(Boursier.com) — inventive is stable at 11 euros on Tuesday, as the biopharmaceutical company specializing in the clinical development of small molecules taken orally for the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and other diseases with an unmet medical need published its cash position as of December 31, 2021, at €95.4 million, including €86.6 million in cash and cash equivalents and €8.8 million in short-term deposits, compared to €105.7 million euros as of September 30, 2021 (solely composed of cash and cash equivalents), and 113 million euros as of December 31, 2020, of which 105.7 million euros in cash and cash equivalents and 7.3 million euros euros of short-term deposits, respectively…
Net cash flow consumed by operating activities amounted to -€47.7 million in 2021, compared to -€30.6 million in 2020. Research and development expenses doubled, from 23, €7 million in 2020 to €48.5 million in 2021, mainly due to costs associated with the preparation and launch of the NATiV3 Phase III clinical study with lanifibranor in NASH in the second half of 2021 and, to a lesser extent, due to the 31% increase in general and administrative expenses compared to 2020 mainly resulting from Inventiva’s dual listing status for the first full fiscal year.
Net cash flow generated by financing activities in 2021 amounted to €25.4 million, mainly thanks to the issuance of new shares of the Company in the form of American Depositary Shares for an amount of $31.5 million in gross proceeds (or €27.2 million) in the second half of 2021. The issuance was carried out under the Company’s At-The-Market program set up on August 2, 2021 and was subscribed by existing shareholders as well as institutional investors. During the same period in 2020, net cash provided by financing activities amounted to €111.7 million, thanks to the issuance of €15 million (gross proceeds) in the form of ordinary shares from certain existing shareholders of the Company, the obtaining of a State Guaranteed Loan (PGE) in the amount of 10 million euros from a syndicate of French banks and the receipt of 94 €.9 million (gross proceeds) following the successful IPO of Inventiva on the Nasdaq Global Market in July 2020.
In 2021, the company recorded a positive foreign exchange effect on its cash and cash equivalents of €5 million.
Considering its current ‘R&D’ and clinical development programs, and excluding additional financial resources that could come from financing activities, the Company estimates that its cash, cash equivalents and short-term deposits will allow it finance its activities until the first quarter of 2023.
The company’s revenue in 2021 amounted to €4.2 million, compared to €0.4 million in 2020, mainly due to the receipt of the milestone payment of €4 million. euros at the end of 2021 following the launch by AbbVie of the Phase IIb clinical study with cedirogant in the 4th quarter of 2021. This milestone payment was received by Inventiva on January 31, 2022. As part of its collaboration with AbbVie in the autoimmune diseases, Inventiva is eligible to receive development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments, as well as royalty payments.
“We were expecting this growth in cash burn through R&D expenditure” emphasizes Portzamparc, for whom the company’s cash flow allows it to have financial visibility of more than 12 months, not to mention its availability of financing. Verdict: “We remain positive on the stock and reiterate our Buy recommendation”.