One May 4, 2017 Agenus Inc. (NASDAQ: AGEN), an immuno-oncology (I-O) company with a pipeline of immune checkpoint antibodies and cancer vaccines, provided a corporate update and reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2017 (Filing, Q1, Agenus, 2017, MAY 4, 2017, View Source [SID1234518827]). Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo! "In the first quarter we amended our agreement with Incyte and streamlined and optimized our R&D operations; our balance sheet has been strengthened and our projected burn reduced. Importantly, these steps allow us to focus on clinical programs that support our path to commercialization. In the forefront are our antibodies targeting CTLA-4 and PD-1," said Garo H. Armen, Ph.D., Chairman and CEO of Agenus.
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"These initiatives also provide us with the ability to advance our other assets on an accelerated path, including our innovative programs which include next generation immune targets, such as TIGIT and 4-1BB, our neoantigen vaccine, AutoSynVax and our cell therapy programs which we anticipate will be advanced through an externally funded subsidiary."
Cell Therapy Program
Agenus unveils previously undisclosed I-O cell therapy discovery program. This program has been advanced over the last 18 months, including the identification of at least one potential development candidate. The Company plans to pursue its cell therapy assets with the formation of a separate business entity to be majority owned by Agenus and funded externally.
Anticipated Clinical Milestones for H2 2017:
AGEN1884 (anti-CTLA-4) Phase 1 trial: dose-escalation to be completed with safety and pharmacodynamic data compiled; ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) poster presentation in June
AGEN2034 (anti-PD-1) Phase1/2 trial:
Dose-escalation with monotherapy and combination doses
Patient recruitment in a second line cervical cancer trial.
AGEN1884+AGEN2034: commencement of a Phase 1b combination trial, paving the way for a rapid path to registration
AutoSynVax (neoantigen vaccine): readouts for immunogenicity expected in patients with advanced malignancies
Recent Highlights:
Incyte agreement:
Cash infusion of $80 million; projected cost savings of $70M over an 18-month time period
Incyte responsible for fully funding GITR and OX40 clinical programs
Agenus eligible for royalties at 15%
TIGIT reverted to Agenus
Organizational streamlining:
Basel, Switzerland site to close-down later this year; key functions to transition to Cambridge, UK.
Patient enrollment commenced for Phase 1/2 clinical trial for anti-PD-1 antagonist AGEN2034
Initiated Phase 1 clinical trial for AutoSynVax; patient accrual complete
QS-21 milestones:
GSK’s shingles vaccine containing Agenus’ QS-21 filed for regulatory approval in Japan in addition to existing filings for US, Canada and EU
Regulatory approvals anticipated in H2
GSK’s malaria vaccine containing QS-21 to be distributed in select African countries as per WHO’s recommendation.
Identification of next generation anti-CTLA-4 antibody:
Novel differentiated candidate targeting CTLA-4
Manufacturing readiness:
Agenus West successful GMP production of AGEN1884 at 1,000L scale
First Quarter 2017 Financial Results
Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments were $124 million as of March 31, 2017 compared to $76 million as of December 31, 2016. For the first quarter ended March 31 2017, Agenus reported a net loss of $17.1 million, or $0.18 per share, compared with a net loss for the first quarter of 2016 of $31.8 million, or $0.37 per share. The decrease in net loss for the three months ended March 31, 2017, compared to the net loss for the same period in 2016, was primarily due to the accelerated milestone payment received from Incyte. Our operating expenses increased $6.1 million over the same period in 2016 primarily due to the later stage advancement of our programs.
Month: May 2017
OncoMed Doses First Patient with Anti-TIGIT Antibody in Phase 1 Clinical Trial
On May 04, 2017 OncoMed Pharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel anti-cancer therapeutics, reported that the first patient has been dosed in the company’s Phase 1a clinical trial of anti-TIGIT (OMP-313M32). Anti-TIGIT is an investigational immuno-oncology therapeutic candidate intended to block suppression of the immune system in tumors and enable immune system anti-tumor activity, similar to marketed checkpoint inhibitors that target the PD-L1-PD-1 axis. Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo! "The first wave of immuno-oncology agents demonstrated that disabling immune suppression mechanisms in tumors can enable the body’s immune system to fight cancers with good efficacy. Still, available immunotherapies have limited results for many cancer patients, and there remains a pressing need for new agents and combinations to improve outcomes," said Johanna Bendell, M.D., Associate Director of the Drug Development Program at Sarah Cannon Research Institute and a lead investigator for the Phase 1a anti-TIGIT study. "The immuno-suppressive receptor TIGIT is expressed on many different tumor types, giving us reason to believe that an anti-TIGIT antibody, such as OncoMed’s OMP-313M32, has potential for broad activity in cancer patients. I look forward to seeing its performance in the clinic."
