On August 8, 2018 Sangamo Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: SGMO) reported second quarter 2018 financial results and recent accomplishments (Press release, Sangamo Therapeutics, AUG 8, 2018, View Source [SID1234528535]).

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"In the first half of 2018 we made strong progress on important initiatives including our clinical development programs and execution of a significant collaboration with Kite-Gilead for the use of ZFNs for engineered cell therapies in oncology," said Sandy Macrae, CEO of Sangamo. "More recently, with our proposed acquisition of TxCell, we have the opportunity to seize a leadership position in the development of gene-edited cell therapies for immunological diseases, one of our therapeutic areas of focus for our proprietary pipeline."

Macrae continued: "Today we announced positive preliminary data from the Alta clinical trial evaluating SB-525 gene therapy for hemophilia A. These are the first efficacy data from our clinical programs using AAV6. We are looking forward to the September 5th SSIEM presentation of preliminary data from the CHAMPIONS Study evaluating SB-913, our in vivo genome editing candidate for MPS II."

Recent Highlights
Corporate

Announced the proposed acquisition of TxCell, positioning Sangamo as a leader in CAR-Treg development
Appointed Karen Smith, M.D., Ph.D., to the Board of Directors, and Edward Rebar, Ph.D., as Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer
Clinical

Today announced positive preliminary data from the Phase 1/2 Alta Study evaluating SB-525 gene therapy for hemophilia A
Treated the fifth and sixth patients in the SB-913 Phase 1/2 CHAMPIONS Study for MPS II
Treated the first patient in the SB-318 Phase 1/2 EMPOWERS Study for MPS I
Received Clinical Trial Authorisation (CTA) in the U.K. for enrollment of subjects into ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical trials evaluating SB-318 and SB-913
Enrolled the first patient in the Phase 1/2 Thales Study evaluating ST-400 gene-edited cell therapy for the treatment of beta-thalassemia
Research

Delivered three oral and four poster presentations during the 21st Annual Meeting of the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT) (Free ASGCT Whitepaper) held in Chicago, IL from May 16-19, 2018
Second Quarter Ended June 30, 2018 Financial Results
For the second quarter ended June 30, 2018, Sangamo reported a consolidated net loss of $16.6 million, or $0.17 per share, compared to a net loss of $12.5 million, or $0.17 per share, for the same period in 2017. As of June 30, 2018, the Company had cash, cash equivalents, marketable securities and interest receivable of $574.2 million.

Revenues for the second quarter ended June 30, 2018 were $21.4 million, compared to $8.3 million for the same period in 2017. The increase in revenues was primarily related to the collaborations and licensing agreements with Pfizer, for hemophilia A, and Kite, a Gilead company, for gene-edited cell therapies for oncology. Second quarter 2018 revenues were primarily generated from Sangamo’s collaboration agreements with Kite, Pfizer and Bioverativ, a Sanofi company.

Total operating expenses for the second quarter ended June 30, 2018 were $40.6 million, compared to $21.0 million for the same period in 2017. Research and development expenses were $29.3 million for the second quarter ended June 30, 2018, compared to $15.0 million for the same period in 2017. The increase was primarily due to clinical and manufacturing expenses in support of current clinical studies and investment in dedicated manufacturing capacity. General and administrative expenses were $11.3 million for the second quarter ended June 30, 2018, compared to $6.0 million for the same period in 2017. The increase was primarily due to salaries and related costs and other professional fees in support of overall Company growth.

Financial Guidance for 2018
Sangamo will provide updated guidance on expected operating expenses in future quarterly reporting periods. The Company updates cash guidance as follows:

Cash and Investments: Sangamo expects a December 31, 2018 balance of cash, cash equivalents, marketable securities and interest receivable of at least $380 million. This anticipated cash balance is inclusive of research funding from existing collaborators and recent financings.
Conference Call
Sangamo will host a conference call today, August 8, 2018, at 5:00 p.m. ET, which will be open to the public. The call will also be webcast live and can be accessed via a link on the Sangamo Therapeutics website in the Investors and Media section under Events and Presentations.

