On November 3, 2021 Biomea Fusion, Inc. ("Biomea") (Nasdaq: BMEA), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of novel small molecules to treat and improve the lives of patients with genetically defined cancers, reported financial results for the third quarter of 2021 (Press release, Biomea Fusion, NOV 3, 2021, View Source [SID1234594262]).
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"The Third Quarter was a historic one for the company as it advanced its first investigational drug into a clinical stage program. BMF-219, our internally discovered and developed small molecule, has shown broad anti-cancer activity pre-clinically and we now have the opportunity to explore this potential in patients in need." said Thomas Butler, Biomea’s CEO and Chairman of the Board. "In September, we received FDA clearance of our IND for BMF-219, and we are now working diligently to initiate a Phase I study for the treatment of relapsed or refractory acute leukemia. We look forward to providing clinical development updates as we deepen our understanding of menin’s role in various cancers and the potential impact of irreversible inhibition for these patient populations. Our vision for this company has always been to develop a suite of novel covalent inhibitors that can act as single agent therapies or in combination, together, to build best-in-class medicine for patients. We have executed on this promise by hiring world-class drug hunters, and developers, and by custom designing and opening a state-of-the-art Research Center. We now have our first molecule ready for the clinic, and a number of exciting programs advancing through pre-clinical development."
Mr. Butler continued, "As we move BMF-219 into the clinic, we intend to also focus on leveraging our novel chemistry across multiple indications. To that end, we anticipate announcing our next pipeline candidate in the first half of 2022."
Business Highlights
FDA clearance of IND for First-in-Human Phase I Clinical Trial of BMF-219. In September 2021, Biomea received FDA clearance of its IND for BMF-219, an irreversible menin inhibitor for the treatment of relapsed or refractory acute leukemias including those with an MLL/KMT2A gene rearrangement or NPM1 mutation.
Preclinical studies underway for DLBCL and multiple myeloma (MM) as potential indications for BMF-219. Biomea is conducting preclinical studies to demonstrate the potential for BMF-219 in genetically defined patient subsets of DLBCL and MM.
Pathway validation studies of irreversible menin inhibition in diabetes. Biomea is continuing preclinical studies to explore the potential of its irreversible menin inhibitor approach for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. The company plans to report findings from these studies in the first quarter of 2022.
Launch of Biomea Innovation Center; scale-up of R&D organization. Biomea recently opened the Biomea Innovation Center with laboratory space and a dedicated R&D team focused on leveraging the company’s FUSION platform to generate a broad portfolio of next generation covalent inhibitors.
"Our CEO’s vision for the company is to build a fully sustainable, world-class R&D organization, which mines the deep potential of our FUSION platform and irreversible binding small molecule approach. With our recently opened Biomea Innovation Research Center and our continued scale-up of an extremely talented, forward-and creative-thinking scientific team, we will aggressively interrogate our irreversible binding approach against known and validated biological targets with the goal of rapidly advancing a broad portfolio of therapies designed to deliver enhanced efficacy and safety for patients. Thanks to our successful IPO and considering our current programs’ quarterly expenses, we expect our cash balance to sustain our operations well into 2024," concluded Ramses Erdtmann, Biomea’s COO and President.
Financial Highlights
Third Quarter 2021 Year to Date Financial Results
Biomea reported a net loss attributable to common stockholders of $26.9 million for the first nine months of 2021, compared to a net loss of $1.8 million for the same period in 2020.
Research and development expenses were $16.9 million for the first nine months of 2021, compared to $1.3 million for the same period in 2020. The increase of $15.6 million was primarily due to an increase in personnel-related expenses, as well as an increase in pre-clinical development costs, including manufacturing and external consulting, related to the IND-enabling studies for BMF-219.
General and administrative expenses were $10.0 million for the first nine months of 2021, compared to $0.5 million for the same period in 2020. The increase of $9.5 million was primarily due to higher personnel-related expenses and other corporate costs to support the Company’s public company status.
As of September 30, 2021, the Company had cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and investments of $191.9 million.
About Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)
AML is the most common form of acute leukemia in adults and represents the largest number of annual leukemia deaths in the U.S. and Europe. AML originates within the white blood cells in the bone marrow and can rapidly move to the blood and other parts of the body, including the lymph nodes, spleen, and central nervous system. Approximately 30,000 people in the U.S. and Europe are diagnosed with AML each year, and the five-year overall survival rate in adults roughly 29%. Among patients with relapsed/refractory disease, the need is greatest, as the overall survival is approximately 3 to 9 months. It is estimated that upwards of 45% of AML patients have menin dependent genetic drivers (MML-r or NPM1).
About BMF-219
BMF-219 is an irreversibly binding inhibitor of menin, a protein that is known to play an essential role in oncogenic signaling in genetically defined leukemias. Preclinically, BMF-219 has demonstrated robust downregulation of key leukemogenic genes in addition to menin itself (via MEN1) in well-established MLLr AML cell lines. Additionally, BMF-219 has shown efficacy in multiple in vivo and in vitro models of acute leukemias. BMF-219 will be evaluated in a first-in-human trial in patients with relapsed or refractory acute leukemia with MLL/KMT2A gene rearrangement or NPM1 mutation.