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The Phase 1 open-label clinical trial is designed to assess the safety and tolerability of escalating doses of anti-TIGIT in patients with advanced or metastatic solid tumors. Secondary objectives for the trial include characterization of the pharmacokinetics, immunogenicity and anti-tumor efficacy of single-agent anti-TIGIT. Pharmacodynamic and potential predictive biomarkers focused on changes in immune system activation will also be explored. Anti-TIGIT will be administered as a single agent every two weeks at escalating dose levels. Once a maximum-tolerated dose has been achieved, an expansion cohort will enroll patients with certain tumor types. The trial will be conducted at five centers in the U.S. and is expected to enroll approximately 30 patients.
"In multiple preclinical studies of anti-TIGIT antibodies, we have observed immune activation and single-agent as well as combination anti-tumor activity, including indications that an anti-TIGIT antibody induced a long-term immune memory response." said Robert Stagg, Pharm.D., OncoMed’s Senior Vice President of Clinical Research and Development. "The initiation of this Phase 1a anti-TIGIT study represents the first of our novel immuno-oncology therapeutics to enter clinical trials. We believe that by blocking TIGIT signaling, our anti-TIGIT antibody may enable T-cell activation and facilitate anti-tumor immune responses with the potential to impact tumor growth."
About Anti-TIGIT
TIGIT (T cell immunoreceptor with Ig and ITIM domains) blocks T cells from attacking tumor cells and is similar in structure and function to the inhibitory protein PD-1. OncoMed’s anti-TIGIT antibody (OMP-313M32) is intended to activate the immune system through multiple mechanisms and enable anti-tumor activity. At the 2017 AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting, OncoMed presented data from several studies characterizing anti-TIGIT’s mechanism, identifying pharmacodynamics biomarkers and demonstrating potent anti-tumor responses in in-vivo models. In preclinical studies, anti-TIGIT antibodies increased cytotoxic T-cell activity against tumor cells and decreased T-cell suppression. A surrogate anti-TIGIT antibody used in syngeneic mouse models of different solid tumors demonstrated dose-dependent, potent single-agent anti-tumor efficacy. Anti-TIGIT antibodies also demonstrated combination activity with checkpoint inhibitors anti-PD1 and anti-PD-L1 in preclinical models. When mice whose tumors achieved complete regression following treatment with anti-TIGIT, anti-TIGIT plus anti-PD1 or anti-TIGIT plus anti-PD-L1 were re-challenged with increasing number of tumor cells, they remained protected from tumor growth, suggesting the induction of immunologic memory against the tumor cells. This program is part of OncoMed’s Celgene collaboration.
Celsion Updates Clinical Data from the OVATION Study in Newly Diagnosed Advanced Ovarian Cancer Patients
On May 4, 2017 Celsion Corporation (NASDAQ:CLSN) reported updated additional clinical and translational research data from its Phase Ib dose escalating clinical trial (the OVATION Study) combining GEN-1, the Company’s IL-12 gene-mediated immunotherapy, with the standard of care for the treatment of newly-diagnosed patients with Stage III and IV ovarian cancer who will undergo neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) followed by interval debulking surgery (Press release, Celsion, MAY 4, 2017, View Source [SID1234518825]). Of the five evaluable patients in the first two cohorts who have been on the study for over one year, only one patient’s cancer has progressed after 11.7 months. This compares quite favorably to the historical median progression free survival (PFS) of 12 months for newly-diagnosed patients with Stage III and IV ovarian cancer who undergo neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) followed by interval debulking surgery. Of the remaining four patients in the first two cohorts, their average PFS is 15.1 months with the longest progression-free patient at 19.1 months. None of the patients in the third or fourth dosing cohorts have progressed to date. Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo! "This new data on progression-free survival adds to the impressive clinical findings seen across a number of meaningful measures used to assess ovarian cancer like a 75% objective tumor response rate and a greater than 50% R0 (margin-negative) surgical resection rate," said Dr. Nicholas Borys, M.D., Celsion’s chief medical officer. "The consistency and robust nature of the data across all four cohorts and the encouraging clinical responses underscore the potential of GEN-1 to serve as an effective, safe IL-12 immunotherapy in ovarian cancer."
