Verastem Inc (NASDAQ: VSTM), a biopharmaceutical company whose aim is to advance new medicines for cancer patients, recently reported its financial results for the six and three months that ended on June 30, 2021. The company also talked about its progress in those periods.
Financial summary
The company converted all its 2020 $28.0 million aggregate principal of 5% senior convertible notes due 2048 for around 8.6 million shares of common stock. This conversion eliminated virtually all the company’s debts and preserved about $31.2 million in cash. The cash runway is expected to last for at least three years.
Verastem Oncology reported cash and cash equivalents of $114.1 million. Its total revenue for the second quarter of 2021 was $0.5 million, down from $4.3 million in the second quarter of 2020. In addition, its total operating expenses were $16.4 million in the second quarter of 2021, compared to $25.6 million in 2Q2020.
Second-quarter milestones
According to Brian Stuglik, Verastem Oncology CEO, there were a few notable achievements in the second quarter of 2021. Top of that list is the receipt of Breakthrough Therapy designation for VS-6766 together with defactinib in treating recurrent low-grade ovarian cancer. Recent data from the investigator-initiated FRAME study, the Breakthrough Therapy designation’s basis, was accepted for presentation at the European Society of Medical Oncology Congress this year. Brian also noted that after the end of 2Q2021, the company eliminated all its outstanding debt substantially by converting $28 million of its senior convertible notes, saving the company more than $30 million, thereby enabling a cash runway for the company expected to run for at least three years.
In the second quarter of 2021, the company received Breakthrough Therapy for VS-766 with defactinib to treat recurrent LGSOC KRAS status notwithstanding, following one or several prior lines of therapy.
In the same period, the company proceeded with the company-sponsored registration-directed Phase 2 study (RAMP 201) investigating VS-6766 alone and together with defactinib to treat recurrent LGSOC. Verastem expects to release top-line results from RAMP 201’s selection phase and begin the expansion phase in the first six months of 2022.
