On May 15, 2025 Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATRA), a leader in T-cell immunotherapy, leveraging its novel allogeneic Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) T-cell platform to develop transformative therapies for patients with cancer and autoimmune diseases, reported financial results for the first quarter 2025 and business updates (Press release, Atara Biotherapeutics, MAY 15, 2025, View Source [SID1234653159]).

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"We are pleased that we have secured additional financing that is expected to extend our cash runway through the first quarter of 2026," said Cokey Nguyen Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Atara. "This enables Atara to continue to work to reduce costs and liabilities while maintaining the required support to achieve potential BLA approval."

Tabelecleucel (tab-cel or Ebvallo) for Post-Transplant Lymphoproliferative Disease (PTLD)

The FDA has lifted the clinical holds on EBVALLO studies. Atara plans to resume enrollment in the Phase 3 ALLELE clinical study for patients with Epstein-Barr Virus-associated post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease (EBV+ PTLD) and the Phase 2 label-expansion multi-cohort clinical study.
The FDA has granted a date in the second quarter of 2025 for a Type A meeting to discuss the plan to address the issues raised by the FDA in the Complete Response Letter (CRL) issued in January 2025, and the path forward for resubmission of the EBVALLO BLA.
In March 2025, the Company completed the transfer of all worldwide manufacturing and supply responsibility, including all associated costs, to Pierre Fabre Laboratories, and the Company is in active discussions on accelerating the transfer of all remaining operational activities related to tab-cel to Pierre Fabre, except the BLA sponsorship, which the Company expects to be completed as early as June 2025.
Atara remains eligible for significant milestone payments from Pierre Fabre Laboratories upon FDA approval of the EBVALLO BLA and related commercial sales of EBVALLO, as well as significant royalties as a percentage of net sales. Pierre Fabre Laboratories holds worldwide Commercialization rights to EBVALLO.
CAR T Programs Discontinued

Atara has paused development of its CAR T programs (ATA3219 and ATA3431), with anticipated completion of wind-down activities in the second quarter of 2025.
Corporate Updates

Strategic Option Evaluation: As communicated in January and March, Atara engaged a well-known financial advisor to support the assessment of a range of strategic options, which may include, but are not limited to, an acquisition, merger, reverse merger, other business combinations, sale of assets, or other strategic transactions. In April 2025, Atara paused its review of strategic options, pending the Type A meeting with the FDA which is scheduled in the second quarter of 2025, to discuss the plan to address the issues raised by the FDA in the CRL and the path forward for resubmission of the EBVALLO BLA.

Organizational Restructuring: In May 2025, Atara implemented a strategic restructuring to further reduce operating expenses and due to the wind down of the CAR T programs. This restructuring resulted in a company-wide workforce reduction of approximately 30%, retaining approximately 23 personnel essential to execute on its remaining transition responsibilities under the EBVALLO collaboration with Pierre Fabre Laboratories, including as the BLA holder until approval.

Financial Update: Atara has entered into an underwriting agreement for the issuance and sale of 834,237 shares of its common stock at a purchase price of $6.61 per share and the issuance and sale of pre-funded warrants to purchase up to 1,587,108 shares of its common stock at a purchase price of $6.6099 per share, representing fair market value based on closing, to entities affiliated with Adiumentum Capital Management, EcoR1 Capital, Panacea Venture and Redmile Group. The proceeds to Atara from the offering are expected to be $16 million, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by Atara. Atara currently intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to fund its ongoing activities required to achieve biologics license application (BLA) approval for tab-cel, and for working capital and general corporate purposes. The offering is expected to close on May 16, 2025, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

