On November 10, 2021 TScan Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: TCRX), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of T-cell receptor (TCR) engineered T cell (TCR-T) therapies for the treatment of patients with cancer, reported financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2021, highlighted recent program progress, and outlined key upcoming expected milestones (Press release, TScan Therapeutics, NOV 10, 2021, View Source [SID1234595217]).
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"Throughout the third quarter of 2021, we’ve continued to execute on our long-term goals of advancing transformational TCR-T therapy candidates and expect to file IND applications for our lead liquid tumor candidates TSC-100 and TSC-101 by the end of the year," said David Southwell, President and Chief Executive Officer. "We look forward to sharing additional details on our liquid tumor program at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) Annual Meeting and Exposition. We also made significant progress across our solid tumor pipeline, particularly the advancement of TSC-200 into IND-enabling studies and the launch of a new TCR program based on the discovery of a novel epitope on the validated solid tumor target MAGE-A1."
Third Quarter 2021 and Recent Business Highlights
TScan recently announced that two abstracts related to lead liquid tumor TCR-T therapy candidates TSC-100 and TSC-101 have been accepted for poster presentations at the upcoming American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) Annual Meeting and Exposition being held from December 11-14, 2021.
During the third quarter, TScan advanced a lead TCR-T therapy candidate for its TSC-200 program for HPV16 into investigational new drug (IND)-enabling activities and plans to submit an IND for this program in the second half of 2022. HPV is a well validated cancer target found in HPV-positive tumors, including many cases of head & neck and cervical cancers. Using its proprietary ReceptorScan and TargetScan platforms, TScan screened over half a billion T cells from a variety of human donors to identify a naturally occurring, ultra-high affinity TCR that recognizes an HLA-A*02:01-restricted epitope derived from the E7 protein of HPV16. Previously, clinical data from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) demonstrated a favorable safety and efficacy profile for an HPV TCR. TScan intends to build on the positive NCI results by developing an enhanced autologous TCR-T therapy using its T-Integrate cell manufacturing platform and by multiplexing its HPV TCR with additional TCRs in its TSC-2xx series of cell therapy candidates. TScan has used the large cargo capacity of T-Integrate to include in the TSC-200 construct features that enable engineering of both cytotoxic and helper T cells and features designed to help confer resistance to the immunosuppressive micro-environment of solid tumors.
TScan has recently discovered a novel HLA-C*07:02-restricted epitope encoded by the well-known cancer/testis gene MAGE-A1, using its TargetScan platform. This cancer-specific gene is frequently overexpressed in a wide variety of solid tumors. In the U.S., the target is expressed in as many as 45% of head & neck cancer patients, 50% of melanoma patients, 50% of cervical cancer patients and 50% of non-small cell lung cancer patients. The TCR that recognizes this novel epitope was isolated from a patient with head & neck cancer who exhibited an exceptional response to immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy. TScan has launched a new program, TSC-204, that will include multiple TCRs for different HLA-restricted epitopes on this same protein. TScan believes that it is the only company with a disclosed TCR program in MAGE-A1 for HLA types other than A*02:01. The Company has now advanced TSC-204 into lead TCR-T therapy candidate optimization.
The Company expanded its management team with the appointments of Zoran Zdraveski, J.D., Ph.D., as Chief Legal Officer, and Heather Savelle as Vice President, Investor Relations.
In July 2021, TScan completed its initial public offering, raising $100 million in aggregate gross proceeds, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses, and began trading on The Nasdaq Global Market. The IPO followed the closing of a Series C preferred stock financing of $100 million in gross proceeds in January 2021.
In July 2021, Gavin MacBeath, Ph.D., TScan’s Chief Scientific Officer, presented findings from TScan’s work to discover the targets of T cells in recovering COVID-19 patients at the Cell-Mediated Therapies for Infectious Disease Summit. The presentation also featured in vitro data comparing several polyepitope T cell vaccine candidates based on the Company’s novel T cell target discoveries. TScan is now advancing these T cell-eliciting vaccine candidates through pre-clinical development with the goal of engineering a COVID-19 vaccine that generates long-term immunity with less susceptibility to resistance from emerging variants. In addition to addressing the current pandemic, this program represents proof-of-concept for a novel class of vaccines that are designed to elicit a long-lasting T cell response to infectious pathogens.
Upcoming Expected Milestones and Key Priorities
Liquid Tumor Programs: TScan’s two lead liquid tumor TCR-T therapy candidates, TSC-100 and TSC-101, are designed to target HA-1 and HA-2, respectively, and treat patients with hematological malignancies who are undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.
TScan will present two posters related to TSC-100 and TSC-101 at the upcoming ASH (Free ASH Whitepaper) Annual Meeting and Exposition.
IND-enabling studies and the submission of IND applications to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are planned for TSC-100 and TSC-101 during the fourth quarter 2021.
Following the IND submissions and pending acceptance by the FDA, clinical trials for TSC-100 and TSC-101 are expected to begin in the first half of 2022 with preliminary data expected in the second half of 2022.
Solid Tumor Programs: TScan’s TSC-200 series of TCR-T therapy candidates include a combination of known targets, such as HPV16 for TSC-200, PRAME for TSC-203, and MAGE-A1 for TSC-204, as well as targets that are novel antigens for TCR-T therapy, such as those for TSC-201 and TSC-202.
TScan plans to present preclinical data of the TSC-2xx series during the first half of 2022.
·TScan plans to progress IND-enabling studies for the TSC-2xx series and submit IND applications during the second half of 2022, including for TSC-200 for HPV, during the second half of 2022. Further INDs are planned for 2023.
Infectious Disease Program
Research is continuing into potential T cell-focused COVID-19 vaccine constructs utilizing TScan’s novel T cell target discoveries.
Third Quarter 2021 Financial Results
As of September 30, 2021, the Company had cash and cash equivalents totaling $182.3 million, excluding restricted cash of $0.6 million. Based on the Company’s current operating plan, TScan expects that cash and cash equivalents as of September 30, 2021, will enable it to fund its operating expenses into 2024.
Research and development expenses for the third quarter 2021 were $14.2 million, compared to $5.8 million for the third quarter 2020.
General and administrative expenses for the third quarter 2021 were $4.0 million, compared to $1.6 million for the third quarter 2020.
Net loss for the third quarter 2021 was $15.8 million or $0.80 per common share, compared to a net loss of $7.2 million or $7.16 per common share for the third quarter 2020. Net loss per share was calculated using 19.9 million weighted average common shares and 1.0 million weighted average common shares outstanding for the third quarter of 2021 and 2020, respectively.
On July 20, 2021, the Company issued 6,666,667 shares of common stock in its IPO, raising gross proceeds of $100 million. In addition, upon closing of the IPO, all of the Company’s outstanding shares of convertible preferred stock automatically converted into 15,616,272 shares of common stock (of which 5,143,134 shares are non-voting common stock). This brings the total shares outstanding as of November 5, 2021, to 23,768,036, which consists of 18,624,902 shares of voting common stock and 5,143,134 shares of non-voting common stock.
TScan’s latest presentation is available on the "Events and Presentations" section of the Company’s website, and can be accessed here.