PTC Therapeutics Reports Second Quarter 2018 Financial Results and Provides a Corporate Update

On August 7, 2018 PTC Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: PTCT) reported a corporate update and reported financial results for the second quarter ending June 30, 2018 (Press release, PTC Therapeutics, AUG 7, 2018, View Source [SID1234528767]).

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"We have made significant progress towards delivering on our strategic plan this year," said Stuart W. Peltz, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, PTC Therapeutics, Inc. "This includes furthering our underlying business as well as executing on two external transactions. We look forward to bringing value to both patients and shareholders with the acquisition of Agilis, the LATAM commercialization rights for Tegsedi and Waylivra and realizing additional growth in the second half of the year."

Second Quarter Financial Highlights:

Total revenues for the second quarter of 2018 were $68.7 million, compared to $48.0 million in the same period in 2017. The change in total revenue was a result of Emflaza, which launched in May 2017, and the expanded commercialization of Translarna.

Translarna net product revenues were $47.8 million for the second quarter of 2018, representing 4% growth over $45.8 million reported in the second quarter of 2017.

Emflaza net product revenues were $20.3 million for the second quarter of 2018, from $2.1 million reported in the second quarter of 2017.

GAAP R&D expenses were $32.6 million for the second quarter of 2018, compared to $30.8 million for the same period in 2017. Non-GAAP R&D expenses were $28.7 million for the second quarter of 2018, excluding $3.9 million in non-cash, stock-based compensation expense, compared to $26.9 million for the same period in 2017, excluding $3.9 million in non-cash, stock-based compensation expense. The increase in GAAP and non-GAAP R&D expense was primarily due to increased investment in research programs and advancement of the clinical pipeline.

GAAP SG&A expenses were $33.5 million for the second quarter of 2018, compared to $28.9 million for the same period in 2017. Non-GAAP SG&A expenses were $29.4 million for the second quarter of 2018, excluding $4.1 million in non-cash, stock-based

compensation expense, compared to $24.9 million for the same period in 2017, excluding $4.0 million in non-cash, stock-based compensation expense. The increase in GAAP and non-GAAP SG&A expense was primarily due to continued investment in commercial activities to support the Duchenne muscular dystrophy franchise.

Net loss for the second quarter of 2018 was $9.5 million, compared to a net loss of $17.5 million for the same period in 2017.

In April 2018, PTC completed a public offering of 4,600,000 shares of common stock, resulting in net offering proceeds of $117.9 million.

Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities totaled approximately $296.1 million at June 30, 2018, compared to approximately $191.2 million at December 31, 2017.

Shares issued and outstanding as of June 30, 2018 were 46.7 million.

2018 Guidance

Full year 2018 net product revenues are anticipated to be between $260 and $295 million. PTC anticipates Translarna net product revenue for the full year 2018 to be between $170 and $185 million. PTC projects a 5-year (December 31, 2022) compound annual growth rate of 15% for net product revenues, representing continued strong growth year-over-year by increasing penetration in current countries and pursuing opportunities for label expansion. PTC anticipates Emflaza net product revenue for the full year 2018 to be between $90 and $110 million.

GAAP R&D and SG&A expense for the full year 2018 is anticipated to be between $280 and $290 million.

Non-GAAP R&D and SG&A expense for the full year 2018 is anticipated to be between $250 and $260 million, excluding estimated non-cash, stock-based compensation expense of approximately $30 million.

Key Second Quarter and Other Corporate Highlights:

Agreement to acquire Agilis Biotherapeutics gene therapy platform and four CNS clinical assets diversify and strengthen PTC’s existing pipeline. Following successful completion of the transaction, PTC plans a smooth transition of operations and to rapidly accelerate the programs. PTC plans to submit a Biologics Licensing Application with FDA in 2019 for the lead program in AADC deficiency, based on compelling long-term clinical data. An IND submission to the U.S. FDA is expected in 2019 for the second lead program in Friedreich ataxia. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018.

