BOSTON, Nov. 16, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cerevel Therapeutics (Nasdaq: CERE), a company dedicated to unraveling the mysteries of the brain to treat neuroscience diseases, today announced financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2020 and provided recent business updates.

“During the third quarter of 2020 we made substantial progress towards our goal of becoming the premier neuroscience company,” said Tony Coles, M.D., chief executive officer and chairperson of Cerevel Therapeutics. “As a result of our business combination with Arya II and the accompanying PIPE financing, we now have the financial resources expected to fund our operating plan into 2023 and advance each of our lead programs in the clinic. Our goal is to make a profound impact in the lives of people with schizophrenia, anxiety, epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease and we have initiated enrollment in each of our clinical trials for these diseases.”

Third Quarter and Key Business Highlights

• Dosed participants in clinical trials for all three lead programs.

_° CVL-231: the first participant was dosed in Part B of the Phase 1b trial of CVL-231 in patients with schizophrenia. The Phase 1b trial consists of Part A, a multiple ascending dose trial and Part B, a pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic trial. Dosing in Part A of the trial had started in the second half of 2019. Data from the Phase 1b trial are expected in the second half of 2021.
_° CVL-865: the first participant was dosed in the Phase 2 REALIZE trial evaluating CVL-865 as an adjunctive therapy in adults with drug-resistant focal onset seizures. Data from the REALIZE trial are expected in the second half of 2022. Additionally, the first participant was dosed in the Phase 1 proof-of-principle trial for acute anxiety in healthy volunteers. Data from this Phase 1 trial are expected in the second half of 2021.
_° Tavapadon: the first participants have been dosed in all three of the ongoing clinical trials in the Phase 3 program evaluating tavapadon in patients with Parkinson’s disease. Preliminary data readouts from the Phase 3 program are expected to be available beginning in the first half of 2023.

• Debuted as publicly traded neuroscience company. On October 28, 2020, Cerevel began trading as a public company via one of the largest go-public transactions in the biopharma industry to date. Following the completion of its business combination with ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp II (Arya II), a special purpose acquisition company or SPAC, sponsored by Perceptive Advisors, Cerevel Therapeutics Holdings, Inc., the resulting combined company, commenced trading its shares under the symbol “CERE” and its warrants under the symbol “CEREW” on the Nasdaq Capital Market.
• Raised net proceeds of approximately $440 million through completed business combination. On July 29, 2020, Cerevel Therapeutics and Arya II entered into a definitive business combination agreement. Concurrently, a group of premier healthcare investors committed to participate in the transaction through a concurrent private investment in public equity (“PIPE”) financing. On October 27, 2020, the business combination was completed and net proceeds from the transaction totaled approximately $440 million, which included funds held in Arya II’s trust account and proceeds from the PIPE financing, less transaction expenses.

Third Quarter Financial Results

• Cash and cash equivalents: Cash and cash equivalents were $13 million as of September 30 2020. Following receipt of the net proceeds from the business combination with Arya II and the concurrent PIPE financing, Cerevel Therapeutics expects its cash and cash equivalents will be sufficient to fund its current operating plan into 2023.
• Research and Development (R&D) Expenses: R&D expenses were $24 million for the third quarter of 2020 as compared to $17 million for the third quarter of 2019. The increase in research and development expense was primarily due to higher program costs related to advancing our pipeline and increased personnel costs as we grew our organization.
• General and Administrative (G&A) Expenses: G&A expenses were $10 million for the third quarter of 2020 as compared to $10 million for the third quarter of 2019.
• Net Loss: Net loss was $39 million for the third quarter of 2020, as compared to net loss of $36 million for the third quarter of 2019.

About Cerevel Therapeutics
Cerevel Therapeutics is dedicated to unraveling the mysteries of the brain to treat neuroscience diseases. The company is tackling neuroscience diseases with a differentiated approach that combines expertise in neurocircuitry with a focus on receptor selectivity. Cerevel Therapeutics has a diversified pipeline comprising five clinical-stage investigational therapies and several preclinical compounds with the potential to treat a range of neuroscience diseases, including schizophrenia, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease and substance use disorder. Headquartered in Boston, Cerevel Therapeutics is advancing its current research and development programs while exploring new modalities through internal research efforts, external collaborations or potential acquisitions. For more information, visit www.cerevel.com.