Neuralstem, Inc. (NYSE Amex: CUR) today provided a financial and business update for the third quarter ended September 30, 2009.
For the third quarter of 2009, the Company reported a net loss of $5,096,983, or $0.15 per share, compared with a net loss of $3,177,957 or $0.10 per share, for the comparable 2008 period. The increase was due to a non-cash charge related to a change in accounting for certain warrants, offset in part by reductions in other expense categories. Net loss attributable to common stockholders for the first nine months of 2009 was $7,380,751 or $0.22 per share, compared with $8,410,081, or $0.26 per share, for the comparable period in 2008, resulting from a year to date gain in accounting for warrants, partially offset by increases in non-cash stock-based compensation expense, R&D and legal fees.
Cash, cash equivalents and short-term marketable securities at September 30, 2009 totaled approximately $2.4 million, compared with approximately $4.9 million at December 31, 2008. As of September 30, 2009, the Company estimated that cash on hand would be sufficient to meet its operating needs into the first quarter of 2010, including estimated costs associated with the clinical trials for its ALS programs planned for commencement in the U.S. in 2010.
For the nine months ended September 30, 2009, cash used in operating activities totaled $3,613,084, a decrease of $1,118,358 or 24% compared to the same period in the prior year, primarily attributable to an increase of short term financing by vendors, employees and other service providers and a reduction in spending, particularly in research.
Clinical Program, Patent and General Business Update
In September the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Neuralstem’s Investigational New Drug (IND) application to commence a Phase I trial to treat Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease) with its spinal cord stem cells. The Company expects to begin trials in the first quarter of 2010.