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Rocket Pharmaceuticals Reports First Quarter 2019 Financial Results and Operational Highlights

On May 8, 2019 Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: RCKT) ("Rocket"), a leading U.S.-based multi-platform clinical-stage gene therapy company, reported financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2019, and provides an update on the Company’s recent achievements, as well as upcoming milestones (Press release, Rocket Pharmaceuticals, MAY 8, 2019, View Source [SID1234535954]).

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"Last quarter, we continued to lay the groundwork towards achieving our objective of having four programs in the clinic by year end," said Gaurav Shah, M.D., Chief Executive Officer and President of Rocket. "We initiated our Phase 1 clinical trial for FA ‘Process B’ and are encouraged by the continued long-term clinical profile of patients receiving ‘Process A’ RP-L102. We are also encouraged by the strong preclinical data package of RP-A501 as it nears the clinic. In non-human primate studies, RP-A501 demonstrated robust transduction and LAMP2 protein expression in all four heart chambers, the key target organ for Danon disease."

"We remain focused on our core strategic goal of bringing transformative gene therapies to patients with devastating rare diseases, as quickly as possible. With the closing of our most recent equity raise, we are well capitalized to advance our pipeline and look forward to providing updates on two clinical programs by year end," Dr. Shah concluded.

Recent Pipeline and Corporate Updates

Presentation of preclinical and clinical updates at the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ASGCT) (Free ASGCT Whitepaper) 2019 Annual Meeting. At ASGCT (Free ASGCT Whitepaper), Rocket’s oral and poster presentations highlighted promising data on four gene therapy programs: Fanconi Anemia (FA), Danon disease, Leukocyte Adhesion Deficiency-I (LAD-I) and Pyruvate Kinase Deficiency (PKD). Oral and poster presentations are available online: View Source
Patient dosing commences in Phase 1 clinical study for FA with improved "Process B". The Center for Definitive and Curative Medicine at Stanford is serving as the lead U.S. clinical site. "Process B" incorporates a modified cell enrichment process, transduction enhancers, and commercial-grade vector manufacturing and cell processing. Initial patients have received treatment under "Process B" at Stanford under a U.S.-focused Phase 1 study, with additional Phase 2 enrollment anticipated in the second half of 2019. Preliminary data from the Phase 1 "Process B" study are expected by the end of 2019.
Partnership with University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to lead U.S. clinical development efforts for LAD-I and Infantile Malignant Osteopetrosis (IMO) programs. UCLA and its Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research is serving as the lead U.S. clinical research center for the planned registrational clinical trial for LAD-I and also a lead U.S. clinical site for IMO.
Grant awarded from California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). CIRM awarded Rocket a $6.5 million grant to support the development of RP-L201 for LAD-I. The grant will help fund the U.S. Phase 1/2 LAD-I registration-enabling study. The trial will evaluate the safety and efficacy of the infusion of autologous hematopoietic stem cells transduced with a lentiviral vector encoding the ITGB2 gene.
Rare Pediatric Disease designation for IMO. Rocket received Rare Pediatric Disease designation from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for RP-L401 for the treatment of IMO. The FDA defines a "rare pediatric disease" as a serious and life-threatening disease that affects less than 200,000 people in the U.S. that are aged between birth to 18 years. The Rare Pediatric Disease designation program allows for a Sponsor who receives an approval for a product to potentially qualify for a voucher that can be redeemed to receive a priority review of a subsequent marketing application for a different product.
Approximately $90.6 million secured in public equity offering. Rocket successfully closed an oversubscribed underwritten public offering of common stock for gross proceeds of approximately $90.6 million. Net of expenses, the Company received approximately $86.0 million in net proceeds.
Anticipated Milestones

FA (RP-L102)
Initial Phase 1 data under "Process B" (2H19)
Regulatory alignment on final endpoints for registration and Phase 2 study (2H19)
Additional data from RP-L102 (2020)
Danon Disease (RP-A501)
Initiation of Phase 1 study (2Q19)
Phase 1 data (2020)
Initiate Phase 2/registration-enabling study (2020)
LAD-I (RP-L201)
Initiation of registration-enabling Phase 1/2 study (2Q19)
Initial Phase 1 data (2H19)
Additional data from RP-L201 (2020)
PKD (RP-L301)
Initiation of Phase 1 study (2H19)
Data from Phase 1 (2020)
IMO (RP-L401)
Initiation of clinical study (1H20)
Upcoming Investor Conferences

Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Healthcare Conference 2019. Rocket is scheduled to present on Wednesday, May 15, 2019, at 3:40 p.m. Pacific Time. Rocket will also participate in a Gene Therapy Panel on Wednesday, May 15, 2019, at 4:20 p.m. Pacific Time.
First Quarter 2019 Financial Results

Cash position. Cash, cash equivalents and investments as of March 31, 2019, were $196.6 million.
Debt. Our balance sheet includes a $52.0 million fully convertible debenture which matures in August of 2021.
R&D expenses. Research and development expenses were $15.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2019, compared to $5.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2018. The increase was primarily driven by increases in manufacturing and process development expenses of $5.5 million and research agreement expenses of $1.9 million.
G&A expenses. General and administrative expenses were $3.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2019, compared to $8.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2018. The decrease was primarily due to certain stock compensation and severance termination expenses in Q-1, 2018 related to the reverse merger with Inotek Pharmaceuticals Corporation.
Net loss. Net loss was $19.5 million or $0.43 per share (basic and diluted) for the three months ended March 31, 2019, compared to $15.3 million or $0.42 per share (basic and diluted) for the three months ended March 31, 2018.
Shares outstanding. 45,114,437 million shares of common stock were outstanding as of March 31, 2019.
Financial Guidance

Cash position. As of March 31, 2019, we had cash, cash equivalents and investments of $196.6 million. On April 18, 2019, Rocket closed a public offering of 5,175,000 shares of common stock and received net proceeds of approximately $86.0 million. Considering the net proceeds from the public offering, Rocket expects such resources will be sufficient to fund its operations into the first half of 2021. As of April 30, 2019, we had cash, cash equivalents and investments of $273.1 million.

Y-mAbs Therapeutics To Present at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Healthcare Conference in Las Vegas

On May 8, 2019 Y-mAbs Therapeutics, Inc. (the "Company" or "Y-mAbs") (Nasdaq: YMAB) a late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel, antibody-based therapeutic products for the treatment of cancer, reported that Dr. Claus Møller, MD, Ph.D., the Company’s Chief Executive Officer will provide an overview and update on the Company’s business at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Healthcare Conference in Las Vegas (Press release, Y-mAbs Therapeutics, MAY 8, 2019, View Source [SID1234535953]). The presentation will take place on Wednesday, May 15, 2019, at 3:00 PM PDT, and the presentation deck will be made available on the Company website at the time of presentation.

Altimmune to Announce First Quarter 2019 Financial Results on May 15

On May 8, 2019 Altimmune, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALT), a clinical-stage immunotherapeutics company, reported that it will announce financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2019 before the market open and host a conference call on Wednesday, May 15, 2019 (Press release, Altimmune, MAY 8, 2019, View Source [SID1234535952]).

Conference Call Details
Date: Wednesday, May 15
Time: 8:30 am Eastern Time
Domestic: 877-423-9813
International: 201-689-8573
Conference ID: 13690295
Webcast: View Source

BioCryst Reports First Quarter 2019 Financial Results

On May 8, 2019 BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:BCRX) reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2019 and provided a corporate update (Press release, BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, MAY 8, 2019, http://ir.biocryst.com/news-releases/news-release-details/biocryst-reports-first-quarter-2019-financial-results [SID1234535951]).

"In a year with many milestones across our multiple advancing programs of oral medicines for rare diseases, BioCryst has achieved significant progress in the first quarter and we look forward to reporting data from our APeX-2 trial in the second quarter and filing a new drug application by the end of the year," said Jon Stonehouse, president and chief executive officer of BioCryst.

"We believe that oral BCX7353 could be transformative for many HAE patients and provide them with the opportunity for a normal life without the burden and discomfort of frequent injections and infusions," Stonehouse added.

First Quarter 2019 Corporate Developments

The company dosed the first patients in its APeX-J trial in Japan, designed to support potential Japanese approval of BCX7353 for the prevention of HAE attacks.

On March 4, 2019, the company announced that it is advancing BCX9930, an oral Factor D inhibitor, into Phase 1 clinical development in the second quarter of 2019 for the treatment of complement-mediated diseases.

On February 23, 2019, the company announced data from the completed ZENITH-1 trial (including the 250 mg and 500 mg dose cohorts) of BCX7353 for the acute treatment of HAE attacks at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. The company plans to commence a Phase 3 trial, ZENITH-2, in the summer of 2019.

