On October 31, 2019 Intellia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTLA), reported operational highlights and financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2019 (Press release, Intellia Therapeutics, OCT 31, 2019, View Source [SID1234550101]).
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"In 2019, we continued to leverage the breadth of our genome editing platform to advance our in vivo and engineered cell therapy programs. We have demonstrated that we can knock out a disease-causing gene as well as introduce a functional gene to restore normal protein production. Now, we have achieved consecutive editing in vivo by combining both these edit types, further highlighting the versatility of our modular platform," said Intellia President and Chief Executive Officer, John Leonard, M.D. "Our full-spectrum strategy and platform capabilities are enabling Intellia’s development of a robust pipeline to address a range of severe diseases. We look forward to the planned nomination of our first engineered cell therapy development candidate for acute myeloid leukemia by year-end and the submission of our first IND application for NTLA-2001 for the treatment of transthyretin amyloidosis in mid-2020."
Third Quarter 2019 and More Recent Operational Highlights
ATTR Program: Intellia remains on track to submit in mid-2020 an investigational new drug (IND) application for NTLA-2001 for the treatment of transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTR). NTLA-2001 is anticipated to be the first systemically delivered CRISPR/Cas9 therapy to enter the clinic. As part of an ongoing durability study of its lead lipid nanoparticle (LNP) formulation in support of NTLA-2001, Intellia has demonstrated 10 months of durable liver editing with sustained reduction of circulating transthyretin (TTR) protein (average reduction >95%) following a single dose in non-human primates. In preparation for the submission of the IND application, the Company announced today it has commenced clinical-scale manufacturing for Phase 1 materials. NTLA-2001 is part of a co-development/co-promotion (Co/Co) agreement with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., with Intellia as the lead development and commercialization party.
WT1-TCR for AML Program: Intellia is on track to nominate its first T cell receptor (TCR)-directed engineered cell therapy development candidate by the end of 2019. The initial application of the in-locus TCR-based approach consists of autologous T cells directed towards the intracellular antigen Wilms’ Tumor 1 (WT1) for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). During the third quarter and more recently, Intellia continued to generate data from ongoing studies of multiple lead TCRs in patient-derived xenograft models to support the nomination of a development candidate for AML. Concurrently, the Company advanced GMP manufacturing-related development activities in support of a Phase 1 clinical trial.
In Vivo Platform: At the recent 2019 European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ESGCT) Annual Meeting, Intellia presented the first demonstration of consecutive in vivo gene knockout and targeted insertion in an alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) mouse model. The consecutive edits led to >98% reduction of the disease-causing protein and sustained restoration of the normal protein to therapeutically relevant circulating levels throughout the study.The novel genome editing strategy is enabled by the ability to sequentially dose with LNPs, one of the key advantages to Intellia’s non-viral delivery system.
Upcoming Milestones
The Company has set forth the following for pipeline progression:
ATTR:
Submit IND application for NTLA-2001 in mid-2020
AML:
Nominate first engineered cell therapy development candidate by the end of 2019
Upcoming Events
The Company will participate in the following investor events:
Credit Suisse Healthcare Conference, November 12, Scottsdale, Arizona
Barclays Gene Editing and Gene Therapy Summit, November 13, New York City
Third Quarter 2019 Financial Results
Cash Position: Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities were $295.8 million as of September 30, 2019, compared to $314.1 million as of December 31, 2018. The decrease was driven by cash used to fund operations of approximately $90.5 million, which was offset in part by $54.1 million of net equity proceeds raised from the Company’s "At the Market" (ATM) agreement, $8.0 million of funding received under the Novartis collaboration, $7.3 million of ATTR cost reimbursements made by Regeneron, and $2.8 million in proceeds from employee-based stock plans.
Collaboration Revenue: Collaboration revenue increased by approximately $3.2 million to $10.6 million during the third quarter of 2019, compared to $7.4 million during the third quarter of 2018. The increase in collaboration revenue in 2019 was primarily driven by amounts recognized from the expansion of the existing collaboration with Novartis, as well as by amounts recognized under the Company’s ATTR Co/Co agreement with Regeneron. As previously disclosed, Regeneron funds approximately 50% of the development costs for the ATTR program.
R&D Expenses: Research and development expenses increased by approximately $4.3 million to $27.5 million during the third quarter of 2019, compared to $23.2 million during the third quarter of 2018. This increase was driven primarily by the advancement of Intellia’s research programs, research personnel growth to support these programs, as well as the expansion of the development organization.
G&A Expenses: General and administrative expenses increased by approximately $0.2 million to $8.4 million during the third quarter of 2019, compared to $8.3 million during the third quarter of 2018. This increase was driven primarily by employee-related expenses to support Intellia’s growing research and development efforts.
Net Loss: The Company’s net loss was $23.6 million for the third quarter of 2019, compared to $22.7 million during the third quarter of 2018.
Financial Guidance
Intellia expects that its cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities as of September 30, 2019, as well as technology access and funding from Novartis and Regeneron, will enable Intellia to fund its anticipated operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements into the second half of 2021. This expectation excludes any potential milestone payments or extension fees that could be earned and distributed under the collaboration agreements with Novartis and Regeneron or any strategic use of capital not currently in the Company’s base-case planning assumptions.
Conference Call to Discuss Third Quarter 2019 Earnings
The Company will discuss these results on a conference call today, October 31, 2019, at 8 a.m. ET.
To join the call:
U.S. callers should dial 888-208-1711 and use conference ID# 7693636, approximately five minutes before the call.
International callers should dial + 1 856-344-9299 and use conference ID# 7693636, approximately five minutes before the call.
A replay of the call will be available through the Events and Presentations page of the Investor Relations section on Intellia’s website, beginning on October 31, 2019 at 12 p.m. ET.