Abeona Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: ABEO) reported a wider-than-expected loss for its first quarter.
On Friday, the company, reported cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities as of March 31, 2019 were $68.3 million, compared to $85.0 million as of December 31, 2018. The decrease in cash of $16.7 million was driven primarily by the net cash used for operating activities of $15.1 million.
Research and development expenses for the first quarter ended March 31, 2019 were $11.7 million, compared to $8.2 million for first quarter 2018. The increase in research and development expense was primarily attributable to increased R&D headcount, related facility costs and internal manufacturing costs.
General and administrative expenses for the first quarter ended March 31, 2019 were $5.7 million, compared to $2.9 million for the first quarter 2018. The increase in general and administrative expenses was primarily attributable to increased headcount and related facility costs.
Net loss was $0.39 per share for the first quarter of 2019, compared to $0.22 per share in the same period of 2018.
According to CEO Joao Siffert, "We’ve had a great start to 2019, with continued progress across our pipeline, including the completion of CMC work in advance of initiating our Phase 3 VITAL™ clinical trial evaluating EB-101, our gene-corrected cell therapy for patients with recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa.
"The study, which will utilize clinical material produced at our Cleveland manufacturing facility, is on track to start mid-2019 following completion of ongoing FDA review."
ABEO shares backtracked 36 cents, or 4.7% Monday morning, to $7.32
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