First Quarter 2025 Financial Results

Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments as of March 31, 2025 totaled $13.8 million, as compared to $42.5 million as of December 31, 2024.
Net cash used in operating activities was $28.1 million for the first quarter 2025, as compared to $29.6 million in the same period in 2024.
Total revenues were $98.1 million for the first quarter 2025, as compared to $27.4 million for the same period in 2024. Total revenues increased by $70.7 million year over year, primarily due to revenue recognized as a result of the completion of certain performance obligations under our Pierre Fabre agreement following the transfer of manufacturing responsibilities to Pierre Fabre as of March 31, 2025.
Total costs and operating expenses include non-cash stock-based compensation, depreciation and amortization expenses of $6.0 million for the first quarter 2025, as compared to $9.8 million for the same period in 2024.
Research and development expenses were $27.4 million for the first quarter 2025, as compared to $45.5 million for the same period in 2024.
Research and development expenses include $8.3 million in restructuring charges comprised primarily of severance payments and wages for the 60-day notice period in accordance with the California WARN Act for the January and March 2025 reductions in force.
Research and development expenses also include $1.4 million of non-cash stock-based compensation expenses for the first quarter 2025, as compared to $4.7 million for the same period in 2024.
General and administrative expenses were $11.5 million for the first quarter 2025, as compared to $11.1 million for the same period in 2024.
General and administrative expenses include $1.5 million in restructuring charges comprised primarily of severance payments and wages for the 60-day notice period in accordance with the California WARN Act for the January and March 2025 reductions in force.
General and administrative expenses include $2.8 million of non-cash stock-based compensation expenses for the first quarter 2025, as compared to $3.7 million for the same period in 2024.
Atara reported net income of $38.0 million, or $3.53 basic earnings per share and $3.50 diluted earnings per share, for the first quarter 2025, as compared to a net loss of $31.8 million, or $5.65 basic and diluted loss per share, for the same period in 2024.
2025 Outlook and Cash Runway

Atara transitioned all tab-cel manufacturing costs and responsibilities to Pierre Fabre in the first quarter of 2025. Pierre Fabre continues to reimburse Atara for costs related to the remaining tab-cel operation activities.
In addition to reducing its headcount by approximately 85% since December 31, 2024, Atara continues to pursue additional initiatives aimed at enhancing operational efficiency.
Following the recognition of most of the one-time restructuring costs in the first quarter of 2025, we anticipate operating expenses to decrease continuously throughout the remainder of the year, with the largest reduction expected in the second quarter of 2025. In total, we expect full year 2025 operating expenses to decrease by approximately 65% from 2024.
Atara projects that cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments as of March 31, 2025, combined with the $16M gross proceeds from the May 2025 offering, in total will enable funding of planned operations into the first quarter of 2026.

On May 15, 2025 Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATRA), a leader in T-cell immunotherapy, leveraging its novel allogeneic Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) T-cell platform to develop transformative therapies for patients with cancer and autoimmune diseases, reported the pricing of an offering of 834,237 shares of its common stock at an offering price of $6.61 per share and pre-funded warrants to purchase 1,587,108 shares of its common stock at an offering price of $6.6099 per pre-funded warrant share in an underwritten registered direct offering to a limited number of existing institutional investors, including entities affiliated with Adiumentum Capital Management, EcoR1 Capital, Panacea Venture and Redmile Group (Press release, Atara Biotherapeutics, MAY 15, 2025, View Source [SID1234653158]). The pre-funded warrants will have an exercise price of $0.0001 per share and will be immediately exercisable upon issuance. The offering is expected to close on or about May 16, 2025, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

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The gross proceeds from the offering are expected to be $16 million, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by Atara. Atara currently intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to fund its ongoing activities required to achieve biologics license application (BLA) approval for tab-cel, and for working capital and general corporate purposes.

TD Cowen is acting as the sole bookrunner for the offering.

The securities described above are being offered by Atara pursuant to a shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (No. 333-275256), including a base prospectus, that was previously filed by Atara with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on November 1, 2023 and was declared effective on November 13, 2023. A prospectus supplement containing additional information relating to the offering will be filed with the SEC and will be available on the SEC’s website located at View Source Copies of the final prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relating to the offering, when available, may also be obtained by contacting TD Securities (USA) LLC, 1 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017, by telephone at (855) 495-9846 or by email at [email protected]

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

On May 15, 2025 Akari Therapeutics, Plc (Nasdaq: AKTX), a biotechnology company developing novel Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADCs) with immuno-oncology payloads for the treatment of cancer, reported its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2025 and provided a corporate update (Press release, Akari Therapeutics, MAY 15, 2025, View Source [SID1234653157]).

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"We remain laser focused on becoming a key player in the ADC space and advancing our novel ADC platform built around immuno-oncology payloads and our lead asset AKTX-101, an ADC targeting Trop2 with our immuno-oncology payload, PH1. We continue to develop and execute a clear path forward for our ADC pipeline and support these efforts with ongoing activities and building the team that we believe positions us for success in the near and long term," commented Abizer Gaslightwala, President and Chief Executive Officer of Akari. "In particular, we were pleased to recently welcome Mark Kubik, a seasoned leader in the Antibody Drug Conjugate space, as Head of Business Development, Oncology and believe his expertise will be invaluable as we continue to advance our novel ADC platform technology."

