On February 28, 2019 Puma Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ: PBYI), a biopharmaceutical company, reported financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2018 (Press release, Puma Biotechnology, FEB 28, 2019, View Source [SID1234533837]). Unless otherwise stated, all comparisons are for the fourth quarter and full year 2018, compared to the fourth quarter and full year 2017 .

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Product revenue, net consists entirely of sales revenue from NERLYNX, Puma’s first commercial product. Net NERLYNX revenue in the fourth quarter of 2018 was $61.1 million, compared to net NERLYNX revenue of $20.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2017. Net NERLYNX revenue for the full year 2018 was $200.5 million, compared to net NERLYNX revenue of $26.2 million in 2017. Puma received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for NERLYNX (neratinib) for the treatment of early stage HER2-positive breast cancer following adjuvant trastuzumab-based therapy on July 17, 2017, and the Company began shipment to wholesalers at the end of July 2017.

Based on accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (GAAP), Puma reported a net loss of $30.7 million, or $0.80 per share, for the fourth quarter of 2018, compared to a net loss of $64.1 million, or $1.71 per share, for the fourth quarter of 2017. Net loss for the full year 2018 was $113.6 million, or $2.99 per share, compared to $292.0 million, or $7.85 per share, for the full year 2017.

Non-GAAP adjusted net loss was $12.2 million, or $0.32 per share, for the fourth quarter of 2018, compared to non-GAAP adjusted net loss of $38.6 million, or $1.03 per share, for the fourth quarter of 2017. Non-GAAP adjusted net loss for the full year 2018 was $26.7 million, or $0.70 per share, compared to non-GAAP adjusted net loss of $183.3 million, or $4.93 per share, for the full year 2017. Non-GAAP adjusted net loss excludes stock-based compensation expense. For a reconciliation of GAAP net loss to non-GAAP adjusted net loss and GAAP net loss per share to non-GAAP adjusted net loss per share, please see the financial tables at the end of this news release.

Net cash provided by operating activities for the fourth quarter of 2018 was $7.1 million, compared to net cash used in operating activities of $35.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2017. Net cash used in operating activities for the full year 2018 was $24.1 million, compared to $172.5 million for the full year 2017. At December 31, 2018, Puma had cash and cash equivalents of $108.4 million and marketable securities of $57.0 million, compared to cash and cash equivalents of $81.7 million at December 31, 2017.

"2018 was a strong year for Puma as we continued to grow NERLYNX sales, expanded our global presence and made progress in expanding the potential indications for the drug," said Alan H. Auerbach, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Puma. "This was highlighted by the European Commission granting marketing authorization in Europe, additional licensing agreements designed to provide access to NERLYNX in China, Latin America, Israel and Canada, and announcing data from the Phase III NALA trial, Phase II CONTROL trial, and Phase II SUMMIT trials."

Mr. Auerbach added, "During 2019, we anticipate the following key milestones for Puma: (i) meeting with the FDA and the European Medicines Agency to discuss data from the Phase III trial in third-line metastatic breast cancer patients in the first half of 2019; (ii) meeting with the FDA to discuss the clinical development and regulatory strategy for the SUMMIT trial in the first half of 2019; (iii) announcing regulatory decisions on neratinib for the extended adjuvant HER2-positive early stage breast cancer indication in countries outside of the United States and Europe in the first half of 2019; (iv) presenting data from the Phase III trial in third-line HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer treatment (NALA) in the first half of 2019; (v) reporting additional data from the Phase II CONTROL trial in the first half of 2019; and (vi) reporting Phase II data from the SUMMIT basket trial of neratinib in patients with HER2 mutations in the first half of 2019."

Revenue

Total revenue consists of product revenue, net from sales of NERLYNX, Puma’s first commercial product, and license revenue. For the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2018, total revenue was $71.1 million, of which $61.1 million was net NERLYNX revenue and $10.0 million was license revenue. For the year ended December 31, 2018, total revenue was $251.0 million, of which $200.5 million was net NERLYNX revenue and $50.5 million was license revenue received from Puma’s sub-licensees. This compares to total revenue of $27.7 million in 2017, of which $26.2 million was net NERLYNX revenue and $1.5 million was license revenue.

