On March 28, 2019 Can-Fite BioPharma Ltd. (NYSE American: CANF) (TASE:CFBI), a biotechnology company advancing a pipeline of proprietary small molecule drugs that address cancer, liver and inflammatory diseases, reported financial results for the year ended December 31, 2018 (Press release, Can-Fite BioPharma, MAR 28, 2019, View Source [SID1234534712]).

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Clinical Development and Corporate Highlights During 2018 Include:

In a deal worth up to $74.5 million, Can-Fite signed a License, Collaboration and Distribution Agreement with CMS Medical Venture Investment Limited for the commercialization of Piclidenoson in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis, and Namodenoson in the treatment of advanced liver cancer and NAFLD/NASH, in China.
In another multi-million dollar deal, Can-Fite signed a distribution deal with Gebro Holding GmBH in Spain, Switzerland, and Austria, to distribute Piclidenoson in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis upon receipt of regulatory approval.
Can-Fite raised $5 million through a registered direct offering.
Can-Fite recently reported top line result from its Phase II trial of Namodenoson in the treatment of advanced liver cancer. While the study did not achieve its primary end point of median overall survival in the whole population of 78 patients, it did achieve superiority in median overall survival in the largest study subpopulation of 56 patients and in secondary end points for the whole population. These data support progression into a Phase III study.
Phase III clinical studies of Piclidenoson in the treatment of psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis continue to enroll patients.
Top-line Data from Phase II NASH Study with Namodenoson expected in H2 2019
"2018 marked significant achievements for Can-Fite including our largest distribution deal to date valued at up to $74.5 million. We continued to build our intellectual property assets, presented new data at scientific conferences and saw our findings published in peer reviewed journals. We are particularly pleased to move much closer to commercialization with both Piclidenoson, now in two Phase III studies, and Namodenoson, now completing a Phase II study," stated Can-Fite CEO Pnina Fishman. "We just announced top line results from our Phase II Namodenoson study in advanced liver cancer which produced encouraging results to move into a Phase III, even though the primary end point was not met. We believe our drugs’ strong safety profile, combined with efficacy in a specific sub-population within each target disease indication will improve patient health and longevity."

Financial Results

Revenues for the year ended December 31, 2018 were $3.8 million, an increase of $3.0 million, or 384%, compared to $0.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2017. The increase in revenue was mainly due to the recognition of a $2 million advance payment received in August 2018 under the License, Collaboration and Distribution Agreement with CMS Medical and from the recognition of a portion of the $2.2 million advance payment received in January 2018 under the Distribution and Supply Agreement with Gebro.

Research and development expenses for the year ended December 31, 2018 were $6.0 million, an increase of $0.9 million, or 19%, compared to $5.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2017. Research and developments expenses for the year ended 2018 comprised primarily of expenses associated with the Phase II studies for Namodenoson as well as expenses for ongoing studies of Piclidenoson. The increase is primarily due to increased costs associated with the initiation of the Phase III clinical trial of Piclidenoson for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. We expect that the research and development expenses will increase through 2019 and beyond.

General and administrative expenses were $3.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2018 an increase of $0.3 million, or 10%, compared to $2.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2017. The increase is primarily due to an increase in professional services and investor relations expenses. We expect that general and administrative expenses will remain at the same level through 2019.

Financial expenses, net for the year ended December 31, 2018 aggregated $1.1 million compared to immaterial financial income, net for the same period in 2017. The increase in financial expense, net was mainly due to a loss from long-term investment revaluation and from recognition of interest expenses related to implementation of revenue recognition accounting standard IFRS 15, while in the same period in 2017, financial income was mainly due to fair value revaluation of warrants which were offset by financial expenses from exchange rate differences.

Net loss for the year ended December 31, 2018 was $6.6 million compared with a net loss of $6.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2017. The increase in net loss for the year ended December 31, 2018 was primarily attributable to increase in revenues in 2018 which were offset by an increase in research and development expenses and increase in finance expenses, net.

