AcelRx Pharmaceuticals Reports Third Quarter 2020 Financial Results

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Nov. 5, 2020 /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 2020 financial results.

"The third quarter represented one of our most active and successful quarters since DSUVIA's approval," said Vince Angotti, Chief Executive Officer of AcelRx. "We've made significant progress on our revenue growth strategy, highlighted by our oral and dental surgery collaboration with Zimmer Biomet, the addition of DSUVIA to the Department of Defense Joint Deployment Formulary and our new U.S. Army contract. With the recent publication of data supporting DSUVIA's strong value proposition, we have gained momentum in DSUVIA's use within existing hospital and ambulatory surgery center customers, and the rate of scheduled formulary reviews. Progress within the Department of Defense continues and we expect the initial ordering of DSUVIA for deployed troops in the fourth quarter."

Third Quarter Highlights

    --  In July, AcelRx entered into a distribution agreement with Zimmer Biomet
        to market DSUVIA within the dental and oral surgery markets in the
        United States exclusively through Zimmer Biomet's Dental division,
        expanding U.S. availability of DSUVIA. It is estimated that the
        applicable market in dental surgeries is over 7 million annual
        procedures.
    --  In July, AcelRx completed a $10 million common stock offering priced at
        the market with two leading life science investors.
    --  In August, AcelRx announced the publication of a study entitled "Reduced
        Opioid Use and Reduced Time in the Postanesthesia Care Unit Following
        Preoperative Administration of Sublingual Sufentanil in an Ambulatory
        Surgery Setting," by Christian Tvetenstrand, MD and Michael Wolff, MD,
        in the Journal of Clinical Anesthesia and Pain Management. Highlights of
        the publication included a greater than 50% overall reduction in opioids
        administered perioperatively and a 34% reduction in PACU time in the
        DSUVIA-treated patients compared to historical controls.
    --  In August, AcelRx announced an investigator-initiated study with
        Cleveland Clinic that will assess the effects of DSUVIA on
        post-operative recovery from orthopedic surgery.
    --  In September, AcelRx announced that the U.S. military's access to DSUVIA
        had been expanded with the addition of DSUVIA to the Department of
        Defense Joint Deployment Formulary (JDF).
    --  In September, the U.S. Army awarded AcelRx with an initial contract of
        up to $3.6 million over four years for the purchase of DSUVIA to support
        a DoD study to aid the development of clinical practice guidelines.

Financial Information

    --  Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments balance was $43.0
        million as of September 30, 2020.
    --  Net revenues for the third quarter 2020 were $1.4 million, of which
        approximately $1.3 million relates to product sales (compared to $0.3
        million in product sales for the second quarter of 2020).
    --  Combined R&D and SG&A expenses for the third quarter of 2020 totaled
        $8.6 million, a significant reduction compared to $12.0 million for the
        third quarter of 2019. Excluding stock-based compensation expense, these
        amounts were $7.5 million for the third quarter of 2020 compared to
        $10.7 million for the third quarter of 2019. The decrease in combined
        R&D and SG&A expenses in the third quarter of 2020 was primarily due to
        a reduction of $1.8 million in personnel costs and a $1.1 million
        reduction in DSUVIA-related commercialization expenses.
    --  Net loss for the third quarter of 2020 was $8.9 million, or $0.10 per
        basic and diluted share, compared to $12.7 million, or $0.16 per basic
        and diluted share, for the third quarter of 2019.

Webcast and Conference Call Information
As previously announced, AcelRx will host a live webcast Thursday, November 5, 2020 at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time (1:30 p.m. Pacific Time) to discuss these financial results and provide other corporate updates. The webcast is accessible by visiting the Investors page of AcelRx'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 AcelRx'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 AcelRx is currently in discussions with potential European marketing partners.

This release is intended for investors only. For more information, including important safety information and black box warning for DSUVIA, 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. AcelRx 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), AcelRx uses certain non-GAAP financial measures in this press release, in particular, excluding stock-based compensation expense from its operating expenses. AcelRx believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful supplementary information to, and facilitate additional analysis by, investors and analysts. In particular, AcelRx believes that these non-GAAP financial measures, when considered together with AcelRx's financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP, can enhance investors' and analysts' ability to meaningfully compare AcelRx'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 AcelRx's financial performance. AcelRx's management also regularly uses these non-GAAP financial measures internally to understand, manage and evaluate AcelRx'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 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. 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

Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements related to the timing and size of military orders, the market for DSUVIA in dental and oral surgeries, the expected commencement of an investigator-initiated study and the scope of the study. 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, including the risk that the military and hospital systems delay, or fail to place, orders, that AcelRx may not experience the expected benefits from the Zimmer Biomet commercial opportunity and the uncertainties inherent in the initiation, execution and completion of investigator-initiated studies. 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 AcelRx'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 AcelRx's most recent annual, quarterly or current report as filed or furnished with the SEC. AcelRx's SEC reports are available at www.acelrx.com under the "Investors" tab. Except to the extent required by law, AcelRx 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.

