AcelRx Pharmaceuticals Reports Third Quarter 2019 Financial Results

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Nov. 6, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- AcelRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ACRX), (AcelRx), a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative therapies for use in medically supervised settings, today reported its third quarter 2019 financial results.

"Achieving 125 REMS-certified facilities two months ahead of our year-end goal demonstrates healthcare providers' increasing interest in DSUVIA," said Vince Angotti, Chief Executive Officer of AcelRx. "We also expect to achieve our year-end objective of 125 formulary approvals and anticipate expanded use across a variety of healthcare settings as the feedback on DSUVIA® from healthcare professionals continues to be very positive," continued Angotti.

Third Quarter and Recent Highlights

    --  130 healthcare facilities are now REMS-certified and able to purchase
        DSUVIA and 105 formulary approvals have been achieved through October
        31, 2019; approximately 60% of REMS certifications and formulary
        approvals have occurred since the date of the Company's last earnings
        call
    --  AcelRx was selected to present at one of the two plenary sessions of the
        2019 Military Health System Research Symposium; the presentation was
        entitled "Pooled Safety Analysis of Patients Who Were Exposed to < 300
        mcg vs. >=300 mcg of Sublingual Sufentanil in a 24 Hour Period for
        Treatment of Acute Pain"
    --  Pooled dosing and efficacy data from use of the sufentanil sublingual
        tablet (SST) 30 mcg among multiple demographic subgroups (age, sex,
        race, and body mass index) was accepted for publication in the Journal
        of PeriAnesthesia Nursing to aid nurses in understanding the
        effectiveness and duration of action of SST 30 mcg in the management of
        moderate-to-severe acute pain across a variety of patient demographics

Financial Information

    --  Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments balance of $80.4
        million as of September 30, 2019;
    --  Combined R&D and SG&A expenses for the third quarter of 2019 totaled
        $12.0 million compared to $8.8 million for the third quarter of 2018.
        Excluding stock-based compensation expense, these amounts were $10.7
        million for the third quarter of 2019 compared to $7.1 million for the
        third quarter of 2018. R&D and SG&A expenses for the first nine months
        of 2019 totaled $35.8 million compared to $23.6 million in the first
        nine months of 2018. Excluding stock-based compensation expense, these
        figures were $32.3 million for the first nine months of 2019 compared to
        $19.9 million for the first nine months of 2018. The increase in R&D and
        SG&A expenses is primarily due to increased personnel-related expenses
        for the commercial launch of DSUVIA. See the "Reconciliation of Non-GAAP
        Financial Measures" table below for a reconciliation of the non-GAAP
        operating expenses described above to their related GAAP measures;
    --  Net cash outflow for the third quarter of 2019 was $11.1 million, which
        included $0.6 million in debt service;
    --  For the third quarter of 2019, net loss was $12.7 million, or $0.16 per
        basic and diluted share, compared to $12.5 million, or $0.21 per basic
        and diluted share, for the third quarter of 2018. Net loss for the first
        nine months of 2019 was $38.8 million, or $0.49 per basic and diluted
        share, compared to $34.6 million, or $0.64 per basic and diluted share,
        for the prior year period.

Webcast and Conference Call Information
As previously announced, AcelRx will host a live webcast Wednesday, November 6, 2019 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (2:00 p.m. Pacific Time) to discuss these financial results and provide other corporate updates. The webcast is accessible by visiting the Investors page of the Company's website at www.acelrx.com and clicking on the webcast link. The webcast will be accompanied by a slide presentation. Investors who wish to participate in the conference call may do so by dialing (866) 361-2335 for domestic callers, (855) 669-9657 for Canadian callers or (412) 902-4204 for international callers. A webcast replay will be available on the AcelRx website for 90 days following the call by visiting the Investor page of the Company's website at www.acelrx.com.

About DSUVIA (sufentanil sublingual tablet), 30 mcg
DSUVIA®, known as DZUVEO(TM) in Europe, approved by the FDA in November 2018, is indicated for use in adults in certified medically supervised healthcare settings, such as hospitals, surgical centers, and emergency departments, for the management of acute pain severe enough to require an opioid analgesic, and for which alternative treatments are inadequate. DSUVIA was designed to provide rapid analgesia via a non-invasive route and to eliminate dosing errors associated with intravenous (IV) administration. DSUVIA is a single-strength solid dosage form administered sublingually via a single-dose applicator (SDA) by healthcare professionals. Sufentanil is an opioid analgesic previously only marketed for IV and epidural anesthesia and analgesia.( )The sufentanil pharmacokinetic profile when delivered sublingually avoids the high peak plasma levels and short duration of action observed with IV administration. The European Commission approved DZUVEO for marketing in Europe in June 2018 and the Company is currently in discussions with potential European marketing partners.

For more information, please visit www.DSUVIA.com.

About AcelRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
AcelRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative therapies for use in medically supervised settings. AcelRx's proprietary, non-invasive sublingual formulation technology delivers sufentanil with consistent pharmacokinetic profiles. The Company has one approved product in the U.S., DSUVIA(®) (sufentanil sublingual tablet, 30 mcg), known as DZUVEO((TM)) in Europe, indicated for the management of acute pain severe enough to require an opioid analgesic for adult patients in certified medically supervised healthcare settings, and one product candidate, Zalviso(®) (sufentanil sublingual tablet system, SST system, 15 mcg), an investigational product in the U.S., is being developed as an innovatively designed patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) system for reduction of moderate-to-severe acute pain in medically supervised settings. DZUVEO and Zalviso are both approved products in Europe.