As of December 31, 2018, Can-Fite had cash and cash equivalents of $3.6 million as compared to $3.5 million at December 31, 2017. The increase in cash during the year ended December 31, 2018 is due to increase in net cash provided by financing activity which was offset by a decrease in net cash used in operating activity. In January 2019, Can-Fite raised $2.35 million in a registered direct offering.

On March 28, 2019 Molecular Templates, Inc. (Nasdaq: MTEM, "Molecular" or "Molecular Templates"), a clinical-stage oncology company focused on the discovery and development of the company’s proprietary engineered toxin bodies (ETBs), which are differentiated, targeted, biologic therapeutics for cancer, reported financial results for the fourth quarter of 2018 (Press release, Molecular Templates, MAR 28, 2019, View Source [SID1234534730]). As of December 31, 2018, Molecular’s cash and investments totaled $98 million, and is expected to fund operations into the first half of 2021.

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"2018 was a year of important progress for Molecular Templates, marked by new clinical data for MT-3724, advancement of our preclinical pipeline, the CD38 partnership with Takeda, and a successful equity financing," said Eric Poma, Ph.D., Molecular Templates’ Chief Executive and Scientific Officer. "In 2019, we are excited to generate more clinical data from multiple Phase II studies with MT-3724, advance MT-5111 and TAK-169 into the clinic, and file an IND for MT-6035, our PD-L1 ETB with antigen seeding. We are also focused on business development activity to generate additional non-dilutive capital."

Company Highlights and Upcoming Milestones

Corporate

Molecular will present new data on its pipeline programs and technology platform in four posters at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting 2019, to be held March 29 – Apr 3, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. Presentations will feature data on 1) CD38-targeted ETB TAK-169, 2) CD20-targeted ETB MT-3724 in combination with chemotherapy or IMiDs, 3) PD-L1-targeted ETB for direct cell kill approach to PD-L1 expressing cancers, 4) Bispecific ETBs for targeted cancer treatment.
On February 19, 2019, Molecular strengthened its senior management team with the appointment of Roger J. Waltzman, M.D., as Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Waltzman is a board-certified medical oncologist with over 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, and in medical practice/academia. His career highlights include 9 years in senior drug development roles at Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, including 6 years in positions of increasing responsibility at Novartis Oncology (2007–2013). He played a leading role in the development of highly successful Novartis branded oncology drugs, Glivec (imatinib) and Jakafi (ruxolitinib).
On November 9, 2018, Molecular presented a poster on its PD-L1 ETB with Antigen Seeding Technology (AST) program at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) (Free SITC Whitepaper)’s (SITC) (Free SITC Whitepaper) 33rd Annual Meeting in Washington D.C. The poster, titled "Identification and Functional Profiling of PD-L1 Targeted Engineered Toxin Bodies for Antigen Seeding Technology (AST) and Redirection of T cell Response to Tumors" summarized a series of preclinical experiments conducted by Molecular to create PD-L1 targeted ETBs that have antigen seeding properties and to analyze the mechanisms by which they can kill cancer cells.

TAK-169

Takeda and Molecular expect to file an IND and start a Phase I multiple myeloma trial in 2019 for TAK-169 (CD38 targeted ETB).

MT-3724

Molecular recently announced the initiation of a Phase II monotherapy study of MT-3724 in relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). This study has the potential to be pivotal. Molecular expects to provide an update on this study in 2H19, with final data expected in 2020.
Molecular is also conducting a Phase II combination study with MT-3724 and chemotherapy in earlier lines of DLBCL.
Molecular expects to initiate a second Phase II combination study with MT-3724 and Revlimid in earlier lines of DLBCL in 2Q19.
Molecular expects to report an update on both MT-3724 combination studies with MT-3724 in 2H19.

Research

Molecular expects to initiate a Phase I study in cancer patients for MT-5111, its ETB targeting HER2, in 2Q19.
Molecular expects to report an update on this study in 2H19.
Molecular expects to file an IND application for MT-6035, its ETB targeting PD-L1 (with antigen seeding), in 2H19.
Several other ETB candidates are in preclinical development, targeting both solid and hematological cancers.

