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- Pharmaceutical company Prescient Therapeutics (PTX) is operating on a largely ‘business-as-usual’ basis despite the COVID-19 pandemic
- Prescient ended the March quarter in a strong financial position, and seems relatively unaffected by the health crisis and global economic downturn
- The company has adopted some cost and risk mitigation strategies, but trials are unaffected given the need for continuity in cancer therapies
- Novel drug candidates continue to show promise, and Prescient is looking to expand its footprint into new cell therapies
- Prescient Therapeutics is down 5.4 per cent at the end of Thursday’s session, with shares priced at 3.5 cents each
Pharmaceutical company Prescient Therapeutics (PTX) is operating on a largely ‘business-as-usual’ basis despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
Money, money, money
Prescient ended the March quarter in a strong financial position, and seems relatively unaffected by the COVID-19 health crisis and global economic downturn. The business ended the quarter with cash reserves of $8.2 million – equivalent to around seven quarters of operating costs.
Prescient’s spending was largely put towards the ongoing clinical trials for PTX-200 and PTX-100, its novel drugs for the treatment of leukaemia and other cancers. Other costs included manufacturing to ensure adequate supply for the clinical programs. Directors fees, staff and administration costs accounted for the remaining third of the $1.124 million in spending for the quarter.
Given the uncertain economic conditions which abound at the moment, Prescient has taken certain cost and risk mitigation measures to ensure its ongoing operational viability and the safety of its employees.
Steps include exploring the possibility of migrating clinical trials from the U.S. to Australia, and utilising investigator sponsored studies, where third party clinicians conduct the work using Prescient’s novel therapies. These potential changes are still in an exploratory phase, but the company maintains the interests of clinicians and patients are heavily weighted in the strategy, along with the company’s bottom line.
Operations (non-surgical)
Prescient previously reported there had been no material disruption to its clinical trials, given the importance of continuity of cancer treatments for patients. The phase 1b studies for both PTX-100 and PTX-200 are progressing as planned.
Prescient is also making inroads into new cancer treatments including cell therapy and CAR-T – where the body’s own immune system is deployed to attack cancer cells.
Outlook
The company also says it is actively pursuing a number of strategic goals to enhance shareholder value and build on its strengths. Roughly translated, this means the business is still running as usual.
That said, given the company has a strong cash balance and two drug candidates in multiple programs run by highly respected experts, maybe Prescient is doing more than just blowing its own trumpet.
Prescient Therapeutics is down 5.4 per cent at the end of Thursday’s session, with shares priced at 3.5 cents each.
