PHIO Phio Pharmaceuticals Corporation

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 8-K

 

CURRENT REPORT

 

PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d)

OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

Date of report (Date of earliest event reported): May 9, 2024

 

PHIO PHARMACEUTICALS CORP.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

Delaware		001-36304		45-3215903
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)		(Commission File Number)		(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

 

 

11 Apex Drive, Suite 300A, PMB 2006
Marlborough, Massachusetts	01752
(Address of principal executive offices)	(Zip Code)

 

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (508) 767-3861

 

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

 

☐	Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
☐	Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
☐	Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
☐	Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

 

Title of each class:		Trading Symbol(s):		Name of each exchange on which registered:
Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share		PHIO		The Nasdaq Capital Market

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

Emerging growth company ☐

 

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

 

 

Item 2.02. Results of Operations and Financial Condition.

 

On May 9, 2024, Phio Pharmaceuticals Corp. (the “Company”) reported its financial results for the period ended March 31, 2024. A copy of the press release is furnished herewith as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K (the “Report”).

 

The information in this Item 2.02 and attached as Exhibit 99.1 to this Report will not be treated as “filed” for the purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section. This information will not be incorporated by reference into any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or into another filing under the Exchange Act, unless that filing expressly incorporates this information by reference. 

 

Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.

 

(d) Exhibits.

 

Exhibit No.		Description
99.1		Press release issued by the Company on May 9, 2024.
104		Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

 

				PHIO PHARMACEUTICALS CORP.
Date: May 9, 2024				By:	/s/ Robert Bitterman
					Robert Bitterman President & Chief Executive Officer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exhibit 99.1

 

 

Phio Pharmaceuticals Reports Q1 2024 Results and Provides Business Update

 

–Four sites across the country participating in Phase 1b clinical trial for lead product candidate PH-762

 

–Three patients have been enrolled

 

MARLBOROUGH, Mass., May 9, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE)—Phio Pharmaceuticals Corp. (Nasdaq: PHIO), a clinical stage biotechnology company whose proprietary INTASYL™ siRNA gene silencing technology is designed to make immune cells more effective in killing tumor cells, today reported its Q1 2024 financial results and provided a business update.

 

Recent Corporate Updates

 

·

Phio’s INTASYL compound PH-762 is currently being investigated in an open-label Phase 1b clinical study (NCT 06014086) to evaluate the safety and tolerability of intratumoral PH-762 in cutaneous squamous cell (cSCC), melanoma, or Merkel cell carcinoma. Two patients have already completed treatment. Four sites across the US are now engaged in the Phase 1b study. The sites are:

o

George Washington University in Washington DC

o

Banner MD Anderson in Arizona

o

Centricity Research in Ohio

o

Integrity Research in Florida.

·

Presented new data on the immunotherapeutic activity of INTASYL at:

o

10th Annual Immunotherapy of Cancer Conference (ITOC10): this preclinical data demonstrates the potential of the INTASYL compound PH-905 targeting Cbl-b to improve the function of natural killer (NK) cells.

o

27th Annual American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ASGCT): this preclinical data demonstrates that intratumoral injection of PH-762 significantly inhibits tumor growth in murine cells and may generate memory-specific T cells.

·

The INTASYL siRNA platform is the focus of a National Spotlight on PBS Viewpoint, a national program hosted by Dennis Quaid, and on Fox Business Network; both are airing through May.

·

Patent granted by USPTO for two of its INTASYL Compounds, RXI-185 and RXI-231 that treat age-related skin disorders including photo-aging and dermal hyperpigmentation targeting down-regulation of the Matrix metalloproteinase-1(MMP-1) and Tyrosinase (TYR) proteins.

 

Financial Results

 

Cash Position

 

At March 31, 2024, we had cash of $6.5 million as compared with $8.5 million at December 31, 2023.

 

Research and Development Expenses

 

Research and development expenses were $1.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 as compared with $2.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023, a decrease of 46%. The decrease was primarily driven by the Company’s cost rationalization measures in transitioning from a discovery research company to a product development company resulting in decreased costs for the wind-down of preclinical studies, salary-related costs and lab supplies. Additional decreases in research and development expenses were due to clinical consulting fees incurred in connection with the Company’s IND filing and manufacturing fees for PH-762 in the prior year period.

 

 

 

General and Administrative Expenses

 

General and administrative expenses were $1.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 as compared with $1.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023, a decrease of 28%. The decrease was primarily due to decreases in consulting expenses and legal expenses as compared to the prior year period.

