Factor Therapeutics posts $11.6m loss, biotech firm says house has been tidied up

BRISBANE-based Factor Therapeutics argues it has reformed the wound-healing company after years of major hiccups, and shifts focus to the US.

Leg ulcers have traditionally been treated with compression therapy, and Factor Therapeutics is trying different method.

BRISBANE-based Factor Therapeutics argues it has reformed the wound-healing company after years of major hiccups, and shifts focus to the US.

The company, formerly known as Tissue Therapies, posted a slightly deeper $11.6 million loss for the year, in results released Wednesday. But it pointed to initiatives such as preparing for a new clinical trials and shifting manufacturing locations.

“We tidied up what needed to be done,” Factor executive director Christian Behrenbruch said.

Factor makes a product squirted on hard-to-heal wounds, with the initial target a common form of leg ulcer.

Shares remain in the doldrums, closing at 5c. They had hit as high as 35c in January last year and 81c shortly after listing in 2004.

Operating cash burn — measuring cash outflows — almost halved in the year to $4.7 million, and the accounts showed lower employment, consulting, and research and development costs.

A major cause of the loss was an $7.5 million impairment on old inventory that has been disposed. That inventory could not be used in upcoming US clinical trials.

Factor had once been a biotech-sharemarket star, but for years struggled getting its product past European regulators. It ultimately raised a white flag, resulting in management and board turnover.

The initial focus is now on a US middle-stage trial at 26 sites with almost 200 patients.

Analysts at Bioshares last month said Factor had a “much improved design for its Phase II trial, which matches more closely the commercial opportunity it wishes to address in the US for the venous leg ulcer market”.

Dr Behrenbruch said the results would help determine if it was feasible to try final-stage trials, and provide data for any potential partners. The results could also assist in any revisit of European regulatory approval, with Dr Behrenbruch saying the company had “not forgotten … our aspirations for Europe”.

The accounts also show Factor is considering looking at whether it can claim more of a R&D tax refund for between 2012 and 2014.

Factor had $14.4 million in cash at June and accumulated losses of $64 million.

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