New Haven cancer diagnostics firm Precipio Inc. said Monday it has acquired the customer base of OncoMetrix, a division of Memphis, Tenn.-based laboratory testing company Poplar Healthcare.
Precipio first announced it was working on the non-cash deal in February, saying it planned to absorb Poplar’s hematopathology division and associated revenues of approximately $3 million.
Barring any disruption from the COVID-19 outbreak, Precipio said the acquisition is expected to “more than double” the company’s revenues and gross margin while reducing its cash burn by more than $700,000.
“This strategic initiative represents a rapid and effective way to scale up our business without any dilution to our shareholders” since it involves no exchange of cash or equity, Precipio CEO Ilan Danieli said in a statement.
The company averted a Nasdaq delisting after implementing a 1-for-15 reverse stock split last May and has been trying to bolster its stock price. Its stock was trading at $1.05 as of mid-morning Tuesday.
Three sales representatives from OncoMetrix will transition to Precipio under the agreement. Additionally, Precipio will offer Poplar’s solid tissue pathology services to its customers, and Poplar will offer Precipio’s hematopathology services, Precipio said. Hematopathology is the study of diseases or disorders affecting blood cells.
“We are delighted to complete this transaction and partner with Precipio for the hematopathology business, enabling us to focus on our other core businesses,” Poplar CEO James Sweeney said in a statement. “We look forward to continued collaboration with Precipio in other areas of our partnership.”
Based in Science Park, Precipio develops products aimed at reducing misdiagnosis of cancer and other diseases.
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Trevi Therapeutics widened its fourth-quarter and full-year losses in 2019 but has enough cash on hand to continue developing drugs into late 2021, the New Haven biopharma reported Monday.
The company, based at 195 Church St., is in the middle of late-stage human testing on its drug to treat chronic itching and chronic cough. It does not yet have any revenue-producing products.
For the quarter ended Dec. 31, Trevi reported a net loss of $6.5 million, up from $6 million during the fourth quarter of 2018. For the year, Trevi lost $26.1 million, compared to $20.5 million in 2018. The results beat Wall Street expectations.
Trevi attributed much of the higher losses to stepped up clinical trial activities, increased personnel compensation and expenses related to being a public company. Trevi went public in May of last year, raising $55 million.
CEO Jennifer Good said the nine-year-old company made “substantial progress” advancing its lead drug, nalbuphine ER, through the regulatory process in 2019. The drug is a reformulated version of an older opioid, but is not addictive.
In an update Monday, Good said the company has enrolled 45 percent of its targeted number of patients in a Phase 2b/3 trial of the drug to treat severe itching caused by prurigo nodularis. The condition is marked by hard, itchy bumps on the skin. She expects to reach 50 percent enrollment by the second quarter 2020.
Patient enrollment is also underway in a Phase 2 trial of the drug for chronic cough in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a disease marked by scarring of the lungs.
She expects to report clinical data in both trials during the second half of 2020.
Trevi’s stock price has nearly doubled since late last week, trading at $4.73 as of late-morning Tuesday. It closed at $3.71 on Monday.
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New Haven’s Arvinas Inc. reported higher losses in 2019 as it launched two pioneering cancer drugs into human trials, but still ended the year with nearly $281 million in cash.
For the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2019, Arvinas posted a net loss of $21 million, compared to $16.1 million during the fourth quarter of 2018. For the year, Arvinas lost $70.3 million, compared to $41.5 million a year earlier.
Arvinas attributed the loss, which was in line with Wall Street expectations, to continued investment in its protein-degrader drug platform, as well as to cost increases related to its first full year as a public company.
A $28.7 million revenue increase, mostly from the company’s joint venture with Bayer last year, helped offset the full-year loss, Arvinas said.
Arvinas went public in September 2018, raising $120 million. The company said it netted $107.6 million in a follow-on public offering late last year.
The five-year-old biotech, based in Science Park, is testing drugs for advanced forms of prostate and breast cancer, respectively, in early-stage clinical trials. It expects to report clinical data for both trials during the second half of this year.
Arvinas’ stock was trading at $36.68 as of late Tuesday morning, up from Monday’s close of $33.
Contact Natalie Missakian at news@newhavenbiz.com