Operating Costs and Expenses

Total operating costs and expenses were $89.7 million for the fourth quarter of 2018, compared to $85.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2017. Total operating costs and expenses were $345.7 million for the full year 2018 compared to $320.1 million for the full year 2017.

Cost of Sales:

Cost of sales was $10.3 million for the fourth quarter and $34.6 million for the full year 2018, compared to $4.1 million for the fourth quarter and $5.6 million for the full year 2017.

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses:

Selling, general and administrative expenses were $41.0 million for the fourth quarter of 2018, compared to selling, general and administrative expenses of $30.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2017. Selling, general and administrative expenses for full year 2018 were $146.2 million, compared to $106.7 million for full year 2017, an increase of approximately $39.5 million. Increases in SG&A expenses for the full year 2018 primarily related to the hiring of a sales force and the commercial launch of NERLYNX, including approximately $18.9 million in payroll and related expenses, $8.2 million in travel and meetings, $6.0 million in professional fees, such as marketing, market access and analytics, $3.7 million in stock-based compensation and $2.6 million in other expenses, such as software and facilities, to support overall corporate growth.

Research and Development Expenses:

Research and development expenses were $38.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2018, compared to $50.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2017. Research and development expenses for the full year 2018 were $164.9 million, compared to $207.8 million for the full year 2017. The decrease of $42.9 million during the full year 2018 compared to the full year 2017 resulted primarily from decreases of approximately $25.5 million in stock-based compensation, $16.8 million in clinical trial expense, $2.6 million in consultant and contractor expense, partially offset by increases of approximately $2.0 million in R&D expenses primarily related to headcount additions in the medical affairs, quality assurance, regulatory affairs and pharmacovigilance.

Total Other Income (Expenses)

Total other expenses were $12.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2018, compared to total other expenses of $0.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2017. Total other expenses were $18.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2018, compared to total other income of $0.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2017. Other expense recorded in the fourth quarter of 2018 includes $9.0 million that represents an initial estimate of potential amounts that may be owed to class action participants as a result of the February 2019 jury verdict in a class action lawsuit, Hsu vs. Puma Biotechnology, Inc., et al.. The total amount of aggregate class-wide damages is uncertain and will be ascertained only after an extensive claims process and the exhaustion of any appeals. It is possible that the total damages will be higher than this estimate.

Conference Call

Puma will host a conference call to report its fourth quarter and full year 2018 financial results and provide an update on the Company’s business and outlook at 1:30 p.m. PST/4:30 p.m. EST on Thursday, February 28, 2019. The call may be accessed by dialing 1-877-709-8150 (domestic) or 1-201-689-8354 (international) at least 10 minutes prior to the start of the call and referencing the "Puma Biotechnology Conference Call." A live webcast of the conference call and presentation slides may be accessed on the Investors section of the Puma Biotechnology website at View Source A replay of the call will be available approximately one hour after completion of the call and will be archived on the Company’s website for 90 days.

On February 28, 2019 Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: HALO), a biotechnology company developing novel oncology and drug-delivery therapies, reported that Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Herceptin Hylecta, a subcutaneous fixed-dose combination of trastuzumab and hyaluronidase-oysk (Press release, Halozyme, FEB 28, 2019, View Source [SID1234533861]). Herceptin Hylecta is approved for the treatment of certain people with HER2-positive early breast cancer (node-positive, or node-negative and ER/PR-negative or with one high-risk feature) in combination with chemotherapy and HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer in combination with paclitaxel or alone in people who have received one or more chemotherapy regimens for metastatic disease. Herceptin Hylecta is a co-formulation of trastuzumab with Halozyme’s proprietary recombinant human hyaluronidase enzyme (ENHANZE technology). Herceptin Hylecta is a ready-to-use formulation that can be administered in two to five minutes, compared to 30 to 90 minutes for intravenous trastuzumab.

