Mesoblast posts wider loss, details product roadmap

Mesoblast (ASX:MSB) has revealed its FY14 net loss increased by 31.3% to $81 million, but the company still ended the financial year in a strong cash position.

As of the end of June, Mesoblast had cash reserves of $196.4 million, the company said. Normalised cash burn for FY14 grew to $78.2 million from $61.9 million in FY13.

Total cash outflows for the year also included $35.6 million associated with the company’s acquisition of Osiris Therapeutics’ culture-expanded mesenchymal stem cell business, as announced last October. This acquisition is worth up to US$100 million ($107.3 million) in total.

Mesoblast also unveiled a five-pronged corporate strategy aimed at bringing its key products to market.

This include the goals of creating clinically differentiated products; focusing on bringing late-stage products to market; enabling manufacturing scale-up to meet its demands; establishing a culture of shared leadership and accountability; and building more strategic partnerships.

The company has divided its regenerative medicine portfolio into tier 1 products with mid-term revenue potential and tier 2 products that are in phase II or III trials.

The latter products will be upgraded to tier 1 based on the merits of clinical data as well as marketing and partnership opportunities, Mesoblast said.

For its tier 1 products, over the next 12 months, the company plans to commence or continue phase III trials of its mesenchymal stem cells in graft vs host disease, chronic discogenic lower back pain and chronic congestive heart failure.

Mesoblast (ASX:MSB) shares were trading 0.22% lower at $4.51 as of around 1.30 pm Wednesday