The conference call dial-in numbers are (877) 377-7553 for domestic callers and (678) 894-3968 for international callers. The conference ID number for the call is 7179826. For those unable to listen in at the designated time, a conference call replay will be available for one week following the conference call, from approximately 8:00 p.m. ET on August 8, 2018 to 11:59 p.m. ET on August 15, 2018. The conference call replay numbers for domestic and international callers are (855) 859-2056 and (404) 537-3406, respectively. The conference ID number for the replay is 7179826.

On August 8, 2018 Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RCKT) ("Rocket"), a leading U.S.-based multi-platform gene therapy company, reported financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2018, and provided an update on the Company’s recent achievements, as well as upcoming milestones (Press release, Rocket Pharmaceuticals, AUG 8, 2018, View Source [SID1234528551]).

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"Rocket made significant progress on our clinical, regulatory and corporate initiatives in the second quarter," said Gaurav Shah, M.D., Chief Executive Officer and President of Rocket. "We are pleased with the positive clinical data from our FA program that were presented at ASGCT (Free ASGCT Whitepaper) and look forward to additional data over the next 12-18 months. The momentum has continued with recent regulatory designations for FA, including Rare Pediatric Disease from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Advanced Therapy Medicinal Product (ATMP) by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). These positive steps set the stage nicely for a global registrational study in 2019."

"Our additional gene therapy pipeline programs for devastating rare diseases remain on track. These include our products for Leukocyte Adhesion Deficiency-I (LAD-I), Pyruvate Kinase Deficiency (PKD) and our undisclosed adeno-associated viral vector (AAV) program. We expect to disclose the indication and share preclinical data from our AAV program later this year, and clinical data on up two programs in 2019. Our progress to date has been a true collaboration between the Rocket team, our partners, physicians, and the patients we serve. We look forward to meeting the milestones ahead."

Recent Pipeline and Corporate Updates

Rare Pediatric Disease Designation for FA. In July 2018, the Company was notified that it received Rare Pediatric Disease designation from the FDA for RP-L102 for the treatment of FA Type A. The FDA defines a "rare pediatric disease" as a serious and life-threatening disease that affects less than 200,000 people in the U.S. that are aged between birth to 18 years. The Rare Pediatric Disease designation program allows for a Sponsor who receives an approval for a product to potentially qualify for a voucher that can be redeemed to receive a priority review of a subsequent marketing application for a different product.
Advanced Therapy Medicinal Product Classification for FA. In June 2018, the Company was notified that the EMA classified RP-L102 as an ATMP. The ATMP classification recognizes and defines medicines for human use that are considered gene-, tissue- or cell-based therapies. The key benefit of ATMP classification is the early involvement and guidance from the EMA’s Committee of Advanced Therapies, which is the regulatory reviewing body for gene therapies.
Phase 1/2 data of RP-L102 in FA shows promising engraftment and chromosomal stability leading to improved bone marrow functionality. At the ASGCT (Free ASGCT Whitepaper) Annual Meeting in May 2018, updated data from the ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical trial of RP-L102 was presented and included data from four patients that have been followed for 12-24 months and a fifth patient, treated with transduction-enhanced RP-L102, that was followed for two months. All patients demonstrated continued improvement in engraftment following administration of RP-L102 with sustained phenotypic reversals and earlier evidence of gene correction seen in higher-dosed patients. The progressive increases of corrected versus non-corrected peripheral blood leukocytes indicate the potential of RP-L102 to restore the functionality of bone marrow hematopoietic stem cells. The one patient that received transduction enhanced RP-L102 showed the highest transduction efficiency seen to date in all five patients treated, with a preliminary drug product vector copy number (VCN) of ~2.5 – 3, and a cell dose considered below the threshold level of 500,000K CD34+/kg. Rocket plans to engage with regulatory authorities to progress RP-L102 towards a potential global registrational study in 2019.
Stanford University research collaboration. In May 2018, Rocket and the Stanford University School of Medicine announced a strategic collaboration to support the advancement of FA and PKD gene therapy research. Under the terms of the collaboration agreement, Stanford will serve as a lead clinical trial research center in the U.S. for the planned FA registrational trial and would also be the lead site for PKD clinical trials. The project will also separately evaluate the potential for non-myeloablative, non-genotoxic antibody-based conditioning regimens as a future development possibility that may be applied across bone marrow-derived disorders.
Strengthened management team with addition of former FDA Director of the Office of Orphan Products Development (OOPD). Gayatri R. Rao, M.D., J.D., was appointed Vice President, Regulatory Policy and Patient Advocacy, in May 2018. Dr. Rao most recently served as Director of the OOPD within the FDA for the last five years where she was responsible for implementing statutory programs focused on promoting the development of medical products for rare diseases. In her new role at Rocket, Dr. Rao will support the development of global regulatory policies and strategies, patient advocacy initiatives, and rare disease natural history studies.
Anticipated Milestones

