement shall terminate 
save for certain specified provisions.

The following have served as Directors of the Company during the 2018 financial year.

Mr Joichi Ito

Ms Daphne Zohar

Non-Executive Chairman

Chief Executive Officer

Dame Marjorie Scardino

Senior Independent Director

Dr Bennett Shapiro

Dr Robert Langer

Dr Raju Kucherlapati

Dr John LaMattina

Non-Executive Director

Non-Executive Director

Independent Non-Executive Director

Independent Non-Executive Director

Mr Christopher Viehbacher

Independent Non-Executive Director

Mr Stephen Muniz

Chief Operating Officer and Company Secretary

The Relationship Agreement provides 
that Invesco undertakes to use all 
reasonable endeavours to procure 
that its associates and any person with 
whom it is acting in concert shall:

•  conduct all agreements, 

arrangements, transactions and 
relationships with any member of the 
Group on an arm’s length basis and 
on a normal commercial basis and 
in accordance with the related party 
transaction requirements of Chapter 
11 of the Listing Rules;

•  not take any action that would 

have the effect of preventing the 
Company from complying with its 
obligations under the Listing Rules or 
precluding or inhibiting any member 
of the Group from carrying on its 
business independently of Invesco, 
its associates and any person with 
whom it is acting in concert;

•  not propose or procure the proposal 
of a shareholder resolution which 
is intended to, or appears to be 
intended to, circumvent the proper 
application of the Listing Rules; and

•  not exercise any of its voting rights 
attaching to the shares held by 
it to procure any amendment 
to the Articles of Association of 
the Company which would be 
inconsistent with, undermine or 
breach any of the provisions of the 
Relationship Agreement.

The Directors believe that the terms 
of the Relationship Agreement 
enable the Company to carry on its 
business independently from Invesco 
and its affiliates, and ensure that all 
transactions and relationships between 
the Company and Invesco are, and will 
be, at arm’s length and on a normal 
commercial basis.

The Company has and, in so far as it 
is aware, Invesco and its associates 
have, complied with the independence 
provisions set out in the Relationship 
Agreement from the date of the 
agreement, through the relevant period 
under review. 

The ordinary shares owned by Invesco 
rank pari passu with the other ordinary 
shares in all respects.

Powers of the Directors

Subject to the Company’s Articles of 
Association, UK legislation and any 
directions given by special resolution, 
the business of the Company is 
managed by the Board of Directors. 
Details of the matters reserved for the 
Board can be found in the Corporate 
Governance Report on page 51.

Articles of Association

The Articles of Association of the 
Company can only be amended by 
special resolution at a general meeting 
of the shareholders. No amendments 
are proposed at the 2019 AGM.

Directors’ liabilities 
(Directors’ indemnities)

As at the date of this report, the 
Company has granted qualifying 
third party indemnities to each of 
its Directors against any liability 
that attaches to them in defending 
proceedings brought against them, to 
the extent permitted by the Companies 
Act. In addition, Directors and officers 
of the Company and its affiliate 
companies have been and continue to 
be covered by directors’ and officers’ 
liability insurance.

See further description of indemnity 
and insurance on page 52.

Political donations

No political contributions/donations for 
political purposes were made by the 
Company or any affiliate company in the 
Group to any political party, politician, 
elected official or candidate for public 
office during the financial year ended 
31 December 2018 (2017 nil).

Charitable Donations

No charitable contributions/donations 
for charitable purposes were made by 
the Company during the financial year 
ended 31 December 2018 (2017 nil).

Shareholder

Invesco Asset Management Limited

Lansdowne Partners International Limited

Baillie Gifford & Co

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.

Recordati SA

%

31.9

9.7

9.0

6.5

3.4

Significant agreements

There are no agreements between the 
Company or any affiliate company in 
the Group and any of its employees 
or any Director which provide for 
compensation to be paid to an 
employee or a Director for loss of 
office as a consequence of a takeover 
of the Company.

Compliance with the UK Corporate 
Governance Code

The Directors are committed to a high 
standard of corporate governance 
and compliance with the best practice 
of the Governance Code published 
in April 2016. The UK Corporate 
Governance Code is available at the 
Financial Reporting Council website at 
www.frc.org.uk.

The Directors consider that the 
Company has, throughout the year 
ended 31 December 2018, applied the 
main principles and complied with the 
provisions set out in the UK Corporate 
Governance Code.

Further explanation as to how the 
provisions set out in the UK Corporate 
Governance Code have been 
applied by the Company is provided 
in this Report, the Nomination 
Committee Report and the Audit 
Committee Report.

Financial instruments

The financial risk management and 
internal control processes and policies, 
and exposure to the risks associated 
with financial instruments can be found 
in note 21 to the financial statements 
and the Corporate Governance section 
of the Annual Report on page 54.

Sustainable development and 
environmental matters

The Corporate and Social Responsibility 
section of this report focuses on the 
health and safety, environmental 
and employment performance of 
the Company’s operations, and 
outlines the Company’s core values 
and commitment to the principles 
of sustainable development 
and development of community 
relations programmes.

58    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

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GovernanceGovernanceDirectors’ Report for the year ended 31 December 2018  — continued 

Directors’ Report for the year ended 31 December 2018  — continued 

Details of the Company’s policies and 
performance, as well as disclosures 
concerning GHG emissions, are 
provided in the Corporate and 
Social Responsibility section on 
pages 55 to 57.

Related party transactions

Details of related party transactions 
can be found in note 24 of the financial 
statements on pages 130 to 131.

Issuances of equity by major 
subsidiary undertaking

On 31 January 2018, resTORbio, Inc., 
an affiliate of PureTech, announced the 
closing of its IPO of 6,516,667 shares of 
common stock at a public offering price 
of $15.00 per share, which included the 
exercise in full by the underwriters of 
their option to purchase up to 850,000 
additional shares. The gross proceeds 
from the offering were $97.8 million, 
before deducting underwriting 
discounts and commissions and 
estimated offering expenses. The 
shares commenced trading on the 
Nasdaq Global Select Market on 
26 January 2018 under the ticker 
symbol TORC. PureTech purchased 
233,333 shares of resTORbio common 
stock in the IPO.

On 18 February 2018, The Sync Project 
was acquired by Bose Corporation 
as part of a strategic decision to 
move that technology to a more 
consumer-facing path.

On 1 March 2018, Gelesis, an affiliate 
of PureTech, successfully completed 
a $30.0 million financing round 
from existing investors, including 
$5.0 million from PureTech and 
$18 million from Invesco. Proceeds of 
the financing will be used to support 
commercial-stage manufacturing, 
product launch preparations, 
company operations, and the clinical 
advancement of the Gelesis pipeline 
of additional product candidates for 
gastrointestinal disorders.

On 8 May 2018, Akili, an affiliate of 
PureTech, successfully completed 
a $55 million Series C financing 
round from both new and existing 
investors. Proceeds from the 
financing will be used to advance 
Akili’s pipeline of prescription digital 
treatment candidates, including the 
progression of AKL-T01 through key 
regulatory milestones and commercial 
preparations. Akili also plans to use 
these funds to advance product 
candidates in multiple sclerosis (MS) 

and depression to potential registration 
trials and to broaden its product 
pipeline. As a result of this financing, 
PureTech no longer holds a majority of 
the voting stock of Akili and therefore 
Akili has been deconsolidated from 
PureTech’s financial statements. 

On 1 August 2018, Karuna Therapeutics, 
an affiliate of PureTech, successfully 
completed a $42 million Series A 
financing round, including the 
issuance of $22 million in shares upon 
conversion of outstanding debt into 
equity. Proceeds from the financing will 
be used to advance its lead product 
candidate, KarXT, including the 
initiation of a Phase 2 trial in patients 
with schizophrenia in the third quarter 
of 2018 and the expansion into other 
therapeutic areas, including a non-
opiate pain indication.

On 9 August 2018, Akili, an affiliate of 
PureTech, announced the expansion of 
its Series C financing, raising $13 million 
in additional funding. 

On 21 December 2018, Vedanta 
Biosciences, an affiliate of PureTech, 
successfully completed a $27 million 
Series C financing round from new and 
existing investors, including $5 million 
from PureTech and $5 million from 
Invesco. Proceeds from the financing 
will be used to advance Vedanta 
Biosciences’ pipeline of microbiome-
derived product candidates, including 
a Phase 1/2 study of VE416 in food 
allergy, a Phase 1b/2 study of VE800 
and Opdivo (nivolumab) in advanced 
or metastatic cancers, and the 
recently initiated Phase 2 study of 
VE303 in recurrent Clostridium difficile 
infection (rCDI).

See also equity issuances described 
in Subsequent Events below. 

Future business developments

Information on the Company and its 
Internal division and affiliate companies’ 
future developments can be found in 
the Strategic Report on pages 14 to 17.

Risk and internal controls

The principal risks the Group faces are 
set out on pages 36 to 38. The Audit 
Committee’s assessment of internal 
controls are laid out on page 65.

Subsequent Events

On 12 February 2019, Vor Biopharma, 
an affiliate of PureTech, successfully 
completed a $42 million Series A 
financing round from new and 

existing investors. Proceeds from 
the financing will be used to advance 
Vor’s lead engineered haematopoietic 
stem cell (HSC)-based candidate 
for the treatment of acute myeloid 
leukaemia (AML) towards the clinic, 
and to further build its pipeline to treat 
haematologic malignancies.

On 15 March 2019, Karuna Therapeutics, 
an affiliate of PureTech, successfully 
completed a $68 million Series B 
financing round from new and existing 
investors, including the issuance of 
$5 million in shares upon conversion 
of debt into equity, and $5 million 
from PureTech. Proceeds from the 
financing will be used to advance the 
development of KarXT into several 
new indications, including geriatric 
psychosis and pain; to progress new 
formulations of KarXT; expand the 
pipeline; and to continue to build 
company infrastructure. 

On 1 April 2019, Karuna Therapeutics 
announced the expansion of its 
Series B financing, raising $12 million 
in additional funding. On 8 April 2019, 
Karuna further expanded its Series B 
financing, issuing $2 million in shares 
upon conversion of debt into equity.

On 11 April 2019, Sonde Health, an 
affiliate of PureTech, completed 
a $16 million series A round, including 
the issuance of $6 million in shares 
upon conversion of debt into equity. 
Proceeds will be used to expand its 
capability across additional health 
conditions and device types and to 
fund commercialisation activities.

On 16 April 2019, PureTech Health 
entered into a partnership with 
Boehringer Ingelheim to advance 
immuno-oncology product candidates 
using PureTech’s lymphatic targeting 
platform. Under terms of the 
agreement, PureTech Health will receive 
up to $26 million, including upfront 
payments, research support, and 
preclinical milestones, and is eligible 
to receive more than $200 million in 
development and sales milestones, in 
addition to royalties on product sales.

On 14 April 2019, Gelesis announced 
FDA clearance for PLENITY™ as 
an aid for weight management 
in adults with a Body Mass Index 
(BMI) of 25-40 kg/m2, when used in 
conjunction with diet and exercise.

Research and Development

Information on the Group’s research and development activities can be found in the Strategic Report on pages 14 to 17.

Going concern

The Directors have a reasonable expectation that the Group has adequate resources to continue in operational existence into 
the first quarter of 2022. For this reason, they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements.

Annual General Meeting

The AGM will be held at 3.00 pm on 29 May 2019 at DLA Piper UK LLP, 160 Aldersgate Street, London EC1A 4HT.

The Notice of the Meeting, together with an explanation of the items of business, will be contained in a circular to 
shareholders to be dated 24 April 2019.

Pension schemes

Information on the Company’s 401K Plan can be found in the Annual Report on Remuneration on page 72.

Disclosure of information under Listing Rule 9.8.4R

For the purposes of LR 9.8.4R, the information required to be disclosed can be found in the sections of the Annual Report and 
Financial Statements listed in the table below.

Listing Rule Requirement 

Location in Annual Report 

A statement of the amount of interest capitalised during the period under review and 
details of any related tax relief.

N/A

Information required in relation to the publication of unaudited financial information.

N/A

Details of any long-term incentive schemes.

Directors’ Remuneration Report, 
page 72 

Details of any arrangements under which a Director has waived emoluments, 
or agreed to waive any future emoluments, from the Company.

N/A

Details of any non-pre-emptive issues of equity for cash.

Financial Review, page 41

Details of any non-pre-emptive issues of equity for cash by any unlisted major 
subsidiary undertaking.

N/A

Details of parent participation in a placing by a listed subsidiary.

Directors’ Report, page 60

Details of any contract of significance in which a Director is or was materially interested.

N/A

Details of any contract of significance between the Company  
(or one of its subsidiaries) and a controlling shareholder.

Details of any provision of services by a controlling shareholder.

Details of waiver of dividends or future dividends by a shareholder.

Where a shareholder has agreed to waive dividends, details of such waiver, together 
with those relating to dividends which are payable during the period under review.

Board statements in respect of relationship agreement with the controlling shareholder.

Invesco Relationship Agreement, 
page 58

N/A 

N/A

N/A

Invesco Relationship Agreement, 
page 58

Whistleblowing, anti-bribery and corruption

The Group seeks at all times to conduct its business with the highest standards of integrity and honesty. The Group also has 
an anti-bribery and corruption policy which prohibits the Group’s employees from engaging in bribery or any other form 
of corruption. In addition, the Group has a whistleblowing policy under which staff are encouraged to report to the Chief 
Executive Officer or the Chief Operating Officer any alleged wrongdoing, breach of legal obligation or improper conduct by 
or on the part of the Group or any officers, Directors, employees, consultants or advisors of the Group.

Appointment of auditor

KPMG LLP, the external Auditor of the Company, was appointed in 2015 and a resolution proposing their reappointment will 
be proposed at the forthcoming AGM.

60    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    61

GovernanceGovernanceDirectors’ Report for the year ended 31 December 2018  — continued 

Report of the Nomination Committee

Disclosure of information to auditor

Each of the persons who is a Director 
at the date of approval of this Annual 
Report confirms that:

•  so far as the Director is aware, there 
is no relevant audit information 
of which the Company’s Auditor 
is unaware; and

•  the Director has taken all steps 

that he/she ought to have taken as 
a Director in order to make himself/ 
herself aware of any relevant audit 
information and to establish that 
the Company’s Auditor is aware of 
that information.

This confirmation is given and 
should be interpreted in accordance 
with the provisions of Section 418 
of the CA 2006.

Statement of Directors’ 
responsibilities in respect of 
the Annual Report and the 
financial statements

The Directors are responsible for 
preparing the Annual Report and the 
Group and parent Company financial 
statements in accordance with 
applicable law and regulations. 

Company law requires the Directors to 
prepare Group and parent Company 
financial statements for each financial 
year. Under that law they are required to 
prepare the Group financial statements 
in accordance with International 
Financial Reporting Standards as 
adopted by the European Union (IFRSs 
as adopted by the EU) and applicable 
law and have elected to prepare the 
parent Company financial statements 
on the same basis. 

Under company law the Directors must 
not approve the financial statements 
unless they are satisfied that they give 
a true and fair view of the state of affairs 
of the Group and parent Company and 
of their profit or loss for that period. In 
preparing each of the Group and parent 
Company financial statements, the 
Directors are required to: 

•  select suitable accounting policies 
and then apply them consistently; 

•  make judgements and estimates that 
are reasonable, relevant and reliable; 

•  state whether they have been 

prepared in accordance with IFRSs 
as adopted by the EU; 

•  assess the Group and parent 
Company’s ability to continue 
as a going concern, disclosing, 
as applicable, matters related to 
going concern; and 

•  use the going concern basis of 

accounting unless they either intend 
to liquidate the Group or the parent 
Company or to cease operations, 
or have no realistic alternative 
but to do so. 

The Directors are responsible for 
keeping adequate accounting records 
that are sufficient to show and explain 
the parent Company’s transactions and 
disclose with reasonable accuracy at 
any time the financial position of the 
parent Company and enable them to 
ensure that its financial statements 
comply with the Companies Act 2006. 
They are 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, and have general responsibility 
for taking such steps as are reasonably 
open to them to safeguard the assets 
of the Group and to prevent and detect 
fraud and other irregularities. 

Under applicable law and regulations, 
the Directors are also responsible for 
preparing a Strategic Report, Directors’ 
Report, Directors’ Remuneration Report 
and Corporate Governance Statement 
that complies with that law and 
those regulations. 

The Directors are responsible for 
the maintenance and integrity of the 
corporate and financial information 
included on the Company’s website. 
Legislation in the UK governing the 
preparation and dissemination of 
financial statements may differ from 
legislation in other jurisdictions.

Responsibility statement of the 
Directors in respect of the annual 
financial report 

We confirm that to the best of 
our knowledge: 

•  the financial statements, prepared in 
accordance with the applicable set 
of accounting standards, give a true 
and fair view of the assets, liabilities, 
financial position and profit or loss of 
the Company and the undertakings 
included in the consolidation taken 
as a whole; and 

•  the strategic report includes a fair 
review of the development and 
performance of the business and 
the position of the issuer and 
the undertakings included in the 
consolidation taken as a whole, 
together with a description of the 
principal risks and uncertainties 
that they face. 

We consider the annual report and 
accounts, taken as a whole, is fair, 
balanced and understandable and 
provides the information necessary 
for shareholders to assess the Group’s 
position and performance, business 
model and strategy.

By Order of the Board

Stephen Muniz 

Company Secretary

16 April 2019

Diversity policy

Diversity within the Company’s 
Board is essential in maximising its 
effectiveness, as it enriches debates, 
business planning and problem solving. 
The Company approaches diversity 
in its widest sense so as to recruit the 
best talent available, based on merit 
and assessed against objective criteria 
of skills, knowledge, independence 
and experience. The Committee’s 
primary objective is to ensure that 
the Company maintains the strongest 
possible leadership.

There are currently two women on the 
Company’s Board.

Board and Committee evaluation

Information regarding the evaluation of 
the Board and its Committees can be 
found on pages 53 to 54.

Action plan for next year

In the year ahead, the Nomination 
Committee will continue to assess 
the Board’s composition and how it 
may be enhanced.

The Governance Code requires 
that a majority of the members of 
a nomination committee should be 
independent Non-Executive Directors.

In making their determination for 
the year 2018, the Board regarded 
Dame Marjorie Scardino and Dr Langer 
as meeting the independence criteria 
set out in the Governance Code as 
it is applied to their service on the 
Nomination Committee. In reaching 
this determination for Dame Marjorie 
Scardino and Dr Langer, the Board 
duly considered (i) their directorships 
and links with other Directors through 
their involvement in other affiliate 
companies; (ii) their equity interests 
in PureTech Health and/or the affiliate 
companies; and (iii) the circumstance 
that Dr Langer is a founding Director 
of the Company.

The Board also duly considered the 
extent to which these matters may 
impact their service on the Nomination 
Committee. After such consideration, 
the Board has determined Marjorie 
Scardino and Dr Langer to be 
independent in character and 
judgement and free from relationships 
or circumstances which may affect, or 
could appear to affect, the Directors’ 
judgement in their service on the 
Nomination Committee. 

The Committee meets as required 
to initiate the selection process of, 
and make recommendations to, the 
Board with regard to the appointment 
of new Directors. During 2018, the 
Nomination Committee met one 
time to review the structure, size and 
composition of the Board in light of the 
requirements of the Governance Code. 
Dame Marjorie Scardino, Dr Langer and 
Mr Ito participated in that meeting. The 
Chief Executive Officer and the Chief 
Operating Officer were invited to and 
attended the meeting.

 Marjorie Scardino  
Chairman, 
Nomination 
Committee

Committee responsibilities

The Nomination Committee assists the 
Board in discharging its responsibilities 
relating to the composition and make-
up of the Board and any Committees 
of the Board. It is also responsible 
for periodically reviewing the Board’s 
structure and identifying potential 
candidates to be appointed as 
Directors or Committee members as 
the need may arise. The Nomination 
Committee is responsible for evaluating 
the balance of skills, knowledge and 
experience and the size, structure 
and composition of the Board and 
Committees of the Board, retirements 
and appointments of additional and 
replacement Directors and Committee 
members, and makes appropriate 
recommendations to the Board 
on such matters. A full copy of the 
Committee’s Terms of Reference is 
available on request from the Company 
Secretary and within the Investor’s 
section on Company’s website at 
www.puretechhealth.com.

Committee membership

The Nomination Committee consisted 
of Dr Robert Langer, who served 
as the committee’s Chairman, 
Mr Joichi Ito and Dr Bennett Shapiro 
until 7 February 2018, when the 
Board of Directors changed the 
composition of the committee, 
appointing Dame Marjorie Scardino 
as Chairman, and designating 
Dr Langer and Mr Ito as its other 
members. Dr Shapiro stepped off 
of the Nomination Committee as of 
such date. The biographies of the 
Committee members can be found on 
pages 46 to 48.

62    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    63

GovernanceGovernance 
 
Report of the Audit Committee

 Mr Christopher 
Viehbacher  
Chairman, Audit 
Committee

Committee responsibilities

The Audit Committee monitors the 
integrity of the financial statements of 
the Group, and reviews all proposed 
annual and half-yearly results 
announcements to be made by the 
Group with consideration being given 
to any significant financial reporting 
judgements contained in them. The 
Committee also advises the Board on 
whether it believes the annual report 
and accounts, taken as a whole, are 
fair, balanced and understandable and 
provide the information necessary for 
shareholders to assess the Company’s 
position and performance, business 
model and strategy. The Committee 
also considers internal controls, 
compliance with legal requirements, 
the FCA’s Listing Rules, Disclosure 
Guidance and Transparency Rules, 
and reviews any recommendations 
from the Group’s Auditor regarding 
improvements to internal controls and 
the adequacy of resources within the 
Group’s finance function. A full copy of 
the Committee’s Terms of Reference is 
available on request from the Company 
Secretary and within the Investor’s 
section on the Company’s website at 
www.puretechhealth.com.

Committee membership

The Committee consists of three 
independent Non-Executive Directors, 
Mr Christopher Viehbacher, Dr Raju 
Kucherlapati and Dame Marjorie 
Scardino, with Mr Viehbacher as 
Chair. Mr Viehbacher has experience 
as a Chartered Accountant and has 
held numerous senior executive 
positions in his career. The Board has 
deemed this to be recent and relevant 
financial experience qualifying him 
to be Chairman of the Committee. 
The biographies of the Committee 
members can be found on pages 46 
to 48. The Committee met four times 
during the year, with Mr Viehbacher 
and Dr Kucherlapati attending all 
four meetings and Dame Marjorie 
Scardino attending three of the four 
meetings. The Chief Executive Officer, 
the Chief Financial Officer, the Chief 
Operating Officer and the external 
Auditor were invited to and attended 
all of the meetings. When appropriate, 

the Committee met with the Auditor 
without any members of the executive 
management team being present.

Activities during the year

The activities undertaken by the 
Committee were the normal recurring 
items, the most important of which 
are noted below.

Significant issues considered in 
relation to the financial statements

The Committee considered, in 
conjunction with management and the 
external auditor, the significant areas of 
estimation, judgement and possible error 
in preparing the financial statements and 
disclosures, discussed how these were 
addressed and approved the conclusions 
of this work. The principal areas of focus 
in this regard were:

Carrying amount of parent’s 
investment in affiliates and related 
party receivables

The significant issue is the recoverability 
of the investment by the Company, 
due to its materiality in the context 
of the total assets of the Company. 
The carrying value of investments in 
affiliates and related party receivables is 
supported by the market capitalisation 
of the Group. Therefore, there is 
no evidence of impairment. The 
Committee was satisfied with the 
conclusion reached.

Determination of the accounting and 
valuation of investment in associates 

It has been determined that the Group 
no longer has control as defined in 
IFRS 10 but has maintained significant 
influence over some of its subsidiaries, 
and due to the fact that Group holds 
a variety of instruments in these 
entities, which have varying risks and 
rights, there is significant judgement 
in relation to the accounting for these 
instruments. It has been determined 
that where the instruments held 
are preferred shares these will be 
accounted for as financial assets and 
held at fair value rather than equity 
accounted for as associates. This is due 
to the fact that the preferred shares 
are determined not to have equity like 
features. The valuation of these financial 
assets also includes a significant level 
of judgement and external valuation 
specialists are utilised in this process. 
The Committee believes that the 
Group considered the pertinent terms 
and accurate accounting of each of 
the financial instruments (and sought 
external expertise as well).

Valuation of preferred shares, 
convertible loan notes and warrants 
measured at fair value through 
profit/loss

An area of material judgement in the 
Group’s financial statements and, 
therefore, audit risk relates to the 
valuation of the preferred shares, 
convertible loan notes and warrants 
measured at fair value through profit/
loss, which at year end had a carrying 
value totalling $242.6 million (2017 – 
$254.9 million). The Group considered 
the underlying economics of the 
valuations of the affiliates, and sought 
external expertise in determining the 
appropriate valuation of the liabilities. 
These valuations rely, in large part, on 
the valuation of the Group programmes 
and determine the amount of gain (loss) 
on the financial instruments.

Financial instrument classification 
and determination of embedded 
derivatives

As part of the Group’s strategy to 
finance the affiliate companies, 
it creates financial instruments 
commensurate with the economics 
of each transaction. Often these 
arrangements contain terms that can 
make it difficult to determine whether 
the financial instrument should be 
classified as debt or equity on the 
Group’s statement of financial position. 
The Group considered the pertinent 
terms and underlying economics of the 
valuations of the financial instruments 
and sought external expertise as well 
and has appropriately classified them 
as debt or equity. The Committee 
believes that the Group considered 
the pertinent terms and underlying 
economics of each of the financial 
instruments, as well as the advice of 
external experts, and has appropriately 
classified them as debt or equity.

Revenue recognition 

There is a significant level of judgement 
in relation to revenue recognition 
as a result of the complex nature of 
the customer contracts which the 
Group enters into and in particular 
considerations in relation to the 
accounting application of IFRS 15. 
The Committee believes that the 
Group considered the accurate 
revenue recognition accounting of their 
customer contracts.

Regulatory compliance

Ensuring compliance for FCA regulated 
businesses also represents an important 
control risk from the perspective of the 

Report of the Audit Committee — continued

Committee. The Group engages with 
outside counsel and other advisors on 
a regular basis to ensure compliance 
with legal requirements.

Review of Annual Report and 
Accounts and Half-yearly Report

The Committee carried out a thorough 
review of the Group’s 2018 Annual 
Report and Accounts and its 2018 
Half-yearly Report resulting in 
the recommendation of both for 
approval by the Board. In carrying 
out its review, the Committee gave 
particular consideration to whether 
the Annual Report, taken as a whole, 
was fair, balanced and understandable, 
concluding that it was. It did this 
primarily through consideration of 
the reporting of the Group’s business 
model and strategy, the competitive 
landscape in which it operates, the 
significant risks it faces, the progress 
made against its strategic objectives 
and the progress made by, and changes 
in fair value of, its affiliate companies 
during the year.

Going concern

At least annually, the Committee 
considers the going concern principle 
on which the financial statements are 
prepared. As a business which seeks 
to fund the development of its Internal 
division, as well as support its affiliate 
companies with further capital, the 
business model is currently inherently 
cash consuming.

Following the initial public offering 
which occurred in June 2015, and 
including funds raised on 4 April 2018, 
funds raised through equity financings, 
and receipt of milestone payments 
since the lPO, the Group has sufficient 
cash reserves to continue to provide 
capital to its existing programmes 
and to create and fund project stage 
programmes and independent 
growth stage affiliates into the first 
quarter of 2022, assuming broadly our 
expected level of required funding 
of the Company’s Internal division 
and affiliate companies and other 
operating expenditures.

Therefore, while an inability of the 
Internal division and affiliate companies 
to raise funds through equity financings 
with outside investors, strategic 
arrangements, licensing deals or debt 
facilities may require the Group to 
modify its level of capital deployment 
into its Internal division and affiliate 
companies or to more actively seek 
to monetise one or more affiliate 

companies, it would not threaten the 
viability of the Group overall.

Compliance

The Committee has had a role in 
supporting the Group’s compliance 
with the Governance Code, which 
applies to the Group for the 2018 
financial year. The Board has included 
a statement regarding the Group’s 
longer-term viability on page 39. The 
Committee worked with management 
and assessed that there is a robust 
process in place to support the 
statement made by the Board.

Similarly, the Committee worked with 
management to ensure that the current 
processes underpinning its oversight 
of internal controls provide appropriate 
support for the Board’s statement on 
the effectiveness of risk management 
and internal controls.

Risk and internal controls

The principal risks the Group faces are 
set out on pages 36 to 38.

The Committee has directed that 
management engage in a continuous 
process to review internal controls 
around financial reporting and 
safeguarding of assets. Management 
has determined areas where controls 
would need to scale up to meet the 
increased complexity and growth 
objectives of the Group, which included 
more robust budgeting processes and 
tracking of stock incentive grants. The 
Committee believes that the Group 
has adequate controls and appropriate 
plans to evolve the control structure in 
anticipation of increased complexity of 
the business model and operations.

The Group has a formal whistleblowing 
policy. The Committee is satisfied 
that the policy has been designed to 
encourage staff to report suspected 
wrongdoing as soon as possible, 
to provide staff with guidance on 
how to raise those concerns, and to 
ensure staff that they should be able 
to raise genuine concerns without 
fear of reprisals, even if they turn out 
to be mistaken.

Internal audit

The Group does not maintain 
a separate internal audit function. 
This is principally due to the size of 
the Group where close control over 
operations is exercised by a small 
number of executives. In assessing the 
need for an internal audit function, 
the Committee considered the risk 
assessment performed by management 

to identify key areas of assurance and 
the whole system of internal financial 
and operational controls.

External audit

The Group has engaged KPMG LLP as 
its Auditor since 2015. The current audit 
partner is Charles le Strange Meakin 
who has been the audit partner of the 
Group since 2015.

The effectiveness of the external audit 
process is dependent on appropriate 
risk identification. In December, the 
Committee discussed the Auditor’s 
audit plan for 2018. This included 
a summary of the proposed audit scope 
and a summary of what the Auditor 
considered to be the most significant 
financial reporting risks facing the 
Group together with the Auditor’s 
proposed audit approach to these 
significant risk areas. The main areas 
of audit focus for the year were the 
carrying value of parent’s investment 
in subsidiaries and related party 
receivables, the valuation of preferred 
shares, warrants, and convertible 
notes measured at fair value through 
profit/ loss, the classification and 
measurement of financial instruments, 
the determination and valuation of 
investments in associates, revenue 
recognition, and ensuring there has 
been regulatory compliance for those 
parts of the business covered by 
FCA regulations.

Appointment and independence

The Committee advises the Board 
on the appointment of the external 
Auditor and on its remuneration 
both for audit and non-audit work, 
and discusses the nature, scope and 
results of the audit with the external 
Auditor. The Committee keeps under 
review the cost-effectiveness and the 
independence and objectivity of the 
external Auditor. Controls in place to 
ensure this include monitoring the 
independence and effectiveness of the 
audit, a policy on the engagement of 
the external Auditor to supply non-audit 
services, and a review of the scope of 
the audit and fee and performance of 
the external Auditor.

Non-audit work

The Committee approves all fees paid 
to the Auditor for non-audit work. 
Where appropriate, the Committee 
sanctions the use of KPMG LLP for non-
audit services in accordance with the 
Group’s non-audit services policy.

64    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    65

GovernanceGovernanceDirectors’ Remuneration Report for 
the year ended 31 December 2018

 Dr John LaMattina 
Chairman, 
Remuneration 
Committee

The Directors’ Remuneration Report is 
split in three sections, namely:

•  This Annual Statement: 

summarising and explaining the 
major decisions on Directors’ 
remuneration in the year;

•  The proposed Directors’ 

Remuneration Policy: setting out 
the basis of remuneration for the 
Group’s Directors, which is subject to 
shareholder approval and will apply 
immediately after the 2019 AGM if so 
approved, on pages 68 to 71; and

•  The Annual Report on Remuneration: 
setting out the implementation of 
the current Remuneration Policy in 
the year ended 31 December 2018 
on pages 72 to 78.

The Company makes the Directors’ 
Remuneration Policy subject to 
a binding vote of its shareholders every 
three years (sooner if changes are made 
to the Policy) and the Annual Report 
on Remuneration subject to an annual 
advisory vote of its shareholders.

The current Directors’ Remuneration 
Policy was last approved at the 2016 
AGM, and will therefore be subject 
to a binding vote of the Company’s 
shareholders at the forthcoming AGM 
on 29 May 2019. If approved, such 
approval will be effective until the 
Company’s AGM in 2022. The Annual 
Report on Remuneration will be subject 
to an advisory shareholder vote at the 
forthcoming 2019 AGM.

Overview of our Remuneration Policy

The success of PureTech Health 
depends on the motivation and 
retention of its highly skilled workforce 
with significant expertise across a range 
of science and technology disciplines 
as well as its highly-experienced 
management team.

Therefore PureTech’s Remuneration 
Policy is an important part of its 
business strategy. Prior to PureTech’s 
Admission, the Company undertook an 
independent review of its Remuneration 
Policy to ensure that it would strike 
a balance between market practice 
and remuneration levels in the relevant 
sector, which is largely US based, and 
the corporate governance expectations 
resulting from the Company’s UK listing. 

Renewal of Remuneration Policy at 
the 2019 AGM

The current Directors’ Remuneration 
Policy was approved at the 2016 AGM 
and will expire at the 2019 AGM, at 
which time shareholders will be asked 
to approve a new Policy. The current 
Policy was designed prior to the IPO 
and aimed to support the recruitment, 
retention and incentivisation of the 
Company’s employees, all of whom are 
based in the United States. The Policy 
was also designed to take account of 
the corporate governance requirements 
of our UK listing. As a result, it contains 
features which are in line with UK best 
practice, but some of which are unusual 
in the United States, for example:

•  Equity awards are delivered 100 per 

cent in performance shares;

•  Equity awards vest after 3 years;

•  Executive Director pension 

arrangements are the same as for 
all employees; and 

•  Clawback and malus provisions are in 
place for all incentive arrangements.

In 2018, in preparation for the upcoming 
Policy vote, the Committee undertook 
its first review of remuneration since 
the 2016 AGM. The review highlighted 
a number of issues with the current 
Policy, including the fact that total 
remuneration at PureTech is significantly 
below market levels at the Company’s 
US sector comparators of similar size. 
This positioning of our remuneration 
represents a risk which the Committee 
is keen to address. However, after fully 
considering the results of the review 
and our strategic goals for 2019, the 
Committee decided to extend the life 
of the current Policy at the AGM, for the 
time being. However, the Committee 
intends to consult with shareholders 
during 2019 and potentially seek 
changes to the Policy in the future. 

