On May 2, 2019 Apollo Endosurgery, Inc. ("Apollo") (Nasdaq: APEN), a global leader in less invasive medical devices for gastrointestinal and bariatric procedures, reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2019 (Press release, Lpath, MAY 2, 2019, View Source [SID1234535539]).

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First Quarter 2019 Highlights
•Endo-bariatric sales, representing our core business moving forward, increased 5% from $10.3 million to $10.8 million, with ESS sales increasing 13% and IGB sales declining 5%
•On a constant currency basis, endo-bariatric sales increased 9% with ESS sales increasing 17% and IGB sales equal to the prior year
•U.S. ESS sales increased 20% year-over-year in the quarter
Todd Newton, CEO of Apollo, commented, "We were pleased with our ESS product sales growth this quarter. We are also pleased with our Sx launch progress to date. The activity and resulting new account pipeline is encouraging to us that Sx will roll out very well as the year progresses. Similarly, we think our IGB product is positioned well for a return to growth."
First Quarter 2019 Results
U.S. Endo-bariatric sales increased 9% to $4.5 million, while outside the U.S. ("OUS") Endo-bariatric sales of $6.4 million increased 3% as reported and 10% in constant currency. Worldwide, total Endo-bariatric sales of $10.8 million increased 5% as reported and 9% constant currency. Of our Endo-bariatric product sales in the first quarter, 60% related to our Endoscopic Suturing System ("ESS" or "OverStitch") and 40% related to our Intragastric Balloon ("IGB" or "Orbera").
U.S. ESS product sales increased 20% to $3.0 million, while OUS ESS product sales of $3.5 million increased 7% as reported and 14% in constant currency. Worldwide ESS sales of $6.5 million grew 13% as reported and 17% constant currency. Growth was due to continuing new user adoption and greater product utilization in existing accounts.
U.S. IGB product sales decreased $0.2 million, or 9%, to $1.5 million in the first quarter of 2019. OUS IGB product sales were unchanged at $2.9 million, on an as reported basis, and increased 5% in constant currency as higher sales of Orbera365 were partially offset by weaker six-month balloon sales in other OUS markets. On a worldwide basis, IGB sales of $4.3 million declined 5% as reported and were flat in constant currency terms.
The divestiture of our Surgical products in December of 2018 affects the comparability of our total revenues in the first quarter of 2019 versus 2018. Total revenues in the first quarter of 2019 only include Surgical product sales in certain OUS markets where we continue to temporarily distribute these products. Total revenues in the first quarter of 2019 were $13.2 million, which included $1.7 million of Surgical product sales, compared to $15.7 million in the first quarter of 2018, which included $5.2 million of Surgical product sales, for a decrease of 16% or $2.5 million.
Gross margin for the first quarter 2019 was 55%, compared to 58% for the first quarter 2018 due to lower Surgical product sales following their divestiture and a greater proportion of our overall product sales coming from our ESS products, which realize a lower gross margin than our other products. Partially offsetting the gross margin effects of these changes in our product sales mix were the gross margin improvement projects we completed in late 2018.
Total operating expenses decreased $7.0 million to $9.8 million in the first quarter 2019, compared to the first quarter 2018. The decrease was primarily due to a one-time non-cash settlement gain of $5.6 million resulting from the resolution of a dispute regarding amounts charged for inventory purchases and transition services through 2016 following our December 2013 acquisition of the obesity intervention division of Allergan, Inc. Excluding this gain, total operating expenses decreased $1.4 million due largely to lower amortization expense resulting from the reduction in our intangible assets after the recent divestiture of our Surgical products.

Net loss for the first quarter 2019 was $2.8 million compared to $8.1 million for the first quarter 2018. The reduction in net loss was primarily due to the one-time settlement gain. Excluding this one-time gain, net loss would have been $8.4 million, an increase of $0.3 million due largely to lower Surgical product sales following our December 2018 divestiture, partially offset by the reduced amortization expense mentioned previously.

Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash were $31.0 million as of March 31, 2019.
Conference Call
Apollo will host a conference call on May 2, 2019 at 3:30 p.m. Central Time / 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time to discuss Apollo’s operating results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2019.
To participate in the conference call dial (866) 393-4306 for domestic callers and (734) 385-2616 for international callers. The conference ID number is 7094276. A live webcast of the conference call will be made available on the "Events and Presentations" section of our Investor Relations website: www.ir.apolloendo.com.
A replay of the webcast will be made available on Apollo’s website, www.apolloendo.com following the event.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
To supplement our financial results we are providing a non-GAAP financial measure, percentage revenue change in constant currency, which removes the impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates that affect the comparability and trend of revenues. Percentage revenue change in constant currency is calculated by translating current foreign currency sales at last year’s exchange rate. This supplemental measure of our performance is not required by, and is not determined in accordance with GAAP.
We believe the non-GAAP financial measure included herein is helpful in understanding our current financial performance. We use this supplemental non-GAAP financial measure internally to understand, manage and evaluate our business, and make operating decisions. We believe that making non-GAAP financial information available to investors, in addition to GAAP financial information, may facilitate more consistent comparisons between the company’s performance over time with the performance of other companies in the medical device industry, which may use similar financial measures to supplement their GAAP financial information. However, our non-GAAP financial measure is not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the comparable GAAP metric.

On May 2, 2019 PTC Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: PTCT) reported a corporate update and reported financial results for the first quarter ending March 31, 2019 (Press release, PTC Therapeutics, MAY 2, 2019, View Source [SID1234535538]).

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"We believe we are making great strides towards our vision of having many more treatments for patients of rare disorders," said Stuart Peltz, Ph.D., CEO of PTC Therapeutics. "The approval of Translarna expands our footprint in Brazil. We are now preparing for the launches for multiple products, including Tegsedi for hATTR and Waylivra for FCS in Latin America. These differentiated therapies for rare disorders have the potential to be part of growing our revenue base to $1.5 billion by 2023."

Key First Quarter and Other Corporate Highlights:

Expanding commercial platform

Translarna received approval from the Brazilian health regulatory authority (ANVISA) which will allow for expanded market access.

Waylivra received a positive CHMP opinion from the European medical authorities in the first quarter 2019 and will be referred to the European Commission for consideration. After ratification by the European Commission, PTC plans to initiate early access programs in Latin America in 2019.

Tegsedi application submitted to the Brazilian health regulatory authority (ANVISA) was granted priority review, with expected approval by year end 2019. PTC has initiated early access programs for Tegsedi to support patient diagnosis and monitoring in Latin America.

PTC has submitted a sNDA with the FDA for Emflaza for patients 2 to 5 years old and received an approval action date of July 4, 2019.

Advancing gene therapy portfolio

As previously disclosed, PTC plans to submit a BLA with the FDA in late 2019 followed by an MAA in Europe for the AADC deficiency gene therapy program with anticipated commercial launch in the United States in 2020.

Friedreich ataxia program is advancing with an expected IND submission in late 2019 and subsequent entry in the clinic.

PTC is in the process of finalizing a long-term lease on an existing biologics manufacturing facility for the gene therapy pipeline.

Risdiplam SMA data expected at American Academy of Neurology (AAN)

As previously disclosed, based on regulatory interactions an NDA and MAA is planned for the second half of this year with the intention to support a broad label to treat SMA Types 1, 2, & 3 patients.

The SMA program is a collaboration between PTC, Roche and SMA Foundation.

Net sales over $1B would be subject to mid-teens royalties to PTC from Roche, resulting in potential royalties to PTC in excess of $200M per year. Potential remaining regulatory and sales-based milestones are approximately $400M.

Growing pipeline and R&D capabilities

As previously disclosed, PTC’s splicing platform has generated another development candidate, PTC258, for Familial dysautonomia, a rare genetic neurological disorder causing life-threatening medical complications from birth. PTC258 is advancing through IND-enabling studies to enter the clinic in late 2019. This program is in collaboration with MGH and NYU

Translarna’s dystrophin study in currently enrolling for potential U.S. regulatory re-submission for accelerated approval in 2020.

PTC’s oncology portfolio continues to advance with studies in AML with PTC299 and DIPG & LMS for PTC596. PTC expects these studies to fully enroll by the end of 2019.

PTC Re-iterates Full Year 2019 Guidance:

PTC anticipates full year DMD franchise net product revenues to be between $285 and $305 million.

PTC anticipates GAAP R&D and SG&A expense for the full year 2019 to be between $395 and $405 million.

PTC anticipates Non-GAAP R&D and SG&A expense for the full year 2019 to be between $360 and $370 million, excluding estimated non-cash, stock-based compensation expense of approximately $35 million.

First Quarter 2019 Financial Highlights:

Total revenues were $53.6 million for the first quarter of 2019, compared to $56.1 million for the first quarter of 2018.

