On May 16, 2018 Genosco, a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused in immunology and oncology, reported that the abstract from a Phase 1/2 study evaluating YH25448 (GNS-1480) in patients with advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) is now available on the website of the 2018 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting (Press release, Genosco, MAY 16, 2018, View Source [SID1234526727]). YH25448 (GNS-1480), Genosco’s 3rd-generation EGFR-TKI candidate partnered for clinical development and commercialization with Yuhan Corporation, is an oral, potent, irreversible EGFR-TKI that is highly selective for activating (EGFRm) and T790M resistance mutations.

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Genosco announces data from Phase 1/2 study of 3rd-Generation EGFR-TKI candidate in patients with non-small cell lung cancer to be presented at ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper)

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"We are encouraged by the safety and efficacy results shown in these data and look forward to the presentation of the full data set which will inform the future clinical trials," said Jong Sung (John) Koh, Ph.D., Genosco CEO.

Results from an open-label, multi-center Phase 1/2 study of YH25448 (GNS-1480) for patients with advanced NSCLC with or without CNS metastases will be presented in a poster session (Abstract 9033) by Byoung Chul Cho, M.D., Ph.D., Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei Cancer Center, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea, at ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) in Chicago. The poster (#356) is titled YH25448, a 3rd-generation EGFR-TKI, in patients with EGFR-TKI-resistant NSCLC: Phase I/II study results and will be presented in the Lung Cancer—Non-Small Cell Metastatic session on Sunday, June 3, 2018, 8:00 AM – 11:30 AM CT.

A total of 105 patients with EGFRm advanced NSCLC with acquired resistance to EGFR-TKIs with or without brain metastasis were enrolled in a Phase 1/2 study with dose-escalation and expansion cohorts.

Updated data will be presented at ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper).

About YH25448
YH25448 (GNS-1480) is an oral, potent, highly mutant-selective and irreversible, investigational 3rd-generation EGFR-TKI that penetrates the blood-brain barrier (BBB). It targets the activating EGFR mutations Del19 and L858R, as well as the T790M mutation, while sparing wild type. EGFR mutations are present in approximately 10-15% of NSCLCs. YH25448 (GNS-1480) is being evaluated in advanced NSCLC as both first- and second-line treatments.

On May 16, 2018 Array BioPharma Inc. (Nasdaq: ARRY) reported that it will present data from the Phase 3 COLUMBUS trial of encorafenib and binimetinib in advanced BRAF-mutant melanoma in an oral presentation on June 4, 2018, at the 54th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) in Chicago, Illinois (Press release, Array BioPharma, MAY 16, 2018, View Source [SID1234526780]).

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"Binimetinib and encorafenib is the first targeted therapy to demonstrate over 30 months median overall survival in a Phase 3 trial and we look forward to presenting the results from the COLUMBUS trial at ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper)," said Ron Squarer, Chief Executive Officer. "With nearly 15 months median progression-free survival and an attractive tolerability profile, these data underscore the potential of this combination to become an important new treatment option for patients with BRAF-mutant advanced, unresectable or metastatic melanoma."

As previously announced, the most common Grade 3/4 adverse events (AEs) seen in more than 5% of patients were increased gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) (9%), increased creatine phosphokinase (7%), and hypertension (6%) in the encorafenib plus binimetinib group.

Oral Presentation:

Title:

Overall Survival in COLUMBUS: A Phase 3 Trial of Encorafenib (ENCO) Plus Binimetinib (BINI) vs Vemurafenib (VEM) or ENCO in BRAF-Mutant Melanoma

Presenter:

Reinhard Dummer, M.D.

Abstract:

Abstract #223875/Publication #9504

Session:

Melanoma/Skin Cancers

Date:

Monday, June 4, 2018

Time:

9:12 a.m. – 9:24 a.m. Central Time (10:12 a.m. – 10:24 a.m. Eastern Time)

Location:

Arie Crown Theater

The abstract can be accessed through the ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) website, View Source, beginning May 16, 2018, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Following the presentation on June 4, the slides will be available as a PDF on Array’s website at www.arraybiopharma.com.