Preclinical data and disclosure of the AAV-based gene therapy program (4Q18)
Investigational Medicinal Product Dossier (IMPD) filing in Spain for the LAD-I program (4Q18)
IMPD filing in Spain for the PKD program (Early 2019)
Additional FA patient data (Next 12-18 months)
Investigational New Drug (IND) application filing in the U.S. for the AAV-based program (2019)
IND application filing in the U.S. for the FA program (2019)
September Conferences

Citi’s 13th Annual Biotech Conference – September 5-6, 2018 in Boston, MA
Morgan Stanley 16th Annual Global Healthcare Conference – September 12-14, 2018 in New York, NY
Oppenheimer Specialty Pharma & Rare Disease Fall Summit – September 25-26 in New York, NY
Jefferies Gene Therapy and Editing Summit – September 27, 2018 in New York, NY
Second Quarter 2018 Financial Results

Cash position. Cash, cash equivalents and investments as of June 30, 2018, were $171.5 million, which includes a $52.0 million fully convertible debenture which expires in 2021.
R&D expenses. Research and development expenses were $10.8 million and $16.5 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, compared to $2.8 million and $5.1 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2017.
G&A expenses. General and administrative expenses were $4.1 million and $12.8 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, compared to $0.7 million and $1.3 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2017.
Net loss. Net loss was $15.8 million and $31.1 million or $(0.40) and $(0.82) per share (basic and diluted) for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, compared to $3.3 million and $6.2 million or $(0.49) and $(0.91) per share (basic and diluted) for the three and six months ended June 30, 2017.
Shares outstanding. Approximately 39.5 million shares of common stock were outstanding as of June 30, 2018.
Financial Guidance

Cash position. Based on its current operating plan, Rocket expects its cash, cash equivalents and investments as of June 30, 2018, will be sufficient to run its operations into 2020.

On August 8, 2018 EdiGene Inc., which develops genome editing technologies into novel therapeutics for a broad range of diseases and into creative solutions to advance drug discovery, reported the successful completion of approximately $15 Million in a Series pre-B financing (Press release, EdiGene, AUG 8, 2018, View Source [SID1234528577]).

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The financing is led by new investor Lilly Asia Ventures (LAV). New investor HuagaiCapital participated in this round. Series A lead investor IDG Capital, Series A investor WI Harper Group and other insiders also participated in this round.

"This investment will allow us to continue advancing ourpromising portfolio of therapeutic programs based on gene-editing technologies," said Dr. Dong Wei, CEO of EdiGene, "In addition, we will continue to further develop our proprietary High Throughput Genome Screening platforms into a comprehensive solution for our partners in key areas such as drug sensitivity, drug resistance and synthetic lethality."

"We are excited to invest in EdiGene," said Dr. Fei Chen, Managing Partner of Lilly Asia Ventures, "Gene editing is bringing evolutional breakthrough to drug discovery and potential clinical therapeutics, and we are pleased to collaborate with EdiGene team and to support EdiGene’s growth in the global market."

"This new round of financing led by Lilly Asia Ventures with participation of new and existing investors further validates the progress we have made and the potential of our platforms," said Dr. Wensheng Wei, founder of EdiGene. "Now we arewell positioned to further advance our pipeline and get one step closer to help patients with our technologies. We look forward to working with Lilly Asia Ventures and other investors for the years to come."

