Immunomedics Announces Fiscal 2017 Results and Strategic Developments; Reiterates Guidance on BLA Submission Timeline

On August 16, 2017 Immunomedics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IMMU) ("Immunomedics" or the "Company") reported financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended June 30, 2017 (Press release, Immunomedics, AUG 16, 2017, View Source [SID1234520288]). The Company also highlighted recent key developments and planned activities for its clinical pipeline. Please refer to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed today with the SEC for more detail on the Company’s financial results.

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Dr. Behzad Aghazadeh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Immunomedics, stated, "We believe we have made significant progress toward preparing a Biologics License Application (BLA) for filing with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for accelerated approval of IMMU-132 in metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (mTNBC). To that end, we have made advancements in all areas, including clinical, regulatory, and manufacturing, and we expect to receive clarification during a pre-BLA meeting with the FDA on the level of Chemistry, Manufacturing & Controls (CMC) process validation required at the time of the BLA submission. Importantly, our continued evaluation of the clinical data and manufacturing processes, as well as the progress over the past several months, have further strengthened our confidence in the prospects for IMMU-132 in mTNBC. We look forward to submitting the BLA between December 2017 and March 2018, which along with business development opportunities, should enable us to generate significant value for our stockholders."

Key 2017 Accomplishments:

The Company completed enrollment of the full complement of 100+ patients in the single-arm Phase 2 trial of mTNBC, and presented encouraging preliminary results on the initial 85 patients at its January 18th Investor R&D Day. The complete dataset will be part of the BLA submission for accelerated approval.

In February, the Company presented interim Phase 2 results for IMMU-132 in patients with metastatic urothelial cancer at the 2017 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium. The results demonstrated IMMU-132’s potential to become a second line or later treatment to platinum-based or immuno-oncology therapy for these patients.

In March, the Company underwent a management transition and a new Board of Directors was seated, accompanying a new strategic direction focused on maintaining commercial rights for IMMU-132 and developing plans in preparation for a potential U.S. launch in 2018.

In May, Immunomedics completed a private placement of its Series A-1 Convertible Preferred Stock with institutional investors, raising $125 million in gross proceeds. The capital provides the financial flexibility to ensure that the Company has the right organizational structure and resources necessary to bring IMMU-132 to market and working toward achieving its long-term objectives.

As part of a full multi-faceted review of the Company, highly credentialed independent consultants were appointed by the Board in the areas of project management, manufacturing, and clinical and regulatory strategy.

In July, results from IMMU-132 clinical trials in advanced small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) and advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were published in peer-reviewed journals. These results support the breadth of the therapeutic role for IMMU-132 in the treatment of metastatic solid cancers.
Key Upcoming Events:

Interim Phase 2 results with IMMU-132 in patients with metastatic urothelial cancer will be presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology 2017 Congress (ESMO; Sept. 2017 Madrid, Spain), by Dr. Scott T. Tagawa, Associate Professor of Medicine and Urology, Weill Cornell Medical College.

The Company expects to receive clarification during a pre-BLA meeting with the FDA on the level of CMC process validation required at the time of the BLA submission. The level of validation required by the FDA will be a determining factor in the filing timeline, which is expected to be between December 2017 and March 2018.

Preparation for the confirmatory Phase 3 trial in mTNBC is proceeding according to plan, with enrollment of first patient expected to occur in early fourth quarter of calendar 2017, satisfying the FDA requirement for the BLA filing for accelerated approval in mTNBC.

The Company expects to present the final results of IMMU-132 in mTNBC that will form the basis of the BLA submission later this year.
Fourth Quarter and Full-Year Fiscal 2017 Results

Total revenue for the fourth quarter ended June 30, 2017, was $0.6 million, compared to $0.9 million for the same quarter last year, a decrease of approximately 33%. Total revenue for the full year ended June 30, 2017 was $3.1 million, compared to $3.2 million for the fiscal year 2016, a decrease of approximately 3.0%. The decreases for both the fourth quarter and full-year periods were due primarily to a decrease in grant revenue. The decrease in the full-year revenue was offset partially by a $0.1 million increase in LeukoScan sales.

Total operating expenses for the fourth quarter ended June 30, 2017 were $27.4 million, compared to $15.6 million for the same quarter last year, an increase of approximately 76%. Total costs and expenses were $82.2 million for the full year ended June 30, 2017, an increase of approximately 32%, compared to the same period in 2016. The increases for both the fourth quarter and full-year periods were due primarily to non-recurring general and administrative expenses including legal and advisory fees associated with the proxy contest launched by venBio Select Advisor LLC (venBio) in November 2016, the reimbursement of proxy-related costs incurred by venBio, and incremental executive severance.

