On November 4, 2020 Checkpoint Therapeutics, Inc. ("Checkpoint") (NASDAQ: CKPT), a clinical-stage immunotherapy and targeted oncology company focused on the acquisition, development and commercialization of novel treatments for patients with solid tumor cancers, reported financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2020, and recent corporate highlights (Press release, Checkpoint Therapeutics, NOV 4, 2020, View Source [SID1234569995]).

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James F. Oliviero, President and Chief Executive Officer of Checkpoint, said, "We are excited to have presented updated positive interim results from the ongoing registration-enabling clinical trial of cosibelimab for the treatment of metastatic cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma ("mCSCC") at the European Society for Medical Oncology ("ESMO") Virtual Congress 2020. These compelling data underscore cosibelimab’s potential to be best-in-class. We expect to complete enrollment of the registration-enabling cohort in mCSCC in early 2021 and anticipate reporting top-line results in the second half of the year. Based on our planned pricing strategy, we believe cosibelimab can be a market-disruptive product in the $25 billion PD-(L)1 class. Importantly, in order to support the continued development of cosibelimab, as well as our broader oncology pipeline, we expanded our cash runway through the successful completion of a $20.5 million financing during the third quarter."

Recent Corporate Highlights:

In September 2020, Checkpoint announced updated positive interim results from the ongoing global, open-label, multicohort, Phase 1 clinical trial of its anti-PD-L1 antibody, cosibelimab, in patients with advanced cancers, including the registration-enabling cohort of patients with mCSCC. Cosibelimab demonstrated a 51.4% objective response rate ("ORR") and 13.5% complete response rate, which is nearly double the complete response rate observed at the time of previous analysis. These interim data were presented at the ESMO (Free ESMO Whitepaper) Virtual Congress 2020.
In September 2020, Checkpoint closed on gross total of approximately $20.5 million in an underwritten public offering of its common stock before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering-related expenses.
Earlier this month, Checkpoint announced the expansion of a long-term manufacturing partnership for cosibelimab with Samsung Biologics. Building upon an existing contract manufacturing agreement entered into in 2017, Samsung Biologics will provide additional commercial-scale drug substance manufacturing for cosibelimab.
Financial Results:

Cash Position: As of September 30, 2020, Checkpoint’s cash and cash equivalents totaled $42.0 million, compared to $26.1 million as of December 31, 2019, an increase of $15.9 million year-to-date.
R&D Expenses: Research and development expenses for the third quarter of 2020 were $2.5 million, compared to $3.9 million for the third quarter of 2019, a decrease of $1.4 million. Research and development expenses for the third quarters of 2020 and 2019 each included $0.2 million of non-cash stock expenses.
G&A Expenses: General and administrative expenses for the third quarter of 2020 were $2.4 million, compared to $1.6 million for the third quarter of 2019, an increase of $0.8 million. General and administrative expenses for the third quarter of 2020 included $1.3 million of non-cash stock expenses, compared to $0.7 million in stock compensation expense for the third quarter of 2019.
Net Loss: Net loss attributable to common stockholders for the third quarter of 2020 was $4.9 million, or $0.09 per share, compared to a net loss of $5.2 million, or $0.15 per share, in the third quarter of 2019.