Adam JacksonNew-York based biotech firm IGC Pharma, Inc. (NYSE: IGC) reported its financial results for the third fiscal quarter ending December 31, 2023 after the market’s closed Friday. The company, which develops cannabinoid-based therapies, experienced a fall in revenue and net loss over the year.
For the quarter, IGC Pharma’s revenue was approximately $204,000, a 38% slump from the $332,000 reported in the same period the previous year.
That was against the backdrop of the company’s revenue figure over the nine months ending Dec. 31, 2023, which rose to approximately $1.05 million, marking a 40% increase from $745,000 in the previous year. The company attributed the revenue growth primarily to its life sciences segment, which focuses on selling proprietary formulations.
The dip in quarterly revenue was linked to the company’s decision to reallocate resources towards the acceleration of its Phase 2 clinical trial for IGC-AD1, its Alzheimer’s treatment candidate, and to prepare for potential Phase 3 trials by obtaining pharmaceutical Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certification.
Operational costs increased during the quarter, with SG&A expenses reaching approximately $2.2 million, a 42% increase from the $1.5 million recorded in the same quarter the previous year. The company said that the rise in SG&A expenses was mainly due to one-time non-cash expenses.
R&D expenses also rose to about $903,000, a 12% increase from $806,000 in the year-ago quarter, primarily due to the advancement of Phase 2 trials on IGC-AD1 and pre-clinical studies on other assets.
The net loss for the quarter was approximately $5.5 million, or $0.09 per share, versus a net loss of $2.2 million, or $0.04 per share, in the same quarter of the previous year. The increased loss was attributed to an impairment of property, plant, and equipment assets and a one-time non-cash expense reported in SG&A.
Despite the challenges, IGC Pharma during the period secured patents in Europe and Mexico for its cannabinoid-based treatments and teamed up with the University of Los Andes to advance artificial intelligence/machine learning initiatives in drug development.
CEO Ram Mukunda signaled optimism about the company’s lead asset, IGC-AD1, currently in a Phase 2b trial for treating agitation in dementia due to Alzheimer’s.
“We are working hard to obtain interim results in 2024,” Mukunda said in a statement.
“We estimate that in North America and Europe about 11 million Alzheimer’s patients have neuropsychiatric symptoms including agitation. With modest pricing and conservative market penetration, IGC-AD1 can potentially be a block buster drug.”
