On May 7, 2019 Principia Biopharma Inc. (Nasdaq: PRNB), a late-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to bringing transformative oral therapies to patients with significant unmet medical needs in immunology and oncology, reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2019 (Press release, Principia Biopharma, MAY 7, 2019, View Source [SID1234535891]).
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"In 2019, we are focused on executing our value-creating clinical development initiatives, including enrollment of our global Phase 3 trial in patients with pemphigus, the release of top-line PRN1008 data from a Phase 2 clinical trial in immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) and a Phase 2 extension trial in pemphigus vulgaris," said Martin Babler, president and chief executive officer of Principia. "We started this year with a presentation of our Phase 2 clinical trial, the Believe-PV study, for PRN1008 as part of the Late-breaking Research: Clinical Trials program at the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) annual meeting in Washington D.C. In addition, we have appointed industry veteran Shao-Lee Lin to our Board of Directors and have reacquired the rights to our oral immunoproteasome program from AbbVie."
First Quarter 2019 Financial Results
Cash Position: Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities were $163.6 million as of March 31, 2019, compared to $30.0 million as of March 31, 2018. The increase in Principia’s cash position is mainly due to net proceeds of $113.6 million from its IPO in September 2018 and net proceeds of $49.8 million from its Series C financing.
Revenues: Collaboration revenue was $5.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2019, compared to $11.5 million for the same period in 2018. The decrease was due to the upfront payment of $40.0 million received in December 2017 from Sanofi, which was fully recognized as of December 31, 2018.
R&D Expenses: Total research and development expenses were $15.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2019, including stock-based compensation expense of $1.2 million, compared to $8.8 million for the same period in 2018, including stock-based compensation expense of $0.2 million. The increase in total research and development expenses was mainly driven by an increase in employee-related expenses as we build out our R&D team, and an increase in PRN1008 program costs, due to the initiation of a global Phase 3 trial in patients with pemphigus in November 2018 and the initiation of a Phase 2 clinical trial in patients with immune thrombocytopenia in December 2017.
G&A Expenses: General and administrative expenses were $4.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2019, including stock-based compensation expense of $1.1 million, compared to $2.2 million for the same period in 2018, including stock-based compensation expense of $0.2 million. The increase in total general and administrative expenses was primarily driven by increased employee-related expenses and increased headcount costs. The increased employee-related expenses were attributable to increased stock-based compensation expenses due to a higher valuation of options granted during the three months ended March 31, 2019.
Net Income (Loss): For the three months ended March 31, 2019, net loss was $13.7 million compared to a net income of $0.3 million for the same period in 2018.