Spero Therapeutics, Inc. reported its financial results for the third quarter and the nine months ended September 30, 2024, highlighting significant changes in revenue, expenses, and strategic developments compared to the previous fiscal period.

For Q3 2024, Spero generated total revenues of $13.5 million, a decrease from $25.5 million in Q3 2023. This decline was primarily attributed to a drop in collaboration revenue, which fell to $7.8 million from $23.4 million in the prior year. Grant revenue, however, increased to $5.7 million from $2.1 million year-over-year. For the nine months ended September 30, 2024, total revenues rose slightly to $32.9 million from $30.3 million in the same period of 2023, driven by a significant increase in grant revenue.

Operating expenses for Q3 2024 totaled $32.1 million, up from $27.4 million in Q3 2023, with research and development expenses rising sharply to $26.9 million from $16.4 million. This increase reflects heightened investment in the tebipenem HBr program, which saw direct costs escalate to $18.0 million from $5.6 million. Consequently, Spero reported a loss from operations of $18.6 million for Q3 2024, compared to a loss of $1.9 million in Q3 2023. The net loss for the quarter was $17.1 million, significantly higher than the $3.2 million loss reported in the same quarter last year.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2024, Spero's net loss increased to $47.7 million from $28.4 million in the prior year, with a corresponding rise in net loss per share to $(0.89) from $(0.54). The company’s accumulated deficit as of September 30, 2024, stood at $438.8 million.

Strategically, Spero announced a workforce reduction of approximately 39% on October 29, 2024, as part of a restructuring plan to focus resources on the tebipenem HBr program. This decision followed the suspension of development for SPR720 due to safety concerns and failure to meet primary endpoints in a Phase 2a study. The restructuring is expected to incur costs of about $1.1 million related to severance and termination benefits.

As of September 30, 2024, Spero had total current assets of $131.6 million, a slight increase from $131.2 million at the end of 2023, while total assets decreased to $135.2 million from $182.4 million. Current liabilities rose to $49.1 million from $37.2 million, contributing to a decline in total stockholders' equity to $65.5 million from $106.9 million.

Looking ahead, Spero anticipates continued operating losses and recognizes the need for additional funding to support product development and operations, with cash and cash equivalents of $76.3 million expected to sustain operations into mid-2026.