On March 23, 2022 iTeos Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ITOS), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering the discovery and development of a new generation of highly differentiated immuno-oncology therapeutics for patients, reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2021 and provided recent corporate highlights (Press release, iTeos Therapeutics, MAR 23, 2022, View Source [SID1234610910]).

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"In 2021, we laid a strong foundation for both of our differentiated clinical-stage immunotherapy programs EOS-448, our FcγR-engaging anti-TIGIT antibody, and inupadenant, our adenosine A2A receptor antagonist. The data we shared over the course of the year validates our excitement around both candidates as potentially differentiated therapies capable of harnessing the immune system to improve outcomes for patients with several types of advanced cancers," said Michel Detheux, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of iTeos. "Anticipating the advancement of both EOS-448 and inupadenant from early to late-stage clinical development with novel combinations, we have built a global team to fuel the execution of our robust clinical development plans throughout 2022. This year is expected to be critical in terms of data generation for the TIGIT and adenosine fields, and we’re excited to play a key role in growing the body of evidence that will inform how these targets can be harnessed for patients as safely and quickly as possible."

Program Highlights

EOS-448: IgG1 anti-TIGIT monoclonal antibody designed to engage the Fc gamma receptor (FcγR) and to enhance the anti-tumor response through multifaceted mechanisms.

In collaboration with GSK, iTeos is initiating various combinations to advance this next generation immuno-oncology agent:
Began dosing in a Phase 1b clinical trial in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) assessing the doublet of GSK’s anti-PD-1 (Jemperli) with EOS-448.
Planning three registration-directed trials combining EOS-448 with Jemperli in 1L NSCLC PDL1 high, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and a third indication targeting an additional immune-responsive tumor.
Initiating Phase 1b trials with novel triplets, including Jemperli with EOS-448 and inupadenant in patients with advanced solid tumors and EOS-448 with Jemperli and GSK’s investigational anti-CD96 antibody in patients with NSCLC.
iTeos is evaluating the doublets of pembrolizumab with EOS-448 and inupadenant with EOS-448 in patients with solid tumors in an ongoing Phase 1 trial.
In December 2021, favorable preclinical data generated in collaboration with Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center were presented at the 63rd American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) Annual Meeting & Exposition. Based on this data, iTeos is advancing an open-label dose-escalation/expansion Phase 1/2 trial of EOS-448 as a monotherapy and in combination with Bristol Myers Squibb’s iberdomide – a novel, potent oral cereblon E3 ligase modulator (CELMoD) with or without dexamethasone, in adults with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.
The company will present preclinical and clinical analyses supporting the multifaceted mechanism of action of EOS-448, including data on pharmacodynamics within the tumor microenvironment, as part of a late-breaking poster presentation at the upcoming American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting taking place April 8-13, 2022 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Inupadenant (EOS-850): Designed as an insurmountable and highly selective small molecule antagonist of the adenosine A2A receptor, the only high-affinity adenosine receptor expressed on different immune cells found in the tumor micro-environment.

iTeos is initiating a randomized Phase 2 trial to evaluate the combination of inupadenant with chemotherapy compared to standard of care in an undisclosed solid tumor indication.
The Company is also evaluating inupadenant in combination with pembrolizumab in PD-1 resistant melanoma in an ongoing Phase 2a trial
iTeos is evaluating patient and indication selection biomarkers in an ongoing Phase 1b/2a trial of inupadenant as a monotherapy in patients with solid tumors.
Preclinical programs: Building on the company’s successful track record of advancing differentiated programs from discovery into the clinic, iTeos continues to progress research programs focused on additional targets that address pathways of immunosuppression. In 2021, iTeos nominated an additional candidate targeting a new mechanism in the adenosine pathway for Investigational New Drug-enabling studies.

Upcoming Events

AACR Annual Meeting, April 8-13, 2022
Late-Breaking Abstract Title: Pharmacodynamic assessment of a-TIGIT mAb EOS-448 highlights multiple FcγR-mediated mode-of-actions in blood and tumor of patients with advanced solid tumors; Wednesday, April 13 from 9:00am – 12:30pm CDT
Session Title: Late Breaking Research: Experimental and Molecular Therapeutics 2
Abstract Number: LB189 / Section 16
Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2021 Financial Results

