On August 10, 2021 Achilles Therapeutics plc (NASDAQ: ACHL), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing precision T cell therapies to treat solid tumors, reported its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2021, and recent business highlights (Press release, Achilles Therapeutics, AUG 10, 2021, View Source [SID1234586201]).

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"Achilles continued to make significant progress in the second quarter of 2021. We presented data at AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) and ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) demonstrating that we can quantify the active clonal neoantigen-reactive T cell (cNeT) component and cNeT dose of our product. We were also able to track our cNeT post-dosing and describe phenotypic and functional characteristics. We believe that this critical capability will allow us to develop a potency assay which could be a crucial advancement in the TIL therapeutic space. We remain on target to report clinical and characterization data on ten patients that have received cNeT monotherapy across the CHIRON and THETIS trials in the fourth quarter," said Dr Iraj Ali, Chief Executive Officer of Achilles. "We continue to enroll and dose patients and have recruited our first US patient at the Moffitt Cancer Center. Also in the fourth quarter of 2021, we plan to begin enrolling patients using our Process 2 to deliver higher dose cNeT and to open a checkpoint combination cohort in our melanoma (THETIS) study to evaluate the addition of a PD-1 inhibitor to cNeT therapy."

Business Highlights

Closed an initial public offering of 9,750,000 ADRs at a public offering price of $18.00 per share for gross proceeds of $175.5 million.
Enrolled first US Patient in ongoing PI/IIa CHIRON study in non-small cell lung cancer at the Moffitt Cancer Center
Presented a poster at the 2021 ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting describing the ongoing phase I/IIa CHIRON clinical trial evaluating clonal cNeT in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)
Presented data at the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) annual meeting detailing the Company’s comprehensive translational research program and insights into the in vivo dynamics of cNeT post-dosing and the potential to develop a potency-based release assay
Strengthened the Board of Directors and Scientific Advisory Board with the additions of Julie O’Neill and Markwin Velders, Ph.D., respectively
Received a Horizon 2020 grant as part of the Neoantigen Consortium, to collaborate on the development of a tool to predict neoantigen immunogenicity
Financial Highlights

Cash and cash equivalents: Cash and cash equivalents were $299.3 million as of June 30, 2021, as compared to $177.8 million as of December 31, 2020. Current cash and cash equivalents include net proceeds of $160.6 million from an initial public offering that closed in the second quarter. The Company anticipates that its cash and cash equivalents are sufficient to fund its planned operations into the second half of 2023, including full funding of the ongoing Phase I/IIa CHIRON and THETIS clinical trials.
Research and development (R&D) expenses: R&D expenses were $10.8 million for the second quarter ended June 30, 2021, an increase of $6.3 million compared to $4.5 million for the second quarter ended June 30, 2020. R&D expenses were $19.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2021, an increase of $11.3 million compared to $8.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2020. The increase was primarily driven by increased activity related to our ongoing clinical trials and overall R&D.
General and administrative (G&A) expenses: G&A expenses were $5.4 million for the second quarter ended June 30, 2021, an increase of $3.0 million compared to $2.4 million for the second quarter ended June 30, 2020. G&A expenses were $10.3 million for the six months ended June 30, 2021, an increase of $6.2 million compared to the $4.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2020. The increase was primarily driven by fees associated with the Company’s IPO preparation, subsequent public company obligations, and an increase in headcount and related personnel costs.
Net loss: Net loss for the second quarter ended June 30, 2021 was $16.2 million or $0.45 per share compared to $6.9 million or $7.64 per share for the second quarter ended June 30, 2020. Net loss for the six months ended June 30, 2021 was $29.9 million or $1.60 per share compared to $12.1 million or $13.57 per share for the six months ended June 30, 2020. The decrease in loss per share is due in part to the increased number of shares following the conversion and issuance of shares from the IPO.
Upcoming Events
Dr Iraj Ali, Chief Executive Officer, will present at the following investor conferences in September 2021. Additional details will be available at View Source

Wells Fargo Virtual Healthcare Conference: Friday, September 10, 2021
H.C. Wainwright 23rd Annual Global Investment Conference: September 13-15, 2021
Oppenheimer Fall Healthcare Life Sciences & Med Tech Summit: September 20-23, 2021