On July 25, 2024 argenx SE (Euronext & Nasdaq: ARGX), a global immunology company committed to improving the lives of people suffering from severe autoimmune diseases, reported its half year 2024 results and provided a second quarter business update (Press release, argenx, JUL 25, 2024, View Source [SID1234645066]).

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"We were excited to unveil our ambition for the future of argenx – Vision 2030 – last week, outlining our plan to develop and deliver continued and sustainable innovation for patients," said Tim Van Hauwermeiren, Chief Executive Officer of argenx. "We are already delivering on this promise with impressive commercial execution throughout the first half of the year, expanding our patient reach in MG, and launching in CIDP with our broad FDA label. Our development pipeline is stronger than ever, driven by our unique innovation engine. And we are well-positioned to capture the sizeable growth opportunity before us as we seek to reach earlier-line MG patients over the next 12-18 months with potential label expansions and a pre-filled syringe."

Vision 2030

During its R&D Day on July 16, 2024, argenx unveiled its ‘Vision 2030’ as part of its long-term commitment to transform the treatment of autoimmune diseases by strengthening its leadership in neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) biology, investing in its continuous pipeline of differentiated antibody candidates, and scaling in a disciplined way to ensure innovation remains core to the argenx mission. ‘Vision 2030’ includes the following goals:

50,000 patients globally on treatment with an argenx medicine
10 labeled indications across all approved assets, including VYVGART and potentially empasiprubart and ARGX-119
Five new molecules in Phase 3 development indicating ongoing investment in internal discovery engine, the Immunology Innovation Program
Reaching 50,000 Patients Globally

VYVGART (efgartigimod alfa-fcab) is a first-in-class antibody fragment targeting FcRn and is now approved for both intravenous use and subcutaneous injection (SC) (efgartigimod alfa and hyaluronidase-qvfc) in three indications, including generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG) globally, primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) in Japan, and chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) in the U.S.

Generated global net product sales (inclusive of both VYVGART and VYVGART SC) of $478 million in second quarter of 2024
National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) approved VYVGART SC for treatment of gMG in China through Zai Lab on July 16, 2024
Additional VYVGART regulatory decisions on approval expected for gMG in 2024, including in Switzerland, Australia, and Saudi Arabia
Launched VYVGART Hytrulo in CIDP in U.S. with first patients injected in July
Multiple VYVGART SC regulatory submissions under review or planned for CIDP, including:
Regulatory submissions completed in China, Japan, and Europe with decisions on approval expected in 2025
Regulatory submission filing in Canada by end of 2024
Announced plan to evaluate VYVGART in ocular MG with registrational study (ADAPT OCULUS) to start by end of year; OCULUS to support label-expansion strategy into broader MG populations along with ongoing ADAPT SERON study in seronegative MG
Regulatory submission filed and under review for VYVGART SC pre-filled syringe (PFS) for gMG and CIDP
Advancing Pipeline to Achieve 10 Labeled Indications by 2030

argenx continues to demonstrate breadth and depth within its immunology pipeline, advancing multiple pipeline-in-a-product candidates. argenx is solidifying its leadership in FcRn biology, with efgartigimod currently in development in 15 indications. argenx is also advancing its first-in-class C2 inhibitor, empasiprubart, which is being evaluated in multifocal motor neuropathy (MMN), delayed graft function (DGF), dermatomyositis (DM), and CIDP. In addition, argenx is evaluating ARGX-119, a muscle-specific kinase (MuSK) agonist in both congenital myasthenic syndrome (CMS) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Registrational studies ongoing of efgartigimod in thyroid eye disease (TED)
Advancing development of efgartigimod in primary Sjogren’s disease (SjD) with Phase 3 study to begin by end of 2024
Following alignment meeting with FDA, confirmatory study of VYVGART (IV) in primary ITP to start by end of 2024 to enable registration in U.S.
Topline data from seamless Phase 2/3 ALKIVIA study evaluating efgartigimod across three myositis subsets (immune-mediated necrotizing myopathy (IMNM), anti-synthetase syndrome (ASyS), and DM expected in fourth quarter of 2024
Update on BALLAD study development plan evaluating efgartigimod in bullous pemphigoid (BP) expected by end of 2024
Proof-of-concept studies ongoing with efgartigimod in membranous nephropathy (MN) and lupus nephritis (LN) with studies expected to initiate this year in antibody mediated rejection (AMR) and systemic sclerosis (SSc)
Phase 3 study of empasiprubart for MMN to initiate in fourth quarter of 2024
CIDP nominated as fourth empasiprubart indication, recognizing opportunity to bring multiple innovative treatments to patients
Phase 1b/2a studies of ARGX-119 to assess early signal detection in patients with CMS and ALS to start by end of 2024
Investing in Immunology Innovation Program to Support Five New Molecules in Phase 3 by 2030