In-licensed LATAM commercial rights to Tegsedi (inotersen) and Waylivra (volanesorsen) from Akcea Therapeutics. The collaboration leverages its global commercial infrastructure and adds to growing commercial pipeline. Tegsedi has received marketing authorization approval from the European Commission for the treatment of stage 1 or stage 2 polyneuropathy in adult patients with hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis (hATTR amyloidosis). PTC estimates that there are approximately 6,000 patients in LATAM and that it is well positioned to file for registration in key countries in LATAM for Tegsedi. Tegsedi has a PDUFA date of October 6, 2018. Waylivra is under

regulatory review in the U.S., Europe and Canada for the treatment of people with familial chylomicronemia syndrome (FCS). Waylivra recently received a positive vote from the FDA’s Division of Metabolism and Endocrinology Products Advisory Committee and has a PDUFA date of August 30, 2018. Waylivra is also in clinical development for Familial Partial Lipodystrophy, or FPL.

Compelling data from FIREFISH study and advancement of SMA clinical programs. Data presented at the CureSMA conference demonstrated that at Day 182, over 90% of the babies in the FIREFISH study achieved a greater than 4-point increase in CHOP-INTEND score compared to baseline. The CHOP-INTEND data were further supported by video presented by the investigator in which babies demonstrated improved motor function including head control, rolling from supine, and sitting. Three babies were depicted sitting independently. Updated SMA data including additional sitting babies from part 1 of the FIREFISH study will be presented at the upcoming World Muscle Congress. Part 2 of the pivotal FIREFISH study is ongoing. SUNFISH, a pivotal trial in Type 2/3 SMA patients is also ongoing.

European Commission ratifies CHMP’s positive opinion for the label expansion of Translarna for children as young as 2 years of age. The authorization allows PTC to market Translarna for the treatment of nonsense mutation Duchenne muscular dystrophy in ambulatory patients aged two years and older in the 28 countries that are Member States of the European Union, as well as European Economic Area members Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

Focus on intensifying the conversion of Emflaza bridge patients. There are currently hundreds of patients who have been prescribed Emflaza for whom commercial shipments were not yet made. PTC plans to intensify the efforts and programs to expedite the conversion of those prescriptions to commercial shipment in the second half of the year.

Publication of additional data demonstrating the clinically differentiated benefit of deflazacort. The results published in Muscle and Nerve demonstrated Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients treated with deflazacort had notably less decline from baseline in 6-minute walk distance at Week 48 than those treated with prednisone/prednisolone. The extrapolated time to loss of ambulation was 8.58 years for deflazacort and 4.74 years with prednisone/prednisolone. In addition to the time to delay of loss of ambulation, patients on deflazacort demonstrated a slowing of disease progression as measured by physical function endpoints.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In this press release, the financial results and financial guidance of PTC are provided in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (GAAP) and using certain non-GAAP financial measures. In particular, the non-GAAP financial measures exclude stock-based compensation expense. This non-GAAP financial measure is provided as a complement to financial measures reported in GAAP because management uses this non-GAAP financial measure when assessing and identifying operational trends. In management’s opinion, this non-GAAP financial measure is useful to investors and other users of PTC’s financial statements by providing greater transparency into the historical and projected operating

performance of PTC and the company’s future outlook. Quantitative reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to their closest equivalent GAAP financial measures are included in the tables below.

Today’s Conference Call and Webcast Reminder:
Today’s conference call will take place at 4:30 pm ET and can be access by dialing (877) 303-9216 (domestic) or (973) 935-8152 (international) five minutes prior to the start of the call and providing the passcode 8284468. A live, listen-only webcast of the conference call and corresponding slides can be accessed on the investor relations section of the PTC website at www.ptcbio.com. A webcast replay of the call will be available approximately two hours after completion of the call and will be archived on the company’s website for two weeks. PTC’s current Investor Presentation and R&D Day slides are available at the same website location.

Merrimack Reports Second Quarter 2018 Financial Results

On August 7, 2018 Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: MACK), a clinical-stage oncology company focused on biomarker-defined cancers, reported its second quarter 2018 financial results for the period ended June 30, 2018 (Press release, Merrimack, AUG 7, 2018, View Source [SID1234528764]).

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"A cornerstone of Merrimack’s approach to drug development is our commitment to test targeted therapies in biomarker-enriched patient populations, resulting in smaller, shorter and more personalized studies that lower development costs and accelerate the timeframe to clinically meaningful data. This quarter, we have continued to demonstrate prudent adherence to this clinical strategy," said Richard Peters, M.D., Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer. "Additionally, we are pleased to have strengthened our financial position with non-dilutive sources of capital, including an $18 million milestone announced today and the $15 million debt facility we closed in July, which we believe extend our cash runway into at least the first quarter of 2020 and position us to deliver on our corporate goals. Looking ahead, we anticipate significant progress across our pipeline, with two clinical readouts expected in the second half of 2018 from MM-121 in non-small cell lung cancer and MM-310 in solid tumors."

