On May 16, 2022 Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE: EBS) reported that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Chimerix, Inc. (NASDAQ: CMRX), to acquire Chimerix’s exclusive worldwide rights to TEMBEXA (brincidofovir), the first antiviral approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for all age groups for the treatment of smallpox (Press release, Emergent BioSolutions, MAY 16, 2022, View Source [SID1234614587]). TEMBEXA was approved in June 2021 and is indicated for the treatment of human smallpox disease in adult and pediatric patients, including neonates.

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"The addition of TEMBEXA to Emergent’s portfolio of medical countermeasures builds upon our core capabilities and leverages our long and successful history partnering with the U.S. government to address dangerous public health threats," said Robert G. Kramer, president and CEO of Emergent. "It exemplifies our thoughtful M&A strategy as part of our 2024 growth plan and positions us better to deliver value for our shareholders."

"This transaction expands and further diversifies our medical countermeasures business with the addition of a small molecule therapeutic that aligns with the government’s smallpox preparedness strategy," said Paul Williams, SVP government/MCM business at Emergent. "It is expected to be accretive upon first product delivery under the anticipated BARDA contract within three to six months from closing."

Transaction Details
Under the terms of the agreement, Emergent will pay Chimerix a $225 million one-time upfront payment in cash upon closing and up to a total of $100 million in milestone payments contingent on the potential exercise by the U.S. government of procurement options following the base period. The closing payment and the milestone payments may be adjusted based on the actual procurement value. The terms also include sales-based royalties contingent on future potential worldwide procurement during the exclusivity period of TEMBEXA on a market-to-market basis. Chimerix remains eligible to receive a portion of the regulatory milestone payments associated with the license to SymBio Pharmaceuticals Ltd. for indications other than orthopox infections.

Emergent anticipates that the transaction will be funded using currently available funds.

Closing Conditions
This transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including expiration or early termination of the applicable waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (HSR Act).

The transaction is further conditioned on the execution of an anticipated procurement contract between Chimerix and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) as well as receipt of any required consent from BARDA to a pre-novation agreement to be entered into with Emergent, upon which time Emergent would be poised to deliver the first shipment of TEMBEXA to the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) upon completion of customary pre-shipment obligations. In December 2021, BARDA issued a sole source request for proposal (RFP) to procure up to 1.7 million treatment courses of TEMBEXA. Chimerix expects a BARDA procurement contract award as early as second quarter of 2022.

Subject to the satisfaction or waiver of the closing conditions, the companies expect the transaction to close as early as the end of the second quarter of 2022.

ABOUT TEMBEXA
TEMBEXA is an oral antiviral formulated as 100 mg tablets and 10 mg/mL oral suspension dosed once weekly for two weeks. TEMBEXA is indicated for the treatment of human smallpox disease in adult and pediatric patients, including neonates. TEMBEXA is not indicated for the treatment of diseases other than human smallpox disease.

In June 2021, the FDA approved TEMBEXA tablets and oral suspension for the treatment of smallpox. TEMBEXA is approved for adult and pediatric patients and is the first and only smallpox therapy approved for neonates. The oral suspension formulation is particularly important for patients who have difficulty swallowing due to age or medical status. Please read full prescribing information here.

About Smallpox
Smallpox is a highly contagious disease caused by the variola virus. Historically, smallpox was one of the deadliest diseases in history with a case fatality rate of approximately 30%. Despite successful eradication of smallpox in the 1970s, there is considerable concern that variola virus could reappear, either through accidental release or as a weapon of bioterrorism. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), variola virus is ranked in the highest risk category for bioterrorism agents (Category A) due to its ease of transmission, high mortality rate, and potential to cause public panic and social disruption. Based on a recent report – The Department of Health and Human Services Fiscal Year 2023 Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund Justification of Estimates for Appropriations Committee – smallpox remains a threat of high concern to both the domestic and international community. BARDA’s goal is to ensure adequate vaccine supply for all Americans, including special populations, and to make available at least two different therapeutic agents as recommended by the National Academy of Medicine of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

On May 16, 2022 Compugen Ltd. (Nasdaq: CGEN), a clinical-stage cancer immunotherapy company and a pioneer in computational target discovery, reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2022 and provided a corporate update on key events since the start of 2022 (Press release, Compugen, MAY 16, 2022, View Source [SID1234614586]).

