Starpharma gets $4.7m R&D tax incentive

Starpharma (ASX:SPL) has received a $4.7 million R&D tax incentive rebate on its expenditures for FY13.

The R&D tax refund relates to Starpharma’s Australian expenditure, as well as $2.3 million in incentives related to overseas research expenditure.

AusIndustry approved Starpharma’s application for a rebate for some overseas R&D related to its ViaGel and DEP docetaxel clinical programs in January.

“The R&D tax incentive allows Starpharma to advance development of its proprietary products including the clinical programs for VivaGel and DEP docetaxel,” Starpharma CEO Dr Jackie Fairley commented.

“In the case of DEP docetaxel, it supports the conduct of the clinical trial in Australia with the additional benefit that Australian patients will be the first in the world to have access to Starpharma’s improved version of the widely used cancer drug docetaxel.”

Starpharma last month reported its results for the first half of FY14, revealing it ended the period in a strong cash position of $27.8 million. But this was down from $33.8 million at the end of FY13.

The company’s loss for the period climbed to $5.6 million, from $1.8 million a year earlier, due to increased R&D expenses. The 1H13 results were inflated by the recording of R&D tax incentive revenue from FY12 which had not been booked in that year due to uncertainties over the company’s eligibility to claim.

Starpharma calculated that it will be eligible for R&D tax incentives of around $2.6 million for the half year.

Starpharma (ASX:SPL) shares were trading 0.7% higher at $0.715 as of around 1.30 pm on Tuesday.