On November 9, 2022 Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: LXRX), reported financial results for the three months ended September 30, 2022 and provided an update on key corporate milestones (Press release, Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, NOV 9, 2022, View Source [SID1234623548]).

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"Our mid-cycle review meeting with the FDA was held this week for our NDA for sotagliflozin for the treatment of heart failure, which remains on track for its PDUFA action date in May 2023," said Lonnel Coats, Lexicon’s chief executive officer. "This past weekend, important data for sotagliflozin were presented at two major medical conferences, notably including an oral presentation at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2022 on reduced cardiovascular mortality and hospital readmissions for heart failure at 30- and 90-days post discharge in patients hospitalized for worsening heart failure in the SOLOIST-WHF trial."

"This coming Monday, final data from our successful RELIEF-DPN-1 study of LX9211 in painful diabetic neuropathy will be presented at the 16th Annual Pain Therapeutics Summit in Washington, D.C., which we will follow with a conference call discussing the results and their importance in an area of significant unmet need," Mr. Coats continued. "Finally, we completed enrollment earlier this quarter in our RELIEF-PHN-1 study of LX9211 in post-herpetic neuralgia, from which we expect to report top-line data before year-end."

Third Quarter Highlights

Sotagliflozin

•The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted for review and filed Lexicon’s New Drug Application (NDA) for sotagliflozin for the treatment of heart failure. The FDA assigned a standard review for the NDA filing with a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) target action date in May 2023.
•Two posters were presented at the 70th annual European Society of Cardiology Congress, highlighting protein expression analyses comparing sotagliflozin, a dual SGLT1 and SGLT2 inhibitor, with a selective SGLT2 inhibitor in cell-based models relative to inflammation and thrombosis.
◦The first poster, "Sotagliflozin, a Dual SGLT1/2 Inhibitor, Reduced Expression of Neutrophil Degranulation Proteins During Endothelial Dysfunction Compared with a Selective SGLT2 Inhibitor," concluded that the favorable effects of sotagliflozin on mechanisms of inflammation have implications for ischemic disease, including myocardial infarction and stroke.
◦The second poster, "Sotagliflozin, a Dual SGLT1/2 Inhibitor, Reduced Expression of Platelet Activators During Endothelial Dysfunction Compared to Empagliflozin," concluded that the effects of dual SGLT1 and SGLT2 inhibition on platelet activity may have implications for reduced atherothrombotic risk.
•A manuscript entitled "Metabolic, Intestinal, and Cardiovascular Effects of Sotagliflozin Compared with Empagliflozin in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: A Randomized, Double-Blind Study" was published in the September issue of the journal Diabetes Care. Results from the study showed significant differences between the agents with respect to certain incremental incretin levels following meals, particularly at breakfast. Sotagliflozin significantly reduced postprandial glucose, insulin, and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) and significantly increased glucagon-

like peptide 1 (GLP-1), in each case relative to empagliflozin and consistent with sotagliflozin’s inhibition of intestinal SGLT-1. The favorable changes in these measures were noted in the manuscript as having potential implications for cardiovascular disease.

LX9211

•A poster was presented and an oral presentation was given at the PAINWeek 2022 National Conference on Pain Management. The poster and presentation, each titled "LX9211, a Novel Therapeutic Approach to Treatment of Neuropathic Pain," described the mechanism of action of LX9211’s novel target, adaptor-associated protein kinase 1 (AAK1), as well as results from multiple preclinical models of neuropathic pain after treatment with LX9211.
•A poster was presented at the IASP World Congress on Pain, titled "Efficacy, Safety, and Pharmacokinetics of LX9211 in the Treatment of Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathic Pain (RELIEF-DPN-1)," outlining the study design, baseline patient characteristics, and positive results of the primary endpoint of the study.

Public Offering and Concurrent Private Placement

•Lexicon completed a public offering and concurrent private placement of common stock, with net proceeds to the company of $94.3 million.

Third Quarter 2022 Financial Highlights

Research and Development (R&D) Expenses: Research and development expenses for the third quarter of 2022 decreased to $10.6 million from $15.7 million for the corresponding period in 2021, primarily due to lower clinical external research expenses and professional and consulting costs.

