On November 10, 2021 BioXcel Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: BTAI), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company utilizing artificial intelligence approaches to develop transformative medicines in neuroscience and immuno-oncology, reported its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2021 and provided an update on key strategic initiatives (Press release, BioXcel, NOV 10, 2021, View Source [SID1234595220]).

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 made tremendous progress advancing our neuroscience and immuno-oncology franchises," said Vimal Mehta, Ph.D., CEO of BioXcel Therapeutics. "With our PDUFA date for BXCL501 less than two months away, we are excited that our commercial and launch readiness planning is progressing well. We are equally excited about initiating our Phase 3 program for BXCL501 for acute treatment of agitation associated with dementia in Alzheimer’s patients, the most prevalent type of dementia in the United States, which has a high unmet medical need and we believe would mark the first orally available FDA-approved therapy. Furthermore, adding major depressive disorder as a potential indication for BXCL501 and introducing BXCL502 as a candidate for chronic treatment of agitation in dementia strengthens our pipeline and expands our market opportunity."

Dr. Mehta added, "Our immuno-oncology program is also advancing, with positive interim results from our Phase 2 trial of BXCL701 in heavily pre-treated metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) demonstrating encouraging efficacy and a favorable safety profile. We believe BXCL701 shows considerable potential as an investigational, orally administered, systemic innate immune activator."

Company Highlights

Neuroscience Franchise

BXCL501 is an investigational, proprietary, orally dissolving, thin film formulation of the adrenergic receptor agonist dexmedetomidine for the treatment of agitation associated with neuropsychiatric disorders. BXCL501 has received FDA Breakthrough Therapy designation for the acute treatment of agitation associated with dementia and FDA Fast Track designation for the acute treatment of agitation associated with schizophrenia, bipolar disorders I and Il, and dementia.

·BXCL501 for Acute Treatment of Agitation Associated with Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorders I and II: On track with FDA review of BXCL501 NDA for acute treatment of agitation associated with schizophrenia and bipolar disorders I and II; Marketing Authorization Application to European Medicines Agency of BXCL501 expected to be submitted in 1H 2022.

·BXCL501 for Acute Treatment of Agitation in Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease: Following multiple meetings with FDA and alignment on key design features, on track to initiate Phase 3 program in Q4 2021. Alzheimer’s disease is the most prevalent type of dementia in the U.S. and is expected to double from 5.8 million patients in 2020 to 11.8 million patients by 2040.1 The Company remains interested in exploring BXCL501 for other dementia subtypes as part of future development.

·BXCL501 for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD): Held pre-Investigational New Drug (IND) meeting with FDA for use of BXCL501 as an adjunctive treatment for MDD, with Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake Inhibitors (SNRIs), and to align on key design features; preparing to submit IND and expect to initiate a clinical trial in 1H 2022.

·BXCL502 for Chronic Treatment of Agitation in Patients with Dementia: Formulation and clinical development planning underway for BXCL502 as a potential monotherapy and in combination with BXCL501 for chronic treatment of agitation in patients with dementia; designed to be a potent and selective antagonist for a GPCR target affecting serotonergic signaling in the cerebral cortex.

AI-driven Drug Discovery & Development

·Hosted a Virtual R&D Day in September highlighting the Company’s innovative approaches to leveraging its proprietary artificial intelligence platform to expand current neuroscience portfolio, including identification of the Company’s newest product candidate, BXCL502, and to broaden the addressable market for lead program, BXCL501, in MDD.

1. Alzheimer’s Association.

Immuno-Oncology Franchise

BXCL701 is an investigational, orally administered, systemic innate immune activator in development for the treatment of aggressive forms of prostate cancer and advanced solid tumors that are refractory or treatment naïve to checkpoint inhibitors.

·Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer (mCRPC) Program: Presented positive interim data from Phase 1b/2 trial of BXCL701 in combination with KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) for heavily pre-treated mCRPC patients with adenocarcinoma at the 2021 European Society for Medical Oncology Congress in September. Following this data, announced expansion of ongoing Phase 1b/2 trial of BXCL701 in mCRPC patients with either de novo or treatment-emergent small-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (SCNC).

