NuCana Reports First Quarter 2024 Financial Results and Provides Business Update
NuCana (NASDAQ: NCNA) has released its financial results for Q1 2024, ending March 31, 2024. The company reported a net loss of £6.8 million, an improvement from £7.9 million in Q1 2023. Cash and cash equivalents stood at £12.9 million, down from £17.2 million at the end of 2023. Loss per share was £0.13, reduced from £0.15 in the comparable period.
Key developments include the full enrollment of a Phase 2 study involving 182 colorectal cancer patients and encouraging results from NUC-7738 combined with pembrolizumab in patients resistant to PD-1 inhibitors. NuCana's clinical programs, including NUC-3373 and NUC-7738, are on track for significant data readouts in 2024. The company expects its cash runway to extend into Q1 2025.
NuCana aims to announce multiple clinical data points in 2024, focusing on metastatic colorectal cancer and melanoma treatments.
- Net loss decreased to £6.8 million in Q1 2024 from £7.9 million in Q1 2023.
- Loss per share improved to £0.13 from £0.15 year-over-year.
- Full enrollment of 182 patients in Phase 2 colorectal cancer study.
- Encouraging anti-cancer activity observed with NUC-7738 and pembrolizumab in PD-1 inhibitor-resistant patients.
- Multiple key data readouts expected in 2024.
- Cash runway anticipated to extend into Q1 2025.
- Cash and cash equivalents decreased to £12.9 million, down from £17.2 million as of December 31, 2023.
- Ongoing net losses, indicating financial challenges.
- Dependency on successful trial outcomes for future growth and financial stability.
Insights
NuCana's first-quarter financial results show a decrease in net loss, from
The key financial takeaway for investors is the reduction in net loss and its implications for future burn rates. While the cash runway is relatively short, the company’s ongoing clinical trials could potentially attract investor interest and funding if they yield positive results.
The reduction in basic and diluted loss per share further reflects operational improvement. Investors should keep an eye on future funding rounds or partnerships as the company approaches its cash runway limit.
The clinical updates provided are noteworthy. The completion of the Phase 2 enrollment for NUC-3373 in metastatic colorectal cancer is crucial. This trial compares a new regimen (NUFIRI + bev) against the standard care (FOLFIRI + bev). Given that NUC-3373 is a derivative of the widely used 5-FU, its success could signal a substantial improvement in colorectal cancer treatment.
Additionally, the combination of NUC-7738 with pembrolizumab in PD-1 resistant melanoma patients is intriguing. Pembrolizumab is a leading immunotherapy and demonstrating efficacy in resistant patients could make a significant impact. The reported anti-cancer activity, especially where other treatments have failed, provides optimistic prospects.
These clinical advancements are essential for both patient outcomes and investor confidence, as successful trials can lead to regulatory approvals and market entry.
From a market perspective, NuCana's updates are promising. The company’s focus on ProTide therapeutics, which are designed to enhance the efficacy and safety of existing chemotherapy drugs, positions it well in the oncology space. This technological advantage could make NuCana a compelling investment, particularly if clinical data continue to show positive outcomes.
NuCana’s business strategy of advancing multiple clinical programs simultaneously can diversify risk and increase the likelihood of hitting a breakthrough. However, this approach also requires substantial investment and cash flow, which, as indicated, is limited to Q1 2025.
Investors should consider the potential market size for successful therapies. For example, metastatic colorectal cancer and melanoma are significant markets. A successful transition from trials to market could result in substantial revenues and market share capture.
Key Data Readouts on Track for All Programs in 2024
Randomized Phase 2 Study of 182 Second-Line Colorectal Cancer Patients Fully Enrolled
NUC-7738 plus Pembrolizumab Demonstrated Encouraging Anti-Cancer Activity in Several Patients who were Resistant to PD-1 Inhibitors
Anticipated Cash Runway into Q1 2025
EDINBURGH, United Kingdom, May 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NuCana plc (NASDAQ: NCNA) announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024 and provided an update on its broad clinical development program with its transformative ProTide therapeutics.
As of March 31, 2024, NuCana had cash and cash equivalents of
“Our focus remains on advancing our innovative ProTide pipeline to develop more efficacious and safer medicines for patients with cancer,” said Hugh S. Griffith, NuCana’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer. “NUC-3373, a transformation of 5-FU, is currently being investigated in three ongoing clinical studies. Our randomized Phase 2 study (NuTide:323) is now fully enrolled with 182 patients, and compares NUC-3373 in combination with irinotecan, leucovorin and bevacizumab (NUFIRI + bev) with the standard of care, 5-FU in combination with irinotecan, leucovorin and bevacizumab (FOLFIRI + bev) for the second-line treatment of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. We look forward to announcing initial data from this study in 2024. We also plan to announce additional data from our ongoing Phase 1/2 study (NuTide:302) of NUFIRI + bev and NUFOX + bev in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer this year. Our Phase 1b/2 study (NuTide:303) of NUC-3373 in combination with pembrolizumab in patients with solid tumors and in combination with docetaxel in patients with lung cancer also remains on track with data readouts expected in 2024.”
