On March 2, 2020 Precigen, Inc. (Nasdaq: PGEN), a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of innovative gene and cell therapies to improve the lives of patients, reported its fourth quarter financial results for 2019 (Press release, Intrexon, MAR 2, 2020, View Source [SID1234555062]).
Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:
Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing
Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!
Recent Business Highlights:
The Company announced the appointment of Helen Sabzevari, PhD as President and CEO of Precigen and Randal J. Kirk as Executive Chairman effective as of January 1, 2020. The Company also changed its name to Precigen, Inc. from Intrexon Corporation and its Nasdaq stock symbol to PGEN from XON effective February 1, 2020;
The Company closed sales of a number of its assets for an aggregate of $65.2 million and sold $35 million of its common stock in January 2020, thereby alleviating the going concern qualification associated with its 2019 consolidated financial statements as well as further streamlining corporate focus;
The Company sold its ownership stake in AquaBounty Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: AQB) in October 2019 for proceeds of $21.6 million;
Precigen announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted orphan drug designation (ODD) to PRGN-3006, a first-in-class investigational therapy using Precigen’s non-viral UltraCAR-T therapeutic platform for patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and higher risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) (clinical trial identifier: NCT03927261);
Precigen ActoBio, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Precigen, collaboration partner Oragenics, Inc. (NYSE American: OGEN) completed enrollment in the Phase 2 trial of AG013, an easy to use oral rinsing system designed to prevent and treat oral mucositis; and
Triple-Gene LLC, a majority-owned subsidiary of Precigen, completed the Phase 1 trial enrollment and reported preliminary data of its investigational multigenic gene therapy INXN-4001 for the treatment of heart failure.
Fourth Quarter 2019 Financial Highlights:
Total revenues from continuing operations of $17.0 million;
Net loss of $169.2 million attributable to Precigen, or $(1.09) per basic share, of which $95.7 million was from discontinued operations and an additional $33.8 million was for non-cash charges related to continuing operations; and
Cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments for continuing operations totaled $75.1 million at December 31, 2019.
Full Year 2019 Financial Highlights:
Total revenues from continuing operations of $90.7 million;
Net loss of $322.3 million attributable to Precigen, or $(2.09) per basic share, of which $116.2 million was from discontinued operations and an additional $70.4 million was for non-cash charges related to continuing operations.
"I am confident that we will make important advances this year in our mission to improve patient care through innovative gene and cell therapies," said Dr. Sabzevari. "We enter 2020 with cash resources that we believe are sufficient for us to deliver on several value-creating milestones during the year across our clinical pipeline. At the same time, we are laser-focused on aligning our portfolio, streamlining operations and maximizing organizational structures to improve operational efficiency going forward."
Fourth Quarter 2019 Financial Results Compared to Prior Year Period
Total revenues decreased $24.2 million from the quarter ended December 31, 2018. Collaboration and licensing revenues decreased $24.6 million, or 103%, from the quarter ended December 31, 2018 primarily due to the reacquisition of rights previously licensed to some of Precigen’s collaborators in the second half of 2018 and the result of which eliminated or substantially reduced revenues previously generated from those collaborations. Additionally, collaboration and licensing revenues from collaborations with other collaborators decreased due to lower demand for research and development services in the current year period.
Research and development expenses decreased $252.2 million, or 92%. The 2018 amounts include a $228.0 million expense related to in-process research and development reacquired from former collaborators. Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses increased $6.3 million, or 28% which was primarily attributable to increased compensation expenses related to performance and retention incentives for SG&A employees, partially offset by (i) decreased share-based compensation expense which arose primarily from the departure of former employees during the first half of the current year; and (ii) fewer legal fees associated with the Company’s Trans Ova subsidiary. The Company also recorded a $29.6 million goodwill impairment charge in the fourth quarter of 2019 related to its Trans Ova subsidiary.
Full Year 2019 Financial Results Compared to Prior Year Period
Total revenues decreased $60.5 million from the year ended December 31, 2018. Collaboration and licensing revenues decreased $55.5 million, or 80%, from the year ended December 31, 2018 primarily due to the reacquisition of rights previously licensed to some of Precigen’s collaborators in the second half of 2018 and the result of which eliminated or substantially reduced revenues previously generated from those collaborations. Additionally, in 2018, the Company recognized additional revenues from the acceleration of previously deferred revenue upon mutual termination of certain collaborations. Product revenues decreased $4.7 million, or 17%, primarily due to lower customer demand in the beef and dairy industries resulting in fewer sales of pregnant cows and calf products. Gross margin on products also declined in the current period as a result of fewer products sold.
Research and development expenses decreased $264.4 million, or 72%. The 2018 amounts include $236.7 million of expenses related to in-process research and development reacquired from former collaborators. SG&A expenses decreased $24.9 million, or 20%. SG&A salaries, benefits, and other personnel costs decreased $14.9 million primarily due to decreased share-based compensation expense as a result of the reversal of previously recognized expense for unvested options granted to former employees as well as the conclusion of the vesting period for other previously granted stock options. Legal and professional fees decreased $6.1 million primarily due to fewer legal fees associated with the Company’s Trans Ova subsidiary. The Company also recorded a $29.6 million goodwill impairment charge in the fourth quarter of 2019 related to its Trans Ova subsidiary.
Conference Call and Webcast
Precigen will host a conference call today Monday March 2nd at 5:30 PM ET to discuss the results and provide a general business update. The conference call may be accessed by dialing 1-888-317-6003 (Domestic US), 1-866-284-3684 (Canada), and 1-412-317-6061 (International) and providing the number 4230814 to join the Precigen Conference Call. Participants may also access the live webcast through Precigen’s website in the Events section at View Source
Precigen: Advancing Medicine with Precision
Precigen (Nasdaq: PGEN) is a dedicated discovery and clinical stage biopharmaceutical company advancing the next generation of gene and cell therapies using precision technology to target urgent and intractable diseases in our core therapeutic areas of immuno-oncology, autoimmune disorders, and infectious diseases. Our technologies enable us to find innovative solutions for affordable biotherapeutics in a controlled manner. Precigen operates as an innovation engine progressing a preclinical and clinical pipeline of well-differentiated unique therapies toward clinical proof-of-concept and commercialization. For more information about Precigen, visit www.precigen.com or follow us on Twitter @Precigen and LinkedIn.
Trademarks
Precigen, UltraCAR-T, and Advancing Medicine with Precision are trademarks of Precigen and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.