On March 18, 2021 Legend Biotech Corporation (NASDAQ: LEGN) (Legend Biotech), a global clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of novel cell therapies for oncology and other indications, reported its unaudited financial results for the three months and year ended December 31, 2020 (Press release, Legend Biotech, MAR 18, 2021, View Source [SID1234576879]).
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"This was a defining year for Legend Biotech, as we achieved important pipeline advancements and completed our initial public offering and Nasdaq listing," said Ying Huang, PhD, CEO and CFO of Legend Biotech. "Despite the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, we have achieved a strong 2020 and are continuing this momentum with significant advancements planned for our oncology pipeline during 2021. Through our collaboration with Janssen Biotech, Inc. (Janssen)*, in 2020, we initiated a global Phase 3 study and expanded the multi-cohort Phase 2 study as part of a comprehensive clinical development program for ciltacabtagene autoleucel (cilta-cel), including as an earlier lines of multiple myeloma treatment. In 2021, we expect to achieve important milestones in advancing the regulatory approval process for cilta-cel."
*In December 2017, Legend Biotech entered into an exclusive worldwide license and collaboration agreement with Janssen Biotech, Inc. to develop and commercialize cilta-cel.
Fourth Quarter 2020 & Recent Highlights
In February 2021, the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) accepted a request from Janssen for the accelerated assessment of the cilta-cel Marketing Authorisation Application (MAA) for the treatment of adults with RRMM.
In December 2020, Legend Biotech announced that Janssen had initiated a rolling submission to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of a biologics license application (BLA) for cilta-cel for the treatment of adults with RRMM. Pursuant to the terms of Legend Biotech’s agreement with Janssen, Legend received a $75.0 million milestone payment relating to the clinical development of cilta-cel in connection with the initiation of the BLA submission.
In December 2020, the FDA cleared an investigational new drug (IND) application for Legend Biotech to evaluate LB1901 in a Phase 1 clinical study for the treatment of adults with RR TCL.
Data from the combined Phase 1b/2 CARTITUDE-1 study of cilta-cel was presented at the 62nd American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) Annual meeting in December 2020, showing a high overall response rate that deepened over time, with 97% of patients achieving an overall response and 67% of patients achieving a stringent complete response (sCR) at a median follow-up of 12.4 months.
Recent Appointments
During 2020, Legend Biotech bolstered its leadership team with the appointment of Dr. Ying Huang as Chief Executive Officer, the appointment of Ye (Sally) Wang as Chairwoman of the Board of Directors, and the appointment of two new directors, Dr. Li Zhu and Dr. Patrick Casey.
In March 2021, Lori Macomber was appointed as Legend Biotech’s Vice President, Finance, in which capacity Ms. Macomber will serve as Legend Biotech’s principal financial officer and principal accounting officer. Ms. Macomber has served as Legend Biotech’s Vice President of Supply Chain Finance and Controller since September 2019. Prior to joining Legend Biotech, Ms. Macomber served as Business Unit Controller at Ametek PDS, a leading supplier of components and systems for the aerospace and defense industries, from April 2018 and as U.S. CFO and Controller of Cello Health from March 2017 until February 2018. Before this Ms. Macomber held various positions, most recently AVP Finance Site Leader, at Eli Lilly & Company where she was employed from May 2010 until March 2017. Ms. Macomber holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Pennsylvania State University and is a Certified Public Accountant.
In January 2021, Lida Pacaud, M.D., joined Legend Biotech as its Vice President of Clinical Development. Dr. Pacaud, joined Legend Biotech from Novartis International AG, where she held various positions from September 2013 through January 2021, most recently serving as the Global Clinical Program Head and Executive Medical Director in its Cell & Gene unit. Prior to this, Dr. Pacaud worked at Roche and Wyeth. Dr. Pacaud has been the Medical Lead on several global Phase I, II & III trials and led the clinical development and filling for the first approved CAR T therapy worldwide. Dr. Pacaud holds a Doctor of Medicine degree and certification in Pediatrics from Tbilisi State Medical University and has trained in Pediatric Oncology and hematology in France.
Key Upcoming Milestones
Legend Biotech’s collaborator, Janssen, anticipates submitting a MAA for cilta-cel for the treatment of adults with RRMM to the EMA in the first half of 2021.