On February 6, 2019, the company announced it had entered into a $100 million secured credit facility with MidCap Financial Trust pursuant to the terms and conditions of an amended and restated credit and security agreement.

On January 4, 2019, the company announced it had appointed Steve Aselage to its board of directors.

On January 2, 2019, the company announced the dosing of the first subject in a randomized, placebo-controlled Phase 1 clinical trial to evaluate intravenous galidesivir, its investigational broad-spectrum antiviral drug, in healthy volunteers.
Upcoming Key Milestones

HAE Program – BCX7353

Report 24-week safety and efficacy results from the Phase 3 APeX-2 clinical trial (Q2 2019)

Begin ZENITH-2, a Phase 3 clinical trial of oral BCX7353 (750 mg) for the acute treatment of HAE (Summer 2019)

File a new drug application for oral BCX7353 for the prevention of HAE attacks with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (Q4 2019)

File a marketing authorization application for oral BCX7353 for the prevention of HAE attacks with the European Medicines Agency (EMA) (Q1 2020)
Complement Factor D Inhibitor Program – BCX9930

Begin a Phase 1 trial of BCX9930, an oral Factor D inhibitor for treatment of complement-mediated diseases, in healthy subjects (Q2 2019)

Report Phase 1 results (Q4 2019)
ALK-2 Inhibitor Program – BCX9250

Begin a Phase 1 clinical trial of BCX9250, an oral ALK-2 kinase inhibitor for treatment of FOP, in healthy subjects (2H 2019)
First Quarter 2019 Financial Results

For the three months ended March 31, 2019, total revenues were $5.9 million, compared to $4.0 million in the first quarter of 2018. The increase was primarily due to the recognition of $1.7 million of peramivir product sales to Green Cross, the company’s commercial partner in Korea, and an increase in revenue from galidesivir development under U.S. government contracts, and partially offset by lower royalty revenue.

Research and development (R&D) expenses for the first quarter of 2019 increased to $27.5 million from $18.4 million in the first quarter of 2018, primarily due to increased spending on the HAE, preclinical and galidesivir programs.

General and administrative (G&A) expenses for the first quarter of 2019 decreased to $6.2 million, compared to $7.6 million in the first quarter of 2018. The decrease was primarily due to approximately $4.7 million of merger-related costs that were incurred in the first quarter of 2018 but did not recur in 2019, offset by an overall increase in G&A expenses as the company prepares for the commercial launch of BCX7353.

Interest expense was $2.7 million in the first quarter of 2019, compared to $2.2 million in the first quarter of 2018 and was primarily associated with enhancements to the company’s secured credit facility in July 2018 and February 2019.

Net loss for the first quarter of 2019 was $31.1 million, or $0.28 per share, compared to a net loss of $25.8 million, or $0.26 per share, for the first quarter of 2018.

Cash, cash equivalents and investments totaled $121.6 million at March 31, 2019, and reflect a decrease from $128.4 million at December 31, 2018. Cash and investments reflect the proceeds from an enhancement to our secured credit facility in February 2019 and were partially offset by normal operating expenses. Operating cash use for the first quarter of 2019 was $27.1 million.

In February 2019, the company entered into a $100 million secured credit facility with MidCap Financial Trust which further enhanced the company’s cash position with $20 million of immediate additional non-dilutive capital and also provided additional financial flexibility through the ability to draw another $50 million of milestone-based non-dilutive capital.

Financial Outlook for 2019

BioCryst continues to expect net operating cash use to be in the range of $105 to $130 million, and its 2019 operating expenses to be in the range of $120 to $145 million. The company’s operating expense range excludes equity-based compensation expense due to the difficulty in reliably projecting this expense, as it is impacted by the volatility and price of the company’s stock, as well as by the vesting of the company’s outstanding performance-based stock options.

Conference Call and Webcast

BioCryst management will host a conference call and webcast at 8:30 a.m. ET today to discuss the financial results and provide a corporate update. The live call may be accessed by dialing 877-303-8027 for domestic callers and 760-536-5165 for international callers and using conference ID # 1777029. A live webcast of the call and any slides will be available online at the investors section of the company website at www.biocryst.com. A telephone replay of the call will be available by dialing 855-859-2056 for domestic callers or 404-537-3406 for international callers and entering the conference ID # 1777029.

