On February 24, 2022 Sangamo Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: SGMO), a genomic medicines company, reported fourth quarter and full year 2021 financial results and recent business highlights (Press release, Sangamo Therapeutics, FEB 24, 2022, View Source [SID1234608986]).
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"In 2021, we continued to advance the development of genomic medicines for patients across multiple therapeutic areas using our innovative technologies," said Sandy Macrae, Chief Executive Officer of Sangamo. "We along with our partners presented compelling clinical data in our three lead programs and advanced development of preclinical product candidates using our second-generation technologies of CAR-Treg cell therapy for autoimmune diseases and engineered zinc finger transcription factors for neurological disorders. In addition, we completed and brought online our cell therapy manufacturing facilities in Brisbane and Valbonne and now have operational AAV and cell therapy facilities in-house. We believe this progress positions us well to generate long-term value for our shareholders."
Fourth Quarter Updates and Recent Business Highlights
Fabry disease – Updated preliminary Phase 1/2 data show continued safety, tolerability and elevated α-Gal A enzyme activity; Phase 3 planning initiated
•We presented updated preliminary clinical data from the Phase 1/2 STAAR study evaluating isaralgagene civaparvovec, or ST-920, our wholly owned gene therapy product candidate for the treatment of Fabry disease at the 18th Annual WORLDSymposium earlier this month. As of the November 9, 2021 cutoff date:
◦The four patients in Cohorts 1 and 2 all exhibited above normal α-Gal A activity, ranging from 3-fold to 15-fold above mean normal at last measurement.
◦The two patients in Cohort 1 maintained elevated α-Gal A activity for one year and are now in the long-term follow-up study.
◦The first patient in Cohort 3 exhibited α-Gal A activity within mean normal range by week 2.
◦Lyso-Gb3 levels remained significantly reduced in the patient who exhibited the highest baseline levels of this biomarker.
◦The gene therapy candidate continued to be generally well tolerated in the five treated patients.
•The sixth patient in the STAAR study, who is the second patient in Cohort 3, was dosed after the cutoff date. We expect to provide updated data in the second half of 2022.
•Based on the Phase 1/2 data, we have initiated Phase 3 planning.
Sickle cell disease – Updated preliminary Phase 1/2 proof-of-concept safety, tolerability and efficacy results
•We presented updated preliminary proof-of-concept clinical data from the Phase 1/2 PRECIZN-1 study of SAR445136, a zinc finger nuclease gene-edited cell therapy candidate in development with Sanofi, at the 63rd American Society for Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition (ASH 2021). As of the September 22, 2021 cutoff date:
◦No adverse events related to SAR445136 were reported.
◦All four treated patients experienced increases in total hemoglobin, fetal hemoglobin and percent F cells.
◦None of the patients required blood transfusions post engraftment.
•We expect that the next four patients treated in the study will be dosed with a product candidate manufactured using improved methods, which have been shown in internal experiments to increase long-term progenitor cells. We expect to complete dosing of these patients in the third quarter of this year.
•We and Sanofi are collaborating on an orderly transition of Sanofi’s rights and obligations under the program to Sangamo on June 28, 2022, while we explore options to advance the program, including seeking a potential new partner.
Hemophilia A – Updated Phase 1/2 results show sustained bleeding control in highest dose cohort through two years following giroctocogene fitelparvovec gene therapy
•With our collaborator Pfizer, we presented updated follow-up data from the Phase 1/2 Alta study of giroctocogene fitelparvovec, an investigational gene therapy for patients with moderately severe to severe hemophilia A, at ASH (Free ASH Whitepaper) 2021. As of the October 1, 2021 cutoff date:
◦At 104 weeks, the five patients in the highest dose 3e13 vg/kg cohort had mean factor VIII (FVIII) activity of 25.4% via chromogenic clotting assay. In this cohort, mean annualized bleeding rate was 0.0 in the first year post-infusion and was 1.4 throughout the total duration of follow-up. All bleeding events occurred after week 69 post-infusion. Two patients experienced bleeding events necessitating treatment with exogenous FVIII. No participants in the highest dose cohort had resumed prophylaxis.
◦Giroctocogene fitelparvovec continued to be generally well-tolerated.
•Regarding the Phase 3 AFFINE trial of giroctocogene fitelparvovec, Pfizer has announced that it hopes to obtain agreements from health authorities to resume the AFFINE trial and to begin to reopen trial sites in the first half of 2022. This trial was previously paused when some of the patients treated in this trial experienced FVIII activity greater than 150% following treatment. Pfizer has announced that it currently is in the process of submitting a protocol amendment to health authorities in the countries where this trial is being conducted and preparing responses to the U.S. FDA clinical hold. Over 50% of the patients have been enrolled in the Phase 3 AFFINE trial.