argenx continues to invest in its Immunology Innovation Program (IIP) to drive long-term sustainable pipeline growth. Through the IIP, four new pipeline candidates have been nominated, including: ARGX- 213, targeting FcRn and further solidifying argenx’s leadership in this new class of medicine; ARGX- 121, a first-in-class molecule targeting IgA; ARGX-109, targeting IL-6, which plays an important role in inflammation, and ARGX-220, a first-in-class sweeping antibody for which the target has not yet been disclosed.

Phase 1 studies of ARGX-213 and ARGX-121 expected to start in second half of 2025
Investigational new drug (IND) applications for ARGX-220 and ARGX-109 on track to be filed by end of 2025
SECOND QUARTER 2024 FINANCIAL RESULTS

argenx SE

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF PROFIT OR LOSS

Argenx earnings 2024

DETAILS OF THE FINANCIAL RESULTS

Total operating income for the three and six months ended June 30, 2024 was $489 million and $902 million compared to $281 million and $511 million for the same periods in 2023, and mainly consists of:

Product net sales of VYVGART and VYVGART SC for the three and six months ended June 30, 2024 were $478 million and $876 million compared to $269 million and $487 million for the same periods in 2023.
Other operating income for the three and six months ended June 30, 2024 was $12 million and $23 million compared to $10 million and $21 million for the same periods in 2023. The other operating income for the three and six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, primarily relates to research and development tax incentives.
Total operating expenses for the three and six months ended June 30, 2024 were $535 million and $1,041 million compared to $383 million and $717 million for the same periods in 2023, and mainly consists of:

Cost of sales for the three and six months ended June 30, 2024 was $52 million and $96 million compared to $24 million and $42 million for the same periods in 2023. The cost of sales was recognized with respect to the sale of VYVGART and VYVGART SC.
Research and development expenses for the three and six months ended June 30, 2024 were $225 million and $450 million compared to $196 million and $361 million for the same periods in 2023. The research and development expenses mainly relate to external research and development expenses and personnel expenses incurred in the clinical development of efgartigimod in various indications and the expansion of other clinical and preclinical pipeline candidates.
Selling, general and administrative expenses for the three and six months ended June 30, 2024 were $256 million and $492 million compared to $162 million and $311 million for the same periods in 2023. The selling, general and administrative expenses mainly relate to professional and marketing fees linked to the commercialization of VYVGART and VYVGART SC, and personnel expenses.
Financial income for the three and six months ended June 30, 2024 was $39 million and $78 million compared to $20 million and $37 million for the same periods in 2023. The increase in financial income is mainly due to an increase in interest income coming from an increase of cash, cash equivalents and current financial assets as a result of the July 2023 financing round.

Exchange losses for the three and six months ended June 30, 2024 were $8 million and $27 million compared to $2 million exchange losses and $9 million of exchange gains for the same periods in 2023.

Exchange gains/losses are mainly attributable to unrealized exchange rate gains or losses on the cash, cash equivalents and current financial assets denominated in Euro.