Key events from the second quarter and more recently include:

Receipt of $18 million milestone payment from Shire, resulting from the sale of ONIVYDE in two additional major European countries;

Closing in July of $25 million debt facility with Hercules Capital, $15 million of which was funded at closing, with eligibility for up to an additional aggregate of $10 million;

Announcement of top-line results from the CARRIE study, a randomized Phase 2 trial of MM-141 in front-line metastatic pancreatic cancer, in which MM-141 was added to standard-of-care chemotherapy treatments and evaluated in patients screened for high serum levels of the insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). As MM-141 did not demonstrate a clinical benefit in the study, Merrimack will cease all of its development activities for MM-141; and

Presentation of two posters at the 2018 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting, held June 1-5, 2018 in Chicago, IL:

Clinical data from MM-121 (seribantumab) in a poster titled, "Evaluation of fixed-dose regimens of seribantumab in patients with solid tumors," containing an analysis of pharmacokinetic and safety data comparing different dosing regimens from previous Phase 1 and Phase 2 studies of MM-121 in solid tumors. Data presented support use of the dosing regimen currently being evaluated in Merrimack’s two ongoing randomized Phase 2 studies of MM-121, SHERLOC in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and SHERBOC in HR+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer; and

A Trials-in-Progress poster for MM-310, Merrimack’s antibody-directed nanotherapeutic (ADN) targeting the EphA2 receptor, titled, "A Phase 1 study evaluating the safety, pharmacology and preliminary activity of MM-310 in patients with solid tumors."

Upcoming Clinical Milestones

Merrimack anticipates the following upcoming clinical milestones:

Top-line results in 2018 from the SHERLOC study, a randomized Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating MM-121, a fully human monoclonal antibody targeting the HER3 receptor, added to standard of care in patients with heregulin positive non-small cell lung cancer; and

Safety data and maximum tolerated dose in 2018 from the Phase 1 clinical trial of MM-310, an antibody-directed nanotherapeutic targeting the EphA2 receptor, in patients with solid tumors.

Second Quarter 2018 Financial Results

The following summarizes Merrimack’s financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2018:

Research and development expenses for the second quarter ended June 30, 2018 were $13.7 million, compared to $19.8 million for the comparable period of 2017. Research and development spending for the second quarter of 2018 was lower versus the comparable period in 2017 primarily due to Merrimack’s refocused clinical and preclinical pipeline;

General and administrative expenses for the second quarter ended June 30, 2018 were $3.5 million, compared to $14.8 million for the comparable period of 2017. General and administrative spending for the second quarter of 2018 was lower versus the comparable period in 2017 primarily due to a decrease in corporate expenses related to headcount levels following the asset sale to Ipsen;

Net loss for the second quarter ended June 30, 2018 was $17.8 million, or $1.33 per share, compared to a net loss of $28.9 million, or $2.18 per share, for the comparable period of 2017; and

As of June 30, 2018, Merrimack had 13.3 million shares of common stock, $0.01 par value per share, outstanding.

Financial Outlook

Merrimack believes that its cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $60.0 million as of June 30, 2018, in addition to $14.7 million in net borrowings from its July 2, 2018 loan and security agreement with Hercules Capital and the $18 million ONIVYDE milestone received from Shire, will be sufficient to fund its planned operations into at least the first quarter of 2020.

Merrimack remains eligible to receive additional milestone payments from Shire and Ipsen, resulting from the Company’s asset sale to Ipsen in 2017:

Merrimack is entitled to receive up to an additional $15 million in milestone payments from Shire, which are excluded from the Company’s cash runway guidance until achieved, consisting of:

$5.0 million related to the sale of ONIVYDE in the first major non-European, non-Asian country; and

$10.0 million for the first patient dosed in a pivotal clinical trial in an indication other than pancreatic cancer.