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The Company also reported preliminary translational research findings from the first four patient cohorts. The analysis of peritoneal fluid and blood samples collected immediately before and 24 hours after IP administration of multiple doses of GEN-1 (36, 47, 61, 72 mg/m2) and standard NACT (carboplatin every 21 days and Taxol weekly) shows clear evidence of IL-12 gene transfer by significant dose dependent increases in IL-12 levels and immune system activity and significant increases in IFN-gamma and decreases in VEGF levels. The treatment-related changes in immune activating cytokines and pro-tumor VEGF levels followed a dose-dependent trend and were predominantly in the peritoneal fluid compartment with little to no changes observed in the patients’ systemic blood stream.
The immuno-histochemical (IHC) analysis of tumor tissue collected before treatment (laparoscopy) and after completion of eight GEN-1 weekly treatments showed increased infiltration of CD3+, CD4+ CD8+ T-cells into tumor tissue of several patients. The most pronounced effects observed in the IHC analysis were decreases in the density of immunosuppressive T-cell signals (FoxP3, PD-1, PDL-1, IDO-1) in the tumor microenvironment. The ratio of CD8+ cells to immunosuppressive cells was increased in 60-80% of patients suggesting an overall shift in the immune environment to pro-immune stimulatory following treatment with GEN-1.
"These translational research findings demonstrate that GEN-1 in ovarian cancer patients is biologically active and creates an immuno-stimulatory cytokine milieu in the peritoneal cavity in a dose-dependent manner and promotes a pro-immune T-cell population dynamics in the tumor micro-environment," said Dr. Khursheed Anwer, Celsion’s executive vice president and chief science officer. "These distinct immunological changes in local disease environment appear to translate into clinical benefit and warrant the continued development of our GEN-1 IL-12 immunotherapy as a potential adjuvant, in both first and second-line ovarian cancer."
AVEO Reports First Quarter 2017 Financial Results and Provides Business Update
On May 4, 2017– AVEO Oncology (NASDAQ:AVEO) reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2017, and provided a business update. Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo! "We strengthened our balance sheet in the first quarter through an underwritten public offering, giving us the resources to potentially fund operations through the readout of our pivotal, Phase 3 TIVO-3 study of tivozanib in renal cell cancer (RCC), expected in the first quarter of 2018," said Michael Bailey, president and chief executive officer of AVEO. "TIVO-3, which is designed to serve as the basis for a potential U.S. registration of tivozanib as a first- and third-line treatment for RCC, remains on track to complete enrollment and a pre-planned interim futility analysis in June of this year. We also look forward to several other potential key milestones this year, including completion of the Phase 1 portion of the Phase 1/2 TiNivo trial a tivozanib-nivolumab combination study in RCC, a regulatory decision in Europe for marketing approval of tivozanib as a first line treatment for RCC, and notable progress in our pipeline programs."
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Mr. Bailey continued: "Among our pipeline programs, we look forward to two planned ficlatuzumab data presentations from investigator sponsored studies at ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper), one in head and neck cancer and the other in acute myeloid leukemia. Ficlatuzumab, which targets Hepatocyte Growth Factor (HGF) with high affinity and specificity to inhibit HGF/c-Met biological activities, continues to attract investigator interest."