Array will host an encore webcast presentation of the COLUMBUS trial data.

Encore Webcast:

Date:

Monday, June 4, 2018

Time:

11:15 a.m. Central Time (12:15 p.m. Eastern Time)

Toll-Free:

(844) 464-3927

Toll:

(765) 507-2598

Pass Code:

9615719

Webcast, including replay and conference call slides:View Source

About Melanoma
Metastatic melanoma is the most serious and life-threatening type of skin cancer and is associated with low survival rates. [1, 2] There are about 200,000 new cases of melanoma diagnosed worldwide each year, approximately half of which have BRAF mutations, a key target in the treatment of metastatic melanoma. [1, 3, 4]

About COLUMBUS
The COLUMBUS trial, (NCT01909453), is a two-part, international, randomized, open label Phase 3 trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of the combination of encorafenib and binimetinib compared to vemurafenib and encorafenib monotherapy in 921 patients with locally advanced, unresectable or metastatic melanoma with BRAFV600 mutation. Prior immunotherapy treatment was allowed. Over 200 sites across North America, Europe, South America, Africa, Asia and Australia participated in the trial. Patients were randomized into two parts:

In Part 1, 577 patients were randomized 1:1:1 to receive the combination of encorafenib 450 mg daily and binimetinib 45 mg twice daily (COMBO450), encorafenib, 300 mg daily (ENCO 300), or vemurafenib, 960 mg twice daily alone. The dose of encorafenib in the combination arm is 50% higher than the single agent maximum tolerated dose of 300 mg. A higher dose of encorafenib was possible due to improved tolerability when combined with binimetinib. The primary endpoint for the COLUMBUS trial was an mPFS comparison of the COMBO450 arm versus vemurafenib. mPFS is determined based on tumor assessment (RECIST version 1.1 criteria) by a Blinded Independent Central Review (BICR). Secondary endpoints include a comparison of the mPFS of COMBO450 arm to that of ENCO300 and a comparison of overall survival (OS) in patients treated in the COMBO450 arm to that of vemurafenib alone. Results from Part 1 of the COLUMBUS trial, previously published in The Lancet OncologyMay 2018, showed that COMBO450 more than doubled mPFS in patients with advanced BRAF-mutant melanoma, with a mPFS of 14.9 months compared with 7.3 months observed with vemurafenib [HR 0.54, (95% CI 0.41-0.71, p<0.0001)]. In the secondary mPFS comparison of COMBO450 to ENCO300, ENCO300 demonstrated a mPFS of 9.6 months [HR 0.75, (95% CI 0.56-1.00, p=0.051)].
In Part 2, 344 patients were randomized 3:1 to receive encorafenib 300 mg daily plus binimetinib 45 mg twice daily (COMBO300) or ENCO300. Part 2 was designed to provide additional data to help evaluate the contribution of binimetinib to the combination of encorafenib and binimetinib.
As the secondary endpoint comparison of mPFS between the COMBO450 arm and ENCO300 arm in Part 1 did not achieve statistical significance, the protocol specified analysis of OS is descriptive.

About Encorafenib and Binimetinib
BRAF and MEK are key protein kinases in the MAPK signaling pathway (RAS-RAF-MEK-ERK). Research has shown this pathway regulates several key cellular activities including proliferation, differentiation, survival and angiogenesis. Inappropriate activation of proteins in this pathway has been shown to occur in many cancers including melanoma and colorectal cancer. Encorafenib is a late-stage small molecule BRAF inhibitor and binimetinib is a late-stage small molecule MEK inhibitor, both of which target key enzymes in this pathway. Encorafenib and binimetinib are being studied in clinical trials in advanced cancer patients, including the Phase 3 COLUMBUS trial and the Phase 3 BEACON CRC trial.

