Bausch Health Companies Inc. Announces Second-Quarter 2018 Results

On August 7, 2018 Bausch Health Companies Inc. (NYSE/TSX: BHC) ("Bausch Health" or the "Company" or "we") reported its second-quarter 2018 financial results (Press release, Valeant, AUG 7, 2018, View Source [SID1234528518]).

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"For a second consecutive quarter, the Company delivered overall organic growth2, driven by solid results in our Salix and Bausch + Lomb/International segments, which together represented approximately 78% of our business in the quarter," said Joseph C. Papa, chairman and CEO, Bausch Health. "Growth in the Salix segment reflects higher sales of our promoted brands, most notably XIFAXAN and RELISTOR, while organic growth2 in the Bausch + Lomb/International segment was primarily due to volume increases and strong growth across Europe and China."

"Due to our strong results in the quarter, we are raising our full-year Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) guidance range, and despite significant foreign exchange headwinds, we are maintaining our full-year revenue guidance range," continued Mr. Papa.

Company Highlights

Executing on Core Businesses and Advancing Pipeline

Completed Company’s name change to Bausch Health Companies Inc.
Realigned into four reporting segments3 (Bausch + Lomb/International, Salix, Ortho Dermatologics and Diversified Products) as part of the Company’s ongoing transformation; this provides greater clarity into the performance of each of our businesses
Reported revenue in the Bausch + Lomb/International segment decreased by 1% compared to the second quarter of 2017 primarily due to divestitures and discontinuations; revenue in this segment grew organically2 by 4% compared to the second quarter of 2017, driven primarily by volume increases and strong growth in Europe and China
Successfully launched LUMIFY, which achieved a weekly market share of 21% in the Redness Reliever category4
Launched Soothe Xtra Protection Preservative Free lubricant eye drops
Launched Ocuvite Blue Light eye vitamins, a nutritional supplement that helps protect eyes from blue light emitted from digital devices
Launched PreserVision AREDS 2 Formula Chewable eye vitamins
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration accepted the New Drug Application for loteprednol etabonate ophthalmic gel, 0.38% with a PDUFA action date of Feb. 25, 2019
Grew revenue in the Salix segment by 14% compared to the second quarter of 2017
XIFAXAN revenue increased by 26% compared to the second quarter of 2017
RELISTOR franchise revenue increased by 43% compared to the second quarter of 2017
APRISO revenue increased by 3% compared to the second quarter of 2017
UCERIS franchise revenue increased by 3% compared to the second quarter of 2017
Entered into an exclusive agreement with US WorldMeds to co-promote LUCEMYRA, the first and only non-opioid medication for the mitigation of withdrawal symptoms to facilitate abrupt discontinuation of opioids in adults, and have now launched the product
Continued to stabilize the Ortho Dermatologics segment
Revenue in the Global Solta business increased by 14% compared to the second quarter of 2017
Addressing Debt and Extending Maturities

Refinanced Company’s credit facility
Extended the maturity date of the revolving credit facility to June 1, 2023
Replaced previous Term B loans with new Term B loans that have a maturity date of June 1, 2025
Modified facility covenants to provide the Company with enhanced operating flexibility
Lowered interest rates applicable to the credit facility
Issued $750 million aggregate principal amount of 8.500% unsecured Senior Notes due 2027
On June 1, 2018, a portion of the net proceeds from the new Term B loans and the 8.500% unsecured Senior Notes due 2027, along with cash on hand, were put on deposit with a trustee and subsequently used to redeem, on July 2, 2018, approximately $2 billion of unsecured Senior Notes, including all remaining unsecured Senior Notes due in 2020, and to pay related fees and expenses
Resolving Legal Issues

Achieved dismissals or other positive outcomes in resolving litigation, disputes and investigations in approximately 40 matters since Jan. 1, 2018
The Company continues to achieve positive resolutions in the Shower to Shower cases, with legal fees and costs being reimbursed by Johnson & Johnson
Second-Quarter 2018 Revenue Performance