Selling, General and Administrative (SG&A) Expenses: Selling, general and administrative expenses for the third quarter of 2022 increased to $12.6 million from $7.3 million for the corresponding period in 2021, primarily due to increases in salaries and benefits, professional and consulting costs and marketing costs relating to preparations for the commercial launch of sotagliflozin.

Net Loss: Net loss for the third quarter of 2022 was $23.4 million, or $0.13 per share, as compared to a net loss of $23.1 million, or $0.16 per share, in the corresponding period in 2021. For the third quarters of 2022 and 2021, net loss included non-cash, stock-based compensation expense of $2.6 million and $2.7 million, respectively.

Cash and Investments: As of September 30, 2022, Lexicon had $136.2 million in cash and investments, as compared to $86.7 million as of December 31, 2021

Conference Call and Webcast Information

Lexicon management will hold a live conference call and webcast today at 5:00 pm ET / 4:00 pm CT to review its financial and operating results and to provide a general business update. The dial-in number for the conference call is 888-886-7786 and the conference ID for all callers is 70766912. The live webcast and replay may be accessed by visiting Lexicon’s website at www.lexpharma.com/events. An archived version of the webcast will be available on the website for 14 days.

On November 9, 2022 Repare Therapeutics Inc. ("Repare" or the "Company") (Nasdaq: RPTX), a leading clinical-stage precision oncology company, reported financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2022 (Press release, Repare Therapeutics, NOV 9, 2022, View Source [SID1234623547]).

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"Our focus in the third quarter has remained on execution of our pipeline of programs including RP-6306, our first-in-class, oral PKMYT1 inhibitor currently being evaluated in the Phase 1 MYTHIC, MAGNETIC, and MINOTAUR studies. We look forward to reporting data for RP-6306 in the first half of 2023 as we continue to execute on this novel program," said Lloyd M. Segal, President and Chief Executive Officer of Repare. "Based on promising preclinical data released at the 34th EORTC-NCI-AACR (Free EORTC-NCI-AACR Whitepaper) Symposium in October 2022, Repare is working with clinical investigators to initiate clinical testing of a new carboplatin combination with RP-6306 in 2023."

"This quarter, after HSR clearance, we closed our worldwide license and collaboration agreement with Roche for the development and commercialization of camonsertib (also known as RP-3500). We recognize the significant collaborative efforts by Roche and our team in completing a swift and efficient regulatory and operational transfer of this program, while we continue to provide ongoing support for the TRESR and ATTACC trials into 2023. In connection with this agreement, Repare received a $125 million upfront payment in July 2022 and may expect to receive up to $55 million in potential near-term payments."

"We also made important progress in advancing RP-2119, our polymerase theta inhibitor, with ongoing IND-enabling studies and we expect to initiate clinical trials next summer. We are also preparing to conduct further IND-enabling studies for an additional small molecule in the first half of 2023 as we look to another substantial year ahead."

Third Quarter 2022 Review and Operational Updates:

Evaluating RP-6306, a first-in-class, oral PKMYT1 inhibitor as a monotherapy and in combinations in multiple Phase 1 studies.
Repare continues to advance Phase 1 clinical trials evaluating RP-6306 as a monotherapy (MYTHIC), as well as in combinations with gemcitabine (MAGNETIC), FOLFIRI (MINOTAUR), and camonsertib (MYTHIC), each for the treatment of molecularly selected advanced solid tumors.
Initial Phase 1 clinical data readout for RP-6306 is expected in the first half of 2023.
Based on promising preclinical data released at the 34th EORTC-NCI-AACR (Free EORTC-NCI-AACR Whitepaper) Symposium in October 2022, Repare is working with clinical investigators to initiate clinical testing of a new carboplatin combination with RP-6306 in 2023. Repare demonstrated that the PKMYT1 inhibitor RP-6306 synergized with carboplatin in multiple CCNE1 high/amplified cellular models to induce an increase in DNA damage, which led to increased cell death compared to either agent alone. The combination of RP-6306 and carboplatin induced profound tumor regression in the OVCAR3 xenograft model and was well tolerated with no additional suppression of red blood cells or neutrophils.
Preclinical data from RP-6306 was published in Journal of Medicinal Chemistry in July 2022. The article, entitled "Discovery of an Orally Bioavailable and Selective PKMYT1 Inhibitor, RP-6306", is available on the Company website under Scientific References.
Advancing camonsertib, a potent and selective oral small molecule inhibitor of ATR (Ataxia-Telangiectasia and Rad3-related protein kinase) for the treatment of tumors with specific synthetic lethal genomic alterations, in partnership with Roche.
Under the agreement with Roche, Roche assumed the development of camonsertib with the potential to expand development into additional tumor indications and multiple combination studies.
Repare will continue to provide ongoing support for the TRESR and ATTACC trials into 2023.
In connection with this agreement, Repare received a $125 million upfront payment in July 2022. Repare is eligible to receive up to an additional $1.172 billion in potential development, regulatory, commercial and sales milestones, including up to $55 million in potential near-term payments, and royalties on global net sales ranging from high-single-digits to high-teens.
Advancing IND-enabling studies for RP-2119, Repare’s Polθ inhibitor, and plan to initiate clinical trials in the summer of 2023.
Repare also expects to initiate IND-enabling studies in the first half of 2023 for an additional small molecule against an undisclosed target.
Third Quarter 2022 Financial Results:

Cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities: Cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities as of September 30, 2022 were $370.4 million, which Repare believes will be sufficient to fund planned operations into 2026.
Research and development expenses, net of tax credits (Net R&D): Net R&D expenses were $31.2 million and $89.2 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2022, respectively, as compared to $25.4 million and $62.1 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021. The increase in R&D expenses for the three- and nine-month periods were primarily due to an increase in development activities related to the advancement of the RP-6306 program and the RP-2119 IND-enabling studies; an increase of personnel-related costs, including share-based compensation, for increased headcount in support of discovery and development activities; and other research and development costs. Camonsertib costs increased year over year as a result of higher development costs in relation to the advancement of the program, but decreased quarter over quarter following the transfer of CMC related activities to Roche pursuant to the collaboration agreement.
General and administrative (G&A) expenses: G&A expenses were $8.0 million and $24.6 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2022, respectively, as compared to $6.6 million and $18.6 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021. The increase in G&A expenses for the three- and nine-month periods were primarily due to an increase in personnel related costs, including share-based compensation; an increase in professional fees associated with the Roche collaboration agreement and the establishment of our at-the-market (ATM) offering, as well as timing of audit and SOX compliance efforts, partially offset by a decrease in our D&O insurance premium.
Net income (loss): Net income was $75.5 million, or $1.71 diluted earnings per share, or EPS, and $2.6 million, or $0.06 diluted EPS, for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2022, respectively, and net loss was $30.9 million, or $0.83 diluted loss per share, and $78.6 million, or $2.12 diluted loss per share, for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, respectively.
About Repare Therapeutics’ SNIPRx Platform

Repare’s SNIPRx platform is a genome-wide CRISPR-based screening approach that utilizes proprietary isogenic cell lines to identify novel and known synthetic lethal gene pairs and the corresponding patients who are most likely to benefit from the Company’s therapies based on the genetic profile of their tumors. Repare’s platform enables the development of precision therapeutics in patients whose tumors contain one or more genomic alterations identified by SNIPRx screening, in order to selectively target those tumors in patients most likely to achieve clinical benefit from resulting product candidates.

On November 9, 2022 Nkarta, Inc. (Nasdaq: NKTX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing engineered natural killer (NK) cell therapies to treat cancer, reported financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2022 (Press release, Nkarta, NOV 9, 2022, View Source [SID1234623546]).

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"The third quarter marked significant progress as we continue to treat patients across our two lead clinical programs," said Paul J. Hastings, President and CEO of Nkarta. "We recently completed the first cycle of treatment for patients in the NKX019 monotherapy dose escalation cohort and look forward to announcing new clinical data by year-end, including data from responding patients reported in the last update. We’ve also opened enrollment in multiple dose expansion cohorts, where we intend to build on our prior experience with NKX019 in patients with autologous CAR T naïve, relapsed/refractory (r/r) LBCL, while simultaneously investigating activity in patients with LBCL who have previously received autologous CAR T. We will also explore NKX019 in combination with rituximab, regardless of prior CAR T treatment. NKX101 continues to enroll patients in monotherapy dose escalation, and we have updated the timing of NKX101 data in r/r AML to the first half of next year. We are continuing our mission to bring our allogeneic, off-the-shelf cell therapies to patients in outpatient and community oncology settings, enabling convenient multi-cycle treatment and broad access."