Array BioPharma has exclusive rights to encorafenib and binimetinib in the U.S. and Canada. Array has granted Ono Pharmaceutical exclusive rights to commercialize both products in Japan and South Korea and Pierre Fabre exclusive rights to commercialize both products in all other countries, including Europe, Asia and Latin America. Encorafenib and binimetinib are investigational medicines and are not currently approved in any country.

On May 15, 2018 Synlogic, Inc. (Nasdaq: SYBX), a clinical stage company applying synthetic biology to probiotics to develop novel, living medicines, reported its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2018 (Press release, Synlogic, MAY 15, 2018, View Source [SID1234526619]).

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Recent Highlights

Corporate

Leadership Transition: On May 10, 2018, Synlogic announced a CEO transition; Chief Medical Officer, Aoife Brennan, M.B., B.Ch., was appointed to serve as Interim President and Chief Executive Officer as successor to Jose-Carlos Gutiérrez-Ramos, Ph.D.; Peter Barrett, Ph.D., the Chairman of Synlogic’s board of directors will serve as Executive Chairman and oversee a Board committee to conduct a search for a permanent CEO.
Strengthened Company’s balance sheet: As of March 31, 2018, Synlogic had cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments of $125.8 million. In April 2018, the Company completed a registered direct offering generating $28.9 million in net proceeds. Synlogic expects its current cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities position will be sufficient to fund operations to mid-2020 based on its current business plan.
Pipeline

Treatment of the first subject in a Phase 1/2a clinical trialevaluating SYNB1618, indevelopment for the treatment of phenylketonuria (PKU). This Phase 1/2a clinical trial is a single (SAD) and multiple (MAD) dose-escalation, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of orally administered SYNB1618 in healthy adult volunteers and adult subjects with PKU. The study is designed to evaluate safety, tolerability, kinetics, and pharmacodynamics as well as exploratory end-points associated with the ability of SYNB1618 to metabolize phenylalanine. Synlogic expects to report interim data from this trial in the second half of 2018 and the full data in 2019. More information about this study can be found at www.clinicaltrials.gov.
Treatment of the first subject in a Phase 1b/2a clinical trial evaluating SYNB1020, in development for the treatment of hyperammonemia. This Phase1b/2a clinical trial is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study designed to evaluate the safety and tolerability of SYNB1020, as well as its ability to lower blood ammonia levels, in patients with cirrhosis and elevated blood ammonia. Synlogic expects to report topline date from this trial at the end of 2018. Additional information about this study can be found at www.clinicaltrials.gov.
Fast-Track designation granted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for SYNB1618 for the treatment of PKU. The FDA Fast Track program is designed to facilitate the development of important new drugs intended to treat a serious condition and to fill an unmet medical need. The designation enables early and frequent communication between the FDA and Synlogic ensuring that questions and issues are resolved quickly, and often leading to earlier drug approval and access by patients.
Presentation of preclinical data from Synlogic’s immuno-oncology (IO) program at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper). The data demonstrate that, in mouse models, Synthetic Biotic medicines stimulate an antitumor response and robustly reprogram the tumor microenvironment, potentially enabling the treatment of a variety of cancers.
First Quarter 2018 Financial Results
For the three months ended March 31, 2018, Synlogic reported a consolidated net loss of $11.2 million, or $0.55 per share, compared to a net loss of $7.4 million, or $4.49 per unit, for the corresponding period in 2017. The increase in net loss was primarily due to increases in compensation-related expenses as Synlogic continues to grow its employee headcount and hire into key positions to support its corporate goals, as well as increases in research and development expenses to support its advancing clinical programs.

Research and development expenses were $8.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2018 compared to $5.1 million for the corresponding period in 2017. The increase was primarily due to an increase in compensation-related expenses associated with increased headcount, increased external costs associated with process and formulation development, pre-clinical and clinical studies and increased costs associated with Synlogic’s move to a larger facility.

General and administrative expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2018 were $3.6 million compared to $2.4 million for the corresponding period in 2017. The increase was primarily due to increases in compensation-related expenses associated with increased headcount and increases in expenses related to being a newly public company, including audit, legal and investor relations.

