On September 15, 2021 Aptorum Group Limited (NASDAQ: APM, Euronext Paris: APM) ("Aptorum Group" or the "Company"), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to meeting unmet medical needs in oncology and infectious diseases, reported that financial results for the six months ended June 30, 2021 (Press release, Aptorum, SEP 15, 2021, View Source [SID1234587764]).

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"During the first half of 2021, we remained focused on advancing the development of our therapeutic programs. As announced in early 2021, our ALS-4 program (targeting infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus including MRSA) commenced a Phase 1 clinical study in Canada. We are pleased that 5 total cohorts, which represent the essential part of the single ascending dose ("SAD") portion of the trial, have been completed without any serious adverse events being observed. On the basis of ALS-4’s favourable safety profile, we are commencing the multiple ascending dose ("MAD") portion of the trial in Q3, 2021. Our other lead program SACT-1 (targeting neuroblastoma), has also received clearance from the US FDA to commence clinical trials in the United States. SACT-1 will be our second therapeutic program entering into the clinical phase. Our RPIDD program (liquid biopsy based approach to infectious disease rapid diagnostics) is also progressing well and we are very pleased to continue its clinical validation currently in collaboration with A*Star. Finally, we are excited to continue with our efforts of commercialising our NativusWell DOI product, a novel supplement targeting woman’s health including menopausal symptoms. We are also excited to continue to identify and progress on certain other potential novel therapeutic candidates, including our ongoing assessment of a number of novel immunomodulators developed by Yale University targeting major autoimmune diseases, as we announced earlier in the year," said Mr. Ian Huen, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of Aptorum Group Limited.

Clinical Pipeline Update and Upcoming Milestones

In September 2021, Aptorum Group received clearance from the US FDA to open an IND to conduct clinical trials on SACT-1, an orally administered small molecule repurposed drug for the treatment of neuroblastoma. The IND-opening study is a bioavailability/Food Effect study, followed by a Phase 1b/2a trial in neuroblastoma patients which is subject to further FDA approval.

In May 2021, Aptorum Group announced its ongoing Phase I clinical trial for one of its lead programs, ALS-4, an orally administered small molecule drug for the treatment of infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus including MRSA, under which two initial cohorts of the SAD portion of the trial in healthy male and female adult subjects have been completed with no serious adverse events observed. In July 2021, the Company further announced two additional cohorts (Cohort C & D) of the SAD portion have been completed with no serious adverse events observed. In total, up to 6 cohorts for SAD and 3 cohorts for MAD have been planned. The MAD study is commencing in Q3, 2021.

In May 2021, Aptorum Group entered into an agreement with Exeltis regarding Aptorum’s preclinical asset targeting women’s health and gynaecological conditions, including endometriosis, in the European Union and Latin America. Aptorum retained development rights in the rest of the world.

In April 2021, Aptorum Group entered into a material transfer and license option agreement with Yale University to evaluate a group of preclinical stage novel immunomodulators that could represent first-in-class therapeutics in treating autoimmune and oncology diseases, among other indications.

Corporate Highlights

In May 2021, Jurchen Investments Limited, purchased an aggregate of 1,387,925 of the Company’s Class A Ordinary Shares at $2.882 per share, representing 10% premium to the last closing price.

On March 26, 2021, Aptorum Group entered into a Sales Agreement with H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC, acting as the Company’s sales agent, pursuant to which the Company may offer and sell, from time to time, through the Sales Agent, Class A Ordinary Shares for an aggregate offering price of up to $15,000,000.

Financial Results for the Six Months Ended June 30, 2021

Aptorum Group reported a net loss of $17.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2021 compared to $7.0 million for the same period in 2020. The increase in net loss in the current period was driven by loss on investments in marketable securities, net of $7.6 million, and there was a gain on non-marketable investment of $1.6 million in the same period in 2020 while there was no such gain in current period.

Research and development expenses were $5.5 million for the six months ended June 30, 2021 compared to $4.3 million for the same period in 2020. The increase in research and development expenses was mainly due to the increase in services provided by contracted research organizations as a result of our projects’ development.