"I am excited about the outlook of Compugen’s immune checkpoint inhibitors based on their unique characteristics, encouraging preliminary clinical data and our differentiated clinical development strategy," said Anat Cohen-Dayag, Ph.D., President, and Chief Executive Officer of Compugen. We are the first to evaluate the triple blockade of the DNAM-1 axis, targeting PVRIG, TIGIT and PD-1 in the clinic. Based on the totality of the data we have to date on the PVRIG pathway, we believe triple blockade of PVRIG/TIGIT/PD-1 may be required for optimizing clinical responses in both inflamed and less inflamed tumors where other checkpoint inhibitors have so far been unsuccessful. Our Phase 1 clinical data demonstrated durable disease control rates, consistent immune activation, and good tolerability. With COM902, we are the first company to present clinical data with an IgG4 anti-TIGIT antibody, with low Fc-effector function. Having over a decade of expertise in this space, we believe this is the optimal design for an anti-TIGIT antibody. COM902 achieved a disease control rate of 50%. Unlike some other anti-TIGIT antibodies, to date studies have shown that COM902 avoids depletion of the CD8+ T cells, crucial for efficacy and we believe the IgG4 backbone may come with additional safety benefits. We look forward to proving our DNAM-1 axis hypothesis through our robust differentiated clinical strategy with studies designed to maximize the potential of COM701."

Dr. Cohen-Dayag also commented, "Continuing on our excellent track record in execution, our first quarter of 2022 has been focused on execution of our differentiated clinical strategy to further enhance our leadership in DNAM-1 axis evaluation. Enrollment continues in our well designed, comprehensive Phase 1 clinical studies with our pioneering immunotherapy drug candidates COM701, targeting PVRIG, and COM902, targeting TIGIT. In addition, we continue to be data-driven, invest in cutting edge research and innovate as reflected by presentations at the AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) and Keystone Symposium as well as expansion of COM701 intellectual property portfolio with a new U.S. patent covering triple combination use with anti-PD-1 and anti-TIGIT antibodies. Our $107 million cash balance affirms our financial discipline, with bold execution on our DNAM-1 axis hypothesis."

Dr. Cohen-Dayag continued, "Our clinical program is comprised of three ongoing cohort expansion combination studies, with overlapping indications, in patients with relapsed disease and indications so far insensitive to immunotherapy. The program was designed to focus on patients with limited treatment options and indications with greatest unmet need to efficiently demonstrate proof-of-concept for our novel immune therapies. Our intention is to report data from fully enrolled cohorts of each of these studies, taking into consideration that certain cohorts/indications enroll faster than others. We are on track to provide results from these studies starting with the microsatellite stable colorectal cancer, COM701/nivolumab combination expansion cohort, in the fourth quarter of 2022. We are also planning to report results from the other cohorts throughout 2023. The data from these studies will guide our regulatory strategy on a cohort-by-cohort basis."

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Dr. Cohen-Dayag concluded, "We are committed and we look forward to updating the medical and investment communities with our progress."

Financial Results

As of March 31, 2022, cash, cash equivalents, short-term bank deposits and restricted cash totaled approximately $107 million, compared with approximately $118 million as of December 31, 2021. The Company expects its existing cash and cash related balances to be sufficient to fund its operating plan into 2024, at the current rate of expenses. Compugen does not have any debt.

R&D expenses for the first quarter ended March 31, 2022, were approximately $7.2 million compared with approximately $7.3 million for the comparable period in 2021.

General and administrative expenses for the first quarter ended March 31, 2022, were approximately $2.6 million compared with approximately $2.7 million for the comparable period in 2021.

Net loss for the first quarter ended March 31, 2022, was approximately $9.7 million, or $0.11 per basic and diluted share, compared with a net loss of approximately $9.9 million, or $0.12 per basic and diluted share, in the comparable period of 2021.

