Abeona Therapeutics Posts Q1 Net Loss Of $20.79 Mln

(RTTNews) - Abeona Therapeutics Inc. (ABEO), a biotech firm focused on cell and gene therapies, on Friday posted a wider net loss for the first quarter, amidst increased research and development or R&D and administrative expenses, and non-cash impairment charges. However, per share loss narrowed on higher share count at the end of the latest quarter.

For the quarter ended in March, the Dallas-headquartered company reported a net loss of $20.791 million or $0.14 per share, compared with $16.00 million or $0.17 per share loss reported for the same period a year ago.

The net loss includes a $6.2 million in non-cash impairment charges resulting from the disposition of the ABO-102 and ABO-101 development programs as Abeona targets resources on its EB-101 pivotal program and preclinical eye gene therapy initiatives, the company said in a statement.

Operating loss was at $20.591 million, higher than $14.597 million of previous year.

R&D, general and administrative expenses were reported at $10.545 million and $ 4.224 million, respectively, compared with $8.317 million and $6.280 million, reported for the first quarter of 2021.

License and other revenues in the quarter were $0.3 million with no such revenues comparable with last year.

Vish Seshadri, CEO of Abeona, said: "During the quarter, we took significant steps to preserve our capital with the goal to fund operations over the next 12 months with existing cash resources... Furthermore, we have initiated steps toward regaining compliance with Nasdaq listing requirements."