·Solid Tumors Program (Checkpoint Naïve and Refractory): Expect to present additional efficacy data from MD Anderson-led open-label Phase 2 basket trial of BXCL701 and KEYTRUDA in 1H 2022.

·Peer-Reviewed Journal Findings Published on BXCL701 Mechanism of Action: Journal of Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) (Free SITC Whitepaper) reported data findings, on November 4, 2021, suggesting BXCL701 may enhance immunotherapy efficacy in ‘cold’ tumor types such as pancreatic cancer. These findings also highlight the potential importance of natural killer (NK) cells along with T cells in regulating pancreatic cancer tumor growth.

Commercial and Launch Readiness Progress

·Expanded Sales Leadership: onboarded a Vice President of Sales and Regional Sales Directors; continuing to recruit sales force across key territories.

·Optimizing Market Access and Pricing Strategy for BXCL501: through evidence-based market research.

·Fully Launched Unbranded Disease Education Campaign (Including partnersincalm website): to promote awareness of acute agitation in schizophrenia and bipolar disorders.

Medical Affairs Progress

·Medical Science Liaison and Medical Managed Care Teams Fully Deployed: actively engaged with healthcare professionals and payers to provide key insights and support potential BXCL501 commercial launch, including participation and presentations at:

oNeuroscience Education Institute Congress in November

oPsych Congress, American College of Emergency Physicians conference and Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy conference in October

oEmergency Nurses Association Annual Meeting in September

Third Quarter 2021 Financial Results

Research and Development Expenses: Research and development expenses were $11.9 million during the third quarter of 2021, as compared to $16.3 million for the same period in 2020. The decreased expenses were primarily attributable to a reduction in BXCL501 clinical trial costs offset in part by increased BXCL701 trial costs. In addition, the Company experienced greater professional and consulting fees primarily related to BXCL501 development.

General and Administrative Expenses: General and administrative expenses were $14.9 million for the third quarter of 2021, as compared to $8.5 million for the same period in 2020. The increase was primarily due to higher stock-based compensation and personnel costs due to continued expansion of teams, increased marketing and commercial costs related to the potential launch of BXCL501 in the U.S., as well as increased legal and professional fees, and insurance costs.

Net Loss: BioXcel Therapeutics reported a net loss of $26.8 million for the third quarter of 2021, compared to a net loss of $24.8 million for the same period in 2020.

As of September 30, 2021, cash and cash equivalents totaled approximately $252.9 million.

Conference Call

BioXcel Therapeutics will host a conference call and webcast today at 8:30 a.m. EDT to discuss its third quarter 2021 financial results and provide an update on recent operational highlights. To access the call, please dial 877-407-5795 (domestic) and 201-689-8722 (international). A live webcast of the call will be available on the Investors section of the BioXcel website, www.bioxceltherapeutics.com, and a replay of the call will be available through at least December 11, 2021.

BioXcel Therapeutics may use its website as a distribution channel of material information about the Company. Financial and other important information regarding the Company is routinely posted on and accessible through the Investors sections of its website at www.bioxceltherapeutics.com. In addition, you may automatically receive email alerts and other information about the Company when you enroll your email address by visiting the "Email Alerts" option under the News/Events menu of the Investors & Media section of its website.

On November 10, 2021 PDS Biotechnology Corporation (Nasdaq: PDSB), a clinical-stage immunotherapy company developing novel cancer therapies and infectious disease vaccines based on the Company’s proprietary Versamune T-cell activating technology, reported that it will discuss its financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2021 and provide a business update on its conference call today (Press release, PDS Biotechnology, NOV 10, 2021, View Source [SID1234595219]).

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!