General and administrative fees were $2.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2021 compared to $2.1 million for the same period in 2020. The increase in general and administration fees was mainly due to a one-off reversal of over-provision in relations to bonus payables to our directors, employees, external consultants and advisors in the last period. It was partly offset by the decrease in travelling expenses due to the outspread of COVID-19 and the decrease in amortization and depreciation due to the disposal of fixed assets in the second half of 2020.

Legal and professional fees were $1.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2021 compared to $1.5 million for the same period in 2020. The decrease in legal and professional fees was mainly due to the decrease in consultancy services during current period.

As of June 30, 2021, cash and restricted cash totalled approximately $20.1 million and total equity was approximately $26.5 million.

Aptorum Group expects that its existing cash and restricted cash together with undrawn line of credit facility from related parties, will enable it to fund its operating and capital expenditure requirements for at least the next 12 months.

On September 15, 2021 GammaDelta Therapeutics Ltd. (GDT), a biotechnology company pioneering the discovery and development of allogeneic gamma delta T cell therapies for cancer, reported that it has initiated a first-in-human Phase I clinical trial evaluating GDX012 for the treatment of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) (Press release, GammaDelta Therapeutics, SEP 15, 2021, View Source [SID1234587763]). GDX012 is an allogeneic, non-engineered, variable delta 1 (Vδ1) gamma-delta (γδ) T cell therapy manufactured from healthy donor blood.

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AML is the most common form of acute leukaemia in adults with an estimated 20.000 new cases per year in the US. Despite progress in the development of targeted therapies over the recent years the prognosis for patients with AML remains poor, with an average overall 5‐year survival rate of approximately 30%1.

"The unique biological characteristics of non-engineered Vδ1 γδ T cells potentially open a new modality for innate cell therapy. Vδ1 γδ T cells provide a basis for ‘off-the-shelf use’ and the platforms developed by our team further support gene engineering of these cells to enable the foundations of our allogeneic cell therapy pipeline for haematological malignancies and solid tumours", said Dr. Paolo Paoletti, CEO of GDT.

GDT’s Phase I trial, conducted in the U.S., is an open-label, multi-centre study of GDX012 enrolling adults diagnosed with AML and presenting with measurable residual disease (MRD) after standard of care (SOC) treatment. The objectives of the trial are to evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, anti-leukaemic activity and maximum tolerated dose of GDX012

Dr. Michael Koslowski, Head of R&D and Chief Medical Officer of GDT added: "This is an important milestone in the development of our lead product candidate, GDX012, for patients with AML that present with MRD after SOC treatment. Supported by encouraging preclinical data we believe that GDX012 can provide an attractive treatment option for these AML patients that are at high risk of relapse. We are very excited to bring GDX012 into clinical development and we look forward to advancing our growing pipeline of allogeneic, ‘off-the-shelf’ Vδ1 γδ T cell products for solid and haematological tumours."

GDT is advancing its novel T cell platforms under an ongoing collaboration with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited formed in 2017. GDT’s technology platforms are based on pioneering world-class research funded in part by Cancer Research UK, conducted by Professor Adrian Hayday and Dr Oliver Nussbaumer, at King’s College London and the Francis Crick Institute and Professor Bruno Silva-Santos at the University of Lisbon. GDT was formed in 2016 by Abingworth with support from Cancer Research UK’s commercial partnership team.

Vδ1 γδ T cells are a unique subset of T cells that specifically recognise and are activated by molecular patterns of dysregulation on cancer cells. The non-MHC-restricted activity of Vδ1 γδ T cells makes them a unique cell type for the development of fully allogeneic, ‘off-the-shelf’ cell therapies.

GDT has developed proprietary technologies to generate both blood-and tissue-derived allogeneic immunotherapies based on Vδ1 γδ T cells for the treatment of haematological malignancies and solid tumours. Both platforms have enabled the creation of non-engineered and genetically engineered allogeneic cell therapies, which demonstrate cellular activity and tumour cell killing capacity in pre-clinical models.

