On November 3, 2017 Pharmaceuticals plc (Nasdaq: JAZZ) reported the submission of a Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) to the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) for Vyxeos (daunorubicin and cytarabine) powder for concentrate for infusion to treat adults with high-risk acute myeloid leukemia (AML) defined as therapy-related AML (t-AML) or AML with myelodysplasia-related changes (AML-MRC) (Press release, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, NOV 3, 2017, View Source [SID1234521543]).

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The CHMP granted Vyxeos accelerated assessment, which is designed to reduce the review timeline for products of major interest for public health and therapeutic innovation. Vyxeos also received Promising Innovative Medicine (PIM) designation from the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency in the United Kingdom. A PIM designation is an early indication that a medicinal product is a promising candidate for the Early Access to Medicines Scheme (EAMS), intended for the treatment, diagnosis or prevention of a life-threatening or seriously debilitating condition with the potential to address an unmet medical need.

“If approved, Vyxeos will become the first new chemotherapy treatment option specifically for European patients with therapy-related AML or AML with myelodysplasia-related changes,” said Karen Smith, M.D., Ph.D., executive vice president, research and development and chief medical officer at Jazz Pharmaceuticals. “We are passionate about bringing a new treatment option for high-risk AML to the appropriate patients in the EU as quickly as possible and look forward to working with the CHMP during this review process.”

The MAA for Vyxeos includes clinical data from five studies, including the pivotal Phase 3 study. Data from the Phase 3 study, which demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in overall survival for Vyxeos versus standard of care, were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting in June 2016.

“Despite numerous advances in the treatment of cancer in Europe, patients with high-risk AML defined as t-AML or AML-MRC have limited treatment options and some of the lowest survival rates compared to people with other forms of AML,” said Dr. Nigel Russell, Professor of Haematology, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences at the University of Nottingham. “The hematology oncology community has worked tirelessly to better understand the causes and disease pathways associated with AML and we look forward to the arrival of innovative new treatment options.”

About Vyxeos
Vyxeos daunorubicin 2.2 mg/mL and cytarabine 5 mg/mL powder for concentrate for infusion is an advanced liposomal formulation that delivers a fixed-ratio (1:5) of daunorubicin and cytarabine to the bone marrow that has been shown to have synergistic effects at killing leukemia cells in vitro and in animal models. Vyxeos is the first product developed with the company’s proprietary CombiPlex platform, which enables the design and rapid evaluation of various combinations of therapies. Vyxeos received Orphan Drug Designation by the European Commission in January 2012 and by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in September 2008 for the treatment of AML. Vyxeos received U.S. FDA approval on August 3, 2017 for the treatment of adults with newly-diagnosed t-AML or AML-MRC.

About AML
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a blood cancer that begins in the bone marrow, which produces most of the body’s new blood cells.1 AML cells crowd out healthy cells and move aggressively into the bloodstream to spread cancer to other parts of the body.2 The median age at diagnosis is 68 years old, with rising age associated with a progressively worsening prognosis.3-4 There is also a reduced tolerance for intensive chemotherapy as patients age.5 Patients with t-AML or AML-MRC have few treatment options and some of the lowest survival rates compared to people with other forms of leukemia.6-7 A hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) may be a curative treatment option for patients.8

Emergent BioSolutions has filed a 10-Q – Quarterly report [Sections 13 or 15(d)] with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (Filing, 10-Q, Emergent BioSolutions, 2017, NOV 3, 2017, View Source [SID1234521532]).

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On November 2, 2017 Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:SNSS) reported financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2017 (Press release, Sunesis, NOV 2, 2017, View Source [SID1234521490]). Loss from operations for the three months ended September 30, 2017 was $9.9 million. As of September 30, 2017, cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities totaled $12.5 million. Subsequent to the end of the quarter, the company raised approximately $6 million from sales of common stock through its at the market facility in October 2017 and $20 million in gross proceeds from concurrent underwritten public offerings on October 27, 2017, which together will provide sufficient funds for the operation of the company’s business into early 2019.

“In the third quarter, we advanced our lead program, a reversible, non-covalent BTK inhibitor, SNS-062, with the ongoing enrollment in our Phase 1b/2 study in patients with relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and other B-cell malignancies,” said Daniel Swisher, Chief Executive Officer of Sunesis. “We will provide a program update at an investor presentation and webcast during the American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) Conference in Atlanta, Georgia in December 2017, and to present interim data from the study at a peer-reviewed medical conference in mid-2018. We believe SNS-062 has the potential to overcome the leading resistance pathway to ibrutinib, the predominant standard of care for the treatment of CLL. In addition, in October, we secured the financial resources from leading life science investors extending our operating runway into early 2019.

Mr. Swisher added, “Beyond SNS-062, we have made progress with our proprietary PDK-1 and Takeda-partnered pan-RAF inhibitor programs. We are pleased to announce today the nomination of our PDK1 (phosphatidyl-inositol dependent kinase1) inhibitor, SNS-510, as a Development Candidate and potentially first-to-clinic selective inhibitor in this pathway. PDK1 is a master kinase that activates other kinases important to cell growth and survival including members of the AKT, PKC, RSK and SGK families. In addition, we look forward to announcing future updates from the ongoing clinical studies of our Takeda-partnered TAK-580 program.”

Recent Highlights

Completed $20 million concurrent public offerings with leading life science investors. On October 27, 2017, Sunesis raised $20 million in gross proceeds in concurrent underwritten public offerings of common and preferred stock and warrants, with participation by new and existing investors, including Oncology Impact Fund managed by MPM Capital, BVF Partners L.P and Burrage Capital.

