At the close of trading today, biopharmaceutical innovator Cara Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARA) announced its financial and operational results highlights for Q1 2018 which ended on March 31st, 2018.

Cara's Q1 2018 Financial Highlights

• Cara reported a net loss of $16.8 million, or $0.51 per basic and diluted share, for the first quarter of 2018 compared to a net loss of $22.2 million, or $0.81 per basic and diluted share, for the same quarter of 2017.

• Cara did not recognize any revenue during the first quarter of 2018. 

• Cara's General & Administrative expenses were $3.7 million during the first quarter of 2018 compared to $2.4 million in the same period of 2017.

• Cara's R&D expenses were $13.4 million in the first quarter of 2018 compared to $20.8 million in the same period of 2017. The lower R&D expenses in 2018 were principally due to a net decrease in direct clinical trial costs, which were partially offset by increases in stock compensation expense and payroll and related costs for R&D personnel.

Cara Management Commentary

“During the quarter, we were pleased with the progress made in building out our pruritus pipeline, headlined by the initiation of our pivotal U.S. Phase 3 trial of KORSUVA injection in hemodialysis patients with chronic kidney disease-associated pruritus,” said Derek Chalmers, Ph.D., D.Sc., President and Chief Executive Officer of Cara Therapeutics. “We look forward to the continued development of our other pruritus clinical programs, including Oral KORSUVA for the treatment of pruritus in pre-dialysis chronic kidney disease and chronic liver disease patient populations, and will be reporting on the progress of these studies later this year. In addition, we have now completed enrollment in our adaptive Phase 3 trial in acute post-operative pain and expect to announce top-line data later this quarter.”