On August 8, 2018 CytomX Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq:CTMX), a clinical-stage oncology-focused biopharmaceutical company pioneering a novel class of investigational antibody therapeutics based on its Probody therapeutic technology platform, reported second quarter 2018 financial results (Press release, CytomX Therapeutics, AUG 8, 2018, View Source [SID1234528544]).

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As of June 30, 2018, CytomX had cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $335.1 million.

"The highlight of our second quarter was the presentation of encouraging data from our first clinical trial of CX-072, a PD-L1-targeting Probody therapeutic, comprising a critical milestone for the Company," said Sean McCarthy, D.Phil., president and chief executive officer of CytomX Therapeutics. "Based on these promising initial clinical findings, we have broadened the CX-072 development program to encompass eight distinct tumor types as we explore the full potential of this molecule, while continuing to advance combination arms with Yervoy and Zelboraf. We also continued to make progress across our entire therapeutic pipeline including the entry of our fourth program into the clinic, CX-2029, a CD71 Probody drug conjugate, in collaboration with AbbVie. The CytomX team continues to execute at a high level as we drive towards realizing our company vision of transforming patients’ lives."

Business Highlights and Recent Developments

PROCLAIM-CX-072 (PD-L1 Probody Therapeutic) Clinical Program

CX-072 is a Probody therapeutic targeting PD-L1, a clinically- and commercially-validated anti-cancer target.
CytomX presented preliminary clinical data with an April 20, 2018 data cutoff from two arms of the Phase 1/2 PROCLAIM-CX-072 program at the 2018 ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting.
CX-072 monotherapy dose escalation arm evaluating CX-072 in patients with advanced unresectable solid tumors or lymphomas (Part A)
CX-072 was generally well tolerated in the 22 patients treated, Grade 3/4 TRAEs were reported in two patients with both events successfully managed with therapeutic intervention including steroids and discontinuation of CX-072 with the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) not reached.
CX-072 demonstrated encouraging efficacy in the 20 evaluable patients with objective responses in 3 (15%) patients, all occurring at doses of 3mg/kg or above. Stable disease was observed in 8 (40%) patients.
CX-072 in combination with Yervoy (ipilimumab) in patients with advanced unresectable solid tumors or lymphomas (Part B)
CX-072 in combination with ipilimumab was generally well tolerated in the 16 patients treated with five (31%) reporting a Grade 3/4 TRAE with the MTD not reached at the time of data cutoff.
CX-072 in combination with ipilimumab demonstrated encouraging efficacy in the 12 evaluable patients with objective responses in 3 (25%) patients and stable disease observed in 8% of the patients, for an overall Disease Control Rate of 33%.
CytomX also presented a preliminary single-dose pharmacokinetic analysis showing that CX-072 as a single-agent, as designed, circulates predominantly as the intact masked prodrug across all dose levels.
Based on encouraging data from the PROCLAIM-CX-072 monotherapy arm, CytomX announced the opening of expansion cohorts in 8 undisclosed tumor types at the dose of 10mg/kg (Part D).
Follow-up data from Part A and Part B of the PROCLAIM-072 trial is expected to be presented in October at the Annual Meeting of the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) (Free ESMO Whitepaper) in Munich, Germany.
CytomX expects to present initial data from the accompanying CX-072 translational science program in the second half of 2018.
PROCLAIM-CX-2009 (CD166 Probody Drug Conjugate) Clinical Program

CX-2009 is a Probody drug conjugate (PDC) that targets CD166, an antigen that is broadly and highly expressed in many types of cancer.
Dose escalation continues in Part A of the PROCLAIM-CX-2009 Phase 1/2 clinical program and preliminary data is expected to be presented in the second half of 2018.
CX-2029 (CD71 Probody Drug Conjugate) Clinical Program

CytomX, in collaboration with AbbVie, is advancing CX-2029, a CD71-directed PDC.
Clearance of the Investigational New Drug (IND) application for CX-2029 was received from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in May 2018.
The first subject enrolled in the PROCLAIM-CX-2029 Phase 1/2 dose escalation trial has been treated.
CX-188 (PD-1 Probody Therapeutic) Preclinical Program

CytomX is advancing CX-188, a PD-1-directed Probody therapeutic, through IND-enabling studies.
CytomX expects to file an IND application for CX-188 in the second half of 2018.
Corporate Highlights

In July, CytomX completed an underwritten public offering of 5,867,347 shares of its common stock at a price of $24.50 per share, which includes the exercise in full by the underwriters of their option to purchase up to 765,306 additional shares of common stock. The public offering resulted in net proceeds of $134.5 million to CytomX. Proceeds from the offering are not reflected in the Company’s June 30, 2018 balance sheet.
CytomX announced the appointment of Lloyd A. Rowland, Jr. as Senior Vice President, General Counsel.
Second Quarter 2018 Financial Results

Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments totaled $335.1 million as of June 30, 2018, compared to $374.1 million as of December 31, 2017.

Revenue was $21.3 million for the three months ended June 30, 2018, compared to $8.8 million for the three months ended June 30, 2017. The increase was primarily attributable to the recognition of $9.9 million in revenue of the $21 million (net of the associated sublicense fee of $4 million) milestone payment from AbbVie related to the clearance of the CX-2029 IND, an increase of $1.6 million in revenue related to the Amgen collaboration, an increase of $1.4 million in revenue related to the BMS collaboration, and an increase of $0.7 million in revenue from the collaboration extension agreement with ImmunoGen, partially offset by a decrease in revenue of $0.5 million from the termination of the Pfizer collaboration in March 2018.

Research and development expenses decreased by $2.5 million during the three months ended June 30, 2018 compared to the corresponding period in 2017. The net decrease was primarily attributed to a $10.0 million sublicense payment to UCSB in Q2 2017, which was triggered by the $200 million upfront payment from BMS, offset by a $4.6 million increase in lab contracts and services and clinical trial expenses related to CX-072 and CX-2009 into phase 1 / 2 clinical development, an increase of $2.5 million in personnel related expenses due to an increase in headcount and a $0.4 million sublicense fee payable to UCSB for the IND success criteria achieved on the AbbVie CD71 Agreement in Q2 2018.

General and administrative expenses increased by $3.0 million during the three months ended June 30, 2018 compared to the corresponding period in 2017. This increase was largely attributed to an increase of $1.4 million in personnel related expenses due to increases in headcount, an increase of $1.0 million in consulting expenses and an increase of $0.5 million in legal fees.