Total reported revenues were $2.128 billion for the second quarter of 2018, as compared to $2.233 billion in the second quarter of 2017, a decrease of $105 million, or 5%. Excluding the impact of the 2017 divestitures and discontinuations of $183 million and the favorable impact of foreign exchange of $25 million, revenue grew organically2 by 3% compared to the second quarter of 2017, primarily driven by growth in the Salix segment and organic growth2 in the Bausch + Lomb/International segment. Organic revenue growth2 was partially offset by declines in the Ortho Dermatologics segment and lower volumes in the Diversified Products segment, attributed to the previously reported loss of exclusivity for a basket of products.

Bausch + Lomb/International segment revenues were $1.209 billion for the second quarter of 2018, as compared to $1.223 billion for the second quarter of 2017, a decrease of $14 million, or 1%. Excluding the impact of divestitures and discontinuations of $84 million, and the favorable impact of foreign exchange of $25 million, the Bausch + Lomb/International segment grew organically2 by approximately 4% compared to the second quarter of 2017. Organic growth2 in the quarter was primarily driven by volume increases.

Salix Segment

Salix segment revenues were $441 million for the second quarter of 2018, as compared to $387 million for the second quarter of 2017, an increase of $54 million, or 14%. Growth was largely driven by higher sales of XIFAXAN, RELISTOR and other promoted products across the segment.

Ortho Dermatologics Segment

Ortho Dermatologics segment revenues were $142 million for the second quarter of 2018, as compared to $162 million for the second quarter of 2017, a decrease of $20 million, or 12%. Compared to the second quarter of 2017, revenues in the Global Solta business grew by 14%.

Diversified Products Segment

Diversified Products segment revenues were $336 million for the second quarter of 2018, as compared to $461 million for the second quarter of 2017, a decrease of $125 million, or 27%. The decline was primarily driven by the impact of the 2017 divestitures and discontinuations of $97 million and by decreases attributed to the previously reported loss of exclusivity for a basket of products.

Operating Loss

Operating loss was $245 million for the second quarter of 2018, as compared to an operating income of $175 million for the second quarter of 2017, a decrease of $420 million. The decrease in operating results for the second quarter of 2018 primarily reflects an asset impairment associated with the loss of exclusivity of a certain product, an increase in amortization of intangible assets and a decrease in product contribution driven by the impact of divestitures and discontinuations.

Net Loss

Net loss for the three months ended June 30, 2018 was $873 million, as compared to net loss of $38 million for the same period in 2017, a decrease of $835 million. The decrease is primarily attributed to an increase in operating loss, as noted above, and an increase in the provision for income taxes of $343 million, which is primarily due to internal tax reorganizational efforts that the Company began in the fourth quarter of 2016 and completed in the third quarter of 2017.

Adjusted net income (non-GAAP) for the second quarter of 2018 was $327 million, as compared to $362 million for the second quarter of 2017, a decrease of 10%.

Operating Cash

The Company delivered $222 million in operating cash in the second quarter of 2018, as compared to $268 million in the second quarter of 2017, a decrease of $46 million. Cash flows in the second quarter of 2018 were negatively affected by approximately $70 million due to divestitures in 2017, $57 million of accelerated interest payments in connection with the refinancings in June 2018 and approximately $50 million in payments for legal settlements. In the second quarter of 2017, operating cash also included $190 million of net payments made in the resolution of the Salix securities class action litigation.

EPS

GAAP Earnings Per Share (EPS) Diluted for the second quarter of 2018 were $(2.49), as compared to $(0.11) for the second quarter of 2017.

Adjusted EBITDA(non-GAAP)

Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) was $868 million for the second quarter of 2018, as compared to $951 million for the second quarter of 2017, a decrease of $83 million. Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) in the second quarter of 2018 reflects the impact of 2017 divestitures of approximately $70 million, transactional foreign exchange and other of $51 million, the impact of the loss of exclusivity of certain products of $59 million and favorable translational foreign exchange of $10 million.

