Vir Biotechnology Books Negative Revenue Of $188,000 As Partners Cover More Of Its Trial Bills
Partner cost recoveries cut Vir's third-quarter R&D to $80.0 million while cash fell to about $901.3 million before a $90.0 million Gilead payment.
Vir Biotechnology, which develops antibody and other investigational medicines for infectious disease and cancer, reported total revenue of negative $188,000 for the third quarter, against positive $240,000 a year earlier. Reimbursements from partners Astellas and Norgine are now shaving its reported research spending, so the expense line understates what its trials cost.
A negative quarter after a $239 million windfall
License and collaboration revenue was negative $200,000 in the quarter. For the first nine months, total revenue was $238.7 million, nearly all of it the $239.3 million residual of Astellas's $240.0 million upfront payment, which Vir booked in the second quarter. The prior quarterly filing showed the resulting profit for that period.
The nine-month net loss was $141.9 million, against $395.1 million a year earlier. The third-quarter net loss was $96.3 million, or $0.57 per share, versus $163.1 million, or $1.17 per share, a year earlier, the company said.
Partners are paying for the pipeline
R&D expense fell to $80.0 million from $151.5 million a year earlier. A $75.0 million milestone tied to VIR-5525 in the third quarter of 2025 did not repeat, and the licenses and collaborations line turned into a net credit of $11.9 million on cost recoveries from Astellas and Norgine.
Astellas bears 60% of global development costs for the prostate cancer candidate VIR-5500, and the company booked about $8.6 million of Astellas reimbursements in the quarter. Norgine pays about 25% of external costs for the hepatitis delta trials, worth about $3.4 million in the quarter. Higher contract manufacturing partly offset the savings.
Cash down, Gilead money arriving
Cash, cash equivalents and investments stood at about $901.3 million at September 30, down $106.5 million during the quarter from about $1.01 billion at June 30. That excludes Gilead's October payment of $90.0 million, which included $14.16-per-share stock sales. Vir is also eligible for up to $45.0 million in near-term preclinical milestones and up to $1.74 billion in further milestones. Management continues to expect cash to fund operations into the second half of 2028.
Vir has Fast Track designation for VIR-5500 and says it expects multiple pivotal trials to begin in 2027.
Topline data from the pivotal ECLIPSE 1 hepatitis delta trial are due in the fourth quarter, with ECLIPSE 2 and 3 results expected in the first quarter of 2027.
Sources
- 10-Q Filing — Vir Biotechnology (VIR) — SEC EDGAR
- 10-Q Filing — Vir Biotechnology (VIR), Q2 FY2026 filed 2026-08-05 (comparison basis) — SEC EDGAR
- 8-K Filing — Vir Biotechnology, filed 2026-10-28 (Items 5.02) — SEC EDGAR
- Earnings release (8-K Item 2.02, a20261104-q3ex991earningsr.htm) — Vir Biotechnology, filed 2026-11-04 — SEC EDGAR
- Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (VIR) stock price, news, quote and history - Yahoo Finance — Yahoo Finance
- Vir Biotechnology Non-GAAP EPS of -$0.57 beats by $0.18 (VIR:NASDAQ) — seekingalpha.com
- Vir Biotechnology Provides Corporate Update and Reports Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results — businesswire.com
- Vir Biotechnology to Participate in the Jefferies 2026 London Healthcare Conference — businesswire.com
