On November 6, 2018 BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:BCRX) reported financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2018 (Press release, BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, NOV 6, 2018, View Source [SID1234530828]).
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"With enrollment in APeX-2 complete, and the successful results from ZENITH-1, we are excited with the momentum that is building towards meeting the urgent demand of HAE patients for an oral therapy option to prevent and treat their attacks," said Jon Stonehouse, president and chief executive officer of BioCryst.
"We have many significant milestones lined up over the next several months and we are focused on delivering high quality APeX-2 data in the second quarter of 2019, filing our New Drug Application (NDA) for BCX7353 in the fourth quarter of 2019 and advancing at least one additional pipeline program into the clinic in the first half of the year," Stonehouse added.
Upcoming Key Milestones:
Complete the 250 mg and 500 mg dose cohorts of the ZENITH-1 clinical trial for acute treatment of hereditary angioedema (HAE) attacks with BCX7353 (Q1 2019)
Meet with U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Medicines Agency (EMA) for input on the design of a Phase 3 clinical trial of BCX7353 for acute treatment of HAE attacks, and commence the Phase 3 trial (Summer 2019)
Report results from the APeX-2 clinical trial (Q2 2019)
Advance at least one preclinical program into the clinic and begin the Phase 1 clinical trial (1H 2019)
File NDA for BCX7353 for prevention of HAE attacks with FDA (Q4 2019)
Third Quarter 2018 Financial Results
For the three months ended September 30, 2018, total revenues were $1.5 million, compared to $8.8 million in the third quarter of 2017. The decrease was primarily associated with two infrequent 2017 events that did not recur in 2018. A $5.0 million milestone payment associated with the FDA approval of a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for RAPIVAB (peramivir injection), extending its availability for the treatment of acute uncomplicated influenza to pediatric patients two years and older, and the recognition of $1.5 million of peramivir product sales to the company’s commercial partner, Green Cross Corporation.
Research and development (R&D) expenses for the third quarter of 2018 increased to $22.0 million from $17.5 million in the third quarter of 2017, primarily due to increased spending on the company’s HAE and preclinical programs.
General and administrative (G&A) expenses for the third quarter of 2018 increased to $7.9 million, compared to $3.3 million in the third quarter of 2017. The increase was primarily due to merger-related costs associated with the company’s terminated merger with Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Idera).
Interest expense was $2.3 million in the third quarter of 2018, compared to $2.1 million in the third quarter of 2017.
Net loss for the third quarter of 2018 was $29.6 million, or $0.28 per share, compared to a net loss of $15.1 million, or $0.18 per share, for the third quarter 2017.
Cash, cash equivalents and investments totaled $151.0 million at September 30, 2018, and reflect a decrease from $159.0 million at December 31, 2017. Cash and investments reflect the proceeds from a July 2018 enhancement to our credit facility and an August 2018 public equity offering, offset by normal operating expenses and merger related costs incurred in the nine-month period. Net operating cash use for the third quarter 2018 was $29.4 million, and for the first nine months of 2018 was $70.7 million.
Year to Date 2018 Financial Results
For the nine months ended September 30, 2018, total revenues were $17.9 million, compared to $21.3 million in the first nine months of 2017. The decrease in revenue was primarily associated with infrequent revenue events that occurred in 2017 that did not recur in 2018, as well as a decrease of revenue from galidesivir development under U.S. Government contracts. Those 2017 events were the recognition of $4.1 million of royalty revenue from Japanese government stockpiling of RAPIACTA and the recognition of $1.5 million of peramivir product sales to the company’s commercial partner, Green Cross Corporation. In the nine-month periods, there was a $5.0 million milestone and $7.0 million of deferred revenue both associated with the EMA’s approval of peramivir (ALPIVAB) recognized in the second quarter of 2018, and two infrequent events that occurred in the third quarter of 2017, as discussed in the third quarter commentary above.
R&D expenses in the first nine months of 2018 increased to $61.5 million from $50.0 million in the first nine months of 2017, primarily due to increased spending on our HAE and preclinical programs. These increases were partially offset by a decrease in the company’s peramivir and galidesivir development spending in 2018.
