Clinical stage biopharmaceutical company Opthea Limited (ASX:OPT) has received a $15.9 million research and development (R&D) tax credit from the Australian Taxation Office.
The cash incentive is for research and development costs incurred in the 2023/2024 financial year, and represents the amount disclosed as a current tax receivable in the company’s audited financial statements at 30 June 2024.
The R&D tax incentive credit relates to both Australian and eligible overseas expenditure for the development of Opthea’s lead candidate, sozinibercept.
The R&D Tax Incentive is an Australian Federal Government program under which companies can receive cash incentives for 43.5% of eligible research and development expenditure.
“The receipt of this $15.9 million R&D tax incentive credit further strengthens our cash position as Opthea continues to advance its Phase 3 wet AMD pivotal clinical programme to anticipated topline data readouts of the COAST trial in early Q2 calendar year 2025 and the ShORe trial in mid calendar year 2025,” CEO, Frederic Guerard, said.
