PhaseRx, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZRX), a biopharmaceutical company developing treatments for life-threatening inherited liver diseases in children, today reported financial results for the quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2016, and provided an update on its corporate activities.
“During the third quarter, we were very proud to add Peggy Phillips to our board of directors and Gordon Brandt, M.D., as our chief medical officer,” said Robert W. Overell, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer. “They both bring years of experience in clinical development and drug approvals, and will expand our capabilities as our company continues to progress into clinical and ultimately commercial development.”
Corporate Update
| · | On July 11, PhaseRx announced the presentation of data evaluating its mRNA Hybrid TechnologyTM platform at the 43rd Annual Meeting & Exposition of the Controlled Release Society (CRS) that took place July 17-20, 2016, in Seattle. The presentation was titled “Targeted mRNA Delivery to the Liver for Intracellular Enzyme Replacement Therapy (i-ERT).” |
| · | On July 20, the company announced the appointment of Gordon Brandt, M.D., as chief medical officer. |
| · | On August 22, PhaseRx announced the appointment of Peggy Phillips to the company’s board of directors. |
Financial Results for the Three and Nine Months Ended September 30, 2016
Total operating expenses for the third quarter of 2016 were $3.1 million, compared to $1.5 million of operating expenses for the third quarter of 2015. Total operating expenses for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 were $15.1 million compared to $4.5 million for the same period in 2015. The increase in operating expenses in the third quarter of 2016 was primarily due to increased research and development costs to execute PhaseRx’s product development plan of its lead drug candidate PRX-OTC, increased costs associated with being a publicly-traded company and an increase in non-cash stock-based compensation expenses.
The net loss for the quarter ended September 30, 2016 was $3.3 million, or $0.29 per share, compared to a net loss of $1.9 million, or $3.67 per share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2015. The net loss for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 was $16.7 million, or $2.72 per share, compared to $5.1 million, or $9.95 per share for the nine months ended September 30, 2015. As of September 30, 2016, the Company had cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities of $18.6 million.
About PhaseRx
PhaseRx is a leading biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing products for the treatment of children with inherited enzyme deficiencies in the liver using intracellular enzyme replacement therapy (i-ERT). PhaseRx’s initial product development focus is on urea cycle disorders, a group of rare genetic diseases that generally present before the age of twelve and are characterized by the body’s inability to remove ammonia from the blood with potentially devastating consequences for patients. The company’s i-ERT approach is enabled by its proprietary Hybrid mRNA TechnologyTM platform. PhaseRx is headquartered in Seattle. For more information, please visit www.phaserx.com.