Cash Position: The Company’s cash and cash equivalent position was $848.5 million as of December 31, 2021, as compared to $336.3 million as of December 31, 2020. Cash balance provides runway into 2026.
Research and Development (R&D) Expenses: R&D expenses were $17.4 million for the quarter and $59.4 million for the full year ended December 31, 2021, as compared to $9.2 million for the fourth quarter and $29.9 million for the full year of 2020. The increase was primarily due to an increase in activities related to clinical trials for EOS-448 and Inupadenant, as well as preclinical programs.
General and Administrative (G&A) Expenses: G&A expenses were $9.6 million for the quarter and $40.5 million for the full year ended December 31, 2021, as compared to $5.7 million for the fourth quarter and $15.3 million for the full year of 2020. The increase was primarily due to an increase in professional fees related to the Company’s collaboration with GSK, in addition to an increase in professional fees associated with the Company’s status as a publicly traded company.
Net Income/Loss: Net income attributable to common shareholders was $184.9 million, or a net income of $5.24 per basic share and $4.88 per diluted share, for the quarter ended December 31, 2021, as compared to a net loss of $14.9 million, or a net loss of $0.43 per basic and diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2020. Net income was $214.5 million, or a net income of $6.10 per basic share and $5.68 per diluted share, for the year ended December 31, 2021, as compared to a net loss of $43.4 million, or a net loss of $2.88 per basic and diluted share, for the full year of 2020.

On March 23, 2022 Navidea Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE American: NAVB) ("Navidea" or the "Company"), a company focused on the development of precision immunodiagnostic agents and immunotherapeutics, reported its financial results for the fourth quarter and year-to-date for the period ended December 31, 2021 (Press release, Navidea Biopharmaceuticals, MAR 23, 2022, View Source [SID1234610840]).

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Alexander L. Cappello, Chair of Navidea’s Board of Directors, said, "We remain focused on our mission of developing precision immunodiagnostic agents and immunotherapeutics to enhance patient care. We are confident that our strong management team, supported by our experienced and active Board of Directors, can continue to execute on our business plan and fulfill the vision we have for Navidea."

Fourth Quarter 2021 Highlights and Subsequent Events

●Continued to work on financing for the Company. We have engaged with an investment bank and options are being pursued.

●Initiated and enrolled into the Company’s NAV3-33 Phase 3 trial in rheumatoid arthritis ("RA") titled "Evaluation of Tc 99m Tilmanocept Imaging for the Early Prediction of Anti-TNFα Therapy Response in Patients with Moderate to Severe Active Rheumatoid Arthritis."

●Continued enrollment into the Company’s NAV3-32 Phase 2b trial comparing Tc99m tilmanocept imaging to histopathology of joints of patients with active RA. Eleven patients out of an originally estimated maximum of 24 based on subject pathotype are now enrolled with both imaging and biopsy performed.

●Completed enrollment in the Company’s NAV3-35 Phase 2b study, "Development of a Normative Database for Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) Imaging with Tc99m Tilmanocept."

●Completed the investigator-initiated Phase 2 trial being run at the Massachusetts General Hospital evaluating Tc99m tilmanocept uptake in atherosclerotic plaques of HIV-infected individuals. An abstract was presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in February 2022.

●Signed research agreement with the University of Pennsylvania evaluating Tc99m tilmanocept as a prognostic marker for glioblastoma.

●Signed a Letter of Intent with the image analysis company MIM Software, Inc., to be the Company’s commercial partner for image quantification of Tc99m tilmanocept imaging in RA.

●Filed two new provisional patent applications. The first is related to new methods of attaching chemotherapeutics to the Manocept platform, and the second relates to maximizing target-tissue uptake and off-target competitive blocking. These have important implications for pipeline applications.

Michael Rosol, Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer for Navidea, said, "The clinical research team continues to work diligently to advance the technology in key disease areas, with an emphasis on our RA program. The NAV3-33 Phase 3 trial is enrolling, we continue to enroll into the NAV3-32 Phase 2b trial comparing tilmanocept imaging to synovial tissue biopsy samples of RA patients, and we have completed our normative database trial enrollment. Concurrent with all of this, we continue to make progress in our therapeutics pipeline, and we expect to keep advancing these towards the clinic."

Financial Results

●Total net revenues for the fourth quarter of 2021 were $50,000, compared to $219,000 for the same period in 2020. Total net revenues for the full year of 2021 were $532,000, compared to $914,000 in 2020. The decrease was primarily due to decreased grant revenue related to Small Business Innovation Research grants from the National Institutes of Health supporting Manocept development and decreased royalty and license revenue from sales of Tc99m tilmanocept in Europe, offset by the partial recovery of debts previously written off in 2015 and receipt of reimbursement from Cardinal Health 414, LLC of certain R&D costs.