2018 Financial Outlook

Bausch Health has maintained its full-year revenue guidance range for 2018 and has raised its full-year Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) guidance range for 2018:

Full-Year Revenues in the range of $8.15 – $8.35 billion
Full-Year Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) in the range of $3.20 – $3.35 billion from $3.15 – $3.30 billion
Other than with respect to GAAP Revenues, the Company only provides guidance on a non-GAAP basis. The Company does not provide a reconciliation of forward-looking Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) to GAAP net income (loss), due to the inherent difficulty in forecasting and quantifying certain amounts that are necessary for such reconciliation. In periods where significant acquisitions or divestitures are not expected, the Company believes it might have a basis for forecasting the GAAP equivalent for certain costs, such as amortization, which would otherwise be treated as non-GAAP to calculate projected GAAP net income (loss). However, because other deductions (such as restructuring, gain or loss on extinguishment of debt and litigation and other matters) used to calculate projected net income (loss) vary dramatically based on actual events, the Company is not able to forecast on a GAAP basis with reasonable certainty all deductions needed in order to provide a GAAP calculation of projected net income (loss) at this time. The amount of these deductions may be material and, therefore, could result in projected GAAP net income (loss) being materially less than projected Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP). The guidance provided in this section represents forward-looking information, and actual results may vary materially. Please see the risks and assumptions referred to in the Forward-looking Statements section of this news release.

Additional Highlights

Bausch Health’s cash and cash equivalents were $838 million at June 30, 2018
The Company’s availability under the Revolving Credit Facility was approximately $725 million at June 30, 2018

Conference Call Details

Date: Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2018

Time: 8:00 a.m. EDT

Web cast: View Source

Participant Event Dial-in: (844) 428-3520 (North America)

(409) 767-8386 (International)

Participant Passcode: 1378128

Replay Dial-in: (855) 859-2056 (North America)

(404) 537-3406 (International)

Replay Passcode: 1378128 (replay available until Oct. 7, 2018)

Merrimack Reports Second Quarter 2018 Financial Results

On August 7, 2018 Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: MACK), a clinical-stage oncology company focused on biomarker-defined cancers, reported its second quarter 2018 financial results for the period ended June 30, 2018 (Press release, Merrimack, AUG 7, 2018, View Source [SID1234528764]).

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"A cornerstone of Merrimack’s approach to drug development is our commitment to test targeted therapies in biomarker-enriched patient populations, resulting in smaller, shorter and more personalized studies that lower development costs and accelerate the timeframe to clinically meaningful data. This quarter, we have continued to demonstrate prudent adherence to this clinical strategy," said Richard Peters, M.D., Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer. "Additionally, we are pleased to have strengthened our financial position with non-dilutive sources of capital, including an $18 million milestone announced today and the $15 million debt facility we closed in July, which we believe extend our cash runway into at least the first quarter of 2020 and position us to deliver on our corporate goals. Looking ahead, we anticipate significant progress across our pipeline, with two clinical readouts expected in the second half of 2018 from MM-121 in non-small cell lung cancer and MM-310 in solid tumors."

Key events from the second quarter and more recently include:

Receipt of $18 million milestone payment from Shire, resulting from the sale of ONIVYDE in two additional major European countries;

Closing in July of $25 million debt facility with Hercules Capital, $15 million of which was funded at closing, with eligibility for up to an additional aggregate of $10 million;

Announcement of top-line results from the CARRIE study, a randomized Phase 2 trial of MM-141 in front-line metastatic pancreatic cancer, in which MM-141 was added to standard-of-care chemotherapy treatments and evaluated in patients screened for high serum levels of the insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). As MM-141 did not demonstrate a clinical benefit in the study, Merrimack will cease all of its development activities for MM-141; and

Presentation of two posters at the 2018 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting, held June 1-5, 2018 in Chicago, IL:

