On May 2, 2019 Geron Corporation (Nasdaq: GERN) reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2019 (Press release, Geron, MAY 2, 2019, View Source [SID1234535556]). As of the quarter-end, the Company had approximately $170 million in cash and marketable securities, which is sufficient to support the commencement of late-stage development for imetelstat in lower risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS).

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"We continue to make good progress on our 2019 objectives," said John A. Scarlett, M.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "We are on track to assume sponsorship of the IND for imetelstat by the end of the second quarter, as expected, which will enable us to open enrollment of the planned Phase 3 portion of IMerge by mid-year. In addition, our expanding in-house leadership and drug development team will support the accomplishment of our 2019 objectives and beyond."

First Quarter 2019 Results

For the first quarter of 2019, the Company reported a net loss of $10.1 million, or $0.05 per share, compared to $7.2 million, or $0.04 per share, for the comparable 2018 period.

Revenues for the first quarter of 2019 were $57,000 compared to $318,000 for the comparable 2018 period. Revenues for 2019 and 2018 included royalty and license fee revenues under various non-imetelstat license agreements. The decrease in revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2019 compared to the same period in 2018 primarily reflects a reduction in the number of active license agreements as a result of patent expirations on the underlying technology.

Total operating expenses for the first quarter of 2019 were $11.4 million compared to $7.8 million for the comparable 2018 period.

Research and development expenses for the first quarter of 2019 were $5.9 million compared to $2.4 million for the comparable 2018 period. The increase in research and development expenses for first quarter of 2019 compared to the same period in 2018 primarily reflects higher imetelstat development costs under the former collaboration agreement with Janssen Biotech, Inc. (Janssen) due to Geron’s payment responsibility increasing from 50% to 100% following the termination of the collaboration agreement; new costs for the imetelstat program transition from Janssen to Geron, including for consultants and the Company’s contract research organization (CRO); and increased expenses related to additional development headcount.

General and administrative expenses for the first quarter of 2019 were $5.5 million compared to $5.3 million for the comparable 2018 period. The increase in general and administrative expenses in the first quarter of 2019 compared to same period in 2018 primarily reflects recruitment expenses for new members for the Company’s board of directors.

Interest and other income for the first quarter of 2019 was $1.2 million compared to $394,000 for the comparable 2018 period. The increase in interest and other income for 2019 compared to 2018 primarily reflects higher yields on the Company’s marketable securities portfolio.

Conference Call for Imetelstat Program Update

In lieu of a first quarter conference call, Geron will host a conference call to provide an imetelstat program update at 9:00 a.m. ET on Thursday, May 16, 2019.

Participants may access the conference call live via telephone by dialing domestically +1 (877) 303-9139 or internationally +1 (760) 536-5195. The conference ID is 1264477. A live, listen-only webcast will also be available on the Company’s website at www.geron.com/investors/events. If you are unable to listen to the live call, an archived webcast will be available on the Company’s website for 30 days.

About Imetelstat

Imetelstat is a novel, first-in-class telomerase inhibitor exclusively owned by Geron and being developed in hematologic myeloid malignancies. Early clinical data suggest imetelstat may have disease-modifying activity through the suppression of malignant progenitor cell clone proliferation, which allows potential recovery of normal hematopoiesis. Ongoing clinical studies of imetelstat include a Phase 2/3 trial called IMerge in lower risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and a Phase 2 trial called IMbark in Intermediate-2 or High-risk myelofibrosis. Imetelstat has been granted Fast Track designation by the United States Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of patients with transfusion-dependent anemia due to lower risk MDS who are non-del(5q) and refractory or resistant to an erythroid stimulating agent.

On May 2, 2019 Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ARWR) reported that it is scheduled to participate in the following upcoming events (Press release, Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, MAY 2, 2019, View Source [SID1234535572]):

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Bank of America Merrill Lynch 2019 Health Care Conference– Las Vegas, May 14-16, 2019
May 15, 8:40 a.m. PDT –Christopher Anzalone, Ph.D., Arrowhead’s president and chief executive officer, will deliver a corporate presentation

Vascular Discovery: From Genes to Medicine 2019 Scientific Sessions (ATVB|PVD) – Boston,
May 14-16, 2019 May 15, 11:00 a.m. EDT – So Wong, Ph.D., Arrowhead’s director of biology, will deliver a poster presentation titled, "Reduction in Angiopoietin-Like Protein 3 via RNA Interference Improves Dyslipidemias and Hepatic Steatosis"

