Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) reported Q3 revenue for the quarter came in at $17.05 million versus the consensus estimate of $18.36 million.

Third Quarter 2019 Financial Results

• Cash Position: Cash, cash equivalents and investments as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 were $1.34 billion and $1.69 billion, respectively.
• Net Cash Used in Operating Activities: Net cash used in operating activities was $363.2 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 compared to $239.8 million for the same period in 2018. Net cash used in operating activities includes $22.0 million and $25.0 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively, of in-licensing payments to Cellscript, LLC and its affiliate, mRNA RiboTherapeutics, Inc., to sublicense certain patent rights. After the first quarter of 2019, we have no further in-licensing payment obligations to Cellscript and its affiliate.
• Cash Used for Purchases of Property and Equipment: Cash used for purchases of property and equipment was $24.9 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 compared to $92.1 million for the same period in 2018.
• Revenue: Total revenue was $17.0 million for the three months ended September 30, 2019 compared to $41.8 million for the same period in 2018. Total revenue was $46.2 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 compared to $99.6 million for the same period in 2018. On January 1, 2019, we adopted Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (ASC 606), using the modified retrospective transition method applied to those contracts which were not completed as of January 1, 2019. The total revenue decreases in 2019 were due to decreases in collaboration revenue across all our strategic alliances, particularly AstraZeneca and Merck, largely driven by our adoption of ASC 606. Total revenue under the previous revenue recognition standard would have been $24.7 million and $80.2 million for the three months and nine months ended September 30, 2019, respectively.
• Research and Development Expenses: Research and development expenses were $119.7 million for the three months ended September 30, 2019 compared to $109.1 million for the same period in 2018. Research and development expenses were $378.8 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 compared to $303.7 million for the same period in 2018. The increases were primarily attributable to an increase in personnel related costs, including stock-based compensation, with additional increases for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 being driven by higher clinical trial and manufacturing costs, an increase in lab supplies and materials, and an increase in consulting and outside services.
• General and Administrative Expenses: General and administrative expenses were $28.2 million for the three months ended September 30, 2019 compared to $18.5 million for the same period in 2018. General and administrative expenses were $84.0 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 compared to $56.2 million for the same period in 2018. These increases were mainly due to the additional costs of operating as a publicly traded company, including an increase in personnel related costs and stock-based compensation, consulting and outside services, legal and insurance related costs.
• Net Loss: Net loss was $123.2 million for the three months ended September 30, 2019 compared to $80.3 million for the same period in 2018. Net loss was $390.9 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 compared to $243.3 million for the same period in 2018.

Highlights

• Positive interim results announced from Phase 1 CMV vaccine (mRNA-1647) study
• Positive interim results announced from Phase 1 mRNA encoding chikungunya antibody (mRNA-1944) study
• First participant dosed in Phase 1b age de-escalation study of hMPV+PIV3 vaccine (mRNA-1653)
• Cash, cash equivalents and investments at the end of the quarter were $1.34 billion, and are expected to be approximately $1.20 billion at the end of 2019
• Net cash used in operating activities and purchases of property and equipment is expected to total approximately $500 million in 2019, and between $490 million and $510 million in 2020

“The positive Phase 1 cytomegalovirus vaccine results announced this quarter represent an important step toward the prevention of congenital CMV infections. These data resulted from investment in our mRNA technology platform, which has now generated six positive infectious disease vaccine clinical readouts. Additionally, the recent positive Phase 1 chikungunya antibody results help de-risk a delivery technology shared by our rare disease programs, further validating our approach into new areas where mRNA medicines have the potential to treat a wide range of diseases,” said Stéphane Bancel, Moderna’s chief executive officer. “We ended the quarter with a strong cash balance of $1.34 billion and up to $187 million in additional untapped grant funding, giving us up to $1.5 billion to invest in the Company moving forward. We expect investment levels in 2020 to be approximately $500 million, similar to 2019. We intend to expand our group of biopharmaceutical partners and bring in additional non-dilutive grant and government funding as we advance our development pipeline and create new modalities.”

Financial Guidance

• The Company expects to end 2019 with approximately $1.20 billion in cash, cash equivalents and investments.
• For 2019, the Company expects net cash used in operating activities and purchases of property and equipment to total approximately $500 million.
• In 2020, the Company expects net cash used in operating activities and purchases of property and equipment to be similar to 2019, between $490 million and $510 million.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Moderna (MRNA) click here.