Race Oncology + Fresh: reaping the benefits of having a great shareholder experience

Race Oncology is an ASX listed precision oncology company with a Phase II/III cancer drug called Zantrene.

Zantrene is a drug that inhibits a specific protein that is linked to the progression of a range of cancers, including kidney cancer and melanoma. Race Oncology has compelling clinical data for the use of Zantrene in the treatment of leukaemia, breast cancer, and ovarian cancer. Furthermore, recent discoveries have also identified that Zantrene is able to protect the heart muscle from damage that can occur as a result of cancer treatment.

For Race Oncology and its shareholders, the commercial and healthcare possibilities that further development and trial of Zantrene could provide are exciting.

A highly-engaged shareholder base

Race Oncology recognises the importance of frequent and clear communication with its shareholders. Daniel Tillett, the Chief Scientific Officer, believes that “Without good shareholder engagement, your shareholders have good reason to start believing that you’re not acting in their best interests.”

Tillett, CEO Phil Lynch, and the Race Oncology management team therefore all accept that they have a responsibility to their shareholders to ensure that they understand the future that Race Oncology is building.

The Race Oncology management team releases regular reports, statements, and videos to shareholders across a variety of mediums, including via mail, email, social media, and forums. This multi-channel and multi-media approach to shareholder communications and engagement has resulted in a shareholder base that has a high degree of understanding and belief in the future of Race Oncology.

Race Oncology in control of their capital raise decision

In 2021, Race Oncology made the decision to raise capital in order to fund the next stages of trials for its promising anti-cancer drug, Zantrene.

To help management understand all of its options when it came to raising capital, Race Oncology used Fresh to measure and model its capital potential (i.e. a prediction of how much money they could raise via an SPP).

The model predicted that Race Oncology could reliably raise $20m via an SPP, and that model ultimately gave Race Oncology the confidence to proceed with an SPP over a placement for their capital raise.

Raising capital made easy

Race Oncology ran the SPP over the course of November and December 2021 with Fresh, and was able to successfully capture $43.9m worth of bids from 2,340 participating shareholders in a three-week period.

“The Race team has been humbled by the extraordinary show of shareholder support for our Share Purchase Plan and we sincerely thank all those who participated. The number of applications reflects enthusiasm for the significant potential of our lead drug Zantrene, and this enables us to implement our planned clinical and drug development plans across the three-pillar program. We move into 2022 in an exceptional position, with many critical, reportable milestones ahead of us.”  Phil Lynch, CEO

“Fresh gave us the means and ability to continue to work with our incredibly generous shareholder base and continue our journey of growth together. It is extremely humbling to have so many of our shareholders willing to join and support us on the exciting journey to bring Zantrene to patients in need.” Daniel Tillett, Chief Scientific Officer

‍