As of March 31, 2018, Synlogic had cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments of $125.8 million.

On May 15, 2018 Oncobiologics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ONS) reported financial results and business highlights for its three and six months ended March 31, 2018 (Press release, Oncobiologics, MAY 15, 2018, View Source;p=RssLanding&cat=news&id=2349253 [SID1234526650]).

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Recent Highlights:

Strengthened balance sheet with first closing of a $15.0 million private placement offering
Initiated ONS-5010 development program
Appointed Dr. Joerg Windisch and Randy Thurman to the Board of Directors
Dr. Windisch was appointed to the Compensation Committee
Mr. Thurman was appointed to the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and Chairman of the Compensation Committee
Oncobiologics’ Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Pankaj Mohan commented, "I am excited to report that our pipeline continues to offer significant opportunities to generate stockholder value. We recently entered into an agreement for a $15.0 million capital raise that will be used to advance the development of our portfolio, including ONS-5010, and support our operations through the end of this calendar year and have already received $7.5 million of the proceeds.

"We continue to make progress with the ONS-5010 development program and expect to initiate a clinical trial in 2018. Additionally, we are advancing our pre-clinical biosimilar product candidates and continue to engage with potential partners to lead the Phase 3 clinical trials for ONS-3010 and ONS-1045," continued Dr. Mohan.

"During the second quarter of fiscal 2018, we made progress implementing our new strategy to leverage our BioSymphony Platform to accelerate and maximize commercial revenues from our core expertise in drug development and manufacturing. The interest in leveraging our extensive development and manufacturing platform among potential biotech customers has been extremely positive. We expect to enter into our first customer agreement for our new contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) business and start recognizing revenue in the near future," concluded Dr. Mohan.

Anticipated Milestones (calendar year):
2018

Enter into first CDMO contract
Initiate clinical development program for ONS-3010 and/or ONS-1045 by partners in emerging markets
Initiate ONS-5010 clinical trials
Announce licensing/co-development partnership
2019

CDMO business cash flow positive by end of 2019
Initiate Phase 3 trial for ONS-1045 in major markets with development partner
2020

First revenue from emerging market partnerships
Initiate Phase 3 trial for ONS-3010 in major markets with development partner
Initiate ONS-3040 and ONS-4010 clinical development programs
Financial Highlights for the Fiscal Second Quarter Ended March 31, 2018
For the fiscal second quarter ended March 31, 2018, the Company reported a net loss attributable to common stockholders of $8.6 million, or $0.34 per diluted share, compared to $8.0 million, or $0.38 per diluted share for the same period of 2017. For the three months ended March 31, 2018, net loss attributable to common stockholders includes $0.3 million of income from non-cash stock-based compensation, $0.7 million of depreciation and amortization, $0.2 million of income from a decrease in the fair value of warrant liability and a $0.4 million beneficial conversion charge related to the Company’s Series A convertible preferred stock. For the three months ended March 31, 2017, net loss attributable to common stockholders included $2.3 million of non-cash stock-based compensation expense, $0.7 million of depreciation and amortization and $1.0 million of income from a decrease in the fair value of warrant liability.

For the fiscal second quarter ended March 31, 2018, the Company reported an adjusted net loss attributable to common stockholders of $8.0 million, or $0.32 per diluted share, as compared to an adjusted net loss of $6.1 million, or $0.29 per diluted share in the same period of 2017. The primary reason for the increase in adjusted net loss attributable to common stockholders from the year earlier period is higher research and development expenses related to the initiation of preparations to move ONS-5010 into clinical development in 2018.

At March 31, 2018, the Company had cash of $5.9 million, compared to $3.2 million at September 30, 2017. On May 14, 2018, the Company announced the closing of the first tranche of its $15.0 million private placement offering, receiving $7.5 million in aggregate gross proceeds.

Nasdaq Listing Update
The Company received formal notice on May 14, 2018 that the Nasdaq Hearings Panel has granted the Company’s request for an extension through June 26, 2018 to evidence compliance with all applicable requirements for continued listing on Nasdaq, including the applicable $35.0 million market capitalization requirement.

