On August 2, 2018 Corvus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRVS), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of precisely targeted oncology therapies, reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2018, and provided a business update (Press release, Corvus Pharmaceuticals, AUG 2, 2018, View Source;p=RssLanding&cat=news&id=2361869 [SID1234528637]).

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"We continue to be a leader in programs addressing the adenosine pathway, with three clinical trials currently enrolling and more than 235 patients treated to-date with our lead product candidate, an A2A receptor antagonist, CPI-444," said Richard A. Miller, M.D., co-founder, president and chief executive officer of Corvus. "We are enrolling up to 50 patients in a Phase 1/1b study of CPI-444 in combination therapy under an amended protocol focused on patients with earlier stage renal cell cancer. CPI-444 is also being studied in patients with lung cancer. We are also enrolling patients in a Phase 1/1b study of CPI-006, an anti-CD73 antibody, to treat advanced cancers, both as a monotherapy and in combination with CPI-444 and an anti-PD-1 therapy. In the fourth quarter, we expect to report updated data from several of our programs at medical meetings, which will be another important milestone in our development plans."

RECENT ACHIEVEMENTS
CPI-444: A2A Receptor Antagonist of Adenosine

Enrolling patients in a Phase 1/1b clinical trial evaluating CPI-444, the Company’s lead product candidate, administered alone and in combination with Genentech’s Tecentriq (atezolizumab), an anti-PD-L1 antibody, under an amended protocol to enroll up to 50 patients with renal cell cancer (RCC) who have failed no more than two prior treatment regimens, which must have included an anti-PD-(L)1 and a tyrosine kinase inhibitor.
○ Biomarker studies conducted by the company have shown that prior therapy with anti-PD-(L)1 may increase expression of the adenosine pathway.
○ Previous studies evaluated patients who have failed up to five (median three) prior treatment regimens.
Continued enrolling patients in the Phase 1b/2 trial, being conducted by Genentech as part of their MORPHEUS platform, which is evaluating CPI-444 and Tecentriq in up to 60 patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have failed no more than two prior regimens.
CPI-006: Anti-CD73 Antibody

Began enrolling patients with advanced cancer in a Phase 1/1b clinical trial evaluating CPI-006, the Company’s anti-CD73 antibody, as a single agent and in combination with CPI-444, and in combination with an anti-PD-1. The trial is anticipated to enroll up to 350 patients and is designed to select the dose and evaluate the safety, pharmacokinetics, immune biomarkers and efficacy in patients with NSCLC, RCC, and other cancers who have failed standard therapies.
CPI-818: A small molecule ITK inhibitor

Continued pre-clinical development of the Company’s interleukin-2-inducible kinase (ITK) inhibitor and plan to submit an Investigational New Drug (IND) filing in early 2019. Tumor responses have been observed in a preclinical study in spontaneous canine T-cell lymphoma conducted at Colorado State University, College of Veterinary Medicine Flint Animal Cancer Center.
FINANCIAL RESULTS
At June 30, 2018, Corvus had cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities totaling $133.2 million. This compared to cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $90.1 million at December 31, 2017.

Research and development expenses for the three months ended June 30, 2018 totaled $9.7 million compared to $12.4 million for the same period in 2017. The decrease of $2.7 million was primarily due to a $2.2 million decrease in CPI-444 and CPI-006 drug manufacturing costs, a decrease of $2.2 million in CPI-444 clinical trial expense, and a decrease of $0.4 million in contracted research costs. These decreases were partially offset by an increase of $0.9 million in CPI-818 drug manufacturing costs, and increase of $0.6 million in CPI-006 clinical trial expense, and an increase of $0.6 million in personnel related costs.

General and administrative expenses for the three months ended June 30, 2018 totaled $2.5 million compared to $2.8 million for the same period in 2017. The decrease of $0.3 million was primarily due to a decrease of $0.4 million in patent and public company expenses, offset by an increase of $0.1 million in personnel costs.

The net loss for the three months ended June 30, 2018 was $11.6 million compared to $15.0 million for the same period in 2017. Total stock compensation expense for the three months ended June 30, 2018 was $1.7 million compared to $1.5 million for the same period in 2017.