As a result, no changes are proposed 
to the maximum levels set out in 
the Policy, or to the performance 
framework. Some minor changes have 
been made to reflect best practice 
drafting, and a 2-year holding period for 
future long-term incentive grants has 
been introduced to reflect prevailing UK 
best practice.

The Committee believes this 
Remuneration Policy currently provides 
an appropriate framework within which 
to incentivise and motivate our senior 
management team.

Committee membership

The Remuneration Committee 
consists of Dr Bennett Shapiro, 
Dr Raju Kucherlapati and Dr John 
LaMattina, with Dr John LaMattina 
serving as Chairman of the Committee. 
The biographies of the Committee 
members can be found on pages 46 
to 47. The Committee met two times 
during the year, with Dr Kucherlapati 
and Dr LaMattina in attendance for 
both of the meetings and Dr Shapiro 
in attendance for one of the two 
meetings. The Committee also acted 
by unanimous written consent during 
the year. The Chief Executive Officer 
and the Chief Operating Officer 
were invited to and attended all of 
the meetings. However, no Executive 
was permitted to participate in 
discussions or decisions about his or 
her personal remuneration.

Directors’ Remuneration Report — continued

Performance and reward in 2018

During 2018 PureTech Health continued 
to deliver strong performance and 
this has been reflected in the annual 
bonus outcomes. The value of the 
Group’s affiliate companies and 
its internal programmes increased 
significantly from 31 December 2017 
to 31 December 2018. This increase 
is due in large part to (i) the initial 
public offering of resTORbio, (ii) the 
execution of a collaboration agreement 
with Roche, (iii) the Group’s affiliates 
raising in excess of $274 million, (iv) the 
raising of $100 million into PureTech, 
(v) the completion of clinical studies 
with positive results and (vi) Gelesis 
and Akili each submitting applications 
to the FDA for clearance. This increase 
in value together with management’s 
operational performance at PureTech 
and within the Internal division and 
affiliate companies, resulted in both 
Executive Directors satisfying the 
performance goals set at the beginning 
of 2018. See highlights of 2018 
on pages 2 to 3.

The year ahead

For 2019, the following key decisions 
have been made in relation to how the 
Policy will be implemented:

•  Base salaries, which have not been 
subject to major review since 2015 
and are below market against 
comparable peers, will be realigned 
to market levels;

•  The annual bonus target and 

maximum will remain at 50 per cent 
and 100 per cent of base salary, 
respectively; and

•  Grants of PSP awards in 2019 will be 
of the same quantum and vesting 
terms as in 2018, and will be subject 
to a new two-year post-vesting 
holding period. 

The Committee recommends that 
shareholders vote to approve the 
Directors’ Remuneration Policy and the 
Annual Report on Remuneration.

Objectives of the Remuneration 
Policy

In the construction of the Group’s 
senior executive Remuneration Policy, 
the Committee paid particular regard 
to the market practice of US peer 
companies to ensure that packages 
are competitive, recognising the 
predominantly US market in which the 
Group competes for talent. At the same 
time the structure of the packages 
was designed to be in line with UK 
corporate governance best practice.

The key aims of the Remuneration 
Policy are to:

•  promote the long-term 
success of the Group;

•  attract, retain and motivate high 
calibre senior management and 
focus them on the delivery of the 
Group’s long-term strategic and 
business objectives;

•  be simple and understandable, both 

externally and internally;

•  achieve consistency of approach 
across senior management within 
the Group to the extent appropriate 
and informed by relevant market 
benchmarks; and

•  encourage widespread equity 

ownership across the executive 
team to ensure a long-term 
focus and alignment of interest 
with shareholders.

At the 2019 AGM, shareholders will 
be asked to approve the Policy set 
out below. This Policy is substantially 
the same as that approved by the 
Company’s shareholders at the 
Company’s 2016 AGM. No changes 
have been made to maximum 
remuneration levels or the operation of 
the variable elements of remuneration. 
However, some changes have been 
made to reflect best practice:

•  PSP awards will be subject to a new 

two-year holding period; and

•  the Committee will have greater 
discretion to adjust pay-out and 
vesting levels on annual bonus 
and PSP awards.

Consideration of shareholder views

The Committee will carefully consider 
shareholder feedback received in 
relation to the AGM each year. This 
feedback, plus any additional feedback 
received during any meetings from 
time to time, is then considered 
as part of the annual review of the 
Remuneration Policy.

The Company will seek to engage 
directly with major shareholders and 
their representative bodies should 
any material changes be proposed 
to the Remuneration Policy or its 
implementation. Details of votes 
cast for and against the resolution to 
approve the prior year’s remuneration 
report and any matters discussed 
with shareholders during the year 
will be set out in the Annual Report 
on Remuneration.

Consideration of employment 
conditions elsewhere in the Group

To ensure a coherent cascade of the 
Remuneration Policy throughout 
the organisation, no element of 
remuneration is operated solely for 
Executive Directors and all elements 
of remuneration provided to the 
Executive Directors are generally 
operated for other employees. In 
addition, the Committee considers the 
general base salary increase for the 
broader employee population when 
determining the annual salary increases 
for the Executive Directors. Employees 
(other than senior executives) have not 
been consulted in respect of the design 
of the Group’s Remuneration Policy, 
although the Committee will keep 
this under review.

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GovernanceGovernanceDirectors’ Remuneration Policy

Directors’ Remuneration Policy — continued

Summary of Remuneration Policy

Element 

Base salary

How component 
supports corporate 
strategy 

To recognise the 
market value of 
the employee and 
the role.

Operation 

Maximum 

Normally reviewed annually.

Salaries are benchmarked 
periodically primarily against biotech, 
pharmaceutical and specialty finance 
companies listed in the US and UK. 
The committee also considers UK-listed 
general industry companies of similar 
size to PureTech as a secondary point 
of reference.

Performance targets and 
recovery provisions 

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

There is no prescribed 
maximum base salary or 
annual salary increase.

The Committee is guided by 
the general increase for the 
broader employee population 
but may decide to award 
a lower increase for Executive 
Directors or indeed exceed 
this to recognise, for example, 
an increase in the scale, 
scope or responsibility of the 
role and/or to take account 
relevant market movements.

Current salary levels are set 
out in the Annual Report on 
Remuneration

Under the 401k Plan, 
Company contributions 
are capped at the lower of 
3 per cent of base salary or 
the maximum permitted by 
the US IRS ($19,000 for 2019).

Pension

To provide a market 
competitive level 
of contribution 
to pension.

The company operates a 401k Plan 
for its US Executive Directors.

Benefits

To provide a market 
competitive level of 
benefits.

Includes: private medical and dental 
cover, disability, life insurance.

Additional benefits may also be 
provided in certain circumstances, such 
as those provided to all employees.

Cost paid by the company.

Not applicable.

Annual Bonus 
Plan (ABP)

To drive and reward 
annual performance 
of individuals, teams 
and the Group.

Long-term 
incentives

To drive and 
reward sustained 
performance of the 
Group and to align 
the interests with 
those of shareholders.

Based on performance during the 
relevant financial year. 

Up to 100 per cent of 
base salary.

Performance period:  
Normally one year. 

Payments are normally based on 
a scorecard of strategic and/or 
financial measures. 

Up to 50 per cent of base 
salary normally payable for 
the achievement of ‘target’ 
performance and 100 per 
cent of base salary payable 
for the achievement of 
stretch performance. 

Recovery and withholding 
provisions are in place.

Performance period:  
Normally three years. 

Up to 25 per cent of an award vests 
at threshold performance (0 per 
cent vests below this), increasing 
to 100 per cent pro-rata for 
maximum performance. Normally, 
at least half of any award will be 
measured against TSR targets 
with the remainder measured 
against relevant financial or 
strategic measures. 

Recovery and withholding 
provisions are in place.

400 per cent of salary. 

(500 per cent of salary 
exceptional limit). 

Participants may benefit from 
the value of dividends paid 
over the vesting period to 
the extent that awards vest. 
This benefit is delivered in 
the form of cash or additional 
shares at the time that awards 
vest. Individual award sizes 
are set out in the Annual 
Report on Remuneration.

Paid in cash. 

The Committee has discretion to 
adjust payout levels if it considers the 
formulaic outcome inappropriate taking 
into account the underlying financial 
performance of the Company, share 
price performance, the investment 
return to shareholders during the 
year, and such other factors as it 
considers appropriate.

The Company can make long-
term incentive awards with the 
following features: 

•  performance shares. 
• 

 vesting is dependent on the 
satisfaction of performance targets 
and continued service.
 performance and vesting periods 
are normally three years. 

• 

Awards granted from 2019 onwards will 
be subject to a two-year post-vesting 
holding period during which vested 
shares cannot be sold other than to 
settle tax. 

The Committee may also adjust vesting 
levels of performance–related awards 
to override formulaic outcomes, taking 
into account similar factors as apply in 
relation to annual bonus awards, but by 
reference to the performance period.

Element 

Share 
ownership/
Holding Period

Non-Executive 
Directors

How component 
supports corporate 
strategy 

Further aligns 
executives with 
investors, while 
encouraging 
employee share 
ownership.

To provide fee 
levels and structure 
reflecting time 
commitments and 
responsibilities of 
each role, in line 
with those provided 
by similarly-sized 
companies and 
companies operating 
in our sector. 

Operation 

Maximum 

Performance targets and 
recovery provisions 

Minimum of 200 per cent of 
base salary.

None.

None.

Any remuneration provided 
to a Non-Executive Director 
will be in line with the limits 
set out in the Articles of 
Association. 

The Committee requires that Executive 
Directors who participate in a long-
term incentive plan operated by the 
Company retain half of the net shares 
vesting under any long-term incentive 
plan until a shareholding requirement 
is met.

Remuneration provided to Non-
Executive Directors is operated in line 
with the terms set out in the Articles of 
Association. 

Cash fees, normally paid on a quarterly 
basis, are comprised of the following 
elements: 

•  Base fee. 
•  Additional fees. 

Additional remuneration is payable for 
additional services to PureTech such 
as the Chairmanship of a Committee, 
membership on a Committee, and 
participation on the board of directors 
of a subsidiary business. Additional 
remuneration is also payable for 
services provided beyond those 
services traditionally provided as 
a director, and can be provided for 
a material increase in time commitment. 

Fees are reviewed annually and take 
into account: 

• 

• 

 the median level of fees for similar 
positions in the market; and 
 the time commitment each 
Non-Executive Director makes 
to the Group. 

Taxable benefits may be provided and 
may be grossed up where appropriate. 

Notes: 

1  A description of how the Company intends to implement the Policy set out in this table is set out in the Annual Report on Remuneration.

2  For non-US Executive Directors, the 401k Plan may not be an appropriate pension arrangement. In such cases an alternative pension arrangement 
may be offered. Any such arrangement would take account of market levels of pension provision in the relevant geography, and normally any 
Company contribution would be limited to 15 per cent or less of base salary.

3  For those below Board level, a lower annual bonus opportunity and PSP award size may apply. In general, these differences arise from the 

development of remuneration arrangements that are market competitive for the various categories of individuals, together with the fact that 
remuneration of the Executive Directors and senior executives typically has a greater emphasis on performance-related pay.

4  The choice of the performance metrics for the annual bonus scheme reflect the Committee’s belief that incentive compensation should be 

appropriately challenging and linked to the delivery of the Company’s strategy. Further information on the choice of performance measures and 
targets is set out in the Annual Report on Remuneration.

5  The performance conditions applicable to the PSP (see Annual Report on Remuneration) are selected by the Remuneration Committee on the basis 
that they reward the delivery of long-term returns to shareholders and are consistent with the Company’s objective of delivering superior levels of 
long-term value to shareholders while providing the Company with tools to successfully recruit and retain employees in the US.

6  The Committee operates the PSP in accordance with the plan rules and the Listing Rules and the Committee and, consistent with market practice, 

retains discretion over a number of areas relating to the operation and administration of the plan.

7  While current Policy is that PSP awards vest after three years subject to continued service and performance targets, the Committee will consider 

developments in practice when setting future long-term incentive grant policies in addition to the existing shareholding guidelines.

8  For the avoidance of doubt, the Company reserves the right to honour any commitments entered into in the past with current or former Directors 

(such as the vesting/exercise of share awards) notwithstanding that these may not be in line with the Remuneration Policy. Details of any payments to 
former Directors will be set out in the Annual Report on Remuneration as they arise.

9  Executive Directors may participate in any HMRC tax-advantaged all-employee share scheme.

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GovernanceGovernanceDirectors’ Remuneration Policy — continued

Directors’ Remuneration Policy — continued

Recovery and withholding provisions

Recovery and withholding provisions 
(‘‘clawback and malus’’) may be 
operated at the discretion of the 
Remuneration Committee in respect of 
awards granted under the Performance 
Share Plan and in certain circumstances 
under the Annual Bonus Plan (including 
where there has been a material 
misstatement of accounts, or in the 

event of fraud, gross misconduct or 
conduct having a materially detrimental 
effect on the Company’s reputation).

The issue giving rise to the recovery 
and withholding must be discovered 
within three years of vesting and there 
is flexibility to recover overpayments by 
withholding future incentive payments 
and recovering the amount directly 
from the employee.

Reward scenarios

The charts below show how the 
composition of 2019 remuneration 
for the Chief Executive Officer and 
the Chief Operating Officer varies 
at different levels of performance 
under the Policy set out above, as 
a percentage of total remuneration 
opportunity and as a total value.

Chief Executive Officer

Chief Operating Officer

Minimum

$622,675

Minimum

$441,368

100%

100%

Target

$2,097,675

Target

$1,056,368

30%

14%

56%

42%

19%

39%

Maximum

$3,572,675

Maximum

$1,671,368

17%

17%

66%

26%

25%

49%

Maximum + 50% share price growth

$4,752,675

Maximum + 50% share price growth

$2,081,368

13%

12%

74%

21%

20%

59%

Fixed pay

Annual bonus

Long-term incentives

Notes:

1 

The minimum performance scenario comprises the fixed elements of remuneration only, including:

–  Salary for FY2019 as set out in the Annual Report on Remuneration.

–  Pension and benefits as disclosed for FY2018 in the Annual Report on Remuneration.

2 

The On-Target level of bonus is taken to be 50 per cent of the maximum bonus opportunity (50 per cent of base salary), and the On-Target level of 
PSP vesting is assumed to be 50 per cent of the face value of the PSP award (i.e. 200 per cent of base salary for the CEO and 100 per cent of base 
salary for the Chief Operating Officer). These values are included in addition to the components/values of Minimum remuneration.

3  Maximum assumes full bonus pay-out (100 per cent of base salary only) and the full face value of the proposed PSP awards (i.e. 400 per cent of base 
salary for the CEO and 200 per cent of base salary for the Chief Operating Officer), in addition to fixed components of Minimum remuneration.

4  No share price growth has been factored into the calculations of minimum, target and maximum compensation. The “maximum +50 per cent 

share price growth” calculations are based on the assumption that the share price will appreciate by 50 per cent between the date of grant and the 
date of vesting.

Approach to recruitment 
and promotions

The remuneration package for a new 
Executive Director would be set in 
accordance with the terms of the 
Company’s prevailing approved 
Remuneration Policy at the time of 
appointment and take into account the 
skills and experience of the individual, 
the market rate for a candidate of that 
experience and the importance of 
securing the relevant individual.

Salary would be provided at such 
a level as required to attract the most 
appropriate candidate and may be set 
initially at or above mid-market level.

Additionally, salary may be provided 
at a below mid-market level on the 
basis that it may progress towards the 
mid-market level once expertise and 
performance has been proven and 
sustained. The annual bonus potential 
would be limited to 100 per cent of 
salary and long-term incentive awards 
would be limited normally between 
100 per cent to 500 per cent of salary 
determined by the Remuneration 
Committee at its discretion. Depending 
on the timing of the appointment, the 
Committee may deem it appropriate 
to set annual bonus performance 
conditions for such appointee that are 
different than those applicable to the 
incumbent Executive Directors. A PSP 
award can be made shortly following 
an appointment.

In addition, the Committee may offer 
additional cash and/or share-based 
elements to replace deferred or 
incentive pay forfeited by an executive 
leaving a previous employer if required 
in order to facilitate, in exceptional 
circumstances, the recruitment of 
the relevant individual. It would 
seek to ensure, where possible, that 
these awards would be consistent 
with awards forfeited in terms of 
vesting periods, expected value and 
performance conditions.

For appointment of an Executive 
Director who was employed by the 
Company prior to the appointment, 
any variable pay element awarded 
in respect of the prior role may be 
allowed to pay out according to its 
terms. In addition, any other ongoing 
remuneration obligations existing prior 
to appointment may continue.

For any Executive Director 
appointment, the Committee may 
agree that the Company will meet 
certain relocation and/or incidental 
expenses as appropriate.

If appropriate, the Committee may 
agree on recruitment of a new executive 
with a notice period in excess of 
12 months but to reduce this to at most 
12 months over a specified period.

Service contracts

Executive Directors’ service contracts 
do not provide for liquidated damages, 
longer periods of notice on a change of 
control of the Company or additional 
compensation on an Executive 
Director’s cessation of employment with 
the Group, except as discussed below.

The Committee’s Policy is to offer 
service contracts for Executive 
Directors with notice periods of no 
more than 12 months, and typically 
between 60 to 180 days.

Service contracts provide for severance 
pay following termination in the case 
that employment is terminated by the 
Company without ‘cause’, or by the 
employee for ‘good reason’. In this case 
severance pay as set out in the contract 
is no greater than 12-months’ base 
salary and is aligned to the duration of 
any restrictive covenants placed on the 
employee. Service contracts may also 
provide for the continuation of benefits 
but for no longer than a 12-month 
period post termination.

Service contracts also provide for 
the payment of international tax in 
non-US jurisdictions if applicable 
to the Executive Director. They also 
can provide for garden leave and, if 
required by applicable law, the recovery 
and withholding of incentive payments.

Policy on termination of employment

The Policy on termination is that the 
Company does not make payments 
beyond its contractual obligations 
and the commitments entered into as 
part of any incentive plan operated by 
the Company. In addition, Executive 
Directors will be expected to mitigate 
their loss. The Committee ensures 
that there have been no unjustified 
payments for failure.

An Executive Director may be eligible 
for an annual bonus payment for the 
final year in which that Director served 
as an employee. If so, any such annual 
bonus payment will be subject to 
performance testing and a pro-rata 
reduction will normally be applied 
based on the time served during the 
relevant financial year.

The default treatment for any share-
based entitlements under the PSP is 
that any unvested outstanding awards 
lapse on cessation of employment. 
However, in certain prescribed 
circumstances, or at the discretion of 
the Remuneration Committee, ‘good 
leaver’ status can be applied. In these 
circumstances a participant’s awards 
will vest subject to the satisfaction of 
the relevant performance criteria and, 
ordinarily, on a time pro-rated basis, 
with the balance of the awards lapsing. 
The Committee also has discretion to 
permit the early vesting at the date of 
cessation of employment, again based 
on performance and ordinarily on 
a time pro-rated basis.

In addition, the Company can pay for 
any administrative expenses, legal 
expenses or outplacement services 
arising from the termination where 
considered appropriate.

External appointments

The Board can allow Executive 
Directors to accept appropriate outside 
commercial Non-Executive Director 
appointments provided that the duties 
and time commitment required are 
compatible with their duties and time 
commitment as Executive Directors.

Non-Executive Directors

Non-Executive Directors are appointed 
as a Non-Executive Director of the 
Company by a letter of appointment. 
These letters usually provide for 
a notice period of one month from 
the Company and the Non-Executive 
Director prior to termination.

70    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

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GovernanceGovernance 
 
 
 
Annual Report on Remuneration

Implementation of the Remuneration Policy for the year ending 31 December 2019

Base salary
The Committee reviewed the base salary levels for the Executive Directors in January 2019. As part of this review, the 
Committee engaged an independent remuneration consultant, Aon, plc., to benchmark the salaries of the Executive Directors 
against the salaries for such positions in peer companies in the US and UK. This is the first such review of remuneration in 
the last 3 years, and it highlighted a significant difference between the remuneration levels of PureTech executives and 
those at our competitor companies. For example, base salary levels are below the median of our closest competitors and 
total remuneration levels are below the lower quartile. As a result of this exercise, the Committee has decided to increase 
the salaries of the CEO and COO to bring them closer to their peers. The table below shows the base salaries for both 
Executive Directors:

Daphne Zohar
Stephen Muniz

Chief Executive Officer
Chief Operating Officer

2018
Base salary

$536,857
$359,392

2019 
Base salary

$590,000
$410,000

Pension
The Group will continue to contribute under the 401k Plan subject to the maximum set out in the Policy table.

Benefits
Benefits provided will continue to include private medical, disability and dental cover.

Annual bonus
For 2019, the operation of the annual bonus arrangement will be similar to that operated in 2018. The maximum annual bonus 
will continue to be 100 per cent of base salary for both Executive Directors. The 2019 annual bonus will be based on financial 
and strategic measures, clinical development milestones, successful development of new programmes with novel approaches 
to large unmet medical needs, and the submission of applications for approvals to regulatory agencies. Bonus outcomes will 
be disclosed in the FY2019 Annual Report and Accounts.

Long-term incentives
Awards under the PSP will be made to both Executive Directors in 2019. The CEO will receive a PSP award with a face value of 
400 per cent of base salary. The Chief Operating Officer will receive an award with a face value of 200 per cent of base salary. 

The PSP awards will be subject to the performance conditions described below. As a clinical-stage biopharma company, the 
Company believes that TSR is an appropriate and objective measure of the Company’s performance. In addition, measuring 
TSR on both an absolute and relative basis rewards our management team for absolute value creation for our shareholders 
whilst also incentivising outperformance of the market. 

Further detail of the planned performance condition is set out below:

•  50 per cent of the shares under award will vest based on the achievement of absolute TSR targets.

•  25 per cent of the shares under award will vest based on the achievement of a relative TSR performance condition.

•  25 per cent of the shares under award will vest based on the achievement of strategic targets.

The minimum performance target for the absolute TSR portion of the award will be TSR equal to 7 per cent per annum, whilst 
the maximum target will be TSR equal to 15 per cent per annum. Strategic measures will be based on the achievement of 
project milestones and other qualitative measures of performance. Relative TSR will be measured against the constituent 
companies in the FTSE SmallCap Index (excluding Investment Trusts) and the MSCI Europe Health Care Index.

The Committee believes that this combination of measures is appropriate. TSR measures the success of our management 
team in identifying and developing medical solutions whilst strategic targets help incentivise our management team through 
the stages which ultimately result in successful products.

Full disclosure of the strategic targets will be made retrospectively.

Annual Report on Remuneration — continued

Non-Executive Directors

A summary of current fees is as follows:

Chairman fee
Basic fee

Additional fees:
Chairmanship of a committee
Membership of a committee
Membership of a subsidiary board

FY2018

FY2019

% increase

$125,000
$75,000

$125,000
$75,000

$10,000
$5,000

$10,000
$5,000
$0 to $10,000 $0 to $10,000

0%
0%

0%
0%
0%

As our Board of Directors consists of leading experts with the experience of successfully developing technologies and 
bringing them to market, this gives rise to the possibility that the intellectual property we seek to acquire has been developed 
by one of our Non-Executive Directors and/or that our Non-Executive Directors provide technical or otherwise specialised 
advisory services to the Company above and beyond the services typically provided by a Non-Executive Director. In such 
exceptional circumstances, our Remuneration Policy provides us with the flexibility to remunerate them with equity in the 
relevant subsidiary company as we would any other inventor of the intellectual property or provider of technical advisory 
services. This practice is in line with other investors in the life sciences sector. If the Company is unable to offer market-
competitive remuneration in these circumstances, it risks forfeiting opportunities to obtain intellectual property developed by 
our Non-Executive Directors and/or foregoing valuable advisory services. The Company believes foregoing such intellectual 
property and/or advisory services would not be in the long-term interest of our shareholders. Accordingly, subsidiary equity 
grants may be made to Non-Executive Directors upon the occurrence of the exceptional circumstances set out above.

Single total figure of remuneration for each Director

The table below sets out remuneration paid in relation to the 2018 financial year with a comparative figure for the 2017 
financial year.

Year

Basic Salary/
Fees

Benefits1

2018 and 2017 Remuneration

Annual 
Bonus Plan

  Performance 
Share Plan
(Vested)2

Other 

Pension

payments   

Total

2018
2017
2018
2017

2018
2017
2018
2017
2018
2017
2018
2017
2018
2017
2018
2017
2018
2017

$536,857 $24,425
$525,815 $25,075
$359,392 $23,118
$351,244 $23,802

$348,957 $1,221,381 $8,250
$262,908
— $8,100
$407,941 $8,250
$233,605
— $8,100
$175,622

$2,139,870
$821,898
$1,032,306
$558,768

$140,000
$150,000
$100,000
$110,000
$100,000
$105,000
$110,000
$110,000
$90,000
$90,000
$104,167
$125,000
$95,000
$95,000

—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—

—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—

—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—

—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—

$140,000
$150,000
$100,000
$110,000
$100,000
$105,000
$110,000
$110,000
$90,000
$90,000
$104,000
$125,000
$95,000
$95,000

2018 $1,630,416 $47,543

$582,562

2017

$1,662,059 $48,877

$438,908

— $16,500

— $16,200

$2,277,021

$2,166,044

Executive Directors
Daphne Zohar

Stephen Muniz

Non-Executive Directors
Joi Ito

Raju Kucherlapati

John LaMattina

Robert Langer

Marjorie Scardino

Bennett Shapiro

Christopher Viehbacher

TOTAL

TOTAL

Notes:

1  Benefits comprise the following elements: private medical, disability and dental cover and parking.

2  The shares underlying the vested 2016 Performance Share Plan awards will be issued after the finalisation of this report. As a result, the share price 

on the date of issuance is not known at the date of this report and the figures shown above for the PSP awards have been valued using a share price 
of £1.71, which was the average share price during the last three months of 2018, and an exchange rate of GBP 1 : USD 1.287, which was the average 
exchange rate over the last three months of 2018. 

72    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

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GovernanceGovernance 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Annual Report on Remuneration — continued

Annual Report on Remuneration — continued

Annual bonus outcome for 2018

In summary, the bonus outcome was calculated as follows:

For the 2018 annual bonus, targets were set for a balanced scorecard at the beginning of the year. The 2018 targets were 
focused on (i) financial and strategic goals designed to incentivise the team to complete important deals, execute strategic 
partnerships and operate within the Company’s 2018 budget, (ii) clinical development goals designed to incentivise the team 
to generate valuable clinical data in support of the Company’s programmes, (iii) innovation goals designed to incentivise the 
team to create innovative programmes, obtain patent protection for its technologies, obtain publication of the technologies 
in top tier medical and science journals and establish state of the art laboratory and operations teams, and (iv) commercial 
goals designed to incentivise the team to take all steps necessary to commercially launch products. During 2018, management 
performed well against these targets. The table below sets out the performance assessment and associated bonus outcomes:

Target Goals – Maximum 100% Achievement

Performance Measures 
Category

Achievement

Financial/Strategic Goals

The Financial and Strategic Goals were achieved in 2018. This resulted in 
a performance outcome of 60 per cent which is at the target level. A description of 
performance in 2018 is set out below:

The Company raised funding through a $100 million offering enabling it to further 
fund its affiliates and accelerate development of its internal programmes. The 
Company also entered into a collaboration agreement with Roche as described on 
page 2. The Company’s affiliates raised approximately $274 million in funding which 
will enable the affiliates to continue toward their respective development milestones. 
The Company was able to generate more than $11 million in non-dilutive grant 
funding for its affiliates. The Company also operated within 10 per cent of its Board 
approved 2018 Budget, which further supported the achievement of this goal.

Percentage 
of Target 
Attained

60%

Clinical Development Goals

The Clinical Development Goals were achieved in 2018. This resulted in 
a performance outcome of 25 per cent which was at the target level. A description of 
performance in 2018 is set out below:

25%

The Group met the primary endpoint of resTORbio’s Phase 2 clinical trial, completed 
Karuna’s formulation studies and initiated Karuna’s Phase 2 clinical trial. The Group 
also initiated Vedanta’s Phase 2 clinical trial in C. difficile and Vedanta’s Phase 1 
clinical trial in IBD. The Committee also recognised that the team successfully 
managed the above clinical trials within prescribed timelines.

Innovation Goals

The Innovation Goals were achieved in 2018. This resulted in a performance outcome 
of 10 per cent which was at the target level for this category. A description of 
performance in 2018 is set out below:

10%

The Company successfully developed programmes in its internal immune-focused 
pipeline. The Company also had patents issued covering several of the affiliate 
technologies and filed patent applications covering many others. The Company also 
established proof of concept data in several programmes and had several 
programmes published in top-tier peer reviewed scientific journals. 

Commercial Goals

The Commercial Goals were achieved in 2018. This resulted in a performance 
outcome of 20 per cent which was slightly above the target level for this category. 
A description of performance in 2018 is set out below:

20%

Target goals
Stretch goals

Total

1  Capped at 100 per cent. 

(A) Maximum  
percentage of salary

50%
50%

(B) Percentage achieved

Actual (A) x (B)

115%1
30%

50%
15%

65%

Long-term incentive awards vesting in the year

The 2016 PSP awards granted on 20 May 2016 will vest in 2019. Following an assessment of the performance condition, the 
Remuneration Committee determined that the awards will vest at 50 per cent of the maximum as follows:

Scheme

Basis of award granted Shares awarded

Shares vested

Shares lapsed

Value of 
vested awards1

Daphne Zohar
Stephen Muniz

PSP 2016
PSP 2016

400% of salary
200% of salary

1,109,959
370,726

554,979
185,363

554,980
185,363

$1,221,381
$407,941

1  Shares have been valued using a share price of £1.71, which was the average share price over the last three months of 2018, and an exchange rate of 

GBP 1 : USD 1.287, which was the average exchange rate over the last three months of 2018. 

The outcome of the performance condition relating to these awards is set out below:

Measure and weighting

Threshold

Maximum

Achievement

Absolute TSR (50%)
Net Asset Value growth (25%)
Strategic measures (25%)

7% p.a.
7% p.a.

15% p.a.
15% p.a.

See description below

below 
threshold
achieved1
achieved

Vesting  
(% of each 
element)

0%
100%
100%

1  The achievement for Net Asset Value (NAV) growth has not been disclosed because PureTech’s NAV is commercially sensitive and has not 

been disclosed in our Annual Report and Accounts since 2017. However, the Remuneration Committee confirms that NAV growth exceeded the 
15 per cent p.a. maximum target. Although the NAV achievement is currently commercially sensitive, the Remuneration Committee will keep this 
under review and will disclose the NAV achievement in a future Annual Report on Remuneration once it ceases to be commercially sensitive. This 
issue does not apply to PSP awards granted since 2018 because NAV is no longer used as a performance measure due to its commercial sensitivity.  

The strategic measures over the three year period were focussed on (i) financial achievements, (ii) clinical development goals, 
(iii) innovation goals related to obtaining patent protection for its technologies, obtaining publication of the technologies in 
top tier medical and science journals and establishing state of the art laboratory and operations teams, and (iv) commercial 
goals related to the Company’s efforts to commercially launch products. During the three year period, achievements satisfying 
these goals included substantially increasing the value of the Company’s affiliates, raising more than $481 million in capital 
into the Company’s affiliates, executing 19 partnerships, prosecuting more than 330 owned and licensed patents and patent 
applications, executing an initial public offering of the Company’s affiliate, resTORbio, Inc., augmenting the management team 
with a seasoned CSO, CFO and President and Chief of Business and Strategy and developing validating clinical data across 
the Company’s affiliates. 

The Company successfully submitted applications to the US FDA for clearance of the 
Gelesis and Akili technologies.

Long-term incentive awards granted during the year

In addition to the target goals described above, the maximum of which may be attained is 100 per cent, the Company also had 
stretch goals which involved raising capital and entering into business development transactions. Bonuses for this element 
are based on stretch targets. The capital raise of $100 million exceeded the target goal for capital raising and the economics 
of the Roche collaboration exceeded the target economics for business development transactions. Based on pre-specified 
stretch goals (which are commercially sensitive given the nature of our business), the Company achieved 30 per cent beyond 
its target goals.

The CEO was eligible for a target bonus equal to 50 per cent of her 2018 salary. The Company attained 100 per cent of 
its target goals plus an additional 30 per cent in stretch goals. As a result, the CEO was awarded a 2018 bonus equal to 
130 per cent of her target bonus, which is 65 per cent of her 2018 salary.

The COO was eligible for a target bonus equal to 50 per cent of his 2018 salary. The Company attained 100 per cent of 
its target goals plus an additional 30 per cent in stretch goals. In addition to the Company’s goals, the COO’s personal 
operational performance is considered in the award of his bonus. The Company concluded that the COO’s personal 
performance was in line with the Company’s performance and, as a result, the COO was awarded a 2018 bonus equal 
to 65 per cent of his 2018 salary.

Basis of award 

Scheme

granted Shares awarded

Share price
 at date of grant1

Face value of 
award 

Daphne Zohar

PSP 2018

Stephen Muniz

PSP 2018

400% of 
salary

200% of 
salary

1,035,628

156 pence

$2,147,428

346,644

156 pence

$718,784

% of face 
value vesting 
at threshold 
performance

25%

25%

Vesting  
determined by 
performance over

Three financial 
years to 
31 December 
2020

1  The share price at the date of grant is based on the 3-day average closing price immediately prior to the grant of the award. 

The PSP awards granted in 2018 are subject to (i) achievement of absolute TSR targets (50 per cent of the awards), (ii) 
achievement of TSR targets as compared to TSR performance of the constituent companies in the FTSE SmallCap Index 
(excluding Investment Trusts) and the MSCI Europe Health Care Index (25 per cent of the awards) and (iii) achievement of 
targets based on strategic measures (25 per cent of the awards), measured over the three year period to 31 December 2020.

74    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

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GovernanceGovernanceAnnual Report on Remuneration — continued

Annual Report on Remuneration — continued

The minimum performance target for the absolute TSR portion of the award is TSR equal to 7 per cent per annum, whilst the 
maximum target is TSR equal to 15 per cent per annum. The minimum performance target for the relative TSR portion of the 
award is TSR equal to the median of the index, whilst the maximum target will be TSR equal to the upper quartile of the index. 
Strategic measures will be based on the achievement of project milestones and other qualitative measures of performance. 
The Committee believes that this combination of measures and the higher weighting on TSR is appropriate. TSR measures the 
success of our management team in identifying and developing medical solutions whilst strategic targets help incentivise our 
management team through the stages which ultimately result in successful products.

Full disclosure of the strategic targets will be made retrospectively.

Payments for Loss of Office

There were no payments for Loss of Office during 2018.

