Nature of business and future operations

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2024

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Nature of business and future operations

Nature of business and future operations

Description of the Business

Arbutus Biopharma Corporation (“Arbutus” or “the Company”) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company leveraging its extensive virology expertise to develop novel therapeutics with distinct mechanisms of action, which can potentially be combined to provide a functional cure for patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (cHBV) infection. The Company believes the key to success in developing a functional cure involves suppressing hepatitis B virus deoxyribonucleic acid, reducing hepatitis B surface antigen and boosting HBV-specific immune responses. The Company’s pipeline of internally developed, proprietary compounds includes an RNAi therapeutic, imdusiran (AB-729), and an oral PD-L1 inhibitor, AB-101. Imdusiran has generated meaningful clinical data demonstrating an impact on both surface antigen reduction and reawakening of the HBV-specific immune response. Imdusiran is currently in two Phase 2a combination clinical trials. AB-101 is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1a/1b clinical trial.

The Company continues to protect and defend its intellectual property, which is the subject of the Company’s ongoing lawsuits against Moderna Therapeutics, Inc. (Moderna) and Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE (collectively, Pfizer/BioNTech) for their use of the Company’s patented lipid nanoparticle (LNP) technology in their COVID-19 vaccines. With respect to the Moderna lawsuit, the claim construction hearing occurred on February 8, 2024. On April 3, 2024, the court provided its claim construction ruling in which it construed the disputed claim terms and agreed with the Company’s position on most of the disputed claim terms. On August 5, 2024, the Company and Genevant Sciences Ltd. (Genevant), along with Moderna, filed a Stipulation to Extend Time with the court that requested an amended case schedule to accommodate certain outstanding discovery from Moderna and third parties. The court approved the amended case schedule and the start of the trial was moved from April 21, 2025 to September 24, 2025, subject to the court’s availability. The lawsuit against Pfizer/BioNTech is ongoing and a date for a claim construction hearing has been scheduled for December 18, 2024.

Liquidity

At September 30, 2024, the Company had an aggregate of $130.8 million in cash, cash equivalents and investments in marketable securities. The Company had no outstanding debt as of September 30, 2024. The Company believes it has sufficient cash resources to fund its operations for at least the next 12 months.

The success of the Company is dependent on obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals to bring its products to market and achieve profitable operations. The Company’s research and development activities and the commercialization of its products are dependent on its ability to successfully complete these activities and to obtain adequate financing through a combination of financing activities and operations. It is not possible to predict either the outcome of the Company’s existing or future research and development programs or the Company’s ability to continue to fund these programs in the future.