On August 8, 2018 Scholar Rock (NASDAQ:SRRK), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the treatment of serious diseases in which protein growth factors play a fundamental role, reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2018 and highlighted recent progress and upcoming milestones for its pipeline programs (Press release, Scholar Rock, AUG 8, 2018, View Source [SID1234528841]).

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"Scholar Rock made transformative progress in the second quarter with the successful completion of our IPO and the initiation of the Company’s first clinical trial," said Nagesh Mahanthappa, Ph.D, President and CEO of Scholar Rock. "We are well-positioned to continue to progress SRK-015 and build our pipeline of future product candidates focused on addressing neuromuscular disorders, cancer, fibrosis, and anemia. We plan to initiate a Phase 2 proof-of-concept study of SRK-015 to improve muscle function in patients with later-onset spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in the first quarter of 2019."

Key Business and Clinical Highlights

Successfully Completed IPO. In May 2018, Scholar Rock successfully completed an initial public offering (IPO) of 6,164,000 shares of common stock, inclusive of the full exercise of the over-allotment option by the underwriters, raising gross proceeds of approximately $86.3 million.

Initiated Enrollment and Dosing in Multiple-Ascending Dose Portion of Phase 1 Clinical Trial for SRK-015. SRK-015 is a selective inhibitor of the activation of myostatin and was granted Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of SMA in March 2018. A placebo-controlled, double-blind Phase 1 clinical trial was initiated in May 2018 to evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of single- and multiple-ascending doses of intravenous SRK-015 in healthy adult volunteers. Dosing has completed in the single-ascending dose portion of the study and has advanced to the multiple-ascending dose portion of the study.
Upcoming Milestones

On Track to Initiate Phase 2 Proof-of-Concept Study for SRK-015 in SMA in the First Quarter of 2019. Pending supporting safety data from the Phase 1 clinical trial, Scholar Rock plans to initiate a Phase 2 proof-of-concept study in the first quarter of 2019 to evaluate the safety and efficacy of SRK-015 in patients with later-onset SMA (Type 2 and Type 3) as a monotherapy or in conjunction with an approved survival motor neuron (SMN) upregulator therapy as background standard of care.

Identify Second Indication for SRK-015 in the First Half of 2019. Scholar Rock is actively assessing numerous preclinical models in which the selective inhibition of the activation of myostatin may offer therapeutic benefit. Scholar Rock intends to identify a second indication for SRK-015 in the first half of 2019.

Nominate Product Candidate for TGFβ1 Program by the End of the First Half of 2019. Scholar Rock’s second antibody program is focused on the discovery and development of highly specific inhibitors of the activation of TGFβ1. Scholar Rock is progressing its evaluation of a number of selective inhibitors in multiple disease models and intends to nominate a product candidate and first indication in oncology, immuno-oncology or fibrosis by the end of the first half of 2019.
Second Quarter 2018 Financial Results

Net loss for the quarter ended June 30, 2018 was $14.7 million or $1.39 per share compared to a net loss of $5.9 million or $3.67 per unit for the same quarter last year.

Research and development expense was $11.4 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2018, compared to $4.7 million in the same quarter in 2017. The $6.7 million increase year-over-year was primarily attributable to development and manufacturing costs associated with our lead product candidate, SRK-015, as well as employee costs related to increased headcount.

General and administrative expense was $3.5 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2018, compared to $1.2 million in the same quarter in 2017. The $2.3 million increase year-over-year was mainly due to increased headcount and higher professional and consulting fees associated with ongoing business activities and operating as a public company.
As of June 30, 2018, Scholar Rock had cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities of $115.1 million, compared to $58.0 million at the end of 2017. The cash balance is inclusive of the approximately $77.8 million in net proceeds from its IPO in May 2018. Scholar Rock believes the cash balance will be sufficient to fund operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements into the second half of 2020.

On August 7, 2018 ADC Therapeutics, an oncology drug discovery and development company that specializes in the development of proprietary antibody drug conjugates (ADCs), reported that the first patient has been dosed in its Phase II clinical trial intended to support the submission of Biologics License Application (BLA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (Press release, ADC Therapeutics, AUG 7, 2018, View Source [SID1234596075]). The clinical trial is evaluating the efficacy and safety of ADCT-402 (loncastuximab tesirine) in patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).

