On February 9, 2018 BeiGene, Ltd. (NASDAQ:BGNE), a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing innovative molecularly targeted and immuno-oncology drugs for the treatment of cancer, reported preliminary clinical data from patients with urothelial carcinoma (UC) enrolled in an ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial of tislelizumab, an investigational anti-PD-1 antibody, at the 2018 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium in San Francisco (Press release, BeiGene, FEB 9, 2018, View Source;p=RssLanding&cat=news&id=2331663 [SID1234523892]). The preliminary Phase 1 data suggest that tislelizumab was generally well tolerated and exhibited objective responses in patients with UC.

"Tislelizumab administration resulted in objective responses, including a complete response, and a disease-control rate of 53 percent. Tislelizumab was generally well-tolerated in patients with urothelial carcinoma," said Shahneen Sandhu, M.D., medical oncologist at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Center in Melbourne, Australia and lead author. "We are highly encouraged by these results and that further study of tislelizumab may lead to a new treatment for patients with urothelial cancer."

"Tislelizumab is currently being evaluated in five pivotal trials globally and in China, including a pivotal trial in patients with previously treated, PD-L1-positive, locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma in China. This is the first presentation of tislelizumab data in the population with urothelial cancer, an area of unmet need. We are pleased by these preliminary results, which we believe provide an important foundation for our clinical understanding of tislelizumab’s efficacy and safety in specific patient populations both as a single agent and in combination," commented Amy Peterson, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, Immuno-Oncology, at BeiGene.

Summary of Results from the Ongoing Phase 1 Trial

The multi-center, open-label Phase 1 trial (NCT02407990) of tislelizumab as monotherapy in advanced solid tumors is being conducted in Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Taiwan, and South Korea and consists of dose escalation, schedule expansion, fixed dose expansion, and indication expansion in disease-specific cohorts.

Data presented at the Genitourinary Cancers Symposium included 16 patients with urothelial carcinoma. Of these, 12 had one or more prior systemic anticancer treatment for metastatic disease and the remaining four had progressed after receiving platinum-based regimen in the neoadjuvant or adjuvant setting. In addition, five patients had prior radiotherapy. At the time of the data cutoff on August 28, 2017, median treatment duration was 4.3 months (range of 0.7 to 18.3 months). A total of six patients remained on treatment.

Adverse events (AEs) assessed by the investigator to be related to treatment occurred in 14 patients (88%). Of those, fatigue (31%), rash (19%), infusion related reactions (13%), nausea (13%), pain in extremity (13%), and proteinuria (13%) occurred in more than one patient. All of the treatment-related AEs were grade 1 or 2 except one case each of fatigue, hyperglycemia, and diabetes mellitus. One adverse event of muscle weakness, which was associated with disease progression and occurred more than one month after the last dose of the study drug, had a fatal outcome; this event was considered not related to treatment.

At the time of the data cutoff, 15 patients were evaluable, defined as having a measurable baseline tumor assessment and at least one evaluable post-baseline tumor response assessment, or had progressed or died prior to the initial tumor assessment. One patient had a confirmed complete response (CR), four achieved a confirmed partial response (PR), and three achieved stable disease (SD). Nine evaluable patients had PD-L1 status determined. There was one CR, two PR and one SD among six PD-L1 high patients, and one PR among three PD-L1 low or negative patients.

About Urothelial Carcinoma

Cancer that begins in cells that line the urethra, bladder, ureters, renal pelvis, and some other organs are referred to as urothelial carcinoma.i Urothelial carcinoma is the most common type of bladder cancer and the fifth most common cancer in the United States.ii In 2017, it was estimated that there were 79,030 new cases of bladder cancer and 16,870 deaths.iii

About Tislelizumab

Tislelizumab is an investigational humanized monoclonal antibody that belongs to a class of immuno-oncology agents known as immune checkpoint inhibitors. It is designed to bind to PD-1, a cell surface receptor that plays an important role in downregulating the immune system by preventing the activation of T-cells. Tislelizumab has demonstrated high affinity and specificity for PD-1. It is potentially differentiated from the currently approved PD-1 antibodies in an engineered Fc region, which is believed to minimize potentially negative interactions with other immune cells, based on preclinical data. Tislelizumab is being developed as a monotherapy and in combination with other therapies for the treatment of a broad array of both solid tumor and hematologic cancers. BeiGene and Celgene Corporation have a global strategic collaboration for the development of tislelizumab in solid tumor cancers outside of Asia (except Japan).

