Allergy Therapeutics PLC (AIM:AGY) said profits will be in line with market forecasts as it updated the market on trading and progress on its two key clinical trials.
Having made its investigational new drug application for its VLP Peanut allergy treatment, it now expects to start sharing data from its phase I study, named PROTECT, with the market in the third quarter of next year.
This is earlier than the original data read-out deadline, which was pencilled in for the fourth quarter of 2023.
In preparation, the company has manufactured its first batch of the drug candidate.
Its phase III evaluation of the promising Grass MATA MPL allergy treatment will get underway in the autumn, investors were told.
With £41.4mln in the bank as at the close of the year, Allergy Therapeutics said it had funds to cover both key clinical evaluations.
Chief executive Manuel Llobet said: "2022 is going to be a pivotal year for Allergy Therapeutics with the VLP Peanut Phase I PROTECT trial and MATA MPL Phase III trial commencing during the calendar year.
“We continue to be very encouraged by the data and the clinical progress supporting these highly innovative product trials.”
Taking a deeper dive into the financials, the group said revenue for the first half of the financial year was down 10% on a reported basis to £48.7mln as it streamlined its product roster to drop older lines. It has also said it had been hit by ‘phasing headwinds’ in Germany as well as the impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19.
It predicted full year turnover would be down by an “upper single-digit percentage” year-on-year. However, planned cost reductions should see it hit the market consensus forecast for operating profit (before accounting for research and development costs).
CEO Llobet said he was ‘encouraged’ by the way management and staff had responded to challenges posed by what ‘continues to be a tough environment’.
He added: “We are confident in the group's commercial capabilities despite being cautious due to Covid-related uncertainties and we look forward to reporting the significant progress expected in our clinical pipeline."