On May 16, 2022 Alaunos Therapeutics, Inc. ("Alaunos" or the "Company") (Nasdaq: TCRT), a clinical-stage oncology-focused cell therapy company reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2022 (Press release, Alaunos Therapeutics, MAY 16, 2022, View Source [SID1234614656]).

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"Dosing of the first patient in our TCR-T Library Phase 1/2 trial speaks to the dedication of our entire team and reaffirms our commitment to execution. We are working to continue enrolling patients in the trial and expect to provide an initial look at data later this year," commented Kevin S. Boyle, Sr., Chief Executive Officer. "We are honored to have two posters supporting our TCR-T platform targeting solid tumors at the upcoming ASGCT (Free ASGCT Whitepaper) and ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) conferences. We believe we have positioned Alaunos for success and look forward to continued progress."

Recent Developments and Upcoming Milestones

TCR-T Library Trial: In May 2022, the Company announced that it had dosed the first patient with non-viral TCR-T cells in its TCR-T Library Phase 1/2 trial targeting KRAS, TP53, and EGFR mutations across six solid tumor indications. This is a major milestone for Alaunos as it also represents the first clinical product manufactured and administered to a patient using the Company’s in house cGMP manufacturing facility.

The study is being conducted at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and is an open label, dose escalation study, with patients to be treated in one of three dosing cohorts: 5×109, 4×1010, or 1×1011 TCR-T cells. The trial is enrolling patients with non-small cell lung, colorectal, endometrial, pancreatic, ovarian, and bile duct cancers that have a matching human leukocyte antigen (HLA) and hotspot mutation pairing in Alaunos’ TCR-T library. The main study objectives are to define the maximum tolerated dose, recommended phase 2 dose and safety profile. The Company will present a trial in progress poster at the 2022 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting and expects to report initial data in the second half of 2022. Additional information about the study is available at www.clinicaltrials.gov using the identifier: NCT05194735.

Presenting preclinical data supporting membrane bound IL-15 (mbIL-15) at the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT) (Free ASGCT Whitepaper) 25th Annual Meeting: Today, the Company will present preclinical data for its mbIL-15 program at the ASGCT (Free ASGCT Whitepaper) 25th Annual Meeting. The poster titled, "Stem-cell memory TCR-T cells targeting hotspot EGFR, KRAS and p53 neoantigens generated through co-expression of membrane-bound Interleukin-15" highlights the potential of mbIL-15 to establish long-lived tumor-specific TCR-T cells. The Company intends to file an IND application for this program in the second half of 2023.

First Quarter Ended March 31, 2022 Financial Results

Research and Development Expenses: Research and development expenses were $5.6 million for the first quarter of 2022, compared to $13.3 million for the first quarter of 2021, a decrease of approximately 58%. The decrease was primarily due to lower program-related costs as a result of the winding down of our IL-12 and CAR-T programs and lower employee related expenses due to our reduced headcount following our strategic restructuring event in the third quarter of 2021.

General and Administrative Expenses: General and administrative expenses were $3.5 million for the first quarter of 2022, compared to $8.2 million for the first quarter of 2021, a decrease of approximately 57%. The decrease was primarily due to lower employee related expenses due to our reduced headcount following our strategic restructuring event in the third quarter of 2021 and a decrease in consulting and professional services expenses.

Net Loss: Net loss was $9.8 million, or $(0.05) per share, for the first quarter of 2022, compared to a net loss of $21.6 million, or $(0.10) per share, for the same period in 2021.

Cash and Cash Equivalents: As of March 31, 2022, Alaunos had approximately $68.3 million in cash and cash equivalents. The Company anticipates its cash runway will be sufficient to fund operations into the second quarter of 2023. Operating cash burn for the first quarter of 2022 was $7.8 million compared to $15.3 million in the first quarter of 2021, a decrease of $7.5 million or 49%.

Conference Call and Webcast

The conference call can be accessed by dialing 844-309-0618 (United States) or 661-378-9465 (International) with the conference code 2495623. A live webcast may be accessed using the link here, or by visiting the "Investors" section of the Alaunos website at www.alaunos.com. After the live webcast, the event will be archived on the Company’s website for approximately 30 days after the call.

On May 16, 2022 POINT Biopharma Global Inc. (NASDAQ: PNT) (the "Company" or "POINT"), a company accelerating the discovery, development, and global access to life-changing radiopharmaceuticals, reported details of the initial clinical trial in the Company’s pan-cancer Fibroblast Activation Protein-α (FAP-α) targeted program PNT2004, FRONTIER (Press release, Point Biopharma, MAY 16, 2022, View Source [SID1234614672]).

