On November 14, 2017 Asterias Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NYSE American:AST), a biotechnology company pioneering the field of regenerative medicine, reported financial and operational results for the quarter ended September 30, 2017, as well as recent corporate progress (Press release, Asterias Biotherapeutics, NOV 14, 2017, View Source;p=RssLanding&cat=news&id=2316950 [SID1234522062]).

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!

"We have continued to advance our spinal cord injury clinical trial while improving our financial profile in advance of the next phase of our AST-OPC1 program," said Mike Mulroy, President and Chief Executive Officer of Asterias. "Recent 12-month data from our SCiStar study showed subjects administered 10 million cells of AST-OPC1 observed meaningful and durable recovery of arm, hand and finger function that was more than double the rates of recovery seen at 12 months in both matched historical controls and published data. Based on this early encouraging result in the clinic, combined with our extensive pre-clinical work, our safety study in thoracic spinal cord injury, and MRI data suggesting durable engraftment of our OPC1 cells, we look forward to investing in a larger randomized controlled trial in the future. Our next data readout is expected in early 2018, and that data should help provide further clarity surrounding the design of that trial. Separately, in our cancer immunotherapy program, we received regulatory clearance during the third quarter to initiate the first-in-human clinical trial of AST-VAC2 in non-small cell lung cancer in the United Kingdom."

"On the financial front, the company has strengthened its cash position and improved its cost structure," said Ryan Chavez, Chief Financial Officer. "These steps, which include both our recent capital raise and a more focused allocation of capital into investments that can deliver value in the short and medium term, have strengthened the company’s financial outlook so that it may continue to advance its programs in the clinic and achieve additional important clinical milestones in 2018."

Third Quarter 2017 and Recent Key Achievements

AST-OPC1:

Reported 12-month data from the AIS-A 10 million cell cohort (Cohort 2) in the SCiStar study that showed additional motor level improvement was seen at 12 months. Specifically, 67% (4/6) of subjects have recovered two or more motor levels over baseline on at least one side through 12 months, which compares favorably to the rates of recovery at 9 months (50%) and at 3 months and 6 months (33%). Furthermore, the rate of recovery at 12 months is more than double the rates of recovery seen in both matched historical controls (29%) and published data in a similar population (26%).
Reported new 12-month MRI data from the SCiStar study that indicated no sign of lesion cavities in any subject. The MRI results are consistent with formation of a tissue matrix at the injury site, which is supportive evidence showing that AST-OPC1 cells have durably engrafted to help prevent lesion cavity formation, possibly reducing spinal cord tissue deterioration after spinal cord injury.
Reported continued positive safety profile for AST-OPC1 based on trial results to date. In September, an independent Data Monitoring Committee (DMC) recommended the SCiStar study continue as planned after it completed a regularly scheduled review of the accumulated safety data to date from the study.
Obtained U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) designation as a Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) under the 21st Century Cures Act. The RMAT designation is intended to facilitate expedited development, review and approval for important new regenerative medicine therapies for which preliminary clinical evidence indicates the potential to address a serious or life-threatening disease or condition. In addition to providing an avenue for increased and earlier interactions with the FDA, RMAT-designated products may be eligible for priority review and accelerated approval.
Published new efficacy and safety data from preclinical studies of AST-OPC1 in the peer-reviewed journal "Stem Cells Translational Medicine." The preclinical studies described in this paper were among those submitted in Asterias’ 2014 Investigational New Drug Amendment in support of the SCiStar trial.
AST-VAC2:

Received regulatory clearance in the United Kingdom to initiate the clinical trial of Asterias’ cancer immunotherapy product AST-VAC2 in subjects with early and late stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This First-In-Human (FIH) trial, which is being sponsored and managed by Cancer Research UK, will examine the safety, tolerability, immunogenicity and activity of AST-VAC2 in subjects with NSCLC.
Corporate:

In October 2017, Asterias closed the sale of shares of its common stock in a registered direct offering which raised approximately $10.4 million in gross proceeds.
Asterias expanded its operating expense reduction efforts and reduced staffing allocated to non-clinical activities as a part of a broader effort to more closely align operating expenses with the company’s primary goal of continuing to generate clinical data in its key clinical stage programs. The company anticipates a one-time severance-related pre-tax restructuring charge of approximately $0.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2017 associated with the operating expense reductions. As a result of the operating cost saving initiatives implemented year to date, the company expects to reduce its operating costs by approximately 40% to start 2018.
Financial Results

As of September 30, 2017, the combined total of cash, cash equivalents, and available-for-sale securities totaled $20.7 million. In October 2017, Asterias closed the sale of shares of its common stock in a registered direct offering which raised approximately $10.4 million in gross proceeds. As of October 31, 2017, Asterias had a combined total of cash, cash equivalents, and available-for-sale securities of approximately $27.3 million.

