SOMERSET, N.J.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Legend Biotech Corporation (NASDAQ: LEGN) (Legend Biotech), a global leader in cell therapy, today reported its fourth quarter and full year 2023 unaudited financial results and key corporate highlights.
“With worldwide sales of half a billion dollars in its first full year of commercialization, our rapid, successful launch of CARVYKTI® reinforces its position as a leading CAR-T therapy for patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma,” said Ying Huang, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Legend Biotech. “Our accomplishments in 2023, through our strategic partnership with Johnson & Johnson*, created the foundation for strong growth and uptake of CARVYKTI®, positioning us to bring CARVYKTI® to more patients in need of treatment going forward.”
Regulatory Updates
- The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) adopted a positive opinion recommending label expansion for CARVYKTI® to include the treatment of adult patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma who have received at least one prior therapy, including an immunomodulatory agent and a proteasome inhibitor, have demonstrated disease progression on the last therapy, and are refractory to lenalidomide. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) intends to meet on March 15 to review data from the CARTITU-cel in earlier lines of treatment for adult patients with relapsed and lenalidomide-refractory multiple myeloma.DE-4 study supporting the use of cilta
Key Business Developments
- On January 3, 2024, Legend received a $100 million upfront payment in connection with its global license agreement with Novartis Pharma AG to develop, manufacture, and commercialize LB2102 and other potential chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapies selectively targeting Delta-like Ligand 3 (DLL-3)
- Promoted Birk Vanderweeën to Senior Vice President of Global Manufacturing & Supply responsible for overseeing the production and delivery of CARVYKTI® for patients across the globe. Previously he was General Manager, Europe. Mr. Vanderweeën brings over 25 years of experience in Operations, Quality, Supply Chain, and Manufacturing at industry leading companies
- Expanded manufacturing capacity by 100% since the beginning of 2023, including starting clinical production at the new Obelisc site in Ghent
- Plans to deliver production capacity of 10,000 annual doses by year-end 2025
- CARVYKTI® is now available in Germany and Austria, as commercial demand continues with over 2,500 patients treated across 80+ authorized treatment centers globally
- Presented patient-reported outcome data at the 2023 American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting from the Phase 3 CARTITUDE-4 study demonstrating clinically meaningful improvements in health-related quality of life and reductions in multiple myeloma symptoms following treatment with CARVYKTI® compared to standard of care1
* In December 2017, Legend Biotech entered into an exclusive worldwide license and collaboration agreement with Janssen Biotech, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company, to develop and commercialize cilta-cel (the Janssen Agreement).
Financial Results for Quarter and Year Ended December 31, 2023
Cash and Cash Equivalents, Time Deposits, and Short-Term Investments
As of December 31, 2023, Legend Biotech had approximately $1.3 billion of cash and cash equivalents, time deposits, and short-term investments.
Revenue
License Revenue
There was no license revenue for the three months ended December 31, 2023, and December 31, 2022. License revenue for the year ended December 31, 2023, was $35.2 million, compared to $50.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. This decrease of $14.8 million was primarily driven by the nature and timing of milestones achieved as outlined in the Global Development Plan under the Janssen Agreement for cilta-cel.
Collaboration Revenue
Collaboration revenue for the three months and year ended December 31, 2023, was $79.4 million and $249.8 million, respectively, compared to $27.4 million and $66.7 million for the three months and year ended December 31, 2022. The increase of $52.0 million and $183.1 million for the three months and year ended, respectively, were due to an increase in revenue generated from sales of CARVYKTI® in connection with the Janssen Agreement.
Other Revenue
Other revenue for the three months and year ended December 31, 2023, was $0.03 million and $0.2 million, respectively, compared to $0.2 million and $0.3 million for the three months and year ended December 31, 2022. Other revenue relates to the licensing of certain patents to Nanjing Probio Biotech Co., Ltd., and its affiliates.
Operating Expenses
Collaboration Cost of Revenue
Collaboration cost of revenue for the three months and year ended December 31, 2023, was $32.5 million and $144.2 million, respectively, compared to $23.0 million and $65.4 million for the three months and year ended December 31, 2022. The increase of $9.5 million and $78.8 million for the three months and year ended, respectively, were due to a combination of Legend Biotech’s share of the cost of sales in connection with CARVYKTI® sales under the Janssen Agreement and expenditures to support expansion in manufacturing capacity.