Translarna net product revenues were $35.3 million for the first quarter of 2019, compared to $36.8 million for the first quarter of 2018. These results reflect lumpiness in ordering patterns from Latin America.

Emflaza net product revenues were $17.8 million for the first quarter of 2019, compared to $19.2 million for the first quarter of 2018. These results reflect first quarter dynamics including seasonality and a planned transition to a new specialty pharmacy distributor.

GAAP R&D expenses were $52.6 million for the first quarter of 2019, compared to $31.4 million for the first quarter of 2018. The increase in R&D expenses reflects costs associated with advancing the gene therapy platform and increased investment in research programs as well as advancement of the clinical pipeline.

Non-GAAP R&D expenses were $47.9 million for the first quarter of 2019, excluding $4.7 million in non-cash, stock-based compensation expense, compared to $27.6 million for the first quarter of 2018, excluding $3.7 million in non-cash, stock-based compensation expense.

GAAP SG&A expenses were $40.6 million for the first quarter of 2019, compared to $33.0 million for the first quarter of 2018. The increase in SG&A expenses were primarily due to continued investment to support our commercial activities.

Non-GAAP SG&A expenses were $36.0 million for the first quarter of 2019, excluding $4.6 million in non-cash, stock-based compensation expense, compared to $29.0 million for the first quarter of 2018, excluding $4.0 million in non-cash, stock-based compensation expense.

Change in the fair value of deferred and contingent consideration was $21.2 million for the first quarter of 2019. The change in fair value of deferred and contingent consideration is related to the fair valuation of potential future consideration to be paid to former equity holders of Agilis Biotherapeutics, Inc. (Agilis) in connection with PTC’s acquisition of Agilis, which closed in August 2018.

Net loss was $72.1 million for the first quarter of 2019, compared to net loss of $19.3 million for the first quarter of 2018.

Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities were $407.2 million at March 31, 2019, compared to $227.6 million at December 31, 2018.

Shares issued and outstanding as of March 30, 2019 were 58,418,790 .

Non-GAAP Financial Measures:
In this press release, the financial results and financial guidance of PTC are provided in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (GAAP) and using certain non-GAAP financial measures. In particular, the non-GAAP financial measures exclude non-cash, stock-based compensation expense. These non-GAAP financial measures are provided as a complement to financial measures reported in GAAP because management uses these non-GAAP financial measures when assessing and identifying operational trends. In management’s opinion, these non-GAAP financial measures are useful to investors and other users of PTC’s financial statements by providing greater transparency into the historical and projected operating performance of PTC and the company’s future outlook. Non-GAAP financial measures are not an alternative for financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP. Quantitative reconciliations of the non-GAAP financial measures to their respective closest equivalent GAAP financial measure are included in the table below.

Today’s Conference Call and Webcast Reminder:
Today’s conference call will take place at 4:30 pm ET and can be access by dialing (877) 303-9216 (domestic) or (973) 935-8152 (international) five minutes prior to the start of the call and providing the passcode 1559069. A live, listen-only webcast of the conference call can be accessed on the investor relations section of the PTC website at www.ptcbio.com. The accompanying slide presentation will be posted on the investor relations section of the PTC website. A webcast replay of the call will be available approximately two hours after completion of the call and will be archived on the company’s website for two weeks.

On May 1, 2019 MaxCyte, the global clinical-stage cell-based therapies and life sciences company, reported that Robert Keefe, Director of Technical Operations, provided an oral presentation on April 29, titled "Novel mRNA-based Autologous CAR Therapies in Oncology," at the annual meeting of the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ASGCT) (Free ASGCT Whitepaper) in Washington, DC (Press release, MaxCyte, MAY 1, 2019, View Source [SID1234537622]).

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Dr. Keefe highlighted the CARMA platform’s key differentiating features, including manufacture and delivery to a patient in a fraction of the time compared to traditional chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) therapies and without a viral component. He also described the manufacturing feasibility data for MaxCyte’s first CARMA drug candidate, MCY-M11, a mesothelin-targeting chimeric antigen receptor (CAR), which is currently being evaluated in a Phase I clinical trial in mesothelin-expressing solid tumors at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and Washington University in St Louis.

"The advancement of our first CARMA clinical trial, which is consistently showing the feasibility of our rapid manufacturing process, is significant for MaxCyte and the application of our technology," said Claudio Dansky Ullmann, MD, MaxCyte’s Chief Medical Officer. "Development of a cell therapy with application in solid tumors is impactful for patients with unmet needs in a variety of cancers and we look forward to further advancing this program."

