On May 9, 2022 Imago BioSciences, Inc. ("Imago") (Nasdaq: IMGO), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company discovering and developing new medicines for the treatment of myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) and other bone marrow diseases, reported that the first participant has been treated in an investigator-sponsored Phase 1/2 study of bomedemstat in combination with atezolizumab (Tencentriq) during the maintenance phase of treatment in people newly diagnosed with extensive stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC) (Press release, Imago BioSciences, MAY 9, 2022, View Source [SID1234613882]).

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The study is being conducted in Seattle and led by Rafael Santana-Davila, M.D., associate professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine and Joseph Hiatt, M.D., Ph.D., of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center ("Fred Hutch"), and in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) funded Fred Hutch Lung Specialized Project of Research Excellence.

Bomedemstat is an inhibitor of lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1), an enzyme that plays a central role in cell growth. Atezolizumab is an anti-PD-L1 monoclonal antibody medication approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2021 as adjuvant treatment for non-small cell lung cancer. The Phase 1/2 open-label study will enroll approximately 34 participants diagnosed with ES-SCLC to establish the safety and tolerability of a combination treatment with bomedemstat and atezolizumab. Treatment cycles will last for 21 days, consisting of an oral administration of bomedemstat once daily and intravenous administration of atezolizumab on day 1. Participants are followed up after 30 days and every 12 weeks thereafter.

"We are excited to work with UW Medicine and Fred Hutch to explore the expanded use of bomedemstat in solid tumors," said Hugh Y. Rienhoff, Jr., M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Imago. "A combination of bomedemstat, which in some solid tumors enhances their immunogenicity, and atezolizumab, an established checkpoint inhibitor, represents a promising clinical opportunity in lung cancer treatment. This new regimen may provide more long-term disease management possibilities for patients who suffer from extensive stage small cell lung cancer."

In ongoing Phase 2 studies in bone marrow cancers, bomedemstat has been generally well-tolerated and has demonstrated significant symptom improvement for patients with essential thrombocythemia and advanced myelofibrosis.

Additional information about the study can be found at www.clinicaltrials.gov using the identifier NCT05191797.

On May 9, 2022 Syndax Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ("Syndax," the "Company" or "we") (Nasdaq: SNDX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing an innovative pipeline of cancer therapies, reported its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2022 (Press release, Syndax, MAY 9, 2022, View Source [SID1234613915]). In addition, the Company provided a clinical and business update.

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"Throughout the first quarter, we continued to realize significant progress advancing our two pivotal programs, for which we expect to report topline data starting in the first half of 2023," said Michael A. Metzger, Chief Executive Officer. "We firmly believe revumenib (SNDX-5613) is positioned to serve as a first-to-market and best-in-class menin inhibitor for patients with NPM1 and MLLr acute leukemias. We have also begun exploring its activity beyond use as a monotherapy agent through initiation of two new trials, including in combination with venetoclax-azacitidine for use as a frontline treatment, and in combination with chemotherapy for relapsed/refractory (R/R) disease. Beyond acute leukemias, we intend to assess revumenib’s (SNDX-5613) potential in additional areas where menin inhibition could have a strong therapeutic benefit, and we look forward to commencing a proof-of-concept clinical trial in patients with advanced colorectal cancer (CRC), a highly underserved area lacking effective therapeutic options, in the fourth quarter of the year."

"Additionally, enrollment continues in the ongoing global pivotal Phase 2 AGAVE-201 trial of axatilimab in chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD), with topline data expected in the first half of 2023 and a potential Biologic License Application (BLA) filing in 2023. Supported by recent receipt of Fast Track Designation (FTD) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), we believe axatilimab has the potential to play a meaningful role in the cGVHD treatment landscape. Furthermore, as previously announced, we are committed to unlocking axatilimab’s full potential in additional fibrotic diseases where the monocyte-macrophage lineage plays a vital role, and remain on track to commence a Phase 2 trial in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) in the fourth quarter of this year."

Recent Pipeline Progress and Anticipated Milestones

Revumenib (SNDX-5613)