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FRONTIER stands for "FAPi Radioligand OpeN-Label, Phase 1 Study to Evaluate Safety, Tolerability and DosImetry of [Lu-177]-PNT6555; A Dose Escalation Study for TReatment of Patients with Select Solid Tumors".

The Phase 1 clinical trial is expected to commence in summer 2022 in Canada and will use a gallium-68 (68Ga)-based PNT6555 molecular imaging agent to select patients to receive a no-carrier-added (n.c.a.) lutetium-177 (177Lu)-based PNT6555 therapeutic agent. The Phase 1 clinical protocol will evaluate PNT6555 in ~30 patients in five FAP-avid cancer indications: colorectal, pancreatic, esophageal, melanoma, and soft tissue sarcoma.

Dosing will start at 4 GBq with each subsequent dose level increasing by 4 GBq and 2 GBq dose de-escalations. Each 177Lu PNT6555 dose will be followed by a 6-week interval. 68Ga-PNT6555 PET/CT imaging will be conducted approximately 90 minutes post injection, and dosimetry will be completed at the time of first 177Lu-PNT6555 dose and each subsequent cycle. The primary objective of the study is to determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD), and the Recommended Phase II Dose (RP2D). The company expects to present initial imaging and dosimetry data in early 2023.

"We believe radiopharmaceuticals are on the verge of a revolution," said Dr. Joe McCann, CEO of POINT Biopharma. "For most of their existence, therapeutic radio-pharmaceuticals have been limited to small, orphan indications. Drug candidates like PNT6555 could exponentially increase the number of patients which could benefit from this treatment modality. FAP-α is an extremely exciting target for therapeutics. It is present in greater than 90% of epithelial tumors, which include many of the highest prevalence forms of cancer. Not only would better imaging to detect metastatic dis-ease enable more cancers to be treated earlier, but the capability of delivering radiation directly to a wide variety of cancers could also revolutionize treatment paradigms."

FRONTIER will be the first in-human trial of PNT6555, while additional preclinical studies are in development and include other therapeutic isotopes such as actinium-225 (225Ac). A summary of the pre-clinical data for the program can be found in a poster presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) 2022 Annual Meeting last month, titled "Pre-clinical characterization of the novel Fibroblast Activation Protein (FAP) targeting ligand PNT6555 for the imaging and therapy of cancer" (Abstract ID: 3554, Session: Preclinical Radiotherapeutics). The presented data conclude:

• In pre-clinical xenograft models: 68Ga-PNT6555 is an effective imaging agent, with strong tumor targeting, low background in normal tissues and rapid clearance via urinary excretion, and 177Lu-PNT6555 shows prolonged tumor retention out to 168 hours post-injection.

• Efficacy studies with 177Lu-PNT6555 or 225Ac-PNT6555 demonstrate compelling and dose-responsive inhibition of HEK-mFAP tumor growth.

A link to the poster can be found on the Investor Presentations section of the Company’s website: View Source

On May 16, 2022 Adamis Pharmaceuticals Corporation (NASDAQ: ADMP), a biopharmaceutical company developing and commercializing specialty products for allergy, opioid overdose, respiratory and inflammatory disease, reported financial results for the quarter ending March 31, 2022 (Press release, Adamis Pharmaceuticals, MAY 16, 2022, View Source [SID1234614699]).

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Product and Pipeline Updates and Other Corporate Developments

ZIMHI

·According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), drug overdoses resulted in over 108,000 deaths in the U.S. over the most recent 12 months of data. Two thirds of these involved fentanyl.

·Our U.S. commercial partner, US WorldMeds, commercially launched our high dose naloxone product, ZIMHI, at the end of March.

·We are encouraged by the early acceptance of ZIMHI in the market.

SYMJEPI

·In March, Adamis announced a voluntary recall of certain lots of SYMJEPI.

·Manufacturing of SYMJEPI has been on hold pending the results of an investigation to determine the root cause. The Company believes the investigation is nearing completion, that a root cause relating to a particular batch of syringe needles has been identified, and that corrective and preventive actions have been and will be taken.

·We anticipate a resolution and resumption of manufacturing after those issues are satisfactorily addressed, which we believe will occur during the second quarter.

TEMPOL

·The Company’s Phase 2/3 clinical trial of Tempol as a treatment for COVID-19 is continuing.

·In March, the Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) overseeing the Tempol trial met to evaluate the clinical and safety data from the first planned interim analysis and, following their evaluation, recommended the study continue without modification.

·The DSMB plans to meet again, anticipated to be at the end of May or in June, to review interim data analysis for the first 124 patients.