G&A expenses for the first nine months of 2018 increased to $25.0 million, compared to $9.2 million in the first nine months of 2017. The increase was primarily due to approximately $11 million of merger-related costs associated with the company’s terminated merger with Idera and a $4.9 million reserve for collectability of the EMA approval milestone of peramivir.
Interest expense was $6.8 million in the first nine months of 2018, compared to $6.3 million in the first nine months of 2017.
Net loss for the first nine months of 2018 was $73.8 million, or $0.73 per share, compared to a net loss of $46.2 million, or $0.58 per share, for the first nine months of 2017.
Third Quarter 2018 Corporate Developments
On September 17, 2018, BioCryst announced that the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, had awarded BioCryst an additional $3.5 million to support clinical trials of galidesivir in patients with yellow fever.
On September 6, 2018, BioCryst announced that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had awarded BioCryst a $34.7 million contract for the procurement of up to 50,000 doses of BioCryst’s approved antiviral influenza therapy, RAPIVAB (peramivir injection) over a five-year period.
On September 4, 2018, BioCryst announced initial results from the ZENITH-1 trial showing that a single 750 mg oral dose of BCX7353 was well tolerated and superior to placebo (p<0.05) against the majority of efficacy endpoints evaluated in HAE patients suffering an acute attack.
On August 6, 2018, BioCryst announced it has received Fast Track Designation by the FDA for BCX7353 for the prevention of angioedema attacks in patients with hereditary angioedema.
On August 6, 2018, BioCryst announced the full exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares and the completion of its public offering resulting in the sale of 10,454,546 shares of its common stock at a price of $5.50 per share. The net proceeds from this offering were approximately $53.4 million, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other estimated offering expenses.
On July 25, 2018, BioCryst announced that results from the Phase 2, APeX-1 trial of BCX7353 for the prevention of attacks in patients with HAE were published in the July 26th issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.
On July 20, 2018, BioCryst entered into a $30 million secured loan facility with MidCap Financial Trust as administrative agent and lender (MidCap), pursuant to the terms and conditions of that certain Amended and Restated Credit and Security Agreement. The Credit Agreement replaces the Credit and Security Agreement dated as of September 23, 2016.
On July 10, 2018, BioCryst announced that it had terminated the previously announced merger agreement with Idera following the company’s stockholders’ failure to approve the adoption of the merger agreement. Pursuant to the merger agreement, the company reimbursed Idera $6 million in July 2018.
Financial Outlook for 2018
Based upon development plans, merger-related incurred costs from the terminated merger agreement with Idera and awarded government contracts, BioCryst continues to expect its previously issued 2018 financial outlook to be appropriate, with net operating cash use to be in the range of $85 to $105 million, and its 2018 operating expenses to be in the range of $90 to $110 million. The company’s operating expense range excludes equity-based compensation expense due to the difficulty in reliably projecting this expense, as it is impacted by the volatility and price of the company’s stock, as well as by the vesting of the company’s outstanding performance-based stock options.
Conference Call and Webcast
BioCryst management will host a conference call and webcast at 8:30 a.m. ET today to discuss the financial results and provide a corporate update. The live call may be accessed by dialing 877-303-8027 for domestic callers and 760-536-5165 for international callers and using conference ID #9090479. A live webcast of the call and slides will be available online at the investors section of the company website at www.biocryst.com. Please connect to the website at least 15 minutes prior to the start of the conference call to ensure adequate time for any software download that may be necessary. A telephone replay of the call will be available by dialing 855-859-2056 for domestic callers or 404-537-3406 for international callers and entering the conference ID # 9090479.
About BCX7353
Discovered by BioCryst, BCX7353 is a novel, oral, once-daily, selective inhibitor of plasma kallikrein currently in development for the prevention and treatment of angioedema attacks in patients diagnosed with HAE. BCX7353 was generally safe and well tolerated in the Phase 2 APeX-1 clinical trial. BioCryst is currently conducting the Phase 3 APeX-2 clinical trial and the long-term safety APeX-S clinical trial, both evaluating two dosage strengths of BCX7353 administered orally once-daily as a preventive treatment to reduce the frequency of attacks in patients with HAE. BioCryst is also conducting the ZENITH-1 clinical trial. ZENITH-1 is a proof-of-concept Phase 2 clinical trial testing an oral liquid formulation of BCX7353 for the treatment of acute angioedema attacks.