Legend Biotech intends to use the data from the CARTIFAN-1 study in support of a regulatory submission to the China Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) seeking approval of cilta-cel for the treatment of adults with RRMM. Legend Biotech expects the submission of the application to occur in the second half of 2021.
Legend Biotech’s collaborator, Janssen, anticipates submitting a New Drug Application (NDA) to the Japan Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (JMHLW) in the second half of 2021 seeking approval of cilta-cel for the treatment of adults with RRMM.
Legend Biotech expects to initiate its Phase 1 clinical trial of LB1901 in RR TCL in the United States in 2021.
Legend Biotech, in collaboration with Janssen, intends to present updated data from the CARTITUDE-1 and data from CARTITUDE-2 studies at major medical conferences in 2021.
Legend Biotech anticipates supporting investigators with publishing a clinical data update from LEGEND-2 study in 2021.
As the global COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve, Legend Biotech has continuously monitored the situation in regards to its operations and has put significant measures in place to protect supply chain, operations, employees and the execution of clinical trials. Given the dynamic global situation, Legend Biotech notes that certain clinical trial timelines may be impacted.
Financial Results for the Quarter and Year Ended December 31, 2020
Cash and Cash Equivalents and time deposits:
As of December 31, 2020, Legend Biotech had approximately $455.7 million of cash and cash equivalents and approximately $50.0 million in time deposits.
Revenue
Revenue for the three months ended December 31, 2020 was $40.8 million compared to $19.5 million for the three months ended December 31, 2019. The increase of $21.3 million was primarily due to revenue recognition of additional milestone payment achieved of higher amount pursuant to Legend Biotech’s agreement with Janssen and the associated constrained variable consideration is relieved. Revenue for the year ended December 31, 2020 was $75.7 million compared to $57.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2019. Similarly, the increase of $18.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 was primarily driven by revenue recognized from an additional milestone achieved of higher amount. Legend Biotech has not generated any revenue from product sales to date.
Research and Development Expenses
Research and development expenses for the three months ended December 31, 2020 were $66.9 million compared to $66.1 million for the three months ended December 31, 2019. This increase of $0.8 million was primarily due to an increase in employee benefit expense and research and development expense, net-off by a decrease in collaborative research and development expenses. Research and development expenses for the year ended December 31, 2020 was $232.2 million compared to $161.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2019 with a $70.3 million increase. The year-over-year increase was primarily due to a higher number of clinical trials, a higher number of patients enrolled in those trials and a higher number of research and development product candidates in the year ended December 31, 2020.
Administrative Expenses
Administrative expenses for the three months ended December 31, 2020 were $9.2 million compared to $2.0 million for the three months ended December 31, 2019. The increase of $7.2 million was primarily due to Legend Biotech’s expansion of supporting administrative functions to aid continued research and development activities. Due to the consistent business expansion, administrative expenses for the year ended December 31, 2020 increased by $16.3 million, which was $23.1 million compared to $6.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2019.
Selling and Distribution Expenses
Selling and distribution expenses for the three months ended December 31, 2020 were $24.2 million compared to $13.4 million for the three months ended December 31, 2019. This increase of $10.8 million was primarily due to increased costs associated with commercial preparation activities for cilta-cel. Driven by the same commercial preparation activities, selling and distribution expenses for the year ended December 31, 2020 was $49.6 million compared to $25.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2019.
Other Income and Gains
Other income and gains for the three months ended December 31, 2020 was $2.1 million compared to $0.5 million for the three months ended December 31, 2019. The increase was primarily driven by increase in foreign exchange gain. Other income and gains for the year ended December 31, 2020 was $6.1 million compared to $7.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2019. The decrease of $1.0 million was primarily driven by reduced average interest rate for holding of time deposits that generate interest income.
Finance Costs
Finance costs the year ended December 31, 2020 were $4.2 million compared to $0.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2019. The increase was primarily due to finance costs related to the issuance of convertible redeemable preferred shares, which have been fully converted into ordinary shares upon the completion of Legend Biotech’s initial public offering in June 2020.
Loss for the Period
For the three months ended December 31, 2020, net loss was $57.8 million, or $0.22 per share, compared to a net loss of $63.9 million, or $0.32 per share, for the three months ended December 31, 2019. Net loss was $303.5 million, or $1.28 per share, for the year ended December 31, 2020 compared to $133.0 million, or $0.66 per share, for the year ended December 31, 2019. (Press release, Legend Biotech, MAR 18, 2021, View Source [SID1234576879])