Clinical data from MM-121 (seribantumab) in a poster titled, "Evaluation of fixed-dose regimens of seribantumab in patients with solid tumors," containing an analysis of pharmacokinetic and safety data comparing different dosing regimens from previous Phase 1 and Phase 2 studies of MM-121 in solid tumors. Data presented support use of the dosing regimen currently being evaluated in Merrimack’s two ongoing randomized Phase 2 studies of MM-121, SHERLOC in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and SHERBOC in HR+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer; and

A Trials-in-Progress poster for MM-310, Merrimack’s antibody-directed nanotherapeutic (ADN) targeting the EphA2 receptor, titled, "A Phase 1 study evaluating the safety, pharmacology and preliminary activity of MM-310 in patients with solid tumors."

Upcoming Clinical Milestones

Merrimack anticipates the following upcoming clinical milestones:

Top-line results in 2018 from the SHERLOC study, a randomized Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating MM-121, a fully human monoclonal antibody targeting the HER3 receptor, added to standard of care in patients with heregulin positive non-small cell lung cancer; and

Safety data and maximum tolerated dose in 2018 from the Phase 1 clinical trial of MM-310, an antibody-directed nanotherapeutic targeting the EphA2 receptor, in patients with solid tumors.

Second Quarter 2018 Financial Results

The following summarizes Merrimack’s financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2018:

Research and development expenses for the second quarter ended June 30, 2018 were $13.7 million, compared to $19.8 million for the comparable period of 2017. Research and development spending for the second quarter of 2018 was lower versus the comparable period in 2017 primarily due to Merrimack’s refocused clinical and preclinical pipeline;

General and administrative expenses for the second quarter ended June 30, 2018 were $3.5 million, compared to $14.8 million for the comparable period of 2017. General and administrative spending for the second quarter of 2018 was lower versus the comparable period in 2017 primarily due to a decrease in corporate expenses related to headcount levels following the asset sale to Ipsen;

Net loss for the second quarter ended June 30, 2018 was $17.8 million, or $1.33 per share, compared to a net loss of $28.9 million, or $2.18 per share, for the comparable period of 2017; and

As of June 30, 2018, Merrimack had 13.3 million shares of common stock, $0.01 par value per share, outstanding.

Financial Outlook

Merrimack believes that its cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $60.0 million as of June 30, 2018, in addition to $14.7 million in net borrowings from its July 2, 2018 loan and security agreement with Hercules Capital and the $18 million ONIVYDE milestone received from Shire, will be sufficient to fund its planned operations into at least the first quarter of 2020.

Merrimack remains eligible to receive additional milestone payments from Shire and Ipsen, resulting from the Company’s asset sale to Ipsen in 2017:

Merrimack is entitled to receive up to an additional $15 million in milestone payments from Shire, which are excluded from the Company’s cash runway guidance until achieved, consisting of:

$5.0 million related to the sale of ONIVYDE in the first major non-European, non-Asian country; and

$10.0 million for the first patient dosed in a pivotal clinical trial in an indication other than pancreatic cancer.

Merrimack is also entitled to receive up to an aggregate of $450 million in regulatory-based milestone payments from Ipsen, which Merrimack has said it expects to pass through to stockholders, net of any taxes owed and subject to there being sufficient surplus at that time, consisting of:

$225.0 million upon approval by the FDA of ONIVYDE for the first-line treatment of metastatic adenocarcinoma of the pancreas, subject to certain conditions;

$150.0 million upon approval by the FDA of ONIVYDE for the treatment of small cell lung cancer after failure of first-line chemotherapy; and

$75.0 million upon approval by the FDA of ONIVYDE for an additional indication unrelated to those described above.

Conference Call and Webcast

Merrimack will host a live conference call and webcast today, Tuesday, August 7, 2018 at 8:30 am ET, to provide an update on its operational progress and a summary of these financial results.