Takeda Multi-Target Collaboration

Takeda and Molecular are conducting lead optimization for ETBs against two undisclosed targets selected by Takeda under the collaboration. Should Takeda exercise its option to license ETBs for both targets, Molecular would receive $25 million and would be eligible to receive up to $547 million in milestone payments and tiered royalties on sales.
Financial Results

The net loss attributable to common shareholders for the fourth quarter of 2018 was $6.6 million, or $0.18 per basic and diluted share. This compares with a net loss attributable to common shareholders of $6.9 million, or $0.26 per basic and diluted share, for the same period in 2017.

Revenues for the fourth quarter of 2018 were $4.7 million, compared to $0.8 million for the same period in 2017. Revenues for the fourth quarter of 2018 were comprised of revenues from collaborative research and development agreements with Takeda, and grant revenue from CPRIT. Total research and development expenses for the fourth quarter of 2018 were $7.6 million, compared with $4.7 million for the same period in 2017. Total general and administrative expenses for the fourth quarter of 2018 were $3.9 million, compared with $3.5 million for the same period in 2017.

The net loss attributable to common shareholders for the year ended December 31, 2018 was $30.3 million, or $1.02 per basic and diluted share. This compares with a net loss attributable to common shareholders of $24.1 million, or $2.11 per basic and diluted share, for 2017.

Revenues for the year ended December 31, 2018 were $13.3 million, compared to $3.4 million for 2017. These revenues were mainly comprised of revenues from collaborative research and development agreements with Takeda, and grant revenue from CPRIT. Total research and development expenses for the year ended December 31, 2018 were $30.2 million, compared with $9.5 million for 2017. Total general and administrative expenses for the year ended December 31, 2018 were $14.1 million, compared with $11.8 million for 2017.

On March 28, 2019 Celyad (Euronext Brussels and Paris, and NASDAQ: CYAD), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of CAR-T cell product candidates, reported full year 2018 consolidated financial results prepared in accordance with IFRS (Press release, Celyad, MAR 28, 2019, View Source [SID1234534759]).

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Christian Homsy, CEO of Celyad: "In 2018, we identified several significant opportunities to drive long-term growth by focusing our clinical pipeline on the development of CAR-T cell product candidates. This includes the ongoing program for our lead product candidate CYAD-01 as well as our non-gene edited allogeneic candidate CYAD-101. Following encouraging preliminary data from the THINK trial evaluating CYAD-01 as a monotherapy for the treatment of relpased / refactory acute myeloid leukemia (r/r AML) patients, our clinical hematological program for CYAD-01 now includes multiple approaches for evaluating CYAD-01 including the THINK schedule optimization cohorts as well as our DEPLETHINK trial. We look forward to providing clinical updates from both the Phase 1 THINK and DEPLETHINK trials throughout 2019."

"In addition, we have advanced our shRNA platform to design novel preclinical CAR-T product candidates including our next-generation NKG2D-based CAR-T, CYAD-02, and our CYAD-200 series of non-gene edited allogeneic CAR-T candidates. We look forward to advancing multiple shRNA-based CAR-T product candidates towards the clinic in 2020."

Full Year 2018 and Recent Business Highlights

CYAD-01 – Autologous NKG2D-based CAR-T
Hematologic malignancies (r/rAML/MDS)

THINK Phase 1 trial, evaluating CYAD-01 without preconditioning chemotherapy, showed 40% (four out of ten) of patients with AML/MDS achieved a complete response.

Further development to assess a more frequent dosing schedule of CYAD-01 without preconditioning chemotherapy for the treatment of r/r AML is ongoing.

Cohort 1 of the DEPLETHINK Phase 1 trial, which is anopen-label, dose-escalation trial with a single injection of CYAD-01 following standard CyFlu preconditioning, demonstrated that CYAD-01 is well-tolerated, with no dose-limiting toxicity or treatment-related grade 3 or above adverse events (AEs) observed in patients with r/r AML.