On May 16, 2022 Celsion Corporation (NASDAQ: CLSN), a clinical-stage drug-development company focused on DNA-mediated immunotherapy and next-generation vaccines, reported financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2022, and provided an update on its clinical development program of GEN-1, a DNA-based interleukin-12 (IL-12) immunotherapy in Phase II clinical development for the treatment of advanced-stage ovarian cancer, and its preclinical studies of PLACCINE, a proprietary, multivalent DNA plasmid technology utilizing synthetic, non-viral delivery vectors, being evaluated in proof of concept studies for superiority over the current generation of nucleic acid vaccines (Press release, Celsion, MAY 16, 2022, View Source [SID1234614585]).

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"Patient enrollment in OVATION 2, our randomized Phase II study of advanced ovarian cancer patients, continues to show momentum with 85% of patients enrolled as of May 15, 2022, and full enrollment expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2022. We remain encouraged by surrogate endpoints like surgical resection scores among patients being treated at the 100 mg/m² dose cohort in the study. Early reports from the first thirty-nine patients who have undergone interval debulking surgery showed a 27% improvement in the surgical resection (R0) rate in the GEN-1 treatment arm over the control arm. A complete R0 is a microscopically margin-negative resection in which no gross or microscopic tumor remains in the tumor bed," said Michael H. Tardugno, Celsion’s chairman, president and chief executive officer.

"We have presented results from preclinical studies which showed our next-generation PLACCINE DNA vaccine can target two different viral variants, demonstrating immunogenicity as determined by the levels of IgG, neutralizing antibodies, and T-cell responses. Our research shows that our multivalent PLACCINE vaccine was equally effective against two different variants of the COVID-19 virus while the commercial mRNA comparison vaccine appeared to have lost some activity against the newer variant," added Mr. Tardugno. "Our goal is to demonstrate PLACCINE’s superiority with respect to the quality of immune response against SARS-CoV-2 variants, including a longer duration of immune response and a stable product at commercially favorable storage temperatures when compared to commercially available mRNA vaccines. To that end, we have engaged BIOQUAL, Inc., a preclinical testing contract research organization, to conduct a non-human primate (NHP) challenge study of our first of many vaccine candidates as protection against SARS-CoV-2. The first inoculation of NHP subjects occurred the last week of March with the goal of generating important data to inform human clinical studies by mid-June 2022."

Recent Developments

GEN-1 Immunotherapy

Data Safety Monitoring Board’s Unanimous Recommendation to Continue Dosing Patients in the Phase II Portion of the OVATION 2 Study with GEN-1 in Advanced Ovarian Cancer. In February 2022, the Company announced that following a pre-planned interim safety review of eighty-one as treated patients randomized in the Phase I/II OVATION 2 Study with GEN-1 in advanced (Stage III/IV) ovarian cancer, the Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) unanimously recommended that the OVATION 2 Study continue treating patients with the dose of 100 mg/m2. The DSMB also determined that safety is satisfactory with an acceptable risk/benefit, and that patients tolerate GEN-1 during a course of treatment that lasts up to six months. No dose-limiting toxicities were reported.

Findings from the Use of a Synthetic Control Arm to Estimate Treatment Effect in Phase Ib dose-escalating OVATION I Study presented at 2022 AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting. In April 2022 Celsion demonstrated its commitment to innovation in clinical research. The Company and the premier global data management CRO, Medidata, announced findings on the use of a Synthetic Control ArmⓇ (SCA) in a completed Phase Ib dose-escalating study of GEN-1 in the neoadjuvant treatment of patients with Stage III/IV ovarian cancer at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper). In a poster presentation entitled "Phase IB trial efficacy estimates via a clinical trial synthetic control arm," which took place on Monday April 11, 2022 from 9 AM through 12:00 PM EST, the research team’s findings demonstrated how comparing patients from a single-arm trial can help enhance understanding of treatment effects in advance of randomized trials, inform drug development and trial design, and increase the scientific value of early phase trials.

A Synthetic Control Arm is a type of external control and is formed by carefully matching patients treated with a new investigational therapy to anonymized clinical trial patients from Medidata’s extensive repository of historical clinical trials using baseline demographic and disease characteristics. Using this advanced statistical methodology, Celsion and Medidata found that progression-free survival was prolonged for the patients treated with the investigational therapy GEN-1 along with standard of care chemotherapy in the OVATION 1 Study compared to well-balanced historic control patients treated with the same standard of care chemotherapy alone (Hazard Ratio=0.53, 95% Confidence Interval (0.16, 1.73). This larger than expected effect size led to a decrease in the number of planned patients for Celsion’s subsequent Phase II trial and was used in support of Fast Track Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) received in February 2021.

