The Starpharma Holdings Limited (ASX: SPL) share price has dropped lower with the market on Monday following the release of its half year results.
At the time of writing the dendrimer products developer's shares are down 6.5% to $1.14.
How did Starpharma perform in the first half?
For the half year ended December 31, Starpharma delivered a significant jump in revenue and other income. Revenue came in at $5.7 million for the half, up from $0.7 million in the prior corresponding period.
This was driven by the receipt of a US$3 million milestone payment from AstraZeneca and more than $1 million from VivaGel product sales and royalties. During the period, VivaGel BV was launched in the UK under the brand Betafem BV. The company also supplied product to support its rollout in mainland Europe.
This jump in revenue allowed Starpharma to narrow its half year loss. The company posted an interim loss of $5.9 million, which was an improvement on the prior corresponding period's $7.3 million loss.
Net operating cash outflows also improved from $7.3 million a year ago, to $5.2 million in the first half of FY 2020. This ultimately led to an improvement in its cash burn from $6.9 million to $5.4 million. At the end of the period, Starpharma had a cash balance of $35.9 million.
Starpharma's CEO, Dr Jackie Fairley, was pleased with the first half performance.
She said: "We achieved several significant milestones in the recent period, notably the launch of VivaGel BV in Asia and the UK, regulatory approvals in Asia, and we supplied product to multiple regions for future launches of the product in 2020."
"In our DEP portfolio, we announced positive interim results and advancement in our internal clinical trials, and AstraZeneca commenced a phase 1 trial for DEP AZD0466 in the US. This was our first partnered DEP product to enter the clinic, alongside our three internal clinical-stage DEP products, DEP docetaxel, DEP cabazitaxel and DEP irinotecan. AZD0466 is a great illustration of the benefits that can be created for novel agents using Starpharma's DEP platform," she added.
Outlook.
More of the same is expected in the second half of FY 2020.
Dr Fairley concluded: "We expect to announce further milestones throughout the next period, including the launch of VivaGel BV in New Zealand and additional countries in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as further regulatory approvals. We will continue to focus on advancing high potential DEP candidates through development, accelerating our clinical trials, wherever possible, and pursuing partnerships to leverage our proprietary DEP technology."