Total revenues were $1.7 million for the third quarter. Revenues were comprised of grant income as well as royalty revenues on product sales by licensees. Research and development expenses were $6.6 million in the third quarter, with the primary driver being expenses associated with the company’s AST-OPC1 program. General and administrative expenses were $2.0 million in the third quarter.

Net loss was $6.8 million, or $0.14 per share, for the third quarter. For the quarter ended September 30, 2017, net cash used in operating activities was $4.5 million and net cash provided from financing activities was $1.1 million.

Conference Call and Webcast Details

Asterias will host a conference call and webcast today, November 14, 2017, at 4:30 p.m. Eastern / 1:30 p.m. Pacific to discuss the results and corporate developments. For both "listen-only" participants and those participants who wish to take part in the question-and-answer session, the call can be accessed by dialing 877-830-2645 (U.S./Canada) or 785-424-1791 (international) five minutes prior to the start of the call and providing the Conference ID 8579194. To access the live webcast, go to View Source

A replay of the conference call will be available for seven business days beginning about two hours after the conclusion of the live call, by dialing 888-203-1112 (U.S./Canada) or 719-457-0820 (international) and providing the Conference ID 8579194. Additionally, the archived webcast will be available at View Source

On November 14, 2017 OncoCyte Corporation (NYSE American:OCX), a developer of novel, non-invasive tests for the early detection of cancer, reported financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2017, and provided an update on the Clinical Validation Study of DetermaVu, the Company’s liquid biopsy lung cancer diagnostic test (Press release, Oncocyte, NOV 14, 2017, View Source;p=RssLanding&cat=news&id=2316948 [SID1234522061]).

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!

"We continued to make important progress during the third quarter, including the successful completion of the Analytical Validation Study of DetermaVu and certification of our CLIA laboratory," said William Annett, President and Chief Executive Officer. "The consistent and significantly positive data that we have demonstrated and the numerous presentations highlighting the results are raising awareness of the potential benefits of DetermaVu in the early diagnosis of lung cancer."

Recent Developments

Successfully completed the Analytical Validation and CLIA Lab Validation studies of OncoCyte’s liquid biopsy lung cancer diagnostic test, confirming data that was reported in May at the American Thoracic Society 2017 International Conference (ATS), which demonstrated sensitivity of 95%, specificity of 73%, and Area Under the Curve (AUC) of 0.92,

Received Clinical Laboratory Improvements Amendments (CLIA) certification of registration from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS),

Dr. Anil Vachani, an Associate Professor of Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia Veteran’s Administration Medical Center, reported data on DetermaVu at the CHEST Annual Meeting 2017 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and

Data from the Company’s most recent breast cancer diagnostic study has been selected for presentation in a poster session at the 2017 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS), being held from December 5-9, 2017.
Clinical Validation Study Update and Commercial Launch Plans

The Clinical Validation Study for DetermaVu is the final development step prior to commercial launch. This step involves assaying approximately 300 blinded prospectively collected samples to assess the performance of the full diagnostic system against clinically confirmed diagnoses.

During the process of running initial samples for the Clinical Validation Study, inconsistent analytic results were observed by OncoCyte’s technical team. OncoCyte believes this was caused by a variance in a recently received lot of consumables used in the processing system that analyzes blood samples for the genetic markers that indicate whether lung nodules found in patients are benign or suspicious. To address this issue, OncoCyte has ordered and is waiting to receive new lots of consumables from the supplier. Once the new consumables are received, OncoCyte will conduct internal quality control procedures to ensure that they meet OncoCyte’s requirements. Upon confirming that the new consumables will allow the analytic devices to generate data with the consistency and precision required for DetermaVu, OncoCyte will initiate the Clinical Validation Study. Due to the time required for these steps, OncoCyte now anticipates that completion of the Clinical Validation Study necessary for the commercial launch of DetermaVu will be delayed into 2018, depending on the successful rectification of the causes of the inconsistent analytic results.