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At the 2017 American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) Annual Meeting, the Company presented interim Phase I data on ADCT-402 in 138 evaluable, heavily pre-treated lymphoma patients who had failed, or were intolerant to, any established therapy known to provide clinical benefit, with a median of three prior therapies. At the time, for the 49 response-evaluable patients in Part 1 of the study (dose escalation) with DLBCL who received ADCT-402 at doses greater than or equal to 120 μg/kg, the overall response rate (ORR) was 55 percent (27/49), with 18 patients achieving a complete response (37 percent) and 9 patients achieving a partial response (18 percent).

The primary endpoint of the Phase II, multi-center, open-label, single-arm trial is the ORR in patients treated with ADCT-402, as confirmed by central review. Secondary endpoints include assessments of duration of response, complete response rate, relapse-free survival, progression-free survival and overall survival, as well as safety, pharmacokinetics and health-related quality of life. The trial will enroll approximately 140 patients with relapsed or refractory DLBCL at multiple centers in the USA and Europe.

"We are pleased to have dosed the first patient in our registrational Phase II clinical trial evaluating ADCT-402 in patients with DLBCL who have relapsed and have refractory disease after two or more multi-agent treatment regimens. Our Phase I clinical trial of ADCT-402 in non-Hodgkin lymphoma showed significant activity in patients with DLBCL and an acceptable safety profile," said Jay Feingold, MD, PhD, Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President of Clinical Development at ADC Therapeutics. "Unfortunately, there is no effective treatment for patients with multiple relapsed and refractory DLBCL, so we are excited about the potential to improve outcomes in these patients with ADCT-402 in a single-arm trial. We anticipate reporting results from the Phase II trial in the third quarter of 2019 and are hopeful that the data will support our submission of a BLA to the FDA."

Alex Spira, MD, PhD, FACP, Director of Virginia Cancer Specialists Research Institute and Clinical Assistant Professor of Oncology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, added, "Patients with DLBCL who have relapsed or are refractory after second-line chemotherapy face a very poor prognosis. There is a

significant unmet need for an effective new treatment option for this patient population, and we believe ADCT-402 has the potential to help impact patient outcomes in this disease."

For more information about the Phase II clinical trial, please visit www.clinicaltrials.gov (identifier NCT03589469).

ADC Therapeutics also plans to initiate multiple combination studies with ADCT-402 in the fourth quarter of 2018.

About Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL)

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is the seventh most common type of cancer in the U.S., and accounted for an estimated 4.3 percent of new cancer cases in 2017.1 Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) accounts for nearly one-third (32.5 percent) of NHL.2 The most common initial treatment for patients with DLBCL is chemo-immunotherapy. Response to initial treatment is high, but more than half of patients do not have long-term disease control.3 The current standard of care for relapsed DLBCL is additional chemotherapy, which can be followed by stem cell transplantation (SCT). The prognosis for relapsed patients is poor, especially for those with chemotherapy-refractory disease with a short interval between remission and relapse or those who relapse after high-dose therapy and SCT. There is a significant unmet need for an effective treatment for patients with relapsed or refractory DLBCL.

About ADCT-402

ADCT-402 is an antibody drug conjugate (ADC) composed of a humanized monoclonal antibody that binds to human CD19, conjugated through a linker to a pyrrolobenzodiazepine (PBD) dimer toxin. Once bound to a CD19-expressing cell, ADCT-402 is internalized into the cell where enzymes release the PBD-based warhead. CD19 is a clinically validated target for the treatment of B-cell malignancies. The PBD-based warhead has the ability to form highly cytotoxic DNA interstrand cross-links, blocking cell division and resulting in cell death. Preliminary data from a Phase I clinical trial in relapsed or refractory B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma demonstrate ADCT-402 has significant activity in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). ADCT-402 is also being evaluated in an ongoing Phase I clinical trial in patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted orphan drug designation to ADCT-402 for the treatment of DLBCL and mantle cell lymphoma.