Leveraging its innovative payload platform, the Company is advancing a pipeline of potentially first-in-class, best-in-class ADC candidates across a wide range of cancer tumor targets. These initial candidates have shown significant tumor-killing activity in preclinical models with the ability to robustly activate the immune system to drive durable, and sustained outcomes.

Upcoming Expected Value-Driving Milestones

Novel ADC’s With Immuno-Oncology Payloads

•
Anticipate presenting preclinical data showing that a proof-of-concept ADC with PH1 payload exhibits robust immuno-oncology activity, at a scientific conference in second half of 2025.
•
Complete additional preclinical studies for novel PH1 payload exploring activity in prostate cancer cell lines.
•
Explore preclinical activity for AKTX-101 in different solid tumor indications including lung, as single agent and in combination with other approved agents.
•
Continue to focus on operational excellence and efficient capital allocation to advance novel payload ADC platform.
•
Ongoing efforts to seek strategic partners for research collaborations on PH1 immuno-oncology payload across customized tumor targets. Continued discussions with partners on advancing AKTX-101 ADC (Trop2/PH1 payload) through additional IND-enabling activities.

Non-Core Asset Out Licensing

•
Continue efforts to out-license non-core assets across inflammation, ophthalmology, and rare diseases as a source of non-dilutive capital to invest into ADC platform.

Summary of Financial Results for First Quarter 2025

The net loss from operations for the three months ended March 31, 2025 was approximately $3.7 million compared to $5.6 million for the same period in 2024.

The Company reported research and development expenses of $0.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025 compared to approximately $2.3 million for the same period in 2024. The decrease was primarily due to our decision to suspend our HSCT-TMA clinical stage program with nomacopan in May 2024.

General and administrative expenses were approximately $2.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025 compared to approximately $3.7 million for the same period in 2024. The decrease was primarily due to (i) decreases in legal and professional fees (primarily related to the Merger) and (ii) a decrease in directors’ and officers’ insurance.

As of March 31, 2025, the Company had cash of approximately $2.6 million. The net proceeds from the Company’s March 2025 offering, after deducting placement agent fees and other offering expenses, were approximately $6.0 million, of which $4.0 million was received in April 2025.

On May 15, 2025 Abeona Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: ABEO) reported financial results and business highlights for the first quarter of 2025 and shared recent operational progress (Press release, Abeona Therapeutics, MAY 15, 2025, View Source [SID1234653156]).

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"ZEVASKYN’s approval just a few weeks ago is a landmark achievement for recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa patients and signifies Abeona’s transition to a commercial-stage cell and gene therapy company," said Vish Seshadri, Chief Executive Officer of Abeona. "We are rapidly advancing the launch of ZEVASKYN and building positive momentum. Patients can now start their treatment journey with Lurie Children’s activated as our initial treatment center ready to identify patients and our scheduling system is operational. In addition, we are collecting patient registrations through our patient support program, Abeona Assist, and have entered into agreements with commercial payer groups ensuring broad access to ZEVASKYN."

Recent Developments

ZEVASKYN FDA approval, commercial launch progress and new data

● FDA approval of first-in-class RDEB therapy: On April 28, 2025, the U.S. FDA approved ZEVASKYN (prademagene zamikeracel) gene-modified cellular sheets, also known as pz-cel, as the first and only autologous cell-based gene therapy for the treatment of wounds in adult and pediatric patients with RDEB. There is no cure for RDEB and ZEVASKYN is the only FDA-approved product to treat RDEB wounds with a single application.
● Activation of first ZEVASKYN Qualified Treatment Center (QTC): Following approval, ZEVASKYN is now commercially available in the U.S. after the activation of Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, a top-ranked hospital, as the first of five QTCs for ZEVASKYN. The first patient is expected to be treated in the third quarter of 2025. Abeona expects to activate all five QTCs by the end of 2025.
● High interest from patients and caregivers: Since approval, approximately 30 patients and caregivers have started registering in the Abeona Assist patient services program.
● Increasing enthusiasm from healthcare professionals: New data from two posters were presented at the 2025 Society for Investigative Dermatology (SID) Annual Meeting. One poster presentation details the potential progenitor cell populations within ZEVASKYN that may contribute to long-term wound closure and persistent COL7A1 expression observed after a single treatment. A second poster presentation details the absence of insertional oncogenesis and replication competent retrovirus in clinical and pre-clinical experience with ZEVASKYN.