Research and development expenses were $51.8 million for the full year ended June 30, 2017, a decrease of approximately 3%, compared to the same period in 2016 due primarily to a $11.4 million reduction in clinical trial costs resulting from the closure of the Phase 3 PANCRIT-1 clinical trial in fiscal 2016, offset partially by a $9.7 million increase in product development expense for IMMU-132 manufacturing.

The Company recognized $25.5 million and $61.1 million in non-cash expense during the fourth quarter and full year ended June 30, 2017, respectively, arising from the increase in fair value of warrant liability resulting from the increase in the share price of our common stock during both periods. The Company also recognized a $7.6 million non-cash warrant-related expense for the full year, representing the excess of fair value of the warrant issued to Seattle Genetics, Inc. on February 10, 2017 (the "SGEN Warrant") over the proceeds received for the issuance of common stock and the SGEN Warrant. There was no warrant-related expense in fiscal 2016.

Interest expense related to the 4.75% Convertible Senior Notes due 2020 (Convertible Notes) was $1.4 million for the quarters ended June 30, 2017 and June 30, 2016, including the amortization of $0.2 million debt issuance costs in each quarter. Interest expense related to the Convertible Notes was $5.5 million for the full years ended June 30, 2017 and June 30, 2016, including the amortization of $0.7 million debt issuance costs in each fiscal year.

The Company did not realize any income tax benefit for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2017, compared to a $5.1 million income tax benefit for fiscal year 2016 from the sale of a portion of our New Jersey State net operating losses and research and development tax credits. The Company did not receive an income tax benefit during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2017 because it had reached the maximum amount permissible under the New Jersey Business Tax Certificate Transfer Program.

Net loss attributable to stockholders was $53.3 million, or approximately $0.48 per share, for the fourth quarter ended June 30, 2017, and $153.2 million, or approximately $1.47 per share, for the full year ended June 30, 2017. This compares to net loss attributable to stockholders of $15.9 million, or approximately $0.17 per share, for the fourth quarter ended June 30, 2016 and $59.0 million, or approximately $0.62 per share, for full year 2016.

Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities totaled $154.9 million as of June 30, 2017.

"We are pleased with the significant operational progress we are making and believe that our current financial resources are sufficient to support operations through September 2018, not factoring in any potential cash receipts from warrants outstanding with Seattle Genetics or other investors," said Michael R. Garone, Principal Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer.

TRACON Pharmaceuticals Announces Positive Results from National Cancer Institute Phase 1/2 Trial of TRC105 and Nexavar® in Hepatocellular Cancer Published in Clinical Cancer Research

On August 16, 2017 TRACON Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:TCON), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel targeted therapeutics for cancer, wet age-related macular degeneration and fibrotic diseases, reported that positive results from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Phase 1/2 trial of TRC105 and Nexavar (sorafenib) in hepatocellular cancer (HCC) were published in the August 15 issue of Clinical Cancer Research (Volume 23, Issue 16, pages 4633-4641) (Press release, Tracon Pharmaceuticals, AUG 16, 2017, View Source [SID1234520278]).

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The Phase 1b/2 trial enrolled a total of 26 patients with advanced HCC. Patients were dosed at one of four levels of TRC105 (3, 6, 10 and 15 mg/kg every two weeks), and with the standard dose of Nexavar of 400 mg twice daily. The overall response rate (ORR) in the 20 evaluable patients with measurable disease over all four dose levels was 25% (95% CI: 8.7-49.1%) by the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST), with all responses occurring at the highest two dose levels of TRC105. The ORR in the two highest dose levels of TRC105 was 33%. Four additional patients had confirmed stable disease, one of whom was treated for 22 months. Median progression free survival (PFS) was 3.8 months (95% CI: 3.2-5.6 months) and median overall survival (OS) was 15.5 months (95% CI: 8.5-26.3 months). Nexavar was approved for the treatment of patients with advanced HCC based on median OS of 10.7 months (95% CI: 9.4-13.3 months) versus 7.9 months (95% CI: 6.8-9.1 months) with placebo in the multicenter SHARP trial. The ORR for Nexavar treatment by RECIST in the SHARP trial was 2%.

NCI study researchers concluded that the combination of TRC105 and Nexavar was well-tolerated at the recommended single agent doses of both drugs, and that encouraging evidence of activity was observed. TRACON is currently sponsoring a separate Phase 1/2 multicenter study of TRC105 and Nexavar (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT02560779) to confirm the activity reported by the NCI. The NCI will recruit patients into this multicenter study.