Moderna Reports First Quarter 2019 Financial Results and Provides Business Updates

On May 8, 2019 Moderna, Inc. (Nasdaq: MRNA), a clinical stage biotechnology company pioneering messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics and vaccines to create a new generation of transformative medicines for patients, reported financial results for the first quarter of 2019 and provided business updates (Press release, Moderna Therapeutics, MAY 8, 2019, View Source/news-releases/news-release-details/moderna-reports-first-quarter-2019-financial-results-and" target="_blank" title="View Source/news-releases/news-release-details/moderna-reports-first-quarter-2019-financial-results-and" rel="nofollow">View Source [SID1234535950]).

"We continue to execute against our corporate objectives as we progress clinical studies across our development portfolio, introduce a new mRNA rare disease development candidate and focus on identifying additional modalities and disease targets," said Stéphane Bancel, Moderna’s chief executive officer. "We are excited to pursue a treatment to potentially address the underlying cause of glycogen storage disease type 1a, and we believe this candidate also reflects the continued productivity of our mRNA platform. At yesterday’s annual Science Day event, we presented new insights into our mRNA and delivery science, including the potential delivery of mRNA to white blood cells. While our team has additional research to perform in this area, we look forward to being able to bring new candidates into development as we continue working to help patients with a wide range of serious diseases."

Moderna currently has 21 mRNA development candidates in its portfolio with 11 in clinical studies. Across Moderna’s pipeline, more than 1,000 subjects have been enrolled in clinical studies. The Company’s updated pipeline can be found at www.modernatx.com/pipeline.

Summary of Recent Highlights by Modality

Prophylactic vaccines: Moderna is developing vaccines against viral diseases where there is unmet medical need – including complex vaccines with multiple antigens for common diseases, as well as vaccines against epidemic and pandemic threats to global public health.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine (mRNA-1777 and mRNA-1172): Merck has filed an investigational new drug (IND) application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and plans to run a Phase 1 study for a follow-on development candidate (mRNA-1172), a vaccine for RSV which has shown enhanced potency in preclinical studies and uses a Merck proprietary formulation. As a result, further development of mRNA-1777 has been paused and next steps will be determined based on data from the new mRNA-1172 Phase 1 study.
Varicella zoster virus (VZV) vaccine (mRNA-1278): Based on an assessment of the commercial opportunity, research priorities and other factors, Merck has discontinued preclinical development of mRNA-1278, an investigational vaccine for VZV (the virus that causes shingles). Merck has returned rights to Moderna, and the Company will not continue development at this time.
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) vaccine (mRNA-1647): The first three dose levels in Moderna’s ongoing study of mRNA-1647 are fully enrolled, and the study is currently enrolling subjects into the fourth (300μg) dose cohort. The Phase 1 study is randomized, observer-blind and placebo-controlled with the goal of evaluating the safety and immunogenicity of mRNA-1647, a vaccine against the pentamer and gB complexes of CMV.
Presentation of note: Moderna presented data from its Phase 1 studies of vaccines against viruses that cause respiratory diseases at the European Society for Pediatric Infectious Disease (ESPID) meeting held in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Cancer Vaccines: These programs focus on stimulating a patient’s immune system with antigens derived from tumor-specific mutations to enable the immune system to elicit a more effective anti-tumor response.

Personalized cancer vaccines (PCVs) (mRNA-4157, NCI-4650): Two abstracts for Moderna PCV programs were accepted for presentation at the 2019 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting. Moderna will present new updates to clinical data from the Company’s Phase 1 study of mRNA-4157, a PCV being studied alone in patients with resected solid tumors and in combination with Merck’s pembrolizumab in patients with unresectable solid tumors. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) will also present data from its Phase 1 study of PCV NCI-4650, a monotherapy for patients with advanced metastatic cancers. The two abstracts are:
Moderna: A Phase 1 multi-center study to assess the safety, tolerability and immunogenicity of mRNA-4157 alone in patients with resected solid tumors and in combination with pembrolizumab in patients with unresectable solid tumors. Selected for a Poster Discussion, Saturday, June 1, 1:15 PM-2:45 PM CST.
NCI: Immunogenicity and tolerability of personalized mRNA vaccine mRNA-4650 encoding defined neoantigens expressed by the autologous cancer. Selected for a Poster Session, Saturday, June 1, 8:00 AM-11:00 AM CST.
Moderna and NCI PCVs are designed and manufactured individually based on the DNA sequence of a patient’s tumor, encoding for peptides containing mutations found in their cancer in order to deliver multiple unique and personalized neoantigens in a single vaccine. Moderna’s PCV now includes up to 34 neoantigens, up from 20. The NCI program uses Moderna’s mRNA technology but uses a different neoantigen selection process and study design.

