On April 28, 2016 Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq:ACOR) reported a financial and pipeline update for the first quarter ended March 31, 2016 (Press release, Acorda Therapeutics, APR 28, 2016, View Source [SID:1234511591]).

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AMPYRA (dalfampridine) 1Q 2016 net revenue was $109.6 Million, a 19% increase over 1Q 2015 net revenue of $92.4 Million. In January 2016, the Company announced an agreement to acquire Biotie, and has received more than 90% of Biotie’s outstanding shares in the tender offer. The Company expects to complete the purchase of 100% of Biotie’s shares in the second half of this year.

"We are well into our transition from a single-product company to a well-diversified biopharmaceutical enterprise, focused on developing therapies to benefit patients with neurological conditions across multiple disease states, including multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, stroke, migraine and epilepsy," said Ron Cohen, M.D., Acorda’s President and CEO. "Through our business development activities and advancement of our clinical pipeline, we now have four promising Phase 3 assets and, pending successful trial results, have the potential to file for approval of three of these by the end of 2018."

Financial Results

The Company reported a GAAP net loss of $0.5 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2016, or $0.01 per diluted share. The GAAP net loss in the same quarter of 2015 was $3.1 million, or $0.07 per diluted share.

Non-GAAP net income for the quarter ended March 31, 2016 was $3.1 million, or $0.07 per diluted share. Non-GAAP net income in the same quarter of 2015 was $6.5 million, or $0.15 per diluted share. Non-GAAP net income excludes share based compensation charges, non-cash interest charges on our convertible debt, changes in the fair value of acquired contingent consideration, acquisition related expenses, unrealized foreign currency transaction gains, and non-cash tax benefits. A reconciliation of the GAAP financial results to non-GAAP financial results is included with the attached financial statements.

AMPYRA (dalfampridine) Extended Release Tablets, 10 mg – For the quarter ended March 31, 2016, the Company reported AMPYRA net revenue of $109.6 million, up 19% compared to $92.4 million for the same quarter in 2015.

ZANAFLEX CAPSULES (tizanidine hydrochloride), ZANAFLEX (tizanidine hydrochloride) tablets and authorized generic capsules – For the quarter ended March 31, 2016, the Company reported combined net revenue and royalties from ZANAFLEX and tizanidine of $1.2 million compared to $2.6 million for the same quarter in 2015.

FAMPYRA (prolonged-release fampridine tablets) – For the quarter ended March 31, 2016, the Company reported FAMPYRA royalties from sales outside of the U.S. of $2.5 million, compared to $2.3 million for the same quarter in 2015.

Research and development (R&D) expenses for the quarter ended March 31, 2016 were $44.6 million, including $2.1 million of share-based compensation, compared to $30.6 million, including $1.8 million of share-based compensation, for the same quarter in 2015.

Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses for the quarter ended March 31, 2016 were $51.8 million, including $6.0 million of share-based compensation, compared to $48.8 million including $5.3 million of share-based compensation for the same quarter in 2015.

Acquisition related expenses for the Biotie transaction incurred in the quarter ended March 31, 2016 were $7.2 million.

Benefit from income taxes for the quarter ended March 31, 2016 was $9.7 million, including $0.2 million of cash taxes, compared to $2.0 million, including $0.7 million of cash taxes for the same quarter in 2015.

At March 31, 2016, prior to the closing of the Biotie acquisition, the Company had cash, cash equivalents and investments of $431.4 million, up from $353.3 million at December 31, 2015. In January 2016, the Company completed a $75.0 million private placement of its common stock.

First Quarter 2016 Highlights

AMPYRA (dalfampridine)

– AMPYRA revenues for the first quarter of 2016 were $109.6 million, up 19% from the first quarter in 2015. This represents the 12th consecutive quarter of double digit, year-over-year growth for AMPYRA, which was launched in 2010.

– In March, a Markman hearing was held in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware related to the consolidated lawsuits that the Company filed against companies that submitted Abbreviated New Drug Applications to the FDA seeking marketing approval for AMPYRA. Also in March, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Patent Trials and Appeal Board (PTAB) instituted the inter partes review (IPR) of four AMPYRA patents. Rulings on the IPR petitions are expected within one year. The Company will continue to defend its intellectual property vigorously.
Dalfampridine in Post-Stroke Walking Difficulty

– In March, the Company completed Phase 1 single-dose pharmacokinetic (PK) studies for three separate once-daily (QD) formulations of dalfampridine. Results for at least one of these formulations met the Company’s criteria. The multi-dose phase of PK testing will begin in the second quarter of 2016.

– Given the progress in its development of a QD formulation of dalfampridine, the Company has made the decision to stop enrollment and conduct an unblinded analysis of the Phase 3 twice-daily (BID) clinical trial data, having reached 50% of its target enrollment in the study, or 270 subjects. As previously stated, unblinding the study ahead of the originally contemplated interim futility analysis was an option. Data are expected by the fourth quarter of 2016 and will be used to inform the design of planned Phase 3 trials in post-stroke.
CVT-301 in Parkinson’s Disease

– In April, data from the CVT-301 Phase 2b clinical trial were one of six platform presentations highlighted during the Movement Disorders Invited Science Session at the 68th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology.
CVT-427 in Migraine

– In March, the Company announced it had successfully completed a Phase 1 safety/tolerability and pharmacokinetic study for CVT-427. Based on the positive results, the Company is designing protocols for the next phase of development.
Corporate

– In January, the Company announced it had entered into an agreement to acquire Biotie Therapies Corp. The acquisition includes global rights to two clinical-stage compounds in development for treatment of Parkinson’s disease, as well as other assets.

– In April, more than 90% of the outstanding shares of Biotie were tendered to the Company in a tender offer conducted pursuant to the acquisition agreement, meeting the minimum condition to closing the tender offer. The Company expects to complete the acquisition of 100% of Biotie in the second half of 2016.

– In January, the Company completed a $75 million private placement of its common stock and signed a Commitment Letter with JP Morgan for an asset-based credit facility of up to $60 million, which is expected to close in the second quarter of 2016.
The Company will host a conference call today at 8:30 a.m. ET to review its first quarter 2016 results.

To participate in the conference call, please dial (855) 542-4209 (domestic) or (412) 455-6054 (international) and reference the access code 81540360. The presentation will be available via a live webcast on the Investors section of www.acorda.com. Please log in approximately 5 minutes before the scheduled time of the presentation to ensure a timely connection.

A replay of the call will be available from 11:30 a.m. ET on April 28, 2016 until 11:59 p.m. ET on May 5, 2016. To access the replay, please dial (855) 859-2056 (domestic) or (404) 537-3406 (international) and reference the access code 81540360. The archived webcast will be available in the Investor Relations section of the Acorda website at www.acorda.com.