Investors and the general public are invited to listen to the call by dialing (877) 564-1301 (domestic) or (224) 357-2394 (international) five minutes prior to the start of the call and providing the passcode 6476538. A listen-only webcast of the call can be accessed in the Investors section of Merrimack’s website, investors.merrimack.com, and a replay of the call will be archived there for six weeks following the call.

Upcoming Investor Conferences

Merrimack is scheduled to present at the 2018 Baird Global Healthcare Conference on Thursday, September 6, 2018, at 8:30 am ET in New York. A live webcast of the presentation can be accessed under "Events and Presentations" in the Investors section of the Company’s website at www.merrimack.com. A replay of the webcast will be archived there for approximately 30 days following the presentation.

PRA Health Sciences, Inc. Announces Pricing of Secondary Offering of 6,500,000 Shares of Common Stock

On August 7, 2018 PRA Health Sciences, Inc. (the "Company") (NASDAQ: PRAH) reported the pricing of the previously announced secondary offering of shares of its common stock (Press release, PRA Health Sciences, AUG 7, 2018, View Source;p=RssLanding&cat=news&id=2362392 [SID1234528947]). An affiliate of, or a fund sponsored by, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (the "Selling Stockholder"), has agreed to sell an aggregate of 6,500,000 shares of the Company’s common stock in an underwritten public offering at a price of $101.50 per share. The offering is expected to close on August 9, 2018, subject to customary closing conditions.

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Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC acted as the underwriters for the offering.

The Company has filed a registration statement (including a prospectus) with the SEC for the offering to which this communication relates. Before you invest, you should read the prospectus in that registration statement, as well as the prospectus supplement related to this offering and other documents the Company has filed with the SEC for more complete information about the Company and this offering. You may obtain these documents for free by visiting EDGAR on the SEC Web site at: www.sec.gov. Alternatively, copies of the prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus relating to the offering, when available, may be obtained from:

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC
Attention: Prospectus Department
180 Varick Street, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10014

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC
Attention: Prospectus Department
200 West Street
New York, NY 10282
Telephone: 866-471-2526
Facsimile: 212-902-9316
[email protected]
This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

Contact:

PRA Health Sciences, Inc.
Christine Rogers
919-786-8463
[email protected]

Mike Bonello
Chief Financial Officer
919-786-8270
[email protected]