Vaccine Initiative

Proof of Concept Vaccine Candidate Advanced to Non-Human Primate Challenge Study Against SARS-CoV-2. In January 2022, the Company announced it had engaged BIOQUAL, Inc., a preclinical testing contract research organization, to conduct a non-human primate (NHP) challenge study with Celsion’s DNA-based approach for a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. The NHP pilot study follows the generation of encouraging murine data and will evaluate the Company’s vaccine formulations for safety, immunogenicity and protection against SARS-CoV-2.

In completed preclinical studies, Celsion demonstrated safe and efficient immune responses including IgG response, neutralizing antibodies and T-cell responses that parallel the activity of commercial vaccines following intramuscular (IM) administration of novel vaccine compositions expressing a single viral antigen. In addition, vector development has shown promise of neutralizing activity against a range of SARS-CoV-2 variants. Celsion’s novel DNA-based vaccines are based on a simple intramuscular injection that does not require viral encapsulation or special equipment for administration. Ongoing directional and technical guidance from our Vaccine Advisory Board, which is comprised of leaders in commercial vaccine development, virology, vector engineering and drug development, has been invaluable as we approach this critical advancement in our platform development program. We expect NHP studies to begin during the second quarter of 2022 with the goal of generating important data to inform human clinical studies.

PLACCINE Vaccine Platform Technology Highlighted During Oral Presentation at the World Vaccine Congress. In April 2022, the Company presented its PLACCINE platform technology at the World Vaccine Congress which took place in Washington D.C. In an oral presentation during a Session on Cancer and Immunotherapy, Dr. Khursheed Anwer, Celsion’s Chief Science Officer, highlighted the Company’s technology platform in his presentation entitled: "Novel DNA Approaches for Cancer Immunotherapies and Multivalent Infectious Disease Vaccines." PLACCINE is one of three platform technologies Celsion has for a range of therapeutics in oncology and immunotherapy. A copy of Dr. Anwer’s presentation is available on the investor portion of the Celsion website under Scientific Presentations.

PLACCINE is demonstrating the potential to be a platform for a range of infectious disease that provides for rapid design capability for targeting two or more different variants of a single virus in one vaccine. There is a clear public health need for vaccines today that address more than one strain of viruses, like COVID-19, which have fast evolving variant capability. Murine model data has thus far been encouraging and suggests that the Company’s approach provides not only flexibility, but also the potential for efficacy comparable to benchmark COVID-19 commercial vaccines with durability to protect expected to be greater than 6 months.

In the murine model, our multivalent PLACCINE vaccine targeted against two different variants showed to be immunogenic as determined by the levels of IgG, neutralizing antibodies, and T-cell responses. Additionally, our multivalent vaccine was equally effective against two different variants of the COVID-19 virus while the commercial mRNA vaccine appeared to have lost some activity against the newer variant. The Company continues to evaluate our technology and look forward to the results from our ongoing proof-of-concept non-human primate study evaluating our PLACCINE vaccine against the challenge from live SARS-CoV-2 virus in the second quarter, with durability results available in the second half of this year.

Corporate Developments

Issuance and Redemption of Convertible Redeemable Preferred Stock. In January 2022, the Company announced that it had entered into a securities purchase agreement with certain institutional investors to purchase Series A and B convertible redeemable preferred stock for approximately $28.5 million in gross proceeds. The Series A and Series B preferred stock permitted the holders thereof to vote together with the holders of the Company’s common stock on a proposal to effectuate a reverse stock split of the Company’s common stock at a special meeting of Company stockholders held on February 24, 2022. The Series A and Series B preferred stock were not permitted to vote on any other matters.

The holders of the Series A and Series B preferred stock had the right to redeem their shares of preferred stock for cash at 105% of the stated value after the Company’s stockholders’ approval of the reverse stock split. On March 3, 2022, the Company redeemed for cash at a price equal to 105% of the $300 stated value per share all of its Preferred Stock. As a result, all shares of the Preferred Stock have been retired and are no longer outstanding and Celsion’s only class of outstanding stock is its common stock, par value $0.01 per share. Each share of common stock entitles the holder to one vote.

