NanoViricides: Sufficient Funding for Covid-19 Research
Biopharma companies are in a race to find a cure for the Covid-19 pandemic as the global tally of cases closes in on the 10 million mark. The U.S. alone now accounts for nearly half the deaths caused by the virus due to its focus on re-opening the economy as quickly as possible.
A relatively small biopharma player that has gained attention in this environment is Connecticut-based NanoViricides, Inc (AMEX:NNVC). With rapidly progressing research on its Covid-19 drug candidate, the management has attempted to dispel investor concerns related to its funding through its most recent financial results.
Current financial position
In its most recent filings, NanoViricides reported $6.44 million in current assets and 1.14 million in current cash liabilities, indicating a decent financial position.
The net cash used by the management in operating activities during the past nine months was around $5.11 million, much of which went towards the Covid-19 drug research as well as the other anti-viral initiatives undertaken by its research team against herpes, shingles and HIV.
In May, the company announced the completion of a $10.22 million fundraising effort, achieved through issuing 1.4 million shares for a price of $7.30 per share. This was their second stock issuance fundraising activity in 2020, the first one bringing in a gross value of $8.625 million in January. The management now appears to have sufficient funding for the coming year to move forward with research.
The company reported a loss of $1.24 per share in the quarter, which was higher than its prior losses. CEO Dr. Anil Diwan and his team are optimistic about the Covid-19 drug program and expect it to produce positive results. It is also worth highlighting that the company's first drug candidate, NV-HHV-101, a topical skin cream for the treatment of shingles rash, is slowly heading towards human clinical trials.
Progress on the Covid-19 drug program
NanoViricides has been working on the development of a drug treat Covid-19 since January. The company has developed several broad-spectrum anti-coronavirus drug candidates and commenced the testing process.
In its tests using cell culture assays of two different coronaviruses (not Covid-19), the management claims that their own drug candidates have proven to be more effective than favipiravir, the popular antiviral medication used to treat influenza, which is also currently being tested against Covid-19.