“The final data from the NCI study of TRC105 and Nexavar in HCC published today reinforce the encouraging preliminary data presented previously at ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper). Collectively, these data suggest that the combination of TRC105 and Nexavar is active in patients with HCC and support the advancement of this combination into further clinical studies,” said Charles Theuer, M.D., Ph.D., President and CEO of TRACON. “We expect to report data from the TRACON-sponsored multicenter Phase 1/2 HCC trial in early 2018.”

About Carotuximab (TRC105) and other Endoglin Antibodies

TRC105 is a novel, clinical stage antibody to endoglin, a protein overexpressed on proliferating endothelial cells that is essential for angiogenesis, the process of new blood vessel formation. TRC105 is currently being studied in one Phase 3 and multiple Phase 2 clinical trials sponsored by TRACON or the National Cancer Institute for the treatment of solid tumors in combination with VEGF inhibitors. TRC105 has received orphan designation for the treatment of soft tissue sarcoma in both the U.S. and EU. The ophthalmic formulation of TRC105, DE-122, is currently in a Phase 2 clinical trial for patients with wet AMD. TRC205, a second generation antibody to endoglin, is undergoing preclinical testing in models of fibrosis. For more information about the clinical trials, please visit TRACON’s website at www.traconpharma.com/clinical_trials.php.

MEDIGENE PRESENTS POSTERS ON IMMUNOTHERAPIES AT CRI-CIMT-EATI-AACR CONFERENCE

On August 16, 2017 Medigene AG (FSE: MDG1, Prime Standard, TecDAX) reported that scientists of the Company were invited to present two posters on its T cell receptor (TCR)-modified T cell therapies during the upcoming CRI-CIMT-EATI-AACR Conference (Press release, MediGene, AUG 16, 2017, View Source [SID1234520275]). The Cancer Research Institute (CRI), the Association for Cancer lmmunotherapy (CIMT) (Free CIMT Whitepaper), the European Academy of Tumor Immunology (EATI), and the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) sponsor the Third International Cancer lmmunotherapy Conference that takes place in Mainz, Germany, from September 6-9, 2017.

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During the "Neoantigens and Cancer Mutations" session, Dr. Christiane Mummert, scientist at Medigene Immunotherapies, will present her poster describing a semi-automated method for the isolation and initial characterization of neoantigen-specific T cell receptors. In summary, the experiments demonstrated that neoantigen-specific TCRs can be isolated from peripheral blood samples of healthy donors and initially characterized in eight to ten weeks using an innovative high-throughput robotics platform.

On the second poster, presented during the "Adoptive Cell Therapy" session, shared co-authors Dr. Christian Ellinger and Dr. Manon Weis describe properties of Medigene’s PRAME-specific TCR for adoptive T cell immunotherapy of cancer. Using an innovative TCR isolation and characterization platform, a TCR with natural high avidity for a PRAME-derived epitope was isolated showing potent efficacy and a favorable safety profile that will be further evaluated in clinical trials.

Both posters will be presented during "Poster Session A" that will take place on September 6 between 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm.

About Medigene’s TCR technology: The TCR technology aims at arming the patient’s own T cells with tumor-specific T cell receptors (TCRs). The receptor-modified T cells are then able to detect and efficiently kill tumor cells. This immunotherapy approach attempts to overcome the patient’s tolerance towards cancer cells and tumor-induced immunosuppression by activating and modifying the patient’s T cells outside the body (ex vivo).
TCR therapy is developed to utilize a higher number of potential tumor antigens than other T cell-based immunotherapies, such as chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR T) therapy. Medigene is preparing the clinical development of its first TCR candidates and is establishing a pipeline of recombinant T cell receptors, and has established Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)-compliant processes for their combination with patient-derived T cells.

Medigene’s first TCR immunotherapy "MDG1011" will be tested in a clinical Phase I/II trial intended to be started by the end of 2017.

Besides the planned company-sponsored TCR trial, Medigene is involved in an investigator-initiated trial (IIT) with TCRs in multiple myeloma (MM) to be conducted by the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin in cooperation with the Max Delbrück Centre (MDC), Berlin.

Kitov Pharmaceuticals Provides Corporate Update and Reports First Half 2017 Financial Results

On August 16, 2017 Kitov Pharmaceuticals Holdings Ltd. (NASDAQ: KTOV) (TASE: KTOV), an innovative biopharmaceutical company, reported a corporate update and reported financial results for the first half of 2017, ending June 30, 2017 (Press release, Kitov Pharmaceuticals , AUG 16, 2017, View Source [SID1234520266]).

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"We are pleased with the significant progress we have achieved during the recent months. Thanks to the intensive, dedicated and professional work of our staff, investigators and CROs, we recently submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for KIT-302, our lead drug candidate developed to simultaneously treat pain caused by osteoarthritis and to treat hypertension," said Kitov’s CEO, Isaac Israel. "We are confident in the quality of the submitted package, and look forward to a response from the FDA shortly regarding whether the NDA is complete and acceptable for filing.