● Securing broad patient access: Abeona has executed value-based agreements with several commercial payer groups representing dozens of downstream plans and approximately 100 million commercially-insured lives. In addition, Abeona is in active discussions with multiple commercial and government payers to further expand ZEVASKYN access to eligible patients in the U.S.

Key corporate updates

● Secured non-dilutive capital: Abeona entered into a definitive asset purchase agreement to sell its Rare Pediatric Disease PRV for gross proceeds of $155 million upon the closing of the transaction. Abeona was awarded the PRV following the FDA approval of ZEVASKYN.

"The proceeds from our PRV sale fully fund our operations for over two years, extending our runway through our projected ZEVASKYN-driven profitability in early 2026," said Joe Vazzano, Chief Financial Officer of Abeona. "This robust financial footing, achieved even before ZEVASKYN revenues, eliminates the need for additional capital to reach this crucial commercial milestone."

Financial Results

Cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and short-term investments totaled $84.5 million as of March 31, 2025, before accounting for the proceeds pending the close of the PRV sale. As of December 31, 2024, cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and short-term investments totaled $98.1 million.

Research and development spending for the three months ended March 31, 2025 was $9.9 million, compared to $7.2 million for the same period of 2024. The increase was primarily due to increased headcount related to scale-up of manufacturing capacity in preparation for the planned ZEVASKYN commercial launch and pre-clinical development work. General and administrative expenses were $9.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to $7.1 million for the same period of 2024. The increase was primarily due to increased headcount associated with the planned launch of ZEVASKYN.

Net loss was $12.0 million for the first quarter of 2025, or $0.24 loss per common share. Net loss in the first quarter of 2024 was $31.6 million, or $1.16 loss per common share.

Conference Call Details

The Company will host a conference call and webcast on Thursday, May 15, 2025, at 8:30 a.m. ET, to discuss the financial results and corporate progress. To access the call, dial 877-545-0523 (U.S. toll-free) or 973-528-0016 (international) and Entry Code: 292299 five minutes prior to the start of the call. A live, listen-only webcast and archived replay of the call can be accessed on the Investors & Media section of Abeona’s website at View Source The archived webcast replay will be available for 30 days following the call.

On May 15, 2025 SELLAS Life Sciences Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: SLS) ("SELLAS’’ or the "Company"), a late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapies for a broad range of cancer indications, reported that the first pediatric AML patient has been dosed in the ongoing Phase 2 trial of SLS009 (tambiciclib), a highly selective CDK9 inhibitor, in relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia (r/r AML) (Press release, Sellas Life Sciences, MAY 15, 2025, View Source [SID1234653151]).

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"Building upon our promising Cohort 3 data, we are pleased to dose our first pediatric AML patient as part of the ongoing Phase 2 trial," said Dragan Cicic, MD, Chief Development Officer of SELLAS. "This milestone reflects our commitment to addressing critical unmet needs in hematologic disorders as we develop treatments for the most difficult to treat patients, particularly pediatric patients, with very few available options, including multi-hit TP53 mutation, failure of azacitidine and venetoclax, failure of transplant, and almost all available high-intensity chemotherapies. With the Rare Pediatric Disease Designation already in place, we are hopeful that our work will bring meaningful progress and potential regulatory advantages as we continue to advance this important program."

SELLAS was granted the FDA RPDD for the treatment of pediatric AML in July 2024. If, in the future, a New Drug Application (NDA) for SLS009 for the treatment of pediatric AML is approved by the FDA, SELLAS will be eligible to receive a Priority Review Voucher (PRV) that could be redeemed to receive a priority review for any subsequent marketing application. PRVs may be used by the sponsor or sold to another sponsor for their use and have recently sold for approximately $100 million.

The Phase 2 clinical trial of SLS009 is an open-label, single-arm, multi-center study designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of SLS009 in combination with venetoclax and azacitidine at two dose levels, 45 and 60 mg. In the 60 mg dose cohort, patients were treated at either a 60 mg dose once per week or a 30 mg dose two times per week. The trial was expanded to include two additional cohorts, one with ASXL1-mutated AML patients and one with patients with myelodysplasia-related molecular abnormalities other than ASXL1. The target response rate at the optimal dose level is 20% with a target median survival of at least 3 months. In addition, the study aims to identify biomarkers for the target patient population and enrichment for further trials. For more information on the study, visit clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT04588922.