Attached files

file filename
8-K - FORM 8-K - ENANTA PHARMACEUTICALS INCd23957d8k.htm

Exhibit 99.1

 

LOGO

For Immediate Release

Enanta Pharmaceuticals Reports Financial Results for its

Fiscal Fourth Quarter and Year Ended September 30, 2015

Conference Call and Webcast Today at 4:30 p.m. ET

 

    Royalty revenue of $14.4 million in fourth quarter brings fiscal year total to $34.1 million

 

    AbbVie’s phase 3 trial begun for next-generation HCV treatment containing Enanta’s protease inhibitor ABT-493

 

    Enanta’s cyclophilin inhibitor candidate EDP-494 expected to enter the clinic in the first calendar quarter of 2016

 

    Cash and marketable securities totaled $209 million at September 30, 2015

WATERTOWN, Mass., November 23, 2015 — Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (NASDAQ: ENTA), a research and development-focused biotechnology company dedicated to creating small molecule drugs for viral infections and liver diseases, today reported financial results for its fiscal fourth quarter and year ended September 30, 2015.

Fiscal Fourth Quarter and Year Ended September 30, 2015 Financial Results

Cash, cash equivalents and short-term and long-term marketable securities totaled $209.4 million at September 30, 2015. This compares to a total of $131.8 million in such accounts at September 30, 2014. Enanta expects that its current cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities will be sufficient to meet the anticipated cash requirements of its existing business for the foreseeable future.

Revenue for the three months ended September 30, 2015 was $14.4 million, compared to $2.6 million for the three months ended September 30, 2014. For the 2015 quarter, revenue consisted primarily of royalties earned on contractually specified portions of AbbVie’s worldwide net sales of hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment regimens containing paritaprevir, Enanta’s lead protease inhibitor identified within the ongoing AbbVie-Enanta collaboration. Quarterly royalty revenues are all included in accounts receivable at quarter end and then collected in a single payment in the following quarter. For the twelve months ended September 30, 2015, revenue was $160.9 million, compared to revenue of $47.7 million for the same period in 2014. The increase in revenue for the twelve months ended September 30, 2015 was due primarily to a total of $125 million in payments earned from AbbVie for the achievement of U.S. and EU commercialization regulatory approvals of VIEKIRA PAK™ and VIEKIRAX®, respectively, as well as to royalties earned on those products, compared to $40 million in milestone payments and other contractual revenue in the comparable period in 2014. Milestone payments, royalties and other payments from collaborations have varied significantly from period to period, and are expected to continue to do so.

 

 

Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc.    Page | 1 of 6


Research and development expenses totaled $7.0 million for the three months ended September 30, 2015, compared to $5.2 million for the three months ended September 30, 2014. For the twelve months ended September 30, 2015, research and development expenses were $23.2 million, compared to $18.7 million for the comparable period in 2014. The increases in the three and twelve month periods over the prior year periods were primarily due to increased internal and external spend on Enanta’s proprietary research programs.

General and administrative expenses totaled $3.7 million for the three months ended September 30, 2015, compared to $2.8 million for the three months ended September 30, 2014. For the twelve months ended September 30, 2015, general and administrative expenses totaled $13.5 million, compared to $10.0 million for the comparable period in 2014. The increases in the three and twelve month periods primarily reflected increases in stock-based compensation expense, due principally to increases in Enanta’s stock price, as well as additional expenses incurred as Enanta expands its operations.

Net income for the three months ended September 30, 2015 was $5.8 million, or $0.29 per diluted common share, compared to a net loss of $5.0 million, or ($0.27) per diluted common share, for the corresponding period in 2014. For the twelve months ended September 30, 2015, net income was $79.0 million, or $4.09 per diluted common share, compared to $34.4 million, or $1.80 per diluted common share for the comparable period in 2014. The increase in net income during the twelve month ended September 30, 2015 was primarily due to $125 million in milestone payments received, as well as royalty revenue earned from AbbVie. Net income in the 2014 year reflected a total of $40 million in milestone payments for regulatory filings, and the reversal of the entire valuation allowance related to Enanta’s deferred tax assets, which resulted in an income tax benefit of $15.2 million in 2014.

“We ended our fiscal year in a position of financial strength and poised for advances in our research pipeline,” commented Jay R. Luly, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer. “Our cash and marketable securities balance is strong, and we have royalties on paritaprevir that were running at an annualized rate of approximately $57 million at the quarter ending September 30. Additionally, our second protease inhibitor, ABT-493 has advanced into Phase 3 trials as part of AbbVie’s next-generation, fixed-dose combination treatment for HCV, we plan to advance two of our wholly-owned programs – our cyclophilin inhibitor for HCV and an FXR agonist for NASH – into the clinic next year, and we are also advancing other discovery programs.”

