On November 12, 2019 Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: HALO) reported financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2019 and provided an update on its recent corporate activities and outlook (Press release, Halozyme, NOV 12, 2019, View Source [SID1234550958]).

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

"We have transitioned our strategy to focus solely on our high-growth, high-margin ENHANZE drug delivery technology," said Dr. Helen Torley, president and chief executive officer. "With profitability anticipated in the second quarter of 2020 and a long runway for growth with ENHANZE, we are in a strong position to build value and return capital to investors."

Third Quarter 2019 and Recent Highlights Include:

In November 2019, the Company announced strategic actions to reposition the Company with a focus solely on its ENHANZE drug delivery technology following the announcement that the HALO-301 Phase 3 study did not meet its primary endpoint. In order to implement this strategic shift, the Company initiated an organizational restructuring to close its oncology operations. Headcount will be reduced by approximately 55%, or approximately 160 positions, with over 80% of the reduction completed in early January 2020. Upon completion of the restructuring and after booking all related one-time charges, Halozyme anticipates becoming a sustainably profitable company beginning in the second quarter of 2020.
In November 2019, the Company announced that the Board of Directors has authorized the initiation of a capital return program to repurchase up to $350 million of the Company’s outstanding common stock over the next three years. The Board will regularly review this capital return program in connection with a balanced capital allocation strategy.
In October 2019, collaboration partner Roche nominated one new undisclosed target to be studied utilizing the ENHANZE technology, triggering a $10 million milestone payment to Halozyme.
In October 2019, collaboration partner Bristol-Myers Squibb initiated a Phase 1 study of relatlimab in combination with nivolumab utilizing the ENHANZE technology.
In September 2019, Roche announced that the global Phase 3 FeDeriCa study met its primary endpoint. The FeDeriCa study investigated a fixed-dose combination of pertuzumab (Perjeta) and trastuzumab (Herceptin) for subcutaneous administration using Halozyme’s ENHANZE drug delivery technology in combination with intravenous chemotherapy. Additional data from the FeDeriCa study will be the subject of a presentation at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium in December, followed by regulatory submissions to health authorities worldwide anticipated in early 2020.
In September 2019, a Halozyme collaboration partner initiated a Phase 1 study in healthy volunteers for an undisclosed target utilizing the ENHANZE technology.
In August 2019, Roche initiated a Phase 1 study with OCREVUS (ocrelizumab) utilizing the ENHANZE technology in patients with multiple sclerosis.
Third Quarter 2019 Financial Highlights

Revenue for the third quarter was $46.2 million compared to $25.6 million for the third quarter of 2018. The year-over-year increase was primarily driven by higher product sales of bulk rHuPH20 to Janssen of $20.1 million. Revenue for the quarter included $16.6 million in royalties, which compared to $18.7 million in the prior year period. The decrease in royalties was mainly driven by lower sales of Herceptin SC by Roche, partially offset by higher sales of RITUXAN HYCELA in the U.S. by Roche and higher sales of HyQvia by Takeda.
Research and development expenses for the third quarter were $30.5 million, compared to $35.5 million for the third quarter of 2018. The decline in expenses was driven by reduced clinical trial activity as the Company approached the topline results readout from HALO-301.
Selling, general and administrative expenses for the third quarter were $18.0 million, compared to $14.9 million for the third quarter of 2018. The increase is due to an increase in personnel expenses related to support of the Company’s oncology operations.
Net loss for the third quarter was $25.0 million, or $0.17 per share, compared to a net loss in the third quarter of 2018 of $27.9 million, or $0.19 per share.
Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities were $238.0 million at September 30, 2019, compared to $354.5 million at December 31, 2018.
Financial Outlook for 2019

Halozyme is updating its 2019 financial guidance ranges:

Total revenues are now expected in the range of $195 million to $205 million, compared with prior guidance of $205 million to $215 million, primarily driven by the movement of a planned Phase 3 trial start from 2019 to 2020, offset in part, by a new unplanned target nomination. Included in that total, royalties are expected in the range of $67 million to $69 million, compared with prior guidance of $72 million to $74 million;
Operating expenses in the range of $255 million to $265 million, and operating expenses excluding cost of product sales of $215 million to $225 million, both of which are unchanged from prior guidance. These guidance ranges include anticipated one-time restructuring costs of $25 million to $27 million that will be booked in the fourth quarter of 2019. The restructuring costs were offset by expense savings related to the closing of the Company’s oncology operations;
Operating cash burn of $50 million to $60 million, compared with prior guidance of $40 million to $50 million;
Year-end cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities balance is unchanged at $220 million to $230 million.
Webcast and Conference Call
Halozyme will webcast its Quarterly Update Conference Call for the third quarter of 2019 today, Tuesday, November 12, 2019 at 4:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. PT. Dr. Torley will lead the call, which will be webcast live through the "Investors" section of Halozyme’s corporate website and a replay will be available following the close of the call. To access the webcast and additional documents related to the call, please visit halozyme.com approximately fifteen minutes prior to the call to register, download and install any necessary audio software. The call may also be accessed by dialing (877) 824-0907 (domestic callers) or (647) 689-5655 (international callers). A telephone replay will be available after the call by dialing (800) 585-8367 (domestic callers) or (416) 621-4642 (international callers) using replay ID number 6597916.