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that reflect, among other things, the Company’s current expectations and anticipated results of operations, all of which are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company’s actual results, performance or achievements, market trends or industry results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. For this purpose, any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may constitute forward-looking statements. Without limiting the foregoing, words such as "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "intends," "may," "plans," "projects," "should," "targets," "will" and the negative thereof and similar words and expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from the Company’s expectations due to a number of factors, including, that most of the Company’s contracts may be terminated on short notice, and that the Company may be unable to maintain large customer contracts or to enter into new contracts; the Company may underprice contracts, overrun its cost estimates or fail to receive approval or experience delays in documenting change orders; the historical indications of the relationship of backlog to revenues may not be indicative of their future relationship; if the Company is unable to achieve operating efficiencies or grow revenues faster than expenses, operating margins will be adversely affected; if the Company is unable to attract investigators and patients for its clinical trials, its clinical development business may suffer; the Company could be subject to employment liability with its embedded and functional outsourcing solutions as it places employees at the physical workplaces of its clients; the Company may be unable to recruit experienced personnel; changes in accounting standards may adversely affect the Company’s financial statements; the Company’s effective income tax rate may fluctuate which may adversely affect its operations, earnings, and earnings per share; the Company may be unable to maintain information systems or effectively update them; customer or therapeutic concentration could harm the Company’s business; the Company’s business is subject to risks associated with international operations, including economic, political and other risks, such as compliance with a myriad of laws and regulations, complications from conducting clinical trials in multiple countries simultaneously and changes in exchange rates; due to the global nature of its business, the Company may be exposed to liabilities under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other similar non-U.S. laws; the Company may be unable to successfully develop and market new services or enter new markets; the Company’s failure to perform services in accordance with contractual requirements, regulatory standards and ethical considerations may subject it to significant costs or liability, damage its reputation and cause it to lose existing business or not receive new business; government regulators or customers may limit the scope of prescription or withdraw products from the market; government regulators may impose new regulations affecting the biopharmaceutical industry and the Company’s business; the Company’s services are related to treatment of human patients, and it could face liability if a patient is harmed; the Company’s insurance may not cover all of its indemnification obligations and other liabilities; the Company is subject to a number of additional risks associated with doing business outside of the United States, including foreign currency exchange fluctuations and restrictive regulations, as well as the risks and uncertainties associated with the United Kingdom’s expected withdrawal from the European Union; if the Company does not keep pace with rapid technological changes, its services may become less competitive or obsolete; the Company’s relationships with existing or potential clients who are in competition with each other may adversely impact the degree to which other clients or potential clients use its services; the Company may be unable to successfully identify, acquire and integrate businesses, services and technologies; the Company’s balance sheet includes a significant amount of goodwill and intangible assets and its results of operations may be adversely affected if the Company fails to realize the full value of its goodwill and intangible assets; the Company’s ability to utilize its net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes may be limited; if the Company is unable to manage its growth effectively, its business could be harmed; the Company’s reliance on third parties for data, products, services and intellectual property licenses could lead to an inability to access certain data or provide certain services; the biopharmaceutical services industry is fragmented and highly competitive; biopharmaceutical industry outsourcing trends could change and adversely affect the Company’s operations and growth rate; current and proposed laws and regulations regarding the protection of personal data could result in increased risks of liability or increased cost or could limit the Company’s service offerings; patent and other intellectual property litigation could be time consuming and costly; circumstances beyond the Company’s control could cause industry-wide reduction in demand for its services; the Company has substantial indebtedness and may incur additional indebtedness in the future, which could adversely affect the Company’s financial condition; and other factors that are set forth in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February 22, 2018. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement after the date of this release, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable law.

Alteogen Gets FDA Approval for Orphan Drug Designation with an Antibody-Drug Conjugate for Gastric Cancer

On August 6, 2018 Alteogen Inc. (KOSDAQ: 196170) reported that it has successfully got an approval for orphan drug designation from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with one of its assets (ALT-P7) for gastric cancer (designation letter 18-6439) last week (Press release, Alteogen, AUG 6, 2018, View Source [SID1234528458]). ALT-P7 is an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) using a Trastuzumab variant form of antibody, and this approval would guarantee Alteogen the market exclusivity rights for seven years after FDA’s approval of ALT-P7 for gastric cancer treatment.

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The FDA designation of orphan drug is designed to support the development and approval of drugs for the treatment of rare diseases or life-threatening illnesses. Products designated as orphan drugs would be recognized for not only market exclusivity after FDA approval, but also get additional benefits, such as tax benefit of the total costs for clinical trial studies, scientific advice meetings with FDA during the development process, and waiver of marketing application user fees.

ALT-P7, a candidate ADC treatment drug for gastric and breast cancers, is an anti-cancer ADC utilizing the company’s unique "NexMabTM" platform technology, a proprietary next-generation site-specific conjugation methodology developed by the company. The related patents are registered in seven countries so far.

ALT-P7 is currently undergoing a first-in-human phase 1 clinical trial for breast cancer patients in Korea, after the investigational new drug (IND) approval last year from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) of Korea (NCT03281824). Alteogen is planning to start phase 2 clinical trial for breast cancer patients in 2019. Following the current breast cancer trial, Alteogen will extend the clinical development of ALT-P7 for gastric cancer as well, which already has proven efficacy in pre-clinical in vitro and in vivo studies.

"The orphan drug designation of ALT-P7 by the US FDA will accelerate the advancement of gastric cancer treatment in the US," said Dr. Soon Jae Park, Ph.D., CEO of Alteogen. "We believe that ALT-P7 can provide a breakthrough in the treatment of Her-2 overexpressing gastric cancer, for which there is no effective target treatment yet".