On May 15, 2018 Altimmune, Inc. (Nasdaq:ALT), a clinical-stage immunotherapeutics company, reported financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2018 (Press release, Altimmune, MAY 15, 2018, View Source [SID1234526633]).

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Recent Corporate Highlights

Announced positive proof-of-concept data from its Phase 2a intranasal flu vaccine trial with NasoVAX vaccine when compared with a licensed injectable seasonal flu vaccine;
Announced positive pre-clinical data for survival and immunogenicity from the Company’s Phase 2 SparVax-L program when compared against BioThrax to prevent anthrax infection;
Extended its IP protection of NasoShield in the U.S. with a Notice of Allowance from the U.S. Patent Office; and
Consolidated multiple Gaithersburg sites, including laboratory buildout, into new headquarters in Gaithersburg.
"We have had a very data-rich few months with results being reported from our NasoVAX, HepTcell, and SparVax-L programs," said William J. Enright, Chief Executive Officer of Altimmune. "The positive results from our NasoVAX trial give us strong confidence that we have a truly novel approach to combat flu and we look forward to getting Phase 2b clinical trials started next year. NasoVAX has tremendous potential as an effective, easy-to-administer flu vaccine that could provide better protection than current vaccines."

"We are also excited by the results on our SparVax-L study where two doses of SparVax-L produced levels of protective immunity that were significantly greater than that obtained following two doses of the licensed vaccine and we look forward to moving that program forward once we secure additional government funding," Mr. Enright added. "We continue to evaluate our HepTcell results and will update investors on our next steps after we complete the data analysis from the remaining timepoints and better understand our initial results. Operationally, we are focused on executing and moving our programs forward towards licensure as we believe our vaccines offer significant advantages."

Financial Results for the first-quarter of 2018

Revenues for the first-quarter of 2018 were $2.7 million compared to $0.3 million for the same period in 2017. The change was primarily due to a $1.6 million increase in revenue from our contract with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority ("BARDA") compared to the same period in 2017. Revenue for first-quarter 2018 also included $0.8 million from a contract with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease ("NIAID").

Research and development expenses were $5.7 million for the first-quarter of 2018 as compared to $2.8 million for same period in 2017. The change was due to an increase of $1.2 million in spending on the development of the NasoShield product candidate; an increase of $0.6 million in HepTcell costs from additional study analysis efforts; an increase of $0.4 million related to the addition of research and development costs of the SparVax-L asset; an increase of $0.3 million in costs due to our NasoVAX Phase 2 trial and an increase of $0.5 million in other research and development costs, compared to the same period in 2017.

General and administrative expenses were $2.4 million for the first-quarter of 2018 as compared with $2.0 million for the same period in 2017. The change was the combined result of an increase of $0.9 million in public company costs, an increase of $0.2 million in salaries and benefits, offset by a decrease of $0.8 million in costs related to the merger with PharmAthene compared to the same period in 2017.

Goodwill impairment charges of $0.5 million reported during the first-quarter of 2018 represented an adjustment recorded during the measurement period to reduce the tax refund receivable acquired in connection with the merger. The adjustment to reduce the tax refund receivable resulted in a corresponding increase in goodwill which was determined to be fully impaired during the year ended December 31, 2017. The non-cash charge has no effect on our current cash balance or operating cash flows.

Net loss attributed to common stockholders for the first-quarter of 2018 was $5.1 million as compared to $4.7 million for the same period in 2017. Excluding the non-cash goodwill impairment charges, net loss attributed to common stockholders for the first quarter of 2018 would have been $4.6 million.

Net loss per share attributed to common stockholders for the first-quarter of 2018 was $0.25 compared with $0.68 for the same period of 2017. Excluding the non-cash goodwill impairment charges, net loss per share attributable to common stockholders for the first quarter of 2018 would have been $0.23, compared to $0.68 for the same period of 2017.

At March 31, 2018, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $8.1 million