Everybody in the watch business knows the origin story of Only Watch.
It was created in 2005 by Luc Pettavino to raise funds for research on Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), a muscle-wasting condition that took his son’s life at the age of just 21, by auctioning one-off timepieces created specially by the biggest brands.
Since the first Only Watch auction in 2005, the bi-annual event has raised $100 million through the sale of unique watches.
A charity organization behind Only Watch, the Association Monégasque contre les Myopathies, has been given control of spending that $100 million on scientific research and medical progress to advance treatment of DMD.
There have been rumblings around the charity auction every two years, mostly concerning the way watch brands use the sale to promote their watchmaking skills.
Every brand wants to see their one-of-one watches attract stratospheric bids, and this has led to rumours that the manufacturers often buy their own watches back after driving up the bidding.
It is certainly extremely rare for watches made for Only Watch to reappear at future auctions, which fuels the rumour that they end up back with brands, never to be seen again.
These sorts of suspicious constantly swirl around auctioneers, but what is new for Only Watch this year are allegations that there is very little to show for the $100 million that has been raised by the organization, and a lack of transparency around the business of Association Monégasque contre les Myopathies (AMM), which was founded by Mr Pettavino, and who remains its chairman.
The storm has been blowing up on social media with Only Watch’s official Instagram account bombarded with questions about how the money is used.
“I’m trying to find a set of audited accounts for Only Watch/Only Project but can’t seem to find them. Can tell me where to find them?” asks one Instagrammer in the comments of an Only Watch posting.
“Where are the audited annual report of financials? There is only one reason why charities hide them and don’t disclose them. And I think we all know what that is,” adds another.
“Where does the money go? Where is the proof that Only Watch has ever helped out anyone? Fakers need to be cancelled,” a third comment suggests.
Investigating a charity based in Monaco, where Only Watch operates under the patronage of Prince Albert II, is far from simple, but WatchPro has contacted Only Watch, which has responded with a statement sent to its stakeholders this morning.
“One month separates us from the 10th edition of Only Watch, and although we are fully mobilized on the world tour of the collection of unique timepieces and the organization of our auction on November 5, we have become aware of online publications casting doubt on the financial regularity of our association,” the statement begins.
“While these accusations are serious and disconnected from the reality of our charity, they provide us with an opportunity to review the way we operate, our present and future stakes, and to provide you with additional data.”
Only Watch concedes that only half of the $100 million raised since 2005 has so far been donated.
“To date, approximately half of that amount has been spent, a large majority of it on efforts to find a drug to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients, the heart of our mission,” the statement, which is signed by Mr Pettavino says.
Only Watch says that it has financed more than 50 researchers around the world and connected more than 200 of them through roundtables and initiatives meant to create synergies and accelerate the work.
It has also created two biotech organizations to own the research. One of them, SQY Therapeutics, is currently launching a clinical trial on a muscular dystrophy drug of which the development has been entirely financed by Only Watch funds.
Mr Pettavino provides additional detail: “In November 2022, AMM-funded biotech SQY Therapeutics received authorization from ANSM and EMA (French and European sanitary authorities) (EUCT N° 2022-500703-49-01; clinicaltrials.gov NCT05753462) for a Phase 1 clinical trial for Duchenne. Named AVANCE 1, the first ‘First in Human’ clinical trial with a molecule from the tricyclo-DNA class (SQY51) in twelve patients (pediatric and adult), is underway since June 2023 at the Raymond-Poincaré AP-HP hospital in Garches,” he outlines.
“The financial resources required for current and future clinical developments are considerable, amounting to millions of euros,” Mr Pettavino adds.
An additional document has been shared with WatchPro that breaks down some of the spending including two payments to SQY Therapeutics, €4.8 million was advanced for Q1 and Q2 or 2023 and an additional €3.6 million for Q3 and Q4.
A similar amount (€7 million) was given to SQY Therapeutics last year, down from €8.7 million in 2020 and €2.5 million in 2019.
A grant of €4.2 million went to a Swiss biotech firm called Synthena in 2019, a subsidiary of SQY Therapeutics, but the funding was allocated to SQY Therapeutics from 2021.
In total, between Synthena and its parent company SQY Therapeutics, the document shared by AMM shows grants of €39.6 million between 2013 and 2023.
Download the list of projects funded by Only Watch here: List-of-projects-supported-by-the-Only-Project-2013-2023-1
SQY Therapeutics is 49% owned by AMM. The remaining 51% is owned by parents and representatives of DMD patient associations, including Mr Pettavino.
Spending of around $50 million has been described; €40 million to SQY Therapeutics, the remainder made up of smaller grants for institutions feeding research or technology into the wider program.
That leaves around $50 million accrued by Only Watch since 2005.
According to Mr Pettavino, that money is “rigorously managed to ensure that we are ready for the next steps”.
Those next steps include the next phases of the SQY51 clinical trial, development of the molecule for other exons of Duchenne muscular dystrophy as well as for other genetic diseases, and the launch of new clinical trials testing the safety and efficacy of the molecules.
If the proportion of that funding to SQY Therapeutics matches the allocation since 2005, the company can expect to receive in the region of €40 million from existing funds.
Only Watch will be hoping that this year’s auction of 76 unique watches will raise north of CHF 50 million again.
Only Watch says running costs of the charity represent around 1% of the auction result.
Mr Pettavino appears to concede that there has not been enough transparency about the activities of AMM, but says this is about to change due to a law change in Monaco, where it is based.
“Until now, Monegasque law of 2008 concerning associations and federations of associations required only that the financial statements of associations be made available to the state and the administration. A few days ago, by a sovereign ordinance dated September 14, 2023, this law changed, introducing the obligation to audit the accounts of associations with a budget in excess of €500,000,” Mr Pettavino describes.
“We have already taken the necessary steps to have our accounts audited so that they can be made public, a legitimate step in line with the maturity of this project. We have appointed Ms Bettina Ragazzoni – KPMG Monaco, as auditor,” he adds.
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