On May 13, 2021 iTeos Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ITOS), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering the discovery and development of a new generation of highly differentiated immuno-oncology therapeutics for patients, reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021 and provided recent business highlights (Press release, iTeos Therapeutics, MAY 13, 2021, View Source [SID1234580038]).

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"Our current clinical strategy includes six studies for our two clinical programs in different indications and combinations that are expected to provide meaningful readouts before the end of 2022. In addition to our recent EOS-448 Phase 1 data presentation at AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper), we also continue to advance our adenosine A2A receptor antagonist, inupadenant, and we look forward to reporting updated data with evidence that expression of the A2A receptor in tumor biopsy samples is associated with anti-tumor benefit at the upcoming ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) meeting in June," said Michel Detheux, PhD, president and chief executive officer of iTeos. "In addition to this progress across our two lead programs, we also remain committed to our ongoing discovery efforts to identify and advance new novel product candidates that could expand our pipeline and continue to serve our mission to improve the lives of people with cancer."

Program Highlights

EOS-448: EOS-448 is an IgG1 antibody with the ability to engage the Fc gamma receptor (FcγR) and to enhance the anti-tumor response through a multifaceted mechanism.

The company presented initial clinical and safety data from the monotherapy dose escalation part of the Phase 1 trial in adult patients with advanced solid tumors at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting in April 2021. These preliminary data showed the drug was well-tolerated across dose levels, caused depletion of TIGIT-expressing Treg cells in the blood, providing evidence of target and FcyR engagement, and had encouraging signs of anti-cancer activity.

The company plans to advance EOS-448 into combination trials in both checkpoint-naïve and resistant patients in mid-2021. These Phase 1b trials will assess the safety of EOS-448 in combination with pembrolizumab and with iTeos’ novel agent inupadenant in patients with solid tumors, and as a monotherapy and in combination with an Immunomodulatory Drug (IMiD) in patients with multiple myeloma.
Inupadenant (EOS-850): Designed as a highly selective small molecule antagonist of the adenosine A2A receptor. Inupadenant is currently in an open-label multi-arm Phase 1/2a clinical trial in adult patients with advanced solid tumors.

iTeos is currently enrolling patients in three distinct cohorts in its Phase 1/2a clinical trial as both as a single agent and in combination. The initial cohort is evaluating inupadenant as a monotherapy in prostate cancer, and the second cohort is evaluating the safety of inupadenant in combination with pembrolizumab in patients with solid tumors with planned expansions in prostate cancer and melanoma. The final cohort is evaluating inupadenant in combination with chemotherapy in patients with triple-negative breast cancer.

iTeos plans to report updated single-agent data, including results from tumor biopsy analyses as part of an e-poster at the upcoming 2021 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting held virtually June 4-8, 2021. The abstract will be available on Wednesday, May 19th at 5:00 p.m. ET, and the e-poster will be available for on-demand viewing starting on Friday, June 4 at 9:00 a.m. ET.

Abstract Title: Phase 1 trial of the adenosine A2A receptor antagonist inupadenant (EOS-850): Update on tolerability, and antitumor activity potentially associated with the expression of the A2A receptor within the tumor.
Abstract Number: 2562
Preclinical programs: iTeos continues to progress research programs focused on additional targets that address additional pathways of immunosuppression and complement the mechanism of action of A2AR and TIGIT programs. iTeos expects to nominate an additional product candidate for Investigational New Drug-enabling studies before the end of 2021.

Upcoming Events

Corporate presentation at the Jefferies Healthcare Conference, June 1-4, 2021
Present on inupadenant in an e-poster at the ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting, June 4-8, 2021
Corporate presentation at the Citi European Healthcare Conference, June 15-16, 2021
First Quarter 2021 Financial Results

Cash Position: The Company had cash and cash equivalents of $321.4 million as of March 31, 2021, compared to $147.7 million as of March 31, 2020. This cash balance provides a runway into 2023.
Research and Development (R&D) Expenses: R&D expenses were $11.6 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, compared to $5.8 million for the same quarter of 2020. This increase was primarily due to an increase in activities related to clinical trials for inupadenant and EOS-448 and increased headcount.
General and Administrative (G&A) Expenses: G&A expenses were $7.0 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, compared to $2.4 million for the same quarter of 2020. The increase was primarily due to increased headcount and professional fees and other costs associated with becoming a publicly traded company.
Net Loss: Net loss attributable to common shareholders was $13.5 million, or a net loss of $0.39 per basic and diluted share, for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, as compared to $6.5 million, or a net loss of $25.53 per basic and diluted share, for the same quarter of 2020.
Conference Call Details:
iTeos Therapeutics will host a conference call and webcast today, Thursday, May 13th, at 4:30 p.m. ET. To access the live event, please dial the numbers and reference the conference ID listed below. A live audio webcast of the event will also be accessible from the Events page of the Company’s website at View Source archived webcast will be available approximately two hours after the completion of the event and for 30 days following the call.