Merrimack is also entitled to receive up to an aggregate of $450 million in regulatory-based milestone payments from Ipsen, which Merrimack has said it expects to pass through to stockholders, net of any taxes owed and subject to there being sufficient surplus at that time, consisting of:

$225.0 million upon approval by the FDA of ONIVYDE for the first-line treatment of metastatic adenocarcinoma of the pancreas, subject to certain conditions;

$150.0 million upon approval by the FDA of ONIVYDE for the treatment of small cell lung cancer after failure of first-line chemotherapy; and

$75.0 million upon approval by the FDA of ONIVYDE for an additional indication unrelated to those described above.

Conference Call and Webcast

Merrimack will host a live conference call and webcast today, Tuesday, August 7, 2018 at 8:30 am ET, to provide an update on its operational progress and a summary of these financial results.

Investors and the general public are invited to listen to the call by dialing (877) 564-1301 (domestic) or (224) 357-2394 (international) five minutes prior to the start of the call and providing the passcode 6476538. A listen-only webcast of the call can be accessed in the Investors section of Merrimack’s website, investors.merrimack.com, and a replay of the call will be archived there for six weeks following the call.

Upcoming Investor Conferences

Merrimack is scheduled to present at the 2018 Baird Global Healthcare Conference on Thursday, September 6, 2018, at 8:30 am ET in New York. A live webcast of the presentation can be accessed under "Events and Presentations" in the Investors section of the Company’s website at www.merrimack.com. A replay of the webcast will be archived there for approximately 30 days following the presentation.

MacroGenics Provides Update on Corporate Progress and 2nd Quarter 2018 Financial Results

On August 7, 2018 MacroGenics, Inc. (NASDAQ: MGNX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing innovative monoclonal antibody-based therapeutics for the treatment of cancer, reported financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2018 (Press release, MacroGenics, AUG 7, 2018, View Source [SID1234528763]).
"MacroGenics continues to advance its portfolio of oncology product candidates toward multiple data read-outs," said Scott Koenig, M.D., Ph.D., President and CEO of MacroGenics. "We expect to complete enrollment of the SOPHIA Phase 3 metastatic breast cancer study of margetuximab in the next few months and be able to disclose top-line results in the first quarter of 2019. Also in early 2019, we expect to provide an update on the combination study of margetuximab with an anti-PD-1 agent in the treatment of gastric cancer patients in a Phase 2 study. In addition, we will provide updates later this year on both the enoblituzumab plus anti-PD-1 combination study, as well as the flotetuzumab monotherapy dose expansion study in patients with relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Finally, we recently submitted an investigational new drug (IND) application for our first antibody-drug conjugate – MGC018, an anti-B7-H3 ADC – and anticipate submitting an IND for MGD019 (PD-1 x CTLA-4 DART molecule) by year-end."
Key Pipeline Updates
Margetuximab. Recent highlights related to the Company’s Fc-optimized monoclonal antibody (mAb) that targets the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, or HER2, include:

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Phase 3 Metastatic Breast Cancer Study. The pivotal SOPHIA study is evaluating the efficacy of margetuximab plus chemotherapy compared to trastuzumab plus chemotherapy in approximately 530 relapsed/refractory HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer patients. MacroGenics remains on track to complete enrollment of the study in the next few months, with anticipated disclosure of topline PFS data in the first quarter of 2019.

Phase 2 Gastric Cancer Study. At the 2018 ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting in June, MacroGenics presented updated interim clinical data from a Phase 2 study of margetuximab plus an anti-PD-1 agent in patients with HER2-positive gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma. This chemotherapy-free combination, designed to coordinately engage innate and adaptive immunity, demonstrated that margetuximab plus an anti-PD-1 antibody may have enhanced antitumor activity in patients with advanced gastric cancer. The Company expects to complete enrollment of 25 additional gastric cancer patients in the next few months and present data in the first quarter of 2019.

Flotetuzumab. Recent highlights of the Company’s bispecific, humanized DART molecule that recognizes both CD123 and CD3, include:

Monotherapy Study. MacroGenics has completed the enrollment of its AML dose expansion cohort and plans to present updated clinical data and disclose further development plans in late 2018. The Company’s collaborator, Servier, has development and commercialization rights outside North America, Japan, Korea and India for flotetuzumab, also known as S80880.