Received $1.4 Million in Non-Dilutive Funding from the Sale of its New Jersey State Net Operating Losses, with an Additional $3.5 Million Expected in 2022 – 2023. In February 2022, the Company announced it has received $1.4 million in net cash proceeds from the sale of approximately $1.5 million of its unused New Jersey net operating losses (NOLs). The NOL sales cover the tax year 2020 and are administered through the New Jersey Economic Development Authority’s (NJEDA) Technology Business Tax Certificate Transfer Program. The Company plans to sell an additional $3.5 million of unused New Jersey NOLs available to the Company under the program over the next 2 years. The Technology Business Tax Certificate Transfer Program administered by the NJEDA enables qualified companies to sell up to $20 million of their unused New Jersey net operating losses and R&D tax credits to unaffiliated, profit-generating corporate taxpayers in the state of New Jersey. The economic development program is designed to allow technology and biotechnology companies with NOLs to turn their tax losses and credits into cash proceeds to fund more R&D, expand its workforce, and cover other allowable expenditures.

Strengthened Balance Sheet Through Registered Direct Offering of Common Shares totaling $7.0 Million in Gross Proceeds Priced At-The-Market under NASDAQ Rules. On April 8, 2022, the Company announced the closing of a registered direct offering of 1,328,274 shares of common stock at a purchase price of $5.27 per share, resulting in gross proceeds of $7.0 million, before deducting placement agents’ fees and expenses. Celsion intends to use the net proceeds for general corporate purposes, including research and development activities, capital expenditures and working capital.

Financial Results for the Three Months Ended March 31, 2022

Celsion reported a net loss for the first quarter of 2022 of $10.5 million ($1.82 per share) compared with a net loss of $5.7 million ($3.31 per share) in 2021. Operating expenses were $6.0 million for the first quarter in 2022, which represented a $0.5 million (8%) increase from $5.5 million for the first quarter of 2021.

Net cash used for operating activities was $8.0 million for the first quarter of 2022, compared with $4.7 million for the comparable prior-year period. This increase is attributable to higher non-operating expenses (interest expense related to the one-time sale and subsequent redemption of $30 million convertible, redeemable preferred stock during the first quarter of 2022). The Company had $47.3 million in cash, investments and restricted cash as of March 31, 2021. Combined with $6.5 million of net proceeds received from the sale of equity in a registered direct offering that closed on April 8, 2022, along with $3.5 million in future planned sales of the Company’s State of New Jersey NOLs, the Company believes it has sufficient capital resources to fund its operations into the second quarter of 2025.

Research and development expenses were $3.1 million for the first quarter of 2022, an increase of $0.5 million or 20% from $2.6 million for the comparable period in 2021. R&D costs associated with the development of GEN-1 to support the OVATION 2 Study as well as development of the PLACCINE DNA vaccine technology platform increased to $1.9 million in the first quarter of 2022 compared to $1.4 million in the same three-month period of 2021. Costs associated with the OPTIMA Study were $0.1 million in the first quarter of 2022 and 2021. In July 2020, the Company unblinded the OPTIMA Study at the recommendation of the DMC to halt the study due to futility. Other clinical and regulatory costs were $0.8 million in the first quarter of 2022 and $0.6 million the first quarter of 2021. CMC costs decreased to $0.3 million in the first quarter of 2022 compared to $0.5 million in in the first quarter of 2021 due to the discontinuation of the ThermoDox clinical development program in primary liver cancer.

General and administrative expenses were $2.9 million in each of the first quarters of 2022 and 2021. Lower non-cash stock compensation expense of $0.4 million was offset by higher salaries and benefits, higher professional fees (largely legal fees to defend various suits filed after the announcement in July 2020 of the OPTIMA Phase III clinical results) and higher premiums for directors’ and officers’ insurance in the first quarter of 2022 when compared to same prior year period.

Other non-operating expenses increased to $4.6 million in the first quarter of 2022 compared to $0.3 million in the comparable prior year. Interest expense increased by $4.5 million resulting from the sale and subsequent redemption of $30 million of Series A & B convertible redeemable preferred stock during the first quarter of 2022.

