On August 3, 2022 Morphic Therapeutic (Nasdaq: MORF), a biopharmaceutical company developing a new generation of oral integrin therapies for the treatment of serious chronic diseases, reported corporate highlights and financial results for the second quarter of 2022 (Press release, Morphic Therapeutic, AUG 3, 2022, View Source [SID1234617384]).

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Second Quarter 2022 and Recent Corporate Highlights

Continued enrollment of EMERALD-1 (MORF-057-201) phase 2a study
EMERALD-1, an open-label multi-center study of MORF-057 enrolling up to 35 patients with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis (UC), who will receive 100 mg BID (twice daily), continues to progress as planned
EMERALD-2 (MORF-057-202), a global phase 2b double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial of MORF-057, is now expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2022 and top line results are expected in the first half of 2025
Announced several key leadership appointments and promotions
Appointed Joanne Gibbons as Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs
Ms. Gibbons has nearly 25 years of experience in Regulatory Affairs and Clinical Development, both in the development of novel drugs and the expansion of marketed products
Named Dr. Bruce Rogers as President of Morphic Therapeutic
Dr. Rogers previously served as Morphic’s Chief Scientific Officer from 2016
Dr. Rogers has over 25 years of biopharmaceutical experience, including 18 years of experience in roles of increasing responsibility at Pfizer
Named Dr. Blaise Lippa as Chief Scientific Officer of Morphic
Dr. Lippa previously served as Morphic’s Senior Vice President of Molecular Discovery and was part of the founding team at Morphic
Dr. Lippa has over 20 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, including time at Pfizer and Cubist, prior to its acquisition by Merck
Advanced the Company’s research and development collaboration with Janssen, focused on an antibody activator of a high potential integrin target
Concluded the Company’s research and development collaboration efforts with AbbVie
Morphic successfully delivered on the terms of the AVB6 collaboration and Morphic and AbbVie are in the process of drafting a joint publication for the AVB6 program
"Morphic is confidently climbing through a vital period in our development as the EMERALD clinical trials of MORF-057 in UC move forward flat out," commented Praveen Tipirneni, MD, Chief Executive Officer of Morphic Therapeutic. "The EMERALD-1 phase 2a study is progressing according to plan and our esprit de corps continues to strengthen through several senior appointments. Most notably, we announced the promotion of two key longstanding and high performing executives, Bruce Rogers and Blaise Lippa, and the addition of our new SVP of Regulatory Affairs, Joanne Gibbons. With the additional capital raised in the second quarter and refined operating plans, we have bolstered our financial position and extended our cash-runway into 2025, well after the primary endpoint readout of the EMERALD-2 phase 2b study."

Financial Results for the Second Quarter 2022

Net income for the quarter ended June 30, 2022 was $26.8 million or $0.68 per share compared to a net loss of $27.8 million or $0.77 per share for the same quarter last year
Revenue was $60.2 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2022, compared to $3.8 million for the same quarter last year. The increase was primarily due to the forthcoming conclusion of the collaboration with AbbVie which resulted in $57.7 million recognition of collaboration revenue in the quarter ended June 30, 2022
Research and development expenses were $25.7 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2022, as compared to $24.6 million for the same quarter last year. The increase was primarily attributable to higher clinical and development costs along with higher pre-clinical and phase 2 clinical trial costs to support our lead product candidate MORF-057
General and administrative expenses were $8.2 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2022, compared to $7.1 million for the same quarter last year. The increase was due to increased non-cash stock-based compensation expense and higher payroll costs
As of June 30, 2022, Morphic had cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $397.6 million, compared to $380.7 million as of March 31, 2022. We have updated our current operating plan with the receipt of $39.2 million in net proceeds raised under our ATM; the focusing and reduction in the scope of our partnered programs; a proactive pipeline prioritization and the implementation of increased operational efficiencies. Morphic believes its cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities as of June 30, 2022, will be sufficient to fund operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements into the second half of 2025.