●Research and development ("R&D") expenses for the fourth quarter of 2021 were $1.4 million, compared to $1.3 million in the same period in 2020. R&D expenses for the full year of 2021 were $5.1 million, compared to $4.9 million in 2020. The net increase during the year to date was primarily due to increased regulatory consulting, employee compensation, travel, recruiting and general office expenses, coupled with net increases in drug project expenses, including increased Manocept therapeutic and Tc99m tilmanocept development costs, offset by decreased Manocept diagnostic development costs.

●Selling, general and administrative ("SG&A") expenses for the fourth quarter of 2021 were $2.3 million, compared to $1.7 million in the same period in 2020. SG&A expenses for the full year of 2021 were $7.5 million, compared to $6.7 million in 2020. The net increase during the year to date was primarily due to separation expenses related to the resignation of our former Chief Executive Officer, coupled with increased consulting services related to European distribution of Tc99m tilmanocept, director compensation related to additional board members and increased board compensation rates, insurance costs, losses on the abandonment of certain intellectual property, recruiting fees, travel and general office expenses, offset by decreases in legal and professional services, employee compensation, investor relations costs, European annual registration fees, facilities costs and franchise taxes.

●Navidea’s net loss attributable to common stockholders for the fourth quarter of 2021 was $3.7 million, or $0.12 per share, compared to $3.0 million, or $0.11 per share, for the same period in 2020. Navidea’s net loss attributable to common stockholders for the full year of 2021 was $11.7 million, or $0.40 per share, compared to $11.4 million, or $0.48 per share, in 2020.

●Navidea ended the fourth quarter of 2021 with $4.2 million in cash and cash equivalents.

Conference Call Details

Investors and the public are invited to dial into the earnings call through the information listed below, or participate via the audio webcast on the company website. Dr. Michael Rosol, Chief Medical Officer, and Erika Eves, Vice President of Finance and Administration, will host the call and webcast to discuss the financial results and provide an update on recent developments and clinical progress. Management will be available to answer questions live immediately following the earnings announcement and prepared remarks portion of the call.

A live audio webcast of the conference call will also be available on the investor relations page of Navidea’s corporate website at www.navidea.com. In addition, the recorded conference call can be replayed and will be available for 90 days following the call on Navidea’s website.

On March 23, 2022 Mustang Bio, Inc. ("Mustang") (NASDAQ: MBIO), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on translating today’s medical breakthroughs in cell and gene therapies into potential cures for hematologic cancers, solid tumors and rare genetic diseases, reported financial results and recent corporate highlights for the full year ended December 31, 2021 (Press release, Mustang Bio, MAR 23, 2022, View Source [SID1234610839]).

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Manuel Litchman, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Mustang, said, "In 2021, we continued to make great strides in advancing our cell and gene therapy programs. Notably, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") approved two Mustang Investigational New Drug ("IND") applications, the first to initiate a pivotal multicenter Phase 2 clinical trial to evaluate MB-107, a lentiviral gene therapy for the treatment of infants under the age of two with X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency ("XSCID"), and the second to initiate a multicenter Phase 1/2 clinical trial investigating the safety and efficacy of MB-106, a CD20-targeted autologous CAR T cell therapy for relapsed or refractory B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas ("B-NHL") and chronic lymphocytic leukemia ("CLL"). Additionally, we received a $2 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to partially fund our MB-106 Phase 2 clinical trial. Interim data from the ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical trial of MB-106 presented at the 63rd American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) Annual Meeting ("ASH2021") by our collaborators at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center ("Fred Hutch") showed a 95% overall response rate, 65% complete response rate and favorable safety profile. We also expanded our product portfolio by executing an exclusive license agreement with Leiden University Medical Centre for a first-in-class ex vivo lentiviral gene therapy for the treatment of RAG1-SCID and enhanced our CAR T program with an exclusive license agreement with Mayo Clinic for a novel technology to create in vivo CAR T cells that has the potential to transform the administration of CAR T therapies and be used as an off-the-shelf therapy."