Continued Progress in Phase 1b/2 Study Evaluating Oral Non-Covalent BTK-inhibitor SNS-062 in Adults with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) and other B-Cell Malignancies. In July 2017, Sunesis announced that the first patient was dosed at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in the Phase 1b/2 dose-escalation and cohort-expansion study evaluating the safety, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and antitumor activity of its potent, reversible, non-covalent BTK-inhibitor, SNS-062, in adults with CLL, small lymphocytic leukemia, Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia, and mantle cell lymphoma. The Phase 1b/2 trial is an open-label, sequential-group study that is enrolling up to 124 subjects across leading sites in the United States. The Company plans to present interim data from this study in mid-2018.
Financial Highlights

Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities totaled $12.5 million as of September 30, 2017, as compared to $42.6 million as of December 31, 2016. The decrease of $30.1 million was primarily due to $30.8 million of net cash used in operating activities and a debt restructuring payment of $7.6 million, partially offset by $8.3 million in net proceeds primarily from sales of common stock through the company’s at the market facility. An additional $24.6 million in net proceeds were raised in October, resulting in pro-forma September 30, 2017 cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $37.1 million. This capital is expected to fund the company into 2019.

Revenue for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017 was nil and $0.7 million, as compared to $0.6 million and $1.9 million for the same periods in 2016. Revenue in each period was primarily due to deferred revenue recognized related to the Royalty Agreement with Royalty Pharma.

Research and development expense was $6.8 million and $17.9 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017 as compared to $5.3 million and $18.1 million for the same periods in 2016, primarily relating to the SNS-062 and the vosaroxin development program in each period. The increase of $1.5 million between the comparable three month periods was primarily due to the $2.5 million milestone payment to Biogen under the license agreement, offset by decreases in professional services of $0.8 million and salary and personnel expenses of $0.2 million. The decrease in the comparable nine months periods of $0.2 million was primarily due to a decrease in professional services of $2.5 million, salary and personnel expenses of $0.2 million, and medical affairs expenses of $0.2 million, partially offset by the $2.5 million milestone payment to Biogen under the license agreement.

General and administrative expense was $3.2 million and $10.8 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017, as compared to $3.9 million and $12.2 million for the same periods in 2016. The decrease of $0.7 million for the comparable three month periods was primarily due to decreases in salary and personnel expenses of $0.4 million and commercial expenses of $0.3 million, partially offset by increases of $0.1 million in professional services. The decrease in the comparable nine months periods of $1.4 million was primarily due to a decrease in salary and related expenses of $0.9 million, commercial expenses of $0.7 million, partially offset by increase of $0.4 million in professional services.

Interest expense was $0.3 million and $1.1 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017, as compared to $0.5 million and $1.2 million for the same periods in 2016. The decrease in the 2017 periods was primarily due to the decrease in the outstanding notes payable.

Net other income was $0.1 million and $0.3 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017, as compared to nil and $0.1 million for the same periods in 2016. The other income was primarily comprised of interest income from the short-term investments.

Cash used in operating activities was $30.8 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2017, as compared to $29.0 million for the same period in 2016. Net cash used in the 2017 period resulted primarily from the net loss of $28.8 million and changes in operating assets and liabilities of $4.6 million, offset by net adjustments for non-cash items of $2.6 million. Net cash used in the nine month period ended September 30, 2016 resulted primarily from the net loss of $29.5 million and changes in operating assets and liabilities of $3.6 million, including a final payment fee representing interest expense of $1.2 million under the Oxford Loan Agreement, partially offset by net adjustments for non-cash items of $4.1 million.

Sunesis reported loss from operations of $9.9 million and $28.0 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017, as compared to $8.5 million and $28.4 million for the same periods in 2016. Net loss was $10.2 million and $28.8 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017, as compared to $9.0 million and $29.5 million for the same periods in 2016.
Conference Call Information

Sunesis will host a conference today at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The call can be accessed by dialing (844) 296-7720 (U.S. and Canada) or (574) 990-1148 (international) and entering passcode 1071001. To access the live audio webcast, or the subsequent archived recording, visit the “Investors and Media – Calendar of Events” section of the Sunesis website at www.sunesis.com. The webcast will be recorded and available for replay on the company’s website for two weeks.

On November2, 2017 Pieris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: PIRS), a clinical-stage biotechnology company advancing novel biotherapeutics through its proprietary Anticalin technology platform for cancer, respiratory and other diseases, reported that will host a Q3 2017 Investor Call on Thursday, November 9, 2017 at 10:00 AM (EST) to discuss financial results and provide a corporate update (Press release, Pieris Pharmaceuticals, NOV 2, 2017, View Source [SID1234521487]).

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Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

To access the call, participants may dial 877-407-8920 (US & Canada) or 412-902-1010 (International) at least 10 minutes prior to the start of the call.

An archived replay of the call will be available for 30 days by dialing (Toll Free US & Canada): 877-660-6853, (International): 201-612-7415, Conference ID #: 13661472.

On November 2, 2017 Pieris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: PIRS), a clinical-stage biotechnology company advancing novel biotherapeutics through its proprietary Anticalin technology platform for cancer, respiratory and other diseases, reported that will host a Q3 2017 Investor Call on Thursday, November 9, 2017 at 10:00 AM (EST) to discuss financial results and provide a corporate update (Press release, Pieris Pharmaceuticals, NOV 2, 2017, View Source [SID1234521487]).

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

To access the call, participants may dial 877-407-8920 (US & Canada) or 412-902-1010 (International) at least 10 minutes prior to the start of the call.

An archived replay of the call will be available for 30 days by dialing (Toll Free US & Canada): 877-660-6853, (International): 201-612-7415, Conference ID #: 13661472.