Arbutus Biopharma Q1 Exceeds Consensus View; Cuts Cash Burn Guidance

Arbutus Biopharma Corp ABUS reported Q1 2023 revenues of $6.7 million, beating the consensus of $6.02 million.
Revenues declined from $12.6 million in the prior year owing to lower revenue recognition from the license agreement with Qilu.
Research and development expenses declined to $18.3 million from $18.5 million a year ago due to reduced costs for AB-836 Phase 1a/1b clinical trial on discontinuation in Q4 2022.
The company reported a loss per share of $(0.10), better than the consensus estimate of $(0.14).
As of March 31, 2023, cash, cash equivalents and investments in marketable securities stood at $178.5 million.
In April, AB-101 IND was placed on hold by the FDA and the company will not report initial data from the single-ascending dose portion of a Phase 1 clinical trial in H2 2023. Consequently, ABUS reduced 2023 cash burn guidance to $90-$95 million from $95-$100 million earlier.
"In the first quarter of 2023, we made meaningful progress advancing our pipeline of HBV and coronavirus assets to address large global market opportunities. We reported data from our lead HBV-focused RNAi therapeutic, AB-729, showing low levels of HBsAg and HBV DNA in most patients persisting for at least a year and a half after their last dose of AB-729," said William Collier, Arbutus' President and CEO.
He added, "In addition, we dosed the first healthy subject in our Phase 1 clinical trial with AB-161, our oral RNA destabilizer, for which we expect data in the second half of this year. We continue to advance our coronavirus programs and expect to initiate a Phase 1 clinical trial with our Mpro inhibitor candidate, AB-343, as well as IND-enabling studies for an nsp12 inhibitor candidate in the second half of this year."
Price Action: ABUS shares are trading higher by 1.79% at $2.55 on the last check Thursday.

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