On March 23, 2022 Xenetic Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:XBIO) ("Xenetic" or the "Company"), a biopharmaceutical company focused on advancing XCART, a personalized CAR T platform technology engineered to target patient- and tumor-specific neoantigens, reported its financial results for the full year 2021 and provided a corporate update (Press release, Xenetic Biosciences, MAR 23, 2022, View Source [SID1234610747]).
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"Over the course of the past year, our team has continued to advance the XCART program through pre-clinical studies, which are key to defining the best development pathway for this novel platform technology. Looking ahead, we remain focused on moving XCART toward IND-enabling studies. Though still early in its development, we believe XCART continues to demonstrate its potential as an important program due to its ability to target cancers with a patient- and tumor-specific approach," commented Jeffrey Eisenberg, Chief Executive Officer of Xenetic.
XCART Platform Technology Overview: Significantly differentiated, proprietary approach to personalized CAR T lymphoma therapy targeting tumor-specific neoantigens that target independently of CD19 or other surface antigens that are common to both normal and malignant B-cells. Lead program for Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, an area of significant unmet need, with the potential to address an initial global market opportunity of over $7 billion annually.[1]
Program Highlights:
Advancing preclinical efforts through ongoing research and development collaborations including with The Scripps Research Institute and other institutions in the United States ("U.S.") covering design and implementation of the pre-clinical development program, as well as activities supporting process development for clinical manufacturing.
Bolstered intellectual property portfolio with issuance of a U.S. patent covering the co-administration of XCART-derived CAR T cells, together with a personalized vaccine designed to enhance the effectiveness of the CAR T therapy.
PolyXen Platform Technology: Patent-protected platform technology designed for protein or peptide therapeutics, enabling next-generation biological drugs by prolonging a drug’s circulating half-life and potentially improving other pharmacological properties.
Program Highlight:
Royalty payments of approximately $1.2 million were received in the year ended December 31, 2021, representing an approximate 166% increase over 2020 as Takeda’s sublicensee has launched the relevant product in multiple global markets.
Summary of Financial Results for Fiscal Year 2021
Net loss for the year ended December 31, 2021, was approximately $5.6 million. Research and development expenses for the year ended December 31, 2021 increased to $3.2 million compared to $1.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, representing continued investment in our XCART technology. General and administrative expenses for the year ended December 31, 2021 were $3.7 million compared to $3.4 million in the same period in 2020. At December 31, 2021, the Company reported working capital of approximately $17.3 million compared to $11.4 million at December 31, 2020. During the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company’s working capital increased by $5.9 million due to the $12.5 million private placement in July 2021 partially offset by the Company’s net loss for the year ended December 31, 2021.
The Company ended the year with approximately $18.2 million of cash.