On November 5, 2020 Adaptimmune Therapeutics plc (Nasdaq: ADAP), a leader in cell therapy to treat cancer,reported financial results and provided a business update for the third quarter ended September 30, 2020 (Press release, Adaptimmune, NOV 5, 2020, View Source [SID1234570156]).
Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:
Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing
Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!
"Later this month, we will present data at SITC (Free SITC Whitepaper) and CTOS. Data to be presented at SITC (Free SITC Whitepaper) from the dose escalation cohorts of our SURPASS trial confirm that ADP-A2M4CD8 is a highly active agent across a range of tumors. At CTOS, we will present data regarding the durability of responses in synovial sarcoma, which support our ambition to market ADP‑A2M4 in 2022. And finally, at our Investor Day, I will lay out our broader strategy including the opportunity we see for our late-stage pipeline," said Adrian Rawcliffe, Adaptimmune’s Chief Executive Officer. "Recruitment into our clinical trials has been steadily recovering following the first wave of COVID-19 and projected patient numbers currently look good for the remainder of this year and into 2021."
PLANNED MILESTONES Q4 2020
Four posters to be presented at the virtual SITC (Free SITC Whitepaper) meeting (November 9-14)
Poster entitled "Initial safety, efficacy, and product attributes from the SURPASS trial with ADP‑A2M4CD8, a SPEAR T-cell therapy incorporating an affinity optimized TCR targeting MAGE-A4 and a CD8α co-receptor" with an update on the dose escalation cohorts (6 patients in total)
Poster entitled "Inhibition of AKT signaling during expansion of TCR-Engineered T-Cells from patient leukocyte material generates SPEAR T-Cells with enhanced functional potential in vitro" with data indicating that AKT inhibition during manufacture of SPEAR T-cells results in a more consistent expansion and phenotype of the final product
Two posters about the previously terminated ADP-A2M10 Phase 1 program: one for the lung cancer trial, and one for the triple tumor trial in melanoma, urothelial, and head & neck cancers
Durability of response data from patients with synovial sarcoma from the ADP-A2M4 Phase 1 trial to be presented in an oral presentation at the virtual CTOS conference ("Immunotherapy in Sarcoma" session on November 19, 2020 from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. EST)
Investor Day to be held on November 20, 2020
CLINICAL UPDATES
As the management of COVID-19 at clinical sites continues to evolve, there has been an increase in recruitment and enrollment during the latter part of Q3 and into Q4 for all ongoing clinical trials
SPEARHEAD-1 is recruiting well and remains on target to complete enrollment in the first half of 2021
On track to start a Phase 2 trial with ADP-A2M4CD8 in gastroesophageal cancers (gastric, esophageal, and esophagogastric junction) in the first half of 2021
Data update from the Phase 1 ADP-A2AFP trial presented in an oral presentation and poster, at the International Liver Congress, confirmed safety profile and demonstrated potential benefit for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. Four patients were treated with ~5 billion or more transduced cells with best responses of one complete response, one patient with stable disease, and two patients with progressive disease.
Presented SPEARHEAD-2 trial-in-progress poster at ESMO (Free ESMO Whitepaper) summarizing design for this first combination clinical trial with ADP-A2M4 and pembrolizumab
Financial Results for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2020
Cash / liquidity position: As of September 30, 2020, Adaptimmune had cash and cash equivalents of $78.5 million and Total Liquidity1 of $399.9 million.
Revenue: Revenue for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 was $1.2 million and $2.5 million, respectively, compared to $0.2 million and $0.4 million for the same periods in 2019. Revenue increased due to the commencement of development activity under the Astellas Collaboration Agreement and increased development activity under the GSK Collaboration and License Agreement.
Research and development (R&D) expenses: R&D expenses for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 were $24.1 million and $65.8 million, respectively, compared to $29.6 million and $77.1 million for the same periods in 2019. R&D expenses were higher in the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 due to recognition of accrued purchase commitment expenses related to the supply of the Dynabeads CD3/CD28 technology of $5.0 million and in-process research and development as a result of entering into a collaboration agreement with Noile-Immune Biotech, Inc. in August 2019. The nine-month period ended September 30, 2019 also included $2.0 million of in-process research and development as a result of entering into a collaboration agreement with Alpine Immune Sciences, Inc. in May 2019.
General and administrative (G&A) expenses: G&A expenses for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 were $13.0 million and $32.6 million, respectively, compared to $10.7 million and $32.7 million for the same periods in 2019. The increase in the three months ended September 30, 2020 was primarily driven by an increase in professional fees, investment in our IT systems, and costs associated with the buildout of our commercial capabilities.
Net loss: Net loss attributable to holders of the Company’s ordinary shares for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 was $35.4 million and $93.5 million, respectively, and $(0.04) and $(0.11) per ordinary share, respectively, compared to $39.3 million and $107.8 million and $(0.06) and $(0.17) per ordinary share for the same periods in 2019.
Financial guidance
The Company believes that its existing cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities will fund the Company’s current operations into 2022, as further detailed in the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2020, to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission following this earnings release.
Conference Call and Webcast Information
The Company will host a live teleconference at 8:00 a.m. EST (1:00 p.m. GMT) today, November 5, 2020. The live webcast of the conference call will be available in the investor section of Adaptimmune’s corporate website at www.adaptimmune.com. An archive will be available after the call at the same address. To participate in the live conference call, please dial (833) 652-5917 (U.S. or Canada) or +1 (430) 775-1624 (International). After placing the call, please ask to be joined into the Adaptimmune conference call and provide the confirmation code (6183339).