BNO reported 19.3% increase in Net Loss in 1H FY2019 https://kalkinemedia.com/2019/02/15/bno-reported-19-3-increase-in-net-loss-in-1h-fy2019/
Bionomics Limited (ASX: BNO), a company from the health care sector, which is into the business of developing innovative treatments for cancer and diseases of the central nervous system, has announced its half-yearly results for the period ended 31 December 2018.
During the period, the net cash and cash equivalents increased by 9.7% from 30 June 2018 to $27,354,787 as at 31 December 2018. The closing cash balance was in line as per the expectations of the company. The funds during the period were used in its drug discovery platforms for the identification of differentiated drug candidates. The funds were also used in phase 2 of the clinical trial of BNC210 used in Agitation in the Elderly.
There was a decrease of 48.8% in the net operating and investing cash outflows for the period to $6,304,476 during the period.
There was a 3% increase in the revenue from ordinary activities to $2,424,127. The revenue was mainly through collaboration income, royalties, sales income, rental income and interest income from the ordinary activities of the company. Income in the form of Government grants and assistance which included the Research and Development tax incentive and several other types of income were categorized under other income.
During the period, the company made a loss of $10,555,094 which increased by 19.3% as compared to the previous corresponding year.
During the period, the result of phase 2 of the clinical trial of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) was unsuccessful in meeting the primary endpoint of the decrease in PTSD symptoms measured through CAPS-5 based on 12 weeks dose-response analysis. At present, the company is taking responsibility for a planned review and further analysis of the results.
The enrolment of the BNC210 in phase 2 of the clinical trial for treating Agitation in the Elderly continued.
On 9 November 2018, the company announced the changes in the leadership as well as the strategic review option for partnering and the portfolio prioritization keeping in mind the idea to protect significant assets and conserving cash of the company. For this purpose, Greenhill & Co was appointed who was responsible for conducting a thorough and independent review of the strategic options. The company expects that the update will be announced in the second half of the CY2019 along with the results of phase 2 of the clinical trial of BNC210 for treating Agitation in the elderly.
Dr Deborah Rathjen has resigned from the position of Managing Director and his last working day was 31 January 2019. Dr Errol De Souza had joined the company as an Executive Chairman and Mr Stephen Birrell as the Interim CFO.
The company during the period received additional capital of $9.8 million through a major US-based biotechnology investor and Bionomics’ largest shareholder BVF Partners L.P. Besides, Mr Mitchell Kaye was appointed to the Board. The company’s cash further enhanced with R&D Tax Incentive Refund worth $6,568,808 for FY 2017/2018 and $654,000 in licensing revenue from participation in the Cancer Therapeutics CRC.
Since the last six months, the stock has generated a negative return of 73.91%. By the closure of trading session on 15 February 2019, the closing price of the stock was A$0.120 with the market capitalization of A$65.36 million and approximately 544.69 million outstanding shares.
BNO Price at posting:
12.0¢ Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held
