SMITHFIELD – Rubius Therapeutics Inc. reported a net loss of $32.6 million in the first quarter of 2019, or 42 cents per diluted share, compared with a $14.4 million loss, or $1.72 per diluted share, in the first quarter of 2018 according to a company filing Wednesday.
The Cambridge, Mass., 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. The company is currently building out a manufacturing facility in Smithfield. The company is eligible for up to $9.3 million in incentives from Rhode Island.
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“Rubius has made significant progress this year, including the clearance of our first Investigational New Drug application for RTX-134 for the treatment of patients with phenylketonuria,” said Dr. Pablo J. Cagnoni, CEO of the company. “We plan to begin enrolling patients in the Phase 1b trial during the second quarter, with initial clinical data expected during the second half of the year. … We continue to advance our Red Cell Therapeutics towards our ultimate goal of treating patients who are underserved by available therapies.”
The company’s cash, cash equivalents and investments fell 6.2% from the end of 2018 to March 31 to $378.9 million, driven by its net loss, among other things. Total assets fell 7.9% to $441.5 million over the same period.
The company reported research and development expenses of $20.9 million for the quarter, more than double the total from the year before. General and administrative expenses totaled $13.5 million in the first quarter, a 166% increase over the year. Of those two expenses, however, the company noted that it recorded $9.5 million in stock-based compensation expense, compared with $2.6 million in the first quarter of 2018.
The company also announced that company President Torben Straight Nissen will be exiting his role in July to join Flagship Pioneering, a venture capital company based in Cambridge.
Chris Bergenheim is the PBN web editor. You may reach him at Bergenheim@PBN.com.