Dr. Litchman continued, "We anticipate another productive year in 2022, with several Mustang IND clinical trial initiations and data updates from our ongoing clinical programs at prominent medical conferences. In February, City of Hope presented Phase 1 data on MB-105, our prostate stem cell antigen ("PSCA") CAR T-cell therapy for the treatment of PSCA-positive metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer ("mCRPC") at the 2022 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) ("ASCO") Genitourinary ("GU") Cancers Symposium that demonstrated its potential to treat patients with mCRPC. In April, our collaborators at Fred Hutch will present interim Phase 1/2 clinical trial data on MB-106 at the 2022 Tandem Meetings I Transplantation & Cellular Therapy Meetings of the American Society of Transplantation and Cellular Therapy ("ASTCT") and Center for International Blood & Marrow Transplant Research ("CIBMTR") which show its compelling clinical activity and favorable safety profile. In the first half of 2022 we anticipate enrolling the first patient in Mustang’s multicenter Phase 1/2 clinical trial to evaluate MB-106, and in the second half of 2022 we expect to enroll the first patient in Mustang’s multicenter pivotal Phase 2 clinical trial to evaluate MB-107. We also plan to advance additional Mustang clinical candidates, including filing an IND for MB-109 (MB-101 autologous IL13Rα2-directed CAR T cells + MB-108 oncolytic virus) for the treatment of glioblastoma. With this steady progress across our clinical programs, and with our robust pipeline and strong cash position following completion of the debt facility with Runway Growth Capital, Mustang is poised to continue its success building an integrated cell and gene therapy company."

Financial Results:

·As of December 31, 2021, Mustang’s cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash totaled $110.6 million, compared to $98.8 million as of December 31, 2020, an increase of $11.8 million year-to-date.
·Research and development expenses were $49.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. This compares to $37.2 million for 2020. Non-cash, stock-based compensation expenses included in research and development were $2.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, compared to $1.4 million for 2020.
·Research and development expenses from license acquisitions totaled $5.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, compared to $10.1 million for 2020. Non-cash, stock-based compensation expenses included in research and development – licenses acquired were $4.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, compared to $7.6 million for 2020.
·General and administrative expenses were $11.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. This compares to $9.5 million for 2020. Non-cash, stock-based compensation expenses included in general and administrative expenses were $2.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, compared to $4.0 million for 2020.
·Net loss attributable to common stockholders was $66.4 million, or $0.76 per share, for the year ended December 31, 2021, compared to a net loss attributable to common stockholders of $60.0 million, or $1.14 per share, for 2020.

2021 and Recent Corporate Highlights:

·In February 2021, Mustang announced encouraging MB-107 and MB-207 clinical updates from its X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency ("XSCID") investigator IND trials, as well as additional consistent safety and efficacy data. In the second half of 2022, Mustang expects to enroll the first patient in a pivotal multicenter Phase 2 clinical trial under Mustang Bio’s IND to evaluate MB-107, a lentiviral gene therapy for the treatment of infants under the age of two with XSCID, also known as bubble boy disease. Mustang filed an IND application in December 2021 for its pivotal multicenter Phase 2 clinical trial of MB-207, a lentiviral gene therapy for the treatment of patients with XSCID who have been previously treated with a hematopoietic stem cell transplantation ("HSCT") and for whom re-treatment is indicated. The trial is currently on hold pending CMC clearance from FDA and, based on feedback from the Agency, Mustang expects to enroll the first patient in a pivotal multicenter Phase 2 clinical trial in the first quarter of 2023.
·In May 2021, Mustang announced that the FDA approved its IND application to initiate a multicenter Phase 1/2 clinical trial investigating the safety and efficacy of MB-106, a CD20-targeted autologous CAR T cell therapy for relapsed or refractory B-NHL and CLL. Mustang intends to dose the first patient in that trial in the first half of 2022.
·Also in May 2021, Mustang announced that the first patient was dosed at City of Hope in a clinical trial to establish the safety and feasibility of administering MB-101 (autologous IL13Rα2-directed CAR T cells) to patients with leptomeningeal brain tumors (e.g., glioblastoma, ependymoma or medulloblastoma).
·In June 2021, Mustang announced that MB-106 CD20-targeted CAR T cell therapy data were presented at the European Hematology Association (EHA) (Free EHA Whitepaper) 2021 Virtual Congress. Dr. Mazyar Shadman of Fred Hutch presented updated interim data from the ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical trial for B-NHL and CLL, which showed a favorable safety profile and compelling clinical activity, with a 93% overall response rate and 67% complete response rate in patients treated with a modified cell manufacturing process.
·Also in June 2021, Mustang hosted a key opinion leader webinar featuring a presentation from Dr. Shadman, who discussed interim results from the ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical trial investigating the safety and efficacy of MB-106 CD20-targeted CAR T for B-NHL and CLL.
·Additionally in June 2021, Mustang announced that it was one of 28 recipients awarded tax incentives from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center. The $300,000 tax incentive amount that Mustang was awarded was based on a hiring commitment of 20 net new full-time equivalent employees for calendar year 2021 and retaining that headcount level through 2025.
·In August 2021, Mustang announced that the European Medicines Agency granted Priority Medicines ("PRIME") designation to MB-107, a lentiviral gene therapy for the treatment of XSCID in newly diagnosed infants.
·Also in August 2021, Mustang announced an exclusive license agreement with Mayo Clinic for a novel technology to create in vivo CAR T cells that may be able to transform the administration of CAR T therapies and has the potential to be used as an off-the-shelf therapy.
·In October 2021, Christine Brown, Ph.D., Deputy Director, T Cell Therapeutics Research Laboratory and The Heritage Provider Network Professor in Immunotherapy at City of Hope, presented updated Phase 1 clinical data regarding MB-101 (IL13Rα2-targeted CAR T cells) for the treatment of glioblastoma at two scientific conferences, the First Annual Conference on CNS Clinical Trials, co-sponsored by the Society for Neuro-Oncology and American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper), and the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Virtual Special Conference: Brain Cancer.