Solid tumors (mCRC):

The concurrent treatment of CYAD-01 with FOLFOX chemotherapy in the first cohort of the trial was well tolerated, with no occurrence of serious AEs (SAEs) nor increase in the rate of treatment-related AEs. In addition, initial data from the THINK CyFlu cohort (single injection of CYAD-01 following treatment with CyFlu) showed that treatment is well tolerated with no occurrence of SAEs nor an increase in the treatment-related AEs rate. In addition, preliminary translational data suggest an improvement in the cell expansion of CYAD-01 induced by the CyFlu preconditioning.

CYAD-101 – Allogeneic NKG2D-based CAR-T
In 2018 the Company initiated the open-label, dose escalation alloSHRINK trial evaluating the non-gene edited allogeneic CAR-T therapy, CYAD-101, administered concurrently with FOLFOX chemotherapy in the treatment of patients with unresectable metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).

Novel, next-generation, shRNA platform
In March 2019, Celyad held a Research & Development Day in New York highlighting its pipeline of preclinical CAR-T product candidates candidates for the treatment of hematological malignancies and solid tumors, based on its short hairpin RNA (shRNA) platform

Autologous settings: CYAD-02 is a next-generation autologous NKG2D-based CAR-T candidate incorporating shRNA technology to target NKG2D ligands MICA/MICB. Preclinical AML models for CYAD-02 show an encouraging increase in in vitro proliferation and in vivo persistence and anti-tumor activity leading the company to plan to submit an Investigational New Drug (IND) application for CYAD-02 in the first half 2020.

Allogeneic settings: In vivo data demonstrate that shRNA targeting of CD3ζ by shRNA protects against graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) to a level equivalent to CRISPR-Cas9 based knock-out , as well as a significant increase in persistence of allogeneic T cells using shRNA targeting when compared to CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technologies.

This encouraged the company to develop three disruptive first-in-class non-gene-edited allogeneic CAR-T candidates from the CYAD-200 series leveraging the shRNA SMARTvector platform:

CYAD-211: B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) targeting CAR-T therapy for the treatment of multiple myeloma, which is expected to enter the clinic by mid-2020
CYAD-221: CD19 targeting CAR-T therapy for the treatment of B-cell malignancies, which is expected to enter the clinic by late 2020
CYAD-231: Dual specific CAR-T targeting NKG2D and an undisclosed membrane protein, which is expected to enter the clinic by early 2021

Expected milestones for 2019

Additional data from the Phase 1 dose-escalation THINK trial for CYAD-01 in r/r AML or MDS patients, including initial data from the schedule optimization portion of the trial;
Enrollment completion and initial data from the Phase 1 dose-escalation DEPLETHINK trial evaluating CYAD-01 with preconditioning chemotherapy in r/r AML or MDS patients;
Acceleration of the development strategy and refinement of the regulatory pathway plan for CYAD-01 for the treatment of r/r AML or MDS patients, including the initiation of a potential Phase 2 clinical trial;
Advancement towards an IND application with the preclinical development of next-generation NKG2D-based CAR-T, CYAD-02 ; and
Further pursue the development of the proprietary non-gene edited allogeneic shRNA platform and progress towards IND applications for the CYAD-200 series of shRNA-based CAR-T candidates.

The Company’s license and collaboration agreements have generated a revenue of €3.1 million in 2018. This includes €2.4 million from the exclusive license agreement signed with Mesoblast Ltd. focused on the development and commercialization of Celyad’s intellectual property rights related to C-CathEZ, a proprietary intra-myocardial injection catheter, as well as €0.7 million from the non-clinical supply agreement with ONO Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. with respect to the product candidate development of CYAD-101 for their licensed territories.

Research & Development expenses totaled €23.6 million and €22.9 million for 2018 and 2017, respectively. The increase in 2018 is mainly driven by the key clinical studies on CYAD-01 and CYAD-101.

General and Administrative expenses increased by €1.1 million, primarily driven by a non-cash expenses associated with the vesting of warrants.

The Company’s other expenses amount to €8.4 million and include non-cash expenses of €6.6 million relating to liability reassessment required by International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) related to the advancement in the Company’s NKG2D-based CAR-T candidates. Overall, non-cash expenses for 2018 totaled €10.2 million.

