Ocuphire Announces Financial Results for the Fourth Quarter and Year Ended 2021 and Provides Corporate Update

On March 24, 2022 Ocuphire Pharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: OCUP), a clinical-stage ophthalmic biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for the treatment of refractive and retinal eye disorders, reported financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2021 and provided a corporate update (Press release, Ocuphire Pharma, MAR 24, 2022, View Source [SID1234610904]).

"2021 proved to be a highly productive year for Ocuphire with 2022 setting up to be a more transformative year given our series of late-stage data read-outs in MIRA, LYNX and ZETA trials throughout the year, ending with our first planned NDA filing. We have an ambitious vision in ophthalmology targeting highly prevalent refractive and diabetic retinal diseases with our 2 lead small molecule drug candidates," said Mina Sooch, MBA, Founder and CEO of Ocuphire Pharma. "We are pleased to rapidly exceed enrollment in and complete 4 clinical trials across Nyxol and APX3330 in the first months of 2022. At our R&D Day in January, we reported for the first time positive Phase 2 results in presbyopia for Nyxol as a single-agent. With this new chronic opportunity for Nyxol alone as a pupil modulation agent, we can potentially realize synergies in presbyopia and NVD patients. We recently held a FDA Type-C meeting and gained clear guidance for the VEGA Phase 3 presbyopia program, for which we plan to initiate in mid-2022. With the successful enrollment of the 24-week study for our retinal candidate APX3330 and the continued favorable systemic and ocular safety profile that we shared at our recent R&D Day, we are also excited to lead the retinal landscape with an oral option for diabetic retinopathy patients and report our topline data from our placebo-controlled, double-masked, Phase 2b ZETA-1 trial in the second half of 2022."

Jay Pepose, MD, PhD, Ocuphire’s Medical Advisor and Board Member stated, "Ocuphire’s product candidates, if approved, would give eye care practitioners the ability to enhance their patients’ vision and overall experience. As a refractive surgeon, I am particularly excited about Nyxol for RM because there is currently no FDA approved commercially available product to treat this major clinical need and patient complaint. For presbyopia, I am impressed by Nyxol’s favorable tolerability profile and durable near vision improvements for at least 12 hours across a broad age of patients (40 to 64 years old) in the recent VEGA-1 Phase 2 trial. Nyxol is differentiated from the other miotics in the presbyopia landscape by its mechanism of action inhibiting the iris dilator muscle to achieve an optimal pupil size. Since Nyxol does not engage the iris sphincter or ciliary muscle, as a single drop, this may become a viable treatment option for presbyopia patients with high myopia, for whom miotics are contraindicated because of the risk of retinal detachment."

Cam Gallagher, Chairman of the Board for Ocuphire added, "In the past year, Ocuphire has elevated its profile within the ophthalmology and optometry medical community and we are delighted to have expanded our prestigious Medical Advisory Board to over 15 refractive and retinal KOLs. The team led by Mina has executed and delivered on several key clinical development milestones and set the momentum for a catalyst-rich 2022 that has the potential to build significant value for our company and shareholders."

Key Anticipated Future Milestones

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•Reversal of Mydriasis (RM):

•MIRA-3: Report topline results from the Phase 3 MIRA-3 registration trial at the end of 1Q 2022

•MIRA-4: Report topline results from pediatric safety trial in 2Q 2022

•New Drug Application (NDA): If the results are positive from the ongoing MIRA trials, expect to file an NDA with the FDA for Nyxol in RM indication in late 2022 with potential launch as first dilation reversal drop in 2H 2023

•Presbyopia: Initiate VEGA Phase 3 program in mid-2022 investigating Nyxol alone and Nyxol with 0.4% LDP as adjunctive treatment; and, if successful, expect to file an NDA in 2023

•Night Vision Disturbances (NVD): Report top-line results in 2Q 2022 from the Nyxol Phase 3 LYNX-1 trial

•Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) and Diabetic Macular Edema (DME): Report top-line results from the APX3330 Phase 2b ZETA-1 trial in 2H 2022

Fourth Quarter and Recent Business Highlights

Corporate

•In January 2022, the Company held an Investor R&D Day webinar that featured six ophthalmic Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs): Jay Pepose, MD, PhD, James Katz, MD and Mitchell Jackson, MD from refractive surgery, Paul Karpecki, OD from optometry, and David Boyer, MD and Peter Kaiser from retina practice areas who discussed the unmet needs in RM, presbyopia and DR being addressed by Ocuphire’s two late-stage clinical drug assets, Nyxol and APX3300. A replay of the event can be found on the company’s corporate website here.