Conference Call

The Company is hosting a conference call to provide a business update, discuss first quarter 2022 financial results and answer questions at 11:00 a.m. EDT today. To participate in the call, interested parties may dial 1-888-394-8218 (Toll-Free/North America) or +1-323-794-2588 (International/Toll) and ask for the Celsion Corporation First Quarter 2022 Earnings Call (Conference Code: 7615593) to register ten minutes before the call is scheduled to begin. The call will also be broadcast live on the internet at www.celsion.com. The call will be archived for replay on Monday, May 16, 2022, and will remain available until May 30, 2022. The replay can be accessed at +1-719-457-0820 or 1-888-203-1112 using Conference ID: 7615593. An audio replay of the call will also be available on the Company’s website, www.celsion.com, for 90 days after 2:00 p.m. EDT Monday, May 16, 2022.

On May 16, 2022 Cellectis (the "Company") (Euronext Growth: ALCLS – NASDAQ: CLLS), a clinical-stage biotechnology company using its pioneering gene-editing platform to develop life-saving cell and gene therapies, reported that it will present its first research data on the development of a novel universal CAR T-cell with immune-evasive properties using TALEN-gene editing, at the American Society of Cell and Gene Therapy Annual Meeting (ASGCT) (Free ASGCT Whitepaper) being held on May 16-19, 2022 (Press release, Cellectis, MAY 16, 2022, View Source [SID1234614584]). This novel immune-evasive CAR T-cell scaffold evades NK (Natural Killer) cell and alloresponsive T-cell attacks and imparts efficient antitumor activity in vitro and in vivo.

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Cellectis’ novel immune-evasive CAR T-cell (ΔTRACCARΔB2MHLAE), was developed using a combination of TALEN-mediated gene editing and adeno-associated virus (AAV) dependent gene insertion. ΔTRACCARΔB2MHLAE is devoid of TCRαβ and human leukocyte antigen (HLA) Class I expression and endowed with an engineered surface-exposed HLA-E. These three features could enable CAR T-cells to prevent graft versus host (GvH) reaction and evade the cytolytic activities from alloresponsive T-cells and NK cells.

"Universal CAR T-cell therapies are poised to revolutionize cancer treatment and to improve patient outcomes. Realizing these advantages in an allogeneic setting requires universal CAR T cells that can kill target tumor cells, avoid depletion by the host immune system, and proliferate without attacking host tissues. Cellectis’ research suggested that ΔTRACCARΔB2MHLAE T-cells evade NK cell and alloresponsive T-cell attacks and showed prolonged antitumor activity in the presence of cytotoxic levels of NK cells. This new cellular scaffold could enable the broad use of universal CAR T-cells in allogeneic settings and holds great promise for clinical applications," said Julien Valton, Ph.D., Vice President Gene Therapy at Cellectis.

Research data showed that:

ΔTRACCARΔB2MHLAE overcame alloresponsive T-cell and NK cells attacks.

The immune-evasive property of ΔTRACCARΔB2MHLAE was similar toward NK cells from healthy donors, acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients and acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) patients.

ΔTRACCARΔB2MHLAE T-cells exhibit prolonged antitumor activity in the presence of cytotoxic levels of NK cells.
Title: Endowing Universal CAR T-cell with Immune-Evasive Properties Using TALEN-Gene Editing

Session Date: May 16, 2022
Presentation Time: 3:45pm – 4:00pm ET
Location: Walter E. Washington Convention Center
Session title: Cell-Based Cancer Immunotherapies I
Room: 207
Final abstract number: 99

The research data will be presented today in an oral presentation. The abstract can be accessed on the ASGCT (Free ASGCT Whitepaper) website, and the oral presentation will be posted on Cellectis’ website during the conference.

On May 16, 2022 Vyant Bio, Inc. ("Vyant Bio", "Company") (Nasdaq: VYNT) is an innovative biotechnology company reinventing drug discovery for complex neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders (Press release, Cancer Genetics, MAY 16, 2022, View Source [SID1234614583]). The Company’s central nervous system ("CNS") drug discovery platform combines human-derived organoid models of brain disease, scaled biology, and machine learning. Today, Vyant Bio expects to file its Form 10-Q for the First Quarter 2022 with the Securities and Exchange Commission and will report its First Quarter 2022 highlights and business updates this afternoon in a conference call and webcast scheduled for 4:30 pm ET.