Combination Study with MGA012. MacroGenics has previously presented data supporting the rationale for using checkpoint blockade as an approach to potentially enhance the anti-leukemic activity of flotetuzumab. MacroGenics intends to commence enrollment of a combination study

Exhibit 99.1

with MGA012, an anti-PD-1 mAb also known as INCMGA0012, later this year.
PD-1-Directed Immuno-Oncology Franchise. MacroGenics is advancing multiple PD-1-directed programs to enable both a broad set of combination opportunities across the Company’s portfolio and provide further differentiation from existing PD-1-based treatment options. These programs include:

MGA012. This humanized, proprietary anti-PD-1 mAb is being developed for use as monotherapy as well as in combination with other potential cancer therapeutics. MGA012 was licensed to Incyte Corporation in 2017 under a global collaboration and license agreement. MacroGenics retains the rights to develop MGA012 in combination with its pipeline assets, and has already initiated clinical combination studies with two separate DART molecules. In June 2018, Incyte announced its intention to pursue monotherapy development of MGA012 in MSI-high endometrial cancer, Merkel cell carcinoma and anal cancer through registration-directed studies, with data anticipated in 2020-2021.

MGD013. This first-in-class DART molecule provides co-blockade of two immune checkpoint molecules expressed on T cells, PD-1 and LAG-3, for the potential treatment of a range of solid tumors and hematological malignancies. MGD013 is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1 study. MacroGenics expects to establish the dose and schedule for MGD013 administration as well as initiate dose expansion cohorts by year end 2018.

MGD019. This DART molecule is designed to provide co-blockade of both PD-1 and CTLA-4 on T cells. The Company anticipates submitting the IND application for MGD019 by year end 2018.
B7-H3 Franchise. MacroGenics is developing a portfolio of therapeutics that target B7-H3, a member of the B7 family of molecules involved in immune regulation. The Company is advancing multiple programs that target B7-H3 through complementary mechanisms of action that take advantage of this antigen’s broad expression across multiple solid tumor types. These molecules include:

Enoblituzumab: The Company completed the recruitment of patients in an ongoing study of this Fc-optimized mAb that targets B7-H3, in combination with an anti-PD-1 mAb and expects to present clinical data from this study as well as disclose further development plans in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Orlotamab (formerly known as MGD009): This DART molecule targeting B7-H3 and CD3 is being evaluated in a Phase 1 study. The Company recently established the dose and schedule for orlotamab administration and initiated monotherapy dose expansion cohorts in six different tumor types. In addition, a combination study of orlotamab and MGA012 was initiated in the first quarter of 2018 and is ongoing.

MGC018: The Company has submitted an IND for this anti-B7-H3 ADC and anticipates initiation of a Phase 1 study in the coming months. This first-in-man study is designed to study MGC018 both as monotherapy and in combination with MGA012 in patients with solid tumors.

Second Quarter 2018 Financial Results

Cash Position: Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities as of June 30, 2018, were $300.9 million, compared to $305.1 million as of December 31, 2017.

Exhibit 99.1

Revenue: Total revenue, consisting primarily of revenue from collaborative agreements, was $18.8 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2018, compared to $1.7 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2017. Revenue from collaborative agreements includes the recognition of deferred revenue from payments received in previous periods as well as payments received during the year.

R&D Expenses: Research and development expenses were $52.0 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2018, compared to $34.5 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2017. This increase was primarily due to the continued enrollment in the Company’s two margetuximab studies, flotetuzumab study and increased headcount to support expanded manufacturing and development activities.

G&A Expenses: General and administrative expenses were $11.1 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2018, compared to $8.4 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2017. This increase was primarily due to consulting and other costs incurred related to the implementation of the Company’s new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system and increased patent expenses.

Net Loss: Net loss was $43.2 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2018, compared to net loss of $40.7 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2017.

Shares Outstanding: Shares outstanding as of June 30, 2018 were 42,229,011.

Conference Call Information

MacroGenics will host a conference call today at 4:30 pm (ET) to discuss financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2018 and provide a corporate update. To participate in the conference call, please dial (877) 303-6253 (domestic) or (973) 409-9610 (international) five minutes prior to the start of the call and provide the Conference ID: 9259899.

