On November 7, 2016 Ignyta, Inc. (Nasdaq: RXDX), a biotechnology company focused on precision medicine in oncology, reported company highlights and financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2016 (Press release, Ignyta, NOV 7, 2016, View Source [SID1234516390]).
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"During the third quarter, we advanced our lead program, entrectinib, with continued successful execution of STARTRK-2, our global pivotal Phase 2 clinical trial now open at more than 100 sites in 12 countries," said Jonathan Lim, M.D., Chairman and CEO of Ignyta. "This global clinical footprint helps ensure that entrectinib, a novel, orally available, CNS-penetrant tyrosine kinase inhibitor targeting tumors that harbor TRK, ROS1, or ALK fusions, is made available to patients for clinical development on a worldwide basis. Further, by expanding our collaboration with the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer, or EORTC, we hope to identify additional patients across Europe who may be eligible for STARTRK-2."
Ignyta will not be conducting a conference call in conjunction with this release, but will summarize company highlights for the third quarter as part of its presentation at the Credit Suisse 25th Annual Healthcare Conference on Tuesday, November 8, 2016, at 10:30 a.m. Mountain time (9:30 a.m. Pacific time) in Scottsdale, AZ. A webcast of the presentation will be available during the presentation in the Investors section of the company’s website at View Source, and will be archived and available at that site for 14 days.
Company Highlights
Announced Approval of an IDE for Trailblaze Pharos
In August 2016, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved an investigational device exemption (IDE) for the company’s RNA-based companion diagnostic, next-generation sequencing (NGS) assay known as Trailblaze Pharos. The Trailblaze Pharos assay is intended for use in identifying patients, including those who are treatment-naïve, who have solid tumors with NTRK1/2/3, ROS1, or ALK gene rearrangements leading to fusion proteins, to determine eligibility for enrollment into the global STARTRK-2 trial.
Expanded Collaborative Agreement with EORTC
In September 2016, we expanded our collaborative agreement with EORTC. Under this collaboration, Ignyta will serve as a diagnostic laboratory performing fusion testing for EORTC’s SPECTA (Screening Patients for Efficient Clinical Trial Access) initiative, which may help us identify patients with a variety of tumor histologies across Europe who could potentially be enrolled in our STARTRK-2 clinical trial.
Third Quarter 2016 Financial Results
For the third quarter of 2016, net loss was $23.3 million, or $0.56 per share, compared with $14.6 million, or $0.49 per share, for the third quarter of 2015.
Ignyta did not record any revenue for the three months ended September 30, 2016, or for the three months ended September 30, 2015.
Research and development expenses for the third quarter of 2016 were $16.6 million, compared with $10.4 million for the third quarter of 2015. This increase was primarily due to the $4.3 million increase in the external development costs associated with entrectinib, taladegib and other product candidates, coupled with personnel expenses related to hiring and engaging additional employees and consultants to help advance the company’s product candidates.
General and administrative expenses were $6.1 million for third quarter of 2016, compared with $3.9 million for third quarter of 2015. This increase was driven by higher personnel and share-based compensation costs, higher facilities-related expenses resulting from the increase of our leased facilities space, and increases in consulting fees and depreciation expense.
At September 30, 2016, the company had cash, cash equivalents and available-for-sale securities totaling $152.5 million and current and long-term debt of $32.0 million. At December 31, 2015, the company had cash, cash equivalents and available-for-sale securities totaling $172.1 million and current and long-term debt of $31.0 million.