What happened
Shares of Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings (ARCT -4.47%) were soaring 25.9% higher as of 11:16 a.m. on Wednesday. The big gain came after the company provided its fourth-quarter update after the market closed on Tuesday.
Fourth-quarter collaboration revenue was $160.3 million, up from $5.8 million in the prior-year period. The biopharmaceutical company posted fourth-quarter earnings of $117.3 million, or $4.33 per diluted share. This reflected a significant improvement from the net loss of $38.7 million, or $1.47 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2021. Arcturus handily topped analysts' estimates on both the top and bottom lines.
And the company provided an update on its pipeline progress. It said that its partner, Meiji Pharma, completed full enrollment earlier than expected in a late-stage clinical study evaluating ARCT-154 as a booster vaccine for COVID-19. Arcturus also noted that inhaled messenger RNA (mRNA) therapy ARCT-032 advanced into phase 1 clinical testing in treating cystic fibrosis.
So what
Arcturus' impressive revenue and earnings for the fourth quarter of 2022 stemmed from a $200 million up-front payment from CSL Sequirus. Don't expect the vaccine stock to benefit from such a huge windfall again in the near future. However, Arcturus has already achieved key development milestones in its partnership with CSL. This should enable the company to receive $90 million in milestone payments.
Perhaps the best news from Arcturus' progress with its CSL partnership is that it has improved the company's financial position significantly. Chief financial officer Andrew Sassine said in a press release, "Our cash runway now extends into the beginning of 2026."
Now what
Arcturus is scheduled to present pre-clinical data for its experimental hepatitis B virus vaccine in April at the Global Hepatitis Summit in Paris. It expects to complete enrollment within the next three months in the phase 1 study evaluating ARCT-032 in treating cystic fibrosis.
The company also plans to report interim data later this year from a phase 2 study of ARCT-810 in treating the rare genetic disorder ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC) deficiency.