Anticipated Clinical Milestones

Nkarta plans to present additional clinical data from its ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial of NKX019 by year-end 2022 as part of a company-hosted announcement.
Nkarta plans to present additional clinical data from its ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial of NKX101 in the first half of 2023. Nkarta updated this timing from year-end 2022 in order to collect a more robust and interpretable data set from a heavily pre-treated and heterogenous patient population.
The data updates for NKX019 and NKX101 are expected to include safety and activity data from patients in the dose escalation cohorts who receive the 3-dose monotherapy treatment at the higher 1.5 billion CAR NK cell dose, durability of response in patients who were in response as of the April 2022 data cut-off, and safety and activity data from patients in the dose escalation cohorts who may have received one or more additional cycles of CAR NK cell therapy, including consolidation therapy.
NKX019 Dose Expansion Cohorts

Nkarta recently opened enrollment in the dose expansion portion of its Phase 1 clinical trial of NKX019. This dose expansion will investigate for the first time NKX019 as combination therapy with rituximab, an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody, in patients with r/r non-Hodgkin lymphoma, as well as NKX019 as monotherapy in patients with large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL) who previously received autologous CD19 CAR T therapy. The dose expansion will also further investigate NKX019 as monotherapy in patients with LBCL who have not previously received autologous CD19 CAR T therapy.
Owing to the recent start of patient enrollment, data from the dose expansion cohorts are not expected to be announced in the NKX019 clinical update planned for 2022.
NKX101 Clinical Data – April 2022

On April 25, 2022, Nkarta reported preliminary data from its Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating NKX101, an allogeneic, cryopreserved, off-the-shelf cancer immunotherapy candidate that uses NK cells engineered to target NKG2D ligands on cancer cells, as a multi-dose, multi-cycle monotherapy in patients with r/r acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and higher-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). As of data cut-off on April 21, 2022, 21 patients had been enrolled and dosed.
Three of five patients with heavily pre-treated AML treated at the higher dose levels in a three-dose regimen achieved a complete response (60% CR) with hematologic recovery, with two of the three responses MRD (measurable residual disease) negative.
NKX101 was well tolerated. No dose-limiting toxicities were observed. No cytokine release syndrome (CRS), graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), or immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS) was observed. The most common higher-grade adverse events were myelosuppression and infection, which are common in this patient population following lymphodepletion.
NKX019 Clinical Data – April 2022

On April 25, 2022, Nkarta reported preliminary data from its Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating NKX019, an allogeneic, cryopreserved, off-the-shelf cancer immunotherapy candidate that uses NK cells engineered to target the B-cell antigen CD19, as a multi-dose, multi-cycle monotherapy in patients with r/r B-cell malignancies. As of data cut-off on April 21, 2022, 13 patients had been enrolled and dosed.
Three of six patients treated at the higher dose level in a three-dose regimen showed a complete response (50% CR), including one patient with aggressive large B cell lymphoma (LBCL) and one patient with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL).
NKX019 was well tolerated. No dose-limiting toxicities were observed. No CRS, GvHD, or neurotoxicity (ICANS) was observed. The most common higher-grade adverse events were myelosuppression, which is common in this patient population following lymphodepletion.
SITC 2022

