PureTech Sees Cash Burn Falling as Portfolio Funding Shifts
The biotech reported a first-half profit driven by investment gains and said its lower-cost model should extend its cash runway through 2028.
PureTech Health said it expects annual cash burn of $30 million to $40 million as more late-stage drug development moves to separately funded companies. It ended June with $220 million in cash and short-term investments at the parent level, which management said supports operations through at least the end of 2028.
The company reported $67.2 million in first-half profit, compared with a $44.6 million loss a year earlier. The swing was mainly accounting gains, including a $120.4 million increase in the value of its Seaport Therapeutics investment after Seaport’s Nasdaq listing.
That profit did not come from strong sales. Revenue rose 92% to $3.6 million, largely from royalties tied to Cobenfy, the schizophrenia drug marketed by Bristol Myers Squibb. Operating expenses increased to $55.9 million from $49.8 million, as research and development spending rose.
On the September 22 results call, Chief Executive Robert Lyne said the expected annual cash burn compares with about $90 million when PureTech ran more late-stage programs itself. The forecast includes overhead and innovation spending, and reflects its strategy of advancing early research before raising outside capital for later development.
Seaport raised about $260 million in its May IPO. PureTech held a 31.2% stake, valued at roughly $360 million on September 18, while retaining potential royalties and milestone payments.
Another portfolio company, Celea Therapeutics, raised $180 million in July and began a Phase 3 trial of deupirfenidone for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. PureTech contributed $30 million to that financing and reserved a further $70 million for possible investment. Its cash figure at June 30 excludes $17.5 million of the contribution paid after the half-year.
Gallop Oncology’s next step depends on new funding. It plans to seek external capital by the first half of 2027 before starting a Phase 2 trial of LYT-200 in high-risk myelodysplastic syndromes. The FDA granted the drug Fast Track status in September.
This article was produced with the help of AI technology.
Source: Yahoo Finance