·In addition to the work in COVID, the Company continues to explore additional indications for the use of Tempol including, but not limited to, asthma and long COVID.

Financial Results

Revenues for the quarters ending March 31, 2022 and 2021 were approximately $1.2 million and $1.4 million, respectively. Revenues for the quarter ended March 31, 2022 consisted mainly of approximately $1.1 million of sales of ZIMHI to our commercial partner US WorldMeds in anticipation of the commercial launch of ZIMHI announced at the end of March. Due to the SYMJEPI manufacturing hold and the voluntary recall of certain lots, no revenues relating to SYMJEPI were reported for the first quarter of 2022.

Selling, general and administrative expenses for the quarters ending March 31, 2022 and 2021 were approximately $3.4 million and $3.5 million, respectively. SG&A expenses in the first quarter of 2022 reflected a decrease in legal and compensation expenses, offset by an increase in accounting and finance related expenses.

Research and development expenses were approximately $4.2 million and $2.2 million for the first quarter of 2022 and 2021, respectively. The increase was primarily due to expenses relating to the ongoing clinical trial for our Tempol product candidate.

Net loss from discontinued operations for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021 was approximately $165,000 and approximately $1.5 million, respectively. The decrease in loss was primarily attributable to the winding down and cessation of US Compounding’s operations.

Cash and cash equivalents at March 31, 2022, totaled approximately $17.8 million. For this year, we expect to receive additional proceeds resulting from amounts payable to us pursuant to our sale of certain USC assets to Fagron and from the disposition of the remaining USC assets which includes the land, the building, the machinery and the equipment.

Conference Call

Adamis will host a conference call and live webcast today, May 16, 2022, at 2 p.m. PT (5 p.m. ET) to discuss its financial and operating results for the first quarter 2022, as well as provide an update on business developments and activities.

A live audio webcast of the conference call will also be available via this link. If you are unable to participate in the live call, a replay will be available shortly after the live event. To listen to the replay please visit the events page of the Adamis investor relations section of the company website at View Source

On May 16, 2022 Elicio Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a pipeline of novel immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer and other diseases, reported that it has entered into a clinical supply agreement with Regeneron to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Elicio’s lead asset, ELI-002, an investigational KRAS-targeted cancer vaccine, in combination with Regeneron’s Libtayo (cemiplimab), a fully human monoclonal antibody targeting the immune checkpoint receptor PD-1 on T cells, in patients with KRAS-driven tumors (Press release, Elicio Therapeutics, MAY 16, 2022, View Source [SID1234614734]). The combination therapy will be studied in KRAS-driven tumors including Stage III and IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), Stage IV colorectal cancer (CRC) and unresectable, locally advanced or oligometastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). The study, which is expected to begin in 2023, will be conducted by Elicio Therapeutics. Each party will provide their respective agent for the trial. Libtayo is being jointly developed by Regeneron and Sanofi.

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"We’re investigating ELI-002’s immune education in combination with the ability of Libtayo to block PD-1 and potentially activate the ELI-002-induced T cells to target cancers. This combination may provide a new treatment option for patients living with these difficult to treat cancers," said Dr. Christopher Haqq, Executive Vice President, Head of Research and Development, and Chief Medical Officer at Elicio. "ELI-002 includes mutated KRAS peptides that are delivered directly to the lymph nodes, ‘the schoolhouse of the immune system.’ The AMP technology allows for ELI-002 to be delivered in high quantities to the lymph nodes and remain there, where it will ‘educate’ the immune cells to target tumor cells for killing."

Dr. Annette Matthies, Chief Business Officer at Elicio, added, "Regeneron is a leading biotech company, and this clinical supply agreement supports the development of our ELI-002 therapeutic cancer vaccine program as well as our AMP platform. With the ongoing Phase 1 trial studying ELI-002 as a monotherapy and this upcoming combination study, we believe that ELI-002 has the potential to make a difference in the often-challenging KRAS space."

About ELI-002

ELI-002 is a structurally novel investigational AMP therapeutic vaccine targeting mutant KRAS-driven cancers. KRAS mutations are among the most prevalent human cancers. KRAS drives 32% of lung cancers, 40% of colorectal cancers and 85% to 90% of pancreatic cancer cases. ELI-002 is comprised of AMP-modified mutant KRAS peptide antigens and ELI-004, an AMP-modified immune-stimulatory oligonucleotide CpG adjuvant. The AMP mKRAS peptides and AMP CpG are targeted to the lymph node where they can potentially enhance the action of key immune cells.

