Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
Thank you. (Operator instructions) And our first question comes from the line of Kim Lee with Pacific Growth Equities. Please proceed.
Kim Lee – Pacific Growth Equities
Good morning.
Steve Davis
Good morning, Kim.
Kim Lee – Pacific Growth Equities
Two questions. First, can you repeat your guidance for this year? And the second, can you give us an update on – additional update on NGD-8243? Thanks.
Steve Davis
I’m sorry, Kim, I couldn’t quite hear the second part of the question.
Kim Lee – Pacific Growth Equities
Can you give us an update on NGD-8243?
Steve Davis
Sure. So, in terms of the guidance for the full year on a non-GAAP basis, we are expecting a loss in the $45 million to $50 million range, which translates to $0.85 to $0.95 per share on 53.3 million weighted shares outstanding.
Kim Lee – Pacific Growth Equities
Okay.
Steve Davis
And again, considering the atypical and non-recurring accounting matters, we feel like the non-GAAP guidance is probably most appropriate here and it’s actually more reflective of the real economic transactions and cash burn. And for the burn, again just to be clear, we’re expecting a burn rate in the mid $40 million range for the full year. We burned $28 million in the first six months. So obviously that means we’re looking at burning something quite a bit less in the second half of the year than we burned in the first half. With respect to our VR1 compound with Merck, I don’t really have anything else to report other than Merck is – I’ll just remind you what we know so far and what we’ve said previously, and that is, Merck has examined this compound in two different indications, cough and pain. They saw effects in both indications. They also saw a side effect that I wouldn’t characterize specifically as a safety concern, but it would be potentially a commercial issue at doses higher than the effects that they saw evidence of efficacy in pain and in cough. The window, however, between the side effect and the efficacy they saw in pain was tighter than they would have liked. But they saw the effects in cough at lower doses than they saw in pain, and therefore a wider window. So, Merck’s plan in this program is to take that compound forward in cough where they think they have a sufficient window. There was one gating item there and that is they need to go back and just confirm the levels at which they see this side effect. And they are doing that now. And once they’ve done that, if they confirm and get the same results they did before, our understanding is and what they told us is they will move forward with Phase 2 cough study. They are bringing a different compound forward for pain. It has a slightly different profile than the first compound. And Merck believes that that will give them a wider window for pain and they are hoping to get that compound into the clinic by the end of this year. So that’s really all we know. And as soon as Merck has completed this confirmatory work and then determined whether they have a green light to go forward as planned, of course, we’ll report that.
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