On August 16, 2021 Sonnet BioTherapeutics Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:SONN) ("Sonnet" or the "Company"), a biopharmaceutical company developing innovative targeted biologic drugs, reported its financial results for the three months ended June 30th , 2021 and provided a business update (Press release, Sonnet BioTherapeutics, AUG 16, 2021, View Source [SID1234586644]).
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"Throughout the quarter, we’ve continued to make several advancements towards the clinic with our proprietary Fully Human Albumin Binding (F H AB) pipeline assets, and our partnered product" commented Pankaj Mohan, Ph.D., Founder and CEO. "We are progressing our SON-1010 (F H AB-IL12) and SON-080 (Low-dose IL-6) programs, with IND applications on track to be filed with the FDA for both before the end of 2021, with an additional IND for SON-1210 (IL12-F H AB-IL15) during the first half of 2022. We remain confident that the ability to deliver a therapeutic payload in a more targeted manner than traditional, wild-type cytokines has the potential to result in greater efficacy with an improved toxicity profile."
"We are pleased with our ongoing financing strategy, which is designed to provide the company with the funding necessary to advance our R&D activities and to grow the company beyond 2021," commented Jay Cross, CFO.
FY 2021 Third Quarter and Recent Corporate Updates
Sonnet provided the following corporate updates:
In May 2021, Sonnet entered into a license agreement with New Life Therapeutics, granting exclusive licenses to develop and commercialize SON-080 for the prevention, treatment, or palliation of diabetic peripheral neuropathy in certain territories in Asia.
In June 2021, the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued U.S. Patent No. 11,028,166 entitled "Albumin Domain Fusion Proteins" that covers Sonnet’s F H AB technology. The patent also includes therapeutic fusion proteins that utilize F H AB for tumor targeting and retention, thereby providing extended pharmacokinetics.
In June 2021, Sonnet executed its final issuance of shares of its common stock under the At-the-Market Sales Agreement, pursuant to which the Company executed issuances of an aggregate of 7,454,238 Shares for aggregate gross proceeds of $15,874,999.
FY 2021 Third Quarter Ended June 30, 2021 Financial Results
As of June 30, 2021, Sonnet had $6.0 million cash on hand.
Research and development expenses were $3.9 million for the three months ended June 30, 2021, compared to $2.5 million for the three months ended June 30, 2020. The increase of $1.4 million was primarily due to increased expenditures for the development of the cell line for IL12-FHAB and IL12-FHAB-IL15 and increased costs for research and development activities due to the acquisition of Relief and an increase in payroll and share-based compensation expense as operations are expanded.
General and administrative expenses were $2.4 million for the three months ended June 30, 2021, compared to $2.5 million for the three months ended June 30, 2020. The decrease of $0.1 million was primarily due to a $0.9 million decrease in professional fees and transaction-related fees associated with the closing of the merger, offset by an increase in payroll and share-based compensation expense of $0.7 million to support expanded operations.