On May 13, 2019 Transgene (Euronext Paris: TNG) (Paris:TNG), a biotech company that designs and develops virus-based immunotherapies against cancers and infectious diseases to transform the fight against solid tumors and infectious diseases, reported its business update for the quarter ending March 31, 2019 (Press release, Transgene, MAY 13, 2019, View Source [SID1234536214]).

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!

Operating revenue:

The following table summarizes the first quarter operating revenue for 2019 compared to the same period in 2018:

Q1
In millions of euros 2019 2018

Revenue from collaborative and licensing agreements 0.4 0.2
Government financing for research expenditures 1.5 1.6

Operating revenue 1.9 1.8
During the first quarter of 2019, revenue from collaborative and licensing agreements was mainly composed of research services and royalties.

As of March 31, 2019, government financing for research expenditures mainly consisted of 25% of the research tax credit expected for 2019 (€1.5 million in the first quarter of 2019, compared to €1.6 million for the same period in 2018).

Cash, cash equivalents, available-for-sale financial assets and other financial assets:

In the first quarter of 2019, Transgene’s cash burn was €7.8 million, compared to €5.8 million for the same period in 2018. Cash, cash equivalents, available-for-sale financial assets and other financial assets stood at €9.1 million as of March 31, 2019, compared to €16.9 million as of December 31, 2018. This cash position does not include the €20 million credit facility available for the Company or the $10 million receivable from AstraZeneca.

Key achievements:

Finance:
Transgene secured a €20 million revolving credit facility with a 30-month term with Natixis. Transgene will be able to draw on and repay the facility at its discretion. Transgene has used its shares in the Chinese biotech company Tasly Biopharmaceuticals as collateral for this loan (press release distributed on March 18, 2019). As of May 13, 2019, the Company has not drawn down on this facility.
Invir.IO:
Transgene and AstraZeneca signed a collaborative research, option and exclusive license agreement to co-develop five armed oncolytic vaccinia virus candidates deriving from the Invir.IO platform.
Transgene is to receive $10 million in Q2 2019 and additional pre-clinical success milestones of up to $3 million. Transgene is eligible to receive an option exercise payment on each candidate in the event AstraZeneca exercises one or more of its license option, as well as development and commercial milestones and royalties (press release distributed on May 2, 2019).
Transgene and BioInvent extend their collaboration to develop additional multifunctional oncolytic viruses encoding for antibodies capable of treating a broad range of solid tumors (press release distributed on March 26, 2019).
myvac:
Transgene announced that the NEOVIVA project, that is focused on Transgene’s individualized immunotherapy platform myvac, was selected by the "Investments for the Future" Program (Programme d’Investissements d’Avenir) operated by Bpifrance. The NEOVIVA project will receive €5.2 million over the five-year duration of the program from Bpifrance, of which Transgene will receive €2.6 million (press release distributed on March 13, 2019).
TG4050:
Transgene announced its decision to initiate clinical developments of its lead myvac candidate, TG4050, and the finalization of its collaboration agreement with NEC (press release distributed on March 5, 2019).
Transgene received FDA IND clearance for TG4050 to commence clinical development in ovarian cancer (press release distributed on May 13, 2019).
Outlook:

Transgene expects its cash burn for 2019 to be between €15 million and €20 million, based on its current development plan and cash-in from the collaboration with AstraZeneca.

As a result of the financing agreement with Natixis and the signing of the collaboration with AstraZeneca, Transgene has extended its financial visibility to Q4 2020.

Transgene confirms that it expects readouts from its key clinical trials in the second half of 2019.