In November 2022, Nkarta presented preclinical data from its engineered NK cell platform in two posters at the annual meeting of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) (Free SITC Whitepaper).
Poster #902, "NKX019, an Off-the-Shelf CD19 CAR-NK Cell, Mediates Improved Anti-Tumor Activity and Persistence in Combination with CD20-Directed Therapeutic mAbs," presents preclinical data on the improved anti-tumor activity demonstrated by the combination of NKX019 and a CD20-directed monoclonal antibody (mAb). This combination showed superior tumor cell killing compared to that of NKX019 and either mAb alone. Each agent was capable of direct killing of tumor cells, and when combined they further acted through ADCC, or antibody dependent cellular cytotoxicity. ADCC is a mechanism of immune defense whereby immune cells such as NK cells can recognize and kill tumor cells whose surface antigens are coated with antibodies. ADCC is one of several mechanisms by which NK cells are known to kill tumor cells.
Poster #381, "Large-Scale Expansion and Engineering of Human NK Cells Sourced from Peripheral Blood Versus Umbilical Cord Blood," presents data on the use of Nkarta’s proprietary NKSTIM cell line to expand NK cells in support of potential large-scale commercial production of therapeutic CAR NK cells. NK cells derived from the healthy-donor peripheral blood were expanded over 250 billion-fold while maintaining chromosomal integrity and potency against multiple tumor cell models, and compared favorably to NK cells derived from cord blood. Cell populations capable of superior expansion and native potency could be identified in adult donor-derived NK cells, allowing the potential selection of optimal donors and cell populations for enhanced CAR NK cell production.
Other Corporate Highlights

In August 2022, Nkarta signed amended lease agreements for its future cell therapy manufacturing facility and company headquarters and for its existing facilities. The amendments provide for approximately $15 million of additional tenant improvement allowances for the future facility, increase the rent for the future facility, and increase the rent and term of the lease for some of Nkarta’s existing facilities. These allowances are in addition to the tenant improvement allowances of $25.2 million included in the original lease agreement for the future facility. Nkarta’s facilities are located in South San Francisco, California.
Third Quarter 2022 and Recent Financial Highlights

Cash and Cash Equivalents: As of September 30, 2022, Nkarta had cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and short-term investments of $395.1 million.
R&D Expenses: Research and development (R&D) expenses were $23.4 million for the third quarter of 2022. Non-cash stock-based compensation expense included in R&D expense was $1.9 million for the third quarter of 2022.
G&A Expenses: General and administrative (G&A) expenses were $6.8 million for the third quarter of 2022. Non-cash stock-based compensation expense included in G&A expense was $2.4 million for the third quarter of 2022.
Net Loss: Net loss was $28.3 million, or $0.58 per basic and diluted share, for the third quarter of 2022. This net loss includes non-cash charges of $5.9 million that consisted primarily of share-based compensation of $4.4 million.
Financial Guidance

Nkarta expects its current cash and cash equivalents will be sufficient to fund its current operating plan into 2025.
About NKX101
NKX101 is an allogeneic, cryopreserved, off-the-shelf cancer immunotherapy candidate that uses natural killer (NK) cells derived from the peripheral blood of healthy donors. It is engineered with a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) targeting NKG2D ligands on tumor cells. NKG2D, a key activating receptor found on naturally occurring NK cells, induces a cell-killing immune response through the detection of stress ligands that are widely expressed on cancer cells. NKX101 is also engineered with membrane-bound form of interleukin-15 (IL15) for greater persistence and activity without exogenous cytokine support. To learn more about the NKX101 clinical trial in adults with AML or MDS, please visit ClinicalTrials.gov.

About NKX019
NKX019 is an allogeneic, cryopreserved, off-the-shelf cancer immunotherapy candidate that uses natural killer (NK) cells derived from the peripheral blood of healthy adult donors. It is engineered with a humanized CD19-directed CAR for enhanced tumor cell targeting and a proprietary, membrane-bound form of interleukin-15 (IL-15) for greater persistence and activity without exogenous cytokine support. CD19 is a biomarker for normal and malignant B cells, and it is a validated target for B cell cancer therapies. To learn more about the NKX019 clinical trial in adults with advanced B cell malignancies, please visit ClinicalTrials.gov.

On November 9, 2022 Celldex Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLDX) reported financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2022 and provided a corporate update (Press release, Celldex Therapeutics, NOV 9, 2022, View Source [SID1234623545]).

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"Celldex continued to execute towards our clinical and corporate milestones, making strong progress across multiple programs; importantly, this includes the initiation of our Phase 2 studies in chronic spontaneous and chronic inducible urticaria this past summer. As we near the close of 2022 and look to 2023, we anticipate a consistent stream of data readouts from the barzolvolimab program, starting in December with additional data from our Phase 1 study in chronic inducible urticaria," said Anthony Marucci, Co-founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Celldex Therapeutics. "We are also enthusiastic about the potential of our bispecific platform and believe our strategic updates including the development of CDX-585, our ILT4 and PD-(L)1 bispecific antibody, which is expected to enter the clinic in 2023, will drive value for this platform."

