Laekna Inc (2105) H2 2023 earnings summary

Executive summary

• 2023 progress included initiating a Phase III afuresertib plus fulvestrant trial, completing enrollment in the afuresertib plus paclitaxel trial, and advancing seven internally discovered candidates to pre-clinical candidate stage.

• Net loss narrowed to RMB368.8 million from RMB781.6 million, primarily alongside lower R&D expense and a smaller fair-value loss on investor instruments.

Financial highlights

• R&D expense fell 26.4% YoY to RMB230.5 million; administrative expense fell 5.4% to RMB75.9 million, mainly due to lower discovery, clinical development and listing expenses.

• Loss from operations was RMB295.9 million versus RMB393.1 million; net loss was RMB368.8 million versus RMB781.6 million, and total comprehensive loss was RMB458.7 million versus RMB902.2 million.

• Fair-value loss on financial instruments issued to investors declined to RMB71.2 million from RMB387.1 million; other income rose to RMB16.7 million from RMB4.8 million, mainly on bank interest income.

• Basic and diluted loss per share was RMB1.68 versus RMB10.19; no dividend was proposed for 2023.

Outlook and guidance

• Planned milestones: LAE102 obesity IND approvals targeted for Q2 2024 and first-in-human study in H2 2024; afuresertib plus fulvestrant Phase III recruitment targeted for H2 2024.

• IND submission for LAE120 is planned for Q4 2024; further afuresertib combination and biomarker data presentations are planned during 2024.

• Development strategy prioritizes advancing afuresertib, LAE001, LAE005 and LAE003, exploring combination therapies, and aiming to move one internally discovered candidate into clinical development each year.

• Global Offering proceeds are intended to fund core-product development, pipeline R&D, manufacturing capacity, business development and working capital; unutilized proceeds were expected to be fully applied before December 31, 2025.