·In November 2021, Mustang announced the execution of an exclusive license agreement with Leiden University Medical Centre for a first-in-class ex vivo lentiviral gene therapy for the treatment of RAG1-SCID.
·Also in November 2021, Mustang announced that it was awarded a grant of approximately $2 million from the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health. This two-year award will partially fund the Mustang-sponsored multicenter trial to assess the safety, tolerability and efficacy of MB-106, a CD20-targeted, autologous CAR T cell therapy for patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell NHL or CLL.
·In December 2021, Mustang announced that MB-106 data were presented at ASH (Free ASH Whitepaper)2021. Dr. Shadman of Fred Hutch presented updated interim data showing a 95% overall response rate, 65% complete response rate and favorable safety profile from the ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical trial for B-NHL and CLL. A copy of the poster can be viewed online here.
·Also in December 2021, Mustang hosted a key opinion leader webinar featuring a presentation from Dr. Shadman, who discussed interim results from the ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical trial investigating the safety and efficacy of MB-106 CD20-targeted, autologous CAR T cell therapy to treat B-NHL and CLL. A replay of the webinar can be found here.
·Additionally in December 2021, Mustang was added to the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index (NASDAQ: NBI).
· In January 2022, Mustang announced that interim Phase 1/2 data on MB-106, a CD20-targeted, autologous CAR T cell therapy for patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell NHL and CLL, were selected for a poster presentation at the 2022 Tandem Meetings I Transplantation & Cellular Therapy Meetings of the ASTCT and CIBMTR, rescheduled to take place April 23-26, 2022, in Salt Lake City, Utah. A copy of the abstract can be viewed on the meeting website here.
· In February 2022, Mustang was selected as the Bronze winner for the Central region in the Eighteenth Annual Team Massachusetts Economic Impact Awards presented by MassEcon. The award winners will be honored at Gillette Stadium on April 7, 2022.
·Also in February 2022, Phase 1 data on MB-105, a PSCA-targeted CAR T cell therapy administered systemically to patients with PSCA-positive mCRPC, were presented by City of Hope at the 2022 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Genitourinary Cancers Symposium. The data results indicated that PSCA-CAR T-cell therapy is feasible in patients with mCRPC with dose limiting toxicity ("DLT") of cystitis and show preliminary anti-tumor effect at a dose of 100 million cells plus lymphodepletion. It was concluded that escalation up to the next dose level of 300 million cells can proceed in the trial.
·In March 2022, Mustang completed a $75 million long-term debt facility with Runway Growth Capital LLC ("Runway").
·Also in March 2022, Mustang announced that an abstract reporting on Phase 1 trials being conducted at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and City of Hope of Mustang Bio’s exclusively licensed oncolytic viral and CAR T-cell therapies for the treatment of patients with glioblastoma (GBM) was selected as a late-breaking poster presentation at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting 2022, taking place April 8 – 13, 2022, in New Orleans, Louisiana. The abstract will also be published in the online Proceedings of the AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper).

On March 23, 2022 Exscientia plc (Nasdaq: EXAI) reported that (Press release, Exscientia, MAR 23, 2022, View Source [SID1234610838])

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Recent advancements in the Company’s pipeline, collaborations and operations as well as financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2021 are summarised below. In addition, Exscientia will host a conference call on Thursday, March 24 at 12:30 p.m. GMT / 8:30 a.m. ET to provide an overview of the company’s end-to-end technology platform and progress towards automating drug discovery and development.