Intratumoral Immuno-Oncology: These programs aim to drive anti-cancer T cell responses by injecting mRNA therapies directly into tumors.

OX40L (mRNA-2416): Moderna continues to enroll patients in its Phase 1/2 trial evaluating mRNA-2416, an intratumoral injection of mRNA encoding OX40L, for the treatment of advanced relapsed/refractory solid tumor malignancies and lymphomas and is also preparing to start enrollment of a Phase 2 expansion cohort of the study in patients with advanced ovarian carcinoma.
OX40L + IL23 + IL36γ (Triplet) (mRNA-2752): Moderna continues to dose a second cohort (0.5 mg) of patients in its ongoing Phase 1 study evaluating the safety and tolerability of mRNA- 2752 for the treatment of advanced or metastatic solid tumor malignancies or lymphoma. mRNA-2752 is an investigational mRNA immuno-oncology therapy that encodes a novel combination of three immunomodulators designed to activate the immune system to recognize and eradicate tumors that are resistant to checkpoint inhibitors. It is being studied both as a single agent and in combination with AstraZeneca’s durvalumab or tremelimumab.
IL12 (MEDI1191): At the American Academy of Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting in March, Moderna’s strategic collaborator AstraZeneca shared preclinical data that supported advancing MEDI1191 into a Phase 1 clinical study. MEDI1191 is an mRNA encoding for IL12, a potent immunomodulatory cytokine, which aims to enhance immune response in immunologically "cold" tumors. AstraZeneca is now leading an open-label, multi-center study of intratumoral injections of MEDI1191 alone and in combination with a checkpoint inhibitor.
Systemic Secreted Therapeutics: In this modality, mRNA is delivered systemically to create proteins that are secreted outside the cell with the aim of producing pharmaceutically active proteins with therapeutic effects across the human body.

Antibody against the chikungunya virus (mRNA-1944): Moderna has completed enrollment of the second dose level cohort (0.3 mg/kg) of its Phase 1 study evaluating the safety and tolerability of escalating doses of mRNA-1944 via intravenous infusion in healthy adults. This is the first monoclonal antibody encoded by mRNA to be dosed in a human and the first development candidate from the Company’s systemic secreted therapeutics modality to start clinical testing. The formulation used for mRNA-1944 is also utilized in Moderna’s MMA program.
Systemic Intracellular Therapeutics: These programs aim to deliver mRNA into cells within target organs as a therapeutic approach for diseases caused by a missing or defective protein.

Methylmalonic acidemia (MMA) (mRNA-3704): Site initiation activities are ongoing for the Phase 1 study of mRNA-3704, Moderna’s program for the rare metabolic disease MMA.
Propionic acidemia (PA) (mRNA-3927): The European Commission (EC) has adopted the recommendation from the Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products for orphan drug designation for mRNA-3927, a development candidate for propionic acidemia (PA).

Additionally, enrollment continues in the Company’s global natural history study of MMA and PA (MaP study). This is a global, multi-center, non-interventional study for patients with confirmed diagnosis of MMA due to methylmalonyl-CoA mutase (MUT) deficiency or PA and is designed to identify and correlate clinical and biomarker endpoints for these disorders.
Glycogen storage disease type 1a (GSD1a) (mRNA-3745): Moderna has selected a new development candidate for the rare inherited metabolic disease GSD1a. GSD1a results in a buildup of glycogen in tissues and an inability to regulate glucose, due to mutations within the enzyme glucose 6-phosphatase (G6Pase), leading to life-threatening hypoglycemia and long-term liver and kidney damage. Patients with this disease incur metabolite buildup associated with hepatomegaly (enlarged livers), which can lead to benign and malignant liver tumors. mRNA-3745 is an IV-administered mRNA encoding G6Pase enzyme, designed to restore deficient or defective intracellular enzyme activity. This is expected to increase blood glucose levels, while decreasing levels of uric acid, lactic acid and triglycerides. In a mouse model, Moderna has shown the ability to improve hypoglycemia and other metabolic abnormalities associated with GSD1a, and mice treated with G6Pase mRNA showed a dose-dependent improvement in fasting glycemia and a reduction in both serum triglycerides and liver weight. There are approximately 6,500 GSD1a patients in the United States and the European Union. Disease management requires a strict diet to maintain blood glucose levels with some patients requiring a liver transplant. Preclinical data from this program were shared at the 22nd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT) (Free ASGCT Whitepaper).
Other systemic therapeutic preclinical research: Also at ASGCT (Free ASGCT Whitepaper) 2019, Moderna and academic collaborators gave oral presentations and shared data from seven preclinical animal studies using mRNA-based therapies for several rare diseases including: ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency (OTC) and maple syrup urine disease (MSUD) (in collaboration with the Gene Therapy Program at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania); arginase-1 (ARG1) deficiency (in collaboration with the University of California, Los Angeles Department of Surgery and Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology); factor VIII deficiency (hemophilia A) (in collaboration with the Seattle Children’s Research Institute); adult-onset type II citrullinemia (CTLN2); and progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis type 3 (PFIC3). These programs are early research initiatives and presently are not Moderna development candidates.
Publication of note: In March, Moderna published data in the American Journal of Human Genetics that showed preclinical proof-of-concept for administering mRNA encoding human ɑ-Gal, across species, as a potential systemic mRNA therapy for the treatment of Fabry disease.
Information about each development candidate in Moderna’s pipeline, including those discussed in this press release, can be found on the investor relations page of its website View Source/." target="_blank" title="View Source/." rel="nofollow">View Source

