Liquidia Technologies, Inc., a late-stage biopharmaceutical company, missed earnings estimates on Monday with a wider-than-expected per-share loss for the third quarter.
The company reported a net loss attributable to common stakeholders, basic and diluted, of 40 cents, compared to a loss of 72 cents for the third quarter of 2019. The two analysts who follow the stock called for a per-share loss of 36 cents, according to data from Yahoo Finance.
Liquidia reported a greater net loss and comprehensive loss for the third quarter 2020 compared to the same quarter in 2019, as the company moved toward a patent for a drug candidate and raised $75 million in gross proceeds from a public offering. Liquidia saw a net loss and comprehensive loss of about $15 million for the third quarter of 2020, from $13.4 million a year prior.
Liquidia reported a decline in costs from research and development from the third quarter of 2019, and an increase in general and administrative costs. The company said in a press release that research and development costs declined primarily because of a decrease in clinical trial-related expenses, while general and administrative costs grew in part due to legal expenses and the acquisition of portfolio company RareGen.
Liquidia, based in Research Triangle Park, currently focuses on developing two product candidates — a pulmonary arterial hypertension treatment and a local post-operative pain treatment. The company received a Notice of Allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for methods of treatment using one of the candidates during the quarter, after a therapeutics company earlier filed a complaint against Liquidia. Liquidia now expects the patent to be issued in the fourth quarter 2020.
“Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we continue to make progress in defending our right to bring LIQ861 forward for patients, while also making significant strides to advance our mission through an improved balance sheet, cash runway, and intellectual property position with respect to dry powder inhaled treprostinil,” CEO Neal Fowler said in the Monday press release.
Shares of Liquidia stock were trading at $3.97 on Monday morning, down 52 cents, or 11.67 percent.
