4th Sep 2014 09:36
LONDON (Alliance News) - Scancell Holdings PLC posted a wider full-year loss on Thursday as it saw increases in both development and administrative expenses, though it said it remains confident in realising value for its shareholders.
The company said its pretax loss for the year to April 30 was GBP2.5 million, up from the GBP2.2 million loss posted last year. The higher loss came on the back of a rise in development and administrative costs. Development expenses were up to GBP1.7 million, from GBP1.5 million, while administrative expenses rose to GBP820,105 from GBP731,672.
The higher development costs were related to additional costs linked to the start of pre-clinical studies on its Moditope cancer immunotherapy research platform. The group said it is working on preparing Modi-1, the lead vaccine from the platform, for clinical trials, scheduled to start in 2016.
The group's other cancer immunotherapy platform, ImmunoBody, secured an orphan drug designation from the US Food and Drug Administration during the year for the treatment of metastatic melanoma.
Last month, Scancell released test results which found animals treated with a combination of its SCIB1 product and PD-1 checkpoint inhibition showed enhanced tumour destruction and much longer survival times than when only one of the treatments was administered. SCIB1 is the ImmunoBody vaccine currently used for the treatment of melanoma.
The administrative costs were increased by additional patent costs which arose over the year, said the company.
The group's cash balance at April 30 was GBP5.6 million, up from GBP1.5 million a year earlier, on the back of the placing and open offer launched by the company earlier in the year.
"Cancer immunotherapy is emerging as one of most exciting areas of pharmaceutical research and development. Scancell now has two innovative technology platforms in this emerging field, both of which are expected to be of substantial interest to the increasing number of pharmaceutical companies establishing R&D programmes in the area," said Scancell Joint Chief Executive Richard Goodfellow.
"The board remains dedicated to realising value for our shareholders as we continue to build upon the excellent data garnered to date," Goodfellow added.
Scancell shares were trading 0.5% higher at 35.19 pence per share on Thursday.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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