Limitations of the published study referenced above include that it was an open-label study, the retrospective nature of the control group, and the focus on only general surgery patients.


                                                                                            
       
              Selected Financial Data


                                                                                          
       (in thousands, except per share data)


                                                                                                  
            (unaudited)




                                                                                                          
            
               Three Months Ended                              Nine Months Ended


                                                                                                              
            
              September 30                                 September 30

                                                                                                                                                                         ---

                                                                                                                                               2020               2019        2020                       2019

                                                                                                                                                                                                       ---


     
              Statement of Comprehensive Loss Data





     Revenue:



        Product sales                                                                                                                       $1,287               $559      $1,864                     $1,453



        Contract and other collaboration                                                                                                        81                 49       2,814                        361



           Total revenue                                                                                                                     1,368                608       4,678                      1,814

                                                                                                                                                                                                       ---




     Operating costs and expenses:



     Cost of goods sold (1)                                                                                                                  1,851              2,148       4,732                      5,188



     Research and development (1)                                                                                                              956              1,058       3,181                      3,598



     Selling, general and administrative (1)                                                                                                 7,598             10,936      28,484                     32,241



     Total operating costs and expenses                                                                                                     10,405             14,142      36,397                     41,027

                                                                                                                                                                                                       ---


     Loss from operations                                                                                                                  (9,037)          (13,534)   (31,719)                  (39,213)





     Other income (expense):



     Interest expense                                                                                                                        (824)             (828)    (2,551)                   (1,704)



     Interest income and other income (expense), net                                                                                           106                645         311                      1,728



     Non-cash interest income (expense) on liability related to sale of future royalties                                                       825                986       2,502                        375

                                                                                                                                                                                                       ---


     Total other income (expense)                                                                                                              107                803         262                        399

                                                                                                                                                                                                       ---


     Provision for income taxes                                                                                                                                             (4)                       (3)




     Net loss                                                                                                                             $(8,930)         $(12,731)  $(31,461)                 $(38,817)






     Basic and diluted net loss per common share                                                                                           $(0.10)           $(0.16)    $(0.38)                   $(0.49)






     Shares used in computing basic and diluted net loss per common share                                                                   87,913             79,461      82,896                     79,053

                                                                                                                                                                                                       ===










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





                 Cost of goods sold                                                                                                            $25                $68         $98                       $197



                 Research and development                                                                                                      188                242         572                        699



                 Selling, general and administrative                                                                                           891              1,016       2,670                      2,883



                        Total                                                                                                               $1,104             $1,326      $3,340                     $3,779









                                                                                                                                 September 30, 2020 December 31, 2019




     
              Selected Balance Sheet Data



     Cash, cash equivalents and investments                                                                                                $43,023            $66,137



     Total assets                                                                                                                           66,179             91,356



     Total liabilities                                                                                                                     124,032            132,774



     Total stockholders' (deficit) equity                                                                                                 (57,853)          (41,418)



     
                
                  Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures



     
                
                  (Operating Expenses less associated stock-based compensation expense)




                                                                                                         Three Months Ended                       Nine Months Ended


                                                                                                        September 30                      September 30

                                                                                                                            ---

                                                                                          2020               2019                2020    2019

                                                                                                                                       ---




     Operating expenses (GAAP):



     Research and development                                                            $956             $1,058              $3,181  $3,598



     Selling, general and administrative                                                7,598             10,936              28,484  32,241




     Total operating expenses                                                           8,554             11,994              31,665  35,839


                   Less associated stock-based 
              
              compensation
                    expense                                                              1,079              1,258               3,242   3,582




     
                Operating expenses (non-GAAP)                                        $7,475            $10,736             $28,423 $32,257

                                                                                                                                       ===

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/acelrx-pharmaceuticals-reports-third-quarter-2020-financial-results-301167437.html

SOURCE AcelRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.