Aclaris Loss Widens as Drug-Development Spending Accelerates
Research-and-development expense jumped 58% to $18.066 million as Aclaris advanced its clinical pipeline.
Aclaris Therapeutics (ACRS), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, posted a wider second-quarter loss as spending increased on drug manufacturing and clinical development. The net loss widened 39% to $21.505 million from $15.429 million a year earlier.
The quarter marked a shift toward a broader and more expensive development program. Aclaris added planned studies for its lead ATI-052 program while narrowing several clinical and regulatory timelines to the fourth quarter.
Revenue fell 8.3% to $1.629 million, reflecting declines in contract-research and licensing revenue. The loss increased to $0.15 a share from $0.13 a share. First-half revenue rose 12% to $3.625 million primarily because of higher royalties under licensing agreements with Eli Lilly and Sun Pharma.
The operating loss widened 32% to $24.238 million as total costs and expenses rose 28%. Research-and-development spending increased mainly because of ATI-052 manufacturing and Phase 1a/1b clinical work, along with manufacturing for ATI-9494. General and administrative expense rose 12% to $6.048 million, reflecting higher professional, legal and personnel costs.
Aclaris planned to start an ATI-052 Phase 2b asthma trial in the fourth quarter. The company also planned startup work for a Phase 2b atopic-dermatitis trial and a proof-of-concept study in eosinophilic esophagitis, broadening a program that previously centered on asthma.
The company scheduled its modzatinib Phase 2b lichen-planus program for the fourth quarter, later than its previous second-half target, and narrowed the planned ATI-9494 investigational-new-drug filing to the same quarter. A bosakitug Phase 2 atopic-dermatitis readout also remained set for the fourth quarter after enrollment reached 109 patients, above the approximately 96 previously planned. New preclinical results showed ATI-9494 had potency as much as 25 times greater than soquelitinib across multiple assays.
First-half operating cash use rose 65% to $37.996 million, while cash, equivalents and marketable securities stood at $170.621 million at June 30. After the quarter, Aclaris sold 7.3 million shares through its at-the-market program for $40.2 million in gross proceeds, adding funding as it prepared to start the expanded ATI-052 studies.