On November 9, 2023 Phio Pharmaceuticals Corp. (Nasdaq: PHIO), a clinical stage biotechnology company whose proprietary INTASYL RNAi platform technology is designed to make immune cells more effective in killing tumor cells, reported its financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2023 and provided a business update (Press release, Phio Pharmaceuticals, NOV 9, 2023, View Source [SID1234637412]).

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!

"We have enrolled the first patient in our U.S. clinical trial with PH-762," announced Phio’s President & CEO, Robert Bitterman. "The initiation of enrollment in this trial represents a milestone as we develop PH-762 for the treatment of squamous cell and other skin cancers. We are optimistic that this novel, alternative immuno-oncology therapy may offer patients and their care providers, enhanced therapeutic outcomes while minimizing invasive intervention."

Recent Corporate Updates

· Enrolled the first patient in its Phase 1b clinical trial of lead product candidate, PH-762.
· Presented new data about its PH-894 INTASYL compound, which targets BRD4, at the AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper)-NCI-EORTC AACR-NCI-EORTC (Free AACR-NCI-EORTC Whitepaper) International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics (EORTC-NCI-AACR) (Free ASGCT Whitepaper) (Free EORTC-NCI-AACR Whitepaper) in Boston.
· Presented new data new data showing INTASYL compound targeting CTLA-4 enhances tumor control at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) (Free SITC Whitepaper).

Financial Results

Cash Position

At September 30, 2023, the Company had cash of $8.4 million as compared with $11.8 million at December 31, 2022.

Research and Development Expenses

Research and development expenses were $1.8 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2023 as compared with $2.5 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2022, a decrease of 28%. The decrease was primarily due to decreased costs with the completion of the Company’s IND-enabling preclinical studies for PH-894 partially offset by an increase in clinical-related costs for the Company’s two U.S. PH-762 Phase 1 clinical trials as compared to the prior year period.

General and Administrative Expenses

General and administrative expenses were $1.0 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2023 as compared with $1.1 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2022, a decrease of 9%. The decrease was primarily due to the reduced use of business development consultants as compared to the prior year period.

Net Loss

Net loss was $2.8 million, or $1.14 per share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2023 as compared with $3.6 million, or $3.14 per share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2022. The decrease was primarily due to the changes in research and development expenses, as described above.