PDS Reports Results for Q1 2020 & Business Update

RNS Number : 8134M

NetScientific PLC

13 May 2020

 

NetScientific plc

("NetScientific" or the "Company")

PDS Biotechnology Reports Financial Results for the First Quarter 2020 and Provides Business Update

NetScientific plc (AIM:NSCI), the transatlantic healthcare IP commercialisation group, announces that its portfolio company PDS Biotechnology Corporation ("PDS") (Nasdaq: PDSB) announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020 and provided a business update.

NetScientific holds 7.18% of PDS' undiluted share capital.

The full details of the announcement are set out below and the financial report can be found here: https://www.pdsbiotech.com/investors/financials/sec-filings

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PDS Biotechnology Reports Financial Results for the First Quarter 2020 and Provides Business Update

FLORHAM PARK, N.J., May 13, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PDS Biotechnology Corporation (Nasdaq: PDSB), a clinical-stage immunotherapy company developing novel cancer therapies and infectious disease vaccines based on the Company's proprietary Versamune^® T-cell activating technology, today announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020 and provided a business update.

First Quarter 2020 and Recent Business Highlights

· Initiated novel vaccine development programs for COVID-19 and universal influenza;

· Announced pre-clinical collaboration with Farmacore Biotechnology for tuberculosis;

· Delayed initiation of Phase 2 VERSATILE-002 trial for PDS0101 in recurrent/metastatic head and neck cancer due to the global COVID-19 pandemic;

· Secured the U.S. composition of matter patent for the Versamune^® platform;

· Expanded the previously disclosed Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with the National Cancer Institute to include preclinical and clinical development of PDS0103;

· Appointed Kamil Ali-Jackson, Esq. and Dr. Ilian Iliev to the Board of Directors; and

· Successfully completed an underwritten public offering of our common stock in February 2020 with net proceeds of approximately $11.9 million after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions, not including other offering expenses.

"We have continued to leverage the versatility and potency of our Versamune^® platform, as we expand our development program to include vaccines to protect against infectious diseases such as COVID-19 and influenza. We believe that Versamune's® ability to induce a superior range of protective immune responses - including neutralizing antibodies, killer T-cells and memory T-cells - uniquely positions PDS to develop more effective vaccines to provide long-term protection against the spread of  agents with pandemic potential. We have recently initiated pre-clinical testing for our COVID-19 vaccine candidates and are in active discussions with both government agencies and NGOs to determine the most expeditious path forward," commented Dr. Frank Bedu-Addo, President and Chief Executive Officer of PDS Biotech.

"We remain committed to our immuno-oncology programs, including two upcoming Phase 2 studies for PDS0101 with our partners at the National Cancer Institute. We also look forward to initiating our third Phase 2 program evaluating the combination of PDS0101 and Merck's KEYTRUDA® in HPV16-associated head and neck cancer for first line treatment of recurrent/metastatic disease when conditions to conduct the study improve," Dr. Bedu-Addo concluded.

First Quarter 2020 Financial Review

For the first quarter of 2020, net loss was approximately $4.0 million, or $0.39 per basic share and $0.39 per diluted share, compared to a net income of approximately $6.8 million, or $1.82 per basic share and $1.47 per diluted share for the first quarter of 2019 related to the reverse merger transaction with Edge Therapeutics.

Research and development expenses totaled approximately $1.9 million for the first quarter of 2020, compared to approximately $1.0 million for the same period in 2019, an increase of 91%.

For the first quarter of 2020, general and administrative expenses were approximately $2.1 million compared with approximately $3.9 million for the first quarter of 2019, a decrease of 47%.

Total operating expenses for the first quarter of 2020 were approximately $4.0 million, compared to total operating expenses of approximately $4.9 million for the same period in 2019, a decrease of 18%.

As of March 31, 2020, the Company's cash balance was approximately $21.0 million. This amount includes the approximately $11.9 million in net proceeds after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions, not including other offering expenses from PDS Biotech's underwritten public offering including the exercise of the underwriters' overallotment option, which closed on February 14, 2020.

About PDS Biotechnology

PDS Biotech is a clinical-stage immunotherapy company with a growing pipeline of cancer immunotherapies and infectious disease vaccines based on the Company's proprietary Versamune^® T-cell activating technology platform. Versamune^® effectively delivers disease-specific antigens for in vivo uptake and processing, while also activating the critical type 1 interferon immunological pathway, resulting in production of potent disease-specific killer T-cells as well as neutralizing antibodies. PDS Biotech has engineered multiple therapies, based on combinations of Versamune^®and disease-specific antigens, designed to train the immune system to better recognize disease cells and effectively attack and destroy them. To learn more, please visit  www.pdsbiotech.com  or follow us on Twitter at  @PDSBiotech .

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The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014. Following the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

For more information, please contact:

NetScientific Ilian Iliev, CEO	Tel: [phone]
WH Ireland (NOMAD, Financial Adviser and Broker) Chris Fielding / Darshan Patel	Tel: [phone]
MO PR ADVISORY (Press Contact) Mo Noonan	Tel: [phone]

About NetScientific

NetScientific PLC is a transatlantic healthcare IP commercialisation Group focused on technologies and companies that have the potential to treat chronic disease and significantly improve the health and well-being of people. 

For more information, please visit the website at   www.NetScientific.net

 

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