Recent Highlights

Progressed pipeline led by significant collaborations, expansion, and programme advancement

-Year-over-year pipeline progress with 11 new programmes added, including advancement of three programmes into IND-enabling studies and two programmes to late discovery
-Partnered programmes
oEstablished collaboration with Sanofi in January 2022 focused on development of up to 15 novel small molecule candidates across oncology and immunology, received $100 million upfront cash payment with the potential of $5.2 billion in total milestones plus tiered royalties; several targets have been identified since signing
oCommenced eighth drug discovery project with Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) in early 2022 for programme against an undisclosed oncology target
oAchieved preclinical proof of concept milestone for a target within Bayer collaboration supporting advancement into late discovery
-Co-owned programmes
oEntered into IND-enabling studies for GTAEXS-617, a CDK7 inhibitor co-owned with GT Apeiron; IND/CTA submission expected by year-end 2022; additional translational data in several tumour types to be presented at the April 2022 American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting and throughout 2022
oOncology target selected with EQRx, the third in the multi-target collaboration
-Wholly and majority owned programmes
oPhase 1 healthy volunteer top-line data for EXS-21546, A2a antagonist in high adenosine signature cancers, on track for the first half of 2022; translational research on identifying adenosine specific gene signatures for patient selection to be presented at AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) 2022
oWith support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Exscientia has designed an Mpro molecule with pan-coronavirus activity demonstrating 200x greater potency in vitro than a commercially available oral COVID-19 antiviral; ongoing compound development with candidate nomination anticipated in the second half of 2022

Balanced business model has generated meaningful cash flows and strong balance sheet

-$85.3 million cash flow from collaborations in full-year 2021, ending 2021 with $758.9 million in cash and cash equivalents
-2021 net cash outflows from operations of approximately $9.0 million
-$100 million upfront payment from Sanofi collaboration signed in January 2022

Peer-reviewed publications and upcoming scientific meeting presence showcase impact of translational research, clinical impact of precision medicine platform and differentiated technology platform

-Three abstracts accepted for poster presentation at AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) 2022 highlight the potential of Exscientia’s precision medicine platform and AI capabilities in designing optimised molecules, improving translational research and identifying novel pathways
-EXALT-1 clinical trial results published in Cancer Discovery demonstrate the benefit of the first AI-supported functional precision medicine platform to guide treatment selection and improve outcomes in patients with advanced haematological cancers
-Select peer-reviewed publications describe recent advancements in Exscientia’s technology platform
-Fragment Hotspot Mapping to Identify Selectivity-Determining Regions Between Related Proteins describes a computational method to map protein binding pockets and identify critical regions that can be exploited to generate selective molecules
oDeep generative design with 3D pharmacophoric constraints demonstrates the potential of a new method (DEVELOP) to utilise 3D representations of molecules and generate compounds with improved properties over previous methods
oGenerating property-matched decoy molecules using deep learning showcases a deep learning method for generating molecules to validate and improve virtual screening methods

Strengthened team to position Exscientia for future growth

-Richard Law, D. Phil, has been promoted to Chief Business Officer, effective March 4, with continued focus on driving impactful collaborations across our business models
-Professor Charlotte Deane, Ph.D, joined as Chief Scientist of Biologics AI, from the University of Oxford, focused on the application of AI, machine learning, and the design of protein structures in the discovery and develpment of novel drug candidates
-Significant progress in building out clinical organisation, including clinical operations, to prepare for pipeline expansion and future clinical trials
-Experienced drug discovery team established in Boston, Massachusetts, to focus on wholly owned pipeline

"2021 was a transformational year for Exscientia as we further validated and built-out our differentiated end-to-end AI platform. We executed across our business as shown by new and expanded collaborations, growing our pipeline with eleven new programmes. We significantly expanded our global operations and scaled our capacity. On top of these achievements, we also completed our upsized IPO on Nasdaq," said Andrew Hopkins, DPhil., Exscientia’s founder and CEO. "As we look to the future, we believe we are reaching a tipping point for realising the full potential of AI-driven drug creation. We’ve already seen historic investment across the industry. Exscientia has achieved many of the "firsts" in this field and is well-positioned to lead the way. The sheer scale that our AI systems lend to scientific discovery make it possible to keep pace with breaking science in a way never before seen. This year we are focused on bringing together the team we have built and the technologies we have invented to advance new medicine programmes toward the clinic, working with our pharma and biopharma collaborators toward audacious goals to tackle rare diseases and solve persistent scientific challenges, and to continue building out our one-of-a-kind precision medicine platform to bring truly personalised medicine to patients."

