Aviragen Therapeutics Reports First Quarter of Fiscal Year 2018 Financial Results

On November 2, 2017 Aviragen Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVIR) reported its financial results for the three months ended September 30, 2017 (Press release, Nabi Biopharmaceuticals, NOV 2, 2017, View Source [SID1234521484]).

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“Earlier this week we were pleased to announce the culmination of our strategic review process with the signing of a definitive merger agreement with Vaxart, which we believe complements Aviragen’s focus on infectious diseases. With recently reported positive safety and efficacy data in both influenza and norovirus, Vaxart is well-positioned to create both short and long-term value for our stockholders,” said Joseph M. Patti, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Aviragen Therapeutics. “Post-merger, we believe that Vaxart will be well funded to advance its norovirus and HPV oral tablet vaccine programs, and together with BTA074, the combined companies are poised to provide several meaningful value creation clinical data readouts.”

Corporate Update:

Proposed Merger with Vaxart:

The exchange ratio in the merger agreement was determined by Vaxart assigning $60,000,000 in value to Aviragen for its financial and clinical assets, and $90,000,000 in value for its own assets. On a pro forma basis after giving effect to the number of shares of Aviragen common stock issued to Vaxart security holders in the merger, current Vaxart security holders will own approximately 60% of the combined company and current Aviragen security holders will own approximately 40% of the combined company. The transactions have been approved by the boards of directors of both companies. The merger is expected to close in the first quarter of calendar year 2018, subject to the approval of the stockholders of each company as well as other customary conditions.

Upon closing of the transaction, the name of the combined company will become Vaxart, Inc. and shares of the combined company are expected to continue trading on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the proposed ticker symbol VXRT. Wouter Latour, M.D., will serve as Chief Executive Officer of the combined company.

BTA074 (teslexivir):

The Phase 2 trial of BTA074, a topical antiviral treatment for condyloma caused by human papillomavirus (HPV), is ongoing and the Company anticipates that enrollment in the 210 patient trial will be completed in the fourth quarter of calendar year 2017. Top-line safety and efficacy data is expected in the second quarter of calendar year 2018.

Financial Results for the Three Month Period Ended September 30, 2017

The Company reported a net loss of $5.3 million for the three month period ended September 30, 2017, as compared to a net loss of $10.0 million in the same quarter of the prior fiscal year. Basic and diluted net loss per share was $0.14 for the three month period ended September 30, 2017, as compared to a basic and diluted net loss per share of $0.26 in the same period in 2016. The major components of net loss in both periods are detailed below.

Revenue was $0.1 million for the three month periods ended September 30, 2017 and 2016. The 2017 revenue relates to $0.1 million in non-cash royalty revenue related to certain royalty rights that were sold to HealthCare Royalty Partners III, L.P. (HCRP) in April 2016 and the cash will be passed through to HCRP. The 2016 revenue was comprised of $0.1 million in Relenza royalties.

Research and development expense decreased to $2.8 million for the three month period ended September 30, 2017 from $7.6 million in the same period in 2016. The $4.8 million decrease largely reflected reduced clinical trial activity and manufacturing costs as two of our three Phase 2 clinical trials finished in the third quarter of fiscal 2017.

General and administrative expense increased to $2.3 million for the three month period ended September 30, 2017 from $2.2 million for the same period in 2016 due mostly to higher legal fees.

The Company held $34.1 million in cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments as of September 30, 2017.

Intellia Therapeutics to Present at November Healthcare Investor Conferences

On November 2, 2017 Intellia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTLA), a leading genome editing company focused on the development of curative therapeutics using CRISPR/Cas9 technology, reported that it will present at the following upcoming healthcare conferences in November (Press release, Intellia Therapeutics, NOV 2, 2017, View Source [SID1234521516]):

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Tuesday, November 7, 2017
Credit Suisse 26th Annual Healthcare Conference
Who: Tom Barnes, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Innovation Sciences
Location: Scottsdale, Arizona
Presentation Time: 9:45am MST (11:45am EST)

Wednesday, November 15, 2017
Jefferies London Healthcare Conference
Who: John Leonard, M.D., Executive Vice President, R&D
Location: London, United Kingdom
Presentation Time: 8:40am GMT (2:40am EST)

Thursday, November 30, 2017
Barclays Gene Editing/Therapy Summit
Who: Nessan Bermingham, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer and Founder
Location: New York, New York
Presentation Time: 1:40pm EST

A live webcast of Intellia’s presentations will be accessible through the Events and Presentations page of the Investor Relations section of the company’s website at www.intelliatx.com. To access the webcasts, please log on to the Intellia website approximately 15 minutes prior to the start time to ensure adequate time for any software downloads that may be required. A replay of the webcast will be available on Intellia’s website for 14 days following each conference.