Infinity Pharmaceuticals Appoints Samuel Agresta, M.D., M.P.H. as Chief Medical Officer

On August 7, 2018 Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: INFI) reported that it has appointed Samuel Agresta, M.D., M.P.H., as Chief Medical Officer where he will oversee global clinical development and regulatory affairs for the company (Press release, Infinity Pharmaceuticals, AUG 7, 2018, View Source [SID1234528758]). Dr. Agresta brings more than 20 years of experience in the practice of academic medicine and oncology drug development, including the recent approvals of two targeted therapies for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

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"We are very pleased to welcome Dr. Agresta to the Infinity team as he brings tremendously valuable global development and regulatory experience having led the development and approval of enasidineb (IDHIFA) and ivosidenib (TIBSOVO), two novel clinical oncology medicines, while at Agios," said Adelene Perkins, Chief Executive Officer and Chair of Infinity Pharmaceuticals. "Under Dr. Agresta’s leadership, both medicines received US regulatory approval during the last year, with full approval of ivosidenib granted two weeks ago for patients with relapsed and/or refractory AML based on the results of a single arm, Phase 1 study. Sam’s knowledge and expertise in innovative oncology and precision medicine drug development will be invaluable in advancing IPI-549 for patients."

"This is an exciting time for me to be joining the Infinity team. IPI-549’s mechanism of action represents a novel and promising approach to improve upon current immuno-oncology treatments," said Dr. Agresta. "I am very encouraged by the clinical and translational data presented to date and look forward to building on this foundation in the ongoing and future IPI-549 trials, including with our clinical collaborators Bristol-Myers Squibb and Arcus, to demonstrate the potential impact of IPI-549 in immuno-oncology therapy. We will also work in collaboration with our investigators and regulators to advance IPI-549 with the goal of approval to benefit as many cancer patients as possible."

Dr. Agresta joins Infinity from Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where he played a pivotal role in the development of the company’s oncology programs, including IDHIFA and TIBSOVO, as Vice President and Head of Clinical Development. IDHIFA and TIBSOVO are both first-in-class, orally available, targeted medicines for the treatment of patients with AML that harbor IDH mutations. Prior to Agios, Dr. Agresta worked on the development of oncology therapeutics at Merrimack Pharmaceuticals and Genentech after spending ten years practicing academic medicine. He began his career at the Moffitt Cancer Center, where he served as Associate Medical Director in the Sarcoma Oncology Unit. Dr. Agresta earned an M.D. from Tulane University School of Medicine as well as an M.P.H. from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.

Infinity Pharmaceuticals Provides Company Update and Second Quarter 2018 Financial Results

On August 7, 2018 Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: INFI) reported its second quarter 2018 financial results and provided an update on the company, including its progress with IPI-549, a first-in-class oral immuno-oncology product candidate that selectively inhibits phosphoinositide-3-kinase-gamma (PI3K-gamma) and targets immune-suppressive tumor macrophages/myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) (Press release, Infinity Pharmaceuticals, AUG 7, 2018, View Source [SID1234528757]).

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"We are particularly pleased to welcome Sam Agresta to the Infinity team as Chief Medical Officer. Sam brings extensive experience in novel oncology drug development, having led the recent approvals of Agios’s two targeted therapies based on compelling Phase 1 data," said Adelene Perkins, Chief Executive Officer and Chair of Infinity Pharmaceuticals. "We continue to be encouraged by our progress in all aspects of our business. Building on the datasets we presented at the recent American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting, including showing that IPI-549 was well-tolerated, clinically active and on-mechanism as a monotherapy and in combination with nivolumab, we look forward to presenting more mature data from the combination expansion cohorts in the second half of this year. We are also enthusiastic about partnering with Arcus and testing IPI-549 in combination with its very promising novel agents, in a new collaboration we established in June."

Infinity is evaluating IPI-549 as a monotherapy and in combination with Opdivo (nivolumab), a PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor, in collaboration with Bristol-Myers Squibb, in the MARIO-1 Phase 1/1b study in approximately 200 patients with advanced solid tumors. In addition, Arcus Biosciences will initiate two triple combinations investigating IPI-549 with their dual adenosine receptor antagonist, AB928, anti-PD-1 antibody, AB122, and chemotherapy in triple negative breast cancer and ovarian cancer. One triple combination therapy will evaluate IPI-549 in combination with AB928 and AB122 and the second will evaluate IPI-549 in combination with AB928 and chemotherapy, with topline data expected in 2019.

