RAANANA, Israel, Sept. 1, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. (NASDAQ: XTLB, TASE: XTL) (“XTL” or the “Company”), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the acquisition, development and commercialization of pharmaceutical products for the treatment of unmet clinical needs, today provided its financial and operational results for the second quarter and the six months ended June 30, 2015.
Josh Levine, Chief Executive Officer of XTL, commented, “During the second quarter, we made significant progress towards developing our clinical asset for lupus/SLE and preparing it for a planned clinical trial. In April 2015, we closed a US$4 million registered direct offering with a US-based healthcare-dedicated investor and with existing shareholders, which we believe will allow us to progress towards the commencement of advanced clinical trials for our lead drug candidate, hCDR1, a peptide for the treatment of lupus, a significant unmet clinical need with no effective available solution. Recently, we added Monique Ben Am, MSc, to our team to lead our clinical development efforts. Ms. Ben Am has significant clinical development experience at large pharmaceutical companies like Novartis, where she was involved with the development of Gleevec, and Teva Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. and several smaller drug development companies.”
“We are pleased with the recent publication of a peer reviewed article in the Lupus Science and Medicine journal (full article) authored by world leading rheumatologists and members of our Clinical Advisory Board, which analyzed the results of a Phase 2b trial on hCDR1 (the PRELUDE trial), showing favorable safety and efficacy data on over 300 patients. In addition, the recently announced news from UCB regarding their drug candidate, epratuzumab, not meeting its primary endpoints in two Phase 3 studies, further emphasizes the unmet need for patients suffering from lupus. With few, if any, significant Phase 3 studies ongoing in this space, we believe there is a substantial opportunity for our lead drug candidate, hCDR1.”
Financial Overview
Following XTL’s registered direct offering in April, 2015, XTL had US$4.8 million in cash and cash equivalents as of June 30, 2015.
Research and development expenses for the three months ended June 30, 2015 were US$69,000 compared to US$34,000 in the same period in 2014. Research and development expenses for the three months ended June 30, 2015 were comprised mainly of expenses related to preparations for initiating the clinical trial of XTL’s drug candidate: hCDR1. The increase in expenses in 2015 compared to 2014 for this period is mainly due to the Company’s focus on preparing for the upcoming clinical trial including the completion of production of the drug substance for hCDR1.
General and administrative expenses for the three months ended June 30, 2015 were US$0.4 million in line with general and administrative expenses for the same period in 2014.
Financial income, net for the three months ended June 30, 2015 was US$54,000 compared to US$20,000 in the three months ended June 30, 2014. The increase in financial income, net, was mainly due to changes in fair value of marketable securities held in InterCure, a former subsidiary.
Loss from continuing operations for the three months ended June 30, 2015 was US$0.4 million compared to US$0.4 million in the same period last year.
Total loss for the three months ended June 30, 2015 was US$0.4 million compared to US$0.7 million in the same period last year. The decrease in loss was due to losses in 2014 from discontinued operations related to InterCure, a former subsidiary.
Research and development expenses for the six months ended June 30, 2015 were US$111,000 compared to US$81,000 for the same period in 2014. Research and development expenses for the six months ended June 30, 2015 were comprised mainly of expenses related to preparations for initiating a clinical trial of XTL’s drug candidate: hCDR1. The increase in expenses in 2015 compared to 2014 for this period is mainly due to XTL’s focus on preparing its asset for the upcoming clinical trial including the completion of production of the drug substance for hCDR1.
General and administrative expenses for the six months ended June 30, 2015 were US$0.7 million compared with US$0.9 million for the same period in 2014. The decrease in general and administrative expenses was due to lower salary and share-based compensation costs in the six months ended June 30, 2015.
Financial expense, net for the six months ended June 30, 2015 was US$186,000 compared to financial income, net of US$17,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2014. The decrease in financial income, net, was mainly due to losses incurred from the disposal of XTL’s investment in InterCure, a former subsidiary.
Loss from continuing operations for the six months ended June 30, 2015 was US$1.0 million, in line with loss from continuing operations for the same period last year.
Total loss for the six months ended June 30, 2015 was US$1.5 million, in line with total loss in the same period last year. The loss from discontinued operations for the six months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014 relates to losses from XTL’s investment in InterCure, a former subsidiary.
XTL’s consolidated financial results for the six months ended June 30, 2015 are presented in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards.
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