Recent Business Highlights:

Achieved several milestones in the VERSATILE-002 Phase 2 Combination Trial of PDS0101-KEYTRUDA for recurrent and/or metastatic human papillomavirus (HPV)16-associated head and neck cancer. These milestones include:
Achievement of the preliminary safety benchmark for the first 12 patients
Completion of enrollment for the first stage of the checkpoint inhibitor naïve arm (1st line treatment of recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer).
Initiated enrollment of the second arm of the study addressing checkpoint inhibitor refractory patients (2nd line treatment of recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer)
Completed a licensing agreement with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) for intellectual property related to the NCI’s proprietary T-cell receptor gamma alternate reading frame protein (TARP) tumor antigen for use in PDS0102.
PDS0102 is being developed to treat prostate cancer, breast cancer and acute myeloid leukemia or AML.
PDS0102 has demonstrated powerful induction of TARP-specific killer T-cells in preclinical studies.
Entered agreement to license COBRA (Computationally Optimized Broadly Reactive Antigen) antigens from the University of Georgia for use in the development of PDS0202, a novel Versamune-based universal flu vaccine.
Announced temporary administrative suspension of enrollment into the NCI-led study of the PDS0101 triple combination. PDS Biotech continues to be in contact with the NCI. Treatment of already enrolled patients has continued without interruption.
Announced the hiring of Matthew Hill as Chief Financial Officer, who has more than 25 years of experience in finance and operational leadership roles for life sciences companies.
"PDS Biotech has continued to build on its momentum from the interim data of the last quarter in 2nd and 3rd line treatment of HPV16-positive anal, cervical, head and neck, vaginal and vulvar cancers," commented Dr. Frank Bedu-Addo, President and Chief Executive Officer of PDS Biotech. "We have achieved numerous clinical milestones, and formalized agreements with development partners to continue to progress both our Versamune-based oncology pipeline and our Versamune-based infectious diseases pipeline. We also welcomed Matthew Hill as our new Chief Financial Officer. Matt has decades of experience as a financial leader in publicly traded life sciences companies and will be a key player in our next phase of growth. The groundwork has been laid for the execution of multiple pipeline development milestones in 2022 and into 2023."

Third Quarter 2021 Financial Results

PDS Biotech reported a net loss of approximately $7.0 million, or $(0.24) per basic and diluted share, for the three months ended September 30, 2021, compared to a net loss of approximately $3.9 million, or $(0.21) per basic and diluted share, for the three months ended September 30, 2020.

Research and development expenses increased to approximately $3.7 million for the three months ended September 30, 2021 from approximately $2.1 million for the three months ended September 30, 2020. The increase of $1.6 million was primarily attributable to an increase of $0.7 million in personnel costs of which $0.5 million was stock compensation costs, and $0.9 million in costs related to clinical studies.

General and administrative expenses increased to approximately $3.2 million for the three months ended September 30, 2021 from approximately $1.8 million for the three months ended September 30, 2020. The increase of $1.4 million is primarily attributable to an increase in personnel costs of $1.6 million, of which $1.0 million was stock compensation costs and $0.4 million was severance, partially offset by a decrease in professional fees of $0.2 million.

PDS Biotech’s cash and cash equivalents as of September 30, 2021, were approximately $69.7 million.

Conference Call and Webcast

The conference call is scheduled to begin at 8:00 am ET on Wednesday, November 10, 2021. Participants should dial 877-407-3088 (United States) or 201-389-0927 (International) and mention PDS Biotechnology. A live webcast of the conference call will also be available on the investor relations page of the Company’s corporate website at www.pdsbiotech.com.

After the live webcast, the event will be archived on PDS Biotech’s website for 6 months. In addition, a telephonic replay of the call will be available for 6 months. The replay can be accessed by dialing 877-660-6853 (United States) or 201-612-7415 (International) with confirmation code 13722558.

On November 10, 2021 TCR2 Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: TCRR), a clinical-stage cell therapy company with a pipeline of novel T cell therapies for cancer patients suffering from solid tumors, reported financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2021 and provided a corporate update (Press release, TCR2 Therapeutics, NOV 10, 2021, View Source [SID1234595218]).

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!

"Over the last few months, we continue to treat cancer patients in our ongoing gavo-cel Phase 1 clinical trial and have observed meaningful clinical benefit in three different treatment-refractory solid tumor indications," said Garry Menzel, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of TCR2 Therapeutics. "As we prepare for the phase 2 trial to be launched in early 2022, we are expanding our US manufacturing footprint and successfully negotiated a clinical trial collaboration agreement with Bristol Myers Squibb, where we will have the opportunity to evaluate the efficacy and duration of gavo-cel in combination with Opdivo and Yervoy. We anticipate selecting the RP2D before year end and look forward to providing an update on gavo-cel in 1Q22 following review by the US Food and Drug Administration."