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"We are delighted that Herceptin Hylecta has been approved in the U.S. and that the potential for two- to five-minute administration time will now be available to patients in most of the major developed markets," said Dr. Helen Torley, president and chief executive officer. "Herceptin Hylecta is the third product co-formulated with ENHANZE to receive FDA approval, which represents an important achievement."

About ENHANZE Technology
Halozyme’s proprietary ENHANZE drug-delivery technology is based on its patented recombinant human hyaluronidase enzyme (rHuPH20). rHuPH20 has been shown to remove traditional limitations on the volume of biologics that can be delivered subcutaneously (just under the skin). By using rHuPH20, some biologics and compounds that are administered intravenously may instead be delivered subcutaneously. ENHANZE may also benefit subcutaneous biologics by reducing the need for multiple injections. This delivery has been shown in studies to reduce health care practitioner time required for administration and shorten time for drug administration.

On February 28, 2019 argenx (Euronext & Nasdaq: ARGX), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a deep pipeline of differentiated antibody-based therapies for the treatment of severe autoimmune diseases and cancer, reported its fourth quarter business update and full year results for 2018 (Press release, argenx, FEB 28, 2019, View Source [SID1234533796]).

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The full year results will be discussed during a conference call and webcast presentation today at 3 pm CET/9 am EST. To participate in the conference call, please select your phone number below and use the confirmation code 9795988. The webcast may be accessed on the homepage of the argenx website at www.argenx.com or by clicking here.

"By translating fundamental immunology breakthroughs into novel product candidates, we have built a robust pipeline of differentiated antibodies with the potential to truly impact patients’ lives," commented Tim Van Hauwermeiren, CEO of argenx. "We made great progress in 2018 with our wholly owned lead asset efgartigimod, advancing development across four severe autoimmune indications, in both intravenous and subcutaneous formulations. We signed a transformational global collaboration and license agreement with Janssen to develop cusatuzumab in AML while retaining key commercial rights to the product in the U.S. We also announced that AbbVie exercised its option to in-license ARGX-115 targeting GARP.

"Based on our deep and diversified product candidate portfolio, a solid cash position and an ambitious business plan we are facing an abundance of opportunity ahead in 2019. We will continue to build out our novel pipeline through our Innovative Access Program and our commercial capabilities as we drive enrollment of the Phase 3 ADAPT trial of efgartigimod in gMG and plan for the start of a second Phase 3 trial in ITP."

FOURTH QUARTER 2018 AND RECENT HIGHLIGHTS

argenx continues to build a deep pipeline of differentiated antibody-based product candidates, including wholly-owned efgartigimod for the treatment of severe autoimmune diseases and cusatuzumab for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and high-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) in collaboration with Janssen. Through its Innovative Access Program, argenx grows its proprietary and partnered pipeline by leveraging its antibody expertise to match fundamental biology breakthroughs at leading research institutions.

Efgartigimod (ARGX-113) Program

· Full Phase 2 immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) trial data presented during American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) Annual Meeting

o Correlation between IgG antibody reduction, platelet count increase and reduction of bleeding events following efgartigimod treatment.

o Increasing separation between treatment arms and placebo at increasing response thresholds observed, with response rates of 46% and 67% in primary trial and first dosing cycle of open-label extension trial, respectively.

o Primary endpoint analysis revealed efgartigimod to be well-tolerated in all patients consistent with tolerability analysis from Phase 1 healthy volunteer study.

· Orphan drug designation granted in February 2019 by U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use for primary ITP.

o argenx additionally received orphan drug designation for efgartigimod in generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG) from FDA and the European Medicines Agency, which was announced, respectively, in September 2017 and March 2018.

· By mid-2019, argenx expects to close its ongoing open-label extension study as part of the completed Phase 2 proof-of-concept trial in ITP in anticipation of the start of a more chronic dosing regimen in its Phase 3 trial.