Recent developments include the following:

IPI-549

Continued Progress with the MARIO-1 Phase 1/1b Study of IPI-549: The monotherapy and combination dose-escalation portions of this study have been completed. Enrollment is complete in the mesothelioma combination expansion cohort and is ongoing for the other five disease-specific combination expansion cohorts currently underway, as well as for the seventh combination expansion cohort of patients pre-selected for having high baseline blood levels of myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), which began enrolling patients in May 2018.
Second Quarter 2018 Financial Results

At June 30, 2018, Infinity had total cash, cash equivalents and available-for-sale securities of $49.2 million, compared to $47.8 million at March 31, 2018.
R&D expense for the second quarter of 2018 was $3.7 million, compared to $3.9 million for the same period in 2017. The decrease in R&D expense was primarily due to a reduction in bonus and stock compensation offset by an increase in clinical development expense for IPI-549.
General and administrative expense was $3.4 million for the second quarter of 2018, compared to $6.2 million for the same period in 2017. The decrease in G&A expense was primarily due to a reduction in bonus and stock compensation.
Net loss for the second quarter of 2018 was $7.0 million, or a basic and diluted loss per common share of $0.12, compared to a net loss of $17.0 million, or a basic and diluted loss per common share of $0.34 for the same period in 2017.
Financial Outlook
Infinity’s 2018 financial guidance is:

Net Loss: Infinity expects net loss for 2018 to range from $35 million to $45 million.
Cash and Investments: Infinity expects to end 2018 with a year-end cash, cash equivalents and available-for-sale securities balance ranging from $15 million to $25 million.
Cash Runway: Based on its current operational plans, Infinity expects that its existing cash, cash equivalents and available-for-sale securities will be adequate to satisfy the company’s capital needs through the third quarter of 2019. Infinity’s financial guidance excludes additional funding or business development activities and does not include the potential $22 million payment from Verastem upon the first regulatory approval of duvelisib, or a potential $2 million payment from PellePharm, a private company, upon initiation of a Phase 3 study for the hedgehog inhibitor program, which Infinity licensed to PellePharm in 2013. Verastem announced that its New Drug Application for duvelisib was accepted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and that it was given priority review with an FDA action date of October 5, 2018. With the potential Verastem payment, Infinity expects that its cash runway would extend into 2020.
Conference Call Information
Infinity will host a conference call today, August 7, 2018, at 4:30 p.m. ET to discuss these financial results and company updates. A live webcast of the conference call can be accessed in the "Investors/Media" section of Infinity’s website at www.infi.com. To participate in the conference call, please dial 1-877-316-5293 (domestic) or 1-631-291-4526 (international) five minutes prior to start time. The conference ID number is 8037589. An archived version of the webcast will be available on Infinity’s website for 30 days.

About IPI-549 and the Ongoing Phase 1/1b Study
IPI-549 is an investigational first-in-class, oral, immuno-oncology product candidate targeting tumor-associated myeloid cells through selective phosphoinositide-3-kinase-gamma (PI3K-gamma) inhibition, thereby reducing pro-tumor macrophage function and increasing anti-tumor macrophage function. In preclinical studies, IPI-549 demonstrated the ability to reprogram macrophages from a pro-tumor (M2), immune suppressive function, to an anti-tumor (M1) immune activating function and enhance the activity of, and overcome resistance to, checkpoint inhibitors.1,2 As such, IPI-549 may have the potential to treat a broad range of solid tumors and represents a potentially additive or synergistic approach to restoring anti-tumor immunity in combination with other immunotherapies such as checkpoint inhibitors.

The ongoing Phase 1/1b study being conducted by Infinity is designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, activity, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of IPI-549 as a monotherapy and in combination with Opdivo in approximately 200 patients with advanced solid tumors.3 The study includes monotherapy and combination dose-escalation components, in addition to monotherapy expansion and combination expansion components. The monotherapy dose-escalation and expansion components are complete. The combination dose-escalation component is also complete, and combination expansion cohorts are enrolling.

The combination expansion component of the study includes multiple cohorts designed to evaluate IPI-549 in patients with specific types of cancer, including patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), melanoma and head and neck cancer whose tumors show initial resistance or initially respond to but subsequently develop resistance to immune checkpoint blockade therapy. The combination expansion component also includes a cohort of patients with triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) who have not been previously treated with immune checkpoint blockade therapy, a cohort of patients with mesothelioma, a cohort of patients with adrenocortical carcinoma and a cohort of patients with high baseline blood levels of MDSCs.

IPI-549 is an investigational compound and its safety and efficacy has not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or any other health authority.