On May 8, 2019 Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: SNSS) reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2019. Loss from operations for the three months ended March 31, 2019 was $5.7 million (Press release, Sunesis, MAY 8, 2019, View Source [SID1234535991]). As of March 31, 2019, cash and cash equivalents totaled $24.8 million.
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!
"We continue our focus on the execution of the Phase 1b/2 trial of vecabrutinib and are excited to announce that we have completed the safety evaluation period for the 100 mg cohort, enabling us to advance the trial into the 200 mg cohort," said Dayton Misfeldt, Interim Chief Executive Officer of Sunesis. "To date, vecabrutinib appears to be well tolerated in the context of disease, and we will be providing a clinical update on the study at the European Hematology Association (EHA) (Free EHA Whitepaper) annual meeting in June."
Mr. Misfeldt continued, "Underscoring our clinical progress is a strengthened financial position. We began the first quarter by completing an equity offering with leading biotechnology investors, extending our cash runway through important clinical milestones, and just last month we announced the refinancing of our debt on favorable terms through an agreement with Silicon Valley Bank, a vote of confidence in our pipeline and its potential from a premier debt provider for life science companies."
Recent Highlights
Advancement into 200 mg Cohort. The Company has opened the 200 mg cohort in the Phase 1b/2 trial of its non-covalent BTK inhibitor vecabrutinib in adults with relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and other B-cell malignancies.
$5.5 Million Loan with Silicon Valley Bank. In April 2019, the Company entered into a $5.5 million loan agreement with Silicon Valley Bank. The new agreement allows the company to retire its existing loan and defer any principal repayment on the new loan for more than 18 months. The new facility includes interest-only payments through 2020, with principal repayment over 24 months beginning in 2021, as well as a lower interest rate than the previous loan. The loan was used for the repayment of the Company’s existing indebtedness.
Completion of $20 Million Financing. In January, Sunesis completed an equity financing with net proceeds of approximately $18.6 million. The financing attracted participation from leading biotechnology investors and will allow Sunesis to advance vecabrutinib through important clinical milestones as the ongoing dose-escalation study explores potentially active dose levels.
Financial Highlights
Cash and cash equivalents totaled $24.8 million as of March 31, 2019, as compared to $13.7 million as of December 31, 2018. The increase of $11.1 million was primarily due to $18.6 million
net proceeds from issuance of common and preferred stock, offset by $6.1 million net cash used in operating activities and $1.4 million principal payment on the Loan Agreement with Western Alliance Bank and Solar Capital Ltd.
Research and development expense was $3.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2019, as compared to $4.0 million for the same period in 2018. The decrease of $0.8 million between the comparable three-month periods was primarily due to a $0.4 million decrease in salary and personnel expenses due to lower headcount and a $0.4 million decrease in professional services related to higher expenses incurred in the first quarter of 2018 for the start-up cost of Phase 1b/2 trial for vecabrutinib.
General and administrative expense was $2.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2019, as compared to $3.4 million for the same period in 2018. The decrease of $1.0 million between the comparable three-month periods was primarily due to a $0.7 million decrease in salary and personnel expenses due to lower headcount and a $0.4 million decrease in professional services expenses due in part to lower vosaroxin patent expenses.
Interest expense was $0.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2018. The interest expenses from both periods resulted from payments on our Loan Agreement with Western Alliance Bank and Solar Capital Ltd.
Cash used in operating activities was $6.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2019, as compared to $6.6 million for the same period in 2018. Net cash used in the three months ended March 31, 2019 resulted primarily from the net loss of $5.9 million, partially offset by adjustments for non-cash items of $0.5 million and changes in operating assets and liabilities of $0.7 million. Net cash used in the three months ended March 31, 2018, resulted primarily from the net loss of $7.3 million and changes in operating assets and liabilities of $0.2 million, offset by net adjustments for non-cash items of $0.9 million.
Loss from operations was $5.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2019, as compared to $7.1 million for the same period in 2018. Net loss was $5.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2019, as compared to $7.3 million for the same period in 2018.
Conference Call Information
Sunesis will host a conference today at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time. The call can be accessed by dialing (844) 296-7720 (U.S. and Canada) or (574) 990-1148 (international) and entering passcode 1396684. To access the live audio webcast, or the subsequent archived recording, visit the "Investors and Media – Calendar of Events" section of the Sunesis website at www.sunesis.com. The webcast will be recorded and available for replay on the company’s website for two weeks.