The pivotal Phase 2 portion of AUGMENT-101 is ongoing and the Company continues to expect completion of enrollment in at least one of the three pivotal cohorts later this year. The trials are expected to enroll a total of 64 adult and up to 10 pediatric patients across each of three distinct trial populations: patients with NPM1 mutant acute myeloid leukemia (AML), patients with MLLr AML, and patients with MLLr acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL). Based on discussions with the U.S. FDA, AUGMENT-101 may serve as the basis for regulatory filings in each of the three distinct populations. The Company expects to receive initial topline data from the trials starting in the first half of 2023, with the potential for the first New Drug Application filing in 2023.
Two additional trials, BEAT-AML and AUGMENT-102, are now underway to assess the safety, tolerability, and preliminary anti-leukemic efficacy of revumenib (SNDX-5613) and establish an appropriate Phase 2 dose. BEAT-AML is a front-line combination trial of revumenib (SNDX-5613) with venetoclax and azacitidine being conducted as part of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Beat AML Master Clinical Trial. The primary endpoint of the Phase 1 portion of the BEAT-AML trial is to determine the recommended Phase 2 dose of the combination. The Company also initiated a trial in combination with chemotherapy in patients with R/R NPM1 or MLLr acute leukemias, known as AUGMENT-102. The primary endpoint of AUGMENT-102 will assess the safety, tolerability, and recommended Phase 2 dose criteria. Topline data from the trials are expected beginning in 2023.
The Company reported it intends to initiate a proof-of-concept clinical trial to evaluate revumenib (SNDX-5613) in patients with unresectable metastatic microsatellite stable CRC, which represents the second leading cause of cancer death in the U.S. with an estimated incidence of over 55,000 patients per year1,2. Activation of the Wnt/b-catenin signaling pathway is believed to be a key initiating step and growth driver for the majority of CRC tumors. The menin-MLL1 protein complex has recently been shown to regulate b-catenin activity and in preclinical models, disrupting this complex through menin inhibition blocks growth of Wnt/b-catenin driven CRC tumors. The Company is expected to commence the trial in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Axatilimab

The Company reported that the U.S. FDA has granted FTD to axatilimab for the treatment of patients with cGVHD after failure of two or more lines of systemic therapy. FTD is designed to facilitate the development and expedite the review of drugs to treat serious conditions and fulfill an unmet medical need, enabling drugs to reach patients earlier.
Enrollment is ongoing in the Company’s global pivotal Phase 2 AGAVE-201 trial of axatilimab in patients with cGVHD. The trial is evaluating the safety and efficacy of three doses and schedules of axatilimab. The primary endpoint will assess objective response rate based on the 2014 NIH consensus criteria for cGVHD, with key secondary endpoints including duration of response and improvement in modified Lee Symptom Scale score. The Company remains on track to report topline data in the first half of 2023, with the potential for a BLA filing in 2023.
First Quarter 2022 Financial Results

As of March 31, 2022, Syndax had cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $397.9 million and 59.0 million shares and share equivalents issued and outstanding. This includes 4.0 million pre-funded warrants.

First quarter 2022 research and development expenses increased to $30.0 million from $21.9 million for the prior year period. The increase was primarily due to increased clinical and manufacturing activities.

General and administrative expenses for the first quarter 2022 increased to $6.8 million from $5.7 million for the prior year period. The increase is primarily due to increased compensation and professional fees.

For the three months ended March 31, 2022, Syndax reported a net loss attributable to common stockholders of $37.2 million or $0.63 per share compared to a net loss attributable to common stockholder of $27.7 million or $0.54 per share for the prior year period.

Financial Update and Guidance

For the second quarter of 2022, research and development expenses are expected to be $30 to $35 million, and total operating expenses are expected to be $38 to $42 million. For the full year of 2022, research and development expenses are expected to be $130 to $140 million, and total operating expenses are expected to be $160 to $170 million.

Conference Call and Webcast

In connection with the earnings release, Syndax’s management team will host a conference call and live audio webcast at 4:30 p.m. ET today, Monday, May 9, 2022.

The live audio webcast and accompanying slides may be accessed through the Events & Presentations page in the Investors section of the Company’s website at www.syndax.com. Alternatively, the conference call may be accessed through the following:

For those unable to participate in the conference call or webcast, a replay will be available for 30 days on the Investors section of the Company’s website, www.syndax.com.

On May 9, 2022 Aptose Biosciences Inc. ("Aptose" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: APTO, TSX: APS), a clinical-stage precision oncology company developing highly differentiated oral kinase inhibitors to treat hematologic malignancies, reported financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and provided a corporate update (Press release, Aptose Biosciences, MAY 9, 2022, View Source [SID1234613931]).

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The net loss for the quarter ended March 31, 2022 was $11.5 million ($0.12 per share) compared with $16.2 million ($0.18 per share) for the quarter ended March 31, 2021. Total cash and cash equivalents and investments as of March 31, 2022 were $69.5 million. Based on current operations, Aptose expects that cash on hand and available capital provide the Company with sufficient resources to fund all planned Company operations including research and development into the fourth quarter of 2023.

"Aptose has two meaningful clinical-stage kinome inhibitors in HM43239 and luxeptinib, and we continue to advance their development in distinct patient populations," said William G. Rice, Ph.D., Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. "To date, both have demonstrated clear activity and have been well-tolerated. As we define the next steps in the development program with our lead compound HM43239, we are encouraged by the clinical remissions we are seeing in AML patients, particularly in those with highly adverse mutations that typically are difficult to treat but respond to HM43239. We look forward to reporting all available data on our programs at an upcoming corporate event."