Payments to past Directors

No payments to past Directors were made during 2018.

Directors’ shareholdings

Directors are required to maintain share ownership equal to a minimum of 200 per cent of base salary. Both Executive 
Directors satisfy this requirement. The Company does not currently operate post-employment shareholding requirements but 
will review its Policy on these as part of its review of the Policy in 2019.

The table below sets out Directors’ shareholdings which are beneficially owned or subject to a service condition.

Total Share Awards not subject 
to Service Conditions

Director Shareholdings (audited) 

Share awards subject 
to performance and service 
conditions

Total

Director

31 Dec 2018

31 Dec 2017

31 Dec 2018

31 Dec 2017

31 Dec 2018

31 Dec 2017

Daphne Zohar (Zohar LLC + Trusts)1  11,890,157  11,777,100
2,718,336
Stephen Muniz
1,350,356
Joi Ito
2,437,220
Raju Kucherlapati
1,429,721
John LaMattina
2,917,223
Robert Langer
665,610
Marjorie Scardino
2,607,363
Ben Shapiro
Chris Viehbacher (Trust)4
854,705

 2,786,170 
 1,395,579 
 2,459,831 
 1,495,332 
2,944,134 
 787,710 
 2,629,974 
 1,025,646 

2,398,021
801,683
—
—
—
—
—
—
—

2,585,4092
893,5993
45,223
22,611
22,611
22,611
122,101
22,611
170,941

 14,288,178  14,362,509
3,611,935
1,395,579
2,459,831
1,452,332
2,939,834
787,710
2,629,974
1,025,646

 3,587,853 
 1,395,579 
 2,459,831 
 1,495,332 
 2,944,134 
 787,710 
 2,629,974 
 1,025,646 

1  A portion of Ms Zohar’s shareholding in the Company is indirect. As of 31 December 2018, (i) 2,378,032 ordinary shares are held by the Zohar Family 

Trust I, a US-established trust of which Ms Zohar is a beneficiary and trustee (ii) 2,378,031 ordinary shares are held by the Zohar Family Trust II, a US-
established trust of which Ms Zohar is a beneficiary (in the event of her spouse’s death) and trustee and (iii) 7,134,094 ordinary shares are held by 
Zohar LLC, a US-established limited liability company. Ms Zohar owns or has a beneficial interest in 100 per cent of the share capital of Zohar LLC.

2 

3 

Includes the following RSUs, which are subject to performance conditions: 1,362,393 (2017) and 1,035,628 (2018). Does not include 554,980 shares 
which are issuable pursuant to the RSU award granted to Ms Zohar covering the financial years 2016, 2017 and 2018. Such shares will be issued to 
Ms Zohar in 2019 provided that certain of the shares will be withheld for payment of customary withholding taxes.

Includes the following RSUs, which are subject to performance conditions: 455,039 (2017) and 346,644 (2018). Does not include 185,363 shares which 
are issuable pursuant to the RSU award granted to Mr Muniz covering the financial years 2016, 2017 and 2018. Such shares will be issued to Mr Muniz 
in 2019 provided that certain of the shares will be withheld for payment of customary withholding taxes.

4  All of Mr Viehbacher’s shareholding in the Company is held through his trust, Viehbacher 2015 GRAT u/a/d 22 May 2015.

Directors‘ service contracts

Detail of the service contracts of current Directors is set out below:

Executive Directors

Daphne Zohar
Stephen Muniz

Notice period

Contract date

180 days
60 days

18 June 2015
18 June 2015

Maximum potential 
termination payment

12 months’ salary
12 months‘ salary

Potential payment 
on change of  
control/liquidation

Nil
Nil

Contracts for the above Executive Directors will continue until terminated by notice either by the Company or the 
Executive Director.

Non-Executive Directors

Joi Ito
Raju Kucherlapati
John LaMattina
Robert Langer
Marjorie Scardino
Bennett Shapiro
Christopher Viehbacher

Notice period

Contract date

Contract expiration date

1 month
1 month
1 month
1 month
1 month
1 month
1 month

5 June 2018
5 June 2018
5 June 2018
5 June 2018
5 June 2018
5 June 2018
5 June 2018

5 June 2021
5 June 2021
5 June 2021
5 June 2021
5 June 2021
5 June 2021
5 June 2021

The Company and the Non-Executive Directors listed above intend to enter into new contracts prior to their expiration.

TSR performance graph and table

The graph shows the Company’s performance, measured by total shareholder return (TSR), compared with the NASDAQ 
Biotechnology Index and S&P600 Biotechnology Index since the Company’s IPO. The Committee considers these to be 
relevant indices for TSR comparison as they are broad-based measures of the performance of the biotechnology industry.

This graph shows the value, by 31 December 2018, of £100 invested in PureTech on 18 June 2015, compared with the value of 
£100 invested in the NASDAQ Biotechnology and S&P600 Biotechnology indices on a daily basis.

Total shareholder return
Source: FactSet

)

d
e
s
a
b
e
r
(

)

£

(
e
u

l

a
V

160

140

120

10 0

80

60

40

20

0

&%'!$'"!&(

19 Jun 2015

31 Dec 2015

31 Dec 2016

31 Dec 2017

31 Dec 2018

PureTech

NASDAQ Biotechnology

S&P600 Biotechnology

The other points plotted are the values at intervening financial year-ends.

Chief Executive Officer‘s Remuneration History

Year

2015

2016

2017

2018

Incumbent

Role

Single figure of total 
remuneration

Annual bonus pay-out 
against maximum

PSP Vesting against 
maximum opportunity

Daphne Zohar

Chief Executive Officer

Daphne Zohar

Chief Executive Officer

Daphne Zohar

Chief Executive Officer

$955,599

$747,634

$821,898

Daphne Zohar Chief Executive Officer

$2,139,870

100%

38.75%

50%

65%

n/a

n/a

n/a

50%

76    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    77

GovernanceGovernance 
 
Annual Report on Remuneration — continued

Percentage change in remuneration of CEO and employees

The table below shows the change in the Chief Executive Offi cer’s remuneration from 2017 to 2018 compared to the change in 
remuneration of all full-time employees across the Group who were employed throughout 2017 and 2018:

CEO
Employees1

1  Does not include employees of affi liate companies. 

Relative importance of spend on pay

Base salary

Benefi ts

Annual bonus

2%
11%

1%
2%

33%
23%

The following table sets out the percentage change in overall spend on pay, distributions to shareholders and profi t in 2018 
compared to 2017:

Staff costs1
Distributions to Shareholders
Profi t before tax and exceptional items

2018

2017

% change

$9,831,202
—

$8,749,566
—
$(13,817,956) $(12,889,482)

12%
—
7%

1  Does not include employees of subsidiary companies or non-cash stock compensation charges.

Details of the Remuneration Committee, advisors to the Committee and their fees

The Remuneration Committee consists of Dr LaMattina, Dr Shapiro and Dr Kucherlapati, with Dr LaMattina serving as the 
Chairman of the Committee. The Committee received independent remuneration advice from Aon plc. This independent 
advisor was appointed by and is accountable to the Committee and provides no other services to the Company. The terms 
of engagement between the Committee and Aon are available from the Company Secretary on request. The Committee 
also consults with the Chief Executive Offi cer and Chief Operating Offi cer. However, no Executive is permitted to participate 
in discussions or decisions about their personal remuneration. During the year fees in respect of remuneration advice from 
Aon amounted to £38,666. Aon is a founder member of the Remuneration Consultants’ Group and complies with its Code of 
Conduct which sets out guidelines to ensure that its advice is independent and free of undue infl uence.

Statement of voting at general meeting

The table below sets out the proxy results of the vote on the Group’s Remuneration Report at the Group’s 2018 AGM:

Resolutions

For

%

Against

%

Withheld

Total votes cast

To approve the Directors’ 
Remuneration Report

209,827,359

99.57

902,586

0.43%

100  210,729,945

The table below sets out the proxy results of the vote on the Group’s Remuneration Policy at the Group’s 2016 AGM:

Resolutions

For

%

Against

%

Withheld

Total votes cast

To approve the Directors’ 
Remuneration Policy

Statement of voting at AGM

179,963,800

99.94

105,260

0.06%

5,633,235 180,069,060

The Company’s AGM will be held at 3.00 pm on 29 May 2019 at DLA Piper UK LLP, 160 Aldersgate Street, London EC1A 4HT. 
Information regarding the voting outcome will be disclosed in next year’s annual report on remuneration.

This report has been prepared by the Remuneration Committee and has been approved by the Board. It complies with the 
CA 2006 and related regulations. This report will be put to shareholders for approval at the forthcoming AGM.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

e
c
n
a
n
r
e
v
o
G

Stephen Muniz
Company Secretary
16 April 2019

Independent 
auditor’s report

to the members of PureTech Health plc

No non-audit services prohibited by that standard 
were provided.

Overview

Materiality: 
Group financial 
statements as a whole

Coverage

Key audit matters

$1m (2017: $1m)
0.8% (2017: 0.85%) of 
total expenses

100% (2017: 100%) of 
Group loss before tax

Recurring 
risks

Event 
driven

Valuation of preferred shares, 
convertible loan notes and 
warrants measured at fair value 
through profit/loss.

Classification and measurement 
of preferred shares, convertible 
loan notes and warrants

New: Determination of the 
accounting and valuation of 
investments held as financial 
assets

New: Revenue recognition

Valuation of investment and 
related party receivables held 
by the Parent Company

vs 2017











1.  Our opinion is unmodified

We have audited the financial statements of PureTech 
Health plc (“the Company”) for the year ended 
31 December 2018 which comprise the Consolidated 
Statements of Comprehensive Loss, Consolidated 
Statements of Financial Position, Consolidated 
Statement of Changes in Equity, Consolidated 
Statements of Cash Flows, Company Balance sheet, 
Company statement of changes in Equity, Company 
statement of Cash Flows, and the related notes, 
including the accounting policies in note 1. 

In our opinion: 
•  the financial statements give a true and fair view 
of the state of the Group’s and of the parent 
Company’s affairs as at 31 December 2018 and of 
the Group’s loss for the year then ended; 

•  the Group financial statements have been 

properly prepared in accordance with International 
Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the 
European Union (IFRSs as adopted by the EU); 

•  the parent Company financial statements have 
been properly prepared in accordance with 
IFRSs as adopted by the EU and as applied in 
accordance with the provisions of the Companies 
Act 2006; and 

•  the financial statements have been prepared 
in accordance with the requirements of the 
Companies Act 2006 and, as regards the 
Group financial statements, Article 4 of the 
IAS Regulation.

Basis for opinion 
We conducted our audit in accordance with 
International Standards on Auditing (UK) (“ISAs (UK)”) 
and applicable law. Our responsibilities are described 
below. We believe that the audit evidence we have 
obtained is a sufficient and appropriate basis for 
our opinion. Our audit opinion is consistent with our 
report to the audit committee. 

We were first appointed as auditor by the directors on 
7 September 2015. The period of total uninterrupted 
engagement is for the four financial years ended 
31 December 2018. We have fulfilled our ethical 
responsibilities under, and we remain independent 
of the Group in accordance with, UK ethical 
requirements including the FRC Ethical Standard as 
applied to listed public interest entities. 

78    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    79

Financial statementsIndependent Auditor’s Report — continued

Independent Auditor’s Report — continued

2.  Key audit matters: including our assessment of risks of material misstatement

2.  Key audit matters: including our assessment of risks of material misstatement — continued

Key audit matters are those matters that, in our professional judgement, were of most significance in the audit of the financial 
statements and include the most significant assessed risks of material misstatement (whether or not due to fraud) identified 
by us, including those which had the greatest effect on: the overall audit strategy; the allocation of resources in the audit; 
and directing the efforts of the engagement team. We summarise below the key audit matters, in decreasing order of audit 
significance, in arriving at our audit opinion above, together with our key audit procedures to address those matters and, 
as required for public interest entities, our results from those procedures. These matters were addressed, and our results 
are based on procedures undertaken, in the context of, and solely for the purpose of, our audit of the financial statements 
as a whole, and in forming our opinion thereon, and consequently are incidental to that opinion, and we do not provide 
a separate opinion on these matters.

The risk

Our response

Valuation preferred shares, 
convertible loan notes and 
warrants measured at fair 
value through profit/loss. 
($242.6m; 2017: $254.9m)

Refer to page 64 (Audit Committee 
Report), page 97 (accounting 
policy) and pages 122 to 127 
(financial disclosures).

Our procedures included: 

Our valuation expertise: 
Where valuations had been prepared by an 
external expert on behalf of the Group we 
engaged our own valuation specialists to 
assist us in assessing certain assumptions and 
methodologies used in the valuations. 

We used our own valuation specialists to assist 
us in critically assessing key inputs utilised 
within the OPM and PWERM analysis. We used 
publicly available comparable Company data 
to critically assess the volatility assumption. 

Assessing valuer’s credentials: 
We assessed the expertise and independence 
of the external experts.

Benchmarking assumptions: 
The Group’s internal data such as strategic 
plans, forecasts and budgets and actual results 
are utilised for inputs such as exit dates and 
scenarios and probability of exit scenarios. 
Procedures performed include comparing to 
prior periods for consistency, understanding 
key changes and critically assessing current 
progress against milestones set and assessing 
where there is an impact on the forecast exit 
date and assessing whether the assumptions 
used are consistent with the strategic plans. 

Methodology choice:
We critically assessed the appropriateness 
of the valuation model used for each 
subsidiary based on the specific circumstances 
relevant to each company such as the stage 
of development, the industry in which it 
operates and also the likely exit date or 
commercialisation date. We compared the 
approach taken to that used in the prior year; 
understanding and challenging changes 
made and challenged where changes should 
have been made.

Subjective valuation:
The Group finances its operations 
partly through financial instruments 
such as preferred shares, convertible 
loan notes and warrants, some of 
which have been determined to 
contain embedded derivatives and are 
determined to be financial liabilities 
held at fair value through profit/loss.

Determining the fair value of the 
warrants, convertible loan notes 
and the preferred shares, where the 
accounting policy choice has been 
taken to fair value through profit/
loss, involves a significant level of 
judgement around the assumptions 
used, and internal and external factors 
that may impact the assumptions. 

The fair value of the financial 
instruments are derived using an 
Option Pricing Model (OPM) or 
Probability Weighted Return Model 
(PWERM) analysis or a hybrid of the 
two which include a significant levels of 
judgement around the key assumptions 
such as subsidiary valuations, volatility, 
expected time to the conversion event, 
forecast exit dates and scenarios and 
applicable probability weighting. 

The valuation methodologies utilised 
to determine the subsidiary valuations 
are based on net present values 
from discounted cash flows (DCFs), 
recent third party funding, or market 
approach valuations.

Where the valuation is driven by 
a DCF, there is an inherent uncertainty 
involved in forecasting the trading of 
such companies and the significant 
level of judgement required to 
determine the assumptions used in the 
DCFs such as discount rate, revenue 
and EBIT forecasts and probability of 
success and the valuations are sensitive 
to changes in these assumptions.

The risk

Our response

Valuation of preferred shares, 
convertible loan notes and 
warrants measured at fair 
value through profit/loss. 
($242.6 million; 2017: $254.9m)

Where there is a valuation which 
utilises a PWERM analysis there is 
significant judgement in relation to 
both the scenarios chosen as well as 
the weighting of those scenarios.

Refer to page 64 (Audit Committee 
Report), page 97 (accounting 
policy) and pages 122 to 127 
(financial disclosures).

For valuations based on recent third 
party funding rounds, the relatively 
low number of investors partaking in 
funding rounds means that there is 
a risk that recent funding rounds on 
which the fair value is based are not 
sufficiently at arm’s length to ensure 
an independent market valuation 
which is representative of fair value.

The effect of these matters is that, 
as part of our risk assessment, we 
determined that the fair values 
of the financial instruments has 
a high degree of estimation 
uncertainty, with a potential 
range of reasonable outcomes 
greater than our materiality for the 
financial statements as a whole, 
and possibly many times that 
amount. The financial statements 
(note 21) disclose the sensitivity 
estimated by the Group.

We critically assessed the appropriateness of the 
assumptions underlying the forecasts, including 
assumptions over projected revenue including 
forecast product commercialisation or license 
date and royalty rates where applicable, operating 
costs, EBIT margin terminal values and the 
probability of success factors where applicable. 
In doing this we used our knowledge of each 
subsidiary and its industry with reference to both 
internal management information and externally 
derived data and benchmarks, including market 
size data, royalty rates and competitor analyses 
based on information from public material.

Benchmarking assumptions: 
We critically assessed the appropriateness of the 
discount rates applied, against the assumptions 
used in the prior year, with specific focus (where 
applicable) on: the Company specific risk premium 
(including appropriateness of the probability of 
success where applicable). We consider against 
the stage of development of the Company where 
capital rates of return are utilised.

We critically challenged the appropriateness 
of the comparable companies utilised in the 
market based valuation approach by using our 
own valuations experts to source confirming 
and disconfirming evidence. We assessed the 
appropriateness of the probabilities assigned to 
the scenarios given the stage of the Company in 
its life cycle. 

Third party funding rounds valuation:
Where valuations are based on the implied value 
from the most recent third party investment we 
assessed the accuracy of the data used including 
agreeing to related contracts and capitalisation 
tables. We evaluated the independence of the 
funding rounds on which the valuation was based 
by looking at the number of external investors 
included within the funding round and the 
significance of their investments. For a sample of 
external investors we considered the directors 
of those investors for any potential overlap with 
PureTech Health plc.

Assessing transparency: 
We assessed the adequacy of the Group’s 
disclosures in relation to the key assumptions 
related to the valuations.

Sensitivity analysis: 
We assessed the sensitivity analysis disclosure for 
appropriateness which included the term, risk free 
rate and volatility input into the OPM.

Our results 
We found the valuation of preferred shares, 
convertible loan notes and warrants measured at 
fair value through profit/loss to be acceptable.

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80    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    81

Financial statements 
Independent Auditor’s Report — continued

Independent Auditor’s Report — continued

2.  Key audit matters: including our assessment of risks of material misstatement — continued

2.  Key audit matters: including our assessment of risks of material misstatement — continued

The risk

Our response

The risk

Our response

Classification and measurement 
of preferred shares, convertible 
loan notes and warrants. 
($242.6m; 2017: $254.9m)

Refer to page 64 (Audit Committee 
Report), page 97 (accounting 
policy) and pages 122 to 127 
(financial disclosures).

Accounting treatment
The Group finances its operations 
and subsidiaries partly through 
financial instruments such as 
preferred shares, convertible loan 
notes and warrants. 

There is a significant level of 
judgement in relation to assessing 
the terms of the instruments to 
identify whether the instruments 
meets the criteria to be classified 
as debt or equity in the issuer. 

There is also judgement in assessing 
the terms of the contracts to 
determine any host instrument and 
whether there are any separable 
embedded derivatives; 

and determining the impact 
on the non-controlling interest 
calculation of the debt versus equity 
classification of the shares in issue at 
the subsidiaries. 

Due to these factors, for new 
financial instruments issued in the 
year, this has been determined to be 
a significant risk.

Our procedures included: 

Accounting analysis:
Assessing the conclusions reached by the Group 
in relation to the debt versus equity classification 
of the issued financial instruments by considering 
the key terms and features of the contracts 
and applying and interpreting the relevant 
accounting standards;

Assessing whether the financial instruments 
contained embedded derivatives by considering 
the key terms of the contracts, identifying a host 
contract, and assessing whether each feature met 
the definition of an embedded derivative and 
whether they should be bifurcated;

Assessing the Group’s classification of whether any 
separable embedded derivative should be liability 
or equity classified based on the terms of the 
related contracts;

Where the Group classified the entire hybrid 
contract at fair value through profit or loss, 
we evaluated whether certain embedded 
derivatives required separate measurement by 
critically assessing the key terms and features of 
those derivatives;

Challenging the Group’s assessment of the 
implications of the debt versus equity classification 
of the preferred shares issued at subsidiary level 
on the measurement of NCI in the Group by 
inspecting the source documentation to identify 
the key features which would determine the 
classification and then considering the impact 
of this classification on the measurement of the 
NCI calculation; 

Assessing transparency: 
Assessing whether the Group’s disclosures 
were consistent with the conclusions reached in 
relation to both the classification of the financial 
instruments and the determination of whether 
there are embedded derivatives within the 
host contracts; 

Our results 
We found the classification and measurement 
of preferred shares, convertible loan notes and 
warrants to be acceptable.

Determination of the 
accounting and valuation 
of investment in associates 
($83.5m; 2017: not applicable)

Refer to page 64 (Audit Committee 
Report), page 96 (accounting 
policy) and pages 107 and 108 
(financial disclosures).

Accounting treatment:
The Group has entities it controls and 
therefore consolidates under IFRS 10. As 
the entities progress they require further 
external funding which in some scenarios 
reduces the Group’s shareholding to 
an extent that it loses control which 
results in them no longer being able to 
consolidate the entity. 

Due to the fact that the Group holds 
a variety of instruments in the entities, 
which have varying risks and rights, there 
is significant judgement in relation to 
whether the shares are accounted for IAS 
28 Investments in Associates and Joint 
Ventures or as a financial asset per IFRS 9 
Financial Instruments and therefore held 
at fair value.

Subjective valuation:
There is a significant level of judgement 
in relation to determining the fair value 
of this financial asset. The valuation risk is 
outlined on pages 80 and 81.

In the current year this risk is 
specific to Akili.

Our procedures included: 

Accounting analysis:
We have assessed the Group’s technical 
accounting where there is a determination 
whether the investment falls within the 
scope of IAS 28 and/or IFRS 9. 

We have considered the appropriate 
accounting in this case whether that 
be equity accounting or accounting as 
a financial asset. 

Assessing transparency
We have considered the adequacy of the 
disclosure of the accounting treatment in 
the financial statements and disclosure of 
assumptions relating to the valuation of the 
investment if it falls into the scope of IFRS 9.

Our valuation expertise
We have assessed the Group’s valuation of 
the financial asset inline with the procedures 
outlined on pages 80 and 81.

Our results 
We found the determination of the 
accounting and valuation of investment in 
associates to be acceptable.

Revenue recognition 
(fraud and error) 
($16.4m; 2017: not applicable) 

Refer to page 65 (Audit Committee 
Report), pages 98 and 99 
(accounting policy) and pages 103 
and 104 (financial disclosures).

Accounting treatment:
We have not rebutted the fraud risk in 
revenue recognition due to the complex 
nature of customer contracts which the 
Group enters in to. Furthermore, due 
to the complex nature of the contracts 
and the accounting application of IFRS 
15, we have assessed the risk of error to 
be significant.

Our procedures included: 

Accounting analysis:
We have assessed the key agreements to 
consider the Group’s assessment of the 
revenue contract.

We have assessed the Group’s 
determination of distinct performance 
obligations contained within the contract.

Revenue recognition involves a significant 
level of judgement and estimation due to 
the non-standard nature of the revenue 
streams of the Group and bespoke 
contracts which are drafted in relation to 
each agreement reached with a third party 
where judgement is required in assessing 
the implications of the terms of the 
agreements and identification of distinct 
performance obligations; allocation of the 
transaction price to each performance 
obligation; and consideration as to whether 
revenue should recognised as over time 
or at a point in time in relation to the 
appropriate revenue recognition policy. 

There is significant estimation involved in 
the budgets and forecasts that drive the 
inputs method of revenue recognition 
where revenue is recognised over time. 

There is judgement involved in 
determining the revenue recognition point 
for point in time revenue.

We have reviewed the Group’s 
calculated constrained transaction 
price and its allocation to the identified 
performance obligations.

We have assessed the Group’s 
methodology in recognising revenue 
based on the inputs method by testing 
a sample of costs and considering 
completeness of the costs.

We have considered the timing of revenue 
recognised on a point in time basis.

Assessing transparency
We have assessed the adequacy of the 
Group’s disclosures in relation to the 
revenue recognition accounting policies 
adopted, including the transition to IFRS 15.

Our results 
We found the revenue recognition to 
be acceptable.

82    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    83

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Financial statements 
Independent Auditor’s Report — continued

Independent Auditor’s Report — continued

2.  Key audit matters: including our assessment of risks of material misstatement — continued

4.  We have nothing to report on going concern

5.   We have nothing to report on the other information in 

Valuation of investments and 
related party receivables 
held by the Parent Company 
($330.7m; 2017: $330.7m)

Refer to page 64 (Audit Committee 
Report), page 139 (accounting 
policy) and page 139 (financial 
disclosures).

The risk

Our response

Low risk, high value
The carrying amount of the parent 
Company’s investments in and receivables 
from the subsidiary companies represents 
100% (2017: 100%) of the Company’s total 
assets and the related party receivable 
balances. Their recoverability is not at 
a high risk of significant misstatement or 
subject to significant judgement. However, 
due to their materiality in the context of 
the parent Company financial statements, 
this is considered to be the area that had 
the greatest effect on our overall parent 
Company audit. 

Our procedures included: 

Comparing valuations: 
We compared the carrying amount of the 
investment and the related party receivables 
to the market capitalisation of the Group, 
as PureTech Health LLC contains all of the 
Group’s trading operations.

We compared the carrying value of the 
investment and the related party receivables 
to the valuations derived for the purposes of 
the fair value of the financial instruments.

Our results 
We found the valuation of the investments 
and related party receivables held by the 
Parent Company to be acceptable.

3.  Our application of materiality and an overview of the scope of our audit 

the scope of our audit 

the scope of our audit 

Materiality for the Group financial statements as a whole 
3. Our application of materiality and an overview of 
3. Our application of materiality and an overview of 
was set at $1.0m (2017: $1.0m), determined with reference to 
a benchmark total expenses (being general and administrative 
Materiality for the Group financial statements as a 
Materiality for the Group financial statements as a 
expenses and research and development expenses) of which 
whole was set at $1.0m (2017: $1.0m), determined 
whole was set at $1.0m (2017: $1.0m), determined 
it represents 0.8% (2017: 0.85%). Total expenses is considered 
with reference to a benchmark total expenses 
with reference to a benchmark total expenses 
(being general and administrative expenses and 
to be one of the principal considerations for the members of 
(being general and administrative expenses and 
research and development expenses) of which it 
the Company in assessing the financial performance of the 
research and development expenses) of which it 
represents 0.8% (2017: 0.85%). Total expenses is 
Group, since the Group’s activities are currently principally in 
represents 0.8% (2017: 0.85%). Total expenses is 
considered to be one of the principal 
relation to expenditure on developing forms of intellectual 
considered to be one of the principal 
considerations for the members of the Company in 
property which can be exploited commercially to generate 
considerations for the members of the Company in 
assessing the financial performance of the Group, 
assessing the financial performance of the Group, 
income and growth in the future. 
since the Group’s activities are currently principally 
since the Group’s activities are currently principally 
in relation to expenditure on developing forms of 
Materiality for the parent Company financial statements as 
in relation to expenditure on developing forms of 
intellectual property which can be exploited 
a whole was set at $0.83m (2017: $0.75m), determined with 
intellectual property which can be exploited 
commercially to generate income and growth in 
commercially to generate income and growth in 
reference to a benchmark of total assets, capped at component 
the future. 
the future. 
materiality, of which it represents 0.25% (2017: 0.22%).
Materiality for the parent Company financial 
Materiality for the parent Company financial 
We agreed to report to the Audit Committee any corrected 
statements as a whole was set at $0.83m (2017: 
statements as a whole was set at $0.83m (2017: 
$0.75m), determined with reference to a 
or uncorrected identified misstatements exceeding $50k, in 
$0.75m), determined with reference to a 
benchmark of total assets, capped at component 
addition to other identified misstatements that warranted 
benchmark of total assets, capped at component 
materiality, of which it represents 0.25% (2017: 
reporting on qualitative grounds.
materiality, of which it represents 0.25% (2017: 
0.22%).
0.22%).

Of the Group’s 3 (2017: 3) reporting components (excluding 
We agreed to report to the Audit Committee any 
We agreed to report to the Audit Committee any 
resTORbio and Akili), we subjected 3 (2017: 3) to full scope 
corrected or uncorrected identified misstatements 
corrected or uncorrected identified misstatements 
audits for Group purposes. 
exceeding $50k, in addition to other identified 
exceeding $50k, in addition to other identified 
misstatements that warranted reporting on 
The components within the scope of our work accounted for 
misstatements that warranted reporting on 
qualitative grounds.
qualitative grounds.
the percentages illustrated opposite. 

The components within the scope of our work 
accounted for the percentages illustrated opposite. 

Of the Group’s 4 (2017: 4) reporting components 
(excluding resTORbio and Akili), we subjected 4 
(2017: 3) to full scope audits for Group purposes 
and none (2017: 1) to specified risk-focused audit 
procedures. 

Of the Group’s 4 (2017: 4) reporting components 
The Group team instructed the component auditor as to the 
(excluding resTORbio and Akili), we subjected 4 
significant areas to be covered, including the relevant risks 
(2017: 3) to full scope audits for Group purposes 
detailed above and the information to be reported back. 
and none (2017: 1) to specified risk-focused audit 
procedures. 
The component materiality ranged from $600k to $830k, 
having regard to the mix of size and risk profile of the Group 
The components within the scope of our work 
across the components. The work on 2 of the 3 components 
accounted for the percentages illustrated opposite. 
(2017: 2 of the 3 components) was performed by component 
auditors and the rest, including the audit of the parent 
Company, was performed by the Group team. 

The Group team instructed the component auditor 
The Group team instructed the component auditor 
as to the significant areas to be covered, including 
as to the significant areas to be covered, including 
the relevant risks detailed above and the 
the relevant risks detailed above and the 
information to be reported back.  The component 
Meetings and telephone conferences were also held with the 
information to be reported back.  The component 
materiality ranged from $600k to $830k, having 
component auditor. At these meetings, the findings reported 
materiality ranged from $600k to $830k, having 
regard to the mix of size and risk profile of the 
regard to the mix of size and risk profile of the 
to the Group team were discussed in more detail, and any 
Group across the components.  The work on 2 of 
Group across the components.  The work on 2 of 
further work required by the Group team was then performed 
the 4 components (2017: 2 of the 4 components) 
the 4 components (2017: 2 of the 4 components) 
by the component auditor.
was performed by component auditors and the 
was performed by component auditors and the 
rest, including the audit of the parent Company, 
rest, including the audit of the parent Company, 
was performed by the Group team. 
was performed by the Group team. 

Total expenses
Total expenses
$125m (2017: $118m)
$125m (2017: $118m)

Group Materiality
$1.0m (2017: $1.0m)

Group Materiality
$1.0m (2017: $1.0m)

$1m
Whole financial
statements materiality
(2017: $1m)

$1m
Whole financial
statements materiality
(2017: $1m)

$0.83m
$0.83m
Range of materiality at 
Range of materiality at 
3 components $600k-$830k 
3 components $600k-$830k 
(2017: 3: $572k to $750k)
(2017: 3: $572k to $750k)

Group expenses
Group materiality

Group expenses
Group materiality

$50k
Misstatements reported to the 
audit committee (2017: $50k)

$50k
Misstatements reported to the 
audit committee (2017: $50k)

Group revenue

Group revenue

Group loss before tax

Group loss before tax

0

2

0

2

0

3

0

3

100%
100%

(2017 100%)

(2017 100%)

100%
100%

(2017 100%)

(2017 100%)

98

98

100

100

97

97

100

100

Group total assets 

Group total assets 

0

3

0

3

100%
100%

(2017 100%)

(2017 100%)

97

97

100

100

Full scope for Group 
audit purposes 2018

Full scope for Group 
audit purposes 2018

Full scope for Group 
audit purposes 2017

Full scope for Group 
audit purposes 2017

Specified risk-focused 
audit procedures 2017

Specified risk-focused 
audit procedures 2017

Meetings and telephone conferences were also 
Meetings and telephone conferences were also 
held with the component auditor.  At these 
held with the component auditor.  At these 
meetings, the findings reported to the Group team 
meetings, the findings reported to the Group team 
were discussed in more detail, and any further 
were discussed in more detail, and any further 
work required by the Group team was then 
work required by the Group team was then 
performed by the component auditor.
performed by the component auditor.

84    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

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The Directors have prepared the financial statements on 
the going concern basis as they do not intend to liquidate 
the Company or to cease its operations, and as they have 
concluded that the Company’s financial position means that 
this is realistic. They have also concluded that there are no 
material uncertainties that could have cast significant doubt 
over its ability to continue as a going concern for at least 
a year from the date of approval of the financial statements 
(“the going concern period”).

Our responsibility is to conclude on the appropriateness of 
the Directors’ conclusions and, had there been a material 
uncertainty related to going concern, to make reference to 
that in this audit report. However, as we cannot predict all 
future events or conditions and as subsequent events may 
result in outcomes that are inconsistent with judgements that 
were reasonable at the time they were made, the absence of 
reference to a material uncertainty in this auditor’s report is 
not a guarantee that the Company will continue in operation.

In our evaluation of the Directors’ conclusions, we considered 
the inherent risks to the Company’s business model and 
analysed how those risks might affect the Company’s financial 
resources or ability to continue operations over the going 
concern period. The risks that we considered most likely to 
adversely affect the Company’s available financial resources 
over this period were:

•  Failure to raise future funding to finance the Group’s 

strategic business model.

As these were risks that could potentially cast significant 
doubt on the Company’s ability to continue as a going 
concern, we considered sensitivities over the level of available 
financial resources indicated by the Company’s financial 
forecasts taking account of reasonably possible (but not 
unrealistic) adverse effects that could arise from these risks 
individually and collectively and evaluated the achievability of 
the actions the Directors consider they would take to improve 
the position should the risks materialise.

Based on this work, we are required to report to you if:

•  we have anything material to add or draw attention to 
in relation to the directors’ statement in note 1 to the 
financial statements on the use of the going concern basis 
of accounting with no material uncertainties that may cast 
significant doubt over the Company’s use of that basis 
for a period of at least twelve months from the date of 
approval of the financial statements; or

•  the related statement under the Listing Rules set 
out on page 61 is materially inconsistent with our 
audit knowledge.

We have nothing to report in these respects, and we did not 
identify going concern as a key audit matter.

the Annual Report 

The directors are responsible for the other information 
presented in the Annual Report together with the financial 
statements. Our opinion on the financial statements does 
not cover the other information and, accordingly, we do not 
express an audit opinion or, except as explicitly stated below, 
any form of assurance conclusion thereon. 

Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in 
doing so, consider whether, based on our financial statements 
audit work, the information therein is materially misstated 
or inconsistent with the financial statements or our audit 
knowledge. Based solely on that work we have not identified 
material misstatements in the other information.

Strategic report and directors’ report 
Based solely on our work on the other information: 

•  we have not identified material misstatements in the 

strategic report and the directors’ report; 

• 

in our opinion the information given in those reports 
for the financial year is consistent with the financial 
statements; and 

• 

in our opinion those reports have been prepared in 
accordance with the Companies Act 2006.

