Humanigen Announces $80 Million Loan Facility from Hercules Capital

On March 10, 2021 Humanigen, Inc. (Nasdaq: HGEN) ("Humanigen"), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on preventing and treating an immune hyper-response called ‘cytokine storm’ with its lead drug candidate, lenzilumab, reported that it has obtained a term loan facility from Hercules Capital (NYSE: HTGC), a leader in customizing debt financing for companies in the life sciences market (Press release, Humanigen, MAR 10, 2021, View Source [SID1234576425]). Under the terms of the facility, Hercules will provide Humanigen up to $80 million of secured debt financing.

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"The term loan facility provides working capital to support the production of lenzilumab, strengthens our balance sheet and increases our financial flexibility as we prepare for the potential Emergency Use Authorization and commercial launch of lenzilumab in 2021," said Cameron Durrant, MD, MBA, Chief Executive Officer, Humanigen.

The facility consists of a $25 million initial term loan, with up to an additional $55.0 million available for future draws subject to achievement of future milestones and satisfaction of other conditions. The facility provides for an interest-only period and the four-year term is extendable under certain conditions. Loans under the facility are secured by the company’s assets.

"Hercules is excited to be partnering with Humanigen as it advances lenzilumab for COVID-19 and other indications. This structured financing represents a significant commitment from Hercules, which is consistent with our goal of supporting innovative life sciences companies," said Himani Bhalla, Principal at the Life Sciences group at Hercules. "This is an example of the breadth of our platform and our ability to finance life sciences companies through all stages of development."

Humanigen Reports Fourth Quarter and Year-End 2020 Financial Results and Provides Corporate Update

On March 10, 2021 Humanigen, Inc. (Nasdaq: HGEN) ("Humanigen"), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on preventing and treating an immune hyper-response called ‘cytokine storm’ with its lead drug candidate, lenzilumab, reported financial results for the year ending December 31, 2020 and announced objectives for 2021 (Press release, Humanigen, MAR 10, 2021, View Source [SID1234576424]).

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"We are proud of all the advances Humanigen made in 2020, not just as a company, but as a key player in the development of an effective treatment for hospitalized COVID-19 patients," said Cameron Durrant, MD, MBA, Chief Executive Officer, Humanigen. "We were able to take lenzilumab from the context of preventing and treating cytokine storm in other therapeutic categories and adapt it at unprecedented speed to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. We also succeeded in achieving our ambitious fundraising goals, culminating with our uplisting to Nasdaq, and expanded our leadership team with a number of critical hires. We look forward to reporting our progress on the ambitious goals we’ve set for 2021 and, if granted an EUA, provide a therapeutic option for hospitalized COVID-19 patients."

2020 Highlights Include:

Clinical Development – Lenzilumab for COVID-19

Lenzilumab’s clinical development program was augmented in 2020 with the filing of an Emergency IND and initiation of a Phase 3 study in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. The study fully enrolled 520 patients, with topline data anticipated to be released before the end of March 2021.
The results of the case-cohort study conducted by the Mayo Clinic were published in a peer-reviewed journal, showing that treatment with lenzilumab significantly reduced risk of mechanical ventilation or death and decreased length of hospital stay compared to patients treated with standard of care.
Lenzilumab was selected by NIH for inclusion in its fully funded and sponsored, 200-patient ACTIV-5/Big Effect Trial comparing lenzilumab and remdesivir to remdesivir alone.
In preparation for potential launch under EUA, Humanigen entered into several supply agreements with contract manufacturing organizations to supply bulk drug, fill/finish, and commercial packaging.
Clinical Development – CAR-T and Oncology

Lenzilumab was administered to the first patient in the ZUMA-19 study, a CAR-T clinical collaboration with Kite (a Gilead company).
A Phase 1 clinical trial of ifabotuzumab, Humanigen’s proprietary anti-EphA3 monoclonal antibody, in solid tumors completed enrollment.
Corporate

