Silence Therapeutics losses widen as it progresses drug candidates

Drug development company Silence Therapeutics announced its unaudited preliminary results for the year ended 31 December on Monday, reporting a loss after tax of £18.4m, widening form £1.6m a year earlier.

The AIM-traded firm said the losses were lower in 2017, due to £9.1m of gains on the disposal of Arrowhead shares and a one-off exchange credit of £1.3m on the liquidation of an overseas subsidiary.

It said 2018 also included exceptional expenditure relating to legal proceedings, with total legal fees of £4m, larger than the £0.8m it spent in the prior year.

Cash and cash equivalents and term-deposits were £26.5m, down from £42.7m, with the company’s net cash outflow from operating activities increasing to £16.8m from £9.6m.

On the operational front, Silence Therapeutics noted that its lead candidate, SLN124, was granted ‘Orphan Drug Designation’ by the European Medicines Agency for the treatment of beta-thalassemia.

It said a clinical trial agreement was expected to be filed shortly, with the first patients expected to enter a phase 1b study in the second half of 2019.

The company also advanced SLN360 - an Lp(a) targeting siRNA for cardiovascular disease - which started enabling studies for an investigational new drug application in February.

Its out-licensed programme, QPI-1002, for the prevention of acute kidney injury, progressed to a phase 3 clinical trial by the firm’s partner Quark Pharmaceuticals during the period.

The board also pointed out that new leadership was in place, with the recruitment of Dr David Horn Solomon - an experienced public company biotech chief executive officer and board member - as the firm’s chief executive officer.

Silence reached a settlement and license agreement with Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, for a tiered royalty on net sales of ‘ONPATTRO’ in the European Union.

“2018 was a defining year for Silence Therapeutics, with transformational change throughout the business,” said chief executive officer Dr David Horn Solomon.

“With the first RNAi therapeutics now approved by the FDA, effectively creating a new class of medicines, we are working hard to consolidate our position as a leading developer in this exciting new field.

“During the year we have made great progress in advancing our lead product SLN124 towards the clinic and we are due to commence in-human clinical trials later in 2019 to demonstrate safety and tolerability.”

Dr Solomon said the company “looked forward” to unlocking more of Silence Therapeutics' potential in 2019 and beyond, for the benefit of its shareholders and for patients.

Dr Andy Richards, interim chair of Silence Therapeutics, added that he continued to be “impressed” by the quality of the science, the level of innovation and the ambition evident at the company.

“As a leader in RNA interference (RNAi) technology, Silence is at the cutting edge of an extremely promising new class of therapeutics.

“I would like to thank the entire Silence Therapeutics organisation for another year of strong progress.”

Dr Richards said the ongoing focus of the company’s board, leadership and scientists enabled it to build upon solid foundations, offering “exciting opportunities” for the road ahead.

“Undoubtedly, the coming year will bring more change and more opportunity as we move into clinical development, however, with an executive led by Dr David Horn Solomon, complemented by a supportive and highly experienced Board, Silence is well-placed for the future."