 

Net Loss

 

Net loss was $2.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 as compared with $3.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023. The decrease in net loss was primarily due to the changes in research and development expenses, as described above.

 

About Phio Pharmaceuticals Corp.

 

Phio Pharmaceuticals Corp. (Nasdaq: PHIO) is a clinical stage biotechnology company whose proprietary INTASYL™ siRNA gene silencing technology is designed to make immune cells more effective in killing tumor cells. INTASYL is the only self-delivering RNAi technology focused on immuno-oncology therapeutics. INTASYL drugs precisely target specific proteins that reduce the body's ability to fight cancer, without the need for specialized formulations or drug delivery systems.

 

For additional information, visit the Company's website, www.phiopharma.com.

 

Forward Looking Statements

 

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as "intends," "believes," "anticipates," "indicates," "plans," "expects," "suggests," "may," "would," "should," "potential," "designed to," "will," "ongoing," "estimate," "forecast," "target," "predict," "could" and similar references, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. These statements, which include statements regarding the anticipated benefits of our INTASYL™ RNAi platform and the results from our ongoing clinical trials, are based only on our current beliefs, expectations and assumptions and are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of our control. Our actual results may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of important factors, including, but not limited to, the impact to our business and operations by inflationary pressures, rising interest rates, recession fears, the development of our product candidates, results from our preclinical and clinical activities, our ability to execute on business strategies, our ability to develop our product candidates with collaboration partners, and the success of any such collaborations, the timeline and duration for advancing our product candidates into clinical development, the timing or likelihood of regulatory filings and approvals, the success of our efforts to commercialize our product candidates if approved, our ability to manufacture and supply our product candidates for clinical activities, and for commercial use if approved, the scope of protection we are able to establish and maintain for intellectual property rights covering our technology platform, our ability to obtain future financing, market and other conditions and those risks identified in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q under the caption "Risk Factors" and in other filings the Company periodically makes with the SEC. Readers are urged to review these risk factors and to not act in reliance on any forward-looking statements, as actual results may differ from those contemplated by our forward-looking statements. Phio does not undertake to update forward-looking statements to reflect a change in its views, events or circumstances that occur after the date of this release, except as required by law.

 

Contact: 

 

Phio Pharmaceuticals Corp. 

ir@phiopharma.com  

 

PR Contact 
Michael Adams 
Bridge View Media 

adams@bridgeviewmedia.com  

 

 

 

PHIO PHARMACEUTICALS CORP.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(Amounts in thousands, except share and per share data)

(Unaudited)

 

		Three Months Ended March 31,
		2024				2023
Operating expenses:
Research and development		$	1,148			$	2,134
General and administrative			1,061				1,468
Total operating expenses			2,209				3,602
Operating loss			(2,209	)			(3,602	)
Total other income, net			55				–
Net loss		$	(2,154	)		$	(3,602	)
Net loss per common share: Basic and diluted		$	(0.47	)		$	(3.15	)
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding: Basic and diluted			4,580,072				1,142,213

 

 

PHIO PHARMACEUTICALS CORP.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(Amounts in thousands, except share data)

(Unaudited)

 

		March 31, 2024				December 31, 2023
ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents		$	6,475			$	8,490
Prepaid expenses and other current assets			373				832
Right of use asset			–				33
Property and equipment, net			2				6
Other assets			3				3
Total assets		$	6,853			$	9,364
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Accounts payable		$	320			$	657
Accrued expenses			929				942
Lease liability			–				35
Total liabilities			1,249				1,634
Total stockholders’ equity			5,604				7,730
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity		$	6,853			$	9,364

 

 

 

 

 

 

v3.24.1.u1

Cover	May 09, 2024
Cover [Abstract]
Document Type	8-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	May 09, 2024
Entity File Number	001-36304
Entity Registrant Name	PHIO PHARMACEUTICALS CORP.
Entity Central Index Key	0001533040
Entity Tax Identification Number	45-3215903
Entity Incorporation, State or Country Code	DE
Entity Address, Address Line One	11 Apex Drive
Entity Address, Address Line Two	Suite 300A, PMB 2006
Entity Address, City or Town	Marlborough
Entity Address, State or Province	MA
Entity Address, Postal Zip Code	01752
City Area Code	508
Local Phone Number	767-3861
Written Communications	false
Soliciting Material	false
Pre-commencement Tender Offer	false
Pre-commencement Issuer Tender Offer	false
Title of 12(b) Security	Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share
Trading Symbol	PHIO
Security Exchange Name	NASDAQ
Entity Emerging Growth Company	false

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