On November 12, 2019 Tocagen Inc. (Nasdaq: TOCA), a clinical-stage, cancer-selective gene therapy company, reported financial results and business highlights for the third quarter ended September 30, 2019 (Press release, Tocagen, NOV 12, 2019, View Source [SID1234550957]).

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

"Following the topline readout of our Phase 3 Toca 5 trial, we have been conducting a thorough evaluation of the trial data including analysis of the pre-planned subgroups and molecular data in preparation for our presentation at the upcoming Society for Neuro-Oncology Annual Meeting on November 22," said Marty Duvall, chief executive officer of Tocagen. "These data will inform our next steps with regulatory agencies to evaluate a potential path forward for Toca 511 & Toca FC in recurrent high grade glioma."

Third Quarter 2019 and Recent Highlights

Toca 5 final analysis: On September 12, Tocagen announced the pivotal Toca 5 Phase 3 clinical trial evaluating Toca 511 & Toca FC in patients with recurrent high grade glioma (HGG) missed the primary endpoint of overall survival compared to standard of care treatment and all secondary endpoints.

Toca 5 data to be presented in plenary session at SNO: The Phase 3 Toca 5 trial results will be presented on Friday, November 22, 2019 at 11:50 a.m. MT at the Society for Neuro-Oncology Annual Meeting (SNO) by Timothy Cloughesy, M.D., director of the University of California, Los Angeles, neuro-oncology program. Also, a poster will be presented by NRG Oncology outlining the trial design of the planned Phase 2/3 trial of Toca 511 & Toca FC in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma. Copies of the presentations will be available on Tocagen’s website following the presentations.

Reported updated Toca 6 data: In November, Tocagen presented updated data, including immune modulation data, from the Phase 1b trial of Toca 6 in advanced solid tumors at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) (Free SITC Whitepaper) Annual Meeting. The preliminary clinical data in 21 patients with a median 4 lines of prior chemotherapy suggested a signal of activity warranting further investigation. The poster can be found here.

Initiated corporate restructuring: On October 3, Tocagen announced a restructuring to extend its cash position and focus resources on the clinical development of Toca 511 & Toca FC.

Third Quarter 2019 Financial Results

License revenue: License revenue was less than $0.1 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2019, compared to $18.0 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2018. The 2018

revenue was related to upfront payments and milestones earned under our license agreement with Apollobio.

Research and Development (R&D) Expenses: R&D expenses were $13.3 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2019, compared to $12.3 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2018. The R&D expenses in both periods were primarily driven by costs to support the Toca 5 trial and manufacturing of drug product. The increase quarter over quarter is primarily due to increased manufacturing related costs offset by reductions in clinical development expenses due to our Toca 5 trial reaching final analysis.

General and Administrative (G&A) Expenses: G&A expenses were $3.8 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2019, compared to $4.3 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2018. The decrease in G&A expenses was primarily due to non-income tax expense of $1.0 million in 2018 offset by increased contracted services to support commercial readiness activities. Based on our clinical trial results, commercial readiness activities have paused.

Net Loss: Net loss was $18.7 million, or $0.78 per common share (basic and diluted), for the quarter ended September 30, 2019, compared to a net loss of $0.4 million, or $0.02 per common share (basic and diluted), for the quarter ended September 30, 2018. The 2019 calculation is based on 23.9 million average common shares outstanding for the third quarter of 2019, compared to 20.0 million average common shares outstanding for the third quarter of 2018.

2019 Nine-Month Results

License revenue: License revenue was less than $0.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019, compared to $18.0 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2018. The 2018 revenue was related to upfront payments and milestones earned under our license agreement with Apollobio.

R&D Expenses: R&D expenses were $37.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 compared to $35.5 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2018. The increase in R&D expenses for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 primarily reflect increased manufacturing related activities and personnel related costs offset by a reduction in clinical development expenses due to our Toca 5 trial reaching final analysis.

G&A Expenses: G&A expenses were $13.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 compared to $9.3 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2018, with the increase primarily driven by higher personnel and related costs, including stock-based compensation, due to additional headcount and increased contracted services to support commercial readiness activities. Based on our clinical trial results, commercial readiness activities have paused.