Income tax for the three and six months ended June 30, 2024 was $44 million and $57 million of income tax benefit, respectively, compared to $11 million of income tax expense and $37 million of income tax benefit for the same periods in 2023.

Net Result for the three and six months ended June 30, 2024 was $29 million profit and $33 million loss compared to $94 million and $123 million loss for the same periods in 2023. On a per weighted average share basis, the basic profit was $0.49 and diluted profit was $0.45 for the three months ended June 30, 2024, compared to a basic and diluted loss of $1.69 for the same period in 2023. On a per weighted average share basis, the basic and diluted loss was $0.55 for the six months ended June 30, 2024, compared to a basic and diluted loss of $2.21 for the same period in 2023.

Cash, cash equivalents and current financial assets totalled $3.1 billion as of June 30, 2024, compared to $3.2 billion as of December 31, 2023. The decrease in cash and cash equivalents and current financial assets result from a net cash flows used in operating activities.

FINANCIAL GUIDANCE

Based on its current operating plans, argenx expects its combined research and development and selling, general and administrative expenses in 2024 to be less than $2 billion. argenx updated its cash burn guidance and now expects to utilize less than $500 million of net cash1 in 2024 on anticipated operating expenses as well as working capital and capital expenditures.

EXPECTED 2024 FINANCIAL CALENDAR

October 31, 2024: 3Q 2024 financial results and business update
February 27, 2025: Full-year 2024 financial results and 4Q 2024 business update
CONFERENCE CALL DETAILS

The half-year 2024 financial results and second quarter business update will be discussed during a conference call and webcast presentation today at 2:30 PM CET/8:30 AM ET. A webcast of the live call and replay may be accessed on the Investors section of the argenx website at argenx.com/investors.

On July 25, 2024 Cellectis (the "Company") (Euronext Growth: ALCLS – NASDAQ: CLLS), a clinical-stage biotechnology company using its pioneering gene-editing platform to develop life-saving cell and gene therapies, reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Orphan Drug (ODD) and Rare Pediatric Disease Designation (RPDD) Status to UCART22 product candidate for the treatment of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) (Press release, Cellectis, JUL 25, 2024, View Source [SID1234645085]).

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ALL represents about 10% of all leukemia cases in the United States, progresses rapidly, and is typically fatal within weeks or months if left untreated. It is estimated that 6,660 new cases of ALL and 1,560 deaths related to the disease occurred in the US in 2022[2].

Mark Frattini, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer at Cellectis said: "We are excited that the FDA granted UCART22 both ODD and RPDD Status in the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. This decision represents additional evidence of the potential of UCART22 to bring a much-needed therapeutic option to these patients with ALL. There is an urgent need to develop new therapies for ALL for patients who are not candidates for HSCT or relapse after CD19 directed CAR T-cell therapies and/or HSCT."

UCART22 is an allogeneic CAR T-cell product candidate targeting CD22 and evaluated in BALLI-01, a Phase 1/2 open-label dose-escalation and dose-expansion study, designed to evaluate the safety, expansion, persistence and clinical activity of UCART22 in patients with relapse/refractory ALL.

The last clinical data presented by Cellectis at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) in December 2023 were encouraging and suggested that UCART22-P2 (fully manufactured at Cellectis) is more potent with a preliminary response rate of 67% at Dose Level 2, compared to a 50% response rate at Dose Level 3 with UCART22-P1 (manufactured by an external CDMO). Cellectis expects to provide updates on the progress of BALLI-01 by year-end 2024.

The FDA grants ODD status to medicines intended for the treatment, diagnosis or prevention of rare diseases or disorders that affect fewer than 200,000 people in the US, an RPDD is granted for serious or life-threatening disease in which the serious or life-threatening manifestations, such as mortality with relapsed and/or refractory disease, primarily affect individuals aged from birth to 18 years. Receiving ODD may help to expedite and reduce the cost of development, approval, and commercialization of a therapeutic agent. Receiving RPDD may lead to receiving a rare pediatric disease priority review voucher at the time of marketing approval.