•In December 2021, the Company strengthened its Medical Advisory Board with the addition of six world-class KOLs: David Brown, MD, FACS; David Lally, MD; Y. Ralph Chu, MD; James Katz, MD; Mitchell Jackson, MD; and Douglas Devries, OD.

Clinical Development

•In March 2022, the Company completed enrollment of 103 (target of 80-100) diabetic retinopathy patients in the ZETA-1 Phase 2b trial of first-in-class oral APX3330. Masked safety data from the trial, announced during the R&D Day event in January 2022, demonstrated a favorable safety profile, consistent with prior studies with additional exposure data in diabetic patients with retinal disease.

•In March 2022, the Company completed enrollment in MIRA-4 Trial for Nyxol in RM by enrolling 23 healthy (target of 20) pediatric subjects ages 3-11 years.

•In February 2022, the Company completed enrollment in MIRA-3 Pivotal Phase 3 Trial for Nyxol in RM, surpassing its enrollment target of 330 with 368 patients ages 12 years and over.

•In February 2022, Ocuphire held a Type-C meeting with the FDA from which it obtained guidance regarding the design of pivotal studies and clarification of the CMC and other data requirements for filing an NDA to seek approvals of Nyxol for the treatment of presbyopia, both as a single agent and with LDP as adjunct eye drops. This represents our third Type-C or Type-B End of Phase 2 meeting with FDA for the Nyxol program across indications.

•In January 2022, the Company completed enrollment of LYNX-1 Phase 3 Trial investigating Nyxol for the treatment of night vision disturbances (NVD) in 145 patients (target of 140).

•In January 2022, the Company announced new positive data from the VEGA-1 Phase 2 trial for Nyxol as a single agent in presbyopia, showing that one drop of Nyxol had statistically significant improvement in efficacy and long durability compared to placebo at 12 hours post-dosing. The Company plans to proceed with the Phase 3 VEGA program to potentially support 2 NDAs: Nyxol as a single drop and Nyxol with low-dose pilocarpine (LDP) as adjunctive treatment.

Presentations, Publications, and Conferences

•In February 2022, David Boyer, MD, presented at the Angiogenesis, Exudation, and Degeneration Conference, highlighting the favorable safety data from the ongoing ZETA-1 Phase 2 trial of APX3330 in DR.

•In February 2022, Inder Paul Singh, MD, presented at the Cataract Surgery: Telling It Like It Is Conference in Orlando. Dr. Singh presented the positive results from the completed VEGA-1 Phase 2 trial of Nyxol in presbyopia as a single agent and in combination with adjunctive LDP.

•In January 2022, Mina Sooch, Founder and CEO participated in the panel discussion titled "The Role of Gender Equality in Changing the Life Sciences Investment and Innovation Landscape" at the 11th LifeSci Partners Corporate Access Event.

•In November 2021, clinical data on Nyxol and APX3330 were presented at poster sessions at the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) 2021 annual meeting held in New Orleans. In addition, Ocuphire presented new data on improvement in intermediate vision and Snellen equivalent near vision at the Eyecelerator@AAO 2021 conference. Ocuphire was one of two companies presenting clinical data for presbyopia at this meeting.

•In October 2021, the Company announced the publication of a review article titled "Inhibition of APE1/Ref-1 for Neovascular Eye Disease: From Biology to Therapy" in the Special Issue "Advances in Molecular Activity of Potential Drugs" of the International Journal of Molecular Sciences. The article underscores the role of the APE1/Ref-1 protein in pro-angiogenic pathways associated with neovascular eye disease including diabetic retinal diseases and age-related macular degeneration.

