On March 1, 2018 Apricus Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq:APRI), a biopharmaceutical company advancing innovative medicines in urology and rheumatology, reported financial results for the fourth quarter of 2017 and provided a corporate update on its near-term priorities (Press release, Apricus Biosciences, MAR 1, 2018, View Source;p=RssLanding&cat=news&id=2335731 [SID1234524293]).

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"Since the end of the third quarter of 2017, we have been focused on supporting the Vitaros NDA resubmission and strengthening our balance sheet. While we were successful achieving the latter, we were extremely disappointed with the FDA’s recent decision regarding the approval of Vitaros. As such, we will submit a request to the FDA for an end-of-review meeting in the coming weeks with a meeting expected to be scheduled in April per FDA guidelines. Our objective for this meeting is to determine the specific requirements needed to address the deficiencies noted in the Complete Response," stated Richard W. Pascoe, Chief Executive Officer. "In parallel, we will focus our efforts on identifying and evaluating opportunities or business combinations to maximize shareholder value, as we look reduce our expenses and extend our cash runway."

Fourth Quarter and Full Year Financial Results

Net loss during the quarter ended December 31, 2017 was $2.4 million, or loss per share of $0.16, compared to a net loss of $0.3 million, or loss per share of $0.04, during the fourth quarter of 2016. Net income during the year ended December 31, 2017 was $0.3 million, or income per share of $0.02, compared to a net loss of $7.4 million, or loss per share of $1.15, during the year ended December 31, 2016.

Net income during the year ended December 31, 2017 was primarily due to the $12.3 million gain recorded upon the sale of our ex-U.S. Vitaros rights and assets to Ferring, offset by the $1.5 million regulatory milestone payment made to Allergan upon the FDA’s acknowledgment of our Vitaros NDA resubmission, Vitaros commercial preparation activities, as well as other general and administrative expenses.

For all periods presented, financial statement activity related to our ex-U.S. Vitaros business has been presented as discontinued operations. As of December 31, 2017, the Company’s cash totaled $6.3 million, compared to $2.1 million as of December 31, 2016. As of February 26, 2018, the Company’s cash totaled $6.3 million, which is expected to fund operations through the end of 2018.

Conference Call Details

Apricus will host a live conference call and webcast today at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time to discuss the Company’s financial results and provide a corporate update. To participate by telephone, please dial (855) 780-7196 (Domestic) or (631) 485-4867 (International). The conference ID number is 3687726. The live and archived audio webcast can be accessed through the Investors Relations’ section of the Company’s website at www.apricusbio.com. Please log in approximately five to ten minutes before the event to ensure a timely connection. The archived webcast will be available for 30 days following the live call.