Full Press Release Details
Therapeutics Reports Fourth Quarter and Annual 2018 Financial Results
and Provides Business Update
2018 with triad of innovative cell therapy technologies: UniverCyte
for immune tolerance, PureStem
for cell derivation and manufacturing, and HyStem
to generate any human cell type with clinical and commercial friendly
characteristics of hypoimmunogenicity, low COGS and availability
Juvenescence increased
ownership by paying BioTime, Inc. $43.2M to become largest shareholder
public company with common stock traded on the NYSE American under
and management strengthened with seasoned professionals in financing,
R&D and cell therapies
almost $10M from sale of a non-core asset, equity financing and NIH
ALAMEDA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 1, 2019--AgeX Therapeutics, Inc.
("AgeX": NYSE American: AGE), a biotechnology company focused on
developing and commercializing innovative cellular and regenerative
therapeutics for diseases of old age, reported financial and operating
results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2018.
"2018 has been a transformative year for AgeX. We became a public
company, listed on the NYSE American, and made progress toward becoming
a leader in the cell therapy and longevity sectors," said Michael D.
West, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer. "One highlight was that we
acquired an immune tolerance technology, UniverCyte , with the potential
to produce hypoimmunogenic cells for new therapies. Considering the
number of high-profile publications and deals in this space, we would
expect this platform to hold us in good stead for both our current
product development programs and the potential for third party
collaborations. We think this technology could help us deliver nearer
and longer term value to our stockholders."
"AgeX has both exciting cell- and iTR -based platforms. Using
UniverCyte in combination with our pluripotent stem cell-based PureStem
cell derivation and manufacturing technology, we aim to generate
universal, off-the-shelf cells for therapeutic products with reduced
COGS," said Greg Bailey, M.D., Chairman of the AgeX Board of Directors.
"Our goal is to overcome key industry barriers to successful development
and commercialization of cellular therapies, including immune rejection,
high manufacturing costs, and a service-based business model."
Additional Recent Highlights
Secured $5M strategic investment from Juvenescence in June 2018.
Received approximately $3.2M from the sale of Ascendance
Biotechnology, a non-core asset.
Received $4.5M from the exercise of warrants in March 2019.
Secured $386,000 in non-dilutive funding in the form of a grant award
from the National Institutes of Health.
Made progress in moving our preclinical cellular and iTR programs
forward, as reflected in part by our papers published in peer-reviewed
scientific journals: Stem Cell Research & Therapy, related
to our brown adipose tissue cell therapy program AGEX-BAT1 for
metabolic disorders such as Type II Diabetes and obesity, and Oncotarget,
identifying genes implicated in tissue regeneration and cancer, in
support of our iTR program
Appointed seasoned biotech investor Gregory Bailey, M.D., as Chairman
of the Board. Dr. Bailey is the CEO of Juvenescence, AgeX's largest
shareholder, and was an initial financier and board member of
Medivation, Inc. which went public and later was acquired by Pfizer
Appointed experienced life science thought leader, Dr. Annalisa
Jenkins, to the Board. Dr. Jenkins previously served as President and
CEO of Dimension Therapeutics, a leading gene therapy company, and had
prior global R&D leadership roles at Merck Serono and Bristol
Appointed John F. Mauldin to the Board, a well-known financial writer,
publisher, and New York Times best-selling author. Mr. Mauldin appears
regularly on CNBC, Yahoo Tech Ticker, and Bloomberg TV. Mr. Mauldin
serves as Chairman of Mauldin Economics, an investment newsletter and
information publishing firm.
Appointed Dr. Nafees Malik, a specialist in the strategy, execution
and commercialization of cell therapies as Chief Operating Officer.
Dr. Malik also serves as the Head of Cellular Therapy at Juvenescence.
His prior roles have spanned clinical medicine, healthcare investment
banking and biopharmaceutical companies.
Balance Sheet Highlights
Cash and cash equivalents totaled $6.7 million as of December 31, 2018.
AgeX strengthened its balance sheet by $4.5 million in proceeds from
warrant exercises in March 2019.
Fourth Quarter and Annual 2018 Operating Results
Revenues: Total Revenues for the fourth quarter of 2018 were $0.3
million as compared to $0.5 million in the comparable quarter in 2017.
Total revenues for the year ended 2018 were $1.4 million, relatively
unchanged as compared to 2017. AgeX revenues were primarily generated by
its subsidiary LifeMap Sciences, Inc. as subscription and advertising
revenues from its GeneCards online database.
Operating expenses: Operating expenses for the three months ended
December 31, 2018, were $3.5 million, as reported, which was comprised
of $2.9 million for AgeX and $0.6 million for LifeMap Sciences, and were
$2.5 million, as adjusted, comprised of $2.0 million for AgeX and $0.5
million for LifeMap Sciences.
Operating expenses for 2018 were $12.3 million, as reported, which was
comprised of $10.0 million for AgeX and $2.3 million for LifeMap
Sciences, and were $9.5 million, as adjusted, comprised of $7.6 million
for AgeX and $1.9 million for LifeMap Sciences.
The reconciliation between GAAP and non-GAAP operating expenses is
provided in the financial tables included with this earnings release.
R&D Expenses: R&D expenses for the year ended December 31,
2018 were $6.6 million, compared to $5.8 million for 2017. The increase
was mainly attributable to an increase in our R&D spending in our
PureStem progenitor cell lines, brown adipose fat, iTR technology
programs and a nonrecurring expense of $800,000 to acquire certain
G&A Expenses: General and administrative expenses for the
three months ended December 31, 2018 increased by $1.3 million to $2.0
million as compared to $0.7 million in 2017. General and administrative
expenses for the year ended December 31, 2018 increased by $1.7 million