•In October 2021, the Company announced the publication of a review article in Cells titled "Potential Therapeutic Candidates for Age-Related Macular Degeneration" noting the potential of APX3330 (referred to as "E3330"). The authors conclude that APE1/Ref-1 inhibitors such as APX3330 could inhibit the abnormal blood vessel formation seen in AMD by reducing retinal endothelial cell proliferation, migration, and tube formation.

•In October 2021, Michael J. Allingham, MD, PhD presented at the 39th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS) (Diabetic Retinopathy 1 Symposium) held in San Antonio, highlighting the favorable safety and tolerability data for APX3330 in over 300 healthy volunteers and cancer/hepatitis patients across 11 Phase 1 and Phase 2 studies. In addition, Mina Sooch, CEO, presented APX3330 history and the design of the ongoing Phase 2 trial in DR at the OIS Retina Innovation Summit@ASRS on October 7, 2021 in San Antonio, TX.

Fourth Quarter and Year Ended December 31, 2021 Financial Highlights

As of December 31, 2021, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of approximately $24.5 million. Based on current projections, management believes the current cash on hand will be sufficient to fund operations into the second quarter of 2023. Net cash used in operating activities for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2021 was $5.6 million and $19.4 million, respectively.

No collaboration revenue was recorded in the fourth quarter. Collaborative revenue was $0.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. Revenue was derived from the collaboration and license agreements with Processa and Biosense related to certain Rexhan products and technology transfers. There was no collaboration revenue recognized during the comparable prior year periods.

General and administrative expenses for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2021 were $1.4 million and $8.1 million, respectively, compared to $1.3 million and $2.8 million for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2020, respectively. The $5.3 million increase for the year over year periods was primarily attributable to administrative employee headcount, stock-based compensation, insurance, legal and settlement costs, costs associated with operating as a public company subsequent to the reverse merger, and professional services and other operating costs. General and administrative expenses included $0.3 million and $0.2 million in non-cash stock-based compensation expense during the quarters ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, and $1.1 million and $0.7 million in non-cash stock-based compensation expense during the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.

Research and development expenses for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2021 were $4.7 million and $15.2 million, respectively, compared to $4.3 million and $6.6 million for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2020, respectively. The $8.5 million increase for the year over year periods was primarily attributable to clinical trial expense, manufacturing activities to support clinical advancement of Nyxol and APX3330, consulting services as well as regulatory and other research and development efforts. Research and development expenses also included $0.2 million and $0.3 million in non-cash stock-based compensation expense during the quarters ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, and $0.8 million in non-cash stock-based compensation expense during each of the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020.

The loss from operations for the quarter ended December 31, 2021 was $6.2 million, compared to $14.0 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2020. The loss from operations for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $22.7 million, compared to $20.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. Net loss for the quarter ended December 31, 2021 was $6.3 million, compared to $18.7 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2020. Net loss for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $56.7 million, compared to $24.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. Net loss per share for the quarter ended December 31, 2021 was $0.35, compared to $2.46 for the quarter ended December 31, 2020. Net loss per share for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $3.82, compared to $5.28 for the year ended December 31, 2020.

The fair value change in derivative and warrant liabilities was a non-cash expense of zero for the quarter ended December 31, 2021 compared to a non-cash expense of $1.6 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2020. The fair value change in derivative and warrant liabilities was a non-cash expense of $33.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to a non-cash expense of $1.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2020.

For further details on Ocuphire’s financial results, refer to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Lineage to Present at the 2022 Virtual Growth Conference Presented by Maxim Group LLC on March 28, 2022

On March 24, 2022 Lineage Cell Therapeutics, Inc. (NYSE American and TASE: LCTX), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing allogeneic cell therapies for unmet medical needs, reported that Brian M. Culley, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, will be presenting at the 2022 Virtual Growth Conference, presented by Maxim Group LLC and hosted by M-Vest (Press release, Lineage Cell Therapeutics, MAR 24, 2022, View Source [SID1234610901]). Mr. Culley will be participating in an "Ophthalmology Panel" hosted by Jason McCarthy, Ph.D., Senior Managing Director, Biotechnology, on March 28th, 2022 at 10am ET / 7am PT. Mr. Culley will also provide a corporate overview which will be available to investors on demand, starting on Monday March 28th, 2022.

