SAN DIEGO, May 03, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Apricus Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq:APRI), a biopharmaceutical company seeking to advance innovative medicines in urology and rheumatology, today reported financial results for the first quarter of 2018 and provided a corporate update on its near-term priorities.
“Since our recent end-of-review meeting on the NDA for Vitaros with the FDA, we have been focused on pursuing U.S. Vitaros partnership discussions with interested parties. Our objective is to enable continued development and potential approval of the Vitaros product and receive financial terms commensurate with this development stage asset in exchange for a sublicense or assignment of our U.S. development and/or commercialization rights. In parallel, the Company is evaluating strategic alternatives, which may include a sale of the company, a business combination, a merger or reverse merger or a license, and in order to maximize shareholder value, the Company has engaged Canaccord Genuity LLC to assist in that process,” said Richard Pascoe, Chief Executive Officer.
First Quarter Financial Results
Net loss during the quarter ended March 31, 2018 was $2.3 million, or loss per share of $0.14, compared to net income of $8.1 million, or earnings per share of $1.04, during the first quarter of 2017. Net income during the quarter ended March 31, 2017 was primarily due to the $11.8 million gain recorded upon the sale of our ex-U.S. Vitaros rights and assets to Ferring.
For all periods presented, financial statement activity related to our ex-U.S. Vitaros business has been presented as discontinued operations. As of March 31, 2018, the Company’s cash totaled $5.7 million, compared to $6.3 million as of December 31, 2016, which is expected to fund operations through the end of 2018. The Company’s cash balance as of March 31, 2018 does not include net proceeds of approximately $2.9 million from the Company’s public equity offering, which closed on April 2, 2018.