OncoCyte has only observed this issue in the recent lot of consumables. Earlier studies were conducted using different lots of consumables where this issue was not observed. Consequently, the previous studies were not impacted by this issue and the positive results reported to date have not changed.

Mr. Annett commented, "We remain confident in the positive results reported to date and believe that the clinical use of DetermaVu can make an important contribution to the management of lung cancer nodules and help to improve therapeutic outcomes for lung cancer patients."

Breast Cancer Diagnostic Update

Data from the Company’s most recent breast cancer diagnostic study has been selected for presentation in a poster session at the 2017 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS), which is being held from December 5-9, 2017. The data to be presented are from the Company’s NICE-BC (Non-Invasive Confirmatory dEtection (of) Breast Cancer follow-on study.

Third Quarter 2017 Financial Results

For the quarter ended September 30, 2017, OncoCyte incurred a net loss of $6.9 million, or ($0.22) per share, compared to a net loss of $2.6 million, or ($0.10) per share, in the third quarter of 2016.

Operating expenses for the three months ended September 30, 2017, were $6.8 million, as reported, and were $3.2 million, on an as adjusted basis.

Research and development expenses for the quarter ended September 30, 2017, were $1.8 million compared to $1.4 million for the same period in 2016. The increase in research and development expenses for the three months ended September 30, 2017, of $0.4 million compared to the three months ended September 30, 2016, is primarily attributable to increases in salaries and compensation related expenses, development expenses primarily for our lung cancer test and stock-based compensation expenses.

General and administrative expenses for the three months ended September 30, 2017, increased by $3.2 million in comparison to the comparable period in 2016. The increase is mainly attributable to $3.0 million in shareholder noncash expense for the issuance of warrants to certain investors to exercise warrants, $0.1 million in recruiting and hiring expenses and $0.1 million in stock based compensation expenses.

At September 30, 2017, OncoCyte had cash and cash equivalents of $11.0 million and available-for-sale securities valued at $1.0 million.

Nine Month 2017 Financial Results

The net loss for the nine months ended September 30, 2017, was $15.4 million, or ($0.52) per share, compared to $8.1 million, or ($0.31) per share, in the first nine months of 2016.

Total operating expenses for the nine months ended September 30, 2017, were $15.0 million, as reported, and were $9.3 million on an as adjusted basis.

Research and development expenses for the nine months ended September 30, 2017, were $5.7 million compared with $4.2 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2016. The increase in research and development expenses of $1.4 million is primarily attributable to increases in salaries and payroll related expenses, clinical trial expenses for OncoCyte’s lung cancer test, DetermaVu, stock based compensation expenses, charges to OncoCyte by BioTime for shared services expenses, which includes facilities, insurance and other indirect expense, and services and development expenses primarily for DetermaVu. The increases were offset by a decrease in outside services expenses and consulting fees.

General and administrative expenses for the nine months ended September 30, 2017, increased by $4.3 million in comparison to the comparable period in 2016. The increase is mainly attributable to $4.1 million in noncash expense for the issuance of warrants to certain investors who exercised warrants, and $0.2 million in insurance expense.

Conference Call

OncoCyte will host a conference call today, November 14, 2017, at 4:30 p.m. ET / 1:30 p.m. PT to discuss financial results.

The dial-in number in the U.S./Canada is 888-542-1102; for international participants, the number is 719-325-2356. For all callers, please refer to Conference ID 1817036. To access the live webcast, go to the investor relations section on the Company’s website, View Source

A replay of the conference call will be available for seven business days beginning about two hours after the conclusion of the live call, by calling 888-203-1112 toll-free (from U.S./Canada); international callers dial 719-457-0820. Use the Conference ID 1817036. Additionally, the archived webcast will be available at View Source

On November 14, 2017 Aptose Biosciences Inc. ("Aptose" or the "Company") (NASDAQ:APTO) (TSX:APS), a clinical-stage company developing highly differentiated therapeutics that target the underlying mechanisms of cancer, reported financial results for the three months ended September 30, 2017 and reported on corporate developments. Unless specified otherwise, all amounts are in Canadian dollars (Press release, Aptose Biosciences, NOV 14, 2017, View Source;p=RssLanding&cat=news&id=2316911 [SID1234522060]).