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The live panel and on-demand presentation will be available to registered users directly through the M-Vest platform: https://m-vest.com/events/2022-virtual-growth-conference. Registration is required for conference participation. An archived webcast of the corporate presentation will also be available on the Events and Presentations page of the Lineage website. Additional videos are available on the Media page of the Lineage website.

Protara Therapeutics Doses First Patient in ADVANCED-1 Phase 1 Study of TARA-002 in Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer

On March 24, 2022 Protara Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: TARA), a clinical-stage company developing transformative therapies for the treatment of cancer and rare diseases, reported that the Company has dosed the first patient in ADVANCED-1, its Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating TARA-002, an investigational cell-based immunopotentiator, for the treatment of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) (Press release, Protara Therapeutics, MAR 24, 2022, View Source [SID1234610899]).

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"NMIBC is one of the most recurrent and difficult to treat cancers with very limited treatment options," said Jesse Shefferman, Chief Executive Officer of Protara Therapeutics. "We are thrilled to have dosed the first patient in our Phase 1 study in NMIBC and look forward to exploring TARA-002’s full potential in this pressing area of high unmet need."

ADVANCED-1 is a Phase 1 dose-finding, open-label trial (NCT05085977) evaluating TARA-002 in treatment-naïve and treatment-experienced NMIBC patients with high-grade carcinoma in situ (CIS) and high-grade papillary tumors (Ta). In the initial dose escalation phase of the trial, patients will receive six weekly intravesical doses of TARA-002. The primary objective of the trial is to evaluate the safety, tolerability and preliminary signs of anti-tumor activity of TARA-002, with the goal of establishing a recommended dose for a planned Phase 2 clinical trial.

"While bladder cancer is the 6th most common cancer in the United States today, with NMIBC representing approximately 80% of diagnoses, treatment options for these patients remain limited," said Edward M. Messing, M.D., Professor of Urology, Oncology and Pathology at the University of Rochester, and a principal investigator for the study. "There is an urgent need for new therapeutic interventions for these patients, as there continues to be an increase in recurrence, progression and an escalated number of patients needing cystectomies."

About TARA-002

TARA-002 is an investigational cell therapy in development for the treatment of NMIBC and LMs for which it has been granted Rare Pediatric Disease Designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. TARA-002 was developed from the same master cell bank of genetically distinct group A Streptococcus pyogenes as OK-432, a broad immunopotentiator marketed as Picibanil in Japan and Taiwan by Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Protara has successfully demonstrated manufacturing comparability between TARA-002 and OK-432.

When TARA-002 is administered, it is hypothesized that innate and adaptive immune cells within the cyst or tumor are activated and produce a strong immune cascade. Neutrophils, monocytes and lymphocytes infiltrate the abnormal cells and various cytokines, including interleukins IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12, interferon (IFN)-gamma, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor are secreted by immune cells to induce a strong local inflammatory reaction and destroy the abnormal cells.

About Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer

Bladder cancer is the 6th most common cancer in the United States, with NMIBC representing approximately 80% of bladder cancer diagnoses. Approximately 65,000 patients are diagnosed with NMIBC in the United States each year. NMIBC is cancer found in the tissue that lines the inner surface of the bladder that has not spread into the bladder muscle.

Wugen to Present at the Innate Killer Summit 2022

On March 24, 2022 Wugen, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a pipeline of off-the-shelf cell therapies to treat a broad range of hematological and solid tumor malignancies, reported that management will participate in a fireside chat and presentation at the Innate Killer Summit 2022 being held in San Diego, CA from Wednesday, March 30 – Friday, April 1, 2022 (Press release, Wugen, MAR 24, 2022, View Source [SID1234610898]).

