Barinthus Bio Announces Q1 2024 Financial Results and Corporate Updates

Barinthus Biotherapeutics plc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical firm headquartered in Oxford, United Kingdom, has released its financial results for the first quarter of 2024. The company, which trades on NASDAQ under the symbol BRNS, focuses on developing innovative T cell immunotherapies aimed at treating chronic infectious diseases, autoimmunity, and cancer.

CEO Bill Enright highlighted the company’s notable achievements in early 2024. Barinthus received clearance from both the U.S. FDA and the Australian Ethics Committee to advance VTP-1000 into a first human clinical trial for celiac disease. The Phase 1 trial aims to assess the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of VTP-1000 in adults. Designed in two parts, the study will utilize a controlled gluten challenge to evaluate single and multiple dosing regimens. The company anticipates initiating the trial shortly.

Additionally, Barinthus announced promising final data from its Phase 1b/2 trial of VTP-200, a vaccine candidate for persistent high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infections. The trial, known as APOLLO, demonstrated that VTP-200 was well-tolerated with no serious adverse events. Positive trends in the clearance rates for both high-risk HPV and associated cervical lesions were observed in higher dose groups, although pooled data did not show a significant improvement compared to placebo.

Looking ahead to the second quarter, Barinthus plans to present interim data from its VTP-300 hepatitis B trials at the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) Congress in June. Following encouraging data presented at The American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) meeting last November, these updates will provide further insights into the efficacy of VTP-300.

Barinthus is also welcoming Dr. Leon Hooftman as its new Chief Medical Officer in June. Dr. Hooftman brings extensive experience in drug development, particularly in immunology, autoimmunity, hematology, oncology, and infectious diseases. His expertise is expected to bolster the company’s robust pipeline and ongoing programs.

Financially, the company reported a cash position of $130 million as of March 31, 2024, down from $142.1 million at the end of 2023. The cash depletion is attributed to the continued development of its pipeline and clinical trials. Barinthus expects its current cash reserves to cover operational expenses and capital requirements into the fourth quarter of 2025.

Revenue for the first quarter of 2024 was nil, compared to $0.5 million for the same period in 2023, primarily due to a lack of commercial sales of AstraZeneca’s Vaxzevria®. Research and development expenses increased to $11.1 million, up from $9.8 million in the first quarter of 2023, driven by personnel hiring and increased program costs. General and administrative expenses decreased to $6 million from $12.1 million, largely due to a gain on foreign exchange and reduced personnel and insurance costs.

For the first quarter of 2024, Barinthus reported a net loss of $15.5 million, or $0.40 per share, compared to a net loss of $18.2 million, or $0.48 per share, in the first quarter of 2023.

Barinthus Biotherapeutics is committed to advancing its diverse pipeline, built on three proprietary platform technologies: ChAdOx, MVA, and SNAP. The company’s product candidates target a range of therapeutic areas, including chronic hepatitis B (VTP-300), persistent high-risk HPV (VTP-200), celiac disease (VTP-1000), and recurrent prostate cancer (VTP-850). Barinthus’s scientific expertise and focus on pipeline development position it well to address significant unmet needs in infectious diseases, autoimmunity, and cancer.