Development Program and Business Review

 

  In November 2015, Enanta earned a $30 million milestone payment for the reimbursement approval of AbbVie’s VIEKIRAX® in Japan, which will be reflected in Enanta’s quarter ending December 31, 2015.

 

  Phase 3 studies have begun on AbbVie’s next-generation HCV treatment containing a fixed-dose combination of protease inhibitor ABT-493 and ABT-530, AbbVie’s next generation NS5A inhibitor.

 

 

Data from AbbVie’s SURVEYOR studies, its investigational hepatitis C virus (HCV) regimen containing Enanta’s next-generation protease inhibitor ABT-493 and ABT-530, AbbVie’s next generation NS5A inhibitor, demonstrated that after 12 weeks of treatment with doses at or closest to the Phase 3 clinical dose, SVR12 rates were 100 percent in genotype 1 HCV patients, 96 percent in genotype 2, and

 

 

Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc.    Page | 2 of 6


 

93 percent in genotype 3. Additional late breaking data from SURVEYOR-I showed that non-cirrhotic genotype 1 HCV patients treated for only 8 weeks with this combination achieved SVR12 rate of 97 percent.

 

  Enanta has selected its cyclophilin inhibitor candidate EDP-494 from its wholly-owned pipeline to advance into a phase 1 clinical study for HCV, which is scheduled to commence in the first quarter of calendar 2016. The cyclophilin inhibitor class may have the highest barrier to resistance of any class because cyclophilin is a human drug target that is non-mutating and may prove valuable in treating resistant forms of HCV.

 

  AbbVie recently filed a New Drug Application with the FDA for a once-daily, fixed-dose formulation of the 3 DAA’s in the VIEKIRA PAK regimen for the treatment of patients with chronic GT1 HCV infection.

 

  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted marketing approval on July 24, 2015 for AbbVie’s TECHNIVIE™, the first all-oral, interferon-free, two-direct-acting antiviral (2-DAA) treatment regimen approved in the U.S. for GT4 HCV patients.

Financial Guidance

 

  For the quarter ended September 30, 2015, Enanta’s paritaprevir royalties represented approximately 3% percent of AbbVie’s reported VIEKIRA sales, and Enanta expects its royalties in the quarter ending December 31, 2015 to continue to be approximately 3% percent of such sales, depending on the amounts and portions of those sales that are 2-DAA or 3-DAA regimen sales. Under its agreement with AbbVie, Enanta is entitled to annually tiered, double-digit royalties on specified portions of sales that are allocated to paritaprevir using 30% of 3-DAA sales (VIEKIRA PAK™ or VIEKIRAX® + EXVEIRA®) and 45% of 2-DAA sales (TECHNIVIE® or VIEKIRAX®).

 

  For the full fiscal year ending September 30, 2016, Enanta expects to incur between $40 and $50 million of research and development expenses.

Upcoming Events and Presentations

 

  34th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, January 11-14, 2016, San Francisco

 

  Enanta plans to issue its fiscal first quarter financial results press release, and hold a conference call regarding those results, in the week of February 8, 2016.

Conference Call and Webcast Information

Enanta will host a conference call and webcast today at 4:30 p.m. ET. To participate in the live conference call, please dial (855) 840-0595 in the U.S. or (518) 444-4814 for international callers. A replay of the conference call will be available starting at approximately 6:30 p.m. Eastern time on November 23, 2015, through 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on November 30, 2015 by dialing (855) 859-2056 from the U.S. or (404) 537-3406 for international callers. The passcode for both the live call and the replay is 58326369. A live audio webcast of the call and replay can be accessed by visiting the “Calendar of Events” section on the “Investors” page of Enanta’s website at www.enanta.com.

 

 

Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc.    Page | 3 of 6


About Enanta

Enanta Pharmaceuticals is a research and development-focused biotechnology company that uses its robust chemistry-driven approach and drug discovery capabilities to create small molecule drugs for viral infections and liver diseases. Enanta has developed novel protease and NS5A inhibitors that are members of the direct-acting-antiviral (DAA) inhibitor classes designed for use against the hepatitis C virus (HCV). Enanta’s protease inhibitors partnered with AbbVie include paritaprevir, which is contained in AbbVie’s marketed DAA regimens for HCV, and ABT-493, Enanta’s next-generation protease inhibitor which recently initiated phase 3 development in combination with ABT-530, AbbVie’s next-generation NS5A inhibitor. Enanta also has discovered a host-targeted antiviral (HTA) inhibitor for HCV targeted against cyclophilin, which Enanta plans to study in a phase 1 clinical trial in the first quarter of 2016 as well as another DAA program to develop nucleotide polymerase inhibitors. In addition, Enanta has a preclinical program in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH, which is a condition that results in liver inflammation and liver damage caused by a buildup of fat in the liver.

