On April 21, 2016 Transgene (Paris:TNG), a company focused on discovering and developing targeted immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases, reported a business update for the quarter ending March 31, 2016 (Press release, Transgene, APR 21, 2016, View Source [SID:1234511236]).
Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:
Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing
Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!
Operating revenue:
The following table summarizes the first quarter operating revenue1 for 2016 compared to the same period in 2015:
Q1
In millions of euros 2016 2015
Revenue from collaborative and licensing agreements 0.4 0.5
Government financing for research expenditures 1.6 2.3
Operating revenue 2.0 2.8
During the first quarter of 2016, revenue from collaborative and licensing agreements was mainly composed of research services and royalties.
As of March 31, 2016, government financing for research expenditures mainly consisted of 25% of the research tax credit expected for 2016 (€1.6 million in the first quarter of 2016 versus €2.0 million over the same period in 2015). This decrease was due to lower eligible research and development expenses, explained by the restructuring of the Company.
Cash, cash equivalents, available-for-sale financial assets and other financial assets:
Cash, cash equivalents, available-for-sale financial assets and other financial assets stood at €23.5 million as of March 31, 2016, compared to €31.7 million as of December 31, 2015. Cash burn was €8.2 million in the first quarter of 2016, versus €8.9 million for the same quarter last year. Net cash outflows linked to the restructuring plan amounted to €2.0 million over the period. Excluding the above disbursements, cash burn stood at €6.2 million in the first quarter of 2016, reflecting the first positive effects of the reorganization plan.
As a reminder, Transgene secured up to €30 million of new funding in January 2016, to be drawn within the fiscal year. This consisted of a loan facility of €20 million from the EIB (European Investment Bank), and the commitment by its major shareholder, Institut Mérieux, to provide additional funding of approximately €10 million.
Key achievements of the first quarter of 2016:
Pexa-Vec: first patient with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma treated in the Phase 3 trial conducted by Transgene’s partner, SillaJen, Inc.
Loan agreement of €20 million from the European Investment Bank (EIB), under the IDFF (Infectious Diseases Finance Facility) program
Finalization of the restructuring plan and sale of the production asset to ABL Europe for an amount of €3.5 million
Management team strengthened: Maud Brandely, MD, PhD appointed Chief Medical Officer, and John Felitti, JD, LLM appointed as General Counsel & Corporate Secretary
Outlook:
Transgene confirms that it expects 2016 cash burn to be around €35 million, which includes the development plan as currently programmed, as well as extraordinary items such as restructuring expenditures (€6 million) and a milestone payment to SillaJen, Inc. Projected cash burn excludes the impact of the possible Conditional Marketing Approval submission in Europe for TG4010 and the associated Phase 3 trial initiation, which is currently being evaluated.