Recent Developments

Gavo-cel:

TCR2 announced positive interim data from the first 17 patients treated in the Phase 1 portion of the gavo-cel Phase 1/2 clinical trial for mesothelin-expressing solid tumors. 15 of the 16 patients evaluable for efficacy experienced regression of their target lesions including 6 patients that achieved a partial response (PR) by target lesion assessment, 4 of whom met criteria for a PR according to RECIST 1.1 criteria. The maximum tolerated dose (MTD) was declared 5×108/m2after lymphodepletion.
Following identification of the MTD, TCR2 announced the completion of the 3-patient cohort at the new dose level 3.5A (3×108/m2 following lymphodepletion) using a split dosing approach. Two patients were evaluable for safety. In both cases, gavo-cel was well-tolerated with no patients experiencing Grade ≥3 cytokine release syndrome (CRS).
TCR2 announced a clinical trial collaboration agreement with Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) to evaluate gavo-cel in combination with Opdivo (nivolumab) and Yervoy (ipilimumab) in its planned Phase 2 clinical trial in treatment refractory mesothelin-expressing solid tumors.
Corporate:

TCR2 announced at its virtual R&D Day on October 20, 2021, its pipeline prioritization of solid tumors and highlighted programs from its emerging TRuC pipeline including TC-510, its first TRuC-T cell enhanced with a PD1xCD28 switch receptor; TC-520, its lead candidate targeting CD70 expressing an IL-15 enhancement; allogeneic TRuC-T cells; and TRuC Tregs, the first utilization of the TRuC platform in the autoimmune setting.
TCR2 announced the expansion of its manufacturing capacity by exercising an option on a second clean room at ElevateBio BaseCamp which adds to the buildout of clinical and commercial supply currently underway at its Rockville, MD facility. In connection with this expansion, TCR2 proposes to cease manufacturing activities at the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult (CGT Catapult) in Stevenage, UK.
Anticipated Milestones

TCR2 anticipates the identification of the recommended Phase 2 dose (RP2D) in 4Q21.
TCR2 plans to file an IND for TC-510, the first enhanced TRuC-T cell (targeting mesothelin with a PD1xCD28 switch), in the first quarter of 2022.
TCR2 anticipates initiation of IND-enabling studies for TC-520, an enhanced CD70 targeting TRuC-T cell program in 2022.
TCR2 plans to select a lead candidate for its allogeneic program in 2022.
TCR2 anticipates production of clinical trial material from ElevateBio BaseCamp in anticipation of demand from the Phase 2 expansion trial of gavo-cel in 2022.
Financial Highlights

Cash Position: TCR2 ended the third quarter of 2021 with $295.7 million in cash, cash equivalents, and investments compared to $228.0 million as of December 31, 2020. Net cash used in operations was $19.4 million for the third quarter of 2021 compared to $10.8 million for the third quarter of 2020. TCR2 projects net cash use of $100-105 million for 2021, the lower end of the range previously provided. We expect cash on hand to support operations through 2023.

R&D Expenses: Research and development expenses were $20.3 million for the third quarter of 2021 compared to $12.8 million for the third quarter of 2020. The increase in R&D expenses was primarily due to an increase in headcount, additional lab facilities, and manufacturing facilities.

G&A Expenses: General and administrative expenses were $6.0 million for the third quarter of 2021 compared to $4.4 million for the third quarter of 2020. The increase in general and administrative expenses was primarily due to an increase in personnel costs.

Net Loss: Net loss was $26.2 million for the third quarter of 2021 compared to $16.9 million for the third quarter of 2020.
Upcoming Events

TCR2 Therapeutics management is scheduled to participate at the following upcoming conferences.

Jefferies London Healthcare Conference: Garry Menzel, President and Chief Executive Officer of TCR2 Therapeutics, will present an update on Company progress on Tuesday, November 16, 2021 at 12:20pm GMT (7:20am ET)
Piper Sandler 33rd Annual Virtual Healthcare Conference: management will participate in a fireside chat using a virtual platform on Monday, November 22, 2021 at 10:00am ET

On November 10, 2021 TScan Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: TCRX), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of T-cell receptor (TCR) engineered T cell (TCR-T) therapies for the treatment of patients with cancer, reported financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2021, highlighted recent program progress, and outlined key upcoming expected milestones (Press release, TScan Therapeutics, NOV 10, 2021, View Source [SID1234595217]).