Directors’ remuneration report 
In our opinion the part of the Directors’ Remuneration Report 
to be audited has been properly prepared in accordance with 
the Companies Act 2006. 

Disclosures of principal risks and longer-term viability 
Based on the knowledge we acquired during our financial 
statements audit, we have nothing material to add or draw 
attention to in relation to:

•  the directors’ confirmation within the Viability Statement 

on page 39 that they have carried out a robust assessment 
of the principal risks facing the Group, including those that 
would threaten its business model, future performance, 
solvency and liquidity;

•  the Principal Risks disclosures describing these risks 
and explaining how they are being managed and 
mitigated; and 

•  the directors’ explanation in the viability statement of 

how they have assessed the prospects of the Group, over 
what period they have done so and why they considered 
that period to be appropriate, and their statement as 
to whether they have a reasonable expectation that the 
Group will be able to continue in operation and meet 
its liabilities as they fall due over the period of their 
assessment, including any related disclosures drawing 
attention to any necessary qualifications or assumptions. 

Under the Listing Rules we are required to review the viability 
statement. We have nothing to report in this respect. 

Our work is limited to assessing these matters in the 
context of only the knowledge acquired during our financial 
statements audit. As we cannot predict all future events or 
conditions and as subsequent events may result in outcomes 
that are inconsistent with judgements that were reasonable at 
the time they were made, the absence of anything to report 
on these statements is not a guarantee as to the Group’s and 
Company’s longer-term viability. 

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    85

Financial statements 
8.   The purpose of our audit work and to whom we owe 

our responsibilities 

This report is made solely to the Company’s members, 
as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the 
Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken 
so that we might state to the Company’s members those 
matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report 
and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by 
law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone 
other than the Company and the Company’s members, as 
a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions 
we have formed.

Charles le Strange Meakin (Senior Statutory Auditor)  
for and on behalf of KPMG LLP, Statutory Auditor 

Chartered Accountants 

15 Canada Square 
Canary Wharf 
London 
E14 5GL

24 April 2019

Independent Auditor’s Report — continued

Corporate governance disclosures 
We are required to report to you if:

•  we have identified material inconsistencies between the 
knowledge we acquired during our financial statements 
audit and the directors’ statement that they consider 
that the annual report and financial statements taken as 
a whole is fair, balanced and understandable and provides 
the information necessary for shareholders to assess 
the Group’s position and performance, business model 
and strategy; or 

•  the section of the annual report describing the work of the 
Audit Committee does not appropriately address matters 
communicated by us to the Audit Committee.

We are required to report to you if the Corporate Governance 
Statement does not properly disclose a departure from the 
eleven provisions of the UK Corporate Governance Code 
specified by the Listing Rules for our review. 

We have nothing to report in these respects. 

6.   We have nothing to report on the other matters on 

which we are required to report by exception 

Under the Companies Act 2006, we are required to report to 
you if, in our opinion: 

•  adequate accounting records have not been kept by the 
parent Company, or returns adequate for our audit have 
not been received from branches not visited by us; or 

•  the parent Company financial statements and the part of 
the Directors’ Remuneration Report to be audited are not 
in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or 

•  certain disclosures of directors’ remuneration specified by 

law are not made; or 

•  we have not received all the information and explanations 

we require for our audit.

We have nothing to report in these respects.

7.  Respective responsibilities 

Directors’ responsibilities
As explained more fully in their statement set out on 
page 62, the directors are responsible for: the preparation 
of the financial statements including being satisfied that 
they give a true and fair view; 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; assessing the Group and parent 
Company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, 
as applicable, matters related to going concern; and using the 
going concern basis of accounting unless they either intend 
to liquidate the Group or the parent Company or to cease 
operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor’s responsibilities 
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about 
whether the financial statements as a whole are free from 
material misstatement, whether due to fraud or other 
irregularities (see below), or error, and to issue our opinion in 
an auditor’s report. Reasonable assurance is a high level of 
assurance, but does not guarantee that an audit conducted 
in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material 
misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from 

fraud, other irregularities 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. 

A fuller description of our responsibilities is provided on the 
FRC’s website at www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. 

Irregularities – ability to detect
We identified areas of laws and regulations that could 
reasonably be expected to have a material effect on the 
financial statements from our general commercial and sector 
experience and through discussion with the directors and 
other management (as required by auditing standards), 
and from inspection of the Group’s regulatory and legal 
correspondence and discussed with the directors and 
other management the policies and procedures regarding 
compliance with laws and regulations. We communicated 
identified laws and regulations throughout our team and 
remained alert to any indications of non-compliance 
throughout the audit. 

The potential effect of these laws and regulations on the 
financial statements varies considerably.

Firstly, the Group is subject to laws and regulations that 
directly affect the financial statements including financial 
reporting legislation (including related companies legislation), 
distributable profits legislation, taxation legislation, and 
we assessed the extent of compliance with these laws and 
regulations as part of our procedures on the related financial 
statement items. 

Secondly, the Group is subject to many other laws and 
regulations where the consequences of non-compliance 
could have a material effect on amounts or disclosures in 
the financial statements, for instance through the imposition 
of fines or litigation or the loss of the Group’s licence to 
operate. We identified the following areas as those most 
likely to have such an effect: health and safety, anti-bribery, 
employment law (including within the United States), Food 
and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency 
regulation, 1940s Investment Act and the Securities Exchange 
Commission. Auditing standards limit the required audit 
procedures to identify non-compliance with these laws and 
regulations to enquiry of the directors and other management 
and inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any. 
These limited procedures did not identify actual or suspected 
non-compliance.

Owing to the inherent limitations of an audit, there is an 
unavoidable risk that we may not have detected some 
material misstatements in the financial statements, even 
though we have properly planned and performed our audit 
in accordance with auditing standards. For example, the 
further removed non-compliance with laws and regulations 
(irregularities) is from the events and transactions reflected in 
the financial statements, the less likely the inherently limited 
procedures required by auditing standards would identify 
it. In addition, as with any audit, there remained a higher 
risk of non-detection of irregularities, as these may involve 
collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, 
or the override of internal controls. We are not responsible 
for preventing non-compliance and cannot be expected to 
detect non-compliance with all laws and regulations.

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Financial statements 
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income/(Loss)

Consolidated Statements of Financial Position

For the years ended 31 December

For the years ended 31 December

Note

Revenue from customers
Grant revenue

Total revenue
Operating expenses:

General and administrative expenses
Research and development expenses

Operating loss
Other income/(expense):

Gain on deconsolidation 
Gain/(loss) on investments held at fair value
Loss on impairment of intangible asset
Gain on disposal of assets
Gain on loss of significant influence
Other (expense)/income

Other income
Finance income/(costs):
Finance income
Finance costs – subsidiary preferred shares
Finance income – contractual
Finance costs – contractual
Finance income/(costs) – fair value accounting

Net finance costs

Share of net loss of associates accounted for using the equity method
Loss before taxes

Income/(loss) before taxes pre IFRS 9 (2018)/IAS 39 (2017) fair value accounting, 
finance cost – subsidiary preferred shares, share-based payment expense, impairment 
of tangible assets, depreciation of tangible assets and amortisation of intangible assets
Finance costs – subsidiary preferred shares

Finance costs – fair value accounting

Share-based payment expense

Impairment of tangible assets
Depreciation of tangible assets
Amortisation of intangible assets
Loss before taxes

Taxation

Loss for the year
Other comprehensive income/(loss):
Items that are or may be reclassified as profit or loss
Foreign currency translation differences
Unrealised gain on investments held at fair value

Total other comprehensive income/(loss)

Total comprehensive loss for the year

Income/(loss) attributable to:

Owners of the Company
Non-controlling interests

Comprehensive income/(loss) attributable to:

Owners of the Company

Non-controlling interests

Earnings/(loss) per share:

Basic earnings/(loss) per share

Diluted earnings/(loss) per share

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements. 
* Prior year tax numbers have been adjusted – see note 1.

88    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

3
3

6
6

5
5

10
5

8
8
8
8
8

5

15

8

7

10
11

25

16

16

9

9

2018
$000s

 16,371 
 4,377 

 20,748 

2017*
$000s

 650 
 1,885 

 2,535 

 (47,365)
 (77,402)

 (46,283)
 (71,672)

 (104,019)

 (115,420)

 41,730 
(20,307)
(30)
 4,060 
 10,287 
(278)

35,462

 3,358 
 (14,414)
 426 
(392)
 22,631 

11,609

 (11,490)
 (68,438)

 (75,548)
(106)

 22,631 

 (12,637)

—
 (2,476)
(302)
 (68,438)

(2,221)

(70,659)

 85,016 
 57,334 
—
—
—
14

 142,364 

 1,750 
 (9,509)
 169 
(722)
(71,735)

 (80,047)

 (17,608)
 (70,711)

 25,118 
(9,509)

(71,735)

(11,849)

 (637)
 (1,617)
(482)
(70,711)

(4,383)

 (75,094)

(214)
(26)

(240)

408
1,750

2,158

(70,899)

(72,936)

(43,654)
 (27,005)

(70,659)

(43,894)

 (27,005)

(70,899)

26,472
 (101,566)

 (75,094)

28,630

 (101,566)

(72,936)

($0.16)

($0.16)

$0.11

$0.11

Assets
Non-current assets
Property and equipment, net
Investments held at fair value
Intangible assets, net
Deferred tax assets
Other non-current assets

Total non-current assets

Current assets
Trade and other receivables
Prepaid expenses and other current assets
Other financial assets
Short-term investments
Cash and cash equivalents

Total current assets

Total assets

Equity and liabilities
Equity
Share capital
Merger reserve
Share premium
Translation reserve
Other reserve
Accumulated deficit

Equity attributable to the owners of the Company
Non-controlling interests

Total equity

Non-current liabilities
Deferred revenue
Deferred tax liability
Other long-term liabilities

Total non-current liabilities

Current liabilities
Deferred revenue
Trade and other payables
Subsidiary:
Notes payable
Derivative liability
Warrant liability
Preferred shares
Other current liabilities

Total current liabilities

Total liabilities

Total equity and liabilities

Note

2018
$000s

2017*
$000s

10
5
11
25

21

13, 21
21
21

14
14
14
14
14
14

14
14, 16

14

3
25
19

3
18

17, 21
21
21
15, 21

 8,323 
 169,755 
 3,080 
 449 
 370 

 181,977 

 1,328 
 5,380 
 2,199 
 133,828 
 117,051 

 259,786 

 441,763 

 5,375 
 138,506 
 278,385 
 10 
 20,923 
(167,692)

275,507
 (108,535)

166,972

83
6,428
2,516

9,027

 6,862 
 131,351 
 3,309 
 142 
 73 

 141,737 

 1,797 
 6,638 
 927 
 116,098 
 72,649 

 198,109 

 339,846 

 4,679 
 138,506 
 181,588 
 224 
 17,178 
(132,270)

209,905
 (150,305)

59,600

 159 
4,397
 1,828 

6,384

 6,560 
 15,875 

 1,652 
 16,358 

 12,010 
— 
 13,012 
 217,519 
 788 

 265,764 

274,791

 441,763 

 7,455 
 114,263 
 13,095 
 120,051 
 988 

 273,862 

 280,246

 339,846 

See the accompanying notes to the consolidated financial information. Registered number: 09582467. 
The financial statements on pages 88 to 135 were approved by the Board of Directors and authorised for issuance on 
16 April 2019 and signed on its behalf by:

Daphne Zohar 
Chief Executive Officer

24 April 2019

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements. 
*  Prior year tax numbers have been adjusted – see note 1.

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    89

Financial statementsFinancial statementsConsolidated Statements of Changes in Equity

For the years ended 31 December

Consolidated Statements of Changes in Equity — continued

Balance 1 January 2017
Net income/(loss)
Foreign currency exchange
Unrealised gain on investments

Total comprehensive income/(loss) for the period*

Gain/(loss) arising from change in non-controlling interests
Exercise of share-based awards
Subsidiary dividends
Buyback of shares, net of tax
Equity settled share-based payments

As at 31 December 2017*
Adjustment for the initial application of IFRS 9

Adjusted balance as of 1 January 2018
Net loss
Foreign currency exchange
Unrealised loss on investments

Total comprehensive loss for the period
Deconsolidation of subsidiary
Issuance of placing shares
Exercise of share-based awards
Subsidiary dividends to non-controlling interests
Equity settled share-based payments

Balance as of 31 December 2018

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements. 
*  Prior year tax numbers have been adjusted – see note 1.

Share Capital

Amount
$000s

 4,609 
—
—
—

—
—
 70 
—
—
—
 4,679 
—

 4,679 
—
—
—

—
—
 696 
—
—
—

Share
premium

 181,658 
—
—
—

—
—
 (70)
—
—
—
 181,588 
—

 181,588 
—
—
—

—
—
 96,797 
—
—
—

Shares 

 237,387,951
—
—
—

—
—
41,745
—
—
—
237,429,696
—

237,429,696
—
—
—

—
—
 45,000,000 
64,171
—
—

Merger
reserve
$000s

Translation
reserve
$000s

Other
reserve
$000s

Accumulated
deficit
$000s

 138,506 
—
—
—

—
—
—
—
—
—
 138,506 
—

 138,506 
—
—
—

—
—
—
—
—
—

 (184)
—
 408 
—

 408 
—
—
—
—
—
 224 
—

 224 
—
 (214)
—

 (214)
—
—
—
—
—

 10 

 13,412 
—
—
—

—
 (16)
—
—
—
 3,782 
 17,178 
—

 17,178 
—
—
—

—
 (4)
—
—
—
 3,749 

 (160,335)
 26,472 
—
 1,750 

 28,222 
—
—
 (91)
 (66)
—
 (132,270)
 7,525 

 (124,745)
 (43,654)
—
 (26)

 (43,680)
 619 
—
122
 (8)
—

Total
parent
equity
$000s

 177,666 
 26,472 
 408 
 1,750 

 28,630 
 (16)
—
 (91)
 (66)
 3,782 
 209,905 
 7,525 

 217,430 
 (43,654)
 (214)
 (26)

 (43,894)
 615 
 97,493 
122
 (8)
 3,749 

Non-
controlling
interests
$000s

 (85,255)
 (101,566)
—
—

 (101,566)
 28,449 
—
—
—
 8,067 
 (150,305)
 4,719 

 (145,586)
 (27,005)
—
—

 (27,005)
 55,168 
—
—
—
 8,888 

Total
equity
$000s

 92,411 
 (75,094)
 408 
 1,750 

 (72,936)
 28,433 
—
 (91)
 (66)
 11,849 
 59,600 
 12,244 

 71,844 
 (70,659)
 (214)
 (26)

 (70,899)
 55,783 
 97,493 
122
 (8)
 12,637 

 282,493,867 

 5,375 

 278,385 

 138,506 

 20,923 

 (167,692)

 275,507 

 (108,535)

 166,972 

90    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    91

Financial statementsFinancial statementsConsolidated Statements of Cash Flows

For the years ended 31 December

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows — continued

Cash flows from operating activities
Loss for the year*
Adjustments to reconcile net operating loss to net cash used in operating activities:
Non-cash items:
Depreciation and amortisation
Impairment of intangible assets
Equity settled share-based payment expense
(Gain)/loss on investments held at fair value
(Gain)/loss on short-term investments
Gain on deconsolidation 
Gain on loss of significant influence
Conversion of debt to equity
Disposal of assets
Proceeds from sale of assets
Share of net loss of associate
Non-cash share of net loss for deconsolidated subsidiary
Deferred income taxes*
Subsidiary research and development tax credit
Non-cash rent expense
Unrealised (gain)/loss on foreign currency transactions
Finance costs
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable, net
Other financial assets
Prepaid expenses and other current assets
Deferred revenues
Accounts payable and accrued expenses
Other liabilities

Net cash used in operating activities

Cash flows from investing activities:
Purchase of property and equipment
Proceeds from sale of property and equipment
Purchases of intangible assets
Purchase of affiliate shares
Cash in associate eliminated upon deconsolidation
Purchases of short-term investments
Proceeds from maturity of short-term investments

Net cash provided by/(used in) investing activities

Cash flows from financing activities:
Proceeds from issuance of convertible notes
Repayment of long-term debt
Proceeds from the issuance of shares, net of issuance costs
Buyback of shares
Distribution to shareholders on dissolution of subsidiary
Subsidiary dividend payments

Net cash provided by financing activities

Effect of exchange rates on cash and cash equivalents
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year

Cash and cash equivalents at end of year

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements. 
*  Prior year tax numbers have been adjusted – see note 1.

Note

2018
$000s

2017
$000s

 (70,659)

 (75,094)

Supplemental disclosure of non-cash investment and financing activities:
Conversion of subsidiary notes payable and accrued interest into preferred stock

Note

2018
$000s

2017*
$000s

—

 1,306 

Supplemental disclosure of deconsolidated loss, net of non-cash items
Non-controlling interest
Parent share of loss of deconsolidated entity
Total net loss of deconsolidated entity
Loss attributable to cash spend
Total non-cash loss

Add:
Depreciation expense
Amortisation expense
Derivative fair value adjustment
Equity in exchange for services
Net loss of deconsolidated entity, net of non-cash items

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements. 
*  Prior year tax numbers have been adjusted – see note 1.

(55,168)
—
(55,168)
18,651
 (36,517)

—
—
36,517
—
—

 (28,449)
 (14,224)
 (42,673)
 8,660 
 (34,013)

 36 
 188 
 25,747 
 15 
 (8,027)

 10, 11 
11
7
12

5

10
10
5

25

8

21
13

3
19

10

11

20
20

17

15

 2,778 
 30 
 12,637 
20,307
 (843)
 (41,730)
 (10,287)
 349 
 111 
 50 
 11,491 
—
 1,723 
—
—
 (271)
 (8,446)

 467 
 (1,327)
 774 
 4,841 
 5,094 
 115 

 2,099 
 637 
 11,849 
 (57,334)
 219 
 (85,016)
—
—
—
—
 17,608 
 8,027 
 4,257 
 (1,152)
 106 
 342 
 81,797 

 (1,672)
 (30)
 168 
 (725)
 5,238 
 (9)

 (72,796)

 (88,685)

 (4,365)
 125 
 (125)
 (3,500)
 (13,390)
 (166,452)
 148,062 

 (39,645)

 6,147 
 (185)
 152,030 
 (35)
 (1,062)
 (8)

 156,887 

 (44)
 44,402 
 72,649 

 117,051 

 (2,091)
—
 (80)
—
 (16,340)
 (147,203)
 249,396 

 83,682 

 2,616 
 (163)
 12,400 
 (66)
—
 (91)

 14,696 

(3)
 9,690 
 62,959 

 72,649 

92    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    93

Financial statementsFinancial statementsNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements  — continued

1. 

Accounting policies

1. 

Accounting policies — continued

Description of Business
PureTech Health plc (“PureTech” the “Parent” or the “Company”) is a public company incorporated, domiciled and registered 
in the United Kingdom (“UK”). The registered number is 09582467 and the registered address is 5th Floor, 6 St. Andrew Street, 
London EC4A 3AE, UK. 

PureTech’s group financial statements consolidate those of the Company and its subsidiaries (together referred to as the 
“Group”) and the Group’s interest in associates. The Parent company financial statements present financial information about 
the Company as a separate entity and not about its Group.

The accounting policies set out below have, unless otherwise stated, been applied consistently to all periods presented in 
these group financial statements. 

Basis of Presentation
The Annual Report and Accounts of the Group are presented for the years ended 31 December 2018 and 2017. The Group 
financial statements have been prepared and approved by the Directors in accordance with the International Financial 
Reporting Standards, International Accounting Standards, and Interpretations (collectively “IFRS”) issued by the International 
Accounting Standards Board (“IASB”) as adopted by the European Union (adopted IFRSs). 

For presentation of the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income/(Loss), the Company uses a classification based 
on the function of expenses, rather than based on their nature, as it is more representative of the format used for internal 
reporting and management purposes and is consistent with international practice.

Basis of Measurement
The consolidated financial statements are prepared on the historical cost basis except that the following assets and liabilities 
are stated at their fair value: investments held at fair value, derivative financial instruments and financial instruments classified 
as fair value through the profit or loss.

Use of Judgements and Estimates
In preparing these consolidated financial statements, management has made judgements, estimates and assumptions that 
affect the application of the Group’s accounting policies and the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, income and expenses. 
Actual results may differ from these estimates. Estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an on-going basis. 
Revisions to estimates are recognised prospectively.

Significant estimation applied in determining the following:

•  Revenue recognition (note 3): when determining the correct amount of revenue to be recognised. This includes making 
certain estimates and judgements when determining the appropriate accounting treatment of key customer contract 
terms in accordance with the applicable accounting standards. In particular, estimates are required to determine the 
timing of revenue recognition (on delivery or over a period of time). The Directors also make estimates of the fair values of 
each component of a contract to be able to allocate the overall consideration to each component based on the relative 
fair value method.

•  Financial instruments valuations (note 21): when determining the appropriate valuation methodology and deriving the 

estimated fair value of subsidiary undertakings and subsidiary preferred shares. This includes making certain estimates of 
the future earnings potential of the subsidiary businesses, appropriate discount rate and earnings multiple to be applied, 
marketability and other industry and company specific risk factors. 

Significant judgement is also applied in determining the following: 

•  Subsidiary preferred shares liability classification (note 21): when determining the classification of financial instruments 
in terms of liability or equity. These judgements include an assessment whether the financial instrument include any 
embedded derivative features, whether they include a contractual obligations upon the Group to deliver cash or other 
financial assets or to exchange financial assets or financial liabilities with another party, and whether that obligation will 
be settled by the Company’s exchanging a fixed amount of cash or other financial assets for a fixed number of its own 
equity instruments. Further information about these critical judgements and estimates is included below under Financial 
Instruments; and

•  When the power to control the subsidiaries exists

Going Concern
After making enquiries and considering the impact of risks and opportunities on expected cash flows, the Directors have 
a reasonable expectation that the Group has adequate cash to continue in operational existence into Q1 2022. Based on 
the cash and cash equivalents available to the Group as of 31 December 2018, the Group has sufficient cash reserves to 
continue to provide capital, alongside outside investors, to its existing subsidiary companies and to create and fund project 
stage programmes and growth stage affiliates into Q1 2022, assuming broadly our expected level of required investments in 
businesses and other operating expenditures.

Basis of Consolidation
The consolidated financial information for each of the years ended 31 December 2018 and 2017 comprises an aggregation 
of financial information of the Company and the consolidated financial information of PureTech Health LLC (“PureTech LLC”). 
Intra-group balances and transactions, and any unrealised income and expenses arising from intra-group transactions, are 
eliminated. Unrealised gains arising from transactions with equity-accounted investees are eliminated against the investment to 
the extent of the Group’s interest in the investee. Unrealised losses are eliminated in the same way as unrealised gains, but only 
to the extent that there is no evidence of impairment.

Subsidiaries
Subsidiaries are entities that are controlled by the Group. The Group controls an entity when it is exposed to, or has the rights 
to, variable returns from its involvement with the entity and has the ability to affect those returns through its power over the 
entity. In assessing control, the Group takes into consideration potential voting rights. The financial statements of subsidiaries 
are included in the consolidated financial statements from the date that control commences until the date that control ceases. 
Losses applicable to the non-controlling interests in a subsidiary are allocated to the non-controlling interests even if doing so 
causes the non-controlling interests to have a deficit balance.

A list of all subsidiaries and the Group’s ownership percentage, based on outstanding voting ordinary and preferred shares, is 
outlined below. 

Subsidiary(1)

Subsidiaries
Akili Interactive Labs, Inc. (2) (4) (9) 
Akili Securities Corp. (indirectly held through Akili) (2) (4)
Alivio Therapeutics, Inc. (2) (4)
Appeering, Inc. (4)
Ariya Therapeutics, Inc. (10)
Calix Biosciences, Inc. (4) (10)
Commense, Inc. (4)
Enlight Biosciences, LLC (2) (4)
Entrega, Inc. (indirectly held through Enlight) (2) (4)
Follica, Incorporated (2) (4)
Gelesis, Inc. (2) (4) (11)
Gelesis, S.r.l. (indirectly held through Gelesis) (2) (5) (11)
Gelesis, LLC (indirectly held through Gelesis) (2) (6) (11)
Glyph Biosciences, Inc. (2) (4) (10)
Karuna Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (2) (4)
Knode Inc. (indirectly held through Enlight) (2) (4)
Mandara Sciences, LLC (4)
Nybo Therapeutics, Inc. (2) (4) (10)
PureTech Management, Inc. (7)
PureTech Health LLC (3) (7)
Sonde Health, Inc. (2) (4)
Tal Medical, Inc. (2) (4)
The Sync Project, Inc. (2) (4)
Vedanta Biosciences, Inc. (2) (4)
Vedanta Biosciences Securities Corp.  
(indirectly held through Vedanta) (2) (4)
Vor Biopharma Inc. (2) (4)
Nontrading holding companies
Endra Holdings, LLC (held indirectly through Enlight) (4)
Ensof Holdings, LLC (held indirectly through Enlight) (4)
Gelesis 2012, Inc. (held indirectly through Gelesis) (4) (11)
PureTech Securities Corp. (4)
Inactive subsidiaries
Ensof Biosystems, Inc. (held indirectly through Enlight) (2) (4)
Libra Biosciences, Inc. (4)

Notes:

Ownership percentage of voting stock as at 31 December(8)

Ordinary

2018 
Preferred

Ordinary

2017 
Preferred

—
—
—
—
 —
—
—
86.00
—
4.40
7.30
7.30
7.30
—
 —
—
98.30
—
100.00
100.00
—
 —
—
—

—
—

86.00
86.00
7.30
100.00

57.70
—

41.90
41.90
92.00
100.00
99.99
—
99.10
—
83.10
79.20
18.40
18.40
18.40
—
70.95
86.00
—
—
—
—
96.40
64.50
—
74.30

74.30
93.20

—
—
18.40
—

28.30
100.00

—
—
—
—
—
—
—
86.00
—
3.80
8.20
8.20
8.20
—
—
—
98.30
—
100.00
100.00
—
 —
—
—

—
—

86.00
86.00
8.20
100.00

57.70
—

61.80
61.80
92.00
100.00
—
100.00
100.00
—
83.10
68.30
18.70
18.70
18.70
97.30
90.70
86.00
—
94.70
—
—
96.40
64.50
77.60
85.86

85.86
94.10

—
—
18.70
—

28.30
100.00

1  All subsidiaries are registered in the United States (“US”) except for Gelesis, S.r.l., which is registered in Italy.

2 

3 

 The ownership percentage includes liability classified preferred shares, which results in the ownership percentage not agreeing to the ownership 
percentage used in allocations to non-controlling interests disclosed in note 16.

 On 18 June 2015, PureTech Health plc completed a reorganisation of the corporate structure of the group of companies controlled by its predecessor 
PureTech Health LLC pursuant to which PureTech Health plc became the holding company of the group.

4    Registered address is Corporation Trust Center, 1209 Orange St., Wilmington, DE 19801, USA.

5  Registered address is Via Verde 188, 73021 Calmera (LE), Italy.

6  Registered address is 901 N. Market St., Suite 705, Wilmington, DE 19801, USA.

7  Registered address is 2711 Centerville Rd., Suite 400, Wilmington, DE 19808, USA.

94    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    95

Financial statementsFinancial statements 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements  — continued

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements  — continued

1. 

Accounting policies — continued

1. 

Accounting policies — continued

8 

9 

 The Company’s interests in its subsidiaries are predominantly in the form of preferred shares, which have a liquidation preference over the ordinary 
shares, are convertible into ordinary shares at the subsidiary’s discretion or upon certain liquidity events, are entitled to one vote per share on all 
matters submitted to shareholders for a vote and entitled to receive dividends when and if declared, except in the case of Enlight, Mandara and 
PureTech Health LLC in which the holdings are membership interests in an LLC. The ordinary shares are entitled to one vote per share on all matters 
submitted to shareholders for a vote and entitled to receive dividends when and if declared.

 On 8 May 2018, Akili completed the first close of a Series C Preferred Stock financing with certain and other existing investors. As a result of the 
issuance of the preferred shares to third-party investors, following the first close of the Series C financing, PureTech’s ownership percentage and 
corresponding voting rights related to Akili dropped from 61.8 per cent to 41.9 per cent, triggering a loss of control over the entity. As of May 2018, 
Akili was deconsolidated from the Group’s financial statements and is no longer considered a subsidiary.

10   On 18 July 2018, Calix Biopharma, Inc., Glyph Biosciences, Inc., and Nybo Therapeutics, Inc. merged into Ariya Therapeutics, Inc. Thus, the Group no 

longer holds interest in Calix, Glyph and Nybo and owns 100 per cent of Ariya as of 31 December 2018. 

11   It was concluded that PureTech Health still has control over Gelesis by virtue of its large, albeit minority, ownership stake and its continued control 
of Gelesis’ Board of Directors, resulting in PureTech having the power to participate in the financial and operating policy decisions of the entity. 
Therefore, the Group has consolidated Gelesis’ financial operations for the year ended 31 December 2018. 

Change in subsidiary ownership and loss of control
Changes in the group’s interest in a subsidiary that do not result in a loss of control are accounted for as equity transactions.

Where the group loses control of a subsidiary, the assets and liabilities are derecognised along with any related non-controlling 
interest (“NCI”) and other components of equity. Any resulting gain or loss is recognised in profit or loss. Any interest retained 
in the former subsidiary is measured at fair value when control is lost.

Associates
Associates are those entities in which the Group has lost control but maintains significant influence over the financial and 
operating policies. Significant influence is presumed to exist when the Group holds between 20 and 50 per cent of the voting 
power of another entity, unless it can be clearly demonstrated that this is not the case. The Group evaluates if it maintains 
significant influence over associates by assessing if the Group has lost the power to participate in the financial and operating 
policy decision of the associate. 

Application of the equity method to associates 
Associates are accounted for using the equity method (equity accounted investees) and are initially recognised at fair value. 
The consolidated financial statements include the Group’s share of the total comprehensive income and equity movements of 
equity accounted investees, from the date that significant influence commences until the date that significant influence ceases. 
When the Group’s share of losses exceeds its interest in an equity accounted investee, the Group’s carrying amount is reduced 
to nil and recognition of further losses is discontinued except to the extent that the Group has incurred legal or constructive 
obligations or made payments on behalf of an investee. To the extent the Group holds interests in Associates that are not 
ordinary shares and that have debt-like features, the instrument held by PureTech is accounted for in accordance with IFRS 9.

Change in Accounting Policy
In these financial statements, the Group has adopted new accounting policies resulting in a change in accounting for financial 
instruments and revenue recognition. All other accounting policies have remained unchanged from the previous year. See 
updated accounting policies for financial instruments (IFRS 9) and revenue recognition (IFRS 15) below.

IFRS 9, Financial Instruments
As of 1 January 2018, the Company adopted IFRS 9, Financial Instruments (“IFRS 9”), which replaced IAS 39, Financial 
Instruments: Recognition and Measurement. IFRS 9 addresses the classification, measurement and recognition of financial 
assets and liabilities. IFRS 9 retains but simplifies the mixed measurement model and establishes three primary measurement 
categories for financial assets: amortised cost, fair value through other comprehensive income (“FVOCI”), and fair value 
through the profit and loss statement (“FVTPL”). The basis of classification depends on the entity’s business model and 
the contractual cash flow characteristics of the entity’s business model and of the financial asset. Investments in equity 
instruments are required to be measured at FVTPL with the irrevocable option at inception to present changes in fair value in 
other comprehensive income. There is now a new expected credit losses model that replaces the incurred loss impairment 
model previously used in IAS 39. For financial liabilities there were no changes to classification and measurement except 
for the recognition of changes in own credit risk in Other Comprehensive Income/(Loss) for liabilities designated at FVTPL. 
IFRS 9 relaxes the requirements for hedge effectiveness by replacing the bright line hedge effectiveness tests. It requires an 
economic relationship between the hedged item and hedging instrument and for the hedged ratio to be the same as the one 
management uses for risk management purposes. 

Contemporaneous documentation is still required but is different than what was prepared under IAS 39. 

The Group reviewed the financial liabilities reported on its Consolidated Statements of Financial Position and completed an 
assessment between IAS 39 and IFRS 9 to identify any accounting changes. The financial liabilities subject to this review were 
the Subsidiary notes payable, Derivative liability, Warrant liability, and Preferred share liability. Based on this assessment of 
the classification and measurement model, impairment and interest income, the accounting impact on financial liabilities was 
determined not to be material. As part of the transition requirement, entities have the option upon implementation of the 
new standard to designate a financial liability as measured at FVTPL. The Group re-assessed its financial liabilities and has 
elected not to split out embedded derivatives and retrospectively recorded changes in fair value of the entire financial liability 
instrument through the statement of profit and loss, leading to changes in the carrying value of the instruments when looked at 
in the aggregate.

The Group also reviewed the financial assets reported on its Consolidated Statements of Financial Position and notes no 
changes in the application of IFRS 9.

The Group has applied IFRS 9 retrospectively but has elected not to restate comparative information. As a result, the 
comparative information provided continues to be accounted for in accordance with the Group’s previous accounting policy. 
The reclassification and adjustment arising from the adoption of the new accounting policy has been recognised in the opening 
balance sheet as of 1 January 2018.

Financial liability

Notes Payable
Derivative Liability
Warrant Liability
Preferred Shares

IAS 39 as of 
31 December 
2017

7,455
114,263
13,095
120,051

Cumulative 
Effect 
Adjustment to 
Accumulated 
Deficit

6,435
(114,263)
—
95,584

IFRS 9 as of 
1 January 
2018

13,890
—
13,095
215,635

254,864

(12,244)

242,620

The accounting policy that reflects the new accounting standard for financial instruments (guidance under IAS 32 and IFRS 9) is 
effective from 1 January 2018 and is as follows: 

Financial Instruments
Classification
From 1 January 2018, the Group classifies its financial assets in the following measurement categories:

•  Those to be measured subsequently at fair value (either through other comprehensive income, or through profit or loss), and
•  Those to be measured at amortised cost.

The classification depends on the Group’s business model for managing the financial assets and the contractual terms of 
the cash flows.

For assets measured at fair value, gains and losses will either be recorded in profit or loss or other comprehensive income. For 
investments in debt instruments, this will depend on the business model in which the investment is held. For investments in 
equity instruments that are not held for trading, this will depend on whether the Group has made an irrevocable election at the 
time of initial recognition to account for the equity investment at FVOCI. The Group adopted this policy as of 1 January 2018.