On February 9, 2018 Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ARWR) reported financial results for its fiscal 2018 first quarter ended December 31, 2017 (Press release, Arrowhead Research Corporation, FEB 9, 2018, View Source [SID1234523890]). The company is hosting a conference call at 4:30 p.m. EST to discuss results.

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Conference Call and Webcast Details

Investors may access a live audio webcast on the Company’s website at View Source For analysts that wish to participate in the conference call, please dial 855-215-6159 or 315-625-6887 and provide Conference ID 4788374.

A replay of the webcast will be available on the company’s website approximately two hours after the conclusion of the call and will remain available for 90 days. An audio replay will also be available approximately two hours after the conclusion of the call and will be available for 3 days. To access the audio replay, dial 855-859-2056 or 404-537-3406 and provide Conference ID 4788374.

Selected Fiscal 2018 First Quarter and Recent Events

Filed a Clinical Trial Application for ARO-AAT, a second generation subcutaneously administered clinical candidate for the treatment of alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency liver disease

Filed a Clinical Trial Application for ARO-HBV, a third generation subcutaneously administered clinical candidate for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B virus infection

Presented new clinical data at HEP DART 2017 demonstrating up to 5.0 log10 reduction in HBV s-antigen and a Sustained Host Response in 50% of hepatitis B patients following RNAi therapy, ARC-520, in the 2001 open-label extension study

Made continued progress on a two-product cardiovascular collaboration with Amgen, in which one that was previously called ARO-LPA against the target lipoprotein(a) has been formally nominated as a potential clinical candidate and which is now referred to as AMG 890 by Amgen

Expanded Arrowhead’s cardiometabolic pipeline, which now includes ARO-APOC3, targeting apolipoprotein C-III, and ARO-ANG3, targeting angiopoietin-like protein 3 (ANGPTL3); with CTA filings planned around the end of 2018

Achieved continued progress with the Company’s extra-hepatic platform and pipeline, including:

ARO-Lung1, Arrowhead’s first candidate against an undisclosed gene target in the lung, which achieved nearly 90% target knockdown following inhaled administration in rodents

ARO-HIF2, the Company’s candidate targeting renal cell carcinoma, which achieved 85% target gene knockdown in a rodent tumor model

On February 9, 2018 Immune Design (Nasdaq:IMDZ), an immunotherapy company focused on next-generation therapies in oncology, reported that senior management will present at upcoming investor conferences (Press release, Immune Design, FEB 9, 2018, View Source [SID1234523900]).

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Leerink Partners 7th Annual Global Healthcare Conference
Thursday, February 15, 2018 at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time in New York.

RBC Capital Markets 2018 Global Healthcare Conference
Wednesday, February 21, 2018 at 4:05 p.m. Eastern Time in New York.

Cowen & Company 38th Annual Health Care Conference
Monday, March 12, 2018 at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time in Boston.

A live webcast of each presentation will be available online from the investor relations page of the company’s corporate website at View Source After the live webcast, an archive of each presentation will be available on the company website for 30 days.

On February 8, 2018 ImmunoGen, Inc. (Nasdaq: IMGN), a leader in the expanding field of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) for the treatment of cancer, reported recent highlights and operating results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2017 (Press release, ImmunoGen, FEB 9, 2018, View Source [SID1234523873]).

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"We made significant progress with the business in 2017, with four consecutive quarters of strong execution across the Company. Operationally, we advanced our monotherapy registration study and published compelling combination data with mirvetuximab, expanded our clinical pipeline, and established a high-value partnership with Jazz Pharmaceuticals supporting our earlier-stage programs. Financially, we added over $235 million in cash and eliminated roughly $100 million in debt on the balance sheet through business development and financing transactions," said Mark Enyedy, ImmunoGen’s president and chief executive officer. "With the momentum we generated in the last twelve months, we enter 2018 from a position of strength with a number of important catalysts expected during the year. We anticipate completing patient enrollment in our FORWARD I Phase 3 registration trial by mid-year, multiple data readouts from our FORWARD II trial assessing combinations with mirvetuximab beginning next month at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology annual meeting, and clinical data from our Phase 1 trials of both IMGN779 and IMGN632 later in the year. With these anticipated events, we look forward to another productive year in 2018 as we advance our pipeline to bring new therapies to patients and create value for our shareholders."