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!

"Throughout the third quarter of 2021, we’ve continued to execute on our long-term goals of advancing transformational TCR-T therapy candidates and expect to file IND applications for our lead liquid tumor candidates TSC-100 and TSC-101 by the end of the year," said David Southwell, President and Chief Executive Officer. "We look forward to sharing additional details on our liquid tumor program at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) Annual Meeting and Exposition. We also made significant progress across our solid tumor pipeline, particularly the advancement of TSC-200 into IND-enabling studies and the launch of a new TCR program based on the discovery of a novel epitope on the validated solid tumor target MAGE-A1."

Third Quarter 2021 and Recent Business Highlights

TScan recently announced that two abstracts related to lead liquid tumor TCR-T therapy candidates TSC-100 and TSC-101 have been accepted for poster presentations at the upcoming American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) Annual Meeting and Exposition being held from December 11-14, 2021.

During the third quarter, TScan advanced a lead TCR-T therapy candidate for its TSC-200 program for HPV16 into investigational new drug (IND)-enabling activities and plans to submit an IND for this program in the second half of 2022. HPV is a well validated cancer target found in HPV-positive tumors, including many cases of head & neck and cervical cancers. Using its proprietary ReceptorScan and TargetScan platforms, TScan screened over half a billion T cells from a variety of human donors to identify a naturally occurring, ultra-high affinity TCR that recognizes an HLA-A*02:01-restricted epitope derived from the E7 protein of HPV16. Previously, clinical data from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) demonstrated a favorable safety and efficacy profile for an HPV TCR. TScan intends to build on the positive NCI results by developing an enhanced autologous TCR-T therapy using its T-Integrate cell manufacturing platform and by multiplexing its HPV TCR with additional TCRs in its TSC-2xx series of cell therapy candidates. TScan has used the large cargo capacity of T-Integrate to include in the TSC-200 construct features that enable engineering of both cytotoxic and helper T cells and features designed to help confer resistance to the immunosuppressive micro-environment of solid tumors.

TScan has recently discovered a novel HLA-C*07:02-restricted epitope encoded by the well-known cancer/testis gene MAGE-A1, using its TargetScan platform. This cancer-specific gene is frequently overexpressed in a wide variety of solid tumors. In the U.S., the target is expressed in as many as 45% of head & neck cancer patients, 50% of melanoma patients, 50% of cervical cancer patients and 50% of non-small cell lung cancer patients. The TCR that recognizes this novel epitope was isolated from a patient with head & neck cancer who exhibited an exceptional response to immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy. TScan has launched a new program, TSC-204, that will include multiple TCRs for different HLA-restricted epitopes on this same protein. TScan believes that it is the only company with a disclosed TCR program in MAGE-A1 for HLA types other than A*02:01. The Company has now advanced TSC-204 into lead TCR-T therapy candidate optimization.

The Company expanded its management team with the appointments of Zoran Zdraveski, J.D., Ph.D., as Chief Legal Officer, and Heather Savelle as Vice President, Investor Relations.

In July 2021, TScan completed its initial public offering, raising $100 million in aggregate gross proceeds, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses, and began trading on The Nasdaq Global Market. The IPO followed the closing of a Series C preferred stock financing of $100 million in gross proceeds in January 2021.

In July 2021, Gavin MacBeath, Ph.D., TScan’s Chief Scientific Officer, presented findings from TScan’s work to discover the targets of T cells in recovering COVID-19 patients at the Cell-Mediated Therapies for Infectious Disease Summit. The presentation also featured in vitro data comparing several polyepitope T cell vaccine candidates based on the Company’s novel T cell target discoveries. TScan is now advancing these T cell-eliciting vaccine candidates through pre-clinical development with the goal of engineering a COVID-19 vaccine that generates long-term immunity with less susceptibility to resistance from emerging variants. In addition to addressing the current pandemic, this program represents proof-of-concept for a novel class of vaccines that are designed to elicit a long-lasting T cell response to infectious pathogens.

