\nBELLUS Health Inc. (Nasdaq:BLU; TSX:BLU) (\u201cBELLUS Health\u201d or the \u201cCompany\u201d), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company working to better the lives of patients suffering from persistent cough, starting with the development of camlipixant (BLU-5937) for the treatment of refractory chronic cough (\u201cRCC\u201d), today reported its financial and operating results for the year ended December 31, 2022.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cIn 2022, we laid the groundwork to advance camlipixant, our P2X3 receptor antagonist product candidate with best-in-class potential, into late-stage development in RCC. This included interacting with regulatory officials, solidifying the CALM Phase 3 trial designs and conducting validation work on the VitaloJAK cough monitoring system \u2013 all of which allowed us to initiate CALM-1 and CALM-2 in the fourth quarter,\u201d commented Roberto Bellini, President and Chief Executive Officer of BELLUS Health. \u201cLooking ahead to 2023, we will remain focused on advancing our CALM Phase 3 clinical program and building out our commercial strategy, while tracking the upcoming key developments in the P2X3 receptor class.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
PROGRAM AND CORPORATE HIGHLIGHTS<\/b><\/p>\n
Actively advancing the CALM Phase 3 clinical program (CALM-1 and CALM-2 trials) for camlipixant (BLU-5937) in RCC, with patient enrollment ongoing.<\/b><\/p>\n Completed large U.S. physician survey on the RCC market landscape in 2022.<\/b><\/p>\n Pursuing development of its P2X3 receptor pipeline.<\/b><\/p>\n Presented SOOTHE clinical data at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (\u201cAAAAI\u201d) Annual Meeting and the CHEST Annual Meeting.<\/b><\/p>\n Presenting on camlipixant\u2019s drug-drug interactions at the American Society of Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics (\u201cASCPT\u201d) 2023 Annual Meeting, being held in Atlanta, GA.<\/b><\/p>\n Ended the year with cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments totaling US$337.1 million.<\/b><\/p>\n FINANCIAL RESULTS<\/b><\/p>\n Cash Position:<\/b> As of December 31, 2022, the Company had available cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments totaling US$337.1 million, compared to US$248.8 million as of December 31, 2021. The net increase is primarily attributable to the Company\u2019s offering in July 2022, offset in part by funds used to finance its operating activities, mainly the research and development activities associated with its product candidate camlipixant.\n<\/p>\n Net Loss:<\/b> For the year ended December 31, 2022, net loss amounted to US$76.1 million (US$0.66 per share), compared to US$71.2 million (US$0.90 per share) for the previous year.\n<\/p>\n Research and Development Expenses:<\/b> Research and development expenses, net of research tax credits, amounted to US$58.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, compared to US$59.0 million for the previous year, a US$0.6 million or 1% year over year decrease. The decrease is primarily attributable to a decrease in external R&D spend as we have transitioned from our Phase 2b SOOTHE clinical trial to the initiation of our CALM Phase 3 clinical program in 2022, offset in part by higher stock-based compensation expense in relation the Company\u2019s stock option plan and higher workforce expenses due to an increase in headcount to support the development of camlipixant.\n<\/p>\n General and Administrative (\u201cG&A\u201d) Expenses:<\/b> General and administrative expenses amounted to US$19.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, compared to US$14.3 million for the previous year, a US$5.2 million or 37% year over year increase. The increase is mainly attributable to higher external G&A expenses, as well as to higher stock-based compensation expense in relation to the Company\u2019s stock option plan.\n<\/p>\n Net Finance Income:<\/b> Net finance income amounted to US$1.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, compared to US$1.9 million for the previous year. In 2022, there was higher interest income compared to the previous year due to the increased cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments position following the offerings in 2022 and 2021 and the increase in interest rates, offset in part by an increase in foreign exchange loss resulting from the conversion in U.S. dollars of the Company\u2019s net monetary assets denominated in Canadian dollars during the year (vs a foreign exchange gain in 2021), due to the weakening of the Canadian dollar versus the U.S. dollar in 2022.\n<\/p>\n SUMMARY OF FINANCIAL RESULTS<\/b><\/p>\n\n
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