Cusatuzumab (ARGX-110) Program

· Updated Phase 1/2 AML trial data in combination with azacitidine presented during ASH (Free ASH Whitepaper) Annual Meeting.

o Overall response rate (ORR) of 92% in 12 newly diagnosed AML patients unfit for intensive chemotherapy, including 10 patients (91%) with a complete remission with or without hematologic recovery (CR/CRi) and 1 patient (9%) with partial remission (PR).

o Five patients (42%) achieved minimal residual disease (MRD) negativity. Translational data demonstrated that cusatuzumab monotherapy and in combination with azacitidine significantly reduced leukemic stem cells in the bone marrow of AML patients.

o Well-tolerated with no exacerbation of azacitidine toxicity.

· Orphan drug designation granted by FDA in January 2019 for use of cusatuzumab for AML.

Collaborations

· Entered global collaboration and license agreement with Halozyme for ENHANZE technology (February 2019).

· Gained access to ENHANZE subcutaneous delivery technology for up to three targets, including exclusive rights to develop therapeutic products targeting human neonatal Fc receptor FcRn.

· Upfront payment of $30 million paid to Halozyme with potential future payments up to $160 million per selected target subject to achievement of specified development, regulatory and sales-based milestones.

· Entered exclusive global collaboration and license agreement with Janssen for cusatuzumab

· Deal totaling up to $1.6 billion, plus royalties ranging from the low double digits to the high teens, to develop cusatuzumab in AML, MDS and other hematological malignancies.

Received $300 million upfront cash payment, and Johnson & Johnson Innovation made equity investment of €176.7 million ($200.0 million based on exchange rate on date of signing) in argenx, representing 4.68% of then-outstanding share capital.

· argenx retains right to co-promote cusatuzumab in the U.S. and share such royalties with Janssen on a 50-50 basis.

Corporate Updates

· Awarded €2.6 million grant from Flanders Innovation and Entrepreneurship (VLAIO) agency to explore new applications and modes of action of proprietary ABDEG technology, the Fc engineering technology used in the design of efgartigimod to augment clearance of disease-causing autoantibodies.

· Selected for BEL 20 Index on Euronext Brussels and awarded ‘Best BEL 20 Company’ for 2018.

· Intellectual property portfolio (which includes both owned and in-licensed patent rights) now includes 105 granted and 106 pending patents, covering lead assets and core technologies.

· Company expanded to 132 employees and consultants in support of growing business needs.

OUTLOOK 2019

In 2019, argenx expects to execute on its business plan towards the below milestones:

· Continue enrollment of efgartigimod in ongoing Phase 3 ADAPT and ADAPT+ trials in gMG

· Launch Phase 3 clinical trial with efgartigimod in ITP in second half of 2019

· Launch Phase 2 clinical trial with subcutaneous formulation of efgartigimod in ITP in first half of 2019

· Launch cohort 3 of Phase 2 proof-of-concept trial of efgartigimod in pemphigus vulgaris in first half of 2019

· Launch Phase 2 clinical trial with efgartigimod in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy before end of 2019

· Launch Phase 1 clinical trial with subcutaneous ENHANZE formulation of efgartigimod in healthy volunteers

· Host R&D day (May 22, 2019) to present new pipeline programs ARGX-117 and ARGX-118

Details of the Financial Results

Cash, cash equivalents and current financial assets totaled €564.6 million as of December 31, 2018, compared to €359.8 million on December 31, 2017. The increase in the year-end cash balance on December 31, 2018 resulted primarily from €240.9 million of net proceeds received from the follow-on public offering of American Depositary Shares on the Nasdaq Global Select Market in September 2018.

Operating income decreased by €12.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2018 to €29.2 million, compared to €41.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2017. The decrease in 2018 was primarily related to a €11.5 million decrease in the recognition of upfront payments.