Recent Updates
Completion of the First Dose Cohort of the Phase 1/2 TiNivo Study of Tivozanib in Combination with Nivolumab in RCC. AVEO reported completion of the first dose cohort, and initiation of enrollment in the second and final dose cohort, of the Phase 1 portion of the Company’s Phase 1/2 TiNivo trial evaluating tivozanib in combination with Opdivo (nivolumab), Bristol-Myers Squibb’s anti-PD-1 therapy, in advanced RCC. The study, which is led by the Institut Gustave Roussy in Paris, is under the direction of Professor Bernard Escudier, MD, Chairman of the Genitourinary Oncology Committee. The Phase 1 portion of the study, which the Company expects to complete in the first half of 2017, will primarily evaluate the safety of tivozanib in combination with nivolumab at escalating doses of tivozanib. If the Company receives favorable results, it expects to follow immediately with an expansion Phase 2 trial at the established combination dose.
Presentation of Posters at Upcoming 2017 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting. In April 2017, AVEO announced that poster presentations for three clinical studies will be presented at the upcoming 2017 ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting, to be held June 2-6, 2017. Among these are two presentations that highlight ficlatuzumab results from Phase 1 investigator-sponsored studies, one in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and the other in acute myeloid leukemia. In addition, a Trials in Progress presentation will highlight the ongoing Phase 3, randomized, controlled, multi-center, open-label TIVO-3 study comparing tivozanib, the Company’s potent, selective, long half-life inhibitor of all three vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptors, to sorafenib in subjects with refractory advanced renal cell carcinoma.
Submission of Response to Tivozanib Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) Day 180 List of Outstanding Issues (LOI). In April 2017, AVEO announced that its European licensee for tivozanib, EUSA Pharma, submitted responses to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) Day 180 LOI related to the MAA for tivozanib as a first-line treatment for RCC. With submission of the response complete, EUSA remains tentatively scheduled to provide an oral explanation to the EMA’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use at its May 2017 meeting.
Receipt of Milestone Payment from CANbridge for AV-203. In April 2017, AVEO announced receipt of a $500,000 milestone payment from CANbridge Life Sciences Ltd., a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing western drug candidates in China and North Asia, related to a technology transfer milestone for AV-203, AVEO’s clinical-stage ErbB3 (HER3) inhibitory antibody candidate. CANbridge is planning clinical development of AV-203 in squamous cell esophageal cancer as its initial indication.
Closing of Public Offering and Full Exercise of Option to Purchase Additional Shares. In March 2017, AVEO announced the closing of an underwritten public offering of 34,500,000 shares of common stock, including the exercise in full by the underwriter of its option to purchase 4,500,000 shares at the public offering price of $0.50 per share. The net proceeds of the offering were approximately $15.5 million, and are expected to be used for working capital and general corporate purposes
TIVO-3 Enrolling Ahead of Schedule and Passes First Safety Monitoring Committee Safety Review; Pre-Planned Interim Futility Analysis Expected Midyear 2017. In February 2017, AVEO announced that its pivotal, Phase 3 TIVO-3 trial, a randomized, controlled, multi-center, open-label study to compare tivozanib to sorafenib in subjects with refractory advanced RCC, successfully completed the first safety review by the study’s Safety Monitoring Committee (SMC). The SMC concluded that no safety concern was observed for tivozanib and recommended that the study replace the small number of patients who dropped out prior to starting treatment. The Company announced just prior to the safety review that the TIVO-3 trial is enrolling substantially ahead of schedule. With the SMC recommendation to replace early dropouts, the Company still expects to complete enrollment in June 2017, ahead of its prior guidance of August 2017. A pre-planned futility analysis of the trial is expected around midyear 2017, with topline data expected in the first quarter of 2018. The TIVO-3 trial, together with the previously completed TIVO-1 trial of tivozanib in the first-line treatment of RCC, is designed to support potential regulatory approval of tivozanib in the U.S. as a third- and first- line treatment for RCC.
Personnel Updates
AVEO also announced today that Keith S. Ehrlich, the Company’s Chief Financial Officer, will be retiring from the Company, effective July 1, 2017. The Company has initiated a search for a new chief financial officer. Michael Bailey, the Company’s President and CEO, will assume certain of Mr. Ehrlich’s duties on an interim basis, to the extent a new chief financial officer has not been named by the time of Mr. Ehrlich’s retirement.
Mr. Bailey added: "We greatly appreciate Keith’s contributions to AVEO and wish him well in his future endeavors. His leadership and guidance through a period of turnaround for the Company have been greatly valued. We look forward to a completing the search for a new chief financial officer as expeditiously as possible."
