The Imugene Limited (ASX: IMU) share price is down 13% since the closing bell this past Friday.
As covered by my Fool colleague James, the biotech company released a quarterly update yesterday.
The update revealed an operating cash outflow of $10.15 million. Research and development accounted for $8.5 million, and staff costs accounted for the bulk of the remaining expenditure.
However, the company remains in a strong financial position with a cash balance of $99.9 million.
In its statement, Imugene said: "The Company continues to monitor its expenditure carefully across all facets of the business, though this is expected to increase as clinical programs ramp up."
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Why is the Imugene share price struggling?
The performance of Imugene shares so far this week may be partly related to the update yesterday, and perhaps partly just a pullback after a very strong month.
As my Fool colleague Brooke reported last week, the Imugene share price has actually skyrocketed in recent times. At the time of reporting on 20 July, Imugene shares were up 77% over four weeks.
It's not uncommon to see an ASX share pull back a little after a surge in value.
Some investors might choose to cash in some of their short-term profits, which we don't generally recommend here at the Fool. We advocate the buy-and-hold strategy in most situations for ordinary ASX investors.
Imugene is an immuno-oncology company developing treatments to activate the immune systems of cancer patients.
So, like most biotech companies in development mode, the Imugene share price pretty much lives or dies from day to day based on the results of trials announced to the ASX, and other news relating to the company's ongoing pursuit of medical advances.
What's the latest news from Imugene?
Earlier this month, Imugene announced the appointment of executive director and clinical scientist Dr Sharon Yavrom.
Yavrom has almost 20 years of industry experience and has taken the lead role in multiple clinical trials for cancer treatments in the past.
The Imugene share price rose by 11% on the day of the news.
On 27 June, the company also reported the results of a phase 2 trial for the use of HER-Vaxx to treat advanced gastric cancer.
The trial showed a median overall survival of 13.9 months for patients treated with HER-Vaxx and chemotherapy. This compared to a survival rate of 8.3 months for patients who only received chemotherapy treatment.
ASX investors pushed the Imugene share price 41% higher on the day of this announcement.