Upcoming Expected Milestones and Key Priorities

Liquid Tumor Programs: TScan’s two lead liquid tumor TCR-T therapy candidates, TSC-100 and TSC-101, are designed to target HA-1 and HA-2, respectively, and treat patients with hematological malignancies who are undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

TScan will present two posters related to TSC-100 and TSC-101 at the upcoming ASH (Free ASH Whitepaper) Annual Meeting and Exposition.

IND-enabling studies and the submission of IND applications to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are planned for TSC-100 and TSC-101 during the fourth quarter 2021.

Following the IND submissions and pending acceptance by the FDA, clinical trials for TSC-100 and TSC-101 are expected to begin in the first half of 2022 with preliminary data expected in the second half of 2022.

Solid Tumor Programs: TScan’s TSC-200 series of TCR-T therapy candidates include a combination of known targets, such as HPV16 for TSC-200, PRAME for TSC-203, and MAGE-A1 for TSC-204, as well as targets that are novel antigens for TCR-T therapy, such as those for TSC-201 and TSC-202.

TScan plans to present preclinical data of the TSC-2xx series during the first half of 2022.

·TScan plans to progress IND-enabling studies for the TSC-2xx series and submit IND applications during the second half of 2022, including for TSC-200 for HPV, during the second half of 2022. Further INDs are planned for 2023.

Infectious Disease Program

Research is continuing into potential T cell-focused COVID-19 vaccine constructs utilizing TScan’s novel T cell target discoveries.

Third Quarter 2021 Financial Results

As of September 30, 2021, the Company had cash and cash equivalents totaling $182.3 million, excluding restricted cash of $0.6 million. Based on the Company’s current operating plan, TScan expects that cash and cash equivalents as of September 30, 2021, will enable it to fund its operating expenses into 2024.

Research and development expenses for the third quarter 2021 were $14.2 million, compared to $5.8 million for the third quarter 2020.

General and administrative expenses for the third quarter 2021 were $4.0 million, compared to $1.6 million for the third quarter 2020.

Net loss for the third quarter 2021 was $15.8 million or $0.80 per common share, compared to a net loss of $7.2 million or $7.16 per common share for the third quarter 2020. Net loss per share was calculated using 19.9 million weighted average common shares and 1.0 million weighted average common shares outstanding for the third quarter of 2021 and 2020, respectively.

On July 20, 2021, the Company issued 6,666,667 shares of common stock in its IPO, raising gross proceeds of $100 million. In addition, upon closing of the IPO, all of the Company’s outstanding shares of convertible preferred stock automatically converted into 15,616,272 shares of common stock (of which 5,143,134 shares are non-voting common stock). This brings the total shares outstanding as of November 5, 2021, to 23,768,036, which consists of 18,624,902 shares of voting common stock and 5,143,134 shares of non-voting common stock.

TScan’s latest presentation is available on the "Events and Presentations" section of the Company’s website, and can be accessed here.

On November 10, 2021 Harpoon Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: HARP), a clinical-stage immunotherapy company developing a novel class of T cell engagers, reported financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2021 and provided a corporate update (Press release, Harpoon Therapeutics, NOV 10, 2021, View Source [SID1234595216]).

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!

"I look forward to working with the leadership team at Harpoon as we advance our novel immuno-oncology therapies to address the unmet medical needs of patients. We are encouraged by the clinical progress for our four proprietary TriTAC clinical programs, and we are excited to advance our ProTriTAC platform and to announce our third technology platform called TriTAC-XR at SITC (Free SITC Whitepaper)," said Julie Eastland, newly appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Harpoon Therapeutics. "We remain focused on dose escalation and optimization across all four programs, and we plan to provide a corporate update by year end."

Third Quarter 2021 Business Highlights and Other Recent Developments

Harpoon recently appointed Julie Eastland as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective November 8, 2021. Ms. Eastland succeeds Jerry McMahon, Ph.D., who has resigned from his position as President and Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the company’s Board of Directors and will continue to serve as an advisor. Ms. Eastland joined the Harpoon Board in 2018 and her career spans more than 20 years of executive leadership in biotechnology, immunology, and clinical oncology.