Mr. Griffith continued: “Moving to NUC-7738, we recently presented exciting data at the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting. These data highlighted NUC-7738’s ability to disrupt RNA polyadenylation, leading to profound alterations in the tumor biology of the patients’ cancers. We believe that this finding provides a rationale as to why NUC-7738 plus pembrolizumab has achieved encouraging anti-cancer activity in several patients who were resistant to PD-1 inhibitors. We are evaluating NUC-7738 in an ongoing Phase 1/2 study (NuTide:701) as a monotherapy in patients with advanced solid tumors and in combination with pembrolizumab in PD-1 inhibitor-resistant patients with melanoma. We plan to announce additional data from this study in 2024.”
Mr. Griffith concluded, “We look forward to providing updates from all of our ongoing clinical studies this year as we continue working towards our mission of improving treatment outcomes for patients with cancer.”
2024 Anticipated Milestones
- NUC-3373 (a ProTide transformation of 5-FU)
In 2024, NuCana expects to:
- Announce data from the randomized Phase 2 (NuTide:323) study of NUFIRI + bev compared to the standard of care FOLFIRI + bev for the second-line treatment of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer;
- Announce data from the Phase 1b/2 (NuTide:302) study of NUFIRI + bev and NUFOX + bev for the second-line treatment of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer; and
- Announce data from the Phase 1b/2 (NuTide:303) modular study of NUC-3373 in combination with pembrolizumab in patients with solid tumors and in combination with docetaxel in patients with lung cancer.
- NUC-7738 (a ProTide transformation of 3’-deoxyadenosine)
In 2024, NuCana expects to:
- Announce data from the Phase 2 part of the Phase 1/2 study (NuTide:701) of NUC-7738 in combination with pembrolizumab in patients with melanoma.
- Announce data from the Phase 2 part of the Phase 1/2 study (NuTide:701) of NUC-7738 in combination with pembrolizumab in patients with melanoma.
About NuCana
NuCana is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on significantly improving treatment outcomes for patients with cancer by applying our ProTide technology to transform some of the most widely prescribed chemotherapy agents, nucleoside analogs, into more effective and safer medicines. While these conventional agents remain part of the standard of care for the treatment of many solid and hematological tumors, they have significant shortcomings that limit their efficacy and they are often poorly tolerated. Utilizing our proprietary technology, we are developing new medicines, ProTides, designed to overcome the key limitations of nucleoside analogs and generate much higher concentrations of anti-cancer metabolites in cancer cells. NuCana’s pipeline includes NUC-3373 and NUC-7738. NUC-3373 is a new chemical entity derived from the nucleoside analog 5-fluorouracil, a widely used chemotherapy agent. NUC-3373 is currently being evaluated in three ongoing clinical studies: a Phase 1b/2 study (NuTide:302) in combination with leucovorin, irinotecan or oxaliplatin, and bevacizumab in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer; a randomized Phase 2 study (NuTide:323) in combination with leucovorin, irinotecan, and bevacizumab for the second-line treatment of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer; and a Phase 1b/2 modular study (NuTide:303) of NUC-3373 in combination with the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab for patients with advanced solid tumors and in combination with docetaxel for patients with lung cancer. NUC-7738 is a transformation of 3’-deoxyadenosine, a novel anti-cancer nucleoside analog. NUC-7738 is in the Phase 2 part of a Phase 1/2 study which is evaluating NUC-7738 as a monotherapy in patients with advanced solid tumors and in combination with pembrolizumab in patients with melanoma.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may contain “forward-looking” statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are based on the beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to management of NuCana plc (the “Company”). All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this press release are forward-looking statements, including statements concerning the Company’s planned and ongoing clinical studies for the Company’s product candidates and the potential advantages of those product candidates, including NUC-3373 and NUC-7738; the initiation, enrollment, timing, progress, release of data from and results of those planned and ongoing clinical studies; the Company’s goals with respect to the development, regulatory pathway and potential use, if approved, of each of its product candidates; the utility of prior non-clinical and clinical data in determining future clinical results; and the sufficiency of the Company’s current cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities to fund its planned operations into Q1 2025. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential” or “continue” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company’s actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the timing of receipt of our U.K. research and development tax credit cash rebates expected to be received in 2024 and the other risks and uncertainties set forth in the “Risk Factors” section of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2023 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on March 20, 2024, and subsequent reports that the Company files with the SEC. Forward-looking statements represent the Company’s beliefs and assumptions only as of the date of this press release. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements for any reason after the date of this press release to conform any of the forward-looking statements to actual results or to changes in its expectations.
Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
| For the Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||
| 2024 | 2023 | ||||
| (in thousands, except per share data) | |||||
| £ | £ | ||||
| Research and development expenses | (6,783) | (6,805) | |||
| Administrative expenses | (1,581) | (1,648) | |||
| Net foreign exchange gains (losses) | 95 | (695) | |||
| Operating loss | (8,269) | (9,148) | |||
| Finance income | 126 | 287 | |||
| Loss before tax | (8,143) | (8,861) | |||
| Income tax credit | 1,305 | 994 | |||
| Loss for the period | (6,838) | (7,867) | |||
| Basic and diluted loss per share | (0.13) | (0.15) | |||
Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Financial Position As At
| March 31, 2024 | December 31, 2023 | ||||
| (in thousands) | |||||
| £ | £ | ||||
| Assets | |||||
| Non-current assets | |||||
| Intangible assets | 2,165 | 2,128 | |||
| Property, plant and equipment | 430 | 521 | |||
| Deferred tax asset | 156 | 143 | |||
| 2,751 | 2,792 | ||||
| Current assets | |||||
| Prepayments, accrued income and other receivables | 2,766 | 2,671 | |||
| Current income tax receivable | 6,416 | 5,123 | |||
| Cash and cash equivalents | 12,868 | 17,225 | |||
| 22,050 | 25,019 | ||||
| Total assets | 24,801 | 27,811 | |||
| Equity and liabilities | |||||
| Capital and reserves | |||||
| Share capital and share premium | 144,870 | 143,420 | |||
| Other reserves | 79,633 | 79,173 | |||
| Accumulated deficit | (214,374) | (207,706) | |||
| Total equity attributable to equity holders of the Company | 10,129 | 14,887 | |||
| Non-current liabilities | |||||
| Provisions | 58 | 58 | |||
| Lease liabilities | 172 | 190 | |||
| 230 | 248 | ||||
| Current liabilities | |||||
| Trade payables | 5,764 | 3,375 | |||
| Payroll taxes and social security | 214 | 155 | |||
| Accrued expenditure | 8,297 | 8,940 | |||
| Lease liabilities | 167 | 206 | |||
| 14,442 | 12,676 | ||||
| Total liabilities | 14,672 | 12,924 | |||
| Total equity and liabilities | 24,801 | 27,811 | |||
Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
| For the Three Months Ended March 31, | ||||
| 2024 | 2023 | |||
| (in thousands) | ||||
| £ | £ | |||
| Cash flows from operating activities | ||||
| Loss for the period | (6,838) | (7,867) | ||
| Adjustments for: | ||||
| Income tax credit | (1,305) | (994) | ||
| Amortization and depreciation | 136 | 143 | ||
| Movement in provisions | - | (55) | ||
| Finance income | (126) | (287) | ||
| Interest expense on lease liabilities | 5 | 8 | ||
| Share-based payments | 626 | 1,141 | ||
| Net foreign exchange (gains) losses | (98) | 726 | ||
| (7,600) | (7,185) | |||
| Movements in working capital: | ||||
| Increase in prepayments, accrued income and other receivables | (87) | (463) | ||
| Increase in trade payables | 2,390 | 888 | ||
| Decrease in payroll taxes, social security and accrued expenditure | (586) | (3,575) | ||
| Movements in working capital | 1,717 | (3,150) | ||
| Cash used in operations | (5,883) | (10,335) | ||
| Net income tax received | - | - | ||
| Net cash used in operating activities | (5,883) | (10,335) | ||
| Cash flows from investing activities | ||||
| Interest received | 124 | 322 | ||
| Payments for intangible assets | (81) | (159) | ||
| Net cash from investing activities | 43 | 163 | ||
| Cash flows from financing activities | ||||
| Payments for lease liabilities | (64) | (42) | ||
| Proceeds from issue of share capital – exercise of share options | 3 | 1 | ||
| Proceeds from issue of share capital | 1,492 | - | ||
| Share issue expenses | (45) | - | ||
| Net cash from (used in) financing activities | 1,386 | (41) | ||
| Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents | (4,454) | (10,213) | ||
| Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period | 17,225 | 41,912 | ||
| Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents | 97 | (698) | ||
| Cash and cash equivalents at end of period | 12,868 | 31,001 | ||
For more information, please contact:
NuCana plc
Hugh S. Griffith
Chief Executive Officer
+44 131-357-1111
info@nucana.com
ICR Westwicke
Chris Brinzey
+1 339-970-2843
chris.brinzey@westwicke.com
FAQ
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