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!

The net loss for the quarter ended September 30, 2017 was $3.3 million ($0.14 per share) compared with $4.0 million ($0.31 per share) in the quarter ended September 30, 2016. Total cash and cash equivalents and investments as of September 30, 2017 were $13.6 million (or $10.9 million US dollars) which, based on current operations, provide the Company with sufficient resources to fund research and development and operations into Q4 2018.

"During the third quarter, we made important progress with both of our novel small molecule compounds for the treatment of certain hematologic malignancies," said William G. Rice, Ph.D., Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. "We’ve completed manufacture of high quality drug substance and explored multiple formulations of CG’806, our oral first-in-class pan-FLT3/pan-BTK inhibitor. We triggered PK and dose range finding studies with CG’806 in order to prepare the agent for advancement into the clinic for patients with acute myeloid leukemia and certain B-cell malignancies. We also generated renewed excitement about the potential for APTO-253, a clinical-stage compound that effectively inhibits expression of the c-Myc oncogene, and we believe we have effectively addressed the formulation and manufacturing setbacks that led to a clinical hold for APTO-253. Our goal is to return APTO-253 to the clinic for the treatment of patients with AML or MDS."

Corporate Highlights
Successful completion of APTO-253 formal root cause studies – Aptose successfully completed Formal Root Cause Studies for the manufacturing setback related to the clinical batch supply that failed stability testing and established a Corrective and Prevention Action (CAPA) plan.

Manufacture of APTO-253 clinical supply has begun – The Company has initiated the process to manufacture a cGMP clinical supply that will be required for a potential return of APTO-253 to the clinic. Upon manufacture of the new clinical supply, Aptose plans to perform stability, sterility, mock infusion, animal bridging and blood compatibility studies. Following completion of those studies, we would plan to submit findings to the FDA to seek release of the clinical hold and allow return of APTO-253 to the open Phase 1b trial in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) or myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS).

CG’806 manufacturing and preclinical testing progress – Aptose produced a highly purified batch of drug substance (API) to support pharmacokinetic (PK), formulation evaluation and dose range finding studies of CG’806. The PK and formulation evaluation studies have been completed, and the dose range finding preclinical studies are expected to begin before or shortly after year-end. Separately, the Company has initiated the process to manufacture multi-kilogram batches of GLP-grade API for use in the formal GLP/IND-enabling animal toxicity studies.

Intellectual property protection for CG’806 – During the third quarter, Aptose continued to strengthen its patent portfolio. In September, Aptose and partner CrystalGenomics announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued U.S. Patent No. 9,758,508 which claims numerous compounds, including the CG’806 compound, pharmaceutical compositions comprising the CG’806 compound, and methods of treating various diseases. The patent is expected to provide protection until the end of 2033. In August, Aptose received notice allowing U.S. Patent Application No. 14/655,954. The allowed ‘954 application claims numerous compounds, including the CG’806 compound, pharmaceutical compositions comprising the CG’806 compound, and methods of treating various diseases caused by abnormal or uncontrolled activation of protein kinase in a mammal by administering a compound, including the CG’806 compound.

Strengthened financial position – The Company recently announced that it entered into a Common Shares Purchase Agreement with Aspire Capital Fund, LLC ("Aspire Capital") to sell up to US$15.5 million of common shares to Aspire Capital. Under the terms of the agreement, Aspire Capital made an initial investment of US$500,000 to purchase APTO common shares at US $1.40 per share on October 31, 2017. In addition, Aspire Capital has committed to purchase up to an additional US$15.0 million of APTO common shares, at Aptose’s request from time to time during a 30 month period beginning on the effective date of a registration statement related to the transaction, and at prices based on the market price at the time of each sale. Under terms of the agreement, the Company also issued 321,429 common shares to Aspire Capital as consideration for Aspire Capital entering into the Purchase Agreement.

