Tenax Loss Widens as Phase 3 Spending More Than Doubles
Research and development expense climbed to $12.9 million as Tenax expanded two Phase 3 trials.
Tenax Therapeutics (TENX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, reported a wider second-quarter loss as spending increased ahead of topline results from its lead Phase 3 trial.
The quarter marked a shift from enrolling patients in the LEVEL trial to preparing for results in August. Tenax completed randomization of all patients by the end of the first quarter, after reaching its 230-patient target in March.
The net loss widened to $17.8 million from $10.9 million a year earlier and $15.7 million in the first quarter. The loss was $0.35 a share, compared with $0.27 a share a year earlier, even as weighted-average common shares and prefunded warrants increased to 50.9 million from 39.6 million.
Research and development expense rose about 110% from a year earlier and increased $1.4 million sequentially as Tenax expanded spending on the LEVEL and LEVEL-2 trials. Quarterly R&D costs have more than doubled since the second quarter of 2023, climbing from $6.1 million to $12.9 million.
Selling, general and administrative expense increased to $5.9 million from $5.0 million in the first quarter and $5.7 million a year earlier. Higher legal, professional, salary and benefit costs drove the sequential increase, partly offset by lower stock-based compensation.
Tenax ended June with $118.0 million in cash, down from $118.8 million at the end of March but above the $97.6 million held at year-end. The company received $13.4 million from warrant exercises during the quarter and now expects its funding to last through the second quarter of 2028, extending its prior forecast by roughly one quarter.
The company continues to target completion of LEVEL-2 enrollment by the end of 2027 after initiating the trial in December. Results from LEVEL have been accepted for a late-breaking clinical-science session at the ESC Congress in late August, contingent on Tenax receiving the topline data in time.