Research and development expenses totaled €83.6 million and €51.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively. The increase in 2018 resulted primarily from higher external research and development expenses and personnel expenses, reflecting higher clinical trials costs and manufacturing expenses related to the development of the argenx product candidate portfolio and the recruitment of additional employees to support its research and development activities. argenx employed 75 employees in its research and development functions on December 31, 2018, compared to 58 employees on December 31, 2017.

Selling, general and administrative expenses totaled €27.5 million and €12.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively. The increase of €15.1 million in selling, general and administrative expenses for the year ended December 31, 2018 primarily resulted from higher personnel expenses and consulting fees related to the preparation for potential future commercialization of lead product candidate efgartigimod. On December 31, 2018, argenx employed 30 employees in its selling, general and administrative functions, compared to 15 employees on December 31, 2017.

For the year ended December 31, 2018, financial income amounted to €3.7 million compared to €1.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2017. The increase of €2.4 million in 2018 related primarily to an increase in the interest received on cash, cash equivalents and current financial assets.

Exchange gains totaled €12.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2018 compared to the €5.8 million exchange losses incurred for the year ended December 31, 2017. The increase was mainly attributable to unrealized exchange rate gains on the cash and current financial assets position in U.S. dollars due to the favorable fluctuation of the EUR/USD exchange rate in 2018.

The total comprehensive loss for the year ended December 31, 2018 was €66.6 million, compared to €28.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2017.

U.S. SEC and statutory financial reporting

argenx’s primary accounting standard for quarterly earnings releases and annual reports is International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). Quarterly summarized statements of profit and loss based on IFRS as issued by the IASB are available on www.argenx.com.

In addition to reporting financial figures in accordance with IFRS as issued by the IASB, argenx also reports financial figures in accordance with IFRS as adopted by the European Union (EU) for statutory purposes. The consolidated statement of financial position, the consolidated statements of profit and loss, the consolidated statements of cashflow, and the consolidated statement of changes in equity are not affected by any differences between IFRS as issued by the IASB and IFRS as adopted by the EU.

The consolidated statement of profit and loss data of argenx SE as of December 31, 2018 presented in this press release is unaudited.

Annual Report 2018

argenx expects to publish its 2018 Annual Report based on IFRS as issued by the IASB and its 2018 Annual Report for statutory purposes based on IFRS as adopted by the EU on March 26, 2019. These Annual Reports will be available on www.argenx.com.

EXPECTED 2019 FINANCIAL CALENDAR

· May 7, 2019: Annual General Meeting

· May 9, 2019: Q1 2019 business update and financial results

· August 1, 2019: HY 2019 business update and financial results

· October 24, 2019: Q3 2019 business update and financial results

Dial-in numbers:

Please dial in 5–10 minutes prior to 3 p.m. CET/ 9 a.m. ET using the number and conference ID below.

Confirmation Code: 9795988

Belgium

+32 (0)2 400 9874

Belgium

0800 48740

France

+33 (0)1 767 00794

France

0805 103028

Netherlands

+31 (0)20 714 3545

Netherlands

0800 0249557

United Kingdom

+44 (0)844 571 8892

United Kingdom

0800 376 7922

United States

+1 (631) 510 7495

United States

+1 (866) 966 1396

A question and answer session will follow the presentation of the results. Go to www.argenx.com to access the live audio webcast. The archived webcast will also be available (90 days) for replay shortly after the close of the call from the "Downloads" section of the argenx website.

on February 28, 2019 Intrexon Corporation (NASDAQ: XON), a leader in the engineering and industrialization of biology to improve the quality of life and health of the planet, reported its fourth quarter and full year financial results for 2018 (Press release, Intrexon, FEB 28, 2019, View Source [SID1234533838]).