Net Loss: Net loss for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 was $52.9 million, or $2.25 per common share (basic and diluted), compared to a net loss of $29.4 million, or $1.47 per common share (basic and diluted), for the nine months ended September 30, 2018. This calculation is based on 23.5 million average common shares outstanding for the nine months ended September 30, 2019, compared to 19.9 million average shares outstanding for the same period in 2018.

Cash Position

Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities were $55.3 million at September 30, 2019 compared to $96.1 million at December 31, 2018. In October 2019, Tocagen made a prepayment of $23.3 million toward its loan agreement. This amount was used to prepay $21.5 million of the outstanding principal plus accrued interest and a pro-rated portion of the final payment. After the prepayment, the remaining principal balance is $5.0 million. Due to the corporate restructuring, Tocagen refined its annual cash burn guidance and estimates the total cash used in 2019 to fund operations and capital expenditures will be approximately $60 million (down from approximately $65 million implied in the guidance provided in February 2019).

About Toca 511 & Toca FC

Tocagen’s lead product candidate is a two-part cancer-selective immunotherapy comprising an investigational biologic, Toca 511 (vocimagene amiretrorepvec), and an investigational small molecule, Toca FC (flucytosine, extended-release). Toca 511 is a retroviral replicating vector (RRV) that selectively infects cancer cells and delivers a gene for the enzyme, cytosine deaminase (CD). Through this targeted delivery, infected cancer cells carry the CD gene and produce CD. Toca FC is an orally administered prodrug, 5-fluorocytosine (5-FC), which is converted into an anti-cancer drug, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), when it encounters CD. 5-FU kills cancer cells and immune-suppressive myeloid cells resulting in anti-cancer immune activation and subsequent tumor killing.

On November 12, 2019 LEO Pharma A/S and HitGen Inc. are reported that HitGen and LEO Pharma expands their collaboration with a license to develop a novel class of drugs for a dermatology indication (Press release, Leo, NOV 12, 2019, View Source [SID1234550956]).

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

The licensed compounds were identified using HitGen’s leading technology platform, which involved screening DNA encoded libraries (DEL), containing over 400 billion small molecules with drug-like properties, synthesized on a broad range of structurally diverse scaffolds. A number of novel small molecule leads for an undisclosed target nominated by LEO Pharma are subject of this license.

Under the terms of the collaboration agreement, HitGen will grant exclusive rights to LEO Pharma to develop and commercialize the licensed compounds. HitGen will be eligible for preclinical and clinical milestone payments from LEO Pharma as the project progresses, in addition to an option exercise fee.

Today’s announcement marks a significant milestone in the long lasting partnership between LEO Pharma and HitGen originally initiated in 2015.

"We are delighted to announce this license with LEO Pharma. The success of delivery of these licensed compounds has further demonstrated the power of our DEL platform to discover novel small molecules against a variety of targets, including those previously deemed challenging for small molecule modalities. In this case that target may be characterized as a "protein-protein interaction", a class that has proved "hard-to-drug" for small molecule discovery. The current achievement marks the continued progress and success of the discovery collaboration between the companies, spanning a range of discovery programs. We look forward to announcing future milestones as the programs progress." said Dr. Jin Li, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of HitGen.

To date HitGen has initiated screening efforts on multiple LEO Pharma discovery programs related to dermatology. These programs are at various stages of screening, selection, synthesis and validation.

"It is with great pleasure that we expand our collaboration with HitGen to further accelerate LEO Pharma’s ambition to discover promising lead compounds against challenging drug targets in dermatology. This license marks a successful discovery of a promising compound series targeting a novel "protein-protein interaction" and is yet another important milestone in our dedicated efforts to discover and develop oral first-in-class drugs. LEO Pharma is committed to making pioneering advances in dermatology research and to bringing new treatments to patients faster," said Dr. Thorsten Thormann, Vice President of Global Research at LEO Pharma.

On November 12, 2019 AIVITA Biomedical, Inc., a biotech company specializing in innovative stem cell applications, reported that data from its ongoing Phase 2 clinical trial in GBM was presented at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) (Free SITC Whitepaper) Annual Meeting by Principal Investigator Dr. Daniela Bota (Press release, AIVITA Biomedical, NOV 12, 2019, View Source [SID1234550953]). The oral presentation was titled "Phase II trial of therapeutic vaccine consisting of autologous dendritic cells loaded with autologous tumor cell antigens from self-renewing cancer cells in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma."

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

Dr. Bota presented interim results from the Phase 2 trial testing AIVITA’s patient-specific immunotherapy AV-GBM-1 in patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). At this time survival is 96% at six months and 91% at twelve months with three patients followed for more than a year. Furthermore, a vast majority of patients displayed an appropriate immune response and a decrease of tumor biomarkers.