For additional information about AcelRx, please visit www.acelrx.com.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures
To supplement AcelRx's financial results and guidance presented in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), the Company uses certain non-GAAP financial measures in this press release, in particular, excluding stock-based compensation expense from its operating expenses. The Company believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful supplementary information to, and facilitate additional analysis by, investors and analysts. In particular, the Company believes that these non-GAAP financial measures, when considered together with the Company's financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP, can enhance investors' and analysts' ability to meaningfully compare the Company's results from period to period and to its forward-looking guidance. In addition, these types of non-GAAP financial measures are regularly used by investors and analysts to model and track the Company's financial performance. AcelRx's management also regularly uses these non-GAAP financial measures internally to understand, manage and evaluate the Company's business and to make operating decisions. Non-GAAP financial measures are not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for comparable GAAP measures and should be read in conjunction with AcelRx's condensed consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP. The non-GAAP financial measures in this press release and the accompanying tables have limits in their usefulness to investors and may be calculated differently from, and therefore may not be directly comparable to, similarly titled measures used by other companies.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements related to anticipated formulary approvals and use of DSUVIA. These and any other forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "may," "will," "should," "seeks," "approximately," "intends," "plans," "estimates," or the negative of these words or other comparable terminology. The discussion of financial trends, strategy, plans or intentions may also include forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, anticipated or implied by such statements. Although it is not possible to predict or identify all such risks and uncertainties, they may include, but are not limited to, those described in the Company's annual, quarterly and current reports (i.e., Form 10-K, Form 10-Q and Form 8-K) as filed or furnished with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date such statements were first made. To the degree financial information is included in this press release, it is in summary form only and must be considered in the context of the full details provided in the Company's most recent annual, quarterly or current report as filed or furnished with the SEC. The Company's SEC reports are available at www.acelrx.com under the "Investors" tab. Except to the extent required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.


                                                                               
       
              Selected Financial Data


                                                                             
       (in thousands, except per share data)


                                                                                     
            (unaudited)




                                                                                                                                 Three Months Ended                                  Nine Months Ended


                                                                                                                                    September 30                                       September 30

                                                                                                                                                                                                   ---

                                                                                                                            2019                                    2018        2019                     2018

                                                                                                                                                                                                       ---




     Net product sales                                                                                                     $116                    
            $         -       $218  
            $            -



     Collaboration agreement                                                                                                492                                     177      $1,596                     $802



     Contract and other                                                                                                                                            200                                 736



           Total revenue                                                                                                    608                                     377       1,814                    1,538

                                                                                                                                                                                                       ---




     Operating costs and expenses:



     Cost of goods sold                                                                                                   2,148                                     875       5,188                    2,738



     Research and development                                                                                             1,058                                   3,642       3,598                   10,433


      General and administrative                                                                                          10,936                                   5,188      32,241                   13,117


      Total operating costs and expenses                                                                                  14,142                                   9,705      41,027                   26,288

                                                                                                                                                                                                       ---


     Loss from operations                                                                                              (13,534)                                (9,328)   (39,213)                (24,750)





     Other income (expense):



     Interest expense                                                                                                     (828)                                  (529)    (1,704)                 (1,758)


      Interest income and other income
       (expense), net                                                                                                        645                                     312       1,728                      643


      Non-cash interest income
       (expense) on liability related to
       sale of future royalties                                                                                              986                                 (2,913)        375                  (8,724)

                                                                                                                                                                                                       ---

      Total other income (expense)                                                                                           803                                 (3,130)        399                  (9,839)

                                                                                                                                                                                                       ---

      Provision for income taxes                                                                                                                                               (3)                     (2)




     Net loss                                                                                                         $(12,731)                              $(12,458)  $(38,817)               $(34,591)





      Basic and diluted net loss per
       common share                                                                                                      $(0.16)                                $(0.21)    $(0.49)                 $(0.64)





      Shares used in computing basic and
       diluted net loss per common share                                                                                  79,461                                  60,004      79,053                   54,292

                                                                                                                                                                                                       ===










     (1)   Includes the following non-cash, stock-based compensation expense:




                  Cost of goods sold                                                                                         $68                                    $119        $197                     $280


                  Research and development                                                                                   242                                     769         699                    1,578


                  Selling, general and
                   administrative                                                                                          1,016                                     920       2,883                    2,078



                        Total                                                                                            $1,326                                  $1,808      $3,779                   $3,936









                                                                                                              September 30, 2019                      December 31, 2018




     Selected Balance Sheet Data


      Cash, cash equivalents and
       investments                                                                                                       $80,400                                $105,715



     Total assets                                                                                                       104,978                                 120,533



     Total liabilities                                                                                                  133,252                                 116,280


      Total stockholders' (deficit)
       equity                                                                                                           (28,274)                                  4,253



     
                
                  Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures



     
                
                  (Operating Expenses less associated stock-based compensation expense)




                                                                           Three Months Ended                         Nine Months Ended


                                                                          September 30                        September 30

                                                                                                 ---

                                                        2019                   2018                   2019    2018

                                                                                                            ---




     Operating expenses (GAAP):


      Research and development                        $1,058                 $3,642                 $3,598 $10,433


      Selling, general and
       administrative                                 10,936                  5,188                 32,241  13,117


      Total operating expenses                        11,994                  8,830                 35,839  23,550


                   Less associated stock-
                    based
                     
                compensation
                                 expense               1,258                  1,689                  3,582   3,656


                   Operating expenses (non-
                    GAAP)                            $10,736                 $7,141                $32,257 $19,894

                                                                                                            ===

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/acelrx-pharmaceuticals-reports-third-quarter-2019-financial-results-300953234.html

SOURCE AcelRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.