On January 31, Sio Gene Therapies Inc. (SIOX) announced corporate updates of the company and its programs. Consequently, the stock sank in the after-hours on Monday.
In the regular session, SIOX stock remained in the green with a gain of 9.35%. The stock closed the session at $1.17 after reaching a high of $1.20 during the session. Following the announcement, SIOX plunged down by 11.11% in the after-hours. Therefore, the stock was trading at $1.04 apiece in the after-hours on Monday.
The clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, Sio Gene Therapies Inc. has a market capitalization of $78.63 million. Currently, the company has 73.49 million outstanding shares in the market.
SIOX Corporate Updates
As per Monday’s announcement, the company has undergone some changes and plans on further changes in the near future.
SIOX has shifted its program prioritization towards AXO-AAV-GM1 and AXO-AAV-GM2. These two are the company’s clinical-stage AAV gene therapy programs for GM1 and GM2 gangliosidosis (Tay-Sachs/Sandhoff disease). Subsequently, the company plans to end its licensing agreement for AXO-Lenti-PD with Oxford Biomedica. AXO-Lenti-PD is the company’s lentiviral gene therapy program for Parkinson’s disease. As a result of this prioritization, the company’s cash runway has now been extended into the second half of 2023.
Moreover, due to the resignation of SIOX’s CEO, Dr. Pavan Cheruvu, the company has appointed its CFO as interim CEO and member of the Board. Thus, David Nassif, J.D., who is the company’s CFO and General Counsel will serve as its interim CEO along with being its board member. Presently, the company is evaluating both external and internal candidates for the position of its permanent CEO.
SIOX Fiscal Q2 2021
On November 12, the company reported its financial results for fiscal Q2 2021, which ended on September 30, 2021.
In fiscal Q2 2021, the company suffered from a net loss of $21.2 million, against $10.0 million in the year-ago quarter. Resultantly, the net loss per basic and diluted share was $0.29 and $0.21 in fiscal Q2 of 2021 and 2020, respectively.
In addition, fiscal Q3 2021 results are expected to be declared on February 11, 2022.
Conclusion
According to the recent corporate updates, SIOX has extended its cash runway but it comes at a cost. The company has decided to end its agreement with Oxford Biomedica and focus on its AXO-AAV GM1 & GM2 programs. Additionally, the resignation of the company’s CEO has left investors disappointed. Thus, the stock tanked in the after-hours when the news came out while it was in the green during the regular session on the same day.
