Rubius Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: RUBY) stock witnessed a weak trading session today by falling over 2.1% on March 28th, 2019 (Source: Google finance) but slightly recovered over 2.1% in the after hours session.
For the fourth quarter of FY 18, the firm has reported the net loss of $27.2 million compared to $17.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2017. As of December 31, 2018, cash, cash equivalents and investments were $404.1 million as compared to $104.3 million as of December 31, 2017, providing Rubius with a cash runway into 2021. The year-end cash balance reflects $101.0 million of net proceeds received from its Series C preferred stock financing during the first quarter of 2018, $254.3 million of net proceeds from the Company’s initial public offering during the third quarter of 2018, and, in the fourth quarter, $25.0 million from a debt financing. During the fourth quarter, the Company used $19.7 million of cash in operations and used $3.3 million for capital purchases.
Moreover, in the fourth quarter of 2018, RUBY had invested $16.5 million in research and development (R&D) related to its novel RED PLATFORM and towards expanding and advancing its product pipeline, compared to $6.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2017. The year-over-year increase was due to an additional $2.4 million of costs incurred in preparation for the Phase 1b clinical trial for RTX-134, and $6.7 million was associated with personnel costs, stock-based compensation, facility and laboratory costs driven by increases in R&D headcount and expanded research activities to support Rubius’ goal of delivering four to five IND’s during 2019 and 2020.
During the fourth quarter of 2018, G&A expenses were $12.6 million, as compared to $10.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2017. The higher costs were primarily due to increases in professional fees and infrastructure costs to support the company’s growth and to operate as a public company.
Meanwhile, in March 2019, RUBY announced that the U.S. FDA cleared the Company’s Investigational New Drug (IND) application for RTX-134, an allogeneic, off-the-shelf cellular therapy for the potential treatment of patients with phenylketonuria (PKU), an inherited metabolic disorder that is characterized by the body’s inability to metabolize the essential dietary amino acid, phenylalanine. Rubius expects to begin treating patients in a Phase 1b clinical trial in the second quarter of 2019 and plans to report initial clinical data from the trial during the second half of 2019. The primary objectives of the Phase 1b study are to evaluate preliminary safety, longevity of the RTX-134 cells in circulation, to obtain proof-of-mechanism as measured by production of trans-cinnamic acid (the byproduct of PAL) and select a preliminary dose and schedule.