The CARMA platform offers an innovative approach to cell-based therapies that can be applied in a broad range of diseases, including solid tumors. The manufacturing process for MCY-M11 utilizes MaxCyte’s proprietary Flow Electroporation technology to transfect mRNA into fresh (i.e., unexpanded) peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). The entire CARMA manufacturing process allows for streamlined manufacturing providing a much needed faster turnaround of autologous cell therapy to patients. CARMA cell therapy was engineered with the intention of reducing potential adverse events that have been evident with other CAR technologies, and allowing for multiple dosing, a feature that may be key in the treatment of solid tumors with cellular therapies.

Last month, this trial was featured as a "trial in progress" at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting , via a poster highlighting key aspects of the study design.

On May 1, 2019 DXC Technology (NYSE: DXC), the world’s leading independent, end-to-end IT services company, reported that it will release financial results for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019 on Thursday, May 23, 2019, at approximately 4:15 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (Press release, DynPort Vaccine Company, MAY 1, 2019, View Source [SID1234535698]).

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DXC Technology senior management will host a conference call and webcast on the same day at 5 p.m. EDT. The dial-in number for domestic callers is (888) 394-8218. Callers who reside outside of the United States should dial +1 (323) 794-2588. The passcode for all participants is 9706900. The webcast audio and any presentation slides will be available on DXC Technology’s Investor Relations website.

A replay of the conference call will be available from approximately two hours after the conclusion of the call until May 30, 2019. Replay numbers can be found at the following link. The replay passcode is also 9706900. A transcript of the conference call will be posted on DXC Technology’s Investor Relations website.

On April 30, 2019, XBiotech Inc. ("we," "us" or the "Company") reported that it has entered into an Equity Distribution Agreement (the "Sales Agreement") with Piper Jaffray & Co ("Piper Jaffray" ) which establishes an at-the-market equity program pursuant to which we may offer and sell shares of our common stock, no par value per share ("Common Stock"), from time to time as set forth in the Sales Agreement (Filing, 8-K, XBiotech, MAY 1, 2019, View Source [SID1234535696]). The Sales Agreement provides for the sale of up to 4,334,453 shares of our Common Stock ("Shares").

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Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the Sales Agreement, Piper Jaffray will use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices to sell the Shares from time to time, based upon our instructions, including any price, time or size limits we specify. We have agreed to pay Piper Jaffray a commission at a fixed rate equal to three percent (3.0%) of the gross proceeds from each sale of Shares. In addition, we have agreed to pay certain expenses incurred by Piper Jaffray in connection with the Sales Agreement, including up to $50,000 of the fees and disbursements of their counsel. However, in the event Piper Jaffray acts as principal in the sale of common stock under the Sales Agreement, such rate of compensation will not apply, but in no event will the total compensation of Piper Jaffray, when combined with the reimbursement of Piper Jaffray for the out-of-pocket reasonable fees and disbursements of its counsel as described above, exceed 8.0% of the gross proceeds received from the sale of the Shares. We have also agreed to provide Piper Jaffray with customary indemnification rights. The Sales Agreement will terminate upon the sale of all of the Shares under the Sales Agreement, unless terminated earlier by either party as permitted under the Sales Agreement.

Sales of the Shares, if any, under the Sales Agreement will be made in transactions that are deemed to be "at the market" offerings as defined in Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), including sales made from time to time directly on or through the Nasdaq Global Select Market, on any other existing trading market for the Shares, to or through a market maker other than on an exchange or otherwise, in negotiated transactions at market prices prevailing at the time of sale or at prices related to such prevailing market prices, and/or in any other method permitted by law. We have no obligation to sell any of the Shares, and, at any time, we may suspend offers under the Sales Agreement or terminate the Sales Agreement.

Sales of Shares under the Sales Agreement will be made pursuant to the registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-213218), which was declared effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on September 1, 2016, and a related Prospectus Supplement filed with the SEC on April 30, 2019.

This Current Report on Form 8-K shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any Shares under the Sales Agreement, nor shall there be any sale of such Shares in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state.

The foregoing description of the Sales Agreement does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Sales Agreement, which is filed as Exhibit 10.1 hereto and incorporated by reference herein and into the Registration Statement.

The opinion of our counsel regarding the validity of the Shares that will be issued pursuant to the Sales Agreement is filed herewith as Exhibit 5.1. This opinion is also filed with reference to, and is hereby incorporated by reference into, the Registration Statement.