On August 13, 2020 Lumos Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:LUMO), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on therapeutics for rare diseases, reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2020 and provided an update on clinical activities (Press release, NewLink Genetics, AUG 13, 2020, View Source [SID1234563600]).
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"The second quarter continued to be a busy and productive one for Lumos Pharma," commented Rick Hawkins, Chairman, CEO and President. "Most notably, the efforts of our team during this period culminated in the sale of our Priority Review Voucher in line with our expectations, further strengthening our balance sheet. With a Study May Proceed letter from the FDA in hand, we are progressing toward our goal of initiating the Phase 2b trial of LUM-201, our oral therapeutic candidate for PGHD, prior to the end of this year. In addition, we continue to engage in activities to expand our pipeline through the licensure of other rare disease assets. With our strong balance sheet and non-dilutive funds from the monetization of our PRV, we believe Lumos Pharma is well positioned to execute on our clinical and business development plans."
Corporate Update
Sale of Priority Review Voucher (PRV) – On July 27, 2020, Lumos Pharma announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement to sell its PRV to Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada. The PRV was granted in conjunction with the approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of ERVEBO, a vaccine developed by the Company’s licensee, Merck, for the prevention of the Zaire Ebola virus disease.
Under the terms of the original license agreement, Lumos Pharma is entitled to retain 60% of the value of the PRV. Based upon an agreed valuation of $100 million, Merck will pay Lumos $60 million. The $60 million will be received in two non-contingent payments, $34 million anticipated in the third quarter of 2020, and $26 million in the first quarter of 2021. The transaction remains subject to customary closing conditions including anti-trust review. The non-dilutive funds from this transaction will provide additional capital to support the expansion of the Company’s pipeline through the in-licensing or acquisition of another novel therapeutic candidate for those suffering from rare diseases.
Clinical Update and COVID-19 Impact
Phase 2b trial of LUM-201 in PGHD – Lumos Pharma continues to prioritize the clinical development of LUM-201, its orally administered therapeutic candidate for a significant subset of children with PGHD. The Company continues to anticipate the initiation of its Phase 2b trial in PGHD prior to the end of 2020. This trial will evaluate three dose levels of LUM-201 in PGHD patients against a comparator arm of standard-of-care injectable growth hormone therapy. Dosing will be administered over six months, with annualized growth height velocity as the primary clinical outcome measure. The purpose of this trial will be to prospectively confirm our Predictive Enrichment Marker strategy and to identify the optimal dose of LUM-201 to be used in a registration trial.
While the coronavirus pandemic initially caused pervasive interruptions to clinical trials industrywide, clinical sites have begun to reopen, and numerous trials have restarted. A resurgence of the coronavirus pandemic may cause further
Exhibit 99.1
delays or shutdowns of clinical trials, including our own. Our Phase 2b site selection, however, spans a broad geographic base across the US and multiple other countries and includes both private clinics and academic centers, which we believe should help mitigate the impact of a resurgence of this pandemic.
Pharmacokinetic/Pharmacodynamic Study of LUM-201 in PGHD – Lumos also plans to initiate a second concurrent trial of LUM-201 in PGHD by Q1 2021. This trial is intended to further explore the effects of the mechanism of action of LUM-201 in amplifying the natural pulsatile secretion of growth hormone. The study will focus on pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic endpoints at two different doses in a limited number of children with PGHD, corroborating the amplified pulsatile secretion demonstrated in prior LUM-201 studies in adults. The trial will be conducted at a single specialized pediatric center with the capacity to conduct the more frequent sample acquisition and monitoring required for these types of clinical trials. This study will run in parallel with our announced Phase 2b trial with the intention that the data will be supportive in any future regulatory filings.
Pipeline Expansion – The Company continues to pursue business development opportunities to expand its rare disease portfolio. With a team possessing deep experience in the rare disease sector, we believe we are well-positioned to be successful in our pursuit of opportunities to expand our pipeline and build shareholder value.
Financial Results for the Three-Month Period Ended June 30, 2020 and Updated Cash Guidance
Cash Position: Lumos Pharma ended the quarter on June 30, 2020, with cash and cash equivalents totaling $72.7 million compared to Lumos Pharma prior to its merger with NewLink Genetics cash of $5.0 million on December 31, 2019 and pro forma cash, including NewLink Genetics, of $95.5 million on December 31, 2019. The Company expects its cash on hand will be sufficient to fund current operations through the Phase 2b LUM-201 trial read-out.
R&D Expenses: Research and development expenses for the three months ended June 30, 2020 were $2.8 million, an increase of $882,000 from $1.9 million for the same period in 2019. The increase is primarily due to an increase of $877,000 in personnel-related and stock compensation expense, an increase of $480,000 in clinical trial expense and an increase of $310,000 in supplies and other expense, offset by a decrease of $430,000 in contract manufacturing expense, and a decrease of $355,000 in legal and consulting expense.
G&A Expenses: General and administrative expenses for the three months ended June 30, 2020 were $4.1 million, an increase of $3.4 million from $714,000 for the same period in 2019. The increase was due primarily to increases of $1.2 million in personnel-related and stock compensation expense, $1.2 million due to increased operating expenses for insurance, rent, supplies and depreciation, and $969,000 in legal and consulting expense.
Net Loss: The net loss for the three months ended June 30, 2020 was $5.4 million compared to a net loss of $2.6 million for the same period in 2019.
Lumos Pharma ended Q2 2020 with 8,293,312 shares outstanding.
Conference Call and Webcast Details
The Company has scheduled a conference call and webcast for 4:30 p.m. ET today to discuss its financial results and to give an update on clinical and business development activities. There will also be a question and answer session following management’s prepared remarks.
Access to the live conference call is available five minutes prior to the start of the call by dialing (855) 469-0612 (U.S.) or (484) 756-4268 (international). The conference call will be webcast live and a link to the webcast can be accessed through the Lumos Pharma website at www.lumos-pharma.com in the "Investors & Media" section under "Events and Presentations" or through this link: View Source To ensure a timely connection, it is recommended that users register at least 10 minutes prior to the scheduled webcast. A replay of the call will be available approximately two hours after the completion of the call and can be accessed by dialing (855) 859-2056 (U.S.) or (404) 537-3406 (international) and using the passcode 9585725. The replay will be available for two weeks from the date of the call.