PROVIDENCE – Cambridge, Mass.-headquartered Rubius Therapeutics Inc. announced a $26.4 million net loss for the third quarter of 2018 Tuesday. The company reported an $11.9 million loss in the third quarter of 2017.
The company, which specializes in allogenic cellular therapies for several diseases and across multiple therapeutic areas, has yet to have a product hit the market and therefore has no revenue. Rubius is targeting rare diseases, cancer and autoimmune diseases. It is currently leveraging thee different therapeutic modalities – cellular shielding, potent cell-cell interaction and tolerance induction, it said. Rubius calls the practices Red Cell Therapeutics.
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Loss per diluted share was 42 cents in the third quarter, compared with a loss of $1.48 per diluted share one year prior. The number of common shares in that time increased 54.2 million to 62.3 million shares.
Rubius reported that it spent $14.4 million on research and development in the third quarter, an $8.2 million increase year over year. General and administrative costs accounted for $13.2 million, more than double the $5.8 million cost one year prior – largely due to stock-based compensation and personnel costs as well as professional fees related to the company going public.
Rubius Therapeutics’s initial public offering raised $254.3 million in July 2018. The company also noted that it had begun its renovation on its property in Smithfield, which previously served as an Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. facility – which is expected to be in operation by the end of 2020.
Rubius is expected to invest $155 million over five years to renovate the 135,000-square-foot building. The company has been approved for just over $9 million in state incentives to build out the facility.
In addition to the proceeds from its IPO, Rubius realized a cash infustion of $101 million from a Series C preferred stock sale, leading the company to expect it will have enough cash to cover expenses into 2021. The company employs 110 employees, predominantly in R&D.
“During the third quarter, we remained focused on advancing our first program, RTX-134, for the treatment of phenylketonuria. We are on track to file an Investigational New Drug application during the first quarter of 2019,” said Dr. Pablo J. Cagnoni, CEO of Rubius Therapeutics, in a statement. “We are also continuing to advance our earlier pipeline, which we believe holds broad therapeutic potential across cancer, autoimmune disease and additional enzyme deficiencies. In order to successfully bring our medicines to patients, we are ensuring that we will have state-of-the-art manufacturing capabilities in place, as shown through the purchase, in July, of our 135,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Smithfield.”
Chris Bergenheim is the PBN web editor. Email him at Bergenheim@PBN.com.
