On August 10, 2020 Cellectar Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLRB), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of drugs for the treatment of cancer, reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2020 and provided a corporate update (Press release, Cellectar Biosciences, AUG 10, 2020, View Source [SID1234563316]).

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Second Quarter and Recent Corporate Highlights

·Received Fast Track Designation for CLR 131 in lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma (LPL)/ Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia (WM) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA);

·Received Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise (SME) status from the European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprise office. SME status allows Cellectar to participate in significant financial incentives and be eligible to obtain EMA certification of quality and manufacturing data prior to review of clinical data;

·Expanded IP coverage in Europe with the receipt of two composition of matter and use patents. The first patent expands protection for the company’s proprietary PLE targeted delivery vehicle analogs in combination with a broad range of chemotherapeutics such as paclitaxel, gemcitabine, and other classes of small molecule chemotherapeutic agents. The second patent covers the treatment and/or diagnosis of cancer and cancer stem cells with CLR 131;

·Strengthened the management team with the appointment of Dr. John Friend, chief medical officer; and

·Completed an underwritten public offering for gross proceeds of $20 million

"We continue to enroll relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma and LPL/WM patients in the Phase 2b portion of our ongoing CLOVER-1 study and prepare for the initiation of our pivotal study expected in Q4 of 2020 while advancing our Phase 1 pediatric study " said James Caruso, president and CEO of Cellectar. "We also successfully executed on other key fronts. The FDA granted CLR 131 Fast Track Designation in LPL/WM; we expanded our IP portfolio with two new European patents and significantly strengthened our balance sheet with the recent financing."

Second Quarter 2020 Financial Highlights

·Cash and Cash Equivalents: As of June 30, 2020, the company had cash and cash equivalents of $22.5 million compared to $10.6 million at December 31, 2019. Cash used in operating activities was approximately $6.6 million during the six months ended June 30, 2020 as compared to $5.5 million during the six months ended June 30, 2019.

·Research and Development Expense: R&D expense for the three months ended June 30, 2020 was $2.5 million, compared to $1.8 million for the three months ended June 30, 2019. The cumulative R&D spending for the first six months of 2020 was $5.1 million as compared to $4.1 million for the first six months of 2019. The increase in R&D expense year-to-date in 2020 was primarily a result of general R&D cost from personnel related expenses and clinical project costs. Manufacturing and related costs decreased and the costs of preclinical studies were relatively consistent.

·General and Administrative Expense: G&A expense for the three months ended June 30, 2020 was $1.2 million compared to $1.4 million for the three months ended June 30, 2019. The cumulative G&A spending for the first six months of 2020 were of $2.5 million as compared to $2.7 million for the first six months of 2019. The decrease in G&A expense year-to-date in 2020 was primarily a result of lower stock-based compensation expense.

Net Loss: The net loss attributable to common stockholders for the three months ended June 30, 2020 was ($3.6) million, or ($0.26) per share, compared to ($3.2) million, or ($0.46) per share, in 2019. Net loss attributable to common stockholders for the six months ended June 30, 2020 was ($7.6) million, or ($0.65) per share, compared to ($6.8) million, or ($1.15) per share, in 2019.