Recent Pipeline Highlights

Activated more than 100 sites in North America and Europe in the Company’s ongoing Phase 3 FORWARD I trial of mirvetuximab soravtansine as single-agent therapy for platinum-resistant ovarian cancer enabling rapid patient enrollment;
Advanced the Company’s Phase 1b/2 FORWARD II trial in North America and Europe evaluating mirvetuximab soravtansine combination regimens in separate expansion cohorts with Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and Avastin (bevacizumab) for platinum-resistant disease, and initiated patient dosing in a new cohort to evaluate the triplet combination of mirvetuximab plus carboplatin and Avastin in patients with platinum-sensitive disease;
Reported updated safety data and preliminary anti-leukemia activity from the dose-escalation phase of the Phase 1 clinical trial of IMGN779 in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) at the 2017 American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) Annual Meeting;
Began dosing patients in the Company’s Phase 1 clinical trial of IMGN632, a CD123-targeting ADC integrating a potent DNA-alkylating payload intended to treat a range of hematological malignancies, including AML and blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN); and
Received notice that partner Takeda has filed an IND for TAK-164, an ADC directed to GCC-positive tumors using ImmunoGen’s IGN platform.
Facilities Update

Following an in-depth review of the Company’s manufacturing strategy, ImmunoGen will move to an operating model that will rely on external manufacturing and quality testing for drug substance and drug product for its development programs. The implementation of this new operating model will lead to the ramp-down of manufacturing and quality activities at the Company’s Norwood, Massachusetts facility by the end of 2018, with a full exit of the site by early 2019. Decommissioning the Norwood facility will result in anticipated cost savings of over $20 million during the next five years.
The Norwood facility has been a long-standing staple of ImmunoGen’s business, delivering high-quality products to patients and partners without interruption for more than 25 years. The Company is grateful for the contributions that its Norwood-based employees have made and will support these employees through the transition.
Anticipated 2018 Events

Conduct interim analysis from FORWARD I, for futility only, in 1Q 2018;
Report updated dose-escalation findings from the FORWARD II mirvetuximab plus Keytruda combination cohort at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology annual meeting (March 2018);
Present highlights from ImmunoGen’s technology and innovation in ADCs at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) annual meeting (April 2018);
Anticipate partner Takeda to begin clinical development of TAK-164 in the first half of 2018;
Report updated data from the FORWARD II mirvetuximab plus Avastin combination expansion cohort in over 50 patients in the first half of 2018;
Complete patient enrollment in FORWARD I by mid-year;
Report findings from the FORWARD II mirvetuximab plus Keytruda combination expansion cohort in over 30 patients the second half of the year;
Report additional data from IMGN779 Phase 1 study in 4Q 2018;
Report initial data from IMGN632 Phase 1 study in 4Q 2018; and
Advance our ADAM9 program into IND-enabling activities before year-end.
Financial Results

As previously disclosed, effective January 1, 2017, ImmunoGen transitioned to a fiscal year ending December 31. The years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 reflect the twelve-month results of the respective calendar years.

Revenues for the year ended December 31, 2017 were $115.4 million, compared to $48.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2016. License and milestone fees of $79.5 million for 2017 included a $30 million paid-up license fee related to an amendment to the Company’s collaboration and license agreement with Sanofi, $29.5 million related to the sale and transfer of the Company’s IMGN529 asset to Debiopharm, $7 million in partner milestone payments and $12.7 million in amortization of a non-cash fee related to the Company’s license agreement with CytomX, compared to $15 million in partner milestone payments received in 2016. Revenues for 2017 included $28.1 million in non-cash royalty revenues, compared with $26.2 million in non-cash royalty revenues for 2016. Revenues for 2017 also included $3.5 million of research and development (R&D) support fees and $4.4 million of clinical materials revenue, compared with $5.2 million and $1.9 million, respectively, for 2016.