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Recent Business Highlights:

Precigen, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Intrexon, announced the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared the Investigational New Drug (IND) application for PRGN-3006, an investigational drug for patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and higher risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). PRGN-3006 is an autologous chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapeutic candidate utilizing Precigen’s transformative UltraCAR-T platform, which reduces manufacturing time to within two days following non-viral gene transfer;

Precigen announced the FDA cleared the IND application for PRGN-3005 UltraCAR-T, an investigational drug using CAR-T cells to treat advanced-stage platinum-resistant ovarian cancer patients and the first UltraCAR-T candidate targeting solid tumors to enter the clinic;

Following the previously reported reacquisition of oncology rights from Ziopharm in October 2018, Precigen and Intrexon entered into an agreement with Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, a leading science and technology company, and its wholly owned subsidiary Ares Trading, pursuant to which Intrexon assumed rights from Ares Trading under the existing agreement among Precigen, Ares Trading and Ziopharm relating to the development of CAR-T therapies. In addition to receiving 20,640,119 shares of Intrexon common stock, the agreement also included a further $25 million investment in the Company. In return, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, received a $25 million convertible note, providing the option to receive either Precigen or Intrexon common stock;

Xogenex, a majority owned subsidiary of Intrexon, has completed an evaluation of three advanced heart failure patients who were administered INXN-4001, an investigational, non-viral, plasmid-based gene drug candidate designed to drive expression of three cardiac effector genes involved in heart failure, in a Phase 1 clinical trial. The data reflected the patients’ status six-months after being given the INXN-4001 and appears to indicate that the drug material and the delivery process were both well tolerated by the patients. Preliminary review of the data suggests improvements in several cardiac performance parameters;

Intrexon’s methane bioconversion platform is being employed to produce 2,3 BDO from natural gas and has achieved 80% of the goal for the first small-scale plant operations;

Detailed engineering design for Intrexon’s first-of-a-kind small-scale methane bioconversion facility to 2,3 BDO is currently being bid out, discussions with partners for sites are ongoing. The overall schedule is still consistent as the sites under consideration are brownfield which require less engineering time than the original greenfield concept;

Exemplar Genetics, a wholly owned subsidiary of Intrexon, announced the launch of a joint venture with the Mayo Clinic, which is focused on the development of a high-quality source of human liver cells or hepatocytes (HHCs);

Trans Ova Genetics, a wholly owned subsidiary of Intrexon, continues to expand and improve its herd genetics with two Jersey heifers ranking 2nd and 9th in the world and 15 bulls that rank at the top of the global Holstein bull population;

EnviroFlight, Intrexon’s joint venture with Darling Ingredients Inc., opened the very first commercial Black Soldier Fly (BSFL) facility, in Maysville, Kentucky in November 2018. The production plant has the ability to produce 900 tonnes/year of dried BSFL, and orders for product from the new facility account for one-third of the anticipated annual output;

Okanagan Specialty Fruits, a wholly owned subsidiary of Intrexon, harvested more than 2,100 bins of Arctic apples in their 2018 harvest, which are available at select retailers as fresh sliced apples and ApBitz dehydrated apple snacks, and is planning to plant up to 1,000,000 trees in the spring of 2019;

Intrexon entered into a strategic licensing agreement with Next Green Wave Holdings Inc. to utilize Intrexon’s Botticelli next generation plant propagation platform to enable rapid production of Next Green Wave’s proprietary cannabis cultivars for the California market;

Oxitec, Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Intrexon, announced that it will be transitioning from its 1st generation self-limiting Friendly Aedes aegypti mosquito (OX513A) to a new Friendly Aedes mosquito (OX5034) that uses Oxitec’s 2nd generation technology, allowing the company to focus on advancing its entire mosquito and crop pest portfolios using this next-generation platform; and

Oxitec has secured two multi-year development agreements with a partner to develop solutions for pest problems beyond the mosquito, which have the potential for application in key markets globally.

Fourth Quarter 2018 Financial Highlights:

Total revenues of $43.2 million, a decrease of 44% from the fourth quarter of 2017;

Net loss of $340.5 million attributable to Intrexon, or $(2.59) per basic share, including non-cash charges of $311.0 million;

Adjusted EBITDA of $(27.2) million, or $(0.21) per basic share; and

Cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments totaled $222.5 million and the value of common equity securities totaled $2.2 million at December 31, 2018.

