Irvine-based Urovant Sciences Ltd. (Nasdaq: UROV) is making a market comeback with some positive feedback regarding its new drug Vibegron, which it believes can treat overactive bladder symptoms, among other uses.
“We have made significant progress across all of our programs, including the preparation of our New Drug Application (NDA) filing of Vibegron” Chief Executive Keith Katkin said in its fiscal first-quarter earnings conference call last month.
The company, which hasn’t yet had revenue, reported a net loss of $28.5 million for the fiscal first-quarter ended June 30, an improvement from a $31.3 million loss in the same period a year earlier.
It has $92.4 million in cash and available credit as of June 30. It expects to use about $24 million to $26 million in cash in operations per quarter for the remainder of fiscal 2020.
Urovant has seen a roller coaster in its share price.
When Urovant went public in September last year, the company raised $140 million at $14 a share. They fell as low as $4.29 last December before reaching $14.10 in March.
They’ve since declined again. After the first-quarter results were released, its shares rose 18% to more than $10 and a $310 million market cap.
“Obviously from a from a cash perspective, we continue to be unhappy with our stock price,” Katkin told analysts on the conference call. “We don’t think it’s really reflective of a company that’s got great Phase III data launching into a market that has created blockbuster after blockbuster. So we continue to be patient.”Â
Next Steps
Urovant is scheduled to present Vibegron’s positive clinical outcomes in more detail at the International Continence Society meeting, scheduled for this month in Sweden.
While results of a first trial showed that Vibegron was more effective than a placebo, it was only marginally more effective than tolterodine—meaning it would be competing with a cheaper generic.
Katkin responded to the study by saying, “We believe that the continued adoption of the beta-3 agonist mechanism of action is a strong benefit for Vibegron commercialization. Assuming an acceptable safety profile, we will then move into part two of the study in the fourth quarter of this year,” which is scheduled to conclude next year.