On November 14, 2017 AmpliPhi Biosciences Corporation (NYSE American: APHB), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of therapies for antibiotic-resistant infections using bacteriophage technology, reported financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2017 (Press release, AmpliPhi Biosciences, NOV 14, 2017, View Source [SID1234522059]).

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!

"I’m excited to report on the progress AmpliPhi made in the third quarter of 2017," said Paul C. Grint, M.D., CEO of AmpliPhi Biosciences. "We have dosed six patients suffering from life-threatening infections under expanded access programs at two major teaching hospitals and remain on track to meet our previously announced goal of treating ten patients by year end. We have also continued our engagement with the scientific community to increase awareness of phage-based therapies as a promising technology to combat increasing antibiotic resistance. Looking forward, we expect to be well-positioned to treat up to an additional twenty patients by the end of first half of 2018, as we collect the data to prioritize lead indications for potential Phase 2 and/or registrational studies, while working with the FDA on a potential pathway to registration."

Third Quarter 2017 and Recent Business Highlights

Administered first-in-human intravenous treatment of AB-SA01 for a patient suffering from a life-threatening Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) infection of the heart (endocarditis). AB-SA01 was administered intravenously to the patient over two weeks and was well tolerated.
Announced the publication of preclinical data demonstrating the activity of AB-PA01 in reducing biofilms. The paper, titled "Activity of Bacteriophages in Removing Biofilms of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Isolates from Chronic Rhinosinusitis Patients," was published in the journal Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology in September 2017.
Announced publication of a case study detailing the successful treatment of a critically ill patient with a multidrug-resistant (MDR) Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii) infection in the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy in August 2017.
Received a Research and Development (R&D) Tax Incentive cash rebate of USD $2.0 million from the Australian Tax Office based on the company’s R&D spending in Australia during 2016.
Third Quarter 2017 Financial Results

Cash and cash equivalents as of September 30, 2017 totaled $7.7 million. AmpliPhi anticipates that its current financial resources will provide sufficient cash to fund operations until mid-2018.
R&D expenses for the quarter ended September 30, 2017 totaled a net benefit of $0.8 million compared to an expense of $1.7 million for the same period of 2016. The decrease reflects receipt during the quarter of approximately $2.0 million from the Australian tax authority. R&D expenses, excluding any benefit from tax incentive payments, for the three months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016 were $1.2 million and $1.7 million, respectively. The decrease of $0.5 million was primarily attributable to a decrease in professional and consulting fees as well as decreased clinical expenses.
R&D expenses for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 were $1.8 million, net of approximately $2.0 million of tax incentive payments received from the Australian tax authority. There were no similar tax incentive payments recognized during the same period of the prior year. R&D expenses, excluding any benefit from tax incentive payments, for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016 were $3.8 million and $4.9 million, respectively. The decrease of $1.1 million was primarily related to decreases in consulting fees, professional recruitment fees and clinical expenses.
General and administrative (G&A) expenses for the quarter ended September 30, 2017 totaled $1.6 million compared to $1.8 million for the same period of 2016. G&A expenses for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 were $6.3 million compared to $6.9 million for the same period of 2016.
Net cash used in operating activities for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 was $6.8 million, as compared to $9.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2016.
There were 9.5 million shares of common stock outstanding as of November 8, 2017.
Conference Call and Webcast

AmpliPhi will hold a conference call today beginning at 4:30 p.m. Eastern time (1:30 p.m. Pacific time). The conference call dial-in number is (866) 652-5200 for domestic callers and (412) 317-6060 for international callers, and the passcode is 10114360. A live webcast of the call will be available on the Investor Relations section of www.ampliphibio.com.

A recording of the call will be available for 48 hours beginning approximately two hours after the completion of the call by dialing (877) 344-7529 for domestic callers and (412) 317-0088 for international callers. Please use passcode 10114360 to access the recording. A webcast replay will be available on the Investor Relations section of www.ampliphibio.com for 30 days, beginning approximately two hours after the completion of the call.

On November 14, 2017 Cellular Biomedicine Group, Inc. presents the Company’s presentation on November 14, 2017 at the Biotech and Money Investival Showcase held in London (Presentation, Cellular Biomedicine Group, NOV 14, 2017, View Source [SID1234522050]).

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!