RXi Pharmaceuticals this week reported lower first-quarter losses despite increased research and development spending on costs associated with the company's preclinical RNAi-based anti-scarring drug candidate RXI-109.
For the three-month period ended March 31, RXi's net loss was about $3.8 million, or $0.19 per share, compared with a year-ago loss of $3.9 million, or $0.24 per share.
R&D expenses climbed to $2.2 million from $1.9 million in the same period a year earlier, reflecting an increase of $442,000 in studies related to RXI-109, as well as consulting activities.
General and administrative costs rose to $3.1 million from $2.5 million, primarily due to an increase in non-cash share-based compensation.
At the end of the first quarter, RXi had cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments totaling $11.1 million. With the addition of $10 million raised during an April stock offerings, RXi said it expects its resources will be sufficient to fund operations “through at least the first quarter of 2012.”