"In summary, our recent advances of the barzolvolimab program, development of our bispecific platform, and strong balance sheet continue to position us very well to execute across our upcoming key clinical milestones. We look forward to continued momentum across the company for the rest of the year and providing updates in the coming months," concluded Mr. Marucci.

Recent Program Highlights

Barzolvolimab – KIT Inhibitor Program

Barzolvolimab is a humanized monoclonal antibody developed by Celldex that binds the KIT receptor with high specificity and potently inhibits its activity. The KIT receptor tyrosine kinase is expressed in a variety of cells, including mast cells, which mediate inflammatory responses such as hypersensitivity and allergic reactions. KIT signaling controls the differentiation, tissue recruitment, survival and activity of mast cells.

In June and July 2022, Celldex announced that the first patients have been dosed in the Phase 2 clinical studies of barzolvolimab for the treatment of Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria (CSU) and the two most common forms of chronic inducible urticaria (CIndU) – cold urticaria (ColdU) and symptomatic dermographism (SD). These randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel group Phase 2 studies are evaluating the efficacy and safety profile of multiple dose regimens of barzolvolimab in patients who remain symptomatic despite antihistamine therapy, to determine the optimal dosing strategies.

On June 30, Celldex reported interim data from the barzolvolimab multiple dose Phase 1b study in CSU which were presented as a late-breaking electronic poster presentation as part of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) Annual Congress 2022. The Company has since completed enrollment to the 3 and 4.5 mg/kg dose groups and plans to present 12-week treatment data from these dose groups in February 2023.

EAACI 2022 Data Summary:

Barzolvolimab was well tolerated with a favorable safety profile; effects of multiple dose administration were consistent with observations in single dose studies. Barzolvolimab resulted in rapid, marked and durable responses in patients with moderate to severe CSU refractory to antihistamines, including patients with prior omalizumab treatment.
Mean reduction from baseline in urticaria activity (UAS7) of 66.6% in all patients in the 1.5 mg/kg dose group (n=8) at week 12 and 75.1% in all patients in the 3 mg/kg dose group (n=9) at week 8 (reflects only one dose), demonstrating clinically meaningful symptom improvements for patients.
Complete response (UAS7=0) of 57.1% in the 1.5 mg/kg dose group at week 12 and 44.4% at week 8 (reflects only one dose) in the 3 mg/kg dose group which is a key therapeutic goal.
75% well-controlled disease by Urticaria Control Test (UCT) in the 1.5 mg/kg dose group at week 12 and 83.3% in the 3 mg/kg dose group at week 8 (reflects only one dose).
Tryptase suppression paralleled symptom improvement, demonstrating the impact of mast cell depletion on CSU disease activity.

Celldex has completed enrollment in the barzolvolimab Phase 1b open label study in chronic inducible urticaria. The Company plans to present data from the 1.5 mg/kg cold urticaria cohort and long-term follow up from the 3 mg/kg symptomatic dermographism and cold urticaria cohorts in December. Patient follow up continues in the cholinergic cohort and is planned for presentation in mid-2023.

Celldex continues to enroll patients in the barzolvolimab Phase 1b multi-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in patients with prurigo nodularis (PN), a chronic skin disease characterized by the development of hard, intensely itchy (pruritic) nodules on the skin.

Celldex plans to initiate a Phase 2 international trial of barzolvolimab in eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), the most common type of eosinophilic gastrointestinal disease, in the first half of 2023. The Company is finalizing clinical study design and completing the chronic toxicology study which will support study initiation in the United States.
Bispecific Antibody Platform

CDX-585 – Bispecific ILT4 & PD-(L)1

CDX-585 combines highly active PD-1 blockade with anti-ILT4 blockade to overcome immunosuppressive signals in T cells and myeloid cells. ILT4 is emerging as an important immune checkpoint on myeloid cells.

CDX-585 is currently completing CMC and IND-enabling activities and is expected to enter the clinic in 2023.
CDX-527 – Bispecific PD-L1 & CD27

CDX-527 utilizes the Company’s proprietary highly active anti-PD-L1 and CD27 human antibodies to couple CD27 co-stimulation with blockade of the PD-L1/PD-1 pathway.

