Senesco Technologies, Inc. ("Senesco" or the "Company") (NYSE Amex: SNT) today announced financial results for the three and nine months ended March 31, 2010.
Fiscal Third Quarter and Recent Highlights
- In February, certain Senesco insiders entered into definitive stock purchase agreements to purchase all of the convertible debentures, warrants and common stock held by Stanford Venture Capital Holdings, Inc., thereby fortifying the Company's shareholder base.
- In March, the Company redeemed all outstanding convertible debentures and Series A warrants held by YA Global Investments, L.P. for $2,194,845, including accrued interest, using funds borrowed on a line of credit with JMP Securities LLC thereby further improving its capital structure by eliminating the potential for approximately 16 million shares of future dilution.
- Also in March, the insiders of the Company who had purchased the convertible debentures, warrants and common stock formerly held by Stanford Venture Capital Holdings, Inc. elected to convert the convertible debentures at a conversion price of $0.83, subject to shareholder approval, which was the highest contractual conversion price possible.
- In April, the Company received gross proceeds of approximately $10.3 million in connection with a private placement of convertible preferred stock and warrants, with certain accredited investors.
- Also in April, the Company entered into definitive purchase agreements with certain members of the Company's Board of Directors for gross proceeds of $1.2 million. The closing of this offering will occur as soon as practical after the Company receives shareholder approval.
"Throughout the third quarter of fiscal 2010 we made great strides to simplify and strengthen the Company's capital structure in order to allow an unfettered focus on the clinical development of SNS-01. We were especially pleased to enter into definitive agreements and subsequently close on $10.3 million of an $11.5 million private placement as it underscores the interest and support we have received to advance the development of our Factor 5a gene therapy in human health indications including oncology," stated Jack Van Hulst, President and Chief Executive Officer of Senesco Technologies, Inc. "We believe that these funds will allow us to advance our planned development program for our lead compound, SNS-01, into human clinical trials in multiple myeloma. As we have demonstrated repeatedly in preclinical multiple myeloma models, we expect this novel gene therapy to induce apoptosis in the cancerous cells and we look forward to reporting our clinical progress."
Fiscal Third Quarter Financial Results
The Company reported no revenue for the third quarter of fiscal 2010 compared with revenue of $75,000 for the third quarter of fiscal 2009, which consisted of a milestone payment in connection with an agricultural license agreement.
Research and development expenses increased 4.6% during the third quarter of fiscal 2010 to $566,307 from $540,494 during the third quarter of fiscal 2009. The increase was primarily due to an increase in costs incurred in connection with our development of SNS-01 for Multiple Myeloma.
For the third quarter of fiscal 2010, general and administrative expenses of $554,953 increased 4.3% compared with $532,245 for the third quarter of fiscal 2009. The increase was primarily due to an increase in professional fees and stock-based compensation, which was partially offset by a decrease in payroll and investor relations.
The Company incurred a net loss $5,284,235 or $0.17 per share for the third quarter of fiscal 2010, compared with a net loss of $1,331,477 or $0.07 per share for the third quarter of fiscal 2009. The higher net loss was primarily the result of an increase in non-cash expenses associated with the outstanding and redeemed convertible notes and a change in the fair value of a warrant liability.
Year-to-Date Financial Results
Total revenue for the nine months ended March 31, 2010 was $140,000 compared with $275,000 for the nine months ended March 31, 2009. Revenue for both periods consisted of milestone payments in connection with certain agricultural license agreements.
Research and development expenses for the first nine months of fiscal 2010 were $1,735,317 compared with $1,711,166 in the year-ago period. The decrease was primarily due to a decrease in the costs incurred in connection with our development of SNS-01 for multiple myeloma and the cost of the research performed at the University of Waterloo.
General and administrative expenses were $1,522,610, a decrease from $1,624,166 for the nine months ended March 31, 2009. The increase was primarily due to an increase in professional fees and payroll, which was partially offset by a decrease in investor relations.
The net loss for the first nine months of fiscal 2010 was $7,177,196 or $0.27 per share, and compares with a net loss for the first nine months of fiscal 2009 of $4,137,224 or $0.22 per share. The higher net loss in fiscal 2010 was primarily the result of an increase in non-cash expenses associated with the outstanding and redeemed convertible notes and a change in the fair value of a warrant liability.
As of March 31, 2010 Senesco had cash and cash equivalents of $39,707. On April 1, 2010 the Company received gross proceeds of approximately $10.3 million in connection with a private placement of convertible preferred stock and warrants, which the Company expects will cover its expenses for the next 12 months. A further $1.2 million in gross proceeds will be closed upon following the receipt of stockholder approval. As of April 1, 2010, the Company had working capital of approximately $6,783,069.
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