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The details of Wugen’s fireside chat and presentation are as follows:

• Format: Industry Leader’s Fireside Chat

Presenter: Dan Kemp, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer, Wugen
Date & Time: Thursday, March 31, 2022 at 8:15 a.m. PT

• Format: Presentation titled "Characterizing an Ideal NK Cell Phenotype Leveraging Assays to Indicate Therapeutic Benefit"

Presenter: Ayman Kabakibi, Ph.D., Chief Operating Officer & Executive Vice President, Research & Development, Wugen
Date & Time: Thursday, March 31, 2022 at 11:30 a.m. PT

About WU-NK-101

WU-NK-101 is a novel immunotherapy harnessing the power of memory natural killer (NK) cells to treat liquid and solid tumors. Memory NK cells are hyper-functional, long-lasting immune cells that exhibit enhanced anti-tumor activity. This rare cell population has a superior phenotype, proliferation capacity, and metabolic fitness that makes it better suited for cancer therapy than other NK cell therapies. Wugen is applying its proprietary MonetaTM platform to advance WU-NK-101 as a commercially scalable, off-the-shelf cell therapy for cancer. WU-NK-101 is currently in development for acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) and solid tumors.

Werewolf Therapeutics Reports Fourth Quarter 2021 and Full Year 2021 Financial Results and Provides Business Highlights

On March 24, 2022 Werewolf Therapeutics, Inc. (the "Company" or "Werewolf") (Nasdaq: HOWL), an innovative biopharmaceutical company pioneering the development of conditionally activated therapeutics engineered to stimulate the body’s immune system for the treatment of cancer, reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2021 (Press release, Werewolf Therapeutics, MAR 24, 2022, View Source [SID1234610895]).

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"This has been an exciting year for Werewolf as we executed our public offering and advanced our novel INDUKINE molecule pipeline. We expect to file the IND for our first candidate, WTX-124, in the second quarter of 2022, and the IND for our second candidate, WTX-330, early in the third quarter of 2022. The anticipated initiation of these clinical studies remains consistent with our previous expectations," said Daniel J. Hicklin, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Werewolf. "We are pleased with the progress that we made in our first year as a public company and expect that 2022 will be a pivotal year for the Company as we anticipate entering the clinic and continue to progress our pipeline."

2021 Highlights
Completed upsized Initial Public Offering: In May 2021, Werewolf completed its Initial Public Offering (IPO) of 7,500,000 shares of common stock at a public offering price of $16.00 per share. Gross proceeds from the IPO were $120 million and net proceeds from the offering, after deducting underwriting discounts, commissions and offering expenses, were approximately $109.2 million.
Entered clinical trial collaboration with Merck for Werewolf’s WTX-124 INDUKINE program: In August 2021, Werewolf announced that it entered into a clinical trial collaboration agreement with Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, to evaluate WTX-124, a systemically-delivered, conditionally activated Interleukin-2 (IL-2) INDUKINE molecule, in combination with KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab), Merck’s anti-PD-1 (programmed death receptor-1) therapy, as a treatment for patients with solid tumors. The planned clinical trial will be conducted by Werewolf and is designed to evaluate the safety and preliminary efficacy of WTX-124 as a monotherapy and in combination with KEYTRUDA in patients with solid tumors.
Presented preclinical data on WTX-124, WTX-330, and WTX-613 at SITC (Free SITC Whitepaper) Annual Meeting: In November 2021, Werewolf presented preclinical data during the 36th Annual Meeting of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) (Free SITC Whitepaper) demonstrating the potential of INDUKINE molecules to drive targeted anti-tumor immune responses. Posters were presented for Werewolf’s three lead molecules : "WTX-124 is a novel IL-2 pro-drug that is conditionally activated in tumors and drives anti-tumor immunity in murine syngeneic cancer models;" "WTX-330, a conditionally activated IL-12 INDUKINE therapy, releases IL-12 selectively in the tumor microenvironment to activate anti-tumor immune responses and induce regressions in mouse tumor models" and; "WTX-613, a conditionally activated IFNα INDUKINE

