On August 11, 2021 Biomea Fusion, Inc. ("Biomea") (Nasdaq: BMEA), a preclinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of irreversible small molecules to treat patients with genetically defined cancers, reported financial results for the second quarter of 2021 (Press release, Biomea Fusion, AUG 11, 2021, View Source [SID1234586315]).
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"We continue to make notable progress as we rapidly advance BMF-219 toward a planned entry into the clinic and continue to grow our company and pipeline," said Thomas Butler, Biomea’s CEO and Chairman of the Board. "In the second quarter, we successfully completed IND-enabling studies for BMF-219 and are now in the final stages of completing our IND submission to the FDA to advance BMF-219 to a Phase I study for the treatment of patients with menin-dependent AML and ALL. We also continued to make important progress pursuing our broad, ambitious, preclinical strategy focused on exploring the potential of this novel irreversible small molecule across a number of menin-dependent liquid and solid tumors, including DLBCL."
Mr. Butler continued, "While our primary focus is oncology drug development, there are multiple diseases where the menin pathway is implicated and where an irreversibly binding small molecule approach may have an important impact, including for patients with type 2 diabetes. At our core, we feel a profound responsibility to help patients with our novel chemistry. To that end, we look forward to seeing the results of our exploratory pathway validation in type 2 diabetes next year."
Business Highlights
Completed IND-enabling studies with irreversibly binding menin inhibitor BMF-219. Biomea successfully conducted IND-enabling studies with BMF-219, an irreversible menin inhibitor for the treatment of patients with menin-dependent AML and ALL. Biomea anticipates submitting the IND during the second half of 2021.
Continued preclinical studies of BMF-219 in DLBCL. Biomea continues to explore the potential of BMF-219 for a number of menin-dependent liquid and solid tumor cancers, including a subset of DLBCL, with a number of preclinical studies currently underway. The Company plans to report its findings in DLBCL in the first quarter of 2022. Despite the high dependency of several cancers on menin, Biomea Fusion is not aware of any menin inhibitors currently in clinical development for these cancer types.
Initiated pathway validation studies in diabetes. Based on a growing body of internal and external scientific evidence, Biomea has initiated key preclinical studies to explore the potential of its irreversible menin inhibitors as a treatment for type 2 diabetes. The Company plans to report its findings in the first quarter of 2022. Biomea Fusion is not aware of any menin inhibitors currently in clinical development for diabetes.
Expanded team and in-house research capabilities to support long-term growth and clinical and preclinical development plans. Biomea strengthened its executive team with the appointments of Franco Valle as Chief Financial Officer, Alex Cacovean, M.D. as Executive Medical Director and Sasha Blaug Ph.D. as Senior VP of Corporate Development. Biomea has successfully grown its headcount this year to date by 29 for a total of 41 current team members. The Company has also completed the buildout of its own laboratory facilities to further support the research and preclinical pipeline development of its irreversible platform.
Strengthened the Company’s Board of Directors. In the second quarter Biomea appointed Sumita Ray J.D., Chief Legal and Administrative Officer at Calithera Biosciences, Inc., to its Board. Ms. Ray is an industry veteran with over 20 years of expertise in FDA regulatory law, global health care law and compliance, brand support, product launches, collaborations and alliances.
Financial Highlights
Second Quarter 2021 Year to Date Financial Results
Biomea reported a net loss attributable to common stockholders of $14.3 million for the first six months of 2021, compared to a net loss of $0.7 million for the same period in 2020.
Research and development expenses were $9.0 million for the first six months of 2021, compared to $0.6 million for the same period in 2020. The increase of $8.4 million was primarily due to an increase in personnel-related expenses, as well as an increase in pre-clinical development costs, including manufacturing and external consulting, related to the IND-enabling studies for BMF-219.
General and administrative expenses were $5.3 million for the first six months of 2021, compared to $0.1 million for the same period in 2020. The increase of $5.2 million was primarily due to higher personnel-related expenses and other corporate costs to support the Company’s expanding operations, including legal and accounting.
As of June 30, 2021, the Company had cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and investments of $203.0 million.