On November 15, 2019 Xenetic Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:XBIO) ("Xenetic" or the "Company"), a biopharmaceutical company focused on advancing XCART, a personalized chimeric antigen receptor T cell ("CAR T") platform technology engineered to target patient-specific tumor neoantigens, reported its financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2019 and provided a corporate update (Press release, Xenetic Biosciences, NOV 15, 2019, View Source [SID1234551381]).
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Jeffrey Eisenberg, Chief Executive Officer of Xenetic, commented, "The third quarter marks a pivotal moment in the evolution of Xenetic to date. Following the acquisition of our proprietary XCART platform technology, we believe we have the potential to truly advance CAR T therapy and ultimately address the significant shortcomings that exist in the treatment of many oncology indications. As we look forward to the remainder of 2019 and into 2020, we continue to build momentum and ramp up our efforts to achieve the corporate, clinical and regulatory milestones that we believe will drive significant value for our shareholders."
XCART Platform Technology Overview: Designed to develop cell-based therapeutics for the treatment of multiple tumor types of B-cell Non-Hodgkin lymphomas, an area of significant unmet need, with the potential to address an initial global market opportunity of over $5 billion annually.
Highlights:
Proximity-based screening platform capable of identifying CAR constructs that can target patient-specific tumor neoantigens, with a demonstrated proof of mechanism in B-cell Non-Hodgkin lymphomas.
Believed to have the potential to significantly enhance the safety and efficacy of cell therapy for B-cell lymphomas by generating patient- and tumor-specific CAR T cells.
The XCART technology creates the possibility of personalized treatment of lymphomas utilizing a CAR with an antigen-binding domain that should only recognize, and only be recognized by, the unique BCR of a particular patient’s B-cell lymphoma.
Clinical development program will continue to seek to confirm the early preclinical results, and to demonstrate a more attractive safety profile than existing therapies.
Entered into a research agreement to begin the process of technology transfer of the XCART technology and enable advancement towards the Company’s stated goal of establishing an academic collaboration for XCART development.
PolyXen Platform Technology: Patent-protected enabling platform technology designed for protein or peptide therapeutics, enabling next-generation biological drugs to prolong a drug’s circulating half-life and potentially improve other pharmacological properties.
Highlights:
Exclusive License Agreement with Takeda Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. ("Takeda") in the field of coagulation disorders. Takeda currently has one active development program underway utilizing the PolyXen platform technology. In addition, in October 2017, Xenetic granted rights to Takeda to grant a nonexclusive sublicense to certain patents related to PolyXen to a third party.
Royalty stream resulting from the Takeda sublicense expected to commence by the end of 2019.
Summary of Financial Results for Third Quarter and Nine Months Ended September 30, 2019
The Company reported a net loss of approximately $8.9 million and $11.6 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019, respectively, compared to a net loss of approximately $1.8 million and $5.7 million for the same periods in 2018. The results of the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 included $6.3 million of non-cash expenses composed of in-process research and development expenses of $3.0 million associated with the Company’s acquisition of XCART and Goodwill impairment of $3.3 million, as well as $1.1 million of transaction costs related to our acquisition of XCART. Excluding the $6.3 million of non-cash expenses and $1.1 million of transaction costs, net loss was $1.5 million and $4.2 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019, respectively. The Company has continued to reduce core expenses, control non-essential spending and maximize its available resources to advance its research and development efforts. On July 19, 2019, the Company completed its $15.0 million public offering, resulting in approximately $13.4 million of net proceeds to the Company. The Company ended the third quarter of 2019 with approximately $12.0 million in cash and $11.2 million of working capital.