On May 12, 2022 Applied Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: APLT), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a pipeline of novel drug candidates against validated molecular targets in indications of high unmet medical need, reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2022 (Press release, Applied Therapeutics, MAY 12, 2022, View Source [SID1234614385]).
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"We made significant progress in the first quarter across all three of our Phase 3 programs," said Shoshana Shendelman, PhD, Founder and CEO of Applied Therapeutics. "We are pleased to have reached alignment with the FDA on Galactosemia, and are excited about the expected milestones in the year ahead."
Recent Highlights
Provided Regulatory Update on Galactosemia Program. In January 2022, the Company announced that the FDA would require clinical outcomes data for approval. Clinical outcomes are assessed in the pediatric clinical study every 6 months by a firewalled committee until the study reaches statistical significance. The Company met with the FDA in April 2022, and the FDA confirmed that the pediatric study as it is currently designed would support an NDA submission if statistical significance is reached. The 6-month clinical outcomes were assessed by the firewalled data monitoring committee, and it was determined that the safety/benefit profile supports continuing the study. The next committee evaluation will be following completion of the 12-month clinical outcomes assessments.
Presented Data on AT-007 Treatment in SORD Deficiency at the 2022 Annual Meeting of the Peripheral Nerve Society. In May 2022, the Company presented data highlighting the effect of AT-007 treatment on sorbitol levels. In a pilot study in patients with Sorbitol Dehydrogenase (SORD) Deficiency, sorbitol level correlated with disease severity, and AT-007 treatment substantially reduced sorbitol levels. In a Drosophila model of disease, elevated sorbitol resulted in neuronal damage and decline in mobility, and AT-007 treatment prevented the disease phenotype by inhibiting sorbitol production. Taken together, this data significantly advances the understanding of the disease and potential for treatment with AT-007.
Presented Data on Galactosemia Disease Progression at the 2022 43rd Annual Meeting of the Society for Inherited Metabolic Disorders. In April 2022, the Company presented data featuring baseline disease characteristics of 47 pediatric patients with Classic Galactosemia, illustrating the high burden of disease associated with Galactosemia, including neurological complications, due to high galactitol levels. In addition, data presented at the meeting illustrated that higher galactitol levels, but not higher Gal-1p levels, were associated with greater disease severity overall and on each of the four quadrants of central nervous system (CNS) function. Together, these data underscore the urgent need to bring a treatment to people living with Galactosemia.
Presented Data on Galactosemia Disease Progression at the 2022 Annual Clinical Genetics Meeting of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics. In March 2022, the Company presented data featuring the first therapeutic interventional clinical trial in pediatric patients with Classic Galactosemia, demonstrating that AT-007 significantly reduces toxic galactitol in ACTION-Galactosemia children.
Financial Results
Cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments totaled $55.7 million as of March 31, 2022, compared with $80.8 million at December 31, 2021.
Research and development expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2022 were $15.0 million, compared to $14.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021. The increase of $0.6 million was primarily due to an increase in clinical and pre-clinical expense of $5.1 million, primarily related to the progression of the SORD pivotal trial, progression of the AT-007 ACTION-Galactosemia long-term extension adult study, and progression of the AT-007 ACTION-Galactosemia Kids pediatric registrational study; an increase in personnel expenses of $0.8 million due to the increase in headcount in support of our clinical program pipeline; an increase in regulatory and other expenses of $0.2 million; an increase in stock-based compensation of $0.1 million due to new stock option and restricted stock grants; and offset by a decrease in drug manufacturing and formulation costs of $5.6 million primarily related to the completion and release of AT-001 and AT-007 drug product batches in the three months ended March 31, 2021.
General and administrative expenses were $8.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2022, compared to $9.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021. The decrease of $1.7 million was due to a decrease in commercial expenses of $0.6 million related to a decrease in spend relating to commercial operations; a decrease in other expenses of $0.3 million relating to decreased costs of other office expenses; a decrease in stock-based compensation of $1.0 million relating to options being forfeited during the current period; a decrease in legal and professional fees of $0.2 million due to lower external legal fees; offset by an increase in personnel expenses of $0.2 million related to an increase in headcount; and an increase in insurance expenses of $0.1 million related to increased insurance costs.
Net loss for the first quarter of 2022 was $23.1 million, or $0.88 per basic and diluted common share, compared to a net loss of $24.2 million, or $1.00 per basic and diluted common share, for the first quarter 2021.