Therefore, Company’s operating loss of recurring operations (REBIT) increased to €38.2 million compared to €26.6 million for the year 2017. Net operational cash burn, which excludes non-cash effects, was €27.2 million in 2018 compared to €31.2 million in 2017.

Loss for the year 2018 amounts to €37.4 million versus a net loss of €56.4 million for 2017.

Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments totaled €49.7 million as of December 31, 2018 compared to €33.9 million on December 31, 2017. The Company confirms its previous guidance that existing cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments should be sufficient to fund operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements, based on the current scope of activities, until mid-2020.

Annual Report 2018

The Annual Report for the year ended December 31, 2018 is published today, March 28, 2019, on the website of the Company. The statutory auditor, BDO Réviseurs d’Entreprises SCRL, has confirmed that the audit, which is substantially complete, has not to date revealed any material misstatement in the draft consolidated financial statements, and that the accounting data reported in the press release are consistent, in all material respects, with the draft consolidated financial statements from which it has been derived. On March 28, 2019, date of the release of the Annual Report, Celyad published a press release relating to the appointment of Mr. Filippo Petti as Chief Executive Officer of the Company effective on April 1, 2019. As a consequence of this publication, Celyad decided to issue a supplement to the Annual Report in order to keep the Annual Report up to the date of the convening notice to the 2019 annual shareholders’ meeting. This supplement will be published on the website of the Company within the next days.

Conference Call Details

A conference call will be held on Friday, 29 March 2019, at 1 p.m. CET / 8 a.m. EDT to review the financial and operating results for full year 2018. Please dial-in five to ten minutes prior to the call start time using the number and conference ID below: Standard International Dial-In Number: +44 (0) 2071 928000; Conference ID: 8745558

On March 28, 2019 Queen’s University Belfast and Domainex are reported that their joint project team has successfully identified novel first-in-class small molecule inhibitors of the anti-apoptotic protein FLIP (Press release, Queen’s University Belfast, MAR 28, 2019, View Source [SID1234554005]). The team has generated data suggesting multiple therapeutic opportunities for a FLIP inhibitor in both the single agent and combination settings and is now seeking a commercial partner for further development of the novel inhibitors.

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The team is presenting the FLIP inhibitor programme at the AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) annual meeting in Atlanta on 31 March 2019 (New Molecular Targets poster session, poster 382 /14). The poster showcases the on-target effects of the inhibitors, their drug-like properties, their potency against B Cell Lymphomas, triple negative breast cancer and KRAS and EGFR mutant non-small cell lung cancer, and their potential for combination with chemotherapy, immune oncology agents and EGFR-targeted therapeutics.

The next phase of the programme will comprise selection of a pre-clinical development candidate and completion of pre-clinical activities. Profs Dan Longley (Biology lead) and Tim Harrison (Med Chem lead) are attending the AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) meeting and will be actively engaging in discussions with potential partners at the meeting.

This FLIP programme has been funded by the Wellcome Trust and has focussed on the identification and optimisation of novel first-in-class small molecule FLIP-FADD protein-protein interaction inhibitors. FLIP is a non-redundant inhibitor of Caspase 8 and functional FLIP allows tumour cells to evade cell death and promotes tumour growth and therapy resistance. The novel FLIP inhibitors activate Caspase 8 and have shown efficacy in a number of pre-clinical models including clinically challenging KRAS and EGFR mutant non-small cell lung cancer.

To arrange to meet the team at AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) please contact Enda Gribbon: ([email protected])

Trevor Perrior, Chief Executive Officer of Domainex, commented: "Our medicinal chemists have been delighted to work on this exciting target and enable Prof. Dan Longley and his team to identify and optimise the FLIP inhibitors. There were several challenges that we had to solve in order to identify hits and develop a series of potential drug compounds that are potent and selective. We look forward to at least one of these compounds progressing towards the clinic for the benefit of patients. The funding secured from the Wellcome Trust is a clear endorsement of the strength of the integrated drug discovery platform of Domainex to deliver molecules with disease-modifying potential and we remain deeply committed to supporting academic translational research."

