What happened
Investors were pleased, if not overwhelmingly so, with Ocugen's (OCGN 0.81%) latest set of quarterly results on Tuesday. The biotech published its fourth-quarter and full-year figures that morning, in addition to providing a business update. In reaction, the market bid up its stock by 2% on the day. That bettered the 0.3% slump of the S&P 500 index.
So what
Ocugen is a clinical-stage biotech that has no revenue at the moment. It does, of course, incur expenses developing new products, and these totaled almost $24.2 million for the quarter.
Combined with other income, this filtered down into a net loss of $21.9 million ($0.10 per share), which was notably deeper than the $14.6 million deficit of the same quarter of 2021 but in line with analyst estimates.
Investors were more likely cheered by Ocugen's clinical update, which showed encouraging progress in certain pipeline programs.
For example, the day before the release was published, the company submitted an Investigational New Drug (IND) application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), with the aim of initiating a phase 1 trial of a treatment that targets diabetic macular edema, a potentially serious eye disorder.
Now what
Ocugen's stock price performance mirrored the optimism expressed by management. In the earnings release, the company quoted CEO Shankar Musunuri as saying, "We continue to grow and advance as a diversified biotechnology organization, as reflected in our accomplishments of 2022."
Masanuri pointed to the company's efforts in the fight against the still-raging COVID, plus its programs targeting macular degeneration and Stargardt disease, two other eye afflictions.