Measurement
At initial recognition, the Group measures a financial asset at its fair value plus, in the case of a financial asset not at FVTPL, 
transaction costs that are directly attributable to the acquisition of the financial asset. Transaction costs of financial assets are 
expensed and carried at FVTPL. 

Impairment
The Group assesses on a forward-looking basis the expected credit losses associated with its debt instruments carried at 
amortised cost and FVOCI. The impairment methodology applied depends on whether there has been a significant increase 
in credit risk. For trade receivables, the group applies the simplified approach permitted by IFRS 9, which requires expected 
lifetime losses to be recognised from initial recognition of the receivables.

The Group has reviewed the financial assets and liabilities and determined the following impact from the adoption of the 
new standard: 

Financial Assets 
The Group’s financial assets consist of cash and cash equivalents, trade and other receivables, debt and equity securities and 
other deposits. The Group’s financial assets are classified into the following categories: investments held at fair value and 
trade and other receivables. The Group determines the classification of financial assets at initial recognition depending on the 
purpose for which the financial assets were acquired.

Investments held at fair value are non-derivative instruments that are designated in this category or not classified in any other 
category. These financial assets are initially measured at fair value and subsequently re-measured at fair value at each reporting 
date. The Company elects if the gain or loss will be recognised in the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income/
(Loss), Other Comprehensive Income/(Loss) or through profit and loss on an instrument by instrument basis. Financial assets 
that are recognised through FVOCI are presented in the Consolidated Statements of Financial Position as non-current assets, 
unless the Group intends to dispose of them within 12 months after the end of the reporting period.

Trade and other receivables are non-derivative financial assets with fixed and determinable payments that are not quoted 
on active markets. These financial assets are carried at the amounts expected to be received less any allowance for doubtful 
debts. Provisions are made where there is evidence of a risk of nonpayment, taking into account ageing, previous experience 
and economic conditions. When a trade receivable is determined to be uncollectible, it is written off against the available 
provision and then to the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income/(Loss). Trade and other receivables are included 
in current assets, unless maturities are greater than 12 months after the end of the reporting period.

96    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    97

Financial statementsFinancial statementsNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements  — continued

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements  — continued

1. 

Accounting policies — continued

The Group reviewed the financial assets reported in its Consolidated Statements of Financial Position and completed 
an assessment between IAS 39 and IFRS 9 to identify any accounting changes. The financial assets subject to this review 
were: Cash and cash equivalents, US Treasuries, Certificates of deposits, Other deposits, Trade and other receivables, and 
Investments held at fair value. Due to the nature of the financial assets held and their lack of complexity, the classification and 
measurement model, impairment, and interest income, the accounting impact on financial assets was not material. 

Financial Liabilities
The Group’s financial liabilities consist of trade and other payables, subsidiary notes payable, preferred shares, and warrant 
liability. Warrant liabilities are initially recognised at fair value. After initial recognition, these financial liabilities are re-measured 
at FVTPL using an appropriate valuation technique. Subsidiary notes payable and subsidiary preferred shares without 
embedded derivatives are accounted for at amortised cost.

The majority of the Group’s subsidiaries have preferred shares and notes payable with embedded derivatives, which are 
classified as current liabilities. These financial instruments are assessed under IFRS 9, to determine if the instrument qualifies to 
be accounted for under the FVTPL method. When the Group has preferred shares with embedded derivatives that qualify for 
bifurcation, the Group has elected to account for the entire instrument as FVTPL.

The Group derecognises a financial liability when its contractual obligations are discharged, cancelled or expire.

Equity Instruments Issued by the Group
Financial instruments issued by the Group are treated as equity only to the extent that they meet the following two conditions, 
in accordance with IAS 32:

1.   They include no contractual obligations upon the Group to deliver cash or other financial assets or to exchange financial 

assets or financial liabilities with another party under conditions that are potentially unfavourable to the Group; and

2.   Where the instrument will or may be settled in the Group’s own equity instruments, it is either a non-derivative that includes 
no obligation to deliver a variable number of the Group’s own equity instruments or is a derivative that will be settled by the 
Group exchanging a fixed amount of cash or other financial assets for a fixed number of its own equity instruments.

To the extent that this definition is not met, the financial instrument is classified as a financial liability. Where the instrument so 
classified takes the legal form of the Group’s own shares, the amounts presented in the financial information for share capital 
and merger reserve account exclude amounts in relation to those shares.

The Group subsequently measures all equity investments at fair value. Where the Group’s management has elected to present 
fair value gains and losses on equity investments in other comprehensive income, there is no subsequent reclassification of 
fair value gains and losses to profit or loss following the derecognition of the investment. Dividends from such investments 
continue to be recognised in profit or loss as other income when the Group’s right to receive payment is established. 

Changes in the fair value of financial assets at FVTPL are recognised in other gain/(loss) in the Consolidated Statements of 
Comprehensive Income/(Loss) as applicable. Impairment losses (and reversal of impairment losses) on equity investments 
measured at FVOCI are not reported separately from other changes in fair value.

IFRS 15, Revenue from Contracts with Customers
IFRS 15 establishes principles for reporting useful information to users of financial statements about the nature, amount, timing 
and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from an entity’s contracts with customers. The standard is effective for 
annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2018, and supersedes: IAS 11 Construction Contracts, IAS 18 Revenue, IFRIC 
13 Customer Loyalty Programmes, IFRIC 15 Agreements for the Construction of Real Estate, IFRIC 18 Transfers of Assets from 
Customers, and SIC-31 Revenue – Barter Transactions Involving Advertising Services. The standard establishes a five-step 
principle-based approach for revenue recognition and is based on the concept of recognising an amount that reflects the 
consideration for performance obligations only when they are satisfied and the control of goods or services is transferred.

The majority of the Group’s revenue from customers is generated from licenses, services, and collaboration arrangements. 
The Group adopted IFRS 15 with effect from 1 January 2018 using the Modified Retrospective approach. The adoption of this 
standard did not have an impact to the consolidated results. 

Management reviewed contracts where the Group received consideration in order to determine whether or not they should be 
accounted for in accordance with IFRS 15. To date, PureTech Health has entered into transactions that generate revenue and 
meet the scope of either IFRS 15 or IAS 20 Accounting for Government Grants. Revenue is recognised at either a point-in-time 
or over time, depending on the nature of the services and existence of acceptance clauses. 

The accounting policy that reflects the new accounting standard for IFRS 15 is effective from 1 January 2018 and is as follows:

Revenue generated by collaboration and service agreements is accounted for under IFRS 15. The Group accounts for 
agreements that meet the definition of IFRS 15 by applying the following five step model:

• 

Identify the contract(s) with a customer – A contract with a customer exists when (i) the Group enters into an enforceable 
contract with a customer that defines each party’s rights regarding the goods or services to be transferred and identifies 
the payment terms related to those goods or services, (ii) the contract has commercial substance and, (iii) the Group 
determines that collection of substantially all consideration for goods or services that are transferred is probable based on 
the customer’s intent and ability to pay the promised consideration. 

1. 

• 

Accounting policies — continued

Identify the performance obligations in the contract – Performance obligations promised in a contract are identified based 
on the goods or services that will be transferred to the customer that are both capable of being distinct, whereby the 
customer can benefit from the good or service either on its own or together with other resources that are readily available 
from third parties or from the Group, and are distinct in the context of the contract, whereby the transfer of the goods or 
services is separately identifiable from other promises in the contract. 

•  Determine the transaction price – The transaction price is determined based on the consideration to which the Group will 
be entitled in exchange for transferring goods or services to the customer. To the extent the transaction price includes 
variable consideration, the Group estimates the amount of variable consideration that should be included in the transaction 
price utilising either the expected value method or the most likely amount method depending on the nature of the variable 
consideration. Variable consideration is included in the transaction price if, in the Group’s judgement, it is probable that 
a significant future reversal of cumulative revenue under the contract will not occur. Determining the transaction price 
requires significant judgement, which is discussed by revenue category in further detail below. 

•  Allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract – If the contract contains a single performance 
obligation, the entire transaction price is allocated to the single performance obligation. Contracts that contain multiple 
performance obligations require an allocation of the transaction price to each performance obligation based on a relative 
standalone selling price basis unless the transaction price is variable and meets the criteria to be allocated entirely to 
a performance obligation or to a distinct good or service that forms part of a single performance obligation. The Group 
determines standalone selling price based on the price at which the performance obligation is sold separately. If the 
standalone selling price is not observable through past transactions, the Group estimates the standalone selling price 
taking into account available information such as market conditions and internally approved pricing guidelines related to the 
performance obligations. 

•  Recognise revenue when (or as) the Group satisfies a performance obligation – The Group satisfies performance obligations 

either over time or at a point in time as discussed in further detail below. Revenue is recognised at the time the related 
performance obligation is satisfied by transferring a promised good or service to a customer.

Revenue generated from services agreements is determined to be recognised over time when it can be determined that 
the services meet one of the following: (a) the customer simultaneously receives and consumes the benefits provided by 
the entity’s performance as the entity performs; (b) the entity’s performance creates or enhances an asset that the customer 
controls as the asset is created or enhanced; or (c) the entity’s performance does not create an asset with an alternative use to 
the entity and the entity has an enforceable right to payment for performance completed to date. 

It was determined that the Group has contracts that meet the following criteria and revenue is recognised using the input 
method based on labour hours, laboratory expenses and supplies. For cases where the entity does not have an enforceable 
right to payment due to acceptance clauses, it was determined that costs incurred to fulfil the services are to be capitalised 
until acceptance is received for the milestone. This resulted in PureTech Health capitalising service-related expenses as of 
31 December 2017 and recognising the consideration as revenue once acceptance was received during 2018.

Grant Income 
The Company recognises grants from governmental agencies as grant income in the Consolidated Statement of 
Comprehensive Income/(Loss), gross of the expenditures that were related to obtaining the grant, when there is reasonable 
assurance that the Company will comply with the conditions within the grant agreement and there is reasonable assurance that 
payments under the grants will be received. The Company evaluates the conditions of each grant as of each reporting date to 
ensure that the Company has reasonable assurance of meeting the conditions of each grant arrangement and it is expected 
that the grant payment will be received as a result of meeting the necessary conditions. 

The Company submits qualifying expenses for reimbursement for certain expenses after the Company has incurred the 
research and development expense. The Company records an unbilled receivable upon incurring such expenses. Grant 
income is recognised in the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income/(Loss) over the periods in which the Company 
recognises the related reimbursable expense for which the grant is intended to compensate.

Functional and Presentation Currency
These consolidated financial statements are presented in United States dollars (“US dollars”). The functional currency of all 
members of the Group is the US dollar, except for an Italian subsidiary whose functional currency is the Euro. The assets 
and liabilities of this subsidiary are translated to US dollars at the exchange rate prevailing on the balance sheet date and 
revenues and expenses are translated at the average exchange rate for the period. Foreign exchange differences resulting 
from the translation of this subsidiary are reported in the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income/(Loss) in Other 
Comprehensive Income/(Loss).

Foreign Currency
Transactions in foreign currencies are translated to the respective functional currencies of Group entities at the foreign exchange 
rate ruling at the date of the transaction. Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies at the balance sheet 
date are retranslated to the functional currency at the foreign exchange rate ruling at that date. Foreign exchange differences 
arising on remeasurement are recognised in the Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income/(Loss) except for differences 
arising on the retranslation of a financial liability designated as a hedge of the net investment in a foreign operation that is 
effective, or qualifying cash flow hedges, which are recognised directly in other comprehensive income. Non-monetary assets 
and liabilities that are measured in terms of historical cost in a foreign currency are translated using the exchange rate at the 
date of the transaction. Non-monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies that are stated at fair value are 
retranslated to the functional currency at foreign exchange rates ruling at the dates the fair value was determined.

98    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    99

Financial statementsFinancial statementsNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements  — continued

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements  — continued

1. 

Accounting policies — continued

1. 

Accounting policies — continued

Cash and Cash Equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents include all highly liquid instruments with original maturities of three months or less.

Share Capital
Ordinary shares are classified as equity. The Group is comprised of share capital, share premium, merger reserve, other 
reserve, translation reserve, and accumulated deficit.

Property and Equipment
Property and equipment is stated at cost less accumulated depreciation and any accumulated impairment losses. Cost includes 
expenditures that are directly attributable to the acquisition of the asset. Assets under construction represent leasehold 
improvements and machinery and equipment to be used in operations or research and development activities. When parts of 
an item of property and equipment have different useful lives, they are accounted for as separate items (major components) 
of property and equipment. Depreciation is calculated using the straight-line method over the estimated useful life of the 
related asset:

Laboratory and manufacturing equipment
Furniture and fixtures
Computer equipment and software
Leasehold improvements

2-8 years 
7 years 
1-5 years 
5-10 years, or the remaining term of the lease, if shorter 

Depreciation methods, useful lives and residual values are reviewed at each balance sheet date.

Intangible Assets
Intangible assets, which include purchased patents and licenses with finite useful lives, are carried at historical cost less 
accumulated amortisation and impairment losses. Amortisation is calculated using the straight-line method to allocate the 
costs of patents and licenses over their estimated useful lives, which is typically the remaining life of the underlying patents.

Impairment
Impairment of Non-Financial Assets
The Group reviews the carrying amounts of its property and equipment and intangible assets at each reporting date to 
determine whether there are indicators of impairment. If any such indicators of impairment exist, then an asset’s recoverable 
amount is estimated. The recoverable amount is the higher of an asset’s fair value less cost of disposal and value in use. 
An impairment loss is recognised when an asset’s carrying amount exceeds its recoverable amount. For the purposes of 
impairment testing, assets are grouped at the lowest levels for which there are largely independent cash flows. If a non-
financial asset instrument is impaired, an impairment loss is recognised in the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive 
Income/(Loss).

Impairment of Financial Assets Carried at Fair Value
The Group’s financial assets are carried at fair value through Other Comprehensive Income/(Loss) or through profit and loss, 
depending on the election taken for each instrument. These financial assets are reviewed at each reporting period to assess 
whether there is objective evidence that the assets should be impaired. An impairment loss is recognised when there is 
a significant or prolonged decline in fair value below the instrument’s cost. If an instrument is impaired, the impairment loss is 
calculated and recognised in the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income/(Loss).

Impairment of Financial Assets Measured at Amortised Cost
The Group assesses financial assets measured at amortised cost for impairment at each reporting period. These financial 
assets are impaired if one or more loss events occur after initial recognition that impact the estimated future cash flows of the 
asset. An impairment loss is calculated as the difference between its carrying amount and the present value of the estimated 
future cash flows discounted at the asset’s original effective interest rate and is recognised in the Consolidated Statements of 
Comprehensive Income/(Loss).

Employee Benefits
Short-Term Employee Benefits
Short-term employee benefit obligations are measured on an undiscounted basis and expensed as the related service 
is provided. A liability is recognised for the amount expected to be paid if the Group has a present legal or constructive 
obligation due to past service provided by the employee, and the obligation can be estimated reliably.

Defined Contribution Plans
A defined contribution plan is a post-employment benefit plan under which an entity pays fixed contributions into a separate 
entity and has no legal or constructive obligation to pay further amounts. Obligations for contributions to defined contribution 
plans are recognised as an employee benefit expense in the periods during which related services are rendered by employees. 
Prepaid contributions are recognised as an asset to the extent that a cash refund or a reduction in future payments is available.

Share-based Payments
Share-based payment arrangements, in which the Group receives goods or services as consideration for its own equity 
instruments, are accounted for as equity-settled share-based payment transactions, regardless of how the equity instruments 
are obtained by the Group.

The grant date fair value of employee share-based payment awards is recognised as an expense with a corresponding increase 
in equity over the period that the employee is unconditionally entitled to the awards. The fair value is measured using an 
option valuation model, which takes into account the terms and conditions of the options granted. The amount recognised as 
an expense is adjusted to reflect the actual number of awards for which the related service and non-market vesting conditions 
are expected to be met, such that the amount ultimately recognised as an expense is based on the number of awards that do 
meet the related service and non-market performance conditions at the vesting date. For share-based payment awards with 
non-vesting conditions, the grant date fair value is measured to reflect such conditions and there is no true-up for differences 
between expected and actual outcomes.

Development Costs
Expenditures on research activities are recognised as incurred in the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income/
(Loss). Development costs are capitalised only if the expenditure can be measured reliably, the product or process is technically 
and commercially feasible, future economic benefits are probable, the Group intends to and has sufficient resources to 
complete development and to use or sell the asset, and it is able to measure reliably the expenditure attributable to the 
intangible asset during its development. The point at which technical feasibility is determined to have been reached is when 
regulatory approval has been received where applicable. Management determines that commercial viability has been reached 
when a clear market and pricing point have been identified, which may coincide with achieving recurring sales. Development 
activities involve a plan or design for the production of new or substantially improved products or processes. The expenditures 
considered for capitalisation include the cost of materials, direct labour and an appropriate proportion of overhead costs. 
Otherwise, the development expenditure is recognised as incurred in the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive 
Income/(Loss).

Provisions
A provision is recognised in the Consolidated Statements of Financial Position when the Group has a present legal or 
constructive obligation due to a past event, that can be reliably measured and it is probable that an outflow of economic 
benefits will be required to settle the obligation. Provisions are determined by discounting the expected future cash flows at 
a pre-tax rate that reflects risks specific to the liability.

Operating Leases
The Group classifies its leases at inception as either finance or operating leases, depending on whether substantially all the 
risks and rewards of ownership transfer to the Group. Leases where the lessee has substantially all the risks and rewards of 
ownership are classified as finance leases. All other leases are classified as operating leases. The Group only has operating 
leases during the reporting periods. Payments made under operating leases are recognised in the Consolidated Statements of 
Comprehensive Income/(Loss) on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease. Lease incentives received are recognised as an 
integral part of the total lease expense, over the term of the lease.

Finance Income and Finance Costs
Finance income is comprised of interest income on funds invested in US treasuries, which is recognised as it accrues in the 
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income/(Loss) via the effective interest method. Finance costs comprise loan 
interest expense and the changes in the fair value of warrant and derivative liabilities associated with financing transactions.

Taxation
Tax on the profit or loss for the year comprises current and deferred income tax. Tax is recognised in the Consolidated 
Statements of Comprehensive Income/(Loss) except to the extent that it relates to items recognised directly in equity.

For the years ended 31 December 2018 and 2017, the Group filed a consolidated US income tax return.

Current income tax is the expected tax payable or receivable on the taxable income or loss for the year, using tax rates enacted 
or substantially enacted at the reporting date, and any adjustment to tax payable in respect of previous years.

Deferred tax is recognised due to temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial 
reporting purposes and the amounts used for taxation purposes. Deferred tax assets are recognised for unused tax losses, 
unused tax credits and deductible temporary differences to the extent that it is probable that future taxable profits will be 
available against which they can be used. Deferred tax assets are reviewed at each reporting date and are reduced to the 
extent that it is no longer probable that the related tax benefit will be realised.

Deferred tax is measured at the tax rates that are expected to be applied to temporary differences when they reverse, using 
tax rates enacted or substantively enacted at the reporting date.

Deferred income tax assets and liabilities are offset when there is a legally enforceable right to offset current tax assets against 
current tax liabilities and when the deferred income tax assets and liabilities relate to income taxes levied by the same taxation 
authority on either the same taxable entity or different taxable entities where there is an intention to settle the balances 
on a net basis.

Deferred taxes are recognised in Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income/(Loss) except to the extent that they 
relate to items recognised directly in equity or in other comprehensive income.

Deferred Revenue and Deferred Costs
Deferred revenue includes amounts that have been billed per contractual terms but has not been recognised as revenue. 
Deferred costs represent direct costs related to deferred revenues and include capitalised labour and research and 
development expenditures. The Company classifies non-current deferred revenue and deferred costs for any transaction, 
which is expected to be recognised beyond one year or one operating cycle.

100    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    101

Financial statementsFinancial statementsNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements  — continued

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements  — continued

1. 

Accounting policies — continued

2. 

New Standards and Interpretations Not Yet Adopted — continued

Fair Value Measurements
The Group’s accounting policies require that its financial and non-financial assets and liabilities be measured at their fair value.

•  Not to reassess whether a contract is or contains a lease. 
•  Will not separate the lease components from the non-lease components in lease contracts. 

The Group uses valuation techniques that are appropriate in the circumstances and for which sufficient data are available to 
measure fair value, maximising the use of relevant observable inputs and minimising the use of unobservable inputs. Fair values 
are categorised into different levels in a fair value hierarchy based on the inputs used in the valuation techniques as follows:

•  Level 1: quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.
•  Level 2: inputs other than quoted prices included in Level 1 that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly (i.e. as 

prices) or indirectly (i.e. derived from prices).

•  Level 3: inputs for the asset or liability that are not based on observable market data (unobservable inputs).

The Group recognises transfers between levels of the fair value hierarchy at the end of the reporting period during which the 
change has occurred.

The carrying amount of cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, short-term investments, restricted cash, deposits, 
accounts payable, accrued expenses and other current liabilities in the Group’s Consolidated Statements of Financial Position 
approximates their fair value because of the short maturities of these instruments.

Operating Segments
Operating segments are reported in a manner that is consistent with the internal reporting provided to the chief operating 
decision maker (“CODM”). The CODM reviews discrete financial information for the operating segments in order to assess 
their performance and is responsible for making decisions about resources allocated to the segments. The CODM has been 
identified as the Group’s Directors.

The Group will elect to account for lease payments as an expense on a straight-line basis over the life of the lease for: 

•  Leases with a term of 12 months or less and containing no purchase options; and 
•  Leases where the underlying asset has a value of less than $5,000. 

The lease liability is initially measured at the present value of the lease payments that are not paid at the transition date, discounted 
by using the rate implicit in the lease. If this rate cannot be readily determined, the Group will use its incremental borrowing 
rate. The right-of-use asset will be depreciated on a straight-line basis and the lease liability will give rise to an interest charge. 

The Group estimates that the financial impact of adopting IFRS 16 will be to: 

•  Recognise a $10.8 million right-of-use asset and an $11.5 million additional lease liability on adoption; and
• 

Increase FY2019 Operating profit by $0.1 million net

The undiscounted lease liability upon adoption is $0.9 million higher than the $9.9 million minimum rental commitments under 
all non-cancellable operating leases as at 31 December 2018 disclosed in note 22 – Commitments and Contingencies, the 
differences are due to lease term extensions under IFRS 16 offset by the exclusion of short leases and leases of low value assets.

There are no other IFRS or IFRIC interpretations that are not yet effective that would be expected to have a material 
impact on the Group.

3. 

Revenue

Certain prior period amounts have been reclassified to conform with the current-period financial statement presentation.

Revenue recorded in the Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income/Loss consists of the following:

Deferred Tax Adjustment
During 2018 the Directors identified that as at 31 December 2017, a non-cash net deferred tax liability of $4.4 million (net of 
the offset of available tax losses) should have been recorded in respect of ‘Investments held at fair value’ of $131.4 million. 
As a result, a prior year adjustment has been made to correct the position. The impact of this has been as follows:

•  The tax (charge)/ credit for the year ended 31 December 2017 is now reported as a charge of $4.4 million  

(previously a credit of approximately $0.1 million). 

•  The net loss for the year ended 31 December 2017 is now reported as $75.1 million (previously a loss of $70.7 million).
• 

Income attributable to the owners of the company for the year ended 31 December 2017 is now reported as $26.5 million 
(previously as income of $30.9 million).

•  The total comprehensive loss for the year ended 31 December 2017 is now reported as $72.9 million  

(previously a loss of $68.5 million).

•  The accumulated deficit at 31 December 2017 is now reported as $132.3 million (previously $127.9 million).
•  The Equity attributable to owners of the company at 31 December 2017 is now reported as $209.9 million 

(previously $214.3 million).

•  The total equity at 31 December 2017 is now reported as $59.6 million (previously $64.0 million).
•  Deferred tax liability at 31 December 2017 is now reported as $4.4 million (previously nil).
•  There is no impact on the balance sheet as at 31 December 2016.

2.  New Standards and Interpretations Not Yet Adopted

A number of new standards, interpretations, and amendments to existing standards are effective for annual periods 
commencing on or after 1 January 2019 and have not been applied in preparing the consolidated financial information. 
The Company’s assessment of the impact of these new standards and interpretations is set out below.

IFRS 16, Leases
IFRS 16 sets out the principles for the recognition, measurement, presentation and disclosure of leases. The standard is 
effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2019 and supersedes: IAS 17 Leases; IFRIC 4 Determining whether 
an Arrangement contains a Lease; SIC-15 Operating Leases – Incentives; and SIC-27 Evaluating the Substance of Transactions 
Involving the Legal Form of a Lease. The standard introduces a single, on-balance sheet accounting model which requires 
the lessee to recognise assets representative of the right to use the leased item, and liabilities to pay rentals for all leases. 
The objective is to ensure that lessees and lessors provide relevant information in a manner that faithfully represents those 
transactions. This information gives a basis for users of financial statements to assess the effect that leases have on the financial 
position, financial performance and cash flows of the entity. The Group expects the adoption of IFRS 16 will not materially 
increase the assets and liabilities on the Consolidated Statements of Financial Position and affect its results of operations. 

The Group’s operating leases impacted by IFRS 16 principally include leases from real estate.

Existing finance leases will continue to be treated as finance leases. For existing operating leases, the Group will apply the 
modified retrospective approach by measuring the right-of-use asset at an amount equal to the lease liability at the date of 
transition and therefore comparative information will not be restated. Upon transition the Group will also apply the following 
practical expedients:

•  Exclude initial direct costs from the right-of-use assets;
•  Use hindsight when assessing the lease term; and 

102    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

For the years ended 31 December:

Revenue from customers (IAS 18 for 2017 and IFRS 15 for 2018)
Grant revenue (IAS 20)

Total revenue

2018
$000s

 16,371 
 4,377 

 20,748 

2017
$000s

650
1,885

2,535

The Group adopted IFRS 15 effective 1 January 2018, using the modified retrospective method and has only applied this 
method to contracts that were not completed as of the effective date and all new contracts initiated on or after the effective 
date. Results for reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2018 are presented under IFRS 15, while prior period 
amounts have not been restated and continue to be reported in accordance with the governing revenue recognition standards 
applicable to that period. The adoption of this standard had an insignificant impact to the Groups financial statements on the 
date of adoption. 

Disaggregated Revenue
The Group disaggregates revenue from contracts with customers in a manner that depicts how the nature, amount, timing, 
and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows are affected by economic factors. The Group disaggregates revenue based on the 
transfer of control of the underlying performance obligations and the geographic location of the customer.

Timing of revenue recognition

Transferred at a point in time
Transferred over time

Customers over 10% of revenue

Janssen Biotech, Inc.
BMEB Services LLC, a subsidiary of Google

2018
$000s

 13,415 
 2,956 

 16,371 

2018
$000s

 12,000 
 1,415 

 13,415 

All amounts recorded in revenue from customers were generated in the United States.

Additionally, an estimation uncertainty arises due to management’s application of the inputs method in recognising revenue 
overtime. In doing so, the total cost to satisfy the performance obligation includes a significant estimate by management in its 
budgets and projected cash flows. The sensitivity of which is detailed below:

Budget

Revenue

+10%

-10%

 (264,678)

 323,494 

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    103

Financial statementsFinancial statementsNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements  — continued

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements  — continued

3. 

Revenue — continued

4. 

Segment Information — continued

Contract Balances
Accounts receivables represent rights to consideration in exchange for products or services that have been transferred by the 
Group, when payment is unconditional and only the passage of time is required before payment is due. Accounts receivables 
do not bear interest and are recorded at the invoiced amount. Accounts receivable are included within Trade and other 
receivables on the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position.

Contract liabilities represent the Group’s obligation to transfer products or services to a customer for which consideration has 
been received, or for which an amount of consideration is due from the customer. Contract assets and liabilities are reported 
on a net basis at the contract level, depending on the contracts position at the end of each reporting period. Contract liabilities 
are included within Deferred revenue on the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position. 

Contract Balances

Accounts receivable
Contract liabilities

2018
$000s

 151 
 6,643 

Remaining performance obligations represent the transaction price of unsatisfied or partially satisfied performance obligations 
within contracts with an original expected contract term that is greater than one year and for which fulfilment of the contract 
has started as of the end of the reporting period. The aggregate amount of transaction consideration allocated to remaining 
performance obligations as of December 31, 2018 was $10.3 million. The following table summarises when the Group expects 
to recognise the remaining performance obligations as revenue, the Group will recognise revenue associated with these 
performance obligations as transfer of control occurs:

Remaining Performance Obligation

Less than 1 Year Greater than 1 Year

 6,268 

 4,055 

Total

 10,323 

Cost to Fulfil a Contract
Contract fulfilment costs include direct labour for professional services, payments made to third parties for intellectual 
property licenses and direct materials. We capitalise incremental costs incurred to fulfil our contracts that (i) relate directly to 
the contract, (ii) are expected to generate resources that will be used to satisfy the Company’s performance obligation under 
the contract, and (iii) are expected to be recovered through revenue generated under the contract. The revenue associated 
with direct labour for professional services is recognised over time therefore the costs associated are expensed as incurred. 
The payments made to third parties for intellectual property licenses are capitalised when paid and recognised in line with 
associated revenue, whether this be over time or at a point in time. As of 31 December 2018, the Group has capitalised 
$0.8 million of cost to fulfil which are included within Prepaid expenses and other current assets as well as Other non-current 
assets on the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position.

4. 

Segment Information

Basis for Segmentation
The Directors are the Group’s strategic decision-makers. The Group’s operating segments are reported based on the financial 
information provided to the Directors at least quarterly for the purposes of allocating resources and assessing performance. 
The Directors monitor the results of four operating segments. Each operating segment is considered a distinct unit by the 
Directors. The Group’s operating segments, which are also reportable segments, are outlined below. Substantially, all of 
the revenue and profit generating activities of the Group are generated within the US and accordingly, no geographical 
disclosures are provided.

During the year ended 31 December 2018, the Company revised its definition of operating segments. The change reflects how 
the Company’s Board of Directors review the Group’s results, allocates resources and assesses performance. This change has 
been adjusted in both the current and the prior period in the tables below.

Internal 
The Internal division (the “Internal division”), is advancing a pipeline fuelled by recent discoveries in lymphatics and immune 
cell trafficking to modulate disease in a tissue-specific manner. These programmes leverage the transport and biodistribution 
of various immune system components for the targeted treatment of diseases with major unmet needs, including cancers, 
autoimmune diseases, and neuroimmune disorders. The Internal division is comprised of the technologies that will be 
advanced through either PureTech Health funding or non-dilutive sources of financing in the near-term. The operational 
management of the Internal division is conducted by the PureTech Health team, who is responsible for the strategy, business 
development, and research and development. As of 31 December 2018, this segment included Ariya Therapeutics, Inc., Calix 
Biopharma, Inc., Glyph Biosciences, Inc., and Nybo Therapeutics, Inc.

Affiliates
The Affiliate segment (the “Affiliate segment”) is comprised of the programmes within PureTech’s Affiliates division that are 
currently consolidated operational subsidiaries that either have, or have plans to hire, independent management teams and 
currently have already raised, or are currently in the process of raising, third-party dilutive capital. Currently, these subsidiaries 
have active research and development programmes and either have entered into or plan to seek a strategic partnership with an 
equity or debt investment partner, who will provide additional industry knowledge and networks, as well as, additional funding 

to continue the pursued growth of the company. As of 31 December 2018, this segment included Alivio Therapeutics, Inc., 
Entrega, Inc., Follica, Inc., Karuna Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Gelesis Inc., Sonde Health, Inc., CommenSe, Inc., Vedanta Biosciences, 
Inc., and Vor Biopharma, Inc.

Deconsolidated Affiliates 
The Deconsolidated Affiliates segment (the “Deconsolidated Affiliates segment”) is comprised of the programmes within 
PureTech’s Affiliates division in respect of which PureTech Health (i) no longer holds majority voting control as a shareholder 
and (ii) no longer has the right to elect a majority of the members of the affiliate’s Board of Directors. As of 31 December 2018, 
resTORbio, Inc. (“resTORbio”) and Akili Interactive Labs, Inc. (“Akili”) are Deconsolidated Affiliates. PureTech utilises the equity 
method of accounting when it owns ordinary shares in this segment. For the twelve months ended 31 December 2018, the 
spend and loss from continuing operations before taxes in the Deconsolidated Affiliates segment reflects Akili for the period 
between 8 May 2018 and 31 December 2018 and resTORbio for the period between 1 January 2018 and 6 November 2018.

Information About Reportable Segments:

Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss
Revenue from customers
Grant revenue

Total revenue

General and administrative expenses
Research and development expenses

2018

Affiliates
$000s

Deconsolidated
Affiliate
$000s

Parent 
Company &
Other
$000s

Consolidated
$000s

 14,232 
 4,271 

 18,503 

 (22,997)
 (62,482)

—
 20 

 20 

 29 
—

 29 

 (3,599)
 (4,299)

 (19,271)
 (1,692)

 16,371 
 4,377 

 20,748 

 (47,365)
 (77,402)

Internal
$000s

 2,110 
 86 

 2,196 

 (1,498)
 (8,929)

Total operating expenses

 (10,427)

 (85,479)

 (7,898)

 (20,963)

 (124,767)

Other income
Net finance costs
Share of net loss of associate accounted for using 
the equity method

—
 (222)

 120 
 (7,086)

—
 14,928 

35,432
3,989

35,462
11,609

—

—

—

 (11,490)

 (11,490)

Income/(loss) from continuing operations

 (8,453)

 (73,942)

 7,050 

 6,907 

 (68,438)

Income/(loss) before taxes pre IAS 39 fair value 
accounting, finance cost – subsidiary preferred 
shares, share-based payment expense, impairment 
of tangible assets, depreciation of tangible assets 
and amortisation of intangible assets
Finance costs – subsidiary preferred shares
Finance costs – IFRS 9 (2018)/IAS 39 (2017)  
fair value accounting
Share-based payment expense
Depreciation of tangible assets
Amortisation of intangible assets
Loss before taxes

Taxation

Income/(loss) for the year
Other comprehensive income

 (8,431)
—

—
 (11)
 (7)
 (4)
 (8,453)

 (59,122)
—

 (3,999)
 (8,355)
 (2,191)
 (275)
 (73,942)

 (7,410)
—

 14,855 
 (372)
 (22)
 (1)
 7,050 

 (585)
 (106)

 (75,548)
 (106)

 11,775 
 (3,899)
 (256)
 (22)
 6,907 

 22,631 
 (12,637)
 (2,476)
 (302)
 (68,438)

—

 (568)

 2 

 (1,655)

 (2,221)

 (8,453)
—

 (74,510)
 (214)

 7,052 
—

 7,052 

 5,252 
 (26)

 5,226 

 (70,659)
 (240)

 (70,899)

Total comprehensive income/(loss) for the year

 (8,453)

 (74,724)

Total comprehensive income/(loss) 
attributable to:

Owners of the Company
Non-controlling interests

Consolidated Statements of Financial Position:

Total assets
Total liabilities

Net assets/(liabilities)

 (1,139)
 (7,314)

 (47,981)
 (26,743)

—
 7,052 

 5,226 
—

 (43,894)
 (27,005)

 2,985 
 13,365 

 39,767 
 251,372 

 (10,380)

 (211,605)

—
 1 

 (1)

 399,011 
 10,053 

 441,763 
 274,791 

 388,958 

 166,972 

104    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    105

Financial statementsFinancial statements 
 
 
 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements  — continued

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements  — continued

4. 