ELI-002 is currently being studied in a Phase 1 trial (AMPLIFY-201) in patients with early-stage KRAS-driven solid tumors, following surgery and chemotherapy. Enrollment in the Phase 1 study continues, following the dosing of the first patient at MD Anderson in October 2021, with the expectation to move from Cohort 2 to Cohort 3 in the next quarter, and the Phase 1b/2 trial planned for early 2023. This trial will study the broad spectrum 7-peptide formulation of ELI-002. This formulation is designed to provide immune response coverage against seven of the most common KRAS mutations, thereby increasing the potential patient population for ELI-002 and potentially reducing the chance of bypass resistance mechanisms.

About the Amphiphile Platform

Our proprietary Amphiphile, or AMP, platform delivers investigational immunotherapeutics directly to the "brain center" of the immune system – the lymph nodes. We believe this site-specific delivery of disease-specific antigens, adjuvants, and other immunomodulators may efficiently educate, activate, and amplify critical immune cells, potentially resulting in induction and persistence of potent adaptive immunity required to treat many diseases. In preclinical models, we have observed lymph node-specific engagement driving therapeutic immune responses of increased magnitude, function, and durability. We believe our AMP lymph node-targeted approach will produce superior clinical benefits compared to immunotherapies that do not engage the lymph nodes.

Our AMP platform, originally developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or MIT, has broad potential across cancers, infectious diseases, and other disease indications to advance a number of development initiatives through internal activities, in-licensing arrangements or development collaborations and partnerships.

The Amphiphile platform is thought to deliver immunotherapeutics directly to the lymph nodes by latching on to the protein albumin, found in the bloodstream, as it travels to lymphatic tissue. In preclinical models, we have observed lymph node-specific engagement driving therapeutic immune responses of increased magnitude, function, and durability.

On May 16, 2022 Instil Bio, Inc. ("Instil" or the "Company") (Nasdaq: TIL), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing tumor infiltrating lymphocyte, or TIL, therapies for the treatment of patients with cancer, reported its first quarter 2022 financial results and provided a corporate update (Press release, Instil Bio, MAY 16, 2022, View Source [SID1234614592]).

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First Quarter 2022 Highlights and Anticipated Milestones:

Enrollment Ongoing in DELTA-1, a Phase 2 trial of ITIL-168 in advanced melanoma with registrational intent: Instil is targeting completion of enrollment by 2022 for the registrational cohort and expects top-line safety and efficacy data in 2023, which could potentially support a biologics license application (BLA) submission and a European Medicines Agency marketing authorization application (MAA) filing.

On track with DELTA-2, a Phase 1 trial of ITIL-168 with pembrolizumab in additional cancers with unmet need: Study is expected to initiate in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), cervical cancer and squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck (HNSCC) in the second quarter of 2022. The study will evaluate ITIL-168 with pembrolizumab in patients who have failed standard therapies.

Readiness to Initiate Phase 1 Study of ITIL-306, the first product candidate from the CoStAR platform, in the second quarter: Instil is on track to initiate a Phase 1 study of ITIL-306, its first genetically engineered TIL using the CoStAR platform in the second quarter of 2022.

Presenting Preclinical Data on the CoStAR Platform at ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) 2022: Instil plans to present in vivo and supporting in vitro data at the 2022 ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting. Abstract details are below:

Title: Antitumor activity of T cells expressing a novel anti-folate receptor alpha (FOLR1) costimulatory antigen receptor (CoStAR) in a human xenograft murine solid tumor model and implications for in-human studies.
Presenting Product Characterization Data From Unmodified TILs in Cutaneous Melanoma: Instil plans to present advanced correlative analyses on TIL products administered to patients in a compassionate use program at the 25th Annual ASGCT (Free ASGCT Whitepaper) meeting. Abstract details are below:

Title: Characterization of the Transcriptomic and TCR Clonal Heterogeneity of TIL Therapy Infusion Products by Single-Cell Sequencing and Correlative Analyses With Clinical Efficacy in Patients with Advanced Cutaneous Melanoma. ASGCT (Free ASGCT Whitepaper) link.
Cash Runway Into 2024 through key clinical data expected in 2023: Instil expects its current cash reserves to fund Company operations into 2024.
First Quarter 2022 Financial and Operating Results:

As of March 31, 2022, we had $61.5 million in cash and cash equivalents and $318.0 million in marketable securities, compared to $37.6 million in cash and cash equivalents and $416.5 million in marketable securities as of December 31, 2021. The Company expects that its cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities as of March 31, 2022, will enable it to fund its operating plan into 2024.

Research and development expenses were $39.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2022, compared to $14.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021.

General and administrative expenses were $15.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2022, compared to $9.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021.