Dose escalation for Harpoon’s four clinical stage programs, HPN424 (PSMA), HPN536 (mesothelin), HPN217 (BCMA) and HPN328 (DLL3) is ongoing and each program is enrolling patients. IND enabling studies are underway for HPN601 (EpCAM targeting ProTriTAC) for potential use in a broad range of solid tumors with high unmet medical need.

Two abstracts have been accepted for poster presentation at the 63rd American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) Annual Meeting and Exposition being held virtually and in person in Atlanta, Ga. from December 11-14, 2021. One of these presentations will report interim data from the Phase 1/2 study of HPN217, a half-life extended Tri-Specific T Cell Activating Construct (TriTAC) targeting B cell maturation antigen for the treatment of relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.

The company’s third proprietary technology platform, extended release TriTAC-XR, is designed to mitigate cytokine release syndrome. Preclinical data supporting TriTAC-XR T cell engager platform will be highlighted in a poster presentation at the 36th Annual Meeting of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) (Free SITC Whitepaper). The presentation will be available beginning at 7 a.m. on November 12.

Third Quarter 2021 Financial Results

Harpoon ended the third quarter of 2021 with $154.2 million in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities compared to $150.0 million as of December 31, 2020. The increase of $4.2 million to the cash balance at the end of the third quarter includes Harpoon’s follow-on financing that closed on January 11, 2021 resulting in net proceeds of approximately $107.6 million, less cash spend during the nine months on operating expenses.

Our cash used in operating activities for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021 is expected to be $75 million to $80 million, below our original guidance of $85 million to $95 million that was initially provided in March 2021.

Revenue for the third quarter ended September 30, 2021 was $4.5 million compared to $3.9 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2020. For the nine months ended September 30, 2021, revenue was $19.3 million compared to $10.0 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2020. For the third quarter ended September 30, 2021, the increase in revenue was primarily due to an increase in revenue recognized related to Harpoon’s Development and Option Agreement with AbbVie, for research and development services performed. For the nine months ended September 30, 2021, the increase in revenue was primarily due to an increase in revenue recognized due to the delivery of the second target under Harpoon’s Amended and Restated Discovery Collaboration Agreement with AbbVie.

Research and development expense for the third quarter ended September 30, 2021 was $17.0 million compared to $13.1 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2020. For the nine months ended September 30, 2021, R&D expense was $51.5 million compared to $37.5 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2020. The increase for both periods, primarily arose from higher clinical development and personnel-related expense, which included conducting preclinical studies and clinical trials for HPN424, HPN536, HPN217 and HPN328.

General and administrative expense for the third quarter ended September 30, 2021 was $4.2 million compared to $4.4 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2020. For the nine months ended September 30, 2021, G&A expense was $13.1 million compared to $12.3 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2020. For the third quarter ended September 30, 2021, the decrease was primarily attributable to a decrease in legal expenses associated with the Maverick litigation, partially offset by an increase in personnel expenses due to an increase in headcount. For the nine months ended September 30, 2021, the increase was due to an increase in personnel expenses related to an increase in headcount and other professional services to support our operations as a public company, partially offset by a decrease in legal expenses associated with Maverick litigation.

Net loss for the third quarter ended September 30, 2021 was $16.7 million compared to $13.3 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2020. The net loss for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 was $95.2 million compared to $38.6 million in the first nine months of the prior year. Net loss for the nine months ended September 30, 2021, includes Maverick litigation settlement of $50.0 million.
COVID-19 Business Update

In response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Harpoon has established testing and other protocols for personnel access to its headquarter offices and laboratory although the majority of the company’s employees continue to telecommute. Harpoon is currently continuing its clinical trials, and has not experienced any material delays or impacts as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, Harpoon’s third-party contract manufacturers continue to operate at or near normal levels. Harpoon continues to assess the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its business and operations, including its programs, expected timelines, expenses, manufacturing activities and preclinical and clinical trials. The full extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic may have a negative impact on Harpoon’s business, assets, results of operations and financial condition will depend on future developments that are highly uncertain and cannot be accurately predicted.