Segment Information — continued

5. 

Investments in Associates

Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss
Revenue from customers
Grant revenue

Total revenue

General and administrative expenses
Research and development expenses

Total operating expenses

Other income
Net finance costs
Share of net loss of associate accounted for using 
the equity method

2017

Internal
$000s

Affiliates
$000s

Deconsolidated
Affiliate
$000s

Parent 
Company &
Other
$000s

Consolidated
$000s

—
—

—

 (1,214)
 (2,978)

 (4,192)

—
 (209)

 625 
 1,755 

 2,380 

 (18,101)
 (44,809)

—
 130 

 130 

 25 
—

 25 

 (8,822)
 (20,676)

 (18,146)
 (3,209)

 650 
 1,885 

 2,535 

 (46,283)
 (71,672)

 (62,910)

 (29,498)

 (21,355)

 (117,955)

—
 (31,769)

—
 (53,122)

 142,364 
 5,053 

 142,364 
 (80,047)

—

—

—

 (17,608)

 (17,608)

Income/(loss) from continuing operations

 (4,401)

 (92,299)

 (82,490)

 108,479 

 (70,711)

Income/(loss) before taxes pre IAS 39 fair value 
accounting, finance cost – subsidiary preferred 
shares, share-based payment expense, impairment 
of tangible assets, depreciation of tangible assets 
and amortisation of intangible assets
Finance costs – subsidiary preferred shares
Finance costs – IAS 39 fair value accounting
Share-based payment expense
Impairment of tangible assets
Depreciation of tangible assets
Amortisation of intangible assets
Loss before taxes

Taxation

Income/(loss) for the year
Other comprehensive income

Total comprehensive income/(loss) for the year

Total comprehensive income/(loss) attributable to:

 (4,380)
—
—
 (12)
—
 (9)
—
 (4,401)

—

 (4,401)
—

 (4,401)

 (56,279)
 (7,415)
 (19,878)
 (7,309)
—
 (1,147)
 (271)
 (92,299)

 31 

 (92,268)
 408 

 (28,247)
 (1,470)
 (51,852)
 (683)
—
 (49)
 (189)
 (82,490)

 114,024 
 (624)
 (5)
 (3,845)
 (637)
 (412)
 (22)
 108,479 

 25,118 
 (9,509)
 (71,735)
 (11,849)
 (637)
 (1,617)
 (482)
 (70,711)

 (3)

 (4,411)

 (4,383)

 (82,493)
—

 104,068 
 1,750 

 (75,094)
 2,158 

Owners of the Company
Non-controlling interests

 (454)
 (3,947)

 (62,510)
 (29,350)

 (14,224)
 (68,269)

 105,818 
—

 28,630 
 (101,566)

Consolidated Statements of Financial Position:

Total assets
Total liabilities

Net assets/(liabilities)

 127 
 2,065 

 58,270 
 239,814 

 20,368 
 53,790 

 261,081 
 (15,423)

 339,846 
 280,246 

 (1,938)

 (181,544)

 (33,422)

 276,504 

 59,600 

The Parent commences initiatives in theme-based technologies, raises capital for investment in new companies and existing 
subsidiaries, provides other corporate shared services and support for all subsidiaries and manages the new programme 
creation process.

The activity between the Parent and the reporting segments has been eliminated in consolidation. These elimination amounts 
are allocated to the subsidiaries.

The proportion of net assets shown above that is attributable to non-controlling interest is disclosed in note 16. 

The Group’s revenue generated outside of the US was approximately nil and $0.5 million for the years ended 
31 December 2018 and 2017, respectively.

The Group’s non-current assets, which consisted of property and equipment, were approximately $1.3 million and $1.2 million 
for the years ended 31 December 2018 and 2017, respectively. The property and equipment are located in Italy.

resTORbio
As of November 2017, resTORbio was deconsolidated from the Group’s financial statements and was accounted for as an 
Associate rather than a subsidiary, resulting in only the profits and losses generated by resTORbio through November 2017 
being included in the Group’s Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income/(Loss) as of 31 December 2017. Upon the 
date of deconsolidation, PureTech Health recognised an investment in resTORbio related to its ordinary shares of $17.6 million 
and an investment held at fair value related to its Series A Preferred Shares of $72.2 million. As a result of the deconsolidation 
and fair value accounting for investments held on the date of deconsolidation, PureTech Health recorded an unrealised gain of 
$85.0 million in the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income/(Loss).

As of 31 December 2017, PureTech’s investment in resTORbio was subject to equity method accounting. In accordance with 
IAS 28, PureTech’s investment was adjusted by the share of profits and losses generated by resTORbio subsequent to the date 
of deconsolidation. resTORbio’s loss for December 2017 was greater than the initial investment recorded by PureTech Health 
upon deconsolidation, therefore, the share of net loss was accounted for using the equity method and was constrained to the 
investment recognised upon deconsolidation. PureTech Health recognised $17.6 million as its share of loss from resTORbio 
through the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income/(Loss), bringing PureTech’s investment to nil.

On 26 January 2018, resTORbio, Inc., closed its initial public offering. Prior to the resTORbio IPO, PureTech Health recorded 
a loss of $14.3 million during the year ended 31 December 2018 to the Consolidated Statement of Income/(Loss) on the line 
item Finance costs – subsidiary preferred shares to adjust the fair value related to its resTORbio Series A Preferred Share 
investment. Upon completion of the public offering, the resTORbio Series A Preferred Shares held by PureTech Health 
converted to ordinary shares. In light of PureTech’s common stock holdings in resTORbio and corresponding voting rights, 
PureTech Health had re-established a basis to account for its investment in resTORbio under IAS 28. The preferred stock 
investment held at fair value was therefore reclassified to investment in associate upon the completion of the conversion.

The Company continuously re-evaluated its relationship with its Associates to identify any changes which may result in the 
loss of significant influence. As of 6 November 2018, it concluded the Company no longer exerted significant influence over 
resTORbio as PureTech lost the power to participate in the financial and operating policy decisions of resTORbio. As a result, 
PureTech’s investment no longer met the scope of equity method accounting resulting in the investment being accounted 
for as an investment held at fair value. For the period of 1 January 2018 through 5 November 2018 PureTech’s investment 
in resTORbio was subject to equity method accounting. In accordance with IAS 28, PureTech’s investment was adjusted by 
the share of profits and losses generated by resTORbio, that resulted a net loss of associates accounted for using the equity 
method of $11.5 million that was recorded to the Consolidated Statement of Income/(Loss) on the line item Share of net loss of 
associates accounted for using the equity method during the year ended 31 December 2018. Upon loss of significant influence 
PureTech’s investment was reclassified as an investment held at fair value, resulting in PureTech recognising a gain on loss of 
significant influence of $10.3 million that was recorded to the Consolidated Statement of Income/(Loss) on the line item Gain on 
loss of significant influence during the year ended 31 December 2018. Additionally, PureTech recorded a $33.0 million loss for 
the adjustment to fair value in connection with its investment in resTORbio to the Consolidated Statement of Income/(Loss) on 
the line item Loss on financial asset during the year ended 31 December 2018.

At 1 January 2017
Investment upon deconsolidation
Share of net loss of associate accounted for using the equity method

As of 31 December 2017
Investment upon initial public offering of associate
Cash investment in Associate
Share of net loss of Associate accounted for using the equity method1
Gain on loss of significant influence

Reclassification of investment upon loss of significant influence

As of 31 December 2018

1  The calculation of the share of net loss is shown in the table below.

Share of net loss of Associate

Percentage ownership interest
Carrying amount of interest in Associate upon deconsolidation event

Profit/(loss) of Associate

Group's share of profit/(loss)

$000's

—
 17,608 
 (17,608)

—
 115,210 
 3,500 
 (11,490)
 10,287 

 (117,507)

—

2018
$000s

34.90%
 115,210 

2017
$000s

33.33%
 17,608 

 (32,923)

 (119,607)

 (11,490)

 (17,608)

 (91,860)

 (82,493)

 105,818 

 (72,936)

Investment in Associate

106    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    107

Financial statementsFinancial statements 
 
 
 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements  — continued

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements  — continued

5. 

Investments in Associates — continued

Investment held at fair value

At 1 January 2017
Investment held at fair value
Gain on investment held at fair value

As of 31 December 2017
Loss on investment held at fair value upon initial public offering
Reclassification of investment to investment in affiliate
Reclassification of investment upon loss of significant influence
Loss on investment held at fair value 

As of 31 December 2018

$000's

—
 71,935 
 57,583 

 129,518 
 (14,308)
 (115,210)
 117,507 
 (33,027)

 84,480 

Akili 
As of 31 December 2017, PureTech Health maintained control of Akili and the subsidiary’s financial results were fully 
consolidated in the Group’s annual report. 

On 8 May 2018, Akili completed the first close of a Series C Preferred Stock financing in which PureTech Health did not 
participate in this investment round. As a result of the issuance of the preferred shares to third-party investors, following the 
first close of the Series C financing, PureTech’s ownership percentage and corresponding voting rights related to Akili dropped 
from 61.8 per cent to 41.9 per cent, triggering a loss of control over the entity. As of May 2018, Akili was deconsolidated from 
the Group’s financial statements, resulting in only the profits and losses generated by Akili through May 2018 being included in 
the Group’s Consolidated Statements Comprehensive Income/(Loss). As a result of the deconsolidation, PureTech recognised 
a $41.7 million gain on the deconsolidation during the year ended 31 December 2018, which was recorded to the Consolidated 
Statement of Comprehensive Income/(Loss) on the line item the Gain on the deconsolidation of subsidiary. 

PureTech Health removed all Akili’s outstanding balances as of the date of deconsolidation, including all assets and liabilities 
as well as historical equity, as seen in the Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity. Upon the date of deconsolidation, 
PureTech Health held preferred shares in Akili and no ordinary shares. As PureTech Health does not hold ordinary shares in 
Akili, the voting percentage attributable to common stock is nil. Therefore, PureTech Health had no basis to account for its 
investment in Akili under IAS 28, Investment in Associates and Joint Ventures. The preferred shares held by PureTech Health 
fall under the guidance of IFRS 9 and will be treated as a financial asset held at fair value and all movements to the value of 
PureTech’s share in the preferred stock will be recorded through the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income/
(Loss), in accordance with IFRS 9. During the year ended 31 December 2018, the Company recognised a gain of $12.7 million 
that was recorded on the line item Loss on investments held at fair value within the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive 
Income/(Loss).

6.  Operating Expenses

The average number of persons employed by the Group during the year, analysed by category, was as follows:

For the years ending 31 December:

General and administrative
Research and development

Total

The aggregate payroll costs of these persons were as follows:

For the years ending 31 December: 

General and administrative
Research and development

Total

2018

 55 
 90 

 145 

2017

 56 
 82 

 138 

2018
$000s

 22,939 
 20,109 

 43,048 

2017
$000s

 22,348 
 18,956 

 41,304 

6. 

Operating Expenses — continued

Operating expenses were as follows:

For the years ending 31 December:

Salaries and wages
Healthcare benefits
Payroll taxes
Share-based payments

Total payroll costs

Other SG&A expenses
Other R&D expenses

Total operating expenses

Total operating expenses were as follows:

For the years ending 31 December:

General and administrative
Research and development

Total operating expenses

Auditors remuneration:

For the years ended 31 December:

Audit of these financial statements
Audit of the financial statements of subsidiaries
Audit-related assurance services
Taxation

Total 

2018
 $000s

 27,274 
 1,465 
 1,672 

 12,637 

 43,048 

 24,426 
 57,293 

 81,719 

2018
 $000s

 47,365 
 77,402 

2017
 $000s 

 26,244 
 1,699 
 1,512 

 11,849 

 41,304 

 23,935 
 52,716 

 76,651 

2017
 $000s 

 46,283 
 71,672 

 124,767 

 117,955 

2018
 $000s

 652 
 200 
 321 
—

2017
 $000s 

 647 
 254 
 132 
 8 

 1,173 

 1,041 

See note 7 for further disclosures related to share-based payments and note 23 for management’s remuneration disclosures.

7. 

Share-based Payments

Share-based payments includes stock options, restricted stock units (“RSUs”) and performance-based restricted share unit 
awards in which the expense is recognised based on the grant date fair value of these awards.

Share-based Payment Expense
The Group share-based payment expense for the years ended 31 December 2018 and 2017, were comprised of charges related 
to the PureTech Health plc incentive stock and stock option issuances and subsidiary stock plans, as disclosed in the annual 
report and accounts.

The following table provides the classification of the Group’s consolidated share-based payment expense as reflected in the 
Consolidated Statement of Income/(Loss):

For the years ended 31 December

General and administrative
Research and development

Total

2018 
$000s

 5,293 
 7,344 

2017
$000s

 7,625 
 4,224 

 12,637 

 11,849 

There was no income tax benefit recognised for share-based payment arrangements during the periods presented due to 
existence of operating losses for all issuing entities.

108    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    109

Financial statementsFinancial statementsNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements  — continued

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements  — continued

7. 

Share-based Payments — continued

7. 

Share-based Payments — continued

The Performance Share Plan
In June 2015, the Group adopted the Performance Share Plan (“PSP”). Under the PSP, awards of ordinary shares may be 
made to the Directors, senior managers and employees of, and other individuals providing services to the Company and its 
subsidiaries up to a maximum authorised amount of 22,724,800 ordinary shares. The shares have various vesting terms over 
a period of service between two and four years, provided the recipient remains continuously engaged as a service provider. 
The share-based awards granted under The Performance Share Plan are equity settled and expire 10 years from the grant date. 
As of the years ended 31 December 2018 and 2017, the Company had issued share-based awards to purchase an aggregate of 
5,657,602 and 1,486,576 shares, respectively, under this plan.

RSUs
During the twelve months ended 31 December 2018, the Company issued 2,860,782 performance based RSUs under 
the PSP plan. 

Each RSU entitles the holder to one ordinary share on vesting and the RSU awards are based on a cliff vesting schedule over 
a three-year requisite service period in which the Company recognises compensation expense on a graded basis for the RSUs. 
Following vesting, each recipient will be required to make a payment of one pence per ordinary share on settlement of the 
RSUs. Vesting of the RSUs is subject to the satisfaction of performance conditions.

The Company recognises the estimated fair value of performance-based awards as share-based compensation expense 
over the performance period based upon its determination of whether it is probable that the performance targets will be 
achieved. The Company assesses the probability of achieving the performance targets at each reporting period. Cumulative 
adjustments, if any, are recorded to reflect subsequent changes in the estimated outcome of performance-related conditions.

The fair value of the performance-based awards is based on the Monte Carlo simulation analysis utilising a Geometric Brownian 
Motion process with 250,000 simulations to value those shares. The model considers share price volatilities, risk-free rate and 
other covariance of comparable public companies and other market data to predict distribution of relative share performance.

The performance conditions attached to the RSUs are based on the achievement of total shareholder return (“TSR”), with 
50 per cent of the shares under award vesting based on the achievement of absolute TSR targets, 12.5 per cent of the shares 
under the award vesting based on TSR as compared to the FTSE SmallCap Index, 12.5 per cent of the shares under the award 
vesting based on TSR as compared to the MSCI Europe Health Care Index, and 25 per cent of the shares under the award 
vesting based on the achievement of strategic targets.

The Company incurred share-based payment expense for the performance based RSUs of $2.3 million and $1.5 million for the 
twelve months ended 31 December 2018 and 2017, respectively.

Stock Options
During the twelve months ended 31 December 2018, the Company granted 2,796,820 stock option awards under the PSP. 

The fair value of the stock options awarded by the Company was estimated at the grant date using the Black-Scholes option 
valuation model, considering the terms and conditions upon which options were granted, with the following weighted-
average assumptions:

At 31 December:

Expected volatility
Expected terms (in years)
Risk-free interest rate
Expected dividend yield
Grant date fair value
Share price at grant date

2018

44.18%
 6.08 
2.79%
—
$0.96 
$2.05 

2017

28.92%
 5.84 
1.96%
—
$0.43 
$1.45 

The Company incurred share-based payment expense for the stock options of $1.4 million and $0.6 million for the twelve 
months ended 31 December 2018 and 2017, respectively.

PureTech LLC Incentive Stock Issuance
In May 2015 and August 2014, PureTech Health LLC Directors approved the issuance of shares to management, the directors 
and advisors of PureTech Health LLC, subject to vesting restrictions. The share-based awards granted under the 2016 PureTech 
LLC Incentive Stock Issuance Plan are equity settled and expire 10 years from the grant date. No additional shares will be 
granted under this compensation arrangement. The fair value of the shares awarded was estimated as of the date of grant. 
The Company incurred an expense of $0.2 million and $1.7 million in share-based payment expense for the twelve months 
ended 31 December 2018 and 2017, respectively, related to PureTech Health LLC incentive compensation.

As of 31 December 2018, all shares related to the pre-IPO incentive compensation plan had fully vested.

Subsidiary Plans
Certain subsidiaries of the Group have adopted stock option plans. A summary of stock option activity by number of shares in 
these subsidiaries is presented in the following table:

Outstanding 
as of 
1 January
2018

Granted 
During the 
Year

Exercised 
During the 
Year

Expired
During the
Year

Forfeited 
During the 
Year 

Outstanding 
as of
31 December 
2018

Gelesis
Alivio
Akili
Ariya
Commense
Entrega
Follica
Karuna
Knode
Sonde
Tal
The Sync Project
Vedanta 

Gelesis
Alivio
Akili
Commense
Entrega
Follica
Karuna
Knode
Sonde
Tal
The Sync Project
Vedanta

 2,728,232 
 2,393,750 
 2,385,355 

 953,500 
—
—
—  2,180,000 
 121,666 
 60,000 
—
 1,111,000 
—
—
—
—
 278,786 

 418,750 
 867,750 
 1,271,302 
 855,427 
 32,500 
 35,000 
 1,663,806 
 1,080,000 
 1,194,014 

—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—

—
—
— (2,385,355)1
—
—
 (3,750)
 (41,850)
 (4,125)
 (32,500)
 (6,250)
 (30,250)

 (12,375)
—
 (6,250)
 (2,750)
—  (1,080,000)
 (74,250)

—  3,681,732 
—  2,393,750 
—
—  2,180,000 
 540,416 
—
—
 924,000 
—  1,229,452 
 1,949,927 
—
 22,500 
 1,630,806 
—
 1,373,750 

 (24,800)

Outstanding 
as of 
1 January
2017

Granted 
During the 
Year

Exercised 
During the 
Year

 2,489,031 

 297,500 
—  2,393,750 
 795,432 
 18,750 
 52,500 
 1,119,283 
 112,750 
—
 57,500 
—
 230,000 
 359,764 

 1,599,423 
 400,000 
 821,500 
 449,505 
 742,677 
 75,000 
—
 1,763,806 
 850,000 
 882,250 

—
—
 (9,500)
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—

Expired
During the
Year

—
—
—
—
—
 (190,059)
—
 (45,000)
 (4,687)
 (75,000)
—
 (11,438)

Forfeited 
During the 
Year 

Outstanding 
as of
31 December 
2017

 (58,299)

 2,728,232 
—  2,393,750 
—  2,385,355 
 418,750 
—
 867,750 
 (6,250)
 1,271,302 
 (107,427)
 855,427 
—
 32,500 
 2,500 
 35,000 
 (17,813)
 1,663,806 
 (25,000)
—  1,080,000 
 1,194,014 

 (36,562)

1  These shares represent the options outstanding on the date of Akili’s deconsolidation. 

The weighted average exercise prices for the options granted for the years ended 31 December 2018 and 2017 are as follows:

For the years ended 31 December:

Akili
Alivio
Ariya
Commense
Entrega
Follica
Karuna
Sonde
Sync
Vedanta

2018 
$

—
—
0.03 
1.34 
1.95 
—
9.42 
—
—
14.66 

2017 
$

2.55 
0.03 
—
0.92 
2.36 
0.93 
7.08 
0.13 
0.07 
12.88 

Significant Subsidiary Plans
Gelesis 2016 Stock Incentive Plan
In September 2016, the Directors of Gelesis approved the 2016 Stock Incentive Plan (the “2016 Gelesis Plan”) which provides 
for the grant of incentive stock options, nonqualified stock options, and restricted stock to employees, directors, and 
nonemployees of Gelesis. At 31 December 2018, 329,559 shares remained available for issuance under the Gelesis Plan.

110    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    111

Financial statementsFinancial statementsNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements  — continued

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements  — continued

7. 

Share-based Payments — continued

7. 

Share-based Payments — continued

The options granted under the 2016 Gelesis Plan are equity settled and expire 10 years from the grant date. Typically, the 
awards vest in three years but vesting conditions can vary based on the discretion of Gelesis Board of Directors.

The fair value of the stock option grants has been estimated at the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model 
with the following weighted average assumptions:

Options granted under the 2016 Gelesis Plan are exercisable at a price per share not less than the fair market value of 
the underlying ordinary shares on the date of grant. The estimated fair value of options, including the effect of estimated 
forfeitures, is recognised over the options’ vesting period.

The fair value of the stock option grants has been estimated at the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model 
with the following weighted average assumptions:

Assumption/Input

Expected award life (in years)
Expected award price volatility
Risk free interest rate
Expected dividend yield
Grant date fair value
Share price at grant date

2018

6.22
64.58%
2.79%
—
$7.84
$12.82

2017

5.68
67.99%
1.80%
—
$7.72
$11.56

Gelesis used an average historical share price volatility based on an analysis of reported data for a peer group of comparable 
companies which were selected based upon industry similarities. As there is not sufficient historical share exercise data to 
calculate the expected term of the options, Gelesis elected to use the “simplified” method for all options granted at the money 
to value share option grants. Under this approach, the weighted average expected life is presumed to be the average of the 
vesting term and the contractual term of the option.

Gelesis incurred share-based compensation expense of $3.9 million and $4.2 million for the years ended 31 December 2018 
and 2017, respectively.

Vedanta 2010 Stock Incentive Plan
In 2010, the Board of Directors for Vedanta approved the 2010 Stock Incentive Plan (the “2010 Plan”). It allowed for the issuance 
1,000,000 share-based compensation awards through incentive stock options, nonqualified stock options, and restricted stock 
to employees, directors, and nonemployees of Vedanta. In September 2018, the Board of Directors amended the 2010 Plan 
increased the aggregate number of shares to 1,660,503. At 31 December 2018, 106,865 shares remained available for issuance 
under the Vedanta Plan.

The options granted under the 2016 Vedanta Plan are equity settled and expire 10 years from the grant date. Typically, the 
awards vest in three years but vesting conditions can vary based on the discretion of Vedanta’s Board of Directors.

Options granted under the 2016 Vedanta Plan are exercisable at a price per share not less than the fair market value of 
the underlying ordinary shares on the date of grant. The estimated fair value of options, including the effect of estimated 
forfeitures, is recognised over the options’ vesting period.

The fair value of the stock option grants has been estimated at the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model 
with the following range of average assumptions:

Assumption/Input

Expected award life (in years)
Expected award price volatility
Risk free interest rate
Expected dividend yield
Grant date fair value
Share price at grant date

2018

2017

6.03-6.16
91.60%-92.56%
2.65%-2.78%
—
$11.21-$11.26
$14.66

5.66-10.00
66.0%-76.0%
1.13%-2.37%
—
$6.76-$9.01
$11.56

Vedanta incurred share-based compensation expense of $2.1 million and $2.4 million for the years ended 31 December 2018 
and 2017, respectively.

Karuna Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 2009 Stock Incentive Plan
In 2009, the Board of Directors for Karuna Pharmaceuticals, Inc. approved the 2009 Stock Incentive Plan (the “Karuna 2009 
Plan”). It allowed for the issuance of 1,000,000 share-based compensation awards through stock options, restricted stock 
units and other stock-based awards under the Karuna 2009 Plan to employees, officers, directors, consultants and advisors of 
Karuna. At 31 December 2018, 106,865 shares remained available for issuance under the Karuna 2009 Plan.

The options granted under the Karuna 2009 Plan are equity settled and expire 10 years from the grant date. Typically, the 
awards vest in three years but vesting conditions can vary based on the discretion of Karuna’s Board of Directors.

Options granted under the Karuna 2009 Plan are exercisable at a price per share not less than the fair market value of 
the underlying ordinary shares on the date of grant. The estimated fair value of options, including the effect of estimated 
forfeitures, is recognised over the options’ vesting period.

Assumption/Input

Expected award life (in years)
Expected award price volatility
Risk free interest rate
Expected dividend yield
Grant date fair value
Share price at grant date

2018

5.67
49.66%
2.86%
—
$1.69
$9.40

2017

6.07
50.28%
1.95%
—
$3.51
$7.08 

Karuna incurred share-based compensation expense of $1.9 million and $0.4 million for the years ended 31 December 2018 
and 2017, respectively.

Other Plans
The stock compensation expense under plans at other subsidiaries of the Group not including Gelesis, Vedanta and Karuna 
was $0.8 million and $1.0 million for the years ended 31 December 2018 and 2017, respectively.

8. 

Finance Cost, net

The following table shows the breakdown of finance income and costs:

For the years ended 31 December

Finance income
Interest from financial assets not at fair value through profit or loss

Total finance income

Finance costs
Contractual interest expense on convertible notes
Interest expense on other borrowings
Non-cash interest expense on convertible securities
Loss on forgiveness of debt
Loss on extinguishment of derivatives
Gain on foreign currency exchange

Total finance costs – contractual

Gain from change in fair value of warrant liability

Gain/(loss) on fair value measurement of derivative liability

Total finance costs – fair value accounting
Total finance costs – subsidiary preferred shares

Total finance costs

Finance costs, net

9. 

Earnings/(Loss) per Share

2018
$000s

2017
$000s

 3,358 

 3,358 

 1,750 

 1,750 

 (388)
 (4)
— 
 289 
— 
 137 

 34 

 82 
 22,549 

 22,631 
(14,414)

8,251

11,609

 (400)
 (4)
 (300)
— 
 (18)
 169 

 (553)

 1,847 
 (73,582)

 (71,735)
 (9,509)

 (81,797)

 (80,047)

The basic and diluted loss per share has been calculated by dividing the income/(loss) for the period attributable to ordinary 
shareholders by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the years ended 31 December 2018 and 
2017, respectively.

Income/(Loss) Attributable to Owners of the Company:

Income/(loss) for the year, attributable to the owners 
of the Company

Income/(loss) attributable to ordinary shareholders

2018

Basic
$000s

Diluted
$000s

2017

Basic
$000s

 (43,654)

 (43,654)

 (43,654)

 (43,654)

 26,472 

 26,472 

Diluted
$000s

 26,472 

 26,472 

112    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    113

Financial statementsFinancial statementsNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements  — continued

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements  — continued

9. 

Earnings/(Loss) per Share — continued

Weighted-Average Number of Ordinary Shares:

Issued ordinary shares at 31 December
Effect of shares issued

Effect of dilutive shares

2018

2017

Basic

Diluted

Basic

Diluted

 236,897,579   236,897,579 
 36,950,688 

 36,950,688 

 232,712,542   232,712,542 
 2,819,846 

 2,819,846 

—

—

—  3,388,920 

Weighted average number of ordinary shareholders

 273,848,267   273,848,267 

 235,532,388   238,921,308 

Earnings/(Loss) per Share:

Basic and diluted earnings/(loss) per share

2018

Basic

Diluted

 $(0.16)

 $(0.16)

2017

Basic

$0.11

Diluted

$0.11

For the years ended 31 December 2018 and 2017 there were 11,867,641 and 5,727,477 shares, respectively, excluded from the 
computation of diluted weighted average ordinary shares outstanding because such shares are considered anti-dilutive since 
they are not vested.

Balance as of 31 December 2018

 7,306 

 488 

 1,431 

 4,924 

10.  Property and Equipment

Cost

Balance as of 1 January 2017
Additions, net of transfers
Disposals
Deconsolidation of subsidiary
Reclassifications
Exchange differences

Balance as of 31 December 2017

Additions, net of transfers
Disposals
Exchange differences

Accumulated depreciation 
and impairment loss

Balance as of 1 January 2017
Depreciation
Disposals
Deconsolidation of subsidiary
Reclassifications
Exchange differences

Balance as of 31 December 2017

Depreciation
Disposals
Exchange differences

Laboratory and 
Manufacturing 
Equipment 
$000s

Furniture and 
Fixtures 
$000s

Computer 
Equipment and 
Software 
$000s

Leasehold 
Improvements 
$000s

Construction in 
process 
$000s

 5,345 
 1,251 
 (763)
 (38)
 38 
 249 

 6,082 

 1,586 
 (261)
 (101)

 278 
 199 
—
—
—
 (8)

 469 

 27 
 (8)
—

 854 
 399 
—
 (1)
 (38)
—

 1,214 

 477 
 (260)
—

 2,676 
 170 
—
—
 9 
 44 

 2,899 

 2,070 
 (27)
 (18)

Laboratory and 
Manufacturing 
Equipment 
$000s

Furniture and 
Fixtures 
$000s

Computer 
Equipment and 
Software 
$000s

Leasehold 
Improvements 
$000s

Construction in 
process 
$000s

 (1,337)
 (1,039)
 126 
 3 
—
 (113)

 (2,360)

 (1,032)
 114 
 56 

 (116)
 (56)
—
—
—
 (3)

 (175)

 (60)
 2 
—

 (315)
 (213)
—
—
—
 (6)

 (534)

 (296)
 74 
—

 (472)
 (309)
—
—
—
 (26)

 (807)

 (1,088)
 20 
21

 11 
 72 
—
—
 (9)
—

 74 

 171 
—
 (6)

 239 

—
—
—
—
—
—

—

—
—
—

—

Balance as of 31 December 2018

 (3,222)

 (233)

 (756)

 (1,854)

Property and Equipment, net

Laboratory and 
Manufacturing 
Equipment 
$000s

Furniture and 
Fixtures 
$000s

Computer 
Equipment and 
Software 
$000s

Leasehold 
Improvements 
$000s

Construction in 
process 
$000s

Balance as of 31 December 2017
Balance as of 31 December 2018

 3,722 
 4,084 

 294 
 255 

 680 
 675 

 2,092 
 3,070 

 74 
 239 

Total
$000s

 9,164 
 2,091 
 (763)
 (39)
—
 285 

 10,738 

 4,331 
 (556)
 (125)

 14,388 

Total
$000s

 (2,240)
 (1,617)
 126 
 3 
—
 (148)

 (3,876)

 (2,476)
 210 
77

 (6,065)

Total
$000s

 6,862 
 8,323 

10. 

Property and Equipment — continued

Depreciation of property and equipment is included in the General and administrative expenses and Research and 
development expenses line items in the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income/(Loss). The Company recorded 
depreciation expense of $2.5 million and $2.2 million for the years ended 31 December 2018 and 2017, respectively.

11. 

Intangible Assets

Intangible assets consist of licenses of intellectual property acquired by the Group through various agreements with third 
parties and are recorded at the value of cash and non-cash consideration transferred. Information regarding the cost and 
accumulated amortisation of intangible assets is as follows:

Cost

Balance at 1 January 2017
Additions

Deconsolidation of subsidiary

Balance at 31 December 2017
Additions
Deconsolidation of subsidiary

Balance at 31 December 2018

Accumulated amortisation 

Balance at 1 January 2017
Amortisation

Deconsolidation of subsidiary

Balance at 31 December 2017
Amortisation
Deconsolidation of subsidiary

Balance at 31 December 2018

Intangible assets, net

Balance at 31 December 2017
Balance at 31 December 2018

Licenses
$000s

 4,938 
 5,080 

 (5,000)

 5,018 
 125 
 (76)

 5,067 

Licenses
$000s

 (1,414)
 (482)

 187 

 (1,709)
 (302)
 24 

 (1,987)

Licenses
$000s

 3,309 
 3,080 

Amortisation expense is included in the Research and development expenses line item in the accompanying Consolidated 
Statements of Comprehensive Income/(Loss). Amortisation expense, recorded using the straight-line method, was 
approximately $0.3 million and $0.5 million for the years ended 31 December 2018 and 2017, respectively.

12. 

Investments held at fair value

Investments held at fair value include both unlisted and listed securities held by PureTech. These investments, which include 
resTORbio, Akili, and other insignificant investments, are initially measured at fair value and are subsequently re-measured 
at fair value at each reporting date. Refer to note 5 for further discussion around Akili and resTORbio, two entities that were 
previously consolidated in the financial statements but are now investments held at fair value due to loss of control and/or loss 
of significant influence. Interests in these investments are accounted for as investments held at fair value, as shown below:

Balance at 1 January 2017
Deconsolidation of subsidiary
Gain – other comprehensive income/(loss)
Gain – fair value through profit and loss

Balance at 31 December 2017
Deconsolidation of subsidiary
Reclassification of investment between investment in affiliate and investment held for sale
Gain – comprehensive income/(loss)
Loss – fair value through profit and loss

Balance at 31 December 2018

$000s

 83 
 72,184 
 1,750 
 57,334 

 131,351 
 70,748 
 2,297 
 (26)
 (34,615)

 169,755 

114    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    115

Financial statementsFinancial statementsNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements  — continued

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements  — continued

13.  Other Financial Assets

Other financial assets consist of restricted cash held, which represents amounts that are reserved as collateral against letters of 
credit with a bank that are issued for the benefit of a landlord in lieu of a security deposit for office space leased by the Group. 
Information regarding restricted cash was as follows:

As of 31 December

Restricted cash 

Total other financial assets 

14.  Equity

Total equity for PureTech as of 31 December 2018 and 2017 was as follows:

Equity 

Share capital, £0.01 par value, issued and paid 282,493,867 and 237,429,696 as of 
31 December 2018 and 2017, respectively
Merger reserve
Share premium
Translation reserve
Other reserves
Accumulated deficit

Equity attributable to owners of the Group
Non-controlling interests

Total equity

2018
$000s

 2,199 

 2,199 

2017
$000s

 927 

 927 

31 December
2018
$000s

31 December
2017
$000s

 5,375 
 138,506 
 278,385 
 10 
 20,923 
 (167,692)

275,507
 (108,535)

 4,679 
 138,506 
 181,588 
 224 
 17,178 
 (132,270)

 209,905 
 (150,305)

166,972

59,600

Shareholders are entitled to vote on all matters submitted to shareholders for a vote. Each ordinary share is entitled to one 
vote. Each ordinary share is entitled to receive dividends when and if declared by the Company’s Directors. The Company has 
not declared any dividends in the past.

