Pieris Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Cash, cash equivalents and investments were $48.4 million at March 31, 2023, versus $59.2 million at December 31, 2022. Management said operating cash burn decreased by more than $8 million versus Q1 2022, and that the company believes it is funded for more than the next 12 months. R&D expense was $13.4 million versus $14.1 million a year ago; G&A was $4.0 million versus $4.4 million; grant income was $2.0 million versus $2.1 million; and interest income was about $400,000 versus a de minimis amount last year. Net loss was $13.2 million, or $0.45 per share, versus a net loss of $5.1 million, or $0.07 per share, in Q1 2022. Forward-looking, the company said it is willing to gate spending on PRS-220 and PRS-400 to preserve cash while waiting for the Elarekibep readout, and it expects PRS-220 Phase 1 data in the second half of 2023 and Elarekibep top-line data by mid-2024.

Steve Yoder framed the quarter around several near-term catalysts and repeated that the company’s top strategic priority is the Elarekibep asthma program. He emphasized the potential of inhaled biologics to deliver better lung exposure, convenience, and differentiation versus current therapies, while also underscoring that PRS-220 and PRS-400 are being advanced as fully proprietary respiratory assets. His tone was optimistic but disciplined: he repeatedly stressed capital efficiency, selective investment, and using partnerships or capital markets as needed while awaiting key data.

Tom Bures focused on liquidity and expense discipline. He said cash, cash equivalents and investments were $48.4 million at March 31, 2023, down from $59.2 million at year-end, and noted Q1 is seasonally a higher burn quarter because of annual bonus and insurance payments; even so, operating cash burn was more than $8 million lower than in Q1 2022. He highlighted R&D of $13.4 million, G&A of $4.0 million, grant income of $2.0 million, interest income of about $400,000, and a net loss of $13.2 million, or $0.45 per share. He also said the company believes it is funded for more than the next 12 months and may gate future PRS-220 and PRS-400 investments to preserve cash.

Analysts pressed management on what happens to PRS-220 if FibroGen’s pamrevlumab Phase 3 data are positive or negative. Yoder said a positive readout could be a strong validation point for CTGF in IPF and an inflection point for PRS-220, while a negative readout would require looking at why the endpoint was missed and whether the issue was the drug rather than the target; Olwill added that Pieris believes inhaled delivery, higher potency, and better lung exposure could differentiate PRS-220 from systemic pamrevlumab. Questions also focused on PRS-343 and the path forward after its strategic discontinuation; Yoder said interest from investors and pharma is real, discussions are ongoing, and the back half of 2023 is a reasonable timeframe for more clarity. On PRS-344, management said it is still in dose escalation with Servier and will likely wait for more data and the competitive landscape before deciding on expansion.