First Quarter 2017 Financial Highlights
AVEO ended Q1 2017 with $33.4 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities as compared with $23.3 million at December 31, 2016.
Total collaboration revenue for Q1 2017 was approximately $2.5 million compared with $1.2 million for Q1 2016.
Research and development expense for Q1 2017 was $8.0 million compared with $6.0 million for Q1 2016.
General and administrative expenses for Q1 2017 was $2.3 million compared with $2.5 for Q1 2016.
Net loss for Q1 2017 was $8.8 million, or a loss of $0.12 per basic and diluted share compared with net loss of $7.7 million or a loss of $0.13 per basic and diluted share for Q1 2016.
Updated Financial Guidance
We believe that our $33.4 million in cash resources would allow us to fund our planned operations into the second quarter of 2018.
Agios Reports First Quarter 2017 Financial Results
On May 4, 2017 Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AGIO), a leader in the field of cellular metabolism to treat cancer and rare genetic diseases, reported business highlights and financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2017 (Press release, Agios Pharmaceuticals, MAY 4, 2017, View Source [SID1234518817]). In addition, Agios highlighted select corporate milestones and data presentations for its preclinical and clinical development programs. Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo! "Our team made significant progress during the first quarter advancing our late-stage pipeline and preparing for the first product launch from our research and discovery engine, which is an important milestone for our organization," said David Schenkein, M.D., chief executive officer at Agios. "We are on track to execute against our remaining key 2017 goals, including finalizing the design of our global pivotal program for AG-348 in PK deficiency in the third quarter and submitting both an NDA for ivosidenib in R/R AML and our sixth IND, for AG-270, a development candidate focused on MTAP-deleted tumors, by the end of the year."
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FIRST QUARTER 2017 HIGHLIGHTS & RECENT PROGRESS
IDH Mutant Inhibitors:
A New Drug Application (NDA) was filed with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for IDHIFA (enasidenib) in relapsed and/or refractory (R/R) acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with an isocitrate dehydrogenase 2 (IDH2) mutation; the NDA was granted Priority Review and has been given a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) action date of August 30, 2017.
Completed enrollment of the 125-patient expansion cohort for the Phase 1 trial of ivosidenib in patients with IDH1m positive R/R AML.
On April 26, 2017, the FDA granted ivosidenib Orphan Drug Designation for the treatment of cholangiocarcinoma.
Rare Genetic Diseases:
On April 27, 2017, the FDA granted AG-348 Fast Track Designation for the treatment of patients with pyruvate kinase (PK) deficiency. Fast Track is a process designed to facilitate the development and expedite the review of drugs to treat serious conditions and fill an unmet medical need.
Completed enrollment of 258 patients in the PK deficiency Natural History Study being conducted with Boston Children’s Hospital.
Research:
Presented preclinical data on molecules with potential for the treatment of methylthioadenosine phosphorylase (MTAP) deleted tumors, at the Keystone Tumor Metabolism Meeting in Whistler, British Columbia.
Celgene designated AG-270 for the treatment of MTAP-deleted cancers as a development candidate under the master research and collaboration agreement dated May 17, 2016, triggering an $8 million milestone payment to Agios.
In April, Agios and Aurigene Discovery Technologies Limited entered into a global license agreement to research, develop and commercialize small molecule inhibitors of an undisclosed cancer metabolism target.
Corporate:
Also in April, Agios completed an underwritten public offering of 5,808,080 shares of common stock, which includes the full exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase an additional 757,575 shares, at the offering price of $49.50 per share, resulting in proceeds, net of underwriting discounts and commissions, of approximately $270.2 million.