Neon Therapeutics Reports Second Quarter 2018 Financial Results and Recent Business Highlights

On August 6, 2018 Neon Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: NTGN), a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company developing neoantigen-targeted therapies, reported financial results and provided a business update for the second quarter of 2018 (Press release, Neon Therapeutics, AUG 6, 2018, View Source [SID1234528483]).

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"The first half of 2018 was transformative for Neon, highlighted by the successful completion of our initial public offering. The capital raised will enable the continued execution of our strategy to develop neoantigen-targeted therapies that have the potential to transform patient lives," said Hugh O’Dowd, President and Chief Executive Officer of Neon. "We are pleased by the continued progress across our entire product portfolio of vaccine and T-cell programs, including completion of enrollment of our first Phase 1b clinical trial for NEO-PV-01. In addition, updated data from this trial will be presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) (Free ESMO Whitepaper) Congress in October 2018."

Second Quarter Business Highlights

Neon achieved several key operational milestones during the second quarter of 2018, including the following:

· In June 2018, Neon completed its initial public offering of common stock, raising $100 million in gross proceeds.

· In May 2018, Neon announced that the first patient was dosed in NT-002, its Phase 1b clinical trial evaluating the company’s personal neoantigen vaccine, NEO-PV-01, in combination with Merck’s anti-PD-1 therapy, KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab), along with chemotherapy.

· In April 2018, Neon presented updated data from NT-001, its Phase 1b clinical trial of NEO-PV-01 in the metastatic setting, at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting.

Pipeline Overview and Upcoming Milestones

NEO-PV-01

· NT-001: Phase 1b Clinical Trial of NEO-PV-01 in the Metastatic Setting

· Updated data expected in October 2018 at ESMO (Free ESMO Whitepaper)

· 52-week data expected in the first half of 2019

· NT-002: Phase 1b Clinical Trial of NEO-PV-01 in Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

· 52-week data expected in the second half of 2019

· NT-003: Phase 1b Clinical Trial of NEO-PV-01 in Metastatic Melanoma Combinations

· Trial initiation expected in the second half of 2018

· NT-004: Phase 1b Clinical Trial of NEO-PV-01 in earlier disease setting

· Planning ongoing

NEO-PTC-01

· Phase 1 Clinical Trial in Solid Tumor Setting: Neon intends to submit a European Clinical Trial Application (CTA) for NEO-PTC-01, a personal neoantigen T-cell therapy, in the first half of 2019.

NEO-SV-01

· Phase 1 Clinical Trial in Subset of ER+ Breast Cancer: Following the completion of target validation and preclinical product development work, Neon expects to submit an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the first half of 2019.

Second Quarter 2018 Financial Results

· Cash Position: As of June 30, 2018, cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities were $138.6 million, as compared to cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $79.7 million as of December 31, 2017.

· R&D Expenses: R&D expenses were $14.8 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2018, as compared to $7.3 million for the same quarter last year. The increase of $7.5 million was due primarily to increased costs related to the advancement of NEO-PV-01, including increased external manufacturing and other external costs to support our ongoing and planned clinical trials, as well as increased personnel-related costs due to additional headcount to support the growth of our research and development organization.

· G&A Expenses: G&A expenses were $4.3 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2018, compared to $2.4 million for the same quarter last year. The increase of $1.9 million was driven by increased personnel-related costs due to additional headcount, as well as increased consulting and professional fees.

· Net Loss Attributable to Common Stockholders: Net loss attributable to common stockholders was $22.1 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2018, or $7.84 per basic and diluted share, as compared to a net loss attributable to common stockholders of $12.1 million for the same quarter last year, or $7.55 per basic and diluted share.

Financial Guidance: Based on its current operating plan, Neon expects that its cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities as of June 30, 2018, including the proceeds from its initial public offering, will enable it to fund its operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements into at least the first quarter of 2020.