On May 16, 2019 NGM Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: NGM), a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on developing transformative therapeutics for patients, reported first quarter 2019 financial results for the period ending March 31, 2019 (Press release, NGM Biopharmaceuticals, MAY 16, 2019, View Source [SID1234536424]).

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"We’ve had a productive 2019 thus far, making progress on multiple fronts, including the initiation of a Phase 2b clinical trial evaluating NGM282 in patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and F2-F3 liver fibrosis," said David J. Woodhouse, Ph.D., chief executive officer of NGM. "Bolstered by the successful completion of our IPO in April and a strong cash position, we continue to advance our broad clinical and preclinical pipeline of next generation medicines. We look forward to sharing further developments regarding these programs later this year."

First Quarter 2019 and Recent Highlights

Completed Initial Public Offering (IPO) and concurrent private placement with Merck. The company’s common stock commenced trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol "NGM" on April 4, 2019. The IPO, priced at a public offering price of $16.00 per share, raised $111.9 million in aggregate net proceeds, including shares sold to the underwriters pursuant to the partial exercise of their overallotment option and after deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions. The company received $65.9 million in additional proceeds from a concurrent private placement of shares of common stock to Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. (Merck) at the IPO public offering price of $16.00 per share.

Dosed first patient in Phase 2b ALPINE 2/3 clinical study in NASH patients with F2-F3 fibrosis for NGM282. The Phase 2b ALPINE 2/3 study is expected to enroll approximately 150 patients with biopsy-confirmed NASH and stage F2-F3 liver fibrosis, and will assess the efficacy, safety and tolerability of NGM282 compared to placebo. The primary efficacy objective is to evaluate the treatment effect after 24 weeks of three dose levels of NGM282 (0.3 mg, 1 mg and 3 mg) on liver histology, which is defined as an improvement in liver fibrosis (³ 1 stage change) with no worsening of NASH or a resolution of NASH (defined as a NAFLD activity score for inflammation of 0 or 1 and ballooning score of 0) with no worsening of fibrosis. NGM anticipates announcing preliminary results from this Phase 2b clinical study in 2020.

Extended strategic collaboration with Merck. In March, Merck exercised its option to extend its broad, strategic collaboration with NGM for an additional two-year period from March 2020 to March 2022. During the two-year extension period, Merck will continue to fund NGM’s research and development efforts at the same levels as the original collaboration terms and, in lieu of a $20 million extension fee payable to NGM, Merck will make additional payments totaling $20 million in support of NGM’s research and development activities during 2021 and the first quarter of 2022. The companies also announced that Merck will terminate its license to NGM’s growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) receptor agonist program, effective May 31, 2019, at which time the program rights will return to NGM.

Appointed Hsiao D. Lieu, M.D., as Senior Vice President, Chief Medical Officer. In March, NGM announced the appointment of Hsiao D. Lieu, M.D. as Senior Vice President, Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Lieu most recently served as Vice President of Early Clinical Development at Genentech, where he was responsible for early phase drug development for all non-oncology indications, including ophthalmology, metabolic, neurology and inflammation. Concurrent with Dr. Lieu’s appointment, Alex DePaoli, M.D., who had served as NGM’s founding Chief Medical Officer, transitioned to the role of Senior Vice President, Chief Translational Officer. In this new role, Dr. DePaoli is focused on guiding NGM’s robust discovery portfolio into clinical development.

First Quarter Financial Results

Related party revenue for the first quarter of 2019 was $25.6 million compared to $18.6 million for the same period in 2018.

Research and development expenses for the first quarter of 2019 were $29.5 million, as compared to $19.5 million for the same period in 2018. The increase in research and development expense was primarily related to an increase in external research and development expenses associated with the advancement of NGM’s growing pipeline and increased NGM282 program expenses due to the ongoing Phase 2 clinical trials.

General and administrative expenses for the first quarter 2019 were $5.4 million, as compared to $3.9 million for the same period in 2018. The increase in general and administrative expenses was primarily attributable to personnel-related expenses and an increase in legal and professional service expenses required to support NGM’s ongoing operations.

For the first quarter of 2019, NGM reported a net loss of $8.3 million, compared to a net loss of $3.9 million for the same period in 2018.

Cash, cash equivalents and short-term marketable securities were $193.4 million as of March 31, 2019, which does not include the net proceeds from NGM’s initial public offering and the private placement of shares with Merck, which closed in April, compared to $206.6 million as of December 31, 2018.