Xconomy Q&A: An Update with Arcturus Therapeutics CEO Joseph Payne

Arcturus photo used with permission

strategic partnership wherein we can leverage our expertise and intellectual property in the field of RNA medicines with Janssen’s broad capabilities in clinical development, regulatory affairs, and marketing.

X: Why did Arcturus merge with Alcobra?

JP: If the transaction is completed, the capitalization associated with this deal will enable us to accelerate our internal programs. As a Nasdaq-listed public company, we will also increase our exposure to new investors and increase our access to capital as we continue to grow the company and transition from the preclinical to clinical stage.

X: What is the value of the merged company?

JP: That’s undisclosed.

X: How much venture capital did Arcturus raise?

JP: A total of $13 million through the Series A round.

X: What was the last valuation before this deal?

JP: Undisclosed

X: How much capital does the company have presently? Will Arcturus need to raise additional capital anytime soon?

JP: The combined company will be well-capitalized with approximately $40 million in cash projected at closing, which is expected to fund the company through multiple value creation milestones and into early clinical development.

X: Has this deal changed your pipeline lineup?

JP: No. We continue to be focused on mRNA rare disease programs internally, and that has not changed. Lunar-OTC is still the lead drug candidate.

X: What assets, technology, talent, or resources does Alcobra bring to the table?

JP: Our focus will remain on the development of RNA medicines.

X: How many employees does each company have at the time of the merger?

JP: At the end of September, Arcturus had 51 employees; Alcobra had seven.

X: What will become of Alcobra’s operations in Tel Aviv?

JP: Upon completion of the merger, the corporate headquarters will be in San Diego and the company will remain domiciled in Israel.

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Author: Bruce V. Bigelow

In Memoriam: Our dear friend Bruce V. Bigelow passed away on June 29, 2018. He was the editor of Xconomy San Diego from 2008 to 2018. Read more about his life and work here. Bruce Bigelow joined Xconomy from the business desk of the San Diego Union-Tribune. He was a member of the team of reporters who were awarded the 2006 Pulitzer Prize in National Reporting for uncovering bribes paid to San Diego Republican Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham in exchange for special legislation earmarks. He also shared a 2006 award for enterprise reporting from the Society of Business Editors and Writers for “In Harm’s Way,” an article about the extraordinary casualty rate among employees working in Iraq for San Diego’s Titan Corp. He has written extensively about the 2002 corporate accounting scandal at software goliath Peregrine Systems. He also was a Gerald Loeb Award finalist and National Headline Award winner for “The Toymaker,” a 14-part chronicle of a San Diego start-up company. He takes special satisfaction, though, that the series was included in the library for nonfiction narrative journalism at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University. Bigelow graduated from U.C. Berkeley in 1977 with a degree in English Literature and from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 1979. Before joining the Union-Tribune in 1990, he worked for the Associated Press in Los Angeles and The Kansas City Times.