ANTICIPATED 2017 DATA PRESENTATIONS
Updated data from the Phase 1/2 trial evaluating IDHIFA (enasidenib) in patients with IDH2m positive R/R AML at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting being held June 2-6, 2017 in Chicago
First data from the cholangiocarcinoma expansion cohort of the ongoing Phase 1 trial of ivosidenib in advanced IDH1m positive solid tumors at ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper)
Updated data from the AG-348 Phase 2 DRIVE PK trial in PK deficiency at the 22nd Congress of the European Hematology Association (EHA) (Free EHA Whitepaper) taking place June 22-25, 2017 in Madrid, Spain
Updated data from DRIVE PK, including longer follow-up and secondary analyses, and updated data from the PK deficiency Natural History Study in the second half of 2017
First data from the expansion phase of the ongoing Phase 1 trial of ivosidenib in R/R AML in the second half of 2017
First data from the ongoing Phase 1b combination trial of IDHIFA (enasidenib) or ivosidenib with standard-of-care intensive chemotherapy in newly diagnosed AML in the second half of 2017
Updated data from the glioma expansion cohort of the ongoing Phase 1 trial of ivosidenib in advanced IDH1m positive solid tumors in the second half of 2017
KEY UPCOMING MILESTONES
IDH Mutant Inhibitors in Hematologic Malignancies
Potential approval and co-commercialization of IDHIFA (enasidenib) in the U.S. for IDH2m positive R/R AML in collaboration with Celgene with a PDUFA action date of August 30, 2017.
Initiate a global, registration-enabling Phase 3 study (AGILE) combining ivosidenib and VIDAZA in newly diagnosed AML patients with an IDH1 mutation ineligible for intensive chemotherapy in the first half of 2017.
Submit an NDA to the U.S. FDA for ivosidenib for IDH1m positive R/R AML by the end of 2017.
IDH Mutant Inhibitors in Solid Tumors
Complete enrollment of the dose-escalation phase of the ongoing Phase 1 study of AG-881 in IDHm positive glioma in the first half of 2017.
Rare Genetic Diseases
Finalize design for a global pivotal trial of AG-348 in PK deficiency in the third quarter of 2017.
Initiate a global pivotal trial of AG-348 in PK deficiency in the first half of 2018.
Research:
Submit an Investigational New Drug (IND) application for AG-270, the development candidate targeting MTAP-deleted tumors, by the end of 2017.
FIRST QUARTER 2017 FINANCIAL RESULTS
Collaboration revenue was $10.5 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2017, compared to $31.3 million for the comparable period in 2016. The decrease in revenue was primarily due to the fact that in the first quarter of 2016, the company recognized a $25 million milestone payment related to the initiation of the Phase 3 IDHENTIFY trial of IDHIFA (enasidenib).
Research and development (R&D) expense was $62.7 million, including $7.0 million of stock-based compensation expense, for the quarter ended March 31, 2017, compared to $44.0 million, including $5.5 million of stock-based compensation expense, for the quarter ended March 31, 2016. The increase in R&D expense was primarily due to increased costs to support advancement of the company’s lead investigational medicines toward later-stage development. Celgene is responsible for all development costs for IDHIFA (enasidenib) and certain development costs for AG-881, and reimburses Agios for development costs incurred for these investigational medicines. In addition, Celgene was responsible for approximately half of development costs for ivosidenib during the quarter ended March 31, 2016. As of August 2016, Agios is responsible for all ivosidenib development costs.
General and administrative (G&A) expense was $14.8 million, including $3.7 million of stock-based compensation expense, for the quarter ended March 31, 2017, compared to $10.8 million, including $3.6 million of stock-based compensation expense, for the quarter ended March 31, 2016. The increase in G&A expense was largely due to increased headcount and additional expenses to support our growing commercial organization.
Net loss for the quarter ended March 31, 2017 was $66.2 million, compared to a net loss of $23.2 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2016.
Cash & Cash Guidance
Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities as of March 31, 2017 were $503.2 million, compared to $573.6 million as of December 31, 2016. The decrease in cash was driven by expenditures to fund operations of $79.4 million during the quarter ended March 31, 2017. These items were offset by an increase in cash of $5.0 million of program funding received under our collaboration agreements with Celgene and $4.1 million received from employee stock award transactions.
In April, Agios completed an underwritten public offering of 5,808,080 shares of common stock, which includes the full exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase an additional 757,575 shares, at the offering price of $49.50 per share, resulting in proceeds, net of underwriting discounts and commissions, of approximately $270.2 million.
The company expects that its cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities as of March 31, 2017, together with the net proceeds from the recent financing, anticipated interest income, and anticipated payments under our collaboration agreements, but excluding any additional program-specific milestone payments, will enable the company to fund its anticipated operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements through at least the end of 2019.