First Quarter 2019 Financial Results

Cash Position: Cash, cash equivalents and investments as of March 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018 were $1.55 billion and $1.69 billion, respectively.
Net Cash Used in Operating Activities: Net cash used in operating activities was $143.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2019 compared to $111.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2018. Net cash used in operating activities includes $22.0 million and $25.0 million in the first quarter of 2019 and 2018, respectively, of in-licensing payments to Cellscript, LLC and its affiliate, mRNA RiboTherapeutics, Inc., to sublicense certain patent rights. After 2019, we have no further in-licensing payment obligation to Cellscript and its affiliate.
Cash Used for Purchases of Property and Equipment: Cash used for purchases of property and equipment was $7.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2019 compared to $31.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2018.
Revenue: Total revenue was $16.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2019 compared to $29.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2018. On January 1, 2019, we adopted Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (ASC 606), using the modified retrospective transition method applied to those contracts which were not completed as of January 1, 2019. The total revenue decrease was mainly attributable to the decrease in collaboration revenue from all of our strategic alliances, particularly AstraZeneca and Merck, largely driven by the adoption of ASC 606. Total revenue under the previous revenue recognition standard would have been $37.9 million for the first quarter of 2019.
Research and Development Expenses: Research and development expenses were $130.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2019 compared to $90.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2018. The increase was primarily due to an increase in personnel related costs, including stock-based compensation, mainly driven by an increase in the number of employees supporting research and development programs, an increase in clinical trial and manufacturing costs, an increase in lab supplies and materials for our preclinical studies and clinical trials, and an increase in consulting and outside services costs.
General and Administrative Expenses: General and administrative expenses were $27.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2019 compared to $16.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2018. The increase was mainly attributable to an increase in personnel related costs, including stock-based compensation, primarily driven by an increase in the number of employees, and consulting and outside services costs, both of which were related to operating as a publicly traded company.
Net Loss: Net loss was $132.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2019 compared to $72.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2018.
Other Corporate Updates

Moderna Annual Science Day: On May 7, Moderna hosted its annual Science Day, which featured presentations from Stephen Hoge M.D., president and Melissa Moore Ph.D., chief scientific officer of Moderna’s mRNA research platform, and focused on some of the Company’s latest advances in basic and applied mRNA science. This included improvements in the potency and delivery of potential mRNA medicines, and a new research program focused on delivery of mRNA to the immune system. The archived webcast of Science Day is available under "Events & Presentations" on the Investors section of the Moderna website at View Source and will be available there for approximately 30 days.
Company Management:
Moderna’s mRNA platform chief scientific officer, Dr. Melissa Moore, was recently elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Moderna’s chief human resources officer, Annie Drapeau, left the Company in April to return to a human resources leadership role in the technology industry.
Investor Call and Webcast Information

Moderna will host a live conference call and webcast at 8:00 a.m. ET on Wednesday, May 8, 2019. To access the call, please dial 866-922-5184 (domestic) or 409-937-8950 (international) and refer to conference ID 8273939. A webcast of the call will also be available under "Events & Presentations" in the Investors section of the Moderna website at View Source/." target="_blank" title="View Source/." rel="nofollow">View Source The archived webcast will be available on Moderna’s website approximately two hours after the conference call and will be available for 30 days following the call.