Research and Development Expenses
Research and development expenses for the three months and year ended December 31, 2023, were $105.7 million and $382.2 million, respectively, compared to $80.8 million and $335.6 million for the three months and year ended December 31, 2022. The increase of $24.9 million and $46.6 million for the three months and year ended, respectively, were primarily due to continuous research and development activities in cilta-cel, including higher patient enrollment for Phase 3 clinical trials, and an increase in research and development activities for other pipeline items. Also, the increase in research and development expenses is due to personnel and startup costs to establish the manufacturing facility in Belgium for initial clinical production. The other pipeline expenses include continued investment in Legend Biotech’s solid tumor programs, which include two Investigational New Drug approvals that advanced into Phase 1 development.
Administrative Expenses
Administrative expenses for the three months and year ended December 31, 2023, were $28.7 million and $106.8 million, respectively, compared to $26.7 million and $80.6 million for the three months and year ended December 31, 2022. The increase of $2.0 million and $26.2 million for the three months and year ended, respectively, were primarily due to the expansion of administrative functions to facilitate continuous business growth and continued investment in building Legend Biotech’s global information technology infrastructure.
Selling and Distribution Expenses
Selling and distribution expenses for the three months and year ended December 31, 2023, were $33.7 million and $94.2 million, respectively, compared to $25.8 million and $93.4 million for the three months and year ended December 31, 2022. The increase of $7.9 million and $0.8 million for the three months and year ended, respectively were due to costs associated with commercial activities for cilta-cel.
Other Income and Gains
Other income and gains for the three months and year ended December 31, 2023, were $18.5 million and $58.1 million, respectively, compared to $7.4 million and $12.0 million for the three months and year ended December 31, 2022. The increase of $11.1 million and $46.1 million for the three months and year ended, respectively, were primarily attributable to an increase in interest income and gain on investments.
Other Expenses
Other expenses for the three months and year ended December 31, 2023, were $38.4 million and $28.5 million, respectively, compared to $0.3 million and $9.8 million for the three months and year ended December 31, 2022. The increase of $38.1 million and $18.7 million for the three months and year ended, respectively, were primarily due to unrealized foreign currency exchange loss.
Finance Costs
Finance costs for the three months and year ended December 31, 2023, were $5.8 million and $21.8 million, respectively, compared to $4.9 million and $10.8 million for the three months and year ended December 31, 2022. The increase of $0.9 million and $11.0 million for the three months and year ended, respectively, were primarily due to interest on advance funding, which is interest-bearing borrowings funded by Janssen under the Janssen Agreement and constituted of principal and applicable interests upon such principal.
Fair Value (Loss)/Gain of Warrant Liability
There was no fair value (loss)/gain of warrant liability for the three months ended December 31, 2023, compared to a loss of $9.3 million for the three months ended December 31, 2022. Fair value loss of warrant liability for the year ended December 31, 2023, was $85.8 million, compared to a fair value gain of $20.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. The decrease of $9.3 million for the three months ended, was because the warrant was exercised on May 11, 2023. The increase of $106.7 million for the year ended, was due to the fair value loss recorded on the full exercise of the warrant we issued to an institutional investor in May 2021, which took place on May 11, 2023.
Loss for the Period
For the three months ended December 31, 2023, net loss was $144.8 million, or $0.40 per share, compared to net loss of $135.9 million, or $0.41 per share, for the three months ended December 31, 2022. For the year ended December 31, 2023, net loss was $518.3 million, or $1.47 per share, compared to a net loss of $446.3 million, or $1.40 per share, for the year ended December 31, 2022.
About Legend Biotech
Legend Biotech is a global biotechnology company dedicated to treating, and one day curing, life-threatening diseases. Headquartered in Somerset, New Jersey, we are developing advanced cell therapies across a diverse array of technology platforms, including autologous and allogeneic chimeric antigen receptor T-cell, gamma-delta T cell and natural killer (NK) cell-based immunotherapy. From our three R&D sites around the world, we apply these innovative technologies to pursue the discovery of cutting-edge therapeutics for patients worldwide.
Learn more at https://legendbiotech.com and follow us on X (formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn.