Prof. Dan Longley from the Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology (CCRCB) at Queen’s University Belfast, added: "Resistance to cancer therapeutics such as chemotherapy is a major clinical problem that limits the effectiveness of many current cancer treatments. Very often, this is caused by the failure of anti-cancer therapies to kill the cancer cells. FLIP is a cellular protein that cancer cells frequently express at high levels, and this increases their resistance to chemotherapy and other types of therapy used to treat cancer, such as radiotherapy. The agents that we are developing target FLIP and prevent it from causing therapy resistance. In addition, some tumour-promoting immune cells also need FLIP, so our FLIP inhibitors may also have beneficial effects in the tumour microenvironment by reactivating immune cells to attack cancer cells."

On March 28, 2019 Heat Biologics, Inc. (NASDAQ: HTBX), a biopharmaceutical company developing therapies designed to activate a patient’s immune system against cancer, reported financial and clinical updates for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2018 (Press release, Heat Biologics, MAR 28, 2019, View Source [SID1234534693]).

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Jeff Wolf, Heat’s CEO, commented, "We are making excellent progress advancing HS-110 and recently reported interim Phase 2 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) data on HS-110 plus nivolumab at the ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper)-SITC Clinical Immuno-Oncology Symposium. Importantly, we observed a survival benefit in patients with low CD8+ "cold" tumors at baseline compared to high CD8+ patients. This Cohort B data was especially encouraging, as all of the enrolled patients had previously experienced disease progression while receiving an immune checkpoint inhibitor. Preliminary data suggest the addition of HS-110 to Bristol-Myers Squibb’s anti-PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor, Opdivo (nivolumab), may restore responsiveness to treatment after tumor progression on prior checkpoint inhibitor therapy. We believe we are the first company to present clinical data in advanced NSCLC with patients whose prior checkpoint inhibitor treatment has failed. The results have generated significant interest within the industry and oncology community."

"We also expanded our Phase 2 trial to dose patients with HS-110 in combination with Merck’s anti-PD1 checkpoint inhibitor, KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) with or without ALIMTA (pemetrexed), in patients receiving front-line maintenance therapy for advanced NSCLC."

"We look forward to filing our Phase 1 Investigational New Drug (IND) for our next-generation therapy (HS-130) in the first half of 2019. HS-130 in combination with HS-110 combines T-cell activation and co-stimulation, potentially providing superior immune activation at reduced treatment costs. Further, we also plan to submit an IND for a CPRIT-funded 70 patient Phase 1 clinical program of PTX-35 in the first half of 2019. PTX-35 is our novel co-stimulatory antibody designed to harness the body’s natural antigen-specific T cell immune activation mechanisms. We remain encouraged by the preliminary pre-clinical efficacy and safety data, which show a lack of adverse effects across a wide range of doses."

"We ended 2018 with approximately $28 million of cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments. We also are on track to receive an additional $6.9 million in Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) grant funds for PTX-35 in the coming months. As a result, we believe we are well funded beyond completion of our Phase 2 HS-110 trial. As previously disclosed, we have been efficient in our use of funds, which has allowed us to operate under budget, further extending our runway on primarily clinical development programs."

Full Year 2018 Financial Results

Recognized $5.8 million of grant revenue for qualified expenditures under the CPRIT grant.

Research and development expenses were $16.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2018 compared to $8.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2017. The increase was primarily due to the increase enrollment in the Phase 2 portion of our multi-arm NSCLC clinical trial as well as the PTX expense as we continue pre-clinical development of the PTX-35 program.

General and administrative expenses were $7.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2018 compared to $6.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2017.

Net loss attributable to Heat Biologics was $15.7 million, or ($0.90) per basic and diluted share for the year ended December 31, 2018 compared to a net loss of $11.8 million, or ($3.08) per basic and diluted share for the year ended December 31, 2017.

As of December 31, 2018, the Company had approximately $28 million in cash, cash equivalents and short term investments.