Forward Looking Statements Disclaimer

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements with respect to the prospects for royalties on sales of AbbVie’s HCV treatment regimens containing paritaprevir, the prospects for AbbVie’s development of a next-generation regimen containing ABT-493, the prospects for advancement of the NASH development program, expectations for a commercialization regulatory approval in Japan milestone payment from AbbVie, the prospects for Enanta’s cyclophilin inhibitor being valuable in treating resistance forms of HCV, the prospects for advancing a cyclophilin inhibitor for the treatment of HCV and an FXR agonist for the treatment of NASH into clinical trials, and the projected sufficiency of Enanta’s cash-equivalent resources and marketable securities. Statements that are not historical facts are based on management’s current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about Enanta’s business and the industry in which it operates and management’s beliefs and assumptions. The statements contained in this release are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions, which are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed in such forward-looking statements. Important factors and risks that may affect actual results include: Enanta’s revenues are dependent upon the success of AbbVie’s planned regulatory approval and commercialization efforts for its treatment regimens containing paritaprevir; Enanta’s longer term revenues will likely be dependent upon the success of AbbVie’s planned clinical development and commercialization of next-generation regimens containing ABT-493; regulatory actions affecting any approval of a treatment regimen containing ABT-493; the pricing, market acceptance and reimbursement rates of treatment regimens containing paritaprevir or ABT-493 compared to competitive HCV products on the market and product candidates of other companies under development; the discovery and development risks of early stage discovery efforts in new disease areas; potential competition from the development efforts of others in those new disease areas; Enanta’s lack of clinical development experience; Enanta’s need to attract and retain senior management and key scientific personnel; Enanta’s need to obtain and maintain patent protection for its product candidates and avoid potential infringement of the intellectual property rights of others; and other risk factors described or referred to in “Risk Factors” in Enanta’s most recent Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2014 and other periodic reports filed more recently with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Enanta cautions investors not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this release. These statements speak only as of the date of this release, and Enanta undertakes no obligation to update or revise these statements, except as may be required by law.

 

 

Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc.    Page | 4 of 6


ENANTA PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(in thousands, except per share amounts)

 

     Three Months Ended
September 30,
    Year Ended
September 30,
 
     2015      2014     2015     2014  

Revenue

   $ 14,416       $ 2,637      $ 160,880      $ 47,741   

Operating expenses

         

Research and development

     7,049         5,202        23,189        18,740   

General and administrative

     3,693         2,761        13,543        10,016   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total operating expenses

     10,742         7,963        36,732        28,756   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income (loss) from operations

     3,674         (5,326     124,148        18,985   

Other income, net

     509         236        1,307        283   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income (loss) before income taxes

     4,183         (5,090     125,455        19,268   

Income tax (expense) benefit

     1,629         48        (46,463     15,170   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income (loss)

   $ 5,812       $ (5,042   $ 78,992      $ 34,438   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income (loss) per share

         

Basic

   $ 0.30       $ (0.27   $ 4.23      $ 1.88   

Diluted

   $ 0.29       $ (0.27   $ 4.09      $ 1.80   

Weighted average common shares outstanding

         

Basic

     18,714         18,589        18,673        18,355   

Diluted

     19,337         18,589        19,295        19,185   

 

 

Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc.    Page | 5 of 6


ENANTA PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(in thousands)

 

     September 30,
2015
     September 30,
2014
 

Assets

     

Current assets

     

Cash and cash equivalents

   $ 21,726       $ 30,699   

Short-term marketable securities

     123,479         60,065   

Accounts receivable

     15,289         1,724   

Unbilled receivables

     433         2,770   

Deferred tax assets

     1,447         11,123   

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

     8,267         1,594   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total current assets

     170,641         107,975   

Property and equipment, net

     5,886         1,803   

Long-term marketable securities

     64,238         41,003   

Deferred tax assets

     4,640         4,198   

Restricted cash

     608         436   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total assets

   $ 246,013       $ 155,415   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity

     

Current liabilities

     

Accounts payable

   $ 1,543       $ 1,874   

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities

     3,962         2,872   

Income taxes payable

     1,199         —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total current liabilities

     6,704         4,746   

Warrant liability

     1,276         1,584   

Series 1 nonconvertible preferred stock

     163         202   

Other long-term liabilities

     1,713         229   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total liabilities

     9,856         6,761   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total stockholders’ equity

     236,157         148,654   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity

   $ 246,013       $ 155,415   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Investor Contact

Carol Miceli

Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

617-607-0710

cmiceli@enanta.com

Media Contact

Kari Watson

MacDougall Biomedical Communications

781-235-3060

kwatson@macbiocom.com

###

 

 

Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc.    Page | 6 of 6