NATURE OF OPERATIONS AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2017

Organization and Nature Of Operations [Abstract]

NATURE OF OPERATIONS AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION

1. NATURE OF OPERATIONS AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION 

We are a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the research and development of innovative therapeutics to treat cancers and rare diseases. Our mission is to discover, develop and commercialize novel small molecule drugs in areas of high unmet need that will dramatically extend and improve the lives of our patients. These drugs target biological pathways implicated in a wide range of cancers and certain non-oncology indications. Our discovery and development efforts are guided, when possible, by an understanding of the role of biomarkers, which are indicators of a particular biological condition or process and may predict the clinical benefit of our compounds in defined patient populations. Our clinical-stage pipeline consists of five drug candidates, all of which are in targeted patient populations, making ArQule a leader among companies our size in precision medicine.

ArQule has a long history of kinase drug discovery and development, having discovered and introduced nine kinase inhibitors into clinical trials. Our drug discovery efforts have been informed by our historical expertise in chemistry, our work in rational drug design and by our insight into kinase binding and regulation. We have applied this knowledge to produce significant chemical matter for a number of kinase targets and to build an extensive library of proprietary compounds with the potential to target multiple kinases in oncology and other therapeutic areas, such as rare diseases. We expect to bring further preclinical programs forward and to interrogate our library against new targets beyond kinases either directly or with collaborators.

Our proprietary pipeline of product candidates is directed toward molecular targets and biological processes with demonstrated roles in the development of both human cancers and rare, non-oncology diseases. All of these programs are being developed in targeted, biomarker-defined patient populations. By seeking out subgroups of patients that are most likely to respond to our drugs, we intend to identify small, often orphan, indications that allow for focused and efficient development. At the same time, in addition to pursuing these potentially fast-to-market strategies, we also pursue development in other indications that could allow us to expand the utility of the drugs if approved. The pipeline includes the following wholly-owned compounds:

• ARQ 087, a multi-kinase inhibitor designed to preferentially inhibit the FGFR family of kinases, in Phase 2 for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA) and in Phase 1b for multiple oncology indications;

• ARQ 092, a selective inhibitor of the AKT serine/threonine kinase, in Phase 1 for multiple oncology indications and in the rare disease, Proteus syndrome, in partnership with the National Institutes of Health (NIH);

• ARQ 751, a next-generation inhibitor of AKT, in Phase 1 for solid tumors harboring the AKT1 or PI3K mutation;

• ARQ 531, an investigational, orally bioavailable, potent and reversible inhibitor of both wild type and C481S-mutant BTK, planned to advance to Phase 1 by Q3 2017; and

• ARQ 761, a ß-lapachone analog being evaluated as a promoter of NQO1-mediated programmed cancer cell death, in Phase 1/2 in multiple oncology indications in partnership with The University of Texas Southwest Medical Center.

Our most advanced partnered asset is tivantinib (ARQ 197), an orally administered, small molecule inhibitor of the c-Met receptor tyrosine kinase (“MET”) and its biological pathway. We licensed commercial rights to tivantinib for human cancer indications to Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd. (“Daiichi Sankyo”) in the U.S., Europe, South America and the rest of the world, excluding Japan and certain other Asian countries, where we have licensed commercial rights to Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co., Ltd. (“Kyowa Hakko Kirin”).

Our METIV-HCC trial was a pivotal Phase 3 randomized, double-blind, controlled study of tivantinib as single-agent therapy in previously treated patients with MET diagnostic-high, inoperable HCC conducted by Daiichi Sankyo and us. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS) in the intent-to-treat (ITT) population, and the secondary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS) in the same population. On February 17, 2017, we and Daiichi Sankyo announced that the METIV-HCC trial did not meet its primary endpoint of improving OS.

Our JET-HCC trial was a second pivotal Phase 3 randomized, double-blind, controlled study of tivantinib as single-agent therapy in previously treated patients with MET diagnostic-high, inoperable HCC conducted by Kyowa Hakko Kirin. The primary endpoint was PFS. On March 27, 2017, we reported that our partner, Kyowa Hakko Kirin, announced top-line results of the JET-HCC Phase 3 trial of tivantinib in Japan and that the trial did not meet its primary endpoint of improving PFS.

Our uses of cash for operating activities have primarily consisted of salaries and wages for our employees, facility and facility-related costs for our offices and laboratories, fees paid in connection with preclinical and clinical studies, laboratory supplies and materials, and professional fees. The sources of our cash flow from operating activities have consisted primarily of payments received from our collaborators for services performed or upfront payments for future services. In the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016, our net use of cash was primarily driven by payments for operating expenses which resulted in net cash outflows of $8.3 million and $6.4 million, respectively.

Our cash requirements may vary materially from those now planned depending upon the results of our drug discovery and development strategies, our ability to enter into additional corporate collaborations and the terms of such collaborations, results of research and development, unanticipated required capital expenditures, competitive and technological advances, acquisitions and other factors. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to develop any of our drug candidates into a commercial product. On January 6, 2017, we entered into a loan and security agreement (the “Loan Agreement”) with a principal balance of  $15 million (see Note 8). The terms of the Loan Agreement require payments of interest on a monthly basis through September 2018 and payments of interest and principal from October 2018 to August 2021. We anticipate that our cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities on hand at March 31, 2017, and the funds received on January 6, 2017 from our Loan Agreement will be sufficient to finance our operations for at least 12 months from the issuance date of these financial statements. We expect that we will need to raise additional capital or incur indebtedness to continue to fund our operations in the future. Our ability to raise additional funds will depend on financial, economic and market conditions, and due to global capital and credit market conditions or for other reasons, we may be unable to raise capital when needed, or on terms favorable to us. If necessary funds are not available, we may have to delay, reduce the scope of, or eliminate some of our development programs, potentially delaying the time to market for any of our product candidates.

We have prepared the accompanying condensed financial statements pursuant to the rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles have been condensed or omitted pursuant to these rules and regulations. These condensed financial statements should be read in conjunction with our audited financial statements and footnotes related thereto for the year ended December 31, 2016 included in our annual report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 9, 2017.

In our opinion, the accompanying unaudited condensed financial statements contain all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring adjustments, necessary for a fair statement of its financial position as of March 31, 2017, and its results of operations and cash flows for the three months ended March 31, 2017 and March 31, 2016. The results of operations for such interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the results to be achieved for the full year. The condensed balance sheet at December 31, 2016, was derived from audited annual financial statements, but does not contain all of the footnote disclosures from the annual financial statements