"In addition, we have expanded our pipeline with NT-219, a promising cancer therapy candidate, through the acquisition of a controlling interest in TyrNovo. Results from pre-clinical studies of NT-219, a small molecule, demonstrated its efficacy in overcoming drug resistance in a variety of cancers and in combination with multiple pharmacologic cancer therapies. We are focused on advancing this highly promising therapeutic candidate into clinical trials in 2018 in order to provide enhanced treatment options to cancer patients.

"With the completion of the recent equity offering, we are well positioned to accomplish our strategic initiatives in 2018. Our plan is to continue growing Kitov as an innovative, emerging pharmaceutical company. Our mission is to leverage the significant potential of our product development pipeline to create long-term shareholder value."

Recent Corporate Highlights:

Submitted an NDA to the FDA for KIT-302
Signed a definitive License Agreement for KIT-302 for the territory of South Korea with Kuhnil Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., a leading South Korea-based pharmaceutical company
Received waiver from FDA for the $2 Million New Drug Application fee for KIT-302
Completed recruitment of our renal function clinical trial to demonstrate the beneficial effects of KIT-302 on kidney function
Acquired a controlling interest in TyrNovo
Completed an equity offering for gross proceeds of $3.5 million

Expected Upcoming Milestones:

FDA filing of our NDA for KIT-302
Top-line results of our renal function clinical trial for KIT-302
Additional marketing agreements for the distribution of KIT-302
Pre-IND meeting with the FDA for NT-219

The information contained below should be read in conjunction with (1) our Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Interim Financial Statements as of June 30, 2017, and for the six months then ended; and, (2) our audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2016, which appears in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 1, 2017, as well as the other information contained in such Annual Report on Form 20-F and in our Registration Statement on Form F-1 filed with the SEC (file number 333-211477).

Financial Results for Six Months Ended June 30, 2017

Research and development expenses for the six months ended June 30, 2017 were $2,516 thousand, an increase of $552 thousand, or 28%, compared to $1,964 thousand for the six months ended June 30, 2016. The increase resulted primarily from expenses deriving from preparation of our NDA submission to the FDA for KIT-302, our renal function clinical trial for KIT-302, and pre-clinical trials for NT-219.

General and administrative expenses for the six months ended June 30, 2017 were $2,524 thousand, an increase of $1,330 thousand or 111%, compared to $1,194 thousand for the six months ended June 30, 2016. The increase resulted from increases in salaries and benefits and directors’ fees, legal fees in connection with the Taoz settlement and the class action lawsuits, and officers’ and directors’ insurance.

Other expenses for the six months ended June 30, 2017 were $1,029 thousand, consisting of the fair value of rights granted to Taoz, a minority shareholder in TyrNovo, following the acquisition of TyrNovo.

Finance income, net for the six months ended June 30, 2017 was $56 thousand and is primarily related to interest on bank deposits. Finance income, net for the six months ended June 30, 2016 was $121 thousand and is primarily related to derivative instruments that expired during the period.

The Company’s net loss for the six months ended June 30, 2017 amounted to $6,013 thousand, compared with a loss of $3,037 thousand for the corresponding period in 2016.

Balance Sheet Highlights

Cash, cash equivalents and short-term deposits totaled $8,132 thousand as of June 30, 2017, compared to $14,657 thousand on December 31, 2016. The decrease compared to December 31, 2016 reflects the cash used in operations and the cash used in the acquisition of TyrNovo during the first half of 2017. In July 2017 the Company raised approximately $3.1 million, net in a direct registered offering.
Shareholders’ equity totaled $12,471 thousand, including $1,827 in non-controlling interests as of June 30, 2017, compared to $13,385 thousand as of December 31, 2016.

Biocon withdraws EMA dossiers for Trastuzumab, Pegfilgrastim

On August 16, 2017 Biocon reported that it has requested for withdrawal of the dossiers for biosimilars, Trastuzumab and Pegfilgrastim, as part of the procedural requirements for re-inspection by the European regulator EMA (Article, Biocon, AUG 16, 2017, View Source [SID1234520269]).

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"While our drug substance facilities for Trastuzumab and Pegfilgrastim were approved, the European regulatory authorities had informed us of the need for a re-inspection of our drug product facility for these products," the bio-pharmaceutical firm said in a regulatory filing.

The request for withdrawal of the dossiers and re-submission is part of the European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) procedural requirements linked to this re-inspection and will be considered by the EMA’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP), the statement added.

"We are on track to complete our corrective and preventive actions (CAPAs) by the end of this quarter and it is our intent to seek re-inspection and re-submission thereafter," spokesperson said.