The company raised approximately $140 million in net proceeds in two equity financings, and its stock began trading on Nasdaq under the symbol "HGEN."
Humanigen executed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement ("CRADA") with the Department of Defense ("DoD") and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority ("BARDA") for developing lenzilumab as a potential treatment for patients with COVID-19 in support of Operation Warp Speed.
Humanigen licensed development and commercial rights of lenzilumab for South Korea and the Philippines to KPM Tech/Telcon.
The company augmented its intellectual property portfolio, securing its first patent for the use of lenzilumab in CAR-T cell therapy.
The company expanded the leadership team with experienced executives, including Dr. Dale Chappell, Chief Scientific Officer; Timothy Morris, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer; Edward Jordan, Chief Commercial Officer; and Bob Atwill, Head of Asia-Pacific Region.
2021 Objectives Include:

Submit an EUA for lenzilumab as a treatment for hospitalized and hypoxic patients with COVID-19 pending positive results from the Phase 3 clinical trial.
Begin distribution of lenzilumab under the EUA, if granted.
Submit, for conditional approval, a Marketing Authorization Application ("MAA") for lenzilumab in COVID-19 to the European Medicines Agency for use in Europe.
Submit, for conditional approval, a MAA for lenzilumab in COVID-19 to the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency for use in the United Kingdom.
Submit a Biologics License Application ("BLA") for lenzilumab in COVID-19 to FDA.
Report results on the ongoing Phase 1b/2 ZUMA-19 CAR-T clinical trials with Kite (a Gilead company) and the completed Phase 1 study with ifabotuzumab.
Initiate studies of lenzilumab in acute Graft versus Host Disease ("GvHD") and chronic myelomonocytic leukemia ("CMML").
Secure partnerships to distribute lenzilumab in other regions outside the United States.
Year Ended December 31, 2020 Financial Results

Net loss for the year ended December 31, 2020 was $89.5 million or $2.42 per share as compared to $10.3 million or $0.46 per share for the year ended December 31, 2019. The increase in net loss for the year was largely due to an increase in Research and Development ("R&D") expense of $70.1 million from $2.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2019 to $72.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2020.

The increase in R&D expense is primarily due to increased clinical trial and clinical material manufacturing costs related to the COVID-19 lenzilumab Phase 3 clinical trial. The company expects development costs to decrease in 2021 as a result of the completion of the COVID-19 Phase 3 clinical trial and related manufacturing costs, which will be classified as Cost of Goods Sold if an EUA is granted.

The increase in the net loss for the year ended December 31, 2020 was also due to an increase in Selling, General and Administrative ("SG&A") expenses of $9.5 million from $6.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2019 to $15.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase is primarily due to increased compensation costs, including stock-based compensation expense related to the hiring of functional heads in the third quarter of 2020, and an increase in commercial preparation activities as the company prepared for a potential launch of lenzilumab in 2021 under an EUA.

Three Months Ended December 31, 2020 Financial Results

Net loss for the three months ended December 31, 2020 was $32.3 million or $0.63 per share as compared to $2.0 million or $0.09 per share for the three months ended December 31, 2019. The increase in net loss for the period was largely due to an increase in R&D expense of $28.0 million from $0.5 million for the three months ended December 31, 2019 to $28.5 million for the three months ended December 31, 2020.

The increase in R&D expense is primarily due to increased clinical trial and clinical material manufacturing costs related to the COVID-19 Phase 3 clinical trial.

The increase in the net loss for the three months ended December 31, 2020 was also due to an increase in SG&A expenses of $2.9 million from $1.2 million for the three months ended December 31, 2019 to $4.1 million for the three months ended December 31, 2020. The increase in SG&A expense is primarily due to the items noted above for the year ended December 31, 2020.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Net cash used in operating activities, net of balance sheet changes, was $69.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. During 2020, the company raised $139.8 million in net proceeds from its private placement in June and its underwritten public offering in September 2020. As of December 31, 2020, the company had cash and cash equivalents of $67.7 million.