The standard of care in ovarian cancer continues to evolve, making drug development in this indication more challenging. With multiple clinical trials actively recruiting in ovarian cancer, enrollment to the expansion cohort in patients with checkpoint naïve ovarian cancer (n=8) did not meet the Company’s internal timelines and a review of the results to date also did not meet internal hurdles for proceeding. Given the evolving environment and Celldex’s pipeline and resource priorities, the Company has decided to discontinue the program.
Third Quarter 2022 Financial Highlights and 2022 Guidance

Cash Position: Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities as of September 30, 2022 were $323.5 million compared to $356.8 million as of June 30, 2022. The decrease was primarily driven by third quarter cash used in operating activities of $35.2 million, which includes the $15.0 million payment to Shareholder Representative Services (SRS), the representative of the former stockholders of Kolltan Pharmaceuticals, Inc., pursuant to our settlement agreement. At September 30, 2022, Celldex had 47.1 million shares outstanding.

Revenues: Total revenue was $0.4 million in the third quarter of 2022 and $0.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2022, compared to $0.2 million and $4.3 million for the comparable periods in 2021. The decrease in revenue for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2021 was primarily due to a decrease in services performed under our manufacturing and research and development agreements with Rockefeller University and Gilead Sciences.

R&D Expenses: Research and development (R&D) expenses were $21.6 million in the third quarter of 2022 and $59.4 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2022, compared to $13.6 million and $38.6 million for the comparable periods in 2021. The increase in R&D expenses was primarily due to an increase in barzolvolimab clinical trial, barzolvolimab contract manufacturing and personnel expenses.

G&A Expenses: General and administrative (G&A) expenses were $6.5 million in the third quarter of 2022 and $20.6 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2022, compared to $5.8 million and $14.2 million for the comparable periods in 2021. The increase in G&A expenses was primarily due to higher legal costs related to our settlement agreement with SRS, barzolvolimab commercial planning and stock-based compensation expenses.

Changes in Fair Value Remeasurement of Contingent Consideration: The Company recorded a $6.9 million gain on fair value remeasurement of contingent consideration for the nine months ended September 30, 2022, primarily due to the Company’s decision to deprioritize the CDX-1140 program in the second quarter of 2022.

Litigation Settlement Related Loss: The Company recorded a one-time loss of $15.0 million in the second quarter of 2022 related to the $15.0 million paid to SRS pursuant to our settlement agreement.

Net Loss: Net loss was $26.8 million, or ($0.57) per share, for the third quarter of 2022, and $85.8 million, or ($1.83) per share, for the nine months ended September 30, 2022, compared to a net loss of $20.5 million, or ($0.45) per share, for the third quarter of 2021 and $50.4 million, or ($1.21) per share, for the nine months ended September 30, 2021. The litigation settlement related loss had a ($0.32) impact on net loss per share for the nine months ended September 30, 2022. The gain on fair value remeasurement of contingent consideration had a $0.15 impact on net loss per share for the nine months ended September 30, 2022.

Financial Guidance: Celldex believes that the cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities at September 30, 2022 are sufficient to meet estimated working capital requirements and fund planned operations through 2025.

On November 9, 2022 Curis, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRIS), a biotechnology company focused on the development of innovative therapeutics for the treatment of cancer, reported its business update and financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2022 (Press release, Curis, NOV 9, 2022, View Source [SID1234623543]).

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The Company plans to release updated data from its TakeAim Leukemia Phase 1/2 trial of emavusertib in relapsed or refractory (R/R) acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and high-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (hrMDS) during the upcoming 64th annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) in New Orleans on December 10-13, 2022. The release includes data for 11 additional evaluable AML/hrMDS patients treated with monotherapy (total to date 24) in targeted populations (patients with U2AF1, SF3B1 or FLT3 mutations), as well as 5 AML/hrMDS patients treated with the combination of emavusertib and venetoclax.

To further advance the development of emavusertib based on these data, the Company is concentrating its resources to focus on and accelerate emavusertib. Resources will be reallocated to the emavusertib programs and resources dedicated to all other pipeline programs will be reduced. Deprioritization of other programs will enable a reduction of approximately 30% of the Company’s workforce and is expected to extend the Company’s cash runway into 2025.

