On September 3, 2020 BeyondSpring Inc. (the "Company" or "BeyondSpring") (NASDAQ: BYSI), a global biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of innovative cancer therapies, reported its financial results and provided an operational update for the three months ended June 30, 2020 (Press release, BeyondSpring Pharmaceuticals, SEP 3, 2020, View Source [SID1234564408]).

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"BeyondSpring’s mission has been to develop innovative, transformative medicines that improve clinical outcomes in high unmet medical needs," said Dr. Lan Huang, Co-Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BeyondSpring. "With our lead asset, first-in-class agent Plinabulin in late stage developments in two large oncology market opportunities, CIN and NSCLC, we believe that we are at a significant inflection point that will potentially result in helping many patients in need."

Dr. Huang continued, "We expect to file NDA for CIN, Plinabulin’s first indication, to the U.S. FDA by the end of the year. Plinabulin would potentially reduce infection and hospitalization after chemotherapy, and enable doctors to provide chemotherapy to their patients without compromise – this means stable doses, sustained cycles and the strongest regimens possible so that patients can stay the course with their treatment – for potential survival benefit. As a potent antigen presenting cell inducer, we believe that Plinabulin is a ‘pipeline in a drug’ for multiple cancer indications."

Select Second-Quarter 2020 and Recent Business Highlights

Recent Clinical Highlights

Plinabulin in CIN indication
Positive Superior Topline Pre-Specified Interim Results from PROTECTIVE-2 Phase 3

In June 2020, BeyondSpring reported positive topline results of the pre-specified interim analysis of its PROTECTIVE-2 Phase 3 trial, evaluating Plinabulin in combination with Neulasta, compared to Neulasta alone. The interim results showed that the combination significantly enhanced the efficacy of Neulasta in the "rate of Grade 4 neutropenia prevention" (p<0.01), the primary endpoint for the study, which is clinically meaningful. The enrollment of a total of 221 patients has been completed.

Expanded Access Program (EAP) Initiation

In August 2020, BeyondSpring initiated an EAP for Plinabulin in response to the recent NCCN guideline updates highlighting the need for maximum CIN prevention and resource allocation for COVID-19 patients. The program enables doctors across the U.S. to use Plinabulin, both alone and in combination with G-CSFs, to prevent CIN. The first patient dosed in the U.S. avoided Grade 4 neutropenia in Cycle 2 with the Plinabulin-Neulasta combination, despite experiencing Grade 4 neutropenia in Cycle 1 with Neulasta alone.

Plinabulin in NSCLC indication
DSMB Recommends DUBLIN-3 (Study 103) Phase 3 for NSCLC to Continue Without Modification

In June 2020, BeyondSpring reported that it reached the pre-specified second interim analysis for DUBLIN-3 for NSCLC treatment with Plinabulin. Upon reviewing the efficacy and safety data of over 500 patients at an approximately 300-patient death event, the DSMB advised BeyondSpring to continue the study without any modifications. DUBLIN-3 is a global Phase 3 trial for Plinabulin in combination with docetaxel, compared to docetaxel alone, for the treatment of second- / third-line EGFR wild-type NSCLC.

Triple I/O Combination Therapy with Plinabulin
New Preclinical Data Demonstrates Immune-Enhancing Effects

In June 2020, BeyondSpring presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Virtual Annual Meeting that the triple I/O combination of Plinabulin, anti-PD-1 and radiation demonstrated a 100 percent complete response in a PD-1 antibody model, indicating that Plinabulin enhances immuno-radiotherapy for cancer patients. The combination therapy is being advanced toward a Phase 1 clinical trial in patients who failed or progressed on PD-1 / PD-L1 antibody treatments. BeyondSpring expects the first patient dosing in H2 2020.

Recent Corporate Highlights

BeyondSpring Appoints Paul Friel to Chief Commercial Officer

In August 2020, BeyondSpring announced the appointment of Paul Friel to the role of Chief Commercial Officer. Mr. Friel has nearly 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry. He has held positions as General Manager and President at Takeda Canada and Vice President of Sales for Vyaire. During his tenure with Takeda, Mr. Friel was instrumental in helping the organization expand its presence and grow to over 5,000 employees and $10 billion in sales.

Throughout Mr. Friel’s 24-years at TAP and Takeda, he served in multiple commercial roles and was responsible for business development, integration, geographic expansion and Head of Commercial for Latin America for Takeda. He later led Takeda expansions into Mexico, Brazil and Canada. In the last four years of Mr. Friel’s tenure at Takeda, he was integral for launching eight products, including the second fastest biologic launch in the U.S.

BeyondSpring Appoints Dr. Ravi Majeti to Board of Directors

During the same month, BeyondSpring also announced the appointment of Dr. Ravi Majeti, Co-Founder and former Board member of Forty Seven, Inc., and Chief, Division of Hematology, at Stanford University to the Company’s Board of Directors. Dr. Majeti co-founded Forty Seven in 2014 and was a major contributor to the research and technology that led to Forty Seven’s $4.9 billion acquisition by Gilead in March 2020.

Equity Financings

In June and July 2020, BeyondSpring closed a public offering of 2,219,500 ordinary shares and a private placement of 384,615 ordinary shares at $13.00 per share. Gross proceeds from the public offering and private placement were $33.9 million before deducting underwriting discounts, commissions and other offering expenses. The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the public offering and private placement to support the commercialization of Plinabulin, continued clinical and pre-clinical development and for general corporate purposes.

Financial Results for the Three Months Ended June 30, 2020

Research and development ("R&D") expenses were $11.0 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2020, compared to $5.2 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2019. The $5.8 million increase was largely attributable to an increase of $4.9 million in clinical trial expenses.

General and administrative ("G&A") expenses were $2.6 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2020, compared to $2.1 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2019. The $0.5 million increase was mainly due to an increase in cost related to pre-launch preparation of Plinabulin.

Net loss attributable to the Company was $12.8 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2020, compared to $7.4 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2019.

As of June 30, 2020, the Company had a cash and cash equivalents of $38.1 million. The Company believes it has sufficient cash to support its clinical trials and submit an NDA in the U.S. for Plinabulin for the CIN indication, as well as to advance its immuno-oncology pipeline and protein degradation research platform.

Anticipated Milestones

The following outlines the Company’s anticipated upcoming milestones and projected timelines:

Final data readout for PROTECTIVE-2 Phase 3 for CIN – Q4 2020
NDA submission for Plinabulin for CIN in the U.S. – end of 2020
Final topline data readout for DUBLIN-3 for NSCLC – H1 2021
Rolling NDA submission for Plinabulin for NSCLC in China – H1 2021
NDA submission for Plinabulin for NSCLC in the U.S. – H2 2021
Conference Call and Webcast Information

BeyondSpring’s management will host a conference call and webcast today at 8 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss the financial results and provide a corporate update. The dial-in numbers for the conference call are 1-877-451-6152 (U.S.) or 1-201-389-0879 (international). Please reference conference ID: 13709037. A live webcast will be available on BeyondSpring’s website at www.beyondspringpharma.com under "Events & Presentations" in the Investors section. An archived replay of the webcast will be available for 30 days.