On July 25, 2024 Checkpoint Therapeutics, Inc. ("Checkpoint") (Nasdaq: CKPT), a clinical-stage immunotherapy and targeted oncology company, reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") has accepted for review Checkpoint’s resubmission of its Biologics License Application ("BLA") for cosibelimab, its anti-programmed death ligand-1 ("PD-L1") antibody, as a potential new treatment for adults with metastatic or locally advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma ("cSCC") who are not candidates for curative surgery or curative radiation (Press release, Checkpoint Therapeutics, JUL 25, 2024, View Source [SID1234645086]). The resubmission has been accepted as a complete response to the FDA’s December 2023 complete response letter ("CRL") and the FDA has set a Prescription Drug User Fee Act ("PDUFA") goal date of December 28, 2024.

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James F. Oliviero, President and Chief Executive Officer of Checkpoint, said, "We are pleased that the FDA has accepted our BLA resubmission as a complete response after we aligned on our BLA resubmission strategy. We look forward to working closely with the FDA to finalize the review and to the potential opportunity to deliver cosibelimab’s unique dual mechanism of action to patients suffering from cSCC."

In December 2023, the FDA issued a CRL for the cosibelimab BLA, which only cited findings that arose during a multi-sponsor inspection of Checkpoint’s third-party contract manufacturing organization ("CMO") as approvability issues to address in a BLA resubmission. The CRL did not state any concerns about the clinical data package, safety, or labeling for the approvability of cosibelimab.

About Cosibelimab
Cosibelimab is a potential differentiated, high affinity, fully-human monoclonal antibody of IgG1 subtype that directly binds to PD-L1 and blocks the PD-L1 interaction with the programmed death receptor-1 ("PD-1") and B7.1 receptors. Cosibelimab’s primary mechanism of action is based on the inhibition of the interaction between PD-L1 and its receptors PD-1 and B7.1, which removes the suppressive effects of PD-L1 on anti-tumor CD8+ T-cells to restore the cytotoxic T cell response. Cosibelimab is potentially differentiated from the currently marketed PD-1 and PD-L1 antibodies through sustained high tumor target occupancy of PD-L1 to reactivate an antitumor immune response and the additional potential benefit of a functional Fc domain capable of inducing antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity ("ADCC") for potential enhanced efficacy.

On July 25, 2024 Amplia Therapeutics Limited (ASX: ATX), ("Amplia" or the "Company"), reported that three (3) patients enrolled in the Company’s Phase 2a clinical trial investigating narmafotinib in the treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer (the ACCENT trial) have recorded a confirmed partial response (Press release, Amplia Therapeutics, JUL 25, 2024, View Source [SID1234645068]). The formal term ‘confirmed partial response’ means there is at least a 30% decrease in the overall size of tumour lesions, and no new tumour lesions, in these patients sustained over a two month period.

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Of the six (6) patients currently assessed at the four month time point, in addition to the three (3) confirmed partial responses, two (2) additional patients have recorded sustained stable disease.

Amplia CEO and MD Dr Chris Burns commented: "To be reporting that three confirmed partial responses have been observed so early in this stage of the trial is extremely encouraging. We are well on track to reach the efficacy threshold of six confirmed partial or complete responses by the end of this quarter, which will then allow us to restart the trial to recruit the full cohort of fifty patients."

The Company recently announced completion of enrolment of the first 26 patients in the trial as part of the industry-standard Simon’s Two-Stage Trial design. Once six (6) confirmed partial or complete responses are obtained then an additional 24 patients will be enrolled, giving a total of 50 patients for the trial.

The Company will provide further updates on the trial as recruitment proceeds.

This ASX announcement was approved and authorised for release by the Board of Amplia Therapeutics.

