On May 10, 2022 Omeros Corporation (Nasdaq: OMER), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to discovering, developing and commercializing small-molecule and protein therapeutics for large-market as well as orphan indications targeting inflammation and immunologic diseases, including complement-mediated diseases and cancers, reported recent highlights and developments as well as financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2022, which include (Press release, Omeros, MAY 10, 2022, View Source [SID1234614179]):
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●On December 23, 2021, Omeros completed the sale of its commercial ophthalmic product OMIDRIA (phenylephrine and ketorolac intraocular solution) 1%/0.3% and certain related assets and liabilities to Rayner Surgical Inc. ("Rayner"). As a result of the transaction, the company reclassified all revenues and expenses related to OMIDRIA to discontinued operations for fiscal year 2021 in its financial statements. Omeros is entitled to royalties on Rayner’s worldwide net sales of OMIDRIA at rates that vary based on geography and certain regulatory contingencies. The royalty rate for U.S. net sales of OMIDRIA is currently 50 percent.
●For the quarter ended March 31, 2022, Omeros earned royalties of $13.8 million based on Rayner’s net sales of $27.7 million, all of which were in the U.S. This is a $6.6 million increase from the $21.1 million of OMIDRIA net sales reported by Omeros in the prior year quarter.
●Net loss was $33.0 million in the current quarter, or $0.53 per share, which included $4.2 million of non-cash expenses, or $0.07 per share. This compares to a net loss of $35.1 million, or $0.57 per share for the prior year quarter, which included $4.1 million of non-cash expenses, or $0.07 per share.
●At March 31, 2022, Omeros had $142.2 million of cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments available for operations, which is a reduction of $15.0 million from December 31, 2021. In addition, at March 31, 2022 Omeros had $16.3 million in receivables, consisting primarily of OMIDRIA royalties related to the first quarter, which are due for payment this month.
●In February 2022, Omeros had a Type A post-action meeting with the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to discuss the Complete Response Letter (CRL) issued by FDA last year regarding the Company’s biologics license application (BLA) for narsoplimab in the treatment of hematopoietic stem cell transplant-associated thrombotic microangiopathy (TA-TMA). FDA was delayed in providing official minutes of the meeting, in which the review division repeated a number of critiques that the Company felt had been adequately addressed or were inaccurate. After close consultation with outside legal and regulatory advisors, Omeros has prepared and expects soon to submit a request for formal dispute resolution. Formal dispute resolution is an official pathway that enables a sponsor to appeal a decision by an FDA division to a higher authority within FDA, in this case the Office of New Drugs. Omeros’ request is for regular approval based on the data in the existing BLA.
"Following our Type A post-action meeting with FDA and preparing our draft request for formal dispute resolution, we remain highly confident in the strength of our data and of the entirety of our BLA," said Gregory A. Demopulos, M.D., Omeros’ chairman and chief executive officer. "We believe that the BLA warranted approval last year and, given the immediate patient need for narsoplimab, that formal dispute resolution represents the most expeditious path to approval. We now are finalizing the request with our team of regulatory and legal advisors and expect to submit it within a couple of weeks. Physician support is broad, our case for appeal is strong, and we expect to be successful. In addition to our
focus on regulatory approval, we believe that there are a series of value-creating events throughout the remainder of 2022, including OMS906 data in patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, data from our efforts in COVID-19, as well as updates on our Phase 1 study evaluating our long-acting MASP-2 inhibitor OMS1029, completion of enrollment for the proteinuria endpoint in our narsoplimab ARTEMIS-IgAN trial, and the potential to earn an OMIDRIA-related $200-million commercial milestone payment."
