Arcutis shares flat on earnings report
Arcutis Biotherapeutics saw a steep rise in operating expenses resulting in a 183% increase in net loss compared to the previous year when the company revealed its fourth quarter and full-year financial results on Feb. 16.
However, the Westlake Village biotech company is still in high spirits, as the company is in a “strong financial position” heading into 2021 and is expecting good news on some of the trials for its dermatological treatments.
Arcutis does not have any drugs on the market yet. The company says it has a robust pipeline, with a potential market of more than 20 million patients, and enough cash to fund its operations into 2023.
“2020 was a year of incredibly strong execution for Arcutis,” Arcutis CEO Frank Watanabe said in a company news release. “From our initial public offering in February through implementation of 18 clinical trials with three different product candidates involving more than 3,200 patients, we made tremendous progress advancing our mission of addressing significant unmet needs in medical dermatology. 2021 will be a transformational year for Arcutis as we continue to rapidly advance our innovative and differentiated late-stage pipeline of potential best-in-class topical dermatology therapies.”
Arcutis released financial results after the market closed, with the company’s stock at $33.69. The stock fell just 0.56% after hours.
Despite net losses of $34 million in the fourth quarter of 2020, a 183% increase year-over-year, and $135 million for the full year, a 221% increase year-over-year, Arcutis is reporting $470 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities.
The $470 million in assets includes Arcutis’s recent capital raise that amounted to more than $200 million.
Arcutis also said it is planning to submit its topical roflumilast cream to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a potential treatment for plaque psoriasis in the second half of 2021. This comes after the company saw positive results in the cream’s phase 3 trials reported in February.
Additionally, Arcuts aims to advance topical roflumilast creams for atopic dermatitis, seborrheic dermatitis, and scalp psoriasis into Phase 3 during 2021 as well.
