Sillajen’s losses more than doubled last year as the company failed its phase-3 trial for Pexa-Vec treating liver cancer.

The company said in a public filing that it recorded 9.1 billion won ($7.6 million) sales, 58.7 billion won operating loss, and 119.6 billion won net loss in 2019. The revenue increased 17.87 percent year-on-year, but net loss expanded 112.74 percent from 56.2 billion won a year earlier.

The net loss grew because the company regarded expenses for the failed trial on Pexa-Vec as impairment losses on intangible assets.

As recommended by the Independent Data Monitoring Committee (DMC), Sillajen aborted the phase-3 study on Pexa-Vec in August last year. With the early ending of the study, the company recorded 68.8 billion won -- including industrial property rights and marketing rights for Pexa-Vec that Sillajen earned from the acquisition of then-Jennerex (currently Sillajen Biotherapeutics) -- as impairment loss on intangible assets.

The assets of Sillajen also shrank to 69.3 billion won in 2019 from 193.2 billion won in 2018. The debt-to-capital ratio rose to 25.02 percent in 2019 from 17.02 percent in 2018.

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