On February 27, 2020 Tocagen Inc. (Nasdaq: TOCA), a clinical-stage, cancer-selective gene therapy company, reported financial results and business highlights for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2019 (Press release, Tocagen, FEB 27, 2020, View Source [SID1234554914]).

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"Following our extensive review of strategic alternatives, we are excited about the recently announced merger between Tocagen and Forte Biosciences. The proposed merger will create a dermatology company with established clinical proof of concept for their lead asset and an anticipated cash runway to reach a data readout in mid-2021 for its planned randomized Phase 2 trial in patients with atopic dermatitis," said Marty J. Duvall, Chief Executive Officer of Tocagen. "We believe that the proposed merger with Forte has the potential to deliver immediate and long-term value and the Forte leadership team has our full support."

Fourth Quarter 2019 Financial Results

Research and Development (R&D) Expenses: R&D expenses were $7.6 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2019, compared to $15.6 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2018. The reduction in R&D expenses was primarily driven by a reduction in manufacturing and clinical development costs due to the completion of our Toca 5 trial in September 2019.

General and Administrative (G&A) Expenses: G&A expenses were $3.1 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2019, compared to $3.5 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2018. The decrease in G&A expenses was primarily due to lower personnel related costs.

Net Loss: Net loss was $10.6 million, or $0.44 per common share (basic and diluted), for the quarter ended December 31, 2019, compared to a net loss of $19.6 million, or $0.96 per common share (basic and diluted), for the quarter ended December 31, 2018. The 2019 calculation is based on 23.9 million average common shares outstanding for the fourth quarter of 2019, compared to 20.5 million average common shares outstanding for the fourth quarter of 2018.

2019 Twelve-Month Results

License Revenue: License revenue was less than $0.1 million for the 12 months ended December 31, 2019, compared to $18.0 million for the 12 months ended December 31, 2018. The 2018 revenue was associated with a $16.0 million upfront payment and a $2.0 million development milestone earned upon

completion of enrollment in the Toca 5 clinical study, both recognized under Tocagen’s license agreement with ApolloBio.

R&D Expenses: R&D expenses were $45.3 million for the 12 months ended December 31, 2019, compared to $51.1 million for the 12 months ended December 31, 2018. The decrease in R&D expenses primarily reflects decreased costs in clinical development and manufacturing related to the wind down and suspension of the Company’s research and development activities.

G&A Expenses: G&A expenses were $16.2 million for the 12 months ended December 31, 2019, compared to $12.8 million for the 12 months ended December 31, 2018, with the increase primarily driven by commercial readiness activities incurred in the first half of 2019 in anticipation of a potential commercial launch following the completion of our Phase III clinical trial. In September 2019, upon missing our primary endpoint in our Toca 5 clinical trial, all commercial readiness activities were discontinued.

Net Loss: Net loss was $63.5 million, or $2.69 per common share (basic and diluted), for the 12 months ended December 31, 2019, compared to a net loss of $49.0 million, or $2.44 per common share (basic and diluted), for the 12 months ended December 31, 2018. The 2019 calculation is based on 23.6 million average common shares outstanding for the 12 months ended December 31, 2019, compared to 20.1 million average common shares outstanding for the prior year.

Cash Position

Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities were $21.8 million at December 31, 2019 compared to $96.1 million at December 31, 2018.