Arca trims losses as leaders continue mulling merger options

BOULDER — Pre-revenue pharmaceutical firm Arca Biopharma Inc. (Nasdaq: ABIO) continued cutting costs in the second quarter of 2023, while company leaders have still yet to announce whether the company will be acquired or merged with another operator. 

Arca — which has two drugs in its pipeline: COVID-19 drug candidate rNAPc2 and Gencaro (bucindolol hydrochloride), a beta-blocker and mild vasodilator that could be a potential treatment for atrial fibrillation in heart-failure patients — established a committee to weigh options for maximizing shareholder value amid a 2021 that saw it double its year-over-year losses. 

Consulting firm Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. was brought on last year to assist, but Arca “does not have a defined timeline for the strategic review process and the review may not result in any specific action or transaction.”

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Total operating expenses for the quarter that ended June 30, 2023, were $2 million, down from $3.2 million for the second quarter 2022. Part of the cost savings was a result of less research and development activity. 

Net loss for the most recent quarter was $1.5 million, or 10 cents per basic and diluted share, compared to $3.1 million, or 22 cents per basic and diluted share in the second quarter of 2022.

Arca had cash and cash equivalents worth $40.2 million as of June 30, 2023, compared to $42.4 million at the end of the 2022 calendar year. 

That money, “consisting primarily of money market funds, will be sufficient to fund its operations through the end of 2024,” Arca said.