Key Corporate Highlights

Aptose Receives Fast Track Designation for HM43239 – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Fast Track designation to HM43239 (239), an oral, myeloid kinome inhibitor, for the treatment of patients with relapsed, refractory (R/R) acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who have FLT3 mutations. Fast Track is a process designed to facilitate the development and expedite the review of drugs to treat serious conditions and fill an unmet medical need.The purpose is to get important new drugs to patients earlier.

HM43239 Expansion at 160 mg in Diverse AML Patient Population – HM43239, an oral, myeloid kinome inhibitor in an international Phase 1/2 trial in patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML), thus far has delivered six composite complete remissions (CR) and a PR at the 80 mg and 120 mg doses. Aptose is now expanding at the 160 mg dose level, with the goal of understanding the breadth of activity of 239 in diverse mutations and identifying the best efficacious and safe doses to treat relapsed and refractory AML. HM43239 thus far has demonstrated a favorable safety profile with no DLTs and no drug discontinuations from drug related toxicity at doses up to 160 mg per day.

Headway with Luxeptinib "G3" Formulation in Patients – Luxeptinib , a dual lymphoid and myeloid kinome inhibitor, currently is being evaluated in a Phase 1 a/b study in patients with relapsed or refractory AML and higher risk MDS, and in a separate Phase 1 a/b study in patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell malignancies. Aptose has made significant progress with the clinical evaluation of a new formulation of luxeptinib (Lux), that may enable greater exposures across patients. In the ongoing studies in AML and B-cell malignancies, a dose of the G3 formulation has been safely administered to three patients at the 50 mg dose level and is now being dosed at the 100 mg dose level. After patients receive the single G3 dose, samples are collected for PK evaluation and patients then go onto the original formulation of Lux for comparison.

Aptose Appoints Chief Commercial Officer – Aptose recently appointed Dr. Philippe Ledru to the position of Chief Commercial Officer, responsible for providing executive leadership and vision for commercial development and marketing strategies for the future commercial launches of HM43239 and luxeptinib and to consolidate responsibilities over business development and licensing. Dr. Ledru most recently served as Associate Vice President and Head of Oncology New Products at Merck & Co., over 25 assets from discovery to mid-stage clinical development, across major solid tumors and hematological malignancies At Merck, he also provided leadership on all licensing and M&A activities, including the Peloton Therapeutics and Arqule acquisitions in 2019. Earlier, at Novartis, he had early commercial development and global marketing responsibilities for several new compounds, including FLT3 inhibitor midostaurin, and at Novartis Oncologie he helped lead launches of several oncology products, including imatinib (Gleevec).

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

A summary of the results of operations for the three-month periods ended March 31, 2022 and 2021 is presented below:

The net loss for the three-month period ended March 31, 2022, decreased by $4.7 million to $11.5 million as compared with $16.2 million for the comparable period in 2021. Components of the net loss are presented below:

Research and Development

Research and development expenses consist primarily of costs incurred related to the research and development of our product candidates. Costs include the following:

External research and development expenses incurred under agreements with third parties, such as CROs, consultants, members of our scientific advisory boards, external labs and CMOs; and

Employee-related expenses, including salaries, benefits, travel, and stock-based compensation for personnel directly supporting our clinical trials and manufacturing, and development activities.
We have ongoing Phase 1 clinical trials for our product candidates HM43239 and Luxeptinib. HM43239 was licensed into Aptose in Q4, 2021 and we have assumed sponsorship, and the related costs, of the HM43239 study effective January 1, 2022. In Q4, 2021, we discontinued the APTO-253 program and are exploring strategic alternatives for this compound.

We expect our research and development expenses to be higher for the foreseeable future as we continue to advance HM43239 and luxeptinib into larger clinical trials.

The research and development expenses for the three-month periods ended March 31, 2022, and 2021 were as follows:

Research and development expenses decreased by $835 thousand to $7.4 million for the three-month period ended March 31, 2022 as compared with $8.2 million for the comparative period in 2021. Changes to the components of our research and development expenses presented in the table above are primarily as a result of the following events:

Program costs for HM43239 increased by approximately $1.2 million as the Company in-licensed the development rights of HM43239 in the fourth quarter of 2021 and assumed sponsorship, and the related costs, of the study effective January 1, 2022.

Program costs for luxeptinib decreased by approximately $1.1 million, primarily due to lower manufacturing costs as a result of the current formulation requiring less API than the prior formulation and also from lower clinical trial costs, mostly related to fewer contractors needed to support the trials.

Program costs for APTO-253 decreased by approximately $1.0 million, due to the Company’s decision on December 20, 2021 to discontinue further clinical development of APTO-253.

Personnel-related expenses increased by $546 thousand, mostly related to new positions hired in 2021 to support our clinical trials and manufacturing activities.