First Quarter and Recent Developments
●Recent developments regarding narsoplimab, Omeros’ lead monoclonal antibody targeting mannan-binding lectin-associated serine protease-2 (MASP-2) in advanced clinical programs for the treatment of TA-TMA, immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy, atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS) and severely ill COVID-19 patients, include the following:
oIn April 2022, a manuscript detailing the results of Omeros’ pivotal study assessing efficacy and safety of narsoplimab for the treatment of TA-TMA was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO), the flagship publication of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper). The manuscript, entitled "Narsoplimab, a Mannan-Binding Lectin-Associated Serine Protease-2 Inhibitor, for the Treatment of Adult Hematopoietic Stem-Cell Transplantation–Associated Thrombotic Microangiopathy" is available online and will be included in an upcoming print volume of JCO.
oOmeros engaged with key stakeholders in the transplant community through its presence at TANDEM 2022, the joint annual meetings of the American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy (ASTCT) and the Center for International Blood & Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR), which was held last month in Salt Lake City. As part of the conference, Omeros received an award from the President of ASTCT in recognition of Omeros’ work in raising awareness of TA-TMA and advancing the medical and scientific understanding in the field.
oNarsoplimab is also being evaluated for the treatment of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in the I-SPY COVID-19 platform trial sponsored by Quantum Leap Healthcare Collaborative. To date, no drug investigated in the trial has been reported to show a benefit relative to the background therapy in the trial. Quantum’s analysis of the narsoplimab data is being finalized, and we all look forward to sharing the outcome of the trial.
oEnrollment in Omeros’ Phase 3 Artemis IgAN trial continues to progress towards an anticipated read out of 9-month follow-up data on proteinuria in the first half of next year. Our investigational new drug application for narsoplimab in IgAN has now been approved by the Chinese regulatory authority. We look forward to completing the remaining regulatory requirements and initiating enrollment there as soon as possible.
Recent developments regarding OMS906, Omeros’ lead clinical monoclonal antibody targeting MASP-3, the key activator of the alternative pathway, and OMS1029, the company’s long-acting MASP-2 inhibitor, include the following:
oOmeros continues its preparations to initiate a Phase 1b trial of OMS906 in patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH). Enrollment is expected to begin this summer. As previously disclosed, dosing in the single-ascending-dose study of OMS906 in healthy subjects is completed. There were no safety signals of concern, and pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) data support once-monthly to once-quarterly subcutaneous or intravenous dosing.
oPreparations are also underway for a Phase 1 trial assessing safety and tolerability and PK/PD of OMS1029 in healthy human subjects. First-in-human-enabling toxicology studies are complete and there was no safety signal of concern. Dosing in humans is expected to be once-monthly to once-quarterly by subcutaneous or intravenous administration based on animal PK/PD data to date. Enrollment is targeted to begin this summer.
Financial Results
On December 23, 2021, Rayner acquired OMIDRIA and the associated business operations. The completion of the sale required Omeros to reclassify all revenues and expenses related to OMIDRIA to discontinued operations for fiscal year 2021 in its financial statements.
Upon closing of the sale of OMIDRIA, Omeros recorded an OMIDRIA contract royalty asset of $184.6 million representing the minimum expected net present value of future U.S. royalty payments. During the first quarter of 2022, we earned royalties of $13.8 million on sales of OMIDRIA which we recorded as a reduction to the OMIDRIA contract royalty asset. We also recorded $7.0 million of income in discontinued operations representing interest income and remeasurement adjustments to the OMIDRIA contract royalty asset.
Total costs and expenses for the first quarter of 2022 were $35.0 million compared to $45.3 million for the first quarter of 2021. The decrease was primarily due to reduced narsoplimab manufacturing activities and reduced narsoplimab pre-launch marketing activities.
Net loss was $33.0 million in the first quarter of 2022, or $0.53 per share, which included $4.2 million of non-cash expenses, or $0.07 per share. This compares to a net loss of $35.1 million, or $0.57 per share, which included non-cash expenses of $4.1 million, or $0.07 per share.
As of March 31, 2022, the company had $142.2 million of cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, a reduction of $15.0 million from December 31, 2021, and $16.3 million in receivables, net.
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