10-Q – Quarterly report [Sections 13 or 15(d)]

Abbott has filed a 10-Q – Quarterly report [Sections 13 or 15(d)] with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (Filing, 10-Q, Abbott, 2017, NOV 2, 2017, View Source [SID1234521498]).

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10-Q – Quarterly report [Sections 13 or 15(d)]

Johnson & Johnson has filed a 10-Q – Quarterly report [Sections 13 or 15(d)] with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission .

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Aradigm Announces Third Quarter 2017 Financial Results

On November 2, 2017 Aradigm Corporation (NASDAQ: ARDM) (the “Company”) reported financial results for the third quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2017 (Press release, Aradigm, NOV 2, 2017, View Source [SID1234521472]).

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The Company recorded $2.7 million in revenue in the third quarter of 2017 compared with $50,000 in revenue in the third quarter of 2016. The Company recognized $2.7 million in contract revenue – related party, $6,000 in government contract revenue and $13,000 in government grant revenue for the third quarter of 2017, as compared to $40,000 in contract revenue – related party and $10,000 in government grant revenue for the third quarter of 2016. For the third quarter of 2017, the Company recorded $1.3 million and $1.4 million in revenue under the Grifols agreement for regulatory submission services related to the filing of the NDA, and regulatory approval services related to the NDA, respectively. No revenue was recognized for these contract components in the comparable period.

Total operating expenses for the third quarter of 2017 were $5.7 million, compared with total operating expenses of $7.3 million for the third quarter of 2016. The decrease in research and development expenses of $2.3 million was due to lower contract manufacturing and clinical trial costs because the Linhaliq Phase 3 clinical trials in non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis (NCFBE) are complete, offset by higher employee-related expenses due to the higher number of employees and higher consulting expenses in support of the Linhaliq regulatory process towards U.S. and European Union approvals for market authorization. The increase in general and administrative expenses of $0.7 million was primarily related to higher performance bonus expense, higher legal expenses, higher non-cash stock compensation expense and higher consulting expenses.

Net loss for the third quarter of 2017 was $3.9 million or $0.26 per share, compared with a net loss of $8.2 million or $0.55 per share in the third quarter of 2016. For the quarter ended September 30, 2017, the decrease in net loss resulted primarily from an increase in revenue of $2.7 million and a decrease in operating expenses of $1.6 million.

As of September 30, 2017, the Company reported cash and cash equivalents of $12.6 million, which includes the receipt of the $5 million milestone payment received from Grifols S.A. in September 2017 for the achievement of the Linhaliq NDA filing.

“Patients with non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis, and especially those with chronic lung infections with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, are at risk of experiencing pulmonary exacerbations that often require interventions with antibiotics and hospitalization. Linhaliq has been developed to reduce the number of these burdensome events. Our team is working closely with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to support them in their ongoing review of the Linhaliq NDA in order to achieve the PDUFA (Prescription Drug User Fee Act) goal date of January 26, 2018,” said Igor Gonda, President and Chief Executive Officer, Aradigm Corporation.

About Non-Cystic Fibrosis Bronchiectasis

NCFBE is a severe, chronic and rare disease characterized by abnormal dilatation of the bronchi and bronchioles, frequently associated with chronic lung infections. It is often a consequence of a vicious cycle of inflammation, recurrent lung infections, and bronchial wall damage. NCFBE represents an unmet medical need with high morbidity and mortality that affects more than 150,000 people in the U.S. and over 200,000 people in Europe. NCFBE patients who have chronic infections with Pseudomonas aeruginosa have a 6.5-fold increase in hospitalization, three times higher mortality, and a worse quality of life compared with those without P. aeruginosa infections. There is currently no drug approved for the treatment of this condition.