Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Business

v3.21.2
Business
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2021
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
Business Business
Avalo Therapeutics, Inc. (the “Company” or “Avalo”) is a leading clinical-stage precision medicine company that discovers, develops, and commercializes targeted therapeutics for patients with significant unmet clinical need in immunology, immuno-oncology, and rare genetic diseases. The Company has built a diverse portfolio of innovative therapies to deliver meaningful medical impact for patients in urgent need. Avalo’s clinical candidates commonly have a proven mechanistic rationale, biomarkers and/or an established proof-of-concept to expedite and increase the probability of success.

In August 2021, the Company changed its corporate name change from Cerecor Inc. to Avalo Therapeutics, Inc. by filing a Certificate of Amendment to our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware and merged certain wholly-owned subsidiaries into the Company to consolidate its corporate structure. The name change underscores the Company’s transition to developing innovative targeted therapies in immunology, immuno-oncology, and rare genetic diseases.

Avalo was incorporated and commenced operation in 2011 and completed its initial public offering in October 2015.

Liquidity

As of September 30, 2021, Avalo had $71.5 million in cash and cash equivalents. In September 2021, the Company closed an underwritten public offering of 14,308,878 shares of common stock for net proceeds of approximately $29.0 million. Additionally, in August 2021, the Company sold 2.0 million shares of common stock under its “at-the-market” sales agreement (the “ATM Program”) for net proceeds of approximately $5.3 million.

In June 2021, the Company entered into a $35.0 million venture debt financing agreement (the “Loan Agreement”) with Horizon Technology Finance Corporation and Powerscourt Investments XXV, LP (collectively, the “Lenders”). As of September 30, 2021, the Company has received the full $35.0 million, $20.0 million of which was funded on the closing date in the second quarter of 2021 and the remaining $15.0 million was funded during the third quarter of 2021 in two separate tranches. The Loan Agreement contains certain covenants and certain other specified events that could result in an event of default, which if not cured or waived, could result in the acceleration of all or a substantial portion of the notes. As of the filing date of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, the Company was not aware of any breach of covenants nor received any notice of event of default from the Lenders.

In the first quarter of 2021, the Company closed an underwritten public offering of 13,971,889 shares of its common stock and 1,676,923 pre-funded warrants for net proceeds of approximately $37.7 million.

In order to meet its cash flow needs, the Company applies a disciplined decision-making methodology as it evaluates the optimal allocation of the Company’s resources between investing in the Company’s existing pipeline assets and acquisitions or in-licensing of new assets. For the nine months ended September 30, 2021, Avalo generated a net loss of $65.2 million and negative cash flows from operations of $53.8 million. As of September 30, 2021, Avalo had an accumulated deficit of $243.0 million.

The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared assuming the Company will continue as a going concern; however, losses are expected to continue as the Company continues to invest in its research and development pipeline assets. The Company will require additional financing to fund its operations and to continue to execute its business strategy at least one year after the date the condensed consolidated financial statements included herein were issued. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern.

To mitigate these conditions and to meet the Company’s capital requirements, management plans to use its current cash on hand along with some combination of the following: (i) dilutive and/or non-dilutive financings, (ii) federal and/or private grants, (iii) other out-licensing or strategic alliances/collaborations of its current pipeline assets, and (iv) out-licensing or sale of its non-core assets. If the Company raises additional funds through collaborations, strategic alliances or licensing arrangements with third parties, the Company might have to relinquish valuable rights to its technologies, future revenue streams, research programs or product candidates. Subject to limited exceptions, our venture debt financing agreement prohibits us from incurring certain additional indebtedness, making certain asset dispositions, and entering into certain mergers, acquisitions or other business combination transactions without prior consent of the Lenders. If the Company requires but is unable to obtain additional funding, the Company may be forced to make reductions in spending, delay, suspend, reduce or eliminate some or all of its planned research and development programs, or liquidate assets where possible. Due to the uncertainty regarding future financing and other potential options to raise additional funds, management has
concluded that substantial doubt exists with respect to the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern within one year after the date that the financial statements in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q were issued. Over the long term, the Company’s ultimate ability to achieve and maintain profitability will depend on, among other things, the development, regulatory approval, and commercialization of its pipeline assets, and the potential receipt and sale of any PRVs it receives.