The Mesoblast Limited (ASX: MSB) share price jumped out of the blocks in early trade on Friday. Today's early moves comes after the Aussie biotech's latest quarterly report to the market.
At the time of writing, the Mesoblast share price is trading up 3.23% at $2.40.
Why is the Mesoblast share price climbing higher?
Mesoblast provided an update on its pipeline of late-stage product candidates and an activity report for the second quarter ended 31 December 2020 (Q2 2020). That included Phase 3 trials of rexlemestrocel-L for advanced chronic heart failure.
Mesoblast CEO, Dr Silviu Itescu, was "very pleased" to see significant reductions in cardiac mortality and major vascular events.
The "strong data" from this randomised controlled Phase 3 trial underpin Mesoblast's discussions with potential strategic partners. The results will also support the company's interactions with United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Dr Itescu said.
Quarterly highlights
The Mesoblast share price has climbed higher in early trade following the update on a number of key developments.
Key highlights within the quarterly report include:
- Revenues from royalties on TEMCELL HS Inj. sales for the second quarter climbed to US$2.1 million compared to US$2.0 million in Q2 2019.
- Mesoblast amended its existing agreement with Hercules to extend the interest-only loan period up to March 2022, subject to achieving certain milestones.
- The Aussie biotech is waiting on 60-day results from its COVID-19 ARDS trial in Q1 2021. The results will be analysed by Mesoblast and Novartis to identify meaningful clinical outcomes.
- Mesoblast's cash on hand at period-end of US$77.5 million. The company may receive up to an additional US$92.5 million through existing financing facilities and strategic partnerships.
- Mesoblast intends to meet with the FDA during Q1 2021 for further discussion. The company is seeking accelerated approval of remestemcel-L in the treatment of children with steroid-refractory acute graft-versus-host disease (SR-aGVHD).
The Mesoblast share price has been on somewhat of a rollercoaster ride in recent months. Shares in the Aussie biotech are down 20.3% in the last 12 months but have climbed 6.2% in January 2021
