Debra Borchardt
Corbus Pharmaceuticals Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRBP) provided a corporate update and reported financial results for the third quarter of 2022. Corbus delivered a net loss of approximately $8.8 million, or a net loss per diluted share of $0.07 versus a net loss of approximately $2.2 million, or a net loss per diluted share of $0.02, for the same period in 2021. The company noted that last year’s third quarter included a $12.3 million refundable tax credit received from a foreign tax authority.
Operating expenses for the quarter decreased by $5.8 million to approximately $8.2 million versus last year’s $14.0 million. Corbus attributed the drop to decreased clinical trial and drug manufacturing costs and an overall reduction in compensation expenses.
“We continue to progress CRB-601 toward the clinic on schedule and on budget. Our latest pre-clinical data, to be presented this Thursday at SITC 2022, further reinforces our belief that this could be a highly impactful drug in oncology therapy, and we look forward to the latest clinical updates from this field,” commented Yuval Cohen, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Corbus. “We continue to be actively engaged in business development activities with the goal of expanding our pipeline while also bringing in non-dilutive funding by monetizing our portfolio of endocannabinoid assets through new partnerships.”
The company is making a presentation on Thursday about its CRB-601 drug, which is an integrin αvβ8 blocking monoclonal antibody that can overcome tumor immune exclusion and enhance the activity of immune checkpoint inhibitors in vivo. The company said that Investigational New Drug (IND) enabling studies are currently underway with a plan to explore the anti-tumor activity of this agent clinically in 2023.
Corbus also noted that it is seeking partners for its CRB913 endocannabinoid drug. The company says it is a differentiated CB1 inverse agonist that induces weight loss in combination with semaglutide and tirzepatide. It reduces appetite, food intake, lipogenesis, dyslipidemia, inflammation and leptin regulation, It also increases insulin sensitivity and secretion with potential indications for obesity and diabetes.
In October of 2022, Corbus amended its debt agreement with K2 HealthVentures LLC to defer commencement of principal payments by one year until September 2023 which improved the Company’s liquidity and cash runway. As of September 30, 2022, the company has $67 million of cash and investments on hand which is expected to fund operations through the second quarter of 2024, based on the current planned expenditures.
