Forte Biosciences, Inc. (www.fortebiorx.com) (NASDAQ: FBRX), a biopharmaceutical company focused on autoimmune diseases, today announced first quarter 2023 results and provided a business update.
First Quarter 2023 Business Highlights
“We are very pleased with the development progress we have made this quarter with FB-102. We believe that FB-102 has potentially broad applications in several autoimmune indications with large addressable markets,” said Paul Wagner, Ph.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Forte Biosciences.
First Quarter 2023 Operating Results
Research and development expenses were $4.8 million and $0.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The increase was primarily due to net increases of approximately $3.4 million in manufacturing costs and $0.4 million in preclinical expenses as we ramped up our development of our current lead product candidate, FB-102, a net increase in payroll expenses of approximately $0.2 million and a net increase of approximately $0.1 million in other expenses.
General and administrative expenses were $2.1 million and $1.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The increase was primarily due to an increase of $0.4 million in legal and professional fees partially offset by a decrease of $0.2 million in stock-based compensation.
Net losses per share were ($0.32) and ($0.17) for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
Forte ended the first quarter 2023 with approximately $35.9 million in cash and cash equivalents. Forte had approximately 21.0 million shares of common stock outstanding as of March 31, 2023.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS |
||||||||
(in thousands except share and par value data) |
||||||||
| March 31, 2023 | December 31, 2022 | |||||||
| (unaudited) | ||||||||
| Assets | ||||||||
| Current assets: | ||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ |
35,902 |
|
$ |
41,100 |
|
||
| Prepaid expenses and other current assets |
|
369 |
|
|
411 |
|
||
| Total current assets |
|
36,271 |
|
|
41,511 |
|
||
| Other assets |
|
437 |
|
|
486 |
|
||
| Total assets | $ |
36,708 |
|
$ |
41,997 |
|
||
| Liabilities and stockholders' equity | ||||||||
| Current liabilities: | ||||||||
| Accounts payable | $ |
1,342 |
|
$ |
1,153 |
|
||
| Accrued liabilities |
|
2,418 |
|
|
2,026 |
|
||
| Total current liabilities |
|
3,760 |
|
|
3,179 |
|
||
| Commitments and contingencies (Note 4) | ||||||||
| Stockholders’ equity | ||||||||
| Common stock, $0.001 par value: 200,000,000 shares authorized as of March 31, 2023 (unaudited) and December 31, 2022; 21,007,069 and 21,000,069 shares issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2023 (unaudited) and December 31, 2022, respectively |
|
21 |
|
|
21 |
|
||
| Additional paid-in capital |
|
126,724 |
|
|
125,841 |
|
||
| Accumulated deficit |
|
(93,797 |
) |
|
(87,044 |
) |
||
| Total stockholders’ equity |
|
32,948 |
|
|
38,818 |
|
||
| Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity | $ |
36,708 |
|
$ |
41,997 |
|
||
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS |
||||||||
(in thousands, except share and per share amounts) |
||||||||
| For the Three Months Ended March 31, | ||||||||
2023 |
2022 |
|||||||
| Operating expenses: | ||||||||
| Research and development | $ |
4,787 |
|
$ |
693 |
|
||
| General and administrative |
|
2,068 |
|
|
1,821 |
|
||
| Total operating expenses |
|
6,855 |
|
|
2,514 |
|
||
| Loss from operations |
|
(6,855 |
) |
|
(2,514 |
) |
||
| Other income (expense), net |
|
102 |
|
|
(53 |
) |
||
| Net loss | $ |
(6,753 |
) |
$ |
(2,567 |
) |
||
| Per share information: | ||||||||
| Net loss per share - basic and diluted | $ |
(0.32 |
) |
$ |
(0.17 |
) |
||
| Weighted average shares outstanding, basic and diluted |
|
21,006,680 |
|
|
14,759,806 |
|
||
Additional details on our financial results for the first quarter of 2023 can be found in Forte’s Form 10-Q as filed with the SEC on May 15, 2023. You can also find more information in the investor relations section of our website at www.fortebiorx.com.
About Forte
Forte Biosciences, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company that is advancing through preclinical development its product candidate, FB-102, which is a proprietary therapeutic molecule with potentially broad autoimmune applications.
Forward-Looking Statements
Forte cautions you that statements included in this press release that are not a description of historical facts are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “could,” “intend,” “target,” “project,” “contemplates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential” or “continue” or the negatives of these terms or other similar expressions. These statements are based on the Company’s current beliefs and expectations. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding Forte’s beliefs, goals, intentions and expectations regarding its product candidates. Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of these risks and uncertainties, which include, without limitation: risks related to Forte’s ability to obtain sufficient additional capital to continue to advance Forte’s product candidates and preclinical programs; results from early-preclinical studies may not be predictive of results from later-stage studies or clinical trials; uncertainties associated with the clinical development and regulatory approval of Forte’s product candidates, including potential delays in the commencement, enrollment and completion of clinical trials; and risks associated with the failure to realize any value from product candidates and preclinical programs being developed and anticipated to be developed in light of inherent risks and difficulties involved in successfully bringing product candidates to market. Information on these and additional risks, uncertainties, and other information affecting Forte's business and operating results is contained in Forte’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2023 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 15, 2023 and in its other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements in this press release are current only as of the date hereof and, except as required by applicable law, Forte undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement, or to make any other forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. This caution is made under the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Source: Forte Biosciences, Inc.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230515005163/en/
Contacts
LifeSci Advisors
Mike Moyer, Managing Director
mmoyer@lifesciadvisors.com
