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Acasti Pharma reduces losses as it progresses Grace Therapeutics transaction

Published: 08:42 22 Jun 2021 EDT

Acasti Pharma Inc -
Following the merger, Acasti expects to have more than $60 million in cash, which should provide at least two years of operating runway

Acasti Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:ACST) (CVE:ACST) (FRA:A1PA) announced its operating and financial results for the fiscal year ended March 31, along with an update on its proposed acquisition of Grace Therapeutics. 

Acasti, a biopharmaceutical innovator, reported a narrower loss from operating activities of $16.4 million, compared to a loss of $24.4 million a year earlier, due mainly to a reduction in expenses. 

Its net loss for the year narrowed to $19.7 million or $0.17 per share, from a net loss of $25.5 million or $0.30 per share for the year ended March 31, 2020.  The reduction was in part due to a decrease in research and development expenses as the TRILOGY Phase 3 clinical program for CaPre was winding down. 

READ: Acasti Pharma unveils proposal to buy Grace Therapeutics and its portfolio of drug candidates in all-stock deal

Acasti has been focused on developing prescription drugs using OM3 fatty acids, derived from krill oil. Its CaPre candidate was to treat hypertriglyceridemia (high levels of triglycerides in the blood), which is known to contribute to heart disease.

In August last year, the company said a TRILOGY 2 study on CaPre had not met its primary endpoint and said it would not file a New Drug Application with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It did not plan to conduct additional clinical trials for CaPre. 

In May, Acasti announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Grace, a privately-held emerging biopharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative drug delivery technologies for the treatment of rare and orphan diseases.

The proposed transaction has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies and is supported by Grace’s shareholders through voting and lock-up agreements with Acasti. It still needs the approval of Acasti stockholders, as well as the relevant stock exchanges.

“The planned merger with Grace will result in the creation of a rare and orphan disease company that we believe will allow us to not only rapidly advance their existing assets through the clinic, but also continue to develop new innovative therapies that leverage Grace’s novel drug delivery technologies.” CEO Jan D’Alvise said in a statement.

“Following the merger, we expect to have more than $60 million in cash, which should provide at least two years of operating runway and enable us to complete clinical development and file an NDA for GTX-104, and significantly advance other key drug candidates in the Grace pipeline.”

In parallel with progressing the acquisition of Grace, Acasti said it has received interest and is evaluating a variety of strategic options for CaPre.

Contact the author at stephen.gunnion@proactiveinvestors.com

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on 10/08/2021