Investor Call and Webcast Information

Exscientia will host a conference call on March 24 at 12:30 p.m. GMT / 8:30 a.m. ET. A webcast of the live call can be accessed by visiting the "Investors and Media" section of the Company’s website at investors.exscientia.ai. Alternatively, the live conference call can be accessed by dialling +1 (888) 330 3292 (U.S.), +44 203 433 3846 (U.K.), +1 (646) 960 0857 (International) and entering the conference ID: 8333895. A replay will be available for 90 days under "Events and Presentations" in the "Investors and Media" section of the Exscientia website.

Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2021 Financial Results

For the convenience of the reader, the Company has translated pound sterling amounts to U.S. dollars at the rate of £1.000 to $1.350, which was the noon buying rate of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on December 31, 2021.

Revenue: Revenue for the full year 2021, was $36.9 million, an increase of $23.9 million compared to the full year 2020, primarily due to the achievement of the opt-in milestone on the first candidate in-licensed under Exscientia’s collaboration with BMS.

R&D and cost of drug discovery: Due to various collaboration structures, R&D expenses may be included under multiple accounting line items. The tables below show how these expenses are separated across the accounting categories.

On March 23, 2022 Celcuity Inc. (Nasdaq: CELC), a clinical-stage biotechnology company pursuing an integrated therapeutic and companion diagnostic strategy for treating patients with cancer, reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2021, the design for its pivotal Phase 3 trial for gedatolisib, an investigational pan-PI3K/mTOR inhibitor, and other recent business progress (Press release, Celcuity, MAR 23, 2022, View Source [SID1234610809]).

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The pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial, which is named VIKTORIA-1, will be an open-label, randomized study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of gedatolisib in combination with fulvestrant with or without palbociclib in adults with HR+/HER2- advanced breast cancer whose disease has progressed after prior CDK4/6 therapy in combination with an aromatase inhibitor. Prior to finalizing the Phase 3 trial design, Celcuity conducted two formal meetings with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to obtain their feedback.

The clinical trial will enroll subjects regardless of PIK3CA status while enabling separate evaluation of subjects according to their PIK3CA status. Subjects who meet eligibility criteria and do not have confirmed PI3KCA mutations (WT) will be randomly assigned (1:1:1) to receive a regimen of either gedatolisib, palbociclib, and fulvestrant (Arm A), gedatolisib and fulvestrant (Arm B), or fulvestrant (Arm C). Up to 351 subjects who are PIK3CA WT will be enrolled. Subjects who meet eligibility criteria and have confirmed PI3KCA mutations (MT) will be randomly assigned (1:1) to receive a regimen of either gedatolisib, palbociclib, and fulvestrant (Arm D) or alpelisib and fulvestrant (Arm E). Up to 300 subjects who are PIK3CA MT will be enrolled.

The primary endpoints for this pivotal study are progression free survival (PFS), per RECIST 1.1 criteria, as assessed by blinded independent central review (BICR). The primary PFS endpoints will be evaluated separately in subjects who are PI3KCA WT and PI3KCA MT.

This multi-center, international trial is expected to enroll up to 651 subjects at approximately 175 clinical sites across the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Celcuity expects to initiate the clinical trial in the first half of 2022.

"We are excited to finalize the trial design for our pivotal Phase 3 study following productive meetings with the FDA," said Brian Sullivan, CEO and co-founder of Celcuity. "This design, we believe, provides us with an opportunity to generate data that could support the future submission to the FDA of a New Drug Application for gedatolisib to treat a broad patient population."

"There is an urgent need for better treatment options for HR+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer patients whose disease has progressed after treatment with a CDK4/6 inhibitor and endocrine therapy," said Igor Gorbatchevsky, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Celcuity. "We are very encouraged by the clinical data for gedatolisib and determined to advance its development for patients as quickly as possible."

Fourth Quarter 2021 Business Highlights and Other Recent Developments

●Celcuity obtained formal feedback from the FDA regarding the design of its proposed Phase 3 clinical trial, and the trial design has been finalized.

●In January, the FDA granted Fast Track designation to Celcuity’s lead drug candidate, gedatolisib, for the treatment of patients with HR+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer after progression on CDK4/6 therapy.

●In November 2021, Celcuity and Pfizer entered into a Clinical Trial Collaboration and Supply Agreement. Under this agreement, Pfizer will supply Ibrance for Celcuity’s pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial for gedatolisib at no cost.