AIVITA’s immunotherapy targets tumor-initiating cells. Treatment involves a series of subcutaneous injections. As of the end of October 2019, cell lines had been successfully established for 46/48 patients and dendritic cells produced for 41/42 patients; 38 of the planned 55 patients had been enrolled, 31 had started therapy, and 12 had completed all 8 doses and 184 doses had been injected. Blood tests on the first 16 patients showed induction of a new immune responses that were associated with a decrease in tumor markers.

AIVITA Chief Scientific Officer Gabriel I. Nistor, M.D. acknowledged that the immune response data is highly encouraging. "Once the trial is complete, we’re looking forward to determining the correlation between immune responses and clinical outcome as we previously did in patients with metastatic melanoma treated with a similar patient-specific vaccine," said Dr. Nistor.

"The results are very encouraging," said AIVITA Chief Medical Officer Robert O. Dillman, M.D. "The trial is still in progress and will continue to enroll patients for a few more months with follow up for at least another year. Final analysis likely will occur in early 2021."

CLINICAL TRIAL DETAIL

OVARIAN CANCER

AIVITA’s ovarian Phase 2 double-blind study is active and enrolling approximately 99 patients who are being randomized in a 2:1 ratio to receive either the autologous cancer stem cell-targeting immunotherapy or autologous monocytes as a comparator.

Patients eligible for randomization and treatment will be those (1) who have undergone debulking surgery, (2) for whom a cell line has been established, (3) who have undergone leukapheresis from which sufficient monocytes were obtained, (4) have an ECOG performance grade of 0 or 1 (Karnofsky score of 70-100%), and (5) who have completed primary therapy. The trial is not open to patients with recurrent ovarian cancer.

For additional information about AIVITA’s AVOVA-1 trial patients can visit: www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02033616

GLIOBLASTOMA

AIVITA’s glioblastoma Phase 2 single-arm study is active and is enrolling approximately 55 patients to receive the cancer stem cell-targeting immunotherapy.

Patients eligible for treatment will be those (1) who have recovered from surgery such that they are about to begin concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy (CT/RT), (2) for whom an autologous tumor cell line has been established, (3) have a Karnofsky Performance Status of > 70 and (4) have undergone successful leukapheresis from which peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were obtained that can be used to generate dendritic cells (DC). The trial is not open to patients with recurrent glioblastoma.

For additional information about AIVITA’s AV-GBM-1 trial please visit: www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03400917

MELANOMA

AIVITA’s melanoma Phase 1B open-label, single-arm study will establish the safety of administering anti-PD1 monoclonal antibodies in combination with AIVITA’s cancer stem cell-targeting immunotherapy in patients with measurable metastatic melanoma. The study will also track efficacy of the treatment for the estimated 14 to 20 patients. This trial is not yet open for enrollment.

Patients eligible for treatment will be those (1) for whom a cell line has been established, (2) who have undergone leukapheresis from which sufficient monocytes were obtained, (3) have an ECOG performance grade of 0 or 1 (Karnofsky score of 70-100%), (4) who have either never received treatment for metastatic melanoma or were previously treated with enzymatic inhibitors of the BRAF/MEK pathway because of BRAF600E/K mutations and (5) are about to initiate anti-PD1 monotherapy.

For additional information about AIVITA’s AV-MEL-1 trial please visit: www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03743298

On November 12, 2019 Agenus Inc. (NASDAQ: AGEN), an immuno-oncology (I-O) company with a pipeline of immune checkpoint antibodies, adoptive cell therapies1 and cancer vaccines, reported that it will host an R&D Day on November 15, 2019 (Press release, Agenus, NOV 12, 2019, View Source [SID1234550952]).

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

Date: Friday, November 15, 2019

Time: 11:00AM – 2:00PM

Live webcast: View Source

Location: New York, NY (by invitation only)

Agenus has delivered more I-O discoveries to the clinic in the last three years than any large pharma and is on track to file a BLA in 2020 for accelerated approval of its lead candidates Zalifrelimab (anti-CTLA-4) and Balstilimab (anti-PD-1) while also advancing AGEN1181, a potential best-in-class next generation anti-CTLA-4 antibody, and a pipeline of additional antibodies, cell therapies, and vaccines.

The event will be moderated by Dr. Garo Armen, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Dr. Jennifer Buell, Chief Operating Officer, and will include presentations by world experts in I-O, Dr. Steven O’Day, Executive Director of the John Wayne Cancer Institute, and Dr. Manuel Hidalgo, Chief of the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology at Weill Cornell Medicine and New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center.

The event will be webcast live and may be accessed by visiting the "Events & Presentations" page within the Investors section of the Agenus website www.agenusbio.com or by using the link below. A replay of the webcast will be available on the Agenus website following the event.