Stock-based compensation decreased by approximately $432 thousand in the three months ended March 31, 2022, compared with the three months ended March 31, 2021, primarily due to lower grant date fair value of options which were granted in the current period.
General and Administrative

General and administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries, benefits and travel, including stock-based compensation for our executive, finance, business development, human resource, and support functions. Other general and administrative expenses are professional fees for auditing, and legal services, investor relations and other consultants, insurance and facility related expenses.

We expect that our general and administrative expenses will increase for the foreseeable future as we incur additional costs to support the expansion of our pipeline of activities. We also expect our intellectual property related legal expenses to increase as our intellectual property portfolio expands.

The general and administrative expenses for the three-month periods ended March 31, 2022 and 2021 were as follows:

General and administrative expenses for the three-month period ended March 31, 2022 were $4.1 million as compared with $8.0 million for the comparative period in 2021, a decrease of approximately $3.9 million. The decrease was primarily as a result of the following:

General and administrative expenses, other than stock-based compensation and depreciation of equipment, decreased by approximately $204 thousand in the three months ended March 31, 2022 primarily as a result lower professional fees.

Stock-based compensation decreased by approximately $3.7 million in the three months ended March 31, 2022, compared with the three months ended March 31, 2021, primarily due to lower grant date fair value of options which were granted in the current period, and additional compensation recognized in the comparative period for modifications made to then vested and unvested stock options for one officer, as part of a separation and release agreement.
COVID-19 did not have a significant impact on our results of operations for the three-month period ended March 31, 2022. We have not experienced and do not foresee material delays to the enrollment of patients or timelines for the HM43239 Phase 1/2 trial or the luxeptinib Phase 1a/b trials due to the variety of clinical sites that we have actively recruited for these trials. As of the date of this report, we have not experienced material delays in the manufacturing of HM43239 or luxeptinib related to COVID-19. Should our manufacturers be required to shut down their facilities due to COVID-19 for an extended period of time, our trials may be negatively impacted.

Conference Call and Webcast

Aptose will host a conference call to discuss results for the quarter ended March 31, 2022 today, Monday, May 9, 2022 at 5:00 PM ET. Participants can access the conference call by dialing 1-866-374-5140 (North American toll-free number) and 1-404-400-0571 (international/toll number) and using conference ID 38238231#. The conference call can be accessed here and will also be available through a link on the Investor Relations section of Aptose’s website at View Source An archived version of the webcast will be available on the Company’s website for 30 days.

The press release, the financial statements and the management’s discussion and analysis for the quarter ended March 31, 2021 will be available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and EDGAR at www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml.

On May 9, 2022 Ascendis Pharma A/S (Nasdaq: ASND) reported that the company is scheduled to attend the BofA Securities 2022 Healthcare Conference (Press release, Ascendis Pharma, MAY 9, 2022, View Source [SID1234613947]). Company executives will participate in a fireside chat hosted by BofA on Thursday, May 12.

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A live webcast of the event will be available on the Investors and News section of the Ascendis Pharma website at www.ascendispharma.com. A webcast replay will be available on this website shortly after conclusion of the event for 30 days.

On May 9, 2022 Elpiscience Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. ("Elpiscience"), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing next-generation immunotherapies to benefit cancer patients worldwide, reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared Elpiscience’s ES014 Investigational New Drug (IND) Application to initiate a Phase 1 clinical study for patients with advanced solid tumors (Press release, Elpiscience, MAY 9, 2022, View Source [SID1234613964]). ES014 is a first-in-class anti-CD39xTGF-β bispecific antibody (bsAb) that simultaneously targets the CD39-adenosine and TGF-β pathways, two major immunosuppressive mechanisms in the tumor microenvironment (TME).

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"We are delighted that our IND for ES014 was cleared by FDA," said Steve Chin, Chief Medical Officer of Elpiscience. "ES014 is a first-in-class anti-CD39xTGF-β bispecific antibody. In preclinical studies, ES014 demonstrated significant anti-tumor activity in a PD-1 resistant in vivo efficacy model. We look forward to starting the Phase 1 study soon."

Solid tumors frequently express TGF-β, which suppresses T cell activation and induces CD39 expression, the rate-limiting enzyme in the ATP-adenosine pathway​. The anti-CD39 target is designed to selectively direct ES014 to the TME where the anti-TGF-β activity promotes effector T cell function and immune activation, while avoiding or minimizing systemic immunotoxicity. ES014’s anti-CD39 activity further aims to reverse TME immunosuppression by reducing suppressive adenosine, while maintaining high levels of immune-stimulatory extracellular ATP. The combined removal of immune suppression and immune stimulating effects of ES014 were recently demonstrated in a PD-1 antibody non-responsive in vivo animal model where tumor growth was significantly inhibited after treatment.