2019 National Lipid Association Scientific Sessions – Aventura, FL,
May 16-19, 2019 May 18, 11:25 a.m. EDT – So Wong, Ph.D., Arrowhead’s director of biology, will deliver a poster presentation titled, "Personalized Medicine for Dyslipidemias by RNA Interference-Mediated Reductions in Apolipoprotein C3 or Angiopoietin-Like Protein 3"

20th Annual B. Riley FBR Institutional Investor Conference– Beverly Hills, May 22-23, 2019
May 23, 8:30 a.m. PDT –Christopher Anzalone, Ph.D., Arrowhead’s president and chief executive officer, will participate in a fireside chat presentation with Mayank Mamtani, B. Riley FBR research analyst

A copy of the presentation materials and webcast links, if the presentation is being webcast, may be accessed on the Events and Presentations page under the Investors section of the Arrowhead website.

On May 2, 2019 Quanterix Corporation (NASDAQ:QTRX), a company digitizing biomarker analysis with the goal of advancing the science of precision health, reported that it will release its financial results for first quarter 2019 after the close of trading on Thursday, May 9, 2019 (Press release, Quanterix, MAY 2, 2019, View Source [SID1234535587]). Company management will host a conference call at 4:30 p.m., EDT to discuss Quanterix’ financial results and provide a business update. The call will be hosted by Kevin Hrusovsky, Chief Executive Officer, President and Chairman, Quanterix.

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Individuals interested in listening to the conference call may do so by dialing (833) 686-9351 for domestic callers, or (612) 979-9890 for international callers. Please reference the following conference ID:8955828. A live webcast will be accessible on the investor relations section of Quanterix’ website: View Source The webcast will be available on the Company’s website for one year following completion of the call.

On May 2, 2019 Apollo Endosurgery, Inc. ("Apollo") (Nasdaq: APEN), a global leader in less invasive medical devices for gastrointestinal and bariatric procedures, reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2019 (Press release, Lpath, MAY 2, 2019, View Source [SID1234535539]).

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First Quarter 2019 Highlights
•Endo-bariatric sales, representing our core business moving forward, increased 5% from $10.3 million to $10.8 million, with ESS sales increasing 13% and IGB sales declining 5%
•On a constant currency basis, endo-bariatric sales increased 9% with ESS sales increasing 17% and IGB sales equal to the prior year
•U.S. ESS sales increased 20% year-over-year in the quarter
Todd Newton, CEO of Apollo, commented, "We were pleased with our ESS product sales growth this quarter. We are also pleased with our Sx launch progress to date. The activity and resulting new account pipeline is encouraging to us that Sx will roll out very well as the year progresses. Similarly, we think our IGB product is positioned well for a return to growth."
First Quarter 2019 Results
U.S. Endo-bariatric sales increased 9% to $4.5 million, while outside the U.S. ("OUS") Endo-bariatric sales of $6.4 million increased 3% as reported and 10% in constant currency. Worldwide, total Endo-bariatric sales of $10.8 million increased 5% as reported and 9% constant currency. Of our Endo-bariatric product sales in the first quarter, 60% related to our Endoscopic Suturing System ("ESS" or "OverStitch") and 40% related to our Intragastric Balloon ("IGB" or "Orbera").
U.S. ESS product sales increased 20% to $3.0 million, while OUS ESS product sales of $3.5 million increased 7% as reported and 14% in constant currency. Worldwide ESS sales of $6.5 million grew 13% as reported and 17% constant currency. Growth was due to continuing new user adoption and greater product utilization in existing accounts.
U.S. IGB product sales decreased $0.2 million, or 9%, to $1.5 million in the first quarter of 2019. OUS IGB product sales were unchanged at $2.9 million, on an as reported basis, and increased 5% in constant currency as higher sales of Orbera365 were partially offset by weaker six-month balloon sales in other OUS markets. On a worldwide basis, IGB sales of $4.3 million declined 5% as reported and were flat in constant currency terms.
The divestiture of our Surgical products in December of 2018 affects the comparability of our total revenues in the first quarter of 2019 versus 2018. Total revenues in the first quarter of 2019 only include Surgical product sales in certain OUS markets where we continue to temporarily distribute these products. Total revenues in the first quarter of 2019 were $13.2 million, which included $1.7 million of Surgical product sales, compared to $15.7 million in the first quarter of 2018, which included $5.2 million of Surgical product sales, for a decrease of 16% or $2.5 million.
Gross margin for the first quarter 2019 was 55%, compared to 58% for the first quarter 2018 due to lower Surgical product sales following their divestiture and a greater proportion of our overall product sales coming from our ESS products, which realize a lower gross margin than our other products. Partially offsetting the gross margin effects of these changes in our product sales mix were the gross margin improvement projects we completed in late 2018.
Total operating expenses decreased $7.0 million to $9.8 million in the first quarter 2019, compared to the first quarter 2018. The decrease was primarily due to a one-time non-cash settlement gain of $5.6 million resulting from the resolution of a dispute regarding amounts charged for inventory purchases and transition services through 2016 following our December 2013 acquisition of the obesity intervention division of Allergan, Inc. Excluding this gain, total operating expenses decreased $1.4 million due largely to lower amortization expense resulting from the reduction in our intangible assets after the recent divestiture of our Surgical products.

