On May 13, 2021 Bolt Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: BOLT) a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering a new class of immuno-oncology agents that combine the targeting precision of antibodies with the power of both the innate and adaptive immune systems, reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021 and provided an update on recent business highlights (Press release, Bolt Biotherapeutics, MAY 13, 2021, View Source [SID1234579920]).
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"Our successful IPO in the first quarter of 2021 places us in a position of strength to deliver on value-creating milestones in 2021 and 2022. We continue to advance our Phase 1/2 trial for our lead candidate, BDC-1001, for the treatment of patients with HER2-expressing solid tumors. We look forward to completing the monotherapy dose escalation and initiating the monotherapy Phase 2 dose expansion cohorts as well as the evaluation of combining BDC-1001 with an anti-PD-1 antibody later in 2021," said Randall C. Schatzman, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Bolt. "Beyond BDC-1001, we continue to advance our pipeline and are on track to initiate clinical trials for CEA-targeted ISAC BDC-2034 in 2022 and we expect to designate our third clinical candidate later this year."
Recent Business Highlights and Anticipated Milestones
Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities were $302.9 million as of March 31, 2021, which is expected to fund operations into 2023 – Bolt is well positioned to continue to drive growth across the company and advance the pipeline through key milestones, with cash to fund operations into 2023.
Completed upsized Initial Public Offering in February 2021 – In February 2021, Bolt completed its Initial Public Offering (IPO) of 13,225,000 shares of common stock, inclusive of the full exercise by the underwriters of their option to purchase 1,725,000 shares, at a public offering price of $20.00 per share. Gross proceeds from the IPO were approximately $264.5 million and net proceeds from the offering, after deducting underwriting discounts, commissions and offering expenses, were approximately $242.0 million.
Presented on the HER2-targeting Boltbody ISAC BDC-1001 in the "New Drugs on the Horizon" symposium and in a trial-in-progress poster in April at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Virtual Annual Meeting
At AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper)’s New Drugs on the Horizon symposium, Bolt’s Chief Scientific Officer David Dornan, Ph.D. presented key data-driven decisions made during the development of Bolt’s lead program, BDC-1001, a novel HER2-targeting ISAC. Dr. Dornan’s presentation included a discussion of immunosuppression mediated by various cells in the tumor microenvironment (TME), as well as the tumor-supportive nature of antigen presenting cells (APCs) in the TME in preclinical models. Reawakening these immunosuppressed APCs can result in a productive and durable anti-tumor immune response, as evidenced by BDC-1001 achieving complete tumor regression in preclinical tumor models.
A Trial in Progress poster was also presented at AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) by Manish R. Sharma, M.D. of START Midwest, a principal investigator in Bolt’s ongoing BDC-1001 Phase 1/2 trial. The poster detailed the design of the four-part study evaluating BDC-1001 administered intravenously with or without an immune checkpoint inhibitor targeting PD-1 in up to 390 patients with HER2-expressing or HER2-amplified advanced or metastatic solid tumors. The dose escalation parts will evaluate sequential doses of BDC-1001 as a monotherapy or in combination with a PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor in a 3+3 design, with the ability to backfill up to a total of 15 patients in each dose cohort. The dose expansion parts will evaluate the recommended Phase 2 dose as monotherapy or in combination with a PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor in four cohorts of patients. Bolt expects to provide a further update on the trial sometime in the second half of 2021.
Upcoming Events
At the 2021 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting, Manish R. Sharma, M.D. of START Midwest, a principal investigator in Bolt’s ongoing BDC-1001 Phase 1/2 trial will present a poster entitled "Preliminary results from a Phase 1/2 study of BDC-1001, a novel HER2 targeting TLR7/8 immune-stimulating antibody conjugate (ISAC), in patients (pts) with advanced HER2-expressing solid tumors." This poster will provide more details on the initial 20 patients treated with BDC-1001, as of the initial data cutoff date of January 29, 2021.
First Quarter 2021 Financial Results
Cash Position – Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities were $302.9 million as of March 31, 2021, compared to $22.8 million as of December 31, 2020. Bolt expects its cash balance to fund operations into 2023.
Research and Development (R&D) Expenses – R&D expenses were $14.1 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, compared to $6.8 million for the same quarter in 2020. The increase in R&D spending in the comparative periods was due primarily to increased manufacturing of BDC-1001 and BDC-2034 (CEA-targeting Boltbody ISAC program), increased personnel-related expenses due to additional hiring and increased facility-related expenses and outside services.
General and Administrative (G&A) Expenses – G&A expenses were $4.3 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, compared to $2.1 million for the same quarter in 2020. The increase in G&A spending in the comparative periods was due primarily to increased personnel-related expenses due to additional hiring and increased accounting and legal fees associated with the Company’s Initial Public Offering which was completed in February 2021.
Loss from Operations – Loss from operations was $24.5 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2021 compared to $8.6 million for the same quarter in 2020.