Full Year 2018 Financial Highlights:

Total revenues of $160.6 million, a decrease of 31% from the full year ended December 31, 2017;

Net loss of $509.3 million attributable to Intrexon, or $(3.93) per basic share, including non-cash charges of $420.0 million; and

Adjusted EBITDA of $(102.5) million, or $(0.79) per basic share.

"With several of the most ambitious stated objectives at the time of our IPO now achieved, most notably with our work in UltraCAR-T and in natural gas upgrading, our team is more energized than ever to establish its tangible value in the world," commented Randal J. Kirk, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Intrexon. "We expect to achieve this initially through independent equitization and/or monetization events at Precigen and from our Methane Bioconversion Platform, while other business units of our company may also find higher values independently of our company."

Mr. Kirk concluded, "It has always been our purpose to be an enabler of enterprise that is built on engineered biology and not to create an industrial conglomerate. In this we have succeeded greatly so we look forward to seeing some of our bold enterprises making their marks in the world. We are confident in our prospects to achieve this and that we have adequate cash resources to fuel us to these realizations."

Fourth Quarter 2018 Financial Results Compared to Prior Year Period

Total revenues decreased $33.8 million, or 44%, from the quarter ended December 31, 2017. Collaboration and licensing revenues decreased $30.9 million from the quarter ended December 31, 2017 due to (i) the mutual termination in 2017 of the Company’s second exclusive channel collaboration (ECC) with Ziopharm for the treatment of graft-versus-host disease, (ii) a decrease in research and development services for certain of the Company’s ECCs as the Company redeployed certain resources towards supporting prospective new platforms and partnering opportunities and began to focus more on the further development of relationships and structures that will provide the Company with more control and ownership over the development process and commercialization path, including programs where the Company reacquired the previously licensed technology rights in 2018, and (iii) a decrease in research and development services performed by the Company for collaborators upon the transition of program execution to its collaborators. Product revenues decreased $2.8 million or 36% primarily due to lower milk prices which resulted in lower customer demand for cows and cloned products. Gross margin on products declined in the current period as a result of decreased sales. Gross margin on services improved in the current period as a result of pricing changes and an increase in the number of embryos produced per bovine in vitro fertilization cycle due to improved production results.

Research and development expenses increased $242.0 million, or 628%, and include $228.0 million of expenses related to in-process research and development reacquired from former collaborators. Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses decreased $7.9 million, or 24%. This decrease was primarily due to lower compensation expenses due to adjustments to previously accrued compensation expenses for performance and retention incentives for SG&A employees in 2018. The Company recorded an impairment charge of $60.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2018 due to a change in the Company’s business strategy for commercializing the Oxitec technology targeting the Aedes aegypti mosquito.

Full Year 2018 Financial Results Compared to Prior Year Period

Total revenues decreased $70.4 million, or 31%, from the year ended December 31, 2017. Collaboration and licensing revenues decreased $68.7 million from the year ended December 31, 2017 primarily due to (i) the mutual termination in 2017 of the Company’s second ECC with Ziopharm for the treatment of graft-versus-host disease, (ii) a decrease in research and development services for certain of the Company’s ECCs as the Company redeployed certain resources towards supporting prospective new platforms and partnering opportunities and began to focus more on the further development of relationships and structures that provide the Company with more control and ownership over the development process and commercialization path, including programs where the Company reacquired the previously licensed technology rights in 2018, and (iii) a decrease in research and development services performed by the Company for collaborators upon the transition of program execution to its collaborators. Product revenues decreased $5.1 million or 15% primarily due to lower milk prices which in turn resulted in lower customer demand for live calves, cows previously used in production, and cloned products. Gross margin on products declined in the current period as a result of lower product sales and increased operating costs associated with new product offerings and cloned products. The increase in service revenues of $1.8 million, or 4%, as well as the gross margin thereon relates to pricing changes and an increase in the number of embryos produced per bovine in vitro fertilization cycle due to improved production results.

