Shares of Stellar Biotechnologies
are trading higher in Wednesday’s mid-day trade as the premier manufacturer of
Keyhole Limpet Hemocyanin (“KLH”), an important immune-stimulating protein used
in wide-ranging immunotherapeutic markets, reports financial and operational
results for the 12 months ended August 31, 2014.
Revenues were $372,132 for the
fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, compared to $545,469 for the fiscal year
ended August 31, 2013. Product and contract services sales increased to
$143,553 and $192,000, respectively, while grant revenue decreased to $37,579
from $409,414 due to completion of NSF phase 2/2B in fiscal 2013 with the close
out period ended November 2013.
Net loss for the year was $8.4
million, or $0.11 per share, compared to a net loss of $14.5 million, or $0.28
per share, for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2013. The lower loss in the
current year was primarily affected by noncash changes in fair value of warrant
liability.
Stellar amped up its research and
development expenses to conduct preclinical research on C. diff immunotherapy
studies, spending $2.5 million on R&D in fiscal 2104 compared to $2.0
million in fiscal 2013.
As of the fiscal year ended August
31, 2014, Stellar recorded cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of
$13.9 million, an improvement over $ 7.9 million reported at August 31, 2013.
The company said it believes its current cash position is sufficient to meet
estimated working capital requirements and fund planned program development
through 2015.
Stella also issued operational
updates, including recent collaboration agreements related to the company’s
core technology platform for the sustainable manufacturing of KLH.
• November
2014 – signed an exclusive supply agreement with Araclon Biotech SL to meet
Araclon’s phase 2 and 3 clinical trial requirements for KLH used in Araclon’s
active immunotherapies against Alzheimer’s disease.
• October
2014 – executed a supply agreement with Biovest International, Inc. for the
supply of KLH used in Biovest’s active immunotherapy to treat follicular
non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
• December
2013 – entered into collaboration with Amaran Biotechnology, Inc. to develop
and evaluate methods for the potential manufacture of OBI Pharma’s active
immunotherapy against metastatic breast cancer (OBI-822).
Stellar views these collaborations
as opportunities for multiple prospective commercial pathways, including
increased KLH sales and participation in the development of new KLH-based
immunotherapies in a range of disease targets.
On the R&D side, Stellar is
actively engaged in research and development focused primarily on aquaculture
of the Giant Keyhole Limpet, improvements in KLH protein manufacturing, and new
uses for KLH in immunotherapy. In 2014, Stellar’s activities involved both
internal programs and external collaborations with other biopharmaceutical
companies.
“Over the past year we
significantly advanced a number of key programs in our core Stellar KLH™
manufacturing business. Of particular note is our recent expansion of KLH
clinical supply agreements,” Frank Oakes, president and chief executive officer
of Stellar, stated in the news release. “Building a robust KLH customer base
across diverse disease arenas is of strategic importance to Stellar because we
believe it will generate long-term revenue potential as well as provide us with
a presence in multiple important immunotherapy programs targeting cancers,
immune disorders, inflammatory disease, and Alzheimer’s.”
For more information visit
www.stellarbiotech.com
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