About Narmafotinib

Narmafotinib (AMP945) is the company’s best-in-class inhibitor of the protein FAK, a protein overexpressed in pancreatic and other cancers, and a drug target gaining increasing attention for its role in solid tumours. The drug, which is a highly potent and selective inhibitor of FAK, has shown promising data in a range of preclinical cancer studies. The drug has successfully completed a healthy volunteer study, and is currently in an open-label Phase 2a trial in pancreatic cancer where a combination of narmafotinib and the chemotherapies gemcitabine and Abraxane is being assessed for safety, tolerability and efficacy.

About the ACCENT Trial

The ACCENT trial is entitled ‘A Phase 1b/2a, Multicentre, Open Label Study of the Pharmacokinetics, Safety and Efficacy of AMP945 in Combination with Nab-paclitaxel and Gemcitabine in Pancreatic Cancer Patients’.

The ACCENT trial explores the use of narmafotinib in combination with standard-of-care chemotherapy of gemcitabine and Abraxane in first-line patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. The trial is a single-arm open label study conducted in two stages. The firststage (Phase 1b), completed in November 2023, identified a 400 mg oral daily dose of narmafotinib, given in the days preceding regular chemotherapy infusion, as safe and well tolerated.

This second stage (Phase 2a) of the trial is designed to assess drug efficacy in combination with gemcitabine and Abraxane. The primary endpoints are Objective Response Rate (ORR) and Duration on Trial (DOT) with secondary endpoints being Progression Free Survival (PFS) and Overall Survival (OS). Safety and tolerability will continue to be assessed.

More information about the ACCENT trial, including a list of participating sites, can be found via the Amplia Therapeutics website and at ClinicalTrials.gov under the identifier NCT05355298.

On July 25, 2024 Chemomab Therapeutics Ltd. (Nasdaq: CMMB) ("Chemomab" or the "Company"), a clinical stage biotechnology company developing innovative therapeutics for fibro-inflammatory diseases with high unmet need, reported that it has entered into a securities purchase agreement for a private investment in public equity ("PIPE") that is expected to result in gross proceeds of approximately $10 million to the Company, before deducting capital market advisor fees and offering expenses (Press release, Chemomab, JUL 25, 2024, View Source [SID1234645087]).

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The PIPE included participation from both new investors, including HBM Healthcare Investments and Sphera Biotech Master Fund LP, and existing investors. Chemomab expects that the net proceeds from the PIPE will extend its cash runway to fund its operations through the beginning of 2026, an extension of approximately one year from current projections, which should fund the Company for approximately one year after the completion of two major milestones expected in early 2025.

Pursuant to the terms of the securities purchase agreement, the Company is selling to certain investors (i) 4,188,867 American Depositary Shares ("ADSs"), each representing twenty (20) ordinary shares of the Company, no par value per share, at a purchase price of $1.235 per share which reflects the average share price on the Nasdaq for the last 4 trading days and (ii), in lieu of ADSs, pre-funded warrants (the "Pre-Funded Warrants") to purchase up to 3,908,300 ADSs at a price per Pre-Funded Warrant of $1.235. The Pre-Funded Warrants have an exercise price of $0.0001 per ADS, are immediately exercisable and remain exercisable until exercised in full. The PIPE is expected to close on or about July 26, 2024, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the PIPE, together with the Company’s existing cash and cash equivalents, to fund its development programs for CM-101, and for general corporate purposes and working capital.

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. is acting as Capital Markets Advisor to the Company for the PIPE. Other Advisors included Maxim Group and LifeSci Capital.

The offer and sale of the foregoing securities are being made in a transaction not involving a public offering and the securities have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be reoffered or resold in the United States except pursuant to an effective registration statement or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements. Concurrently with the execution of the securities purchase agreement, the Company and the investors entered into a registration rights agreement pursuant to which the Company has agreed to file a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") registering the resale of the ADSs, including ADSs issuable upon exercise of the Pre-Funded Warrants, purchased in the PIPE.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or other jurisdiction.