BELLUS Health Reports Full Year 2019 Financial Results and Business Highlights on BLU-5937 - Seite 2

• Appointed Catherine Bonuccelli, MD as Chief Medical Officer.

In August 2019, the Company hired Dr. Bonuccelli, who brings over 20 years of pharmaceutical experience at GSK and Astra Zeneca with significant expertise in clinical development of respiratory products.

• Obtained clearance of U.S. IND for the BLU-5937 Phase 2 trial in chronic pruritus; Phase 2 trial to commence in Q2 2020.

On February 20, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") accepted the Company's Investigational New Drug ("IND") application for BLU-5937 for the treatment of chronic pruritus associated with atopic dermatitis (“AD”), also known as eczema. The clinical Phase 2 trial is expected to be initiated in Q2 2020. In July 2019, the Company announced that it was expanding its BLU-5937 P2X3 antagonist platform to include chronic pruritus and in September 2019, presented preclinical data on BLU-5937 in pruritus at the European Society for Dermatological Research Conference.

• Held a Key Opinion Leader (“KOL”) meeting to discuss the state of chronic cough treatment.

In July 2019, the Company held a KOL event, which was led by Dr. Jacky Smith, Professor at the University of Manchester, United Kingdom, to discuss chronic cough and BLU-5937. A replay of the event is available on the Events & Presentations page of the Company’s website.

FINANCIAL RESULTS

• Cash Position: As of December 31, 2019, the Company had available cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments totalling C$116,884,000 (US$89,980,000), compared to C$48,906,000 (US$35,863,000) as at December 31, 2018.
• Net Loss: For the year ended December 31, 2019, net loss amounted to C$34,466,000 (C$0.73 per share), compared to C$9,084,000 (C$0.27 per share) for the previous year.
• Research and Development Expenses: Research and development expenses, net of research tax credits, amounted to C$25,409,000 for the year ended December 31, 2019, compared to C$6,532,000 for the previous year. The increase is primarily attributable to higher expenses incurred in relation to the development of BLU-5937, mainly for the manufacturing of the active pharmaceutical ingredient for upcoming studies and activities in relation to the Phase 2 trial in refractory chronic cough, for which the first patient was enrolled in July 2019.
• General and Administrative Expenses: General and administrative expenses amounted to C$8,726,000 for the year ended December 31, 2019, compared to C$3,409,000 for the previous year. The increase is mainly a result of expenses incurred in relation to the Nasdaq listing in September 2019 as well as a higher stock-based compensation expense due to the Company’s deferred share unit plan and its stock option plan.
• Net Finance (Costs) Income: Net finance costs amounted to C$366,000 for the year ended December 31, 2019, compared to net finance income of C$741,000 for the previous year. The increase in net finance costs is primarily attributable to foreign exchange loss that arose from the translation of the Company’s net monetary assets denominated in US dollars, partially offset by higher interest income due to increased cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments position following the 2019 equity offering.

The Company’s full audited consolidated financial statements and accompanying management’s discussion and analysis for the year ended December 31, 2019 will be available shortly on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on EDGAR at www.sec.gov/edgar.