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molecule, induces anti-tumor immune responses resulting in strong tumor growth control in syngeneic mouse tumor models."
The results from the presented studies for WTX-124 and WTX-330 will be included in the investigational new drug (IND) applications.
Presented INDUKINE Data at ASH (Free ASH Whitepaper) Annual Meeting: In December 2021, Werewolf presented preclinical data during the 63rd American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) Annual Meeting demonstrating interleukin-12 (IL-12) and interferon-α (IFNα) INDUKINE molecules inhibited syngeneic lymphoma tumor growth in mice, induced anti-tumor immune responses and were tolerated in non-human primates.
The preclinical data for the IL-12 and IFNα INDUKINE molecules demonstrated anti-tumor activity in the A20 B cell lymphoma model and the EG7.OVA T lymphoblast model. Both treatments were well tolerated by the mice at active dose levels. The IL-12 and IFNα INDUKINE molecules also strongly activated key immune cell populations in treated tumors, confirming the immune mechanism of anti-tumor activity.
Strengthened Board of Directors with the Addition of Two Industry Leaders: In May 2021, Werewolf appointed Mike Sherman to the Company’s Board of Directors. Mr. Sherman brings over 30 years of experience in advancing therapeutics to commercial launch and driving successful operations and strategic transactions.
Additionally, in October 2021, the Company appointed Meeta Chatterjee, Ph.D., to its Board of Directors. With over 30 years of broad strategic and operational experience, Dr. Chatterjee brings deep and proven expertise across biopharmaceutical R&D, operations, corporate strategy, and business development.
Enhanced Management and Operations Teams: In June 2021, the Company appointed Chulani Karunatilake, Ph.D., as Chief Technology Officer. Dr. Karunatilake brings more than 30 years of experience in Chemistry and Manufacturing Controls (CMC) process and strategy development and will oversee manufacturing operations in the newly formed role.
Since joining Werewolf, Dr. Karunatilake has built a CMC team with expertise to complement the world-class clinical organization led by Dr. Randi Isaacs, Werewolf’s CMO.
Added to the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index: In December 2021, Werewolf announced that it had been added to the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index. The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index (NBI) is designed to measure the performance of a set of securities listed on The Nasdaq Stock Market that are classified as either biotechnology or pharmaceutical according to the Industry Classification Benchmark (ICB). The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index is calculated under a modified market capitalization-weighted methodology. Companies in the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index must meet eligibility requirements, including minimum market capitalization, average daily trading volume and seasoning as a public company, among other criteria. Nasdaq selects constituents once annually in December.
Financial Results for the Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2021
•Cash position: As of December 31, 2021, cash and cash equivalents were $157.5 million, compared to $92.6 million as of December 31, 2020. The increase was primarily due to the receipt of $109.2 million in net proceeds from the initial public offering completed in May 2021, offset by operating expenses incurred during the period. Werewolf expects its existing cash and cash equivalents to enable the funding of its operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements through at least the second quarter of 2023.
•Research and development expenses: Research and development expenses were $13.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2021, compared to $5.3 million for the same period in 2020. Research

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and development expenses were $35.3 million for the full year 2021, compared to $16.6 million for the full year 2020. The increase in research and development expenses was primarily due to increased manufacturing, contract research organization, and personnel expenses incurred to advance the Company’s product candidates WTX-124, WTX-330 and WTX-613 and expand research and development activities.
•General and administrative expenses: General and administrative expenses were $4.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2021, compared to $2.1 million for the same period in 2020. General and administrative expenses were $14.8 million, compared to $5.8 million for the full year 2020. The increase in general and administrative expenses was primarily due to increased personnel, professional services, and other operating costs attributable to operating as a public company and the progression towards clinical development.
•Net loss: Net loss was $17.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2021, compared to $7.4 million for the same period in 2020. Net loss was $50.0 million for the full year 2021, compared to $15.0 million for the full year 2020.