Other reserves comprise the cumulative credit to share-based payment reserves corresponding to share-based payment 
expenses recognised through Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income/(Loss).

15.  Subsidiary Preferred Shares

On 1 January 2018, the Company adopted IFRS 9, which replaced IAS 39 for the annual period beginning on 1 January 2018. 
IFRS 9 addresses the classification, measurement, and recognition of financial liabilities. Preferred shares issued by subsidiaries 
and affiliates often contain redemption and conversion features that are assessed under IFRS 9 in conjunction with the host 
preferred share instrument. 

As part of the transition requirement, the Company had the option upon implementation of the new standard to designate 
a financial liability as measured at FVTPL. The Group re-assessed its financial liabilities and elected to not split out the 
embedded derivatives and instead retrospectively recorded changes in the fair value of the entire financial liability instrument 
through the statement of profit and loss, leading to changes in the carrying value of the instruments when looked at in 
the aggregate.

The subsidiary preferred shares are convertible into ordinary shares of the subsidiaries at the option of the holder and 
mandatorily convertible into ordinary shares upon a subsidiary listing in a public market at a price above those specified in 
the subsidiary’s charter or upon the vote of the holders of subsidiary preferred shares specified in the charter. Under certain 
scenarios the number of ordinary shares receivable on conversion will change and therefore, a variable number of shares will 
be issued. Because the possible conversion of the preferred shares is outside of the control of the Group, these have been 
classified as liabilities on the balance sheet. 

The preferred shares are entitled to vote with holders of common stock on an as converted basis. 

The Group recognises the preferred share balance upon the receipt of cash financing or upon the conversion of notes into 
preferred shares at the amount received or carrying balance of any notes and derivatives converted into preferred shares. 
Preferred shares are not allocated a proportion of the subsidiary losses.

15. 

Subsidiary Preferred Shares — continued

The following summarises the subsidiary preferred share balance: 

As of 31 December

Akili
Entrega
Follica
Gelesis
Karuna
The Sync Project
Tal1
Vedanta Biosciences

2018
$000s

—
 2,780 
 60 
 140,192 
 32,342 
 109 
 113 
 41,923 

2017
$000s

 19,935 
 2,071 
 465 
 58,714 
 5 
 1,734 
 11,219 
 25,908 

Total subsidiary preferred share balance

 217,519 

 120,051 

1  The value of Tal’s preferred shares significantly decreased due to winding down of operations, as further explained in note 26. 

As is customary, in the event of any voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding up of a subsidiary, the holders 
of subsidiary preferred shares which are outstanding shall be entitled to be paid out of the assets of the subsidiary available for 
distribution to shareholders and before any payment shall be made to holders of ordinary shares. A merger, acquisition, sale 
of voting control or other transaction of a subsidiary in which the shareholders of the subsidiary do not own a majority of the 
outstanding shares of the surviving company shall be deemed to be a liquidation event. Additionally, a sale, lease, transfer or 
other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of the subsidiary shall also be deemed a liquidation event.

For the year ended 31 December 2018 and 2017, the minimum liquidation preference reflects the amounts that would be 
payable to the subsidiary preferred holders upon a liquidation event of the subsidiaries, which is as follows:

As of 31 December

Akili
Entrega
Follica
Gelesis
Karuna
Tal
Vedanta Biosciences

2018
$000s

—
 2,216 
 1,895 
 77,301 
 24,343 
 113 
 41,923 

2017
$000s

 21,972 
—
 2,020 
 60,490 
 413 
 11,430 
 15,445 

Total minimum liquidation preference

 147,791 

 111,770 

As at 31 December 2018, Tal ceased operations and was in the process of liquidating. Therefore, the liquidation preference 
shown above equals the cash on hand, as this will be paid out to existing investors. 

For the year ended 31 December 2018, the minimum liquidation preference increased due to the issuance of third party shares 
in connection with the Vedanta Series B and C and the Karuna Series A financings. 

For the years ended 31 December 2018 and 2017, the Group recognised the following changes in the value of subsidiary 
preferred shares:

Balance at 1 January 2017
Issuance of new preferred shares
Value of derivatives at issuance
Increase in value of preferred shares measured at fair value
Deconsolidation of resTORbio
Accretion

Balance at 31 December 2017
Adjustment to preferred shares due to adoption of IFRS 9
Issuance of new preferred shares
Conversion of convertible notes
Decrease in value of preferred shares measured at fair value
Sale of The Sync Group
Deconsolidation of subsidiary
Accretion

Balance at 31 December 2018

$000s

 96,937 

 24,969 
 (364)
 31,747 
 (42,747)
 9,509 

 120,051 

 95,584 
 54,537 
 7,930 
 (23,110)
 (1,062)
 (36,517)
 106 

 217,519 

116    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    117

Financial statementsFinancial statementsNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements  — continued

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements  — continued

15. 

Subsidiary Preferred Shares — continued

16.  Non-Controlling Interest — continued

2018 
On 28 February 2018, Gelesis received $30 million, of which $25 million was received from outside investors, through the 
issuance of its Series 2 Growth Preferred Stock. It has been determined that these shares are liability classified and contain 
a liability classified embedded derivative. This embedded derivative is a conversion feature which can result in settlement in 
a variable number of shares. 

In May 2018, Akili issued Series C Preferred Stock for aggregate proceeds of $55.0 million; PureTech Health did not participate 
in this investment. Upon closing of Akili’s Series C financing, the subsidiary was deconsolidated by PureTech Health (see note 3). 

In August 2018, Karuna authorised 3,126,700 shares of Series A Preferred Stock. In the same month, Karuna issued 1,188,707 
shares of Series A Preferred Stock at an issuance price of $13.46, resulting in gross proceeds of $16.0 million, which was 
contributed by outside investors. In conjunction with the August 2018 issuance of Series A preferred stock, $26.1 million of 
outstanding principal and accrued interest on notes payable converted to 1,937,993 shares of Series A redeemable convertible 
preferred stock, of which $7.9 million related to outside investors. 

On 21 December 2018, Vedanta issued Series C Preferred Stock for aggregate proceeds of $26.7 million, with $21.7 million 
from outside investors. It has been determined that these shares are liability classified and contain a liability classified 
embedded derivative. 

2017 
In January 2017, Vedanta Biosciences closed the second tranche of its Series B Preferred Share financing for gross proceeds of 
$24.9 million, with $9.9 million from outside investors. 

Between January 2017 and May 2017, Sync received $1.1 million from outside investors through the issuance of convertible 
notes, which was included as proceeds from the issuance of convertible notes in the Condensed Consolidated Statements 
of Cash Flows. In May 2017, these notes, plus accrued interest, converted into preferred shares in accordance with the terms 
of the notes. 

Between September 2017 and December 2017, Sync received an additional $0.8 million through the issuance of Series A-2 
Preferred Stock, of which PureTech Health purchased $0.3 million. 

In December 2017, Entrega closed a Series A-2 Preferred Stock financing in which Eli Lilly invested $2.0 million. In conjunction 
its investment in the financing, Eli Lilly entered into a Research Collaboration Agreement with Entrega, pursuant to which Eli 
Lilly agreed to contribute a total of $3.0 million to Entrega through 2020. 

In March 2017, resTORbio executed a licensing agreement with Novartis pursuant to which resTORbio obtained rights to 
intellectual property in exchange for Series A preferred shares which were valued at $5.0 million. Between March and October 
2017, resTORbio issued additional Series A Preferred Stock for aggregate proceeds of $25.0 million, of which PureTech Health 
invested $19.0 million. Upon closing of resTORbio’s Series B financing, the subsidiary was deconsolidated from PureTech 
Health (see note 3).

16.  Non-Controlling Interest

The following summarises the changes in the equity classified non-controlling ownership interest in subsidiaries by 
reportable segment:

Balance at 1 January 2017
Share of comprehensive loss
Deconsolidation of resTORbio
Equity settled share-based payments

Balance at 31 December 2017
Share of comprehensive loss
Deconsolidation of Akili
IFRS 9 implementation impact
Equity settled share-based payments

Internal
$000s

 —
 (1,484)
 —
 —

 (1,484)
 (7,314)
 —
 —
 11 

Affiliates
$000s

 (61,909)
 (31,813)
 —
 6,122 

 (87,600)
 (26,743)
 —
5,488
 8,354 

Deconsolidated
Affiliate
$000s

Parent 
Company 
& Other
$000s

 (23,346)
 (68,269)
 28,449 
 1,342 

 (61,824)
 7,052 
 55,168 
 (769)
 372 

 —
 —
 —
 603 

 603 
 —
 —
 —
 151 

Total
$000s

 (85,255)
 (101,566)
 28,449 
8,067

 (150,305)
 (27,005)
 55,168 
 4,719 
 8,888 

Balance at 31 December 2018

 (8,787)

 (100,501)

(1)

 754 

 (108,535)

The impact of the deconsolidation of resTORbio and Akili results in no net impact to the Consolidated Statements of Financial 
Position. Please refer to note 5 Investment in Associates.

The following tables summarise the financial information related to the Group’s subsidiaries with material non-controlling 
interests, aggregated for interests in similar entities, and before intra group eliminations.

For the year ended 31 December: 

Statement of Comprehensive Loss
Total revenue
Income/(loss) for the year
Other comprehensive income/(loss)

Internal
$000s

 2,196 
 (8,453)
—

 18,503 
 (74,510)
 (214)

Total comprehensive income/(loss) for the year

 (8,453)

 (74,724)

2018

Affiliates
$000s

Deconsolidated
Affiliate
$000s

 20 
 7,050 
—

 7,052 

—
 1 

 (1)

 2,985 
 13,365 

 39,767 
 251,372 

 (10,380)

 (211,605)

2017

Affiliates
$000s

Deconsolidated
Affiliate
$000s

 2,380 
 (92,268)
 408 

 130 
 (82,493)
—

 (91,860)

 (82,493)

Internal
$000s

—
 (4,401)
—

 (4,401)

 127 
 2,065 

 58,270 
 239,814 

 20,368 
 53,790 

 (1,938)

 (181,544)

 (33,422)

Statement of Financial Position
Total assets
Total liabilities

Net assets/(liabilities) 

For the year ended 31 December: 

Statement of Comprehensive Loss
Total revenue
Loss for the year
Other comprehensive income/(loss)

Total comprehensive loss for the year

Statement of Financial Position
Total assets
Total liabilities

Net assets/(liabilities)

1 

 Independent affiliate non-controlling interest calculation does not include equity method accounting, fair value method accounting or the gain on 
the deconsolidation of subsidiary related to resTORbio or Akili, which is recorded within PureTech Health, LLC. Refer to note 5.

17.  Subsidiary Notes Payable

The subsidiary notes payable are comprised of loans and convertible notes. As of 1 January 2018, the Group adopted IFRS 9, 
and as a result, where the instruments contained liability classified embedded derivatives, an election was taken to fair value 
the entire financial instrument through profit and loss rather than bifurcate the embedded derivative. During the years ended 
31 December 2018 and 2017, the financial instruments for Knode and Appeering did not contain embedded derivatives and 
therefore these instruments continue to be held at amortised cost. During the year ended 31 December 2017, the financial 
instrument for Entrega did not contain an embedded derivative. The notes payable consists of the following:

As of 31 December

Loans
Convertible notes

Total subsidiary notes payable

2018
$000s

 2,552 
 9,458 

 12,010 

2017
$000s

 2,547 
 4,908 

 7,455 

Loans
In October 2010, Follica entered into a loan and security agreement with Lighthouse Capital Partners VI, L.P. The loans are 
secured by Follica’s assets, including Follica’s intellectual property, and totalled approximately $1.3 million for the years ending 
31 December 2018 and 2017.

In May 2014, Gelesis entered into a grant and loan agreement with an Italian economic development agency. Borrowings 
under the loan totalled €1.1 million and €1.3 million at 31 December 2018 and 2017, respectively (approximately $1.3 million at 
31 December 2018 and 2017). The loan bears interest at 0.33 per cent per year. Gelesis was required to make interest payments 
only in fiscal years 2014 and 2015, with principal and interest payments from January 2017 through January 2024.

Funds awarded under the grant may be revoked if irregularities are identified during inspection of costs by the Italian economic 
development agency or for failure to implement or comply with the project plan or to achieve the objectives of the project 
plan for reasons within Gelesis’ control. In the event of a revocation of the grant, Gelesis would be required to repay the loan 
immediately, including accrued interest.

118    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    119

Financial statementsFinancial statementsNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements  — continued

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements  — continued

17. 

Subsidiary Notes Payable — continued

Convertible Notes
Convertible Notes outstanding were as follows:

1 January 2017
Gross principle
Discount
Accretion
Conversion

31 December 2017
Gross principle
Adjustment for fair value
Conversion
Adjustment due to the adoption of IFRS 9

Karuna
$000s

3,694
404
(71)
262
—

 4,289 
 4,700 
 (93)
 (7,581)
 1,523 

Follica
$000s

450
1,132
(1,127)
39
—

 494 
 1,124 
 (35)
—
 4,912 

31 December 2018

 2,838 

 6,495 

Entrega
$000s

Knode
$000s

Appeering
$000s

125
—
—
—
(125)

—
—
—
—
—

—

50
—
—
—
—

 50 
—
—
—
—

 50 

75
—
—
—
—

 75 
—
—
—
—

 75 

Sync
$000s

10
1,080
—
—
(1,090)

—
—
—
—
—

—

Total
$000s

4,404
2,616
(1,198)
301
(1,215)

 4,908 
 5,824 
 (128)
 (7,581)
 6,435 

 9,458 

Certain of the Group’s subsidiaries have issued convertible promissory notes (“Notes”) to fund their operations with an 
expectation of an eventual share-based award settlement of the Notes.

Substantially all Notes become due and payable on or after either 31 December of the year of issuance or on the thirtieth day 
following a demand by the majority of Note holders and bear interest at a rate of either 8.0 per cent (or 12.0 per cent upon 
an Event of Default) or 10.0 per cent (or 15.0 per cent upon an Event of Default). Interest is calculated based on actual days 
elapsed for a 360-day calendar year. Generally, the Notes cannot be prepaid without approval from the holders of a majority 
of the outstanding principle of a series of Notes. During the year ended 31 December 2017, the Notes contained embedded 
conversion features that were assessed under IAS 39, Financial Instruments, and determined to be liability classified derivatives. 
During the year ended 31 December 2018, the Notes were assessed under IFRS 9 and the entire financial instruments are 
elected to be accounted for as FVTPL.

During the years ended 31 December 2018 and 2017, the Notes constitute complex hybrid instruments, which contain equity 
conversion features where holders may convert, generally at a discount, the outstanding principal and accrued interest into 
shares of the subsidiary before maturity and redemption options upon a change of control of the respective subsidiary. 
The three key features are described below:

•  Automatic conversion feature – upon a Qualified Financing, the unpaid principal and interest amounts are automatically 

converted into shares of the subsidiary issued in the Qualifying Financing at a conversion price equal to the price shares are 
sold in such Qualified Financing, less a discount. The discounts range from 5.0 per cent to 25.0 per cent and some require 
the issuance of an equal number of ordinary shares.

•  Optional conversion feature – upon a Non-Qualified Financing, holders may convert the outstanding principal balance and 
unpaid interest to shares issued in the Non-Qualifying Financing at a conversion price equal to the price shares are sold in 
such Non-Qualified Financing, less a discount. The discounts range from 5.0 per cent to 25.0 per cent and some require the 
issuance of an equal number of ordinary shares.

•  Change of control features – The Notes also generally contain a put option such that, in the event of a Change of Control 
transaction of the respective subsidiary prior to conversion or repayment of the Notes, the holders will be paid an amount 
equal to two or three times the outstanding principal balance plus any accrued and unpaid interest, in cash, on the date of 
the Change of Control.

In August 2018, Karuna’s outstanding Convertible Notes were converted to Series A preferred stock.

In conjunction with its December 2017 private financing, Entrega converted $0.1 million of notes payable plus accrued interest 
into preferred shares. 

In May 2017 and September 2017, Follica, Inc. received $0.5 million and $0.6 million, respectively, from an existing third-party 
investor through the issuance of convertible notes. The notes bear interest at an annual rate of 10 per cent, mature 30 days 
after demand by the holder, are convertible into equity upon a qualifying financing event, and require payment of at least five 
times outstanding principal and accrued interest upon a change of control transaction. 

Between January 2017 and May 2017, Sync received $1.1 million from outside investors through the issuance of 
convertible notes. In May 2017, these notes, plus accrued interest, converted into preferred shares in accordance with the 
terms of the notes.

18.  Trade and Other Payables

As of 31 December

Trade payables
Accrued expenses

Total trade and other payables

19.  Other Long-Term Liabilities

Information regarding Other long-term liabilities was as follows:

As of 31 December

Deferred rent
Lease incentive obligation
Accrued professional fees
Other

Other long-term liabilities

20.  Leases

2018
$000s

 4,644 
 11,231 

 15,875 

2017
$000s

 3,394 
 12,964 

 16,358 

 2018
$000s

 1,283 
 357 
 738 
 138 

2,516

 2017
$000s

 587 
 410 
 738 
 93 

 1,828 

Office and laboratory space is rented under non-cancellable operating leases. These lease agreements contain various clauses 
for renewal at the Group’s option and, in certain cases, escalation clauses typically linked to rates of inflation.

Minimum rental commitments under non-cancellable leases were payable as follows:

As of 31 December

Within one year
Between one and five years
More than five years

Total minimum lease payments

 2018
$000s

 4,295 
 25,489 
 24,639 

 54,423 

 2017
$000s

2,055
5,990
760

8,805

During the year ended 31 December 2018, the Group determined that there were certain tenant improvement allowances that 
were originally classified as a as a reduction to leasehold improvements rather than as a liability. The Company concluded that 
the impact of the change of a reclassification from property and equipment to other current and long-term liabilities was not 
material to the Consolidated Financial Statements presented in the Annual Report of 31 December 2018 and 2017.

Total rent expense under these leases was approximately $2.5 million and $1.3 million during the years ended 
31 December 2018 and 2017, respectively. Rent expense is included in the General and administrative expenses line item 
in the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income/(Loss).

In 2018, the Company signed an operating lease for additional office and laboratory space in Boston, which it expects to 
occupy during the first half of 2019.

120    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    121

Financial statementsFinancial statements 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements  — continued

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements  — continued

21.  Financial Instruments

21. 

Financial Instruments — continued

The Group’s financial instruments consist of financial liabilities, including preferred shares, convertible notes, warrants and loans 
payable, as well as financial assets classified as assets held at fair value. As of 1 January 2018, the Company adopted IFRS 9, 
which replaced IAS 39. IFRS 9 addresses the classification, measurement and recognition of financial liabilities. The Group has 
applied IFRS 9 retrospectively but has elected not to restate comparative information. As a result, the comparative information 
provided continues to be accounted for in accordance with the Group’s previous accounting policy. The reclassification and 
adjustment arising from the adoption of the new accounting policy has been recognised in the opening balance sheet as of 
1 January 2018. 

As part of the transition requirement, the Company had the option upon implementation of the new standard to designate 
a financial liability as measured at FVTPL. The Group re-assessed its financial liabilities and elected not to split out the 
embedded derivatives for certain instruments and retrospectively recorded changes in fair value of the entire financial liability 
instrument through the statement of profit and loss, leading to changes in the carrying value of the instruments, which when 
looked at in the aggregate were as follows:

Financial liability

Notes Payable
Derivative Liability
Warrant Liability
Preferred Shares

IAS 39 as of 
31 December 
2017

7,455
114,263
13,095
120,051

Cumulative 
Effect 
Adjustment to 
Accumulated
Deficit1

6,435
(114,263)
—
95,584

IFRS 9 as of 
1 January 
2018

13,890
—
13,095
215,635

254,864

(12,244)

242,620

1 

 The adoption of IFRS 9 from IAS 39 has no impact on the valuation methods required to be used. The change in aggregate fair value is attributable to 
the elements within each instrument required or elected to be fair valued under the individual standards. 

Financial Liabilities and Embedded Derivatives
The following table summarised the changes in the Group’s financial liabilities and embedded derivatives measured at fair 
value using significant unobservable inputs (Level 3):

During the year ended 31 December 2017, while the Group was accounting for financial instruments under IAS 39, there 
were embedded derivatives that were associated with the subsidiary convertible promissory notes, the subsidiary financial 
instruments measured at fair value and the conversion option within the subsidiary preferred shares. These instruments were 
accounted for as liabilities and were marked to fair value at each reporting period. The fair value of the embedded derivative 
liability and financial instruments measured at fair value at inception, 31 December 2017 was determined using a probability 
weighted present value technique, which includes unobservable (“Level 3”) inputs supported by little or no market activity, 
such as time to the next qualified equity financing, implied discount rate, and probability of a qualified financing, or an option 
pricing allocation method. Based on existing business plans, the Group also contemplated future equity raises and the impact 
on the valuation of the embedded derivative liability if the stock value is below the exercise price at the estimated date of the 
projected future capital raise.

During the year ended 31 December 2017, at each measurement date, the fair value of the conversion rights embedded in the 
preferred shares was determined using a with and without framework which consisted of a three-step process. 

First, the value of each business within the Group was determined using a discounted cash flow model or guideline transaction 
method, or through a recent arm’s length financing round. 

Second, the principal methods that the Group applies for the allocation of value are the Option Pricing Method (“OPM”) and 
the Probability-Weighted Expected Return Method (“PWERM”). 

•  The OPM treats common stock or derivatives as call options on the enterprise’s value or overall equity value. The value 

of a security is based on the optionality over and above the value of securities that are senior in the capital structure (e.g. 
preferred stock), which takes into consideration the dilutive effects of subordinate securities. In the OPM, the exercise price 
is based on a comparison with the overall equity value rather than per-share value.

•  The PWERM estimates the value of equity securities based on an analysis of various discrete future outcomes, such as an 
IPO, merger or sale, dissolution, or continued operation as a private or public enterprise until a later exit date. The equity 
value today is based on the probability-weighted present values of expected future investment returns, considering each of 
the possible outcomes available to the enterprise, as well as the rights of each security class.

Third, the fair value of conversion rights was calculated as the difference of value between the concluded values of preferred 
shares with and without the conversion rights.

Quantitative information about the significant unobservable inputs used in the fair value measurement of the Group’s 
embedded derivative liability related to the subsidiary preferred shares designated as Level 3 is as follows:

Option Pricing Model Inputs for Embedded Derivative Liabilities under IAS 39 at 31 December 2017 and for Preferred Stock and 
Convertible Notes Liabilities under IFRS 9 at 31 December 2018

Balance at 31 December 2016
Value of derivatives at issuance
Change in fair value

Balance at 31 December 2017
Adjustment for IFRS 9 implementation
Value at issuance
Conversion
Deconsolidation of preferred shares
Change in fair value

Balance at 31 December 2018

Subsidiary
Preferred
Shares
$000s

Subsidiary
Convertible 
Notes
$000s

Subsidiary 
Derivative  
Liability –
Preferred
Shares
$000s

 70,192 
 364 
 38,678 

 109,234 
 (109,234)
—
—
—
—

Subsidiary 
Derivative  
Liability –
Convertible 
Notes
$000s

 1,048 
 2,245 
 1,736 

 5,029 
 (5,029)
—
—
—
—

—
—
—

 120,051 
 95,584 
 54,537 
 7,930 
 (36,517)
 (24,066)

—
—
—

 4,908 
 6,435 
 5,824 
 (7,581)
—
 (128)

 9,458 

Measurement Date

28/02/2014
31/03/2014
31/12/2014
30/06/2015
31/12/2015
31/12/2016
31/12/2017
31/12/2018

 Range of Values

 Expiration Date

 Volatility

 Risk Free Rate

60.00%
3.5 years
75.00%
5.0 years
2.0 – 5.0 years
60.00%
1.5 – 4.5 years 35.00% – 65.00%
1.5 – 4.0 years 35.00% – 60.00%
1.5 – 5.0 years 35.00% – 80.00%
1.0 – 3.5 years 50.00% – 80.00%
0.3 – 2.5 years 45.00% – 85.00%

0.94%
1.73%
0.67% – 1.65%
0.48% – 1.53%
0.86% – 1.54%
1.03% – 1.93%
1.70% – 2.04%
2.47% – 2.60%

—

—

 217,519 

For financial instruments measured at fair value under IFRS 9 (effective 1 January 2018), the change in the value of the entire 
instrument is reflected through profit and loss. The techniques used to determine fair value of the preferred shares and 
convertible notes included the market approach, the discounted cash flow methodology and the backsolve method that 
is a form of the market approach. The market approach uses prices and other relevant information generated by market 
transactions involving identical or comparable assets or liabilities. The discounted cash flow methodology, which represents 
a Level 3 approach, relies upon unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to 
determining the fair value of certain assets or liabilities. The backsolve method is derived from the total equity that is implied 
by the current financing round in which the only truly observable value indicator is the financing round and everything else 
is implied by the current financing, the economic rights and the allocation inputs such as volatility and term for the option 
pricing-method.

Probability Weighted Expected Return Method Inputs for Embedded Derivative Liabilities under IAS 39 at 31 December 2017 
and for Preferred Stock and Convertible Notes Liabilities under IFRS 9 at 31 December 2018

Measurement Date

31/03/2014
31/12/2014
30/06/2015
31/12/2015
31/12/2016
31/12/2017
31/12/2018

Range of Values

 Time to
Anticipated
Exit Event

1.0 years
0.33 years
0.38 – 0.50 years
1.33 years
1.16 – 1.41 years
0.37 – 1.83 years
0.75 – 1.00 years

 Probability of
IPO/M&A/
Dissolution Sale

40.0%/45.0%/15.0%
70.0%/25.0%/15.0%
70.0%/30.0%/0.0%
70.0%/30.0%/0.0%
40.0%/60.0%/0.0%
50.0%/50.0%/0.0%
50.0%/50.0%/0.0%

122    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    123

Financial statementsFinancial statements 
 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements  — continued

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements  — continued

21. 

Financial Instruments — continued

21. 

Financial Instruments — continued

Sensitivity Analysis
The following summarises the sensitivity from the assumptions made by the Company in respect to the unobservable inputs 
used in the fair value measurement of the Group’s investment at fair value, Derivative liability and the value of preferred share 
liabilities, which do not qualify for bifurcation and are recorded at fair value (see note 5 and 15):

Quantitative information about the significant unobservable inputs used in the fair value measurement of the Group’s 
embedded derivative liability related to the convertible notes designated as Level 3 is as follows:

Significant Unobservable Inputs 

Time to next qualified equity financing
Implied discount rate
Probability of a qualified financing or change of control

Range of Values

 At Issuance

 2017

1.00 – 2.03 years
11.3% – 2,459.0%
0.0% – 100.0%

0.33 – 1.50 years
10.8% – 44.9%
95.0% – 100.0%

Valuation policies and procedures are regularly monitored by the Company’s finance group. Fair value measurements, 
including those categorised within Level 3, are prepared and reviewed on their issuance date and then on an annual 
basis and any third-party valuations are reviewed for reasonableness and compliance with the fair value measurements 
guidance under IFRS.

Financial Assets Held at Fair Value

resTORbio Valuation
As outlined in note 5, on 6 November 2018 PureTech lost significant influence over resTORbio as it no longer has the power 
to participate in the financial and operating policy decisions of the entity. Thus, PureTech’s investment no longer qualifies 
for equity method accounting, under IAS 28, and is now subject to IFRS 9. In accordance with IFRS 9, the Company accounts 
for this investment as a financial asset at FVTPL from the date significant influence was lost, 6 November 2018. During the 
year ended 31 December 2018, the Company recorded its investment at fair value and recognised a loss in the Consolidated 
Statements of Comprehensive Income/(Loss) on the line item Gain/(loss) on investments held at fair value of $33.0 million 
due to a drop in traded share price. As of 6 November 2018, resTORbio was trading at $11.99 per share, which subsequently 
dropped to $8.62 as of 31 December 2018.

Akili Valuation
As outlined in note 5, in May 2018 PureTech lost control over Akili resulting in the subsidiary being deconsolidated. PureTech’s 
investment in Akili was in the form of preferred shares and therefore qualified to be accounted for as a financial asset subject to 
IFRS 9. In accordance with IFRS 9, the Company accounts for this investment as a financial asset at FVTPL from the date control 
was lost. During the year ended 31 December 2018, the Company recorded its investment at fair value and recognised a gain 
of $12.7 million that was recorded to the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income/(Loss) on the line item Gain/(loss) 
on investments held at fair value. 

Option Pricing Model and Probability Weighted Expected Return Method Inputs for Investments Held at Fair Value at 
31 December 2018

PWERM (IPO Scenario) Measurement Date

31/12/2018

Range of Values

Time to Anticipated  
Exit Event

0.50 years

 Probability  
of IPO

50.0%

Input

As of 31 December

Subsidiary Enterprise Value

Volatility

Time to Liquidity

Risk-free Rate1

Input

As of 31 December

Subsidiary Enterprise Value

Volatility

Time to Liquidity

Risk-free Rate1

OPM (Long-term Exit Scenario) Measurement Date

 Expiration Date

 Volatility

 Risk Free Rate

31/12/2018

1.25 years

75.0%

2.56%

 Range of Values

1  Risk-free rate is a function of the time to liquidity input assumption.

Input

As of 31 December

Subsidiary Enterprise Value

Volatility

Time to Liquidity

Risk-free Rate1

Asset Held at Fair Value

Sensitivity Range

-2%
+2%

-10%
+10%

-6 months
+6 months

-0.07%/+0.29%
-2.56%/+0.01%

Akili Preferred 
Shares Asset 
Increase/
(Decrease)

resTORbio 
Preferred 
Shares Asset 
Increase/
(Decrease)

2018
$000s

(1,762)
1,762

282
(174)

472
(221)

472
(221)

2017
$000s

(3,100)
3,100 

(152)
152 

(243)
159 

(243)
159 

Embedded Derivative Liability

Sensitivity Range

Embedded 
Derivative 
Liability Increase/
(Decrease)

-2%
+2%

-10%
+10%

-6 months
+6 months

-0.05%/-0.23%
+0.04%/+0.07%

2017
$000s

(3,599)
3,599 

(1,852)
1,983 

4,045 
(3,941)

4,045 
(3,941)

Subsidiary Preferred Share Liability

Sensitivity Range

-2%
+2%

-10%
+10%

-6 months
+6 months

-0.12%/+0.12%
-2.49%/+-0.12%

Subsidiary 
Preferred 
Shares Liability 
Increase/
(Decrease)

2018
$000s

(3,695)
3,695

130 
(216)

13,697
(12,540)

13,697
(12,540)

124    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    125

1  Risk-free rate is a function of the time to liquidity input assumption. 

The change in fair value of both subsidiary preferred share derivatives and change in fair value of preferred shares are recorded 
in Finance cost, net in the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income/(Loss).

Financial statementsFinancial statements 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements  — continued

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements  — continued

21. 

Financial Instruments — continued

21. 

Financial Instruments — continued

Warrants
Warrants issued by the Group are classified as liabilities, as they will be settled in a variable number of shares. The following 
table summarised the changes in the Group’s subsidiary warrant liabilities measured at fair value using significant unobservable 
inputs (Level 3):

Balance at 31 December 2016
Value of derivatives at issuance
Change in fair value

Balance at 31 December 2017
Adjustment for IFRS 9 implementation
Change in fair value

Balance at 31 December 2018

Subsidiary
Warrant 
Liability
$000s

 14,942 
 — 
 (1,847)

 13,095 
 — 
 (83)

 13,012 

The change in the fair value of the subsidiary warrants was recorded in finance costs, net in the Consolidated Statements of 
Comprehensive Income/(Loss). The $13.0 million warrant liability is primarily attributable to the Gelesis warrant, which carried 
a liability balance of $12.98 million. The remaining balance is attributable to Follica warrants. 

The following weighted-average assumptions were used to determine the fair value of the Gelesis warrants at 
31 December 2018:

Assumption/Input

Expected term
Expected volatility
Risk free interest rate
Expected dividend yield
Estimated fair value of the convertible preferred stock
Exercise price of warrants 

Series A-1
Warrants

2.3 years
57.0%
2.48%
—
$14.02 
$4.44 

Series A-3
Warrants

3.5 years
68.0%
2.47%
—
$14.02 
$0.04 

Series A-4
Warrants

4.6 years
58.0%
2.50%
—
$14.02 
$0.04 

The following weighted-average assumption were used to determine the fair value of the Gelesis warrants at 31 December 2017:

Assumption/Input

Expected term
Expected volatility
Risk free interest rate
Expected dividend yield
Estimated fair value of the convertible preferred stock
Exercise price of warrants 

Series A-1
Warrants

3.3 years
91.0%
2.01%
—
$13.80
$4.44

Series A-3
Warrants

4.5 years
80.0%
2.15%
—
$13.80
$0.04

Series A-4
Warrants

5.6 years
77.0%
2.23%
—
$13.80
$0.04

The fair value of these warrant liabilities may differ significantly in the future from the carrying value as of 31 December 2018 
and 2017, and, accordingly, adjustments will be recorded in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive 
Income/(Loss) at that time.

In connection with various amendments to its 2010 Loan and Security Agreement, Follica issued preferred share warrants at 
various dates in 2013 and 2014. Each of the warrants has an exercise price of $0.1425 and a contractual term of 10 years from 
the date of issuance. The warrants issued in 2013 and 2014 were deemed to have no value at the time of their issuance. In 
2017, in conjunction with the issuance of convertible notes, the exercise price of the warrants was adjusted to $0.07 per share. 
The warrant liability has been marked-to-market at each subsequent reporting date and at 31 December 2018 and 2017 the 
warrants were deemed to have a value deemed to be immaterial and $0.2 million, respectively.

Follica issued a warrant in 2015 for 19,688 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.75 per share. The warrant is 
classified within equity and expires on 14 December 2020.