Net loss for the first quarter 2019 was $2.8 million compared to $8.1 million for the first quarter 2018. The reduction in net loss was primarily due to the one-time settlement gain. Excluding this one-time gain, net loss would have been $8.4 million, an increase of $0.3 million due largely to lower Surgical product sales following our December 2018 divestiture, partially offset by the reduced amortization expense mentioned previously.

Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash were $31.0 million as of March 31, 2019.
Conference Call
Apollo will host a conference call on May 2, 2019 at 3:30 p.m. Central Time / 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time to discuss Apollo’s operating results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2019.
To participate in the conference call dial (866) 393-4306 for domestic callers and (734) 385-2616 for international callers. The conference ID number is 7094276. A live webcast of the conference call will be made available on the "Events and Presentations" section of our Investor Relations website: www.ir.apolloendo.com.
A replay of the webcast will be made available on Apollo’s website, www.apolloendo.com following the event.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
To supplement our financial results we are providing a non-GAAP financial measure, percentage revenue change in constant currency, which removes the impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates that affect the comparability and trend of revenues. Percentage revenue change in constant currency is calculated by translating current foreign currency sales at last year’s exchange rate. This supplemental measure of our performance is not required by, and is not determined in accordance with GAAP.
We believe the non-GAAP financial measure included herein is helpful in understanding our current financial performance. We use this supplemental non-GAAP financial measure internally to understand, manage and evaluate our business, and make operating decisions. We believe that making non-GAAP financial information available to investors, in addition to GAAP financial information, may facilitate more consistent comparisons between the company’s performance over time with the performance of other companies in the medical device industry, which may use similar financial measures to supplement their GAAP financial information. However, our non-GAAP financial measure is not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the comparable GAAP metric.

On May 2, 2019 GlycoMimetics, Inc. (Nasdaq: GLYC) reported its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2019 and highlighted recent company achievements (Press release, GlycoMimetics, MAY 2, 2019, View Source [SID1234535557]). Quarter-end cash was $195.6 million.

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"The first quarter of 2019 was one of focused activity in the clinical development arena. We continued to identify and initiate new sites and enroll participants in our Company-sponsored Phase 3 trial in relapsed or refractory AML patients. We also worked closely with our two consortia partners to expand our late-stage uproleselan program, culminating in our announcement that the NCI consortium dosed its first patient in its trial in late April. During the same period, we worked with clinical collaborators at Duke Cancer Institute to plan our next trial for GMI-1359, a dual antagonist of E-selectin and CXCR-4, and defined individuals with breast cancer and bone metastases as our initial target study population," said Rachel King, GlycoMimetics Chief Executive Officer.

Key First-Quarter 2019 and Recent Operational Highlights:

The GlycoMimetics-sponsored pivotal Phase 3 trial of uproleselan in relapsed/refractory AML continues to enroll patients in the US and Australia. Clinical sites across the US, Europe, Canada and Australia continue to be identified and activated.

The NCI-sponsored clinical trial evaluating uproleselan in newly diagnosed older adults with AML has initiated enrollment.

Study start-up activities continued for the collaborative Haemato Oncology Foundation for Adults in the Netherlands (HOVON) European study of uproleselan in newly diagnosed patients unfit for chemotherapy.

The Company announced plans to initiate a proof-of-concept clinical trial of GMI-1359 in individuals with breast cancer whose tumors have spread to bone. The trial will evaluate safety and biomarkers of cancer cell mobilization in individuals with hormone receptor positive metastatic breast cancer.