Renal Transplant Rejection – First patient enrolled and expected to be dosed soon in Phase 1/2 study
•The first patient has been enrolled and is expected to be dosed soon in our Phase 1/2 STEADFAST study evaluating TX200, our wholly owned autologous HLA-A2 CAR Treg cell therapy product candidate treating patients receiving an HLA-A2 mismatched kidney from a living donor. We expect the second patient in this study to be dosed by the middle of 2022. We continue to open study sites and screen patients.
Manufacturing – AAV and cell therapy cGMP manufacturing facilities fully operational
•We completed and brought online our in-house cell therapy manufacturing facilities in our Brisbane, California headquarters and in our Valbonne, France facilities in 2021, in addition to the in-house AAV manufacturing facilities we brought online in Brisbane in 2020.
Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2021 Financial Results
Consolidated net loss for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2021 was $37.5 million, or $0.26 per share, compared to net loss of $40.7 million, or $0.29 per share, for the same period in 2020. For the year ended December 31, 2021, consolidated net loss was $178.3 million, or $1.23 per share, compared to consolidated net loss of $121.1 million, or $0.90 per share, for the year ended December 31, 2020.
Revenues
Revenues for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2021 were $28.0 million, compared to $25.8 million for the same period in 2020.
The increase of $2.2 million in revenues was primarily due to increase in recognition of upfront license fees and research revenue of $3.7 million under our collaboration agreement with Novartis. The increase was partially offset by a decrease of $1.4 million in revenue related to the termination of our licensing agreement with Dow AgroSciences LLC in July 2021.
Revenues were $110.7 million in 2021, compared to $118.2 million in 2020. The decrease in revenues was primarily due to a decrease of $47.4 million of milestone fees and recognition of upfront license fees related to our giroctocogene fitelparvovec and C9ORF72 collaboration agreements with Pfizer resulting from the completion of our activities in 2020 and a decrease of $5.4 million from our collaboration agreements with Kite and Sanofi. These decreases were partially offset by higher revenues of $32.7 million and $14.4 million related to our collaboration agreements with Novartis and Biogen, respectively.
Total operating expenses on a GAAP basis for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2021 were $67.9 million compared to $69.2 million for the same period in 2020. Non-GAAP operating expenses, which exclude stock-based compensation expense, for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2021 were $59.8 million, compared to $62.6 million for the same period in 2020.
The decrease in total operating expenses in the fourth quarter on a GAAP basis was primarily due to a reduction of research and development expenses by $5.2 million related to dissolution of the repayment obligation of a grant from California Institute for Regenerative Medicine associated with the discontinuation of the ST-400 program. This decrease was partially offset by an increase of $4.6 million in research and development expenses due to increased headcount to support the advancement of our clinical trials and our ongoing collaborations, and an increase in manufacturing and overhead costs as we ramped up our internal manufacturing operations.
Total operating expenses on a GAAP basis in 2021 were $294.0 million compared to $247.7 million in 2020. Non-GAAP operating expenses, which exclude stock-based compensation expense, were $261.0 million and $222.0 million in 2021 and 2020, respectively.
The increase in total operating expenses in the full year on a GAAP basis was primarily driven by our higher clinical and manufacturing supply expenses along with our increased headcount to support the advancement of our clinical trials and our ongoing collaborations and an increase in manufacturing and overhead costs as we ramped up our internal manufacturing operations.
Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities
Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities as of December 31, 2021 were $464.7 million compared to $692.0 million as of December 31, 2020.
Initial Financial Guidance for 2022
On a GAAP basis, we expect total operating expenses in the range of approximately $320 million to $350 million in 2022, which includes non-cash stock-based compensation expense.
We expect non-GAAP total operating expenses, excluding estimated non-cash stock-based compensation expense of approximately $40 million, in the range of approximately $280 million to $310 million in 2022.
Conference Call
Sangamo will host a conference call today, February 24, 2022, at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time, which will be open to the public. The call will also be webcast with live Q&A and can be accessed via a link on the Sangamo Therapeutics website in the Investors and Media section under Events and Presentations.
The conference call dial-in numbers are (877) 377-7553 for domestic callers and (678) 894-3968 for international callers. The conference ID number for the call is 2235808. Participants may access the live webcast via a link on the Sangamo Therapeutics website in the Investors and Media section under Events and Presentations. A conference call replay will be available for one week following the conference call. The conference call replay numbers for domestic and international callers are (855) 859-2056 and (404) 537-3406, respectively. The conference ID number for the replay is 2235808.