"We believe emavusertib’s potential to address an area of high unmet need in R/R AML and R/R hrMDS sets it apart. To that end, we are dedicating the resources of the company to prioritize the acceleration of its regulatory path," said James Dentzer, President and Chief Executive Officer of Curis. "While we continue to believe in our entire pipeline, we recognize the unique potential of emavusertib and are fortunate that our existing cash will allow us to extend our runway into 2025 to advance its development," continued Mr. Dentzer.

Third Quarter 2022 and Recent Operational Highlights

Precision Oncology, Emavusertib (IRAK4 Inhibitor)

The Company announced in August that, after review of the comprehensive data packages submitted by the Company, the FDA has allowed enrollment to resume in the TakeAim Lymphoma study and in the monotherapy dose finding phase (Phase 1a) of the TakeAim Leukemia study.

Curis held the first annual IRAK4 in Cancer symposium virtually on October 7, 2022 where leaders from academia and industry gathered to present their cutting edge research on IRAK4, its biology and the role it could play as a target for therapeutic intervention.
Upcoming Milestones

The Company plans to report monotherapy and combination data from the TakeAim Leukemia studies during ASH (Free ASH Whitepaper) 2022.
Third Quarter 2022 Financial Results

For the third quarter of 2022, Curis reported a net loss of $13.3 million or $0.14 per share on both a basic and diluted basis, as compared to a net loss of $11.1 million, or $0.12 per share on both a basic and diluted basis for the same period in 2021. Curis reported a net loss of $45.3 million or $0.49 per share on both a basic and diluted basis, for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 as compared to a net loss of $31.8 million, or $0.35 per share on both a basic and diluted basis for the same period in 2021.

Revenues, net for the third quarter of 2022 and 2021 were $2.8 million and $3.0 million, respectively. Revenues, net for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 were $7.3 million as compared to $7.5 million for the same period in 2021. Revenues for both periods comprise primarily royalty revenues recorded on Genentech and Roche’s net sales of Erivedge.

Operating expenses for the third quarter of 2022 were $15.4 million, as compared to $13.1 million for the same period in 2021. Operating expenses for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 were $50.1 million, as compared to $37.0 million for the same period in 2021, and comprised the following:

Cost of Royalty Revenues. Cost of royalty revenues, which represents amounts due to third-party university patent licensors in connection with Genentech and Roche’s Erivedge net sales, were $0.1 million for the third quarter of 2022 and $0.2 million for the same period in 2021. Cost of royalty revenues for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 were $0.2 million, as compared to $0.4 million for the same period in 2021.

Research and Development Expenses. Research and development expenses were $10.8 million for the third quarter of 2022 as compared to $8.6 million for the same period in 2021. The increase in research and development expenses for the quarter is primarily attributable to increased personnel and consulting costs, partially offset by decreased manufacturing and clinical development costs. Research and development expenses were $34.6 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 as compared to $24.1 million for the same period in 2021.

General and Administrative Expenses. General and administrative expenses were $4.6 million for the third quarter of 2022, as compared to $4.3 million for the same period in 2021. The increase in general and administrative expenses was driven primarily by the timing of costs. General and administrative expenses were $15.3 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2022, as compared to $12.5 million for the same period in 2021.

Other Expense. For the third quarter of 2022 and 2021, total other expense was $0.7 million and $1.0 million, respectively. Other expense primarily consisted of imputed interest expense related to future royalty payments partially offset by interest income. Other expense was $2.5 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2022, as compared to $2.3 million for the same period in 2021.

As of September 30, 2022, Curis’s cash, cash equivalents and investments totaled $98.7 million, and the Company had approximately 96.4 million shares of common stock outstanding. Curis expects its existing cash, cash equivalents and investments should enable it to maintain its planned operations into 2025.

Conference Call Information

Curis management will host a conference call today, November 9, 2022, at 4:30 p.m. ET, to discuss the business update and these financial results.

To access the live conference call, please dial 1-888-346-6389 from the United States or 1-412-317-5252 from other locations, shortly before 4:30 p.m. ET. The conference call can also be accessed on the Curis website at in the Investors section.