Research and development expenses increased $261.4 million, or 183%, and include $236.7 million of expenses related to in-process research and development reacquired from former collaborators. SG&A expenses decreased $8.3 million, or 6%, from the prior period. Legal and professional fees decreased $7.5 million primarily due to (i) decreased legal fees associated with ongoing litigation and (ii) decreased fees incurred for regulatory and other consultants. The Company recorded an impairment charge of $60.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2018 due to a change in the Company’s business strategy for commercializing the Oxitec technology targeting the Aedes aegypti mosquito.

Total other income (expense), net, decreased $41.5 million, or 185%. This decrease was primarily attributable to losses on the Company’s investment in Ziopharm preferred stock prior to returning this investment to Ziopharm in the fourth quarter of 2018, as well as an increase in interest expense related to the 3.5% convertible notes issued by the Company in the third quarter of 2018.

Based on Intrexon’s financial position, including its cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $224 million at December 31, 2018, in connection with issuing its financial statements Intrexon expects to include a conclusion in its Form 10-K that there is substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern.

Conference Call and Webcast

The Company will host a conference call today Thursday, February 28th, at 5:30 PM ET to discuss the fourth quarter and full year 2018 financial 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 4443860 to join the Intrexon Corporation Call. Participants may also access the live webcast through Intrexon’s website in the Investors section at View Source

On February 28, 2019 Flow Pharma Inc., a San Francisco Bay Area biotechnology company focused on personalized vaccine development, reported that it has selected BGI Americas Inc. to provide the sequencing services required for all FlowVax neoantigen-based personalized therapeutic cancer vaccines under development by Flow Pharma (Press release, Flow Pharma, FEB 28, 2019, View Source [SID1234554003]).

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The first two Flow Pharma products under development are FlowVax HPV for the treatment of cervical cancer and FlowVax BreastCA for the treatment of breast cancer. FlowVax Breast CA will be a personalized therapeutic vaccine requiring patient-specific gene sequencing.

"The exciting new area of personalized therapeutic cancer vaccines requires rapid, accurate genomic and transcriptomic sequencing. BGI Americas is unique in providing next generation sequencing services using its own unique DNBseq sequencing technology based on combinatorial probe-anchor synthesis (cPAS), linear isothermal rolling-circle replication and DNA nanoball (DNB) technology," said Victor Zhang, Ph.D., CEO of BGI Americas. "BGI has a strong track record supporting the therapeutic and biomarker development of top biopharma and biotech companies. Our DNBseq technology has been validated by leading academic centers and industry users and will deliver strong value in our collaboration with Flow Pharma."

"In order to make a personalized therapeutic cancer vaccine, you have to know the genomic information of the patient’s tumor as well as that of the patient. Speed and accuracy are both critical. Once we have these gene sequences, we can use AI-augmented bioinformatics tools to quickly identify tumor targets for T-cell attack and then rapidly load these targets into a FlowVax vaccine customized for that particular patient." Said Lu Wang, Ph.D., Flow Pharma bioinformatics team leader

"We have spent a decade developing the FlowVax vaccine platform. FlowVax is optimized to simultaneously deliver multiple unmodified peptide targets for killer T-cell attack. Each of the chemical components used in the FlowVax platform are currently part of an FDA approved vaccine or pharmaceutical, simplifying our regulatory pathway," said Charles Herst, Ph.D., Flow Pharma chief science officer. "Personalized FlowVax therapeutic vaccines can be manufactured quickly and efficiently, keeping the cost down and getting the therapy in the hands of treating physicians soon after the diagnosis is made, for maximum efficacy."

"We believe that BGI’s DNBseq NGS platform is the best in class for the rigorous requirements of personalized therapeutic cancer vaccine development. The fact that BGI Americas provides professional and competitive genomic sequencing services along with experience and knowledge in supporting drug development, allows us to become a full-stack company in the space without the time and expense required to bring gene sequencing technology in-house," said Reid Rubsamen, M.D., CEO of Flow Pharma.