Benitec Biopharma Inc.

Benitec reported a net loss of 8.6 million for the March quarter of fiscal 2018, versus a loss of 3.1 million in the March quarter of the prior year. The larger loss was mainly due to a 6.3 million reduction in research and development grant income, partly offset by about 0.8 million lower R&D spend and other costs. Cash on hand at March quarter-end was 10.5 million, down 6.8 million from June 2017, driven largely by 11.2 million of operating cash outflow; the company also received 4.1 million of R&D grant cash in January 2018. On financing, management said it raised 8.8 million total, including 6.2 million from the entitlement offer and 2.6 million from the placement. No next-quarter revenue or EPS guidance was given; forward commentary focused on expected first patient enrollment for BB-401, Russian site activation during June, interim analysis around the end of the calendar year, and BB-301 clinical filing timing once toxicology and manufacturing work is complete.

Greg West emphasized that Benitec is moving from a platform story to a product-driven clinical company with four therapeutic areas, led by oncology and OPMD. He said the recent quarter’s milestones and the capital raise position the company for value creation and ongoing news flow in 2018. His tone was optimistic, repeatedly pointing investors to the OPMD webinar and describing the company as “well positioned” to progress BB-301 into the clinic.

No separate CFO spoke on the call; Greg West covered the financial update. He cited the 8.6 million quarterly net loss, the 10.5 million cash balance, 11.2 million of operating cash outflow, and 4.1 million of R&D grant cash received in January 2018. He also detailed the 8.8 million financing, split between the 6.2 million entitlement offer and 2.6 million placement, and noted strong shareholder participation in the offer.

With no live analyst questions, management addressed two shareholder questions. One asked what the “silence and replace” approach means; David Suhy explained that ddRNAi uses little vector packaging capacity, allowing BB-301 to both silence a disease gene and express a healthy copy from a single vector. Another asked what it will take to get BB-301 to market; Georgina Kilfoil said the path may go from the first clinical study directly into a small Phase 3 study if safety is clean and efficacy is encouraging, but more studies would be needed if safety or efficacy are weaker than hoped.