AVEO Oncology Announces U.S. FDA Approval of FOTIVDA® (tivozanib) for the Treatment of Adult Patients with Relapsed or Refractory Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma

On March 10, 2021 AVEO Oncology (Nasdaq: AVEO) reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved FOTIVDA (tivozanib) for the treatment of adults with relapsed or refractory advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) who have received two or more prior systemic therapies (Press release, AVEO, MAR 10, 2021, View Source [SID1234576423]). FOTIVDA is an oral, next-generation vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI).

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"Today’s approval of FOTIVDA provides a new tool for treating patients with kidney cancer who have relapsed or become refractory to two or more prior systemic therapies," said Brian Rini, MD, Chief of Clinical Trials at Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center and principal investigator of the TIVO-3 trial. "With advances in RCC treatment, patients are living longer, increasing the need for proven, well tolerated treatment options in the relapsed or refractory setting. The TIVO-3 study is the first positive Phase 3 study in RCC patients who received two or more prior systemic therapies, and also the first Phase 3 RCC study to include a predefined population of patients who have received prior immunotherapy, the current standard of care in earlier-line treatment. With this approval, I believe FOTIVDA represents an attractive intervention, and expect it to play a meaningful role in the evolving RCC treatment landscape."

"We believe in FOTIVDA’s potential to provide a differentiated treatment option for the growing number of individuals in the U.S. with relapsed or refractory RCC, and today marks the culmination of many years of hard work and determination of many individuals to bring this therapy to patients," said Michael Bailey, president and chief executive officer of AVEO. "With today’s approval, AVEO begins its journey as a commercial-stage company, a noteworthy accomplishment in our industry. On behalf of the entire AVEO team, I would like to thank all the patients, their families, and caregivers whose tireless efforts made this day possible."

"Relapsed or refractory RCC is a devastating disease for which patient outcomes can be limited due to the tradeoff between tolerability and efficacy," said Dena Battle, president of KCCure. "The FDA approval of FOTIVDA represents an exciting, meaningful advancement by providing a new treatment option for this patient population."

AVEO plans to make FOTIVDA available to patients in the U.S. by March 31, 2021.

The approval of FOTIVDA is based on AVEO’s pivotal Phase 3 study, TIVO-3, comparing FOTIVDA to sorafenib in relapsed or refractory advanced RCC following two or more prior systemic therapies. The application is also supported by three additional trials in RCC and includes safety data from over 1,000 clinical trial subjects.

Patients (n=350) enrolled in the TIVO-3 study were randomized 1:1 to receive either FOTIVDA or sorafenib. The main efficacy outcome measure was progression-free survival (PFS), assessed by a blinded independent radiology review committee. Other efficacy endpoints were overall survival (OS) and objective response rate (ORR).

Median PFS was 5.6 months (95% CI: 4.8, 7.3) in the FOTIVDA arm (n=175) compared with 3.9 months (95% CI: 3.7, 5.6) for those treated with sorafenib (HR 0.73; 95% CI: 0.56, 0.95; p=0.016). Median OS was 16.4 (95% CI: 13.4, 21.9) and 19.2 months (95% CI: 14.9, 24.2), for the FOTIVDA and sorafenib arms, respectively (HR 0.97; 95% CI: 0.75, 1.24). The ORR was 18% (95% CI: 12%, 24%) for the FOTIVDA arm and 8% (95% CI: 4%, 13%) for the sorafenib arm.

The most common (≥20%) adverse reactions were fatigue, hypertension, diarrhea, decreased appetite, nausea, dysphonia, hypothyroidism, cough, and stomatitis. The most common grade 3 or 4 laboratory abnormalities (≥5%) were decreased sodium, increased lipase, and decreased phosphate.

The recommended tivozanib dose is 1.34 mg once daily with or without food for 21 days every 28 days on treatment followed by 7 days off treatment (28 day cycle) until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

Conference Call and Webcast Information

In connection with this announcement, AVEO will host a conference call and slide webcast today, March 10, 2021, at 6:00 PM Eastern Time. The call can be accessed by dialing (844) 882-7841 (U.S. and Canada) or (574) 990-9828 (international). The passcode for the conference call is 4648498. To access the live webcast and accompanying slide presentation, or the subsequent archived recording, please visit the Investors section of the AVEO website at www.aveooncology.com. The webcast will be recorded and available for replay on AVEO’s website for two weeks.