The following weighted average assumptions were used to determine the fair value of Follica’s warrants at 31 December:

Assumption/Input

Expected term
Expected volatility
Risk free interest rate
Expected dividend yield
Estimated fair value of the convertible preferred stock
Exercise price of warrants

Fair Value Measurement
The fair value of financial instruments by category at 31 December:

2018

2017

4.56 – 5.80
39.48% – 42.30%
2.49% – 2.54%
—
0.04
0.07

5.56 – 6.80
44.12% – 45.72%
2.14% – 2.20%
—
$0.13
$0.07

 Carrying Amount 

 Financial
Assets
 $000s

 Financial
Liabilities
 $000s

2018

Fair Value

 Level 1
 $000s

 Level 2
 $000s

 Level 3
 $000s

 Total
 $000s

 133,828 
 2,199 
 100 
 169,755 

 1,328 

 307,210 

—
—
—
—

—

—

 133,828 
—
—
 84,479 

—

 218,307 

—
 2,199 
 100 
—

 1,328 

 3,627 

—
—
—
 85,276 

 133,828 
 2,199 
 100 
 169,755 

—

 1,328 

 85,276 

 307,210 

—
—
—

—

 13,012 
 217,519 
 12,010 

 242,541

—
—
12,010

 13,012 
 217,519 
—

 13,012 
 217,519 
 12,010 

 12,010 

 230,531 

 242,541 

—
—
—

—

 2017

 Carrying amount

 Financial
Assets
 $000s

 Financial
Liabilities
 $000s

 Fair Value

 Level 1
 $000s

 Level 2
 $000s

 Level 3
 $000s

 Total
 $000s

 116,098 
 927 
 73 

 1,797 

 118,895 

—
—
—

—

—

 116,098 
—
—

—

 116,098 

—
—

—

—
—

—

 13,095 
 114,263 

 2,071 

 117,980 
 7,455 

 254,864 

—
—

—

—
—

—

—
 927 
 73 

 1,797 

 2,797 

—
—

—

—
—
—

—

—

 116,098 
 927 
 73 

 1,797 

 118,895 

 13,095 
 114,263 

 13,095 
 114,263 

 2,071 

 2,071 

—
 7,455 

 7,455 

 117,980 
—

 117,980 
 7,455 

 247,409 

 254,864 

Financial assets:
US treasuries
Certificates of deposit
Other deposits
Investments held at fair value
Loans and receivables:

Trade and other receivables

Total financial assets

Financial liabilities:
Subsidiary warrant liability
Subsidiary preferred shares
Subsidiary notes payable

Total financial liabilities

Financial assets:
US treasuries
Certificates of deposit
Other deposits
Loans and receivables:

Trade and other receivables

Total financial assets

Financial liabilities:
Subsidiary warrant liability
Subsidiary derivative liability
Subsidiary financial instruments 
measured at fair value
Financial liabilities measured 
at amortised cost:

Subsidiary preferred shares
Subsidiary notes payable

Total financial liabilities

126    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    127

Financial statementsFinancial statements 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements  — continued

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements  — continued

22.  Capital and Financial Risk Management

22. 

Capital and Financial Risk Management — continued

The Company’s financial strategy policy is to support its strategic priorities, maintain investor and creditor confidence and 
sustain future development of the business through an appropriate mix of debt and equity. Management monitors the level 
of capital deployed and available for deployment in subsidiary companies. The Directors seek to maintain a balance between 
the higher returns that might be possible with higher levels of deployed capital and the advantages and security afforded by 
a sound capital position.

The Group’s Directors have overall responsibility for establishment and oversight of its risk management framework. The Group 
is exposed to certain risks through its normal course of operations. The Group’s main objective in using financial instruments is 
to promote the development and commercialisation of intellectual property through the raising and investing of funds for this 
purpose. The Group’s policies in calculating the nature, amount and timing of investments are determined by planned future 
investment activity. Due to the nature of activities and with the aim to maintain the investors’ funds as secure and protected, 
the Group’s policy is to hold any excess funds in highly liquid and readily available financial instruments and maintain 
insignificant exposure to other financial risks.

The Group has exposure to the following risks arising from financial instruments:

Credit Risk
Credit risk is the risk of financial loss to the Group if a customer or counterparty to a financial instrument fails to meet its 
contractual obligations. Financial instruments that potentially subject the Group to concentrations of credit risk consist 
principally of cash and cash equivalents and trade and other receivables. The Group held the following balances:

As of 31 December

Cash and cash equivalents
Short-term investments
Investments held at fair value
Trade and other receivables

Total 

 2018
$000s

 117,051 
 133,828 
 169,755 
 1,328 

 2017
$000s

 72,649 
 116,098 
131,351
 1,797 

 421,962 

321,895

The Group invests its excess cash in US Treasury Bills, US debt obligations and money market accounts, which the Group 
believes are of high credit quality.

The Group has investments held at fair value consisting of interests in Deconsolidated Affiliates.

The Group assesses the credit quality of customers, taking into account its financial position, past experience and other factors. 
The credit quality of financial assets that are neither past due nor impaired can be assessed by reference to credit ratings (if 
available) or to historical information about counterparty default rates.

The ageing of trade and other receivables that were not impaired at 31 December is as follows:

As of 31 December

Neither past due or impaired

Total

 2018
$000s

 1,328 

 1,328 

 2017
$000s

 1,797 

 1,797 

Liquidity Risk
Liquidity risk is the risk that the Group will encounter difficulty in meeting the obligations associated with its financial liabilities 
that are settled by delivering cash or another financial asset. The Group actively manages its risk of a funds shortage by closely 
monitoring the maturity of its financial assets and liabilities and projected cash flows from operations, under both normal and 
stressed conditions, without incurring unacceptable losses or risking damage to the Group’s reputation. Due to the nature of 
these financial liabilities, the funds are available on demand to provide optimal financial flexibility.

The table below summarises the maturity profile of the Group’s financial liabilities, including subsidiary preferred shares that 
have customary liquidation preferences, as of 31 December 2018 and 2017 based on contractual undiscounted payments:

As of 31 December

Subsidiary notes payable
Trade and other payables
Warrants
Subsidiary preferred shares (note 15)

Total 

As of 31 December

Subsidiary notes payable
Trade and other payables
Warrants
Subsidiary preferred shares (note 15)
Other liabilities

Total 

2018

Carrying
Amount
$000s 

Within
Three Months
$000s

Three to
Twelve Months
$000s 

 One to
Five Years
 $000s

 12,010 
 15,875 
 13,012 
 217,519 

 12,010 
 15,875 
 13,012 
 217,519

 258,416

 258,416

—
—
—
—

—

2017

—
—
—
—

—

Carrying
Amount
$000s 

 Within
Three Months
$000s

Three to
Twelve Months
$000s 

 One to
Five Years
 $000s

 7,455 
 16,358 
 13,095 
 120,051 
 988 

 7,455 
 16,358 
 13,095 
 120,051 
 988 

 157,947 

 157,947 

—
—
—
—
—

—

—
—
—
—
—

—

 Total
 $000s

 12,010 
 15,875 
 13,012 
 217,519 

 258,416

 Total
 $000s

 7,455 
 16,358 
 13,095 
 120,051 
 988 

 157,947 

In addition to the above financial liabilities, the Group is required to spend the following minimum amounts under intellectual 
property license agreements:

Licenses 

Total 

 2018
$000s

 143 

 143 

 2019
$000s

 250 

 250 

 2020
$000s

 270 

 270 

 2021
$000s

 240 

 240 

Market Risk
Market risk is due to changes in market prices, such as foreign exchange rates, interest rates and equity prices that affect the 
Group’s income or the value of its financial instruments holdings. The objective of the Group’s market risk management is to 
manage and control market risk exposures within acceptable parameters, while optimising its return. The Group maintains the 
exposure to market risk from such financial instruments to insignificant levels. The Group’s exposure to changes in interest rates 
has been determined to be insignificant.

Foreign Exchange Risk
The Group’s grant revenues and the research and development costs associated with those grants are generated and incurred 
in Euros. The Group’s results of operations and cash flows will be subject to fluctuations due to change in foreign currency 
exchange rates. Foreign currency transaction exposure arising from external trade flows is generally not hedged.

128    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    129

Financial statementsFinancial statements 
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements  — continued

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements  — continued

22. 

Capital and Financial Risk Management — continued

24. 

Related Parties Transactions — continued

Capital Risk Management
The Group is funded by equity and debt financing. Total capital is calculated as Total Equity as shown in the Consolidated 
Statements of Financial Position.

The Group’s objectives when managing capital are to safeguard its ability to continue as a going concern in order to provide 
returns for shareholders and benefits for other stakeholders and to maintain an optimal capital structure to reduce the cost of 
capital. To maintain or adjust the capital structure, the Group may issue new shares or borrow new debt. The Group has some 
external debt and no material externally imposed capital requirements. The Group’s share capital is clearly set out in note 15.

As discussed in note 15, certain of the Group’s subsidiaries have issued preferred shares that include the right to receive 
a payment in the event of any voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding up of a subsidiary, which shall be paid 
out of the assets of the subsidiary available for distribution to shareholders and before any payment shall be made to holders 
of ordinary shares.

23.  Commitments and Contingencies

Gelesis is a party to a patent license and assignment agreement whereby it will be required to pay approximately $8.0 million 
upon the achievement of certain milestones, pay royalties on future sales and/or a percentage of sublicense income. 
Gelesis accrued $6.6 million as potential expenses under the patent license and assignment agreement for the years ended 
31 December 2018 and 2017.

Gelesis has also been awarded grants from two government agencies, which are recognised as revenue as the qualifying 
expenses are incurred. The grant agreement contains certain provisions, including, inter alia, maintaining a physical presence in 
the region for defined periods. Failure to comply with these covenants would require either a full or partial refund of the grant 
to the granting authority.

Vedanta Biosciences is party to a collaboration agreement which grants Janssen Biotech, Inc. (“JBI”), a subsidiary of Johnson 
& Johnson, the exclusive right and license to make, use, sell, import and otherwise develop or commercialise any licensed 
product during the term of the agreement. Vedanta Biosciences is party to a license agreement with the University of Tokyo 
whereby it agreed to pay 10 per cent of the license fee income generated by the JBI Agreement to the University of Tokyo. 
During 2018, there were no milestone payments made to Vedanta Biosciences related to the JBI and as a result, there were 
also no further payments to University of Tokyo. In 2017, Vedanta Biosciences was granted patents which triggered milestone 
payments totalling $4.0 million from JBI and resulted in $0.4 million in payments to the University of Tokyo. 

Other members of the Group are also parties to certain licensing agreements that require milestone payments and/or royalties 
on future sales. None of these payments have become due and the amounts of any future milestone or royalty payments 
cannot be reliably measured as of the date of the financial information.

24.  Related Parties Transactions

Key Management Personnel Compensation
Key management includes executive directors and members of the executive management team of the Group. The key 
management personnel compensation of the Group was as follows for the years ended 31 December:

As of 31 December

Short-term employee benefits
Share-based payments

Total

 2018
$000s

 3,998 
 3,062 

 7,060 

2017
$000s

 3,514 
 2,402 

 5,916 

Wages and employee benefits include salaries, health care and other non-cash benefits. Share-based payments are generally 
subject to vesting terms over future periods.

Convertible Notes Issued to Directors 
Certain members of the Group have invested in convertible notes issued by the Group’s subsidiaries. As of 31 December 2018 
and 2017, the outstanding related party notes payable totalled $ 74,000 and $69,000, respectively. Interest expense charged 
on the related party notes was $ 5,000 for the years ended 31 December 2018 and 2017. 

The notes issued to related parties bear interest rates, maturity dates, discounts and other contractual terms that are the same 
as those issued to outside investors during the same issuances, as described in note 17.

Directors’ and Senior Managers’ Shareholdings and Share Incentive Awards
The Directors and senior managers hold beneficial interests in shares in the following businesses and sourcing companies as at 
31 December 2018:

Directors

Mr Joichi Ito
Ms Daphne Zohar2
Dame Marjorie Scardino
Dr Bennett Shapiro

Dr Robert Langer

Dr Raju Kucherlapati
Dr John LaMattina4

Mr Christopher Viehbacher
Mr Stephen Muniz
Senior Managers:
Dr Eric Elenko
Dr Joep Muijrers
Dr Bharatt Chowrira
Dr Joseph Bolen

Notes:

Business Name
(Share Class)

Akili (Series A-2 Preferred)
Gelesis (Common)
— 
Akili (Series A-2 Preferred)3
Gelesis (Common)
Gelesis (Series A-1 Preferred)
Tal (Series A-2 Preferred)3
Vedanta Biosciences (Common)
Vedanta Biosciences (Series B Preferred)
Entrega (Common)
Alivio (Common)
Enlight (Class B Common)
Akili (Series A-2 Preferred) 
Gelesis (Common)4
Gelesis (Series A-1 Preferred)4
Tal (Series A-2 Preferred) 
Vedanta Biosciences (Common)
— 
— 

— 
—
—
Vor (Common)

Number of
Shares
Held as of
31 December
2018

Number of
Options
Held as of
31 December
2018

Ownership
Interest1

—
 26,627 
 765,915 
 59,443 
—
—
—
 33,088 
 10,841 
 24,010 
—
 23,419 
—
 14,451 
 25,000 
—
—
 11,202 
—
 302,500 
—  1,575,000 
—
—
 63,050 
—
—
 25,000 
—
—

 30,000 
 37,372 
 54,120 
 49,524 
 114,411 
—
—
—

—
—
—
—

—
—
—
 125,000 

0.10%
5.40%
—
0.20%
0.20%
0.20%
0.10%
0.40%
0.20%
6.20%
6.50%
3.00%
0.20%
0.80%
0.30%
1.10%
0.40%
—
—

—
—
—
0.50%

1 

2 

 Ownership interests as of 31 December 2018 are calculated on a diluted basis, including issued and outstanding shares, warrants and options 
(and written commitments to issue options) but excluding unallocated shares authorised to be issued pursuant to equity incentive plans and any 
shares of stock issuable upon conversion of outstanding convertible promissory notes.

 Common stock and options held by Yishai Zohar, who is the husband of Ms Zohar. Ms Zohar does not have any direct interest in the share capital 
of Gelesis. Ms Zohar recuses herself from any and all material decisions with regard to Gelesis.

3  Shares held through Dr Bennett Shapiro and Ms Fredericka F. Shapiro, Joint Tenants with Right of Survivorship.

4 

 Dr John and Ms Mary LaMattina hold 49,523 shares of common stock and 49,524 shares of Series A-1 preferred stock in Gelesis. Individually, 
Dr LaMattina holds 12,642 shares of Gelesis and convertible notes issued by Appeering in the aggregate principal amount of $50,000. 

Directors and senior managers hold 30,822,168 ordinary shares and 10.9 per cent voting rights of the Company as of 
31 December 2018. This amount excludes options to purchase ordinary shares and RSU awards held by the senior managers. 
This amount also excludes 925,706 shares, which are issuable pursuant to the RSU awards granted to certain senior managers 
covering the financial years 2018, 2017 and 2016. Such shares will be issued to such senior managers in 2019 provided that 
certain of the shares will be withheld for payment of customary withholding taxes.

130    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    131

Financial statementsFinancial statementsNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements  — continued

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements  — continued

25.  Taxation

Amounts recognised in Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income/(Loss):

As of 31 December

Loss for the year
Income tax expense/(benefit)

Loss before taxes

Recognised income tax expense/(benefit):

As of 31 December

Federal
Foreign
State

Total current income tax expense/(benefit)

Federal
Foreign
State

Total deferred income tax expense/(benefit)

Total income tax expense/(benefit), recognised

2018
$000s

 (70,659)
 2,221 

 (68,438)

2017
$000s

 (75,094)
 4,383 

 (70,711)

2018
$000s

 2 
—
 496 

 498 

 2,034 
—
 (311)

 1,723 

 2,221 

2017
$000s

 (123)
 358 
 (109)

 126 

 4,255 
 2 
—

 4,257 

 4,383 

The tax expense of $2.2 million and $4.4 million in 2018 and 2017, respectively, is primarily the result of the establishment of 
a deferred tax liability for unrealised gains pertaining to our investments in both resTORbio and Akili for which we would not 
have sufficient US Federal tax attributes to fully offset the liability. 

Reconciliation of Effective Tax Rate
The Group is primarily subject to taxation in the US; therefore, the reconciliation of the effective tax rate has been prepared 
using the US statutory tax rate. A reconciliation of the US statutory rate to the effective tax rate is as follows:

As of 31 December

Weighted-average statutory rate
Effects of state tax rate in US
Credits
Share-based payment measurement
Mark-to-market adjustments
Accretion on preferred shares
Deconsolidation adjustments
Mark-to-market investment in subsidiary
Federal tax change
Tax reform – foreign earnings repatriation
Income of partnerships not subject to tax
Current year losses for which no deferred tax asset is recognised
Other

2018
%

21.00
4.77
4.78
(5.01)
5.47
(0.03)
(14.16)
0.08
0.00
0.00
0.11
(19.01)
(1.25)

(3.25)

2017
%

34.00
(0.53)
3.41
(3.58)
(19.27)
(4.57)
20.36
(34.04)
(20.85)
(1.27)
0.03
19.46
0.65

(6.20)

25. 

Taxation — continued

The Group is also subject to taxation in the UK and exposed to state taxation in certain jurisdictions within the US. Changes 
in corporate tax rates can change both the current tax expense (benefit) as well as the deferred tax expense (benefit). US 
corporations are routinely subject to audit by federal and state tax authorities in the normal course of business. During 2017 
the IRS completed an audit of Gelesis for the financial year ended 31 December 2012 with no impact to the Group’s financial 
condition, results of operations or cash flows. Additionally, during 2018 the IRS completed an audit of Vedanta for the financial 
year ended 31 December 2016 with no impact to the Group’s financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

Deferred Tax Assets
Deferred tax assets have been recognised for the foreign amounts in respect of the following items:

As of 31 December

Operating tax losses
Research credits
Investment in subsidiaries
Share-based payments
Other

Deferred tax assets
Other temporary differences

Deferred tax liabilities
Deferred tax liabilities, net, recognised
Deferred tax assets, net, recognised

Deferred tax assets, net, not recognised

2018
$000s

69,170
 8,056 
 589 
 13,003 
 2,184 

93,002
(33,412)

(33,412)
6,428
 (449)

65,569

2017
$000s

 55,352 
 5,692 
 637 
 7,088 
 1,736 

 70,505 
 (31,038)

 (31,038)
 4,397
 (142)

 43,722 

The Other Temporary Differences disclosed above principally relate to the Company’s unrealized gains pertaining to our 
investments in both resTORbio and Akili at 31 December 2018 of $31.8 million and in resTORbio at 31 December 2017 of 
$30.2 million, respectively. We have recognised deferred tax assets in the US to the extent these deferred tax assets could 
be recognised to offset the unrealized gain. Our remaining deferred tax assets have not been recognised for the US amounts 
other than a refundable alternative minimum tax (“AMT”) credit because it is not probable that future taxable profit will be 
available against which the Group can use the benefits therefrom.

There was movement in deferred tax recognised in income or equity of approximately $1.7 million primarily related to the 
unrealized gains pertaining to our investments in both resTORbio and Akili for which we would not have sufficient Federal tax 
attributes to fully offset the liability.

As of 31 December 2018, the Company had US federal net operating losses carry forwards (“NOLs”) of approximately 
$238.1 million and $203.1 million for the years ended 31 December 2018 and 2017, respectively, which was available to offset 
future taxable income. These NOLs expire through 2037 with the exception of $72.1 million which is not subject to expiration. 
These NOLs are subject to review and possible adjustment by the Internal Revenue Service. The Company had US Federal 
research and development tax credits of approximately $46.7 million and $4.4 million for the years ended 31 December 2018 
and 2017, respectively, which is available to offset future taxes that expire through 2038.

Utilisation of the NOLs and research and development credit carryforwards may be subject to a substantial annual limitation 
under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 due to ownership change limitations that have occurred previously or 
that could occur in the future. These ownership changes may limit the amount of NOL and research and development credit 
carryforwards that can be utilised annually to offset future taxable income and tax, respectively. The Company has not yet 
completed an evaluation of ownership changes through 31 December 2018. To the extent an ownership change occurs in the 
future, the NOL and credit carryforwards may be subject to further limitations.

The Group considers earnings generated from its foreign subsidiary in Italy to be permanently re-invested; therefore, foreign 
withholding taxes have not been provided on undistributed earnings.

132    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    133

Financial statementsFinancial statementsNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements  — continued
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements  — continued
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements  — continued

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements  — continued

25. 

Taxation — continued

27.  Tal Merger Agreement

Uncertain Tax Positions
The changes to uncertain tax positions from 1 January 2017 through 31 December 2018 are as follows:

Gross tax liabilities as of 1 January 2017
Additions based on tax provisions related to the current year
Additions to tax positions of prior years
Reductions due to settlements with tax authorities
Reductions for positions of prior years

Gross tax liabilities as of 31 December 2017
Additions based on tax provisions related to the current year
Additions to tax positions of prior years
Reductions due to settlements with tax authorities
Reductions for positions of prior years

Gross tax liabilities as of 31 December 2018

US
$000s

 78 
—
—
—
 (78)

—
—
—
—
—

—

Foreign
$000s

 28 
—
—
—
 (13)

 15 
—
—
—
 (12)

 3 

Total
$000s

 106 
—
—
—
 (91)

 15 
—
—
—
 (12)

 3 

The balance of unrecognised tax benefits that, if recognised, would affect the annual effective income tax rate is not material.

The balance of unrecognised tax benefits that, if recognised, would affect the annual effective income tax rate is not material. 
On 22 December 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“TCJA”) was enacted. Effective 1 January 2018, the legislation significantly 
changed US tax law by lowering the federal corporate tax rate from 35.0 per cent to 21.0 per cent, modifying the foreign 
earnings deferral provisions, and imposing a one-time toll charge on deemed repatriated earnings of foreign subsidiaries as of 
31 December 2017. Effective for 2018 and forward, there are additional changes including changes to bonus depreciation, the 
deduction for executive compensation and interest expense. As of 31 December 2017, two provisions affecting the financial 
statements are the corporate tax rate reduction and the one-time toll charge. As the corporate tax rate reduction was enacted 
in 2017 and effective 1 January 2018, the Company appropriately accounted for the tax rate change in the valuation of its 
deferred taxes in 2017. The impact of this change was to reduce deferred tax assets and liabilities by $14.6 million. 

26.  Sale of assets

In February 2018, The Sync Project, Inc. (“Sync”) entered into an asset purchase agreement with Bose Corporation for the sale 
of certain assets and liabilities. The total aggregate purchase price was $4.5 million, consisting of approximately $4.0 million 
paid at closing and $0.5 million in cash deposited into escrow to be held for 12 months in order to secure the indemnification 
obligations of Sync after the closing date.

PureTech Health derecognised certain assets and liabilities based on their historical costs. The excess of the consideration 
transferred over the historical costs of the assets and liabilities resulted in a gain of approximately $4.0 million, which was 
recorded to the line item “Gain on sale of assets” on the accompanying Consolidated Statements Comprehensive Income/
(Loss) for the year ended 31 December 2018.

Additionally, as part of the derecognition, the Company and certain preferred shareholders received a cash distribution of 
approximately $3.3 million.

During the year ended 31 December 2018, Tal Medical, Inc. (“Tal”) a subsidiary of the Group entered into an option agreement 
with a third party, through which the third party was given the option to acquire substantially all of Tal’s assets. The option 
was contingent on the third party raising gross proceeds of $15 million prior to 1 January 2019 (the option expiration date). 
Upon the expiration of the option all external investors, not including PureTech, would be entitled to a distribution equal to 
the cash on hand on the date of expiration, and Tal’s operations would wind down. As of 31 December 2018, the minimum 
gross proceeds were not raised, resulting in the option expiring. As a result, the preferred shares were adjusted to the 
cash distribution the external investors were entitled to, which totalled $0.1 million, resulting in gain of $11 million being 
recognised in Finance costs – subsidiary preferred shares line of the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income/
(Loss). Tal remained in a legal capacity under the operations of PureTech. A form of merger will be executed between PureTech 
and Tal in 2019 so that PureTech becomes the sole shareholder of Tal once all assets are liquidated.

28.  Subsequent Events

The Company has evaluated subsequent events after 31 December 2018, the date of issuance of the Consolidated Financial 
Statements, and has not identified any recordable or disclosable events, not otherwise reported in these consolidated financial 
statements or notes thereto, except for the following:

On 16 April 2019, PureTech Health entered into a partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim to advance immuno-oncology product 
candidates using PureTech’s lymphatic targeting platform. Under terms of the agreement, PureTech Health will receive up to 
$26.0 million, including upfront payments, research support, and preclinical milestones, and is eligible to receive more than 
$200.0 million in development and sales milestones, in addition to royalties on product sales.

On 9 April 2019, Sonde Health, an affiliate of PureTech, completed a $16.0 million Series A round, including the issuance of 
$6.0 million in shares upon conversion of debt into equity. Proceeds will be used to expand its capability across additional 
health conditions and device types and to fund commercialisation activities.

On 1 April 2019, Karuna Therapeutics announced the expansion of its Series B financing, raising $12.0 million in additional 
funding. On 8 April 2019, Karuna further expanded its Series B financing, issuing $2.0 million in shares upon conversion of 
debt into equity.

On 15 March 2019, Karuna Therapeutics, Inc. (“Karuna,” formerly Karuna Pharmaceuticals), has completed a $68.0 million 
Series B financing round, including the issuance of $5.0 million in shares upon conversion of debt into equity. Additionally, 
Heather Preston, M.D., managing director of Pivotal bioVenture Partners, has joined the board of directors of Karuna.

On 12, February 2019, Vor Biopharma announced a $42.0 million Series A financing round. On 28 January 2019, Alivio 
Therapeutics, Inc. (“Alivio”), an affiliate of PureTech Health and Purdue Pharma LP (“Purdue”) entered into a partnership to 
advance Alivio’s product candidate ALV-107 through clinical development. Under the terms of the agreement, Alivio will 
receive up to $14.8 million in upfront and near-term license exercise payments and is eligible to receive royalties on product 
sales and over $260.0 million in research and development milestones. Purdue also has an option to collaborate on a limited 
number of additional compounds utilising Alivio’s inflammation-targeting technology, as well as an option to invest in Alivio’s 
next equity financing.

134    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    135

Financial statementsFinancial statementsPureTech Health plc Statement of Financial Position

PureTech Health plc Statements of Changes in Equity

For the years ended 31 December

For the years ended 31 December

Assets
Non-current assets
Investment in subsidiary

Total non-current assets
Current assets
Related party receivables

Total current assets

Total assets

Equity and liabilities
Equity

Share capital
Share premium
  Merger reserve

Other reserve
Accumulated deficit

Total equity

Current liabilities

Trade and other payables
Related party payables

Total current liabilities

Total equity and liabilities

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

Note

2018
$000s

2017
$000s

2

3

4
4
4
4
4

5

141,348 

141,348 

141,348 

141,348 

286,886

286,886

428,234

189,393

189,393

330,741

5,375
278,385
138,506
911
(5,227)

418,030

—
10,204

10,204

4,679
181,588
138,506
855
(4,483)

321,145

715
8,881

9,596

428,234

330,741

Shares

Amount
$000s

Share
Premium
$000s

Merger
Reserve
$000s

237,387,951

4,609

181,658

138,506

Other
Reserve
$000s

855

Accumulated
deficit
$000s

Total
equity
$000s

(3,664)

321,964

Balance 1 January 2017
 Total comprehensive loss 
for the period

Exercise of share-based awards
Net loss

41,745
—

70
—

(70)
—

— 
—

Balance 31 December 2017

237,429,696

4,679

181,588

138,506

 Total comprehensive loss 
for the period

 Issuance of placing shares
Offering costs
Exercise of share-based awards
Net loss

45,000,000
—
64,171
—

696
—
—
—

96,797
—
—
—

—
—
—
—

Balance 31 December 2018

282,493,867

5,375

278,385

138,506

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

— 
—

855

—
—
136
—

991

— 
(819)

— 
(819)

(4,483)

321,145

—
(121)
—
(623)

97,493
(121)
136
(623)

(5,227)

418,030

136    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    137

Financial statementsFinancial statements 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
PureTech Health plc Statements of Cash Flows

Notes to the Financial Statements

For the years ended 31 December

Cash flows from operating activities
Net loss
Adjustments to reconcile net operating loss to net cash used in operating activities:
Non-cash items:
Equity settled share-based payment expense
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Related party receivable
Related party payable
Accounts payable and accrued expenses

Net cash used in operating activities

Cash flows from investing activities:

Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities

Cash flows from financing activities:
Issuance of placing shares
Offering costs

Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities

Effect of exchange rates on cash and cash equivalents
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year

Cash and cash equivalents at end of year

Supplemental disclosure of non-cash investment and financing activities:
Vesting of incentive awards

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

2018
$000s

2017
$000s

(623)

(819)

136

(97,493)
1,323
(715)

(97,372)

—

97,493
(121)

97,372

— 
— 
—

—

70

—

(87)
776
130

—

—

—
—

—

— 
— 
—

—

70

1. 

Accounting policies

3. 

Related party receivables

Basis of Preparation and Measurement
The financial statements of PureTech Health plc (the “Parent”) 
have been prepared under the historical cost convention, 
in accordance with the International Financial Reporting 
Standards, International Accounting Standards, and 
Interpretations (collectively “IFRS”) issued by the International 
Accounting Standards Board (“IASB”) as adopted by the 
European Union (“adopted IFRSs”). A summary of the 
significant accounting policies that have been applied 
consistently throughout the year are set out below.

Functional and Presentation Currency
The functional currency of the Parent is United States 
(“US”) Dollars and the financial statements are presented 
in US Dollars.

Investments
Investments are stated at historic cost less any provision for 
impairment in value and are held for long-term investment 
purposes. Provisions are based upon an assessment of 
events or changes in circumstances that indicate that an 
impairment has occurred such as the performance and/or 
prospects (including the financial prospects) of the investee 
company being significantly below the expectations on which 
the investment was based, a significant adverse change 
in the markets in which the investee company operates or 
a deterioration in general market conditions.

Impairment
If there is an indication that an asset might be impaired, 
the Parent would perform an impairment review. An asset 
is impaired if the recoverable amount, being the higher 
of net realisable value and value in use, is less than its 
carrying amount. Value in use is measured based on future 
discounted cash flows attributable to the asset. In such cases, 
the carrying value of the asset is reduced to recoverable 
amount with a corresponding charge recognised in the profit 
and loss account.

Financial Instruments
Currently the Parent does not enter into derivative financial 
instruments. Financial assets and financial liabilities are 
recognised and cease to be recognised on the basis of when 
the related titles pass to or from the Parent Company.

The Parent has an accounts receivable balance from its 
operating subsidiary PureTech LLC of $286.9 million due to 
cash received from the IPO.

4. 

Share capital and reserves

PureTech plc was incorporated with the Companies House 
under the Companies Act 2006 as a public company 
on 8 May 2015.

On 12 March 2018, the Company raised approximately 
$100.0 million, before issuance costs and other expenses, 
by way of a Placing of 45,000,000 placing shares. 

On 24 June 2015, the Company authorised 227,248,008 of 
ordinary share capital at one pence apiece. These ordinary 
shares were admitted to the premium listing segment of the 
United Kingdom’s Listing Authority and traded on the Main 
Market of the London Stock Exchange for listed securities. In 
conjunction with the authorisation of the ordinary shares, the 
Parent completed an IPO on the London Stock Exchange, in 
which it issued 67,599,621 ordinary shares at a public offering 
price of 160 pence per ordinary share, in consideration for 
$159.3 million, net of issuance costs of $11.8 million.

Additionally, the IPO included an over-allotment option 
equivalent to 15 per cent of the total number of new ordinary 
shares. The stabilisation manager provided notice to exercise 
in full its over-allotment option on 2 July 2015. As a result, the 
Parent issued 10,139,943 ordinary shares at the offer price of 
160 pence per ordinary share, which resulted in net proceeds 
of $24.2 million, net of issuance costs of $0.8 million.

5. 

Trade and other payables

The Parent had a balance from its operating subsidiary 
PureTech LLC as of 31 December 2017 of $0.7 million 
related to IPO costs.

6. 

Related party payables

The Parent has a balance due to its operating subsidiary 
PureTech LLC of $8.9 million, which is related to IPO costs 
and operating expenses. However, there is no intention of its 
settlement in the foreseeable future.

2. 

Investment in subsidiary

7. 

Profit and loss account

Balance at 8 May 2015
Additions

Balance at 31 December 2018 and 2017

$000s

— 
141,348 

141,348 

PureTech consists of the Parent and its subsidiaries (together, 
the “Group”). Investment in subsidiary represents the 
Parent’s investment in PureTech LLC as a result of the reverse 
acquisition of the Group’s financial statements immediately 
prior to the Parent’s initial public offering (“IPO”) on the 
London Stock Exchange in June 2015. PureTech LLC operates 
in the US as a US-focused scientifically driven research 
and development company that conceptualises, sources, 
validates and commercialises unexpected and potentially 
disruptive approaches to advance the needs of human 
health. For a summary of the Parent’s indirect subsidiaries 
see note 1 of the Consolidated Financial Statements of 
PureTech Health plc.

As permitted by Section 408 of the Companies Act 2006, 
the Parent’s profit and loss account has not been included 
in these financial statements. The Parent’s loss for the year 
was $0.8 million.

8. 

 Directors’ remuneration, employee information 
and share-based payments

The remuneration of the Directors of the Parent Company is 
disclosed in note 24, Related Parties Transactions, on pages 
127 through 128 of the accompanying Consolidated Financial 
Statements. Full details for their remuneration can be found 
in the Directors’ Remuneration Report on pages 66 to 78. Full 
detail of the share-based payment charge and the related 
disclosures can be found in note 7, Share-based Payments, 
on pages 111 and 113 of the accompanying Consolidated 
Financial Statements.

The Parent had no employees during 2018 or 2017.

138    PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018

PureTech Health plc  Annual report and accounts 2018    139

Financial statementsFinancial statements 
 
 
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Company information

Directors, Secretary and Advisors 
to PureTech

Company Registration Number 
09582467

Registered Office 
5th Floor 
6 St. Andrew Street  
London EC4A 3AE 
United Kingdom

Website 
www.puretechhealth.com 

Board of Directors 
Mr Joichi Ito (Chairman) 
Ms Daphne Zohar (Chief Executive Officer) 
Dame Marjorie Scardino  
(Senior Independent Non-Executive Director) 
Dr Bennett Shapiro (Non-Executive Director)  
Dr Robert Langer (Non-Executive Director) 
Dr Raju Kucherlapati  
(Independent Non-Executive Director)  
Dr John LaMattina (Independent  
Non-Executive Director) 
Mr Christopher Viehbacher  
(Independent Non-Executive Director) 
Mr Stephen Muniz (Chief Operating Officer)

Company Secretary 
Stephen Muniz

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Email: info@puretechhealth.com