On May 12, 2020 Phio Pharmaceuticals Corp. (Nasdaq: PHIO), a biotechnology company developing the next generation of immuno-oncology therapeutics based on its proprietary self-delivering RNAi (INTASYL) therapeutic platform, reported its financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2020 and provided a business update (Press release, Phio Pharmaceuticals, MAY 12, 2020, View Source [SID1234557601]).

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"We closed out the first quarter of 2020 with promising new preclinical data from animal studies, which validate the potential of our INTASYL technology as a cancer immunotherapy platform for innovative therapeutics. Over the next several weeks, at three major scientific conferences, we will present additional data from these studies conducted with our lead asset, PH-762, as well as other pipeline products," said Dr. Gerrit Dispersyn, President and CEO of Phio. "With the recent coronavirus outbreak, the Phio management team and I have taken proactive measures to protect the health and safety of our employees. I am proud of the entire team’s hard work and dedication to the advancement of our programs as we face this global crisis. Thanks to the team’s efforts the impact to our operations to date has been minimal."

Quarter in Review and Recent Corporate Updates

·Presented promising new animal data from various studies that validates the potential of the INTASYL technology as a cancer immunotherapy platform for developing novel compounds.
·Abstracts submitted and accepted for the presentation of preclinical data at three upcoming scientific conferences, including the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT) (Free ASGCT Whitepaper) 2020 Annual Meeting on May 12th, ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper)20 Virtual Scientific Program on May 29th, and American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Virtual Annual Meeting II on June 22nd.
·Announced a collaboration and option agreement with Medigene AG as part of a broader collaboration with the Helmholtz Zentrum München and Medigene AG to design and develop new targets based on the INTASYL platform for use in cancer immunotherapies.
·Raised total gross proceeds of $13.74 million through financing activities completed in February 2020 and April 2020.

Financial Results

Cash Position

At March 31, 2020, the Company had cash of $13.3 million as compared with $6.9 million at December 31, 2019. During the first quarter of 2020, the Company raised $9.74 million in gross proceeds through two equity offerings. The Company’s cash at March 31, 2020 does not include the $4.0 million in gross proceeds the Company raised through an equity offering completed in April 2020. The Company expects its cash will be sufficient to fund currently planned operations for at least the next 12 months.

Research and Development Expenses

Research and development expenses were approximately $1.2 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2020, compared to approximately $1.1 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2019. The increase is primarily due to the use of outside contract research organizations to perform preclinical animal studies for the Company’s INTASYL pipeline programs and an increase in headcount and the related payroll expenses as compared to the prior year period.

General and Administrative Expenses

General and administrative expenses were relatively steady at $1.1 million for the three-month periods ended March 31, 2020 and 2019.

Net Loss

Net loss was $2.4 million, or $1.33 per share, for the quarter ended March 31, 2020, compared with $2.1 million, or $5.71 per share, for the quarter ended March 31, 2019. The increase in net loss was primarily attributable to an increase in operating expenses, as discussed above.