Allakos Inc (NASDAQ: ALLK), a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on the development of antibodies for the treatment of various eosinophil and mast cell related diseases, stock plunged 17.93% on October 4^th, 2018 and continued its bearish momentum on 5^th October (as of 10:52 AM GMT-4; Source: Google finance). The company in the second quarter has reported the net loss of $9.4 million as compared to $4.7 million in the same period in 2017, which is an increase of $4.7 million. Allakos had ended the second quarter of 2018 with $64.1 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, which does not include $141.8 million of proceeds, net of underwriting discounts and commissions, received from the Company’s initial public offering and concurrent private placement on July 23, 2018.

Moreover, the company’s research and development expenses were $7.1 million in the second quarter of 2018 as compared to $3.8 million in the same period in 2017. The rise in research and development expenses was primarily due to an increase in consulting and personnel-related costs, as well as contract research and development activities related to the continued advancement of AK002, the Company’s lead antibody. General and administrative expenses were $2.4 million in the second quarter of 2018 as compared to $0.8 million in the same period in 2017. The rise in general and administrative expenses was primarily attributable to an increase in personnel-related costs as a result of the Company’s increase in employee headcount, as well as incremental expense incurred from outside professional service providers for legal, information technology, and investor relations support in preparation for the Company’s initial public offering.

Meanwhile, the company had announced positive results from a Phase 1 clinical trial presented at the Joint Congress of the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI) and the World Allergy Organization (WAO) in Orlando, Florida. Eosinophils and mast cells play a significant role in both the innate and adaptive immune response, and act as key effector cells in inflammatory diseases such as eosinophilic gastrointestinal diseases, urticaria, atopic keratoconjunctivitis, atopic dermatitis, and asthma.

Additionally, AK002 was found to rapidly deplete blood eosinophils after a single dose in which all AK002 dose groups recorded complete depletion of blood eosinophils by the first post-dosing timepoint (1 hour), eosinophil levels were not significantly changed in the placebo group. Duration of eosinophil depletion increased with dose level and was sustained for at least 28 days and up to 84 days in the 0.3 and 1.0 mg/kg dose groups, respectively