On September 15, 2021 4D pharma plc (AIM: DDDD, NASDAQ: LBPS), a pharmaceutical company leading the development of Live Biotherapeutic products (LBPs), a novel class of drug derived from the microbiome, reported that new biomarker analyses from two ongoing clinical trials of its lead immuno-oncology single strain Live Biotherapeutic, MRx0518, in both neoadjuvant and refractory solid tumor settings, at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) (Free ESMO Whitepaper) Congress, September 16-21, 2021 (Press release, 4d Pharma, SEP 15, 2021, View Source [SID1234587762]).

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"At the core of 4D pharma’s platform is the importance of understanding the impact of Live Biotherapeutics on human biology to rationally select and develop candidates, predict and measure response. These new biomarker data provide us with critical guidance on the biological and mechanistic impact of MRx0518 therapy in patients with various solid tumors," said Dr. Alex Stevenson, Chief Scientific Officer, 4D pharma. "These new findings indicate the potential to predict patients most likely to respond to MRx0518 therapy based on tumor biology."

"Furthermore, the monotherapy data demonstrates that a short course of MRx0518 treatment is able to positively modulate prognostic indicators of immunotherapy response," he added. "We look forward to utilizing and implementing these important new findings as we work to progress this novel oncology Live Biotherapeutic through development towards approval."

Highlights of the two ESMO (Free ESMO Whitepaper) 2021 poster presentations:

Baseline biomarkers associated with clinical benefit in patients with solid tumors refractory to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) treated with live biotherapeutic MRx0518 in combination with pembrolizumab

Presentation Number: 1024P

Tumor biomarkers were assessed in patients with evaluable baseline samples (N = 12) in the ongoing Phase I/II study of MRx0518 in combination with anti-PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) Keytruda (pembrolizumab)
At baseline, patients who achieved complete response, partial response or stable disease for at least six months (collectively ‘responders’, N=4) from the combination of MRx0518 with Keytruda (pembrolizumab) had significantly greater densities of CD3+FOXP3+CD8- regulatory T cells (Tregs) and CD3+KI67+ proliferating T cells in tumors at baseline, compared to patients with progressive disease (PD, N=8), p=0.0381 and p=0.0048, respectively.
In addition, significantly lower densities of CD68+ macrophages at baseline were observed in the tumor microenvironment of responders compared to patients with progressive disease, p=0.0303.
These data indicate the potential for MRx0518 to overcome Treg-mediated acquired resistance to cancer treatment, and presents a biomarker potentially able to identify patients most likely to respond to immunotherapy based on MRx0518. Further tumor sample analysis is ongoing for additional patients recruited into the study.

Neoadjuvant MRx0518 treatment is associated with significant gene and metagene signature changes in solid tumours

Presentation Number: 543P

Gene expression profiling of paired tumor samples pre- and post-MRx0518 monotherapy across multiple solid tumor types (N=15) showed that treatment with MRx0518 for two to four weeks was associated with anti-tumor immune activity including antigen presentation, innate immune processes, and interferon response.
Analysis of paired tumor samples also identified significant increases in mast cells, Th1, CD8+ T cell, neutrophil, endothelial cell and inflammatory chemokine metagene signatures following MRx0518 monotherapy.
Effects were particularly pronounced in the cohort of breast cancer patients (N=7), with significant increases observed in total and activated dendritic cells, CD8+ T cells and cytotoxic cells in the tumor micro-environment.
Functional metagene analysis also identified positive changes in prognostic indicators and metagene signatures predictive of immunotherapy response in patients with breast cancer, including inflammatory chemokines, cytotoxicity, lymphoid scores, and the Tumor Inflammation Signature (TIS)1 – demonstrated to retrospectively predict clinical benefit of anti-PD-(L)1 ICI therapy efficacy in various cancer types.
The immune biomarker data from this study of MRx0518, as a monotherapy dosed over a short period of just two to four weeks, demonstrates the potent activity of this oral Live Biotherapeutic directly on the human immune system, and the positive implications for clinical outcomes. This study is being conducted in collaboration with Imperial College London.

Both ePosters will be available under the "Posters and Publications" section of the 4D pharma website at www.4dpharmaplc.com at 7:30 GMT on Thursday 16th September 2021.