Operating expenses, including R&D and G&A expenses, for 2017 were $174.4 million, compared to $184.3 million for 2016. R&D expenses for 2017 decreased to $139.7 million, compared to $141.3 million for 2016, primarily due to a workforce reduction resulting from the strategic review in September 2016 and lower third-party service fees, partially offset by increased clinical trial and drug supply costs driven largely by the advancement of the FORWARD I Phase 3 clinical trial. General and administrative expenses decreased in 2017 to $33.9 million, compared to $38.5 million in 2016, primarily due to lower personnel expenses. Operating expenses for 2016 also included a $4.4 million restructuring charge related to the workforce reduction and a loss on leased office space, compared to a $0.8 million charge in 2017 related to additional loss recorded on leased office space.

In September and November 2017, a total of $97.9 million of convertible debt outstanding was converted into 26.2 million shares of the Company’s common stock, resulting in a $22.9 million non-cash debt conversion charge recorded in 2017. With this conversion, the Company’s outstanding debt is reduced to $2.1 million. In October 2017, pursuant to a public offering, the Company sold an aggregate of 16.7 million shares of its common stock, with net proceeds to the Company of $101.7 million, after deducting underwriting discounts and offering expenses.

ImmunoGen reported a net loss of $96.0 million, or $0.98 per basic and diluted share, for 2017, which included a loss of $0.23 per basic and diluted share relating to the non-cash debt conversion charge, compared to a net loss of $156.7 million, or $1.80 per basic and diluted share, for 2016.

ImmunoGen had $267.1 million in cash and cash equivalents as of December 31, 2017, compared with $160.0 million as of December 31, 2016, and had $2.1 million and $100.0 million of convertible debt outstanding as of December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively. Cash provided by operations was $7.6 million for 2017, compared with cash used in operations of $(142.6) million for 2016. The current year benefited from $59.5 million of fees received from Sanofi and Debiopharm, which were included in revenue for 2017, and a $75 million upfront payment received from Jazz, which is included in deferred revenue as of December 31, 2017. Capital expenditures were $1.1 million and $6.7 million for 2017 and 2016, respectively.

Financial Guidance

For 2018, ImmunoGen expects:

revenues between $60 million and $65 million;
operating expenses between $185 million and $190 million; and
cash and cash equivalents at December 31, 2018 between $115 million and $120 million.
ImmunoGen expects that its current cash combined with the expected cash revenues from partners and collaborators will enable the Company to fund its operations into the fourth quarter of 2019.

Conference Call Information
ImmunoGen will hold a conference call today at 8:00 am ET to discuss these results. To access the live call by phone, dial 719-325-4917; the conference ID is 5734226. The call may also be accessed through the Investors section of the Company’s website, www.immunogen.com. Following the webcast, a replay of the call will be available at the same location through February 23, 2018.

On February 8, 2018 Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXEL) reported that its fourth quarter and full year 2017 financial results will be released on Monday, February 26, 2018 after the markets close. At 5:00 p.m. EST / 2:00 p.m. PST, Exelixis management will host a conference call and webcast to discuss the results and provide a general business update (Press release, Exelixis, FEB 8, 2018, View Source;p=RssLanding&cat=news&id=2331433 [SID1234523831]). Access to the event is available via the Internet from the company’s website.

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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

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To access the webcast link, log onto www.exelixis.com and proceed to the News & Events / Event Calendar page under the Investors & Media heading. Please connect to the company’s website at least 15 minutes prior to the conference call to ensure adequate time for any software download that may be required to listen to the webcast. Alternatively, please call 855-793-2457 (domestic) or 631-485-4921 (international) and provide the conference call passcode 6857848 to join by phone.

A telephone replay will be available until 8:00 p.m. EST on February 28, 2018. Access numbers for the telephone replay are: 855-859-2056 (domestic) and 404-537-3406 (international); the passcode is 6857848. A webcast replay will also be archived on www.exelixis.com for one year.