Business |
6 Months Ended |
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Jun. 30, 2019 | |
| Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract] | |
| Business |
1. Business
Cerecor Inc. (the Company or “Cerecor”) is a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company with commercial operations and research and development capabilities. The Company is building a pipeline of innovative therapies in orphan diseases, neurology and pediatric healthcare. The Company's pediatric orphan disease pipeline is led by CERC-801, CERC-802 and CERC-803. All three compounds are therapies for inborn errors of metabolism, specifically disorders known as Congenital Disorders of Glycosylation ("CDGs") by means of substrate replacement therapy. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") has granted Rare Pediatric Disease Designation ("RPDD") and Orphan Drug Designation ("ODD") to all three CERC-800 compounds, thus qualifying the Company to receive a Priority Review Voucher ("PRV") upon approval of a new drug application ("NDA"). The PRV may be sold or transferred an unlimited number of times. The Company plans to leverage the 505(b)(2) NDA pathway for all three compounds to accelerate development and approval. The Company is also in the process of developing one other preclinical pediatric orphan rare disease compound, CERC-913, for the treatment of mitochondrial DNA Depletion Syndrome. The Company's neurology pipeline is led by CERC-301, a Glutamate NR2B selective, NMDA Receptor antagonist, which Cerecor is currently developing as a novel treatment for orthostatic hypotension ("OH"). The Company is also developing CERC-406, a CNS-targeted COMT inhibitor for Parkinson's Disease.
The Company also has a diverse portfolio of marketed products. Our marketed products are led by our prescribed dietary supplements and prescribed drugs. Our prescribed dietary supplements include Poly-Vi-Flor® and Tri-Vi-Flor™ which are prescription vitamin and fluoride supplements used in infants and children to treat or prevent deficiency of essential vitamins and fluoride. The Company also markets a number of prescription drugs that treat a range of pediatric diseases, disorders and conditions. Cerecor's prescription drugs include Millipred®, Karbinal™ ER, AcipHex® Sprinkle™ and Cefaclor for Oral Suspension.
Cerecor was incorporated in 2011 and commenced operations in 2011 and completed an initial public offering in October 2015.
On November 17, 2017, the Company acquired TRx Pharmaceuticals, LLC (“TRx”) and its wholly-owned subsidiaries (see "TRx Acquisition" in Note 5 below for a description of this transaction).
On February 16, 2018, Cerecor acquired all rights to Avadel Pharmaceuticals PLC’s (“Avadel”) marketed pediatric products (the “Acquired Products”) in exchange for Cerecor assuming certain financial obligations of Avadel (see "Avadel Pediatric Products Acquisition" in Note 5 below for a description of this transaction).
On September 25, 2018, the Company acquired Ichorion Therapeutics, Inc., a privately-held biopharmaceutical company focused on developing treatments and increasing awareness of inherited metabolic disorders known as CDGs (see "Ichorion Asset Acquisition" in Note 5 below for a description of this transaction).
Liquidity
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 current commercial product line, the Company's development portfolio and acquisitions or in-licensing of new assets. For the six months ended June 30, 2019, Cerecor generated a net loss of $13.7 million and negative cash flow from operations of $9.8 million. As of June 30, 2019, Cerecor had an accumulated deficit of $111.9 million and a balance of $9.4 million in cash and cash equivalents. During the first quarter of 2019, the Company closed an underwritten public offering of common stock for 1,818,182 shares of common stock of the Company, at a price to the public of $5.50 per share ("public price"). Armistice Capital Master Fund Ltd. ("Armistice"), our largest stockholder, participated in the offering by purchasing 363,637 shares of common stock of the Company from the underwriter at the public price. Cerecor director Steven J. Boyd is Armistice's Chief Investment Officer. The net proceeds of the offering were approximately $9.0 million (see "Common Stock Offering" in Note 9 below for description of the transaction).
The Company plans to use cash and the anticipated cash flows from the Company's existing product sales to offset costs related to its neurology programs, pediatric rare disease programs, business development, costs associated with its organizational infrastructure, and debt principal and interest payments. Cerecor expects to continue to incur significant expenses and operating losses for the immediate future as it continues to invest in the Company's pipeline assets. Our ability to achieve and maintain profitability in the future is dependent on, among other things, the development, regulatory approval, and commercialization of our new product candidates and achieving a level of revenues from our existing product sales adequate to support our cost structure, which includes significant investment in our pipeline assets.
The Company believes it will require additional financing to continue to execute its clinical development strategy and fund future operations. The Company plans to meet its capital requirements through operating cash flows from product sales and some combination of equity or debt financings, collaborations, out-licensing arrangements, strategic alliances, federal and private grants, marketing, distribution or licensing arrangements or the sale of current or future assets. If the Company is not able to secure adequate additional funding, the Company may be forced to make reductions in spending, extend payment terms with suppliers, liquidate assets where possible or suspend or curtail planned programs. If the Company raises additional funds through collaborations, strategic alliances or licensing arrangements with third parties, the Company may have to relinquish valuable rights to our technologies, future revenue streams, research programs or product candidates.
Our plan to aggressively develop our pipeline will require substantial cash in excess of what the Company expects our current commercial operations to generate. However, the Company expects that our existing cash and cash equivalents, together with anticipated revenue, will enable us to fund our operating expenses, capital expenditure requirements, and other non-operating cash payments, such as fixed quarterly payments on our outstanding debt balances, through at least August 2020.
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