Arcus Biosciences posts Net loss was $27.8 million in Q1 2020

Arcus Biosciences Net loss was $27.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020, compared to $17.7 million for the same period in the prior year. The increase in net loss as compared to the prior period was primarily attributable to an increase in operating expenses.

HAYWARD, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Arcus Biosciences, Inc. (NYSE:RCUS), an oncology-focused biopharmaceutical company working to create best-in-class cancer therapies, today announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020 and provided corporate updates.

“We have continued to aggressively advance our unique portfolio of therapeutics that target three of the most highly pursued immuno-oncology pathways, TIGIT, the adenosine axis and PD-1, each of which we believe is significantly de-risked based on the totality of available internal and external biological and clinical data,” said Terry Rosen, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer. “Since the inception of the company, our vision has been to create, develop and commercialize best-in-class combination cancer therapies and expand on the availability of innovative treatment paradigms in the oncology space in hopes of substantially benefiting patients. Execution in the laboratory and clinic has placed us in an ideal position to deliver on this vision, with an ongoing flow of important data throughout the coming year.”

Recent Key Highlights

Received U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) clearance of an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to proceed with ARC-6, a prostate cancer platform trial evaluating various combinations of AB928, AB680 and zimberelimab, alone or in combination with standard of care therapies, in patients with front-line to late-line metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC)

Completed enrollment of the first two cohorts in the dose-escalation portion of ARC-8, a trial evaluating the safety and tolerability of AB680, the first small-molecule CD73 inhibitor to enter the clinic, in combination with zimberelimab and gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel in patients with pancreatic cancer

Anticipated Corporate Milestones

Initiation of enrollment in ARC-6, a Phase 1b/2 platform trial expanding our strategy in prostate cancer, evaluating various combinations of AB928, AB680 and zimberelimab, alone or in combination, with standard of care therapies for the treatment of mCRPC in the first half of 2020

Preliminary data from Phase 1b expansion trials investigating combinations with AB928 in multiple tumor types and settings, expected starting in mid-2020

Phase 1 data from the dose-escalation portion of ARC-8, a combination trial evaluating AB680 in first-line treatment of pancreatic cancer, with anticipated recommended dose for expansion to be established in mid-2020

Preliminary randomized data from two Phase 2 clinical collaborations with Genentech involving combination trials with AB928 in colorectal cancer and pancreatic cancer, expected in the fourth quarter of 2020

Preliminary randomized data from ARC-7, a Phase 2 trial involving AB154 with unique intra-portfolio combinations in first-line NSCLC, expected in the fourth quarter of 2020

Initiation of a Phase 1 clinical trial for at least one of our existing discovery/preclinical development programs in late 2020/early 2021

We continue to actively monitor the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on our clinical trial operations, research and development programs, key vendors and employees. While we do not anticipate any modifications to the timelines above, this will depend on future developments which are currently unknown, including any new information that may emerge concerning the duration and/or severity of the crisis, any new actions by government authorities to contain the spread of the virus, and how quickly and to what extent normal economic and operating conditions can resume.

Financial Results for the First Quarter 2020

Cash, cash equivalents and investments in marketable securities were $157.9 million as of March 31, 2020, compared to $188.3 million at December 31, 2019. The decrease was due to the utilization of cash to fund our research, development and administrative operations. Based on our current operating plans, we anticipate that our cash, cash equivalents and investments will be sufficient to fund operations into mid-2021.

Revenues: Collaboration and license revenue was $1.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019. The revenue was recognized from non-refundable upfront payments previously received from Taiho Pharmaceutical.

R&D Expenses: Research and development expenses were $23.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020, compared to $15.6 million for the same period in 2019. The increase in research and development expenses was due to increases in clinical costs for our ongoing clinical trials, as well as increases in employee compensation costs primarily due to additional headcount.

G&A Expenses: General and administrative expenses were $7.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020, compared to $5.0 million for the same period in 2019. The increase in general and administrative expenses was primarily due to an increase in G&A headcount and related costs.

Net Loss: Net loss was $27.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020, compared to $17.7 million for the same period in the prior year. The increase in net loss as compared to the prior period was primarily attributable to an increase in operating expenses as noted above.