●Updated data from Celcuity’s ongoing Phase 1b clinical trial for patients with HR+/HER2- advanced breast cancer (ABC) was presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium in December 2021. Consistent with the previously released results, the addition of gedatolisib to palbociclib and endocrine therapy demonstrated promising antitumor activity in both first and later line settings for HR+/HER2- ABC that compared favorably to published data for available therapeutic options. A significant objective response rate (ORR) was also observed in patients refractory to their last treatment or who had received two or more lines of prior treatment for advanced breast cancer. Gedatolisib was well tolerated with manageable toxicity and a low number of patients discontinued treatment due to an adverse event.

●Celcuity entered into a clinical trial collaboration agreement with the University of Rochester Wilmot Cancer Center and Puma Biotechnology in October 2021.

●Enrollment in the FACT-1 and FACT-2 trials evaluating CELsignia selected patients who have early-stage HR+/HER2- breast cancer was impacted by COVID-19 related delays during the fourth quarter and early 2022. Hospitalizations of patients with COVID-19 increased dramatically during this period which led hospitals to reduce clinical trial related activities. Interim results are now expected to be available in the first half of 2023.

Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2021 Financial Results

Unless otherwise stated, all comparisons are for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2021, compared to the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2020.

Total operating expenses were $6.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2021, compared to $2.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2020. Operating expenses for the full year 2021 were $28.4 million, compared to $9.6 million for the full year 2020.

Research and development (R&D) expenses were $5.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2021, compared to $2.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2020. R&D expenses for the full year 2021 were $25.8 million, compared to $7.7 million for the prior year. The approximately $18.1 million increase during the full year 2021, compared to the full year 2020, resulted primarily from a $10.0 million upfront license fee related to the execution of the Pfizer license agreement, which included $5.0 million of non-cash expense for issuance of common stock. The remaining $8.1 million increase primarily resulted from expenses initially associated with the transfer of gedatolisib-related activities from Pfizer to Celcuity and subsequently the continued support and development of gedatolisib.

General and administrative (G&A) expenses were $0.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2021, compared to $0.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2020. G&A expenses for the full year 2021 were $2.6 million, compared to $1.9 million for the prior year. The approximately $0.7 million increase during the full year 2021, compared to the full year 2020, resulted primarily from a $0.4 million increase in compensation related expenses, including approximately $0.3 million of non-cash stock-based compensation.

Net loss for the fourth quarter of 2021 was $6.8 million, or $0.45 per share, compared to a net loss of $2.6 million, or $0.25 per share for 2020. Net loss for the full year 2021 was $29.6 million, or $2.21 per share, compared to $9.5 million, or $0.92 per share in 2020. Non-GAAP adjusted net loss for the fourth quarter of 2021 was $5.6 million, or $0.37 per share, compared to non-GAAP adjusted net loss of $2.1 million, or $0.21 per share, for the fourth quarter of 2020. Non-GAAP adjusted net loss for the full year 2021 was $21.4 million, or $1.60 per share, compared to non-GAAP adjusted net loss of $7.7 million, or $0.75 per share, for 2020. Non-GAAP adjusted net loss excludes stock-based compensation expense, issuance of common stock and non-cash interest. Because these items have no impact on Celcuity’s cash position, management believes non-GAAP adjusted net loss better enables Celcuity to focus on cash used in operations. For a reconciliation of financial measures calculated in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) in the United States to non-GAAP financial measures, please see the financial tables at the end of this news release.

Net cash used in operating activities for the fourth quarter of 2021 was $6.1 million, compared to $2.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2020.

At December 31, 2021, Celcuity had cash and cash equivalents of $84.3 million, compared to cash and cash equivalents of $11.6 million at December 31, 2020.

Anticipated Milestones

Celcuity expects to achieve the following potential milestones over the next twelve months

●Provide an update on lifecycle development priorities for gedatolisib in the first half of 2022.
●Initiate two Phase 2 clinical trials to evaluate gedatolisib in HR+/HER2- breast cancer patients selected with a CELsignia PI3K Pathway Test.
●Obtain interim results from the FACT-1 and FACT-2 trials in the first half of 2023.

Webcast and Conference Call Information

The Celcuity management team will host a webcast/conference call at 4:30 p.m. ET today to discuss the fourth quarter and full year 2021 financial results and provide a corporate update. To participate in the teleconference, domestic callers should dial (877) 407-0784 and international callers should dial (201) 689-8560. A live webcast presentation can also be accessed using this weblink: View Source;tp_key=d9da71b7fd. A replay of the webcast will be available on the Celcuity website following the live event.