On November 8, 2017 Lipocine Inc. (NASDAQ: LPCN), a specialty pharmaceutical company, reported financial results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017 (Press release, Lipocine, NOV 8, 2017, View Source [SID1234521742]).

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

Third Quarter and Recent Corporate Highlights

· Resubmitted a New Drug Application ("NDA") for TLANDO, Lipocine’s oral testosterone product candidate for testosterone replacement therapy ("TRT") in adult males for conditions associated with a deficiency of endogenous testosterone, also known as hypogonadism.
o The U.S. Food & Drug Administration ("FDA") acknowledged receipt of the Company’s NDA resubmission for TLANDO, and assigned a new Prescription Drug User Fee Act ("PDUFA") action goal date of February 8, 2018.
o The FDA scheduled a Bone, Reproductive and Urologic Drugs Advisory Committee ("BRUDAC") meeting on January 10, 2018 to discuss the NDA for TLANDO.
o The NDA includes the efficacy results of a dosing validation ("DV") study, which confirmed the validity of a fixed dose approach to orally administer TLANDO without the need for dose titration, as well as an integrated safety set ("ISS") from all previously conducted clinical trials, including 52-week safety results from the Phase 3 Study of Androgen Replacement ("SOAR") clinical study.

"We accomplished all of our goals for the third quarter, culminating in the resubmission and acceptance of the NDA for TLANDO by the FDA," said Dr. Mahesh Patel, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Lipocine. "TLANDO has the potential to be the first oral TRT option for patients and, if approved, will address a large and growing unmet medical need. We are preparing our presentation package for BRUDAC and look forward to discussing our NDA with the Advisory Committee in January 2018."

Third Quarter Ended September 30, 2017 Financial Results

Lipocine reported a net loss of $4.7 million, or ($0.22) per diluted share, for the third quarter ended September 30, 2017, compared with a net loss of $3.2 million, or ($0.18) per diluted share, in the third quarter ended September 30, 2016.

Research and development expenses were $2.0 million in the third quarter ended September 30, 2017, compared with $1.5 million in the third quarter ended September 30, 2016. The increase in research and development expenses was primarily due to an increase in contract research organization costs associated with the DV and Dosing Flexibility ("DF") clinical studies and an increase in contract manufacturing costs for LPCN 1107, offset by a decrease in travel and other allocated overhead costs.

General and administrative expenses were $2.7 million in the third quarter ended September 30, 2017, compared with $1.4 million in the third quarter ended September 30, 2016. The increase in was primarily due to an increase in market research and pre-commercialization activities related to TLANDO and an increase in personnel costs including accelerated vesting of stock options and restricted stock units related to a terminated employee.

As of September 30, 2017, the Company had $25.7 million of cash, cash equivalents and marketable investment securities compared to $26.8 million at December 31, 2016.

Nine Months Ended September 30, 2017 Financial Results

Lipocine reported a net loss of $15.7 million, or ($0.80) per diluted share, for the nine months ended September 30, 2017, compared with a net loss of $16.0 million, or ($0.88) per diluted share, in the nine-month period ended September 30, 2016.

Research and development expenses were $9.2 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2017, compared with $6.7 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2016. The increase in the nine months ended September 30, 2017 was primarily due to an increase in contract research organization costs related to the DV and DV clinical studies offset by a decrease in technical batch manufacturing costs for TLANDO, decreased personnel costs, decreased outside services costs and reduced travel and other allocated overhead costs.

General and administrative expenses were $6.6 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2017, compared with $9.0 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2016. The decrease in general and administrative expenses during the nine months ended September 30, 2017 was primarily due to a decrease in business development, market research and pre-commercialization activities related to TLANDO, a decrease in legal fees related to patent litigation, and a decrease in personnel costs.