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"During the first quarter of 2022, we progressed our scientific work by using our proprietary drug discovery platform centered on human iPSC-derived neurospheroids to unveil novel targets and potentially disease-modifying therapeutics to treat patients suffering from severe neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases. We are validating important data that we believe will demonstrate our ability to de-risk the selection of therapeutics that can rescue a disease phenotype. We believe current preclinical models are not sufficiently predictive, and many current therapies for CNS disorders only address the symptoms and do not reverse the effects of neurological diseases. Our focus during the first 90 days of 2022 was to progress our platform validation efforts to advance our CNS programs that are designed to identify disease-modifying therapeutics, consistent with our plans and prior disclosures to our shareholders," stated Jay Roberts, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer.

"As we highlighted in our last earnings conference call, we believe our focus on complex neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders addresses significant unmet medical needs, and will lead to the identification of important, disease modifying therapies for major causes of death and disability worldwide. Our Rett patient-derived neural spheroids show a robust and reproducible disease-specific phenotype that can be quantified in an unbiased manner across dozens of endpoints. By phenotypic screening of our Rett neural spheroids, we identified VYNT-0126 which has consistently shown a dose-dependent unique rescue of the RTT functional phenotype with a differentiated mechanism of action from other Rett syndrome clinical candidates. Our ongoing work on CDKL5 and familial Parkinson’s disease has further established that our discovery platforms represent a new, unique robust model for human-first CNS drug discovery" stated Dr. Robert Fremeau, Chief Scientific Officer of Vyant Bio.

FIRST QUARTER 2022 FINANCIAL RESULTS

Cash and cash equivalents totaled $16.4 million as of March 31, 2022. The Company implemented two new vehicles to facilitate the raising of additional equity capital at the Company’s option with the finalization of the Lincoln Park Equity line of credit allowing access to raise up to $15 million, as well as signing a $14.5 million ATM with Canaccord Genuity. The Company’s current cash balances, future proceeds from the sale of vivoPharm and future proceeds from the equity line of credit and ATM are expected to fund operations well into 2023.

During the first quarter of 2022, the Company continued the process of divesting the vivoPharm business which is expected to complete in 2022. Therefore, the vivoPharm business is classified as a "held-for-sale" asset, and its financial information as "discontinuing operations".

The Company’s loss from continuing operations aggregated $4.4 million in the first quarter of 2022 and included non-cash depreciation and amortization as well as stock-based compensation expenses of $98 thousand and $278 thousand, respectively, and one-time severance charges of $437 thousand. Discontinuing operations net loss for the March 31, 2022 quarter aggregated $4.8 million and included a non-cash impairment charge of $4.3 million resulting from changed market conditions for contract research organizations from December 31, 2021 to March 31, 2022.

Total revenue from continuing operations increased 49.3%, or $100 thousand, to $303 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2022, as compared with $222 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2021.

Cost of goods sold – service from continuing operations totaled $38 thousand and $64 thousand, respectively, for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, resulting in a cost of goods sold of 40% and 66%, respectively, of service revenue.

Cost of goods sold – product costs decreased by 12%, or $48 thousand to $348 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2022, as compared with $396 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2021.

Research and development expenses increased by 89%, or $731 thousand, to $1.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2022 from $820 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2021. This increase is principally due a $336 thousand increase in payroll-related and consulting expenses, a $315 thousand increase in research and development activities at our Maple Grove facility, and $48 thousand related to moving to a new facility in California.

Selling, general and administrative expenses increased by 128%, or $1.5 million, to $2.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2022, as compared with $1.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021. The 2021 period reflects the Company as a privately-held company whereas the 2022 period reflect the Company as a publicly-held company. The quarter ended March 31, 2022 includes incremental $564 thousand of payroll-related expenses, including one-time contractual severance benefits for two former employees of $437 thousand. The Company incurred incremental professional services fees of $472 thousand in the first quarter of 2022 as compared with the same prior-year period related to accounting, audit and other professional services and incurred $418 thousand of additional insurance expense.

Vyant Bio’s Conference Call and Webcast and Information

Vyant Bio’s management will host a conference call on Monday, May 16, 2022 at 4:30pm ET to discuss the first quarter 2022 results and provide strategic business updates as well as answer questions.