Data was published in Nature Cell Biology that strongly suggests that E-selectin is key to tumor growth and metastasis to bone and provides further support for the upcoming clinical trial of GMI-1359 in individuals with metastatic breast cancer.

Dr. Eric Feldman has joined the GlycoMimetics executive team as Vice President, Clinical Development, and Christian Dinneen-Long has joined as Vice President, Corporate Counsel.

A planned transition is taking place within the Company’s Board of Directors. Current Board Chair Jim Barrett, who has held the role since the Company’s inception, will not seek re-election as he retires from the Board of Directors and scales back participation in several organizations. Current GlycoMimetics Board Member Tim Pearson will become Board Chair as of the close of the Company’s annual meeting on May 17, 2019.

First Quarter 2019 Financial Results:

Cash position: As of March 31, 2019, GlycoMimetics had cash and cash equivalents of $195.6 million as compared to $209.9 million as of December 31, 2018.

R&D Expenses: The Company’s research and development expenses increased to $11.8 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2019 as compared to $9.0 million for the first quarter of 2018. These increases were primarily the result of the Company’s Phase 3 clinical trial in relapsed or refractory AML patients.

G&A Expenses: The Company’s general and administrative expenses increased to $3.4 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2019 as compared to $2.9 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2018. The increase was due to higher patent, legal and non-cash stock-based compensation expenses.

Shares Outstanding: Shares outstanding as of March 31, 2019 were 43,180,169.

The Company will host a conference call and webcast today at 8:30 a.m. ET. The dial-in number for the conference call is (844) 413-7154 (U.S. and Canada) or (216) 562-0466 (international) and entering passcode 6537429. To access the live audio webcast, or the subsequent archived recording, visit the "Investors – Events & Presentations" section of the GlycoMimetics website at www.glycomimetics.com. The webcast will be recorded and available for replay on the GlycoMimetics website for 30 days following the call.

About Uproleselan (GMI-1271)

Uproleselan (yoo’ pro le’ sel an) is designed to block E-selectin (an adhesion molecule on cells in the bone marrow) from binding with blood cancer cells as a targeted approach to disrupting well-established mechanisms of leukemic cell resistance within the bone marrow microenvironment. In a Phase 1/2 clinical trial, uproleselan was evaluated in both newly diagnosed elderly and relapsed/refractory patients with AML. In both populations, patients treated with uproleselan together with standard chemotherapy achieved better than expected remission rates and overall survival compared to historical controls, which have been derived from results from third party clinical trials evaluating standard chemotherapy, as well as lower than expected induction-related mortality rates. Treatment in these patient populations was generally well tolerated, with fewer than expected adverse effects. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted uproleselan Breakthrough Therapy Designation for the treatment of adult AML patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) disease. GlycoMimetics is progressing a comprehensive development program across the clinical spectrum of AML.

About Rivipansel

Rivipansel, the most advanced drug candidate in the GlycoMimetics pipeline, is a glycomimetic drug candidate that acts as a pan-selectin antagonist, meaning it binds to all three members of the selectin family – E-, P- and L-selectin. The first potential indication for rivipansel is vaso-occlusive crisis (VOC) of sickle cell disease (SCD), one of the most severe complications of SCD which can result in acute ischemic organ injury at one or more sites. By reducing cell adhesion, activation and inflammation that are believed to contribute to reduced blood flow through the microvasculature during VOC, GlycoMimetics believes that rivipansel could be the first drug to interrupt the underlying cause of VOC, thereby potentially enabling patients to leave the hospital more quickly. Pfizer Inc., the exclusive licensee of rivipansel for clinical development and worldwide commercialization, is conducting a Phase 3 clinical trial for rivipansel in SCD.

About GMI-1359

GMI-1359 is designed to simultaneously inhibit both E-selectin and CXCR4. E-selectin and CXCR4 are both adhesion molecules involved in tumor trafficking and metastatic spread. Preclinical studies indicate that targeting both E-selectin and CXCR4 with a single compound could improve efficacy in the treatment of cancers that involve the bone marrow such as AML and multiple myeloma or in solid tumors that metastasize to the bone, such as prostate cancer and breast cancer. GMI-1359 has completed a Phase 1 clinical trial in healthy volunteers. In the second half of 2019, the Company plans to initiate an exploratory clinical trial in individuals with breast cancer whose tumors have spread to bone.