1 Ayers M, et al. J Clin Invest. 2017;127:2930–40

About MRx0518

MRx0518 is single strain Live Biotherapeutic product in development for the treatment of cancer. It is delivered as an oral capsule and stimulates the body’s immune system, directing it to produce cytokines and immune cells that are known to attack tumours. It is currently being evaluated in three clinical trials in cancer patients. MRx0518-I-001 is a neoadjuvant monotherapy study in a variety of solid tumours and is being conducted at Imperial College (London, UK). MRx0518-I-002 is in combination with KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) in patients who have previously progressed on anti PD-1 therapies. The Coordinating Investigator of the study is at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, USA, with multiple additional sites in the US. The study is being conducted in collaboration with MSD, the tradename of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA. MRx0518-I-003 is in combination with preoperative radiotherapy in resectable pancreatic cancer. A fourth clinical trial, in collaboration with Merck KGaA and Pfizer Inc., of BAVENCIO (avelumab) in combination with MRx0518 as a first-line maintenance therapy for patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma that has not progressed with first-line platinum-containing chemotherapy, is expected to commence in Q4 2021.

On September 15, 2021 Exicure, Inc. (NASDAQ: XCUR), a pioneer in gene regulatory and immunotherapeutic drugs utilizing spherical nucleic acid (SNA) technology, reported participation in the following scientific conferences during the month of September (Press release, Exicure, SEP 15, 2021, View Source [SID1234587761]):

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TIDES USA 2021
Poster presentation: "Biodistribution of Spherical Nucleic Acids in the Rat CNS Following ICM and IT Delivery"
September 20 – 30, 2021

17th Annual Meeting of the Oligonucleotide Therapeutics Society
Poster presentation: "Development of Spherical Nucleic Acids Targeting FXN for the Treatment of Friedreich’s Ataxia"
September 26 – 29, 2021

Posters will go live at the start of the conference and will be available to conference attendees.

Exicure will add the posters to its website after each conference.

On September 15, 2021 Guardant Health, Inc. (Nasdaq: GH), along with leading academic institutions and pharmaceutical companies, reported that share data highlighting molecular targets of importance, treatment resistance patterns, and advantages of using the Guardant360 liquid biopsy test to help improve the management of advanced solid cancers at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) (Free ESMO Whitepaper) 2021 virtual congress on September 16-21 (Press release, Guardant Health, SEP 15, 2021, View Source [SID1234587760]).

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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

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"While precision oncology has made a meaningful difference in improving clinical outcomes for highly prevalent cancers, such as non-small cell lung, colorectal, and breast, there remains a subset of patients who don’t respond to currently available treatments," said Craig Eagle, MD, Guardant Health Chief Medical Officer. "It is gratifying to be able to work with the oncology community to analyze the molecular information generated from our liquid biopsy tests to continue to increase our understanding of possible new targets and more personalized treatments which can potentially improve overall survival of these hard-to-treat cancers in a more meaningful way."

Guardant INFORM Liquid Biopsy Dataset Shows No Clear Standard of Care and Unmet Need for Patients with HER2+ Metastatic Colorectal Cancer

Title

ePoster

Presenter

Characteristics and treatment patterns among patients with HER2-amplified advanced/metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC): A clinical-genomic database study

439P

John Strickler

Guardant360 Liquid Biopsy Reveals Molecular Insights Impacting Outcomes in Patients with Unresectable and Early-Onset (<50 years) Metastatic Colorectal Cancer

Title

ePoster

Presenter

Molecular features in liquid biopsy of early (EO) and late-onset colorectal cancer (LO)

500P

Julia Alcaide-Garcia

Mutational landscape in synchronous unresectable metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) according to upfront primary tumour resection (UPTR)

503P

Manuel Benavides

Guardant360 Liquid Biopsy Reveals Treatment Resistance Patterns and Therapeutic Targets for the Management of Advanced Cancers Including Non-Small Cell Lung and Pancreatic

Title

ePoster

Presenter

First-results of the CLIMB360 study, a prospective molecular screening program across multiple cancer types based on circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA)

92P

Javier Garcia-Corbacho

Pre-existing and acquired mechanisms of resistance to lorlatinib in previously treated patients (pts) with ALK+ advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)

1196P

Ben J. Solomon

Cell-free DNA dominant clone allele frequency associates with poor outcomes in advanced pancreatic cancer

1483P

Pedro Uson Junior