Inovio Q1 Results Miss Estimates, Coronavirus Vaccine Program On Track

Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc INO, one of the frontrunners among companies developing vaccines for the coronavirus, reported Monday after the close with first-quarter results that trailed expectations. The company reaffirmed the developmental plans for its new coronavirus vaccine program.

Inovio's Q1 Numbers

The Plymouth, Pennsylvania-based company reported a first-quarter net loss of $32.5 million or 26 cents per share compared to the year-ago loss of $29.2 million and 30 cents per share.

Revenues declined year-over-year from $2.8 million in 2019 to $1.3 million in 2020, with the company attributing the steep drop to less revenue recognized from its collaboration with AstraZeneca plc AZN.

Analysts, on average, had estimated a loss of 22 cents per share on revenues of $1.91 million.

With no commercial product in its stable, the company generates revenue from licensing, grant funding and interest income.

As of March 31, 2020, cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments were $270 million compared to $89.5 million at the end of 2019. The increase reflected net proceeds of $208.2 million Inovio received by selling 43.15 million shares under an at-the-market sales agreement.

After the first quarter, Inovio sold an incremental 12.04 million shares for net proceeds of about $121.7 million.

Inovio's Clinical Update

Despite the coronavirus scare, Inovio said it is on track to deliver key 2020 clinical and regulatory milestones, including the top-line efficacy data from the Phase 3 study of VGX-3100 in the fourth quarter, and the presentation of 12-month overall survival results from the Phase 1/2 clinical trial of the INO-5401 immunotherapy in glioblastoma multiforme at the ASCO20 Virtual Conference later in May.

For INO-4800, the company reaffirmed the late-July release schedule for the results from the U.S. Phase 1 study of the vaccine candidate. As communicated earlier, the company expects to start the Phase 2/3 efficacy trial in summer, contingent upon regulatory approval.

Inovio also said preclinical data manuscript for INO-4800 has been accepted for publication in Nature Communications.

Additional clinical trials for INO-4800 in China and South Korea will start this summer, the company said.

INO Price Action

Inovio shares, which had rallied 9.63% to $11.90 in Monday's regular session, were retreating by 7.39% to $11.02 in the after-hours session at the time of publication. The negative reaction may have to do with the first-quarter miss and a lack of significant incremental updates on its INO-4800 vaccine program.

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