On August 1, 2019 Aduro Biotech, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADRO), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapies targeting the Stimulator of Interferon Genes (STING) and A Proliferation Inducing Ligand (APRIL) pathways for the treatment of cancer, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2019.
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"Several important clinical study results have helped inform the development of our STING and APRIL programs thus far in 2019. We look forward to initiating the study of ADU-S100 and pembrolizumab in head and neck cancer as we continue to explore the synergies of STING agonists with checkpoint inhibitors," said Stephen T. Isaacs, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Aduro. "We continue to focus our development efforts for BION-1301 on IgA nephropathy, the most common type of glomerulonephritis worldwide for which there is no approved drug treatment option. We look forward to advancing the development of our STING and APRIL programs to provide the greatest potential benefit to patients." Isaacs continued, "Our cash position remains strong with $251.6 million at the end of the second quarter, and we will continue investing in our lead assets to generate additional meaningful data read-outs over the next 12 to 24 months."
Recent Highlights
Cleared three of five healthy volunteer dose cohorts in the single ascending dose portion of the Phase 1 clinical trial of BION-1301 for the treatment of IgA nephropathy
Presented findings from the ongoing Phase 1b study of ADU-S100 (MIW815) in combination with spartalizumab (PDR001) in patients with advanced, metastatic treatment-refractory solid tumors or lymphomas in an oral presentation at the 2019 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting
Presented findings from the dose escalation portion of the Phase 1/2 study of BION-1301 in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma in two poster presentations at the 2019 ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting
Presented three abstracts at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting 2019, including updated preclinical data on ADU-S100
Appointed immuno-oncology drug development expert, Dimitry Nuyten, M.D., Ph.D., as chief medical officer
Appointed financial and life sciences industry expert, James Welch, as interim chief financial officer
Appointed life sciences industry veteran, Frank Karbe, to the board of directors
Financial Results
Cash Position – Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities totaled $251.6 million at June 30, 2019, compared to $277.9 million at December 31, 2018. Cash spend year to date was offset by the receipt of a $12 million upfront payment received in the first quarter of 2019 from the 2018 license agreement with Eli Lilly.
Revenue – Revenue was $4.9 million for the second quarter of 2019 and $8.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2019, compared to $2.6 million and $9.3 million, respectively, for the same periods in 2018. The increase in revenue for the quarter was primarily due to ratable recognition of the upfront payment received from Eli Lilly in the first quarter of 2019.
The decrease in revenue year to date was primarily due to fluctuations in revenue recognized under our Novartis collaboration, which is dependent on the clinical timelines and progress under the research and collaboration agreement.
Expenses –
Research and development expenses were $16.9 million for the second quarter of 2019 and $36.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2019, compared to $19.4 million and $39.5 million, respectively, for the same periods in 2018. The quarter and year to date costs decreased primarily due our strategic reset in January 2019, which resulted in reduced headcount and stock-based compensation expense. The reset also resulted in reduced spending towards deprioritized programs partially offset by higher spending towards our STING and APRIL programs.
General and administrative expenses were $8.0 million for the second quarter of 2019 and $17.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2019, compared to $8.8 million and $17.9 million, respectively, for the same periods in 2018. The quarter and year to date costs decreased primarily due to our strategic reset in January 2019, which resulted in reduced headcount and stock-based compensation expense.
Net Loss – Net loss for the second quarter of 2019 was $18.6 million or $0.23 per share and $42.0 million or $0.53 per share for the six months ended June 30, 2019, compared to net loss of $24.4 million or $0.31 per share and $45.9 million or $0.59 per share, respectively, for the same periods in 2018.