Merrimack Pharmaceuticals' (MACK) Loss Narrows in Q4 - Tale of the Tape
Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (MACK) is a Cambridge, MA-based development-stage biopharmaceutical company with a focus on the discovery and development of innovative therapeutics paired with companion diagnostics for the treatment of cancer.
With no approved products in its portfolio, Merrimack Pharma’s revenues consist of license fees, milestone payments, collaboration revenues as well as grants from other sources. Meanwhile, investor focus remains on updates on pipeline progress apart from the usual bottom-line numbers.
Although Merrimack Pharma beat estimates in three of the last four trailing quarters, last quarter it missed estimates with a negative earnings surprise of -437.50%. Estimate revisions are, however, flat for 2015.
Currently, Merrimack Pharma has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), but that could definitely change following the company’s earnings report which was just released. We have highlighted some of the key stats from this just-revealed announcement below:
Earnings: Merrimack Pharma posted narrower-than-expected loss in the fourth quarter of 2014. While our consensus called for a loss of 23 cents per share, the company reported a loss of 9 cents.
Revenue: Revenues also surpassed expectations. Merrimack Pharma earned collaboration revenues of $33.9 million, compared to our consensus estimate of $25 million.
Key Stats: Merrimack Pharma is currently working toward the development of its pipeline which includes MM-398 and a number of early- and mid-stage candidates. Its lead candidate, MM-398, is being developed for the treatment of patients suffering from metastatic pancreatic cancer, whose disease progressed after treatment with Gemzar. The company intends to submit a new drug application to the FDA for MM-398 in late first quarter or early second quarter of 2015. Additionally, Merrimack Pharma decided to stop patient enrolment in a phase II study on MM-111, which is being developed for the treatment of patients suffering from second-line HER2+ gastric/gastroesophageal cancer. Due to shorter progression-free survival in the patients receiving MM-111 (plus Herceptin and Taxol) compared to the control arm (Herceptin plus Taxol alone) in the study, the candidate has poor chances of undergoing further development.
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