About FOTIVDA (tivozanib)

FOTIVDA (tivozanib) is an oral, next-generation vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI). It is a potent, selective inhibitor of VEGFRs 1, 2, and 3 with a long half-life designed to improve efficacy and tolerability. AVEO received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for FOTIVDA on March 10, 2021 for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) following two or more prior systemic therapies. FOTIVDA was approved in August 2017 in the European Union and other countries in the territory of its partner EUSA Pharma (UK) Limited for the treatment of adult patients with advanced RCC. FOTIVDA has been shown to significantly reduce regulatory T-cell production in preclinical models1. FOTIVDA was discovered by Kyowa Kirin.

INDICATIONS

FOTIVDA is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) following two or more prior systemic therapies.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS

Hypertension and Hypertensive Crisis: Control blood pressure prior to initiating FOTIVDA. Monitor for hypertension and treat as needed. For persistent hypertension despite use of anti-hypertensive medications, reduce the FOTIVDA dose.

Cardiac Failure: Monitor for signs or symptoms of cardiac failure throughout treatment with FOTIVDA.

Cardiac Ischemia and Arterial Thromboembolic Events: Closely monitor patients who are at increased risk for these events. Permanently discontinue FOTIVDA for severe arterial thromboembolic events, such as myocardial infarction and stroke.

Venous Thromboembolic Events: Closely monitor patients who are at increased risk for these events. Permanently discontinue FOTIVDA for severe venous thromboembolic events.

Hemorrhagic Events: Closely monitor patients who are at risk for or who have a history of bleeding.

Proteinuria: Monitor throughout treatment with FOTIVDA. For moderate to severe proteinuria, reduce the dose or temporarily interrupt treatment with FOTIVDA.

Thyroid Dysfunction: Monitor before initiation and throughout treatment with FOTIVDA.

Risk of Impaired Wound Healing: Withhold FOTIVDA for at least 24 days before elective surgery. Do not administer for at least 2 weeks following major surgery and adequate wound healing. The safety of resumption of FOTIVDA after resolution of wound healing complications has not been established.

Reversible Posterior Leukoencephalopathy Syndrome (RPLS): Discontinue FOTIVDA if signs or symptoms of RPLS occur.

Embryo-Fetal Toxicity: Can cause fetal harm. Advise patients of the potential risk to a fetus and to use effective contraception.

Allergic Reactions to Tartrazine: The 0.89 mg capsule of FOTIVDA contains FD&C Yellow No.5 (tartrazine) which may cause allergic-type reactions (including bronchial asthma) in certain susceptible patients.

ADVERSE REACTIONS

The most common (≥20%) adverse reactions were fatigue, hypertension, diarrhea, decreased appetite, nausea, dysphonia, hypothyroidism, cough, and stomatitis, and the most common Grade 3 or 4 laboratory abnormalities (≥5%) were sodium decreased, lipase increased, and phosphate decreased.

DRUG INTERACTIONS

Strong CYP3A4 Inducers: Avoid coadministration of FOTIVDA with strong CYP3A4 inducers.

USE IN SPECIFIC POPULATIONS

Lactation: Advise not to breastfeed.
Females and Males of Reproductive Potential: Can impair fertility.
Hepatic Impairment: Adjust dosage in patients with moderate hepatic impairment. Avoid use in patients with severe hepatic impairment.

To report SUSPECTED ADVERSE REACTIONS, contact AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc. at 1-833-FOTIVDA (1-833-368-4832) or FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch.

Please see FOTIVDA Full Prescribing Information which is available at www.AVEOoncology.com.

About Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma

According to the American Cancer Society’s 2021 statistics, renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the most common type of kidney cancer, which is among the ten most common cancers in both men and women. Approximately 73,750 new cases of kidney cancer will be diagnosed annually and about 14,830 people will die from this disease. In patients with late-stage disease, the five-year survival rate is 13%. Agents that target the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) pathway have shown significant antitumor activity in RCC.2 According to a 2019 publication, 50% of the approximately 10,000 patients who progress following two or more lines of therapy choose not to receive further treatment,3 which may be attributable to tolerability concerns and a lack of data to support evidence-based treatment decisions in this highly relapsed or refractory patient population.

ImmunityBio Begins Trading Today on Nasdaq as Large Cap Biotechnology Company

On March 10, 2021 ImmunityBio, Inc. (NASDAQ: IBRX) reported it has begun trading as a large cap company with approximately 398 million fully diluted shares outstanding following its merger with NantKwest (Press release, ImmunityBio, MAR 10, 2021, View Source [SID1234576422]). The combined company begins trading today on the Global Select Market of the Nasdaq exchange under the IBRX ticker.

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ImmunityBio is a leading late-clinical-stage immunotherapy company developing next-generation therapies that drive immunogenic mechanisms for defeating cancers and infectious diseases. The company’s immunotherapy platform activates both the innate (natural killer cell and macrophage) and adaptive (T cell) immune systems to create long-term "immunological memory."

The company’s broad-based platforms are based on the foundation of four separate modalities: Antibody cytokine fusion proteins, synthetic immunomodulators, second-generation human adenovirus (hAd5) and yeast vaccine technologies, and state-of-the-art, off-the-shelf natural killer cells, including autologous and allogenic cytokine-enhanced memory NK cells.

ImmunityBio has a broad immunotherapy clinical pipeline of over 40 clinical trials in Phase I, II and III development across 19 indications in solid and liquid cancers and infectious diseases. The clinical-stage pipeline and intellectual property portfolio spans 17 first-in-human antibody cytokine fusion proteins, chemo immuno-modulators, vaccine vectors, and cell therapies in 25 Phase II and III clinical trials. Anktiva (ImmunityBio’s lead cytokine infusion protein) is a novel interleukin-15 (IL-15) superagonist complex and has received Breakthrough Therapy and Fast Track Designations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for BCG-unresponsive CIS non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC).

Expanded Partnership with Medidata Supports Karyopharm’s Mission to Develop First-in-Class Therapeutics

On March 10, 2021 Medidata, a Dassault Systèmes company and the global leader in creating end-to-end solutions to support the entire clinical development process, reported its expanded partnership with Karyopharm Therapeutics (NASDAQ: KPTI) (Press release, Karyopharm, MAR 10, 2021, View Source [SID1234576421]). In 2014, Karyopharm selected one Medidata technology solution for a single study. Today, the company is leveraging 10 solutions in Medidata Rave Clinical Cloud in more than 15 clinical studies focused on hematologic malignancies and solid tumors.

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"Medidata is pleased to play a key role in supporting Karyopharm’s mission of bringing novel therapies to market, providing hope for patients," said Glen de Vries, co-founder and co-CEO, Medidata. "This agreement is a clear demonstration of our shared mission to advance analytics and technology to make a difference in health care."

With Medidata solutions, Karyopharm is able to:

Centralize operations, eliminate manual data entry, and operate with a clear view of all cross-application data in one place
Simplify and customize reporting within or across studies and leverage over 30 standard reports
Reduce complexity by standardizing and improving data quality with powerful artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms that automatically manage the complexity of clinical data
"Medidata continues to be an important strategic partner for Karyopharm by providing a cutting-edge technological infrastructure that helps us reach our clinical trial goals," said Kristan Gallitano, senior vice president, Development Operations at Karyopharm. "Medidata provides us the flexible, scalable technology and support we need to meet the evolving challenges of drug development."

Medidata is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dassault Systèmes, which with its 3DEXPERIENCE platform is positioned to lead the digital transformation of life sciences in the age of personalized medicine with the first end-to-end scientific and business platform, from research to commercialization.