On May 12, 2022 Day One Biopharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: DAWN), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing and commercializing targeted therapies for people of all ages with life-threatening diseases, reported financial results for the first quarter of 2022 and highlighted recent corporate achievements (Press release, Day One, MAY 12, 2022, View Source [SID1234614363]).

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"We continue to make excellent progress across our clinical programs and look forward to reporting initial data from our pivotal Phase 2 FIREFLY-1 trial in relapsed pLGG next month," said Jeremy Bender, Ph.D., chief executive officer of Day One. "These initial data will provide preliminary insights into the potential of tovorafenib to transform patient care for the most common childhood brain cancer, which currently has no approved therapies. Beyond FIREFLY-1, we are preparing to initiate a pivotal Phase 3 study, FIREFLY-2, for the first-line treatment of pLGG patients and recently initiated the combination portion of our Phase 2 FIRELIGHT-1 study with tovorafenib and our investigational oral MEK inhibitor, pimasertib. As our clinical programs advance, we continue to accelerate planning for our first potential regulatory submission for tovorafenib in 2023 and execute on our business strategy to make an impact for patients of all ages with life threatening diseases."

Program Highlights

Initial data from FIREFLY-1, a pivotal Phase 2 clinical trial of tovorafenib in relapsed pLGG, is expected in June 2022.

Day One anticipates releasing topline results from the fully-enrolled pivotal study in the first quarter of 2023. Pending positive results from FIREFLY-1, Day One anticipates filing a new drug application (NDA) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2023.

Day One has expanded the FIREFLY-1 study to include two additional study arms:

An expanded access arm that enables treatment for eligible patients once the primary cohort has completed enrollment; and
An advanced solid tumor arm to evaluate the preliminary efficacy of tovorafenib in patients aged 6 months to 25 years with a relapsed or progressive extracranial solid tumors with activating RAF fusion.

Day One plans to initiate a pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial (FIREFLY-2) evaluating tovorafenib as a front-line therapy in pLGG in the second quarter of 2022.

Day One is enrolling patients in the Phase 2 FIRELIGHT-1 trial evaluating tovorafenib monotherapy in adults with recurrent, progressive, or refractory solid tumors harboring MAPK pathway aberrations. Day One recently expanded FIRELIGHT-1 to include a Phase 1b/2 portion to evaluate tovorafenib in combination with pimasertib, Day One’s investigational MEK inhibitor.
First Quarter 2022 Financial Highlights

Cash Position: Cash and cash equivalents totaled $262.7 million on March 31, 2022. Based on Day One’s current operating plan, management believes it has sufficient capital resources to fund anticipated operations into 2024.

R&D Expenses: Research and development expenses were $15.0 million for the first quarter of 2022 compared to $12.6 million for the first quarter of 2021. The increase was primarily due to additional employee compensation costs, clinical trial and product development expenses which were offset by a decrease in milestone payments for licensing agreements.

G&A Expenses: General and administrative expenses were $12.7 million for the first quarter of 2022 compared to $3.5 million for the first quarter of 2021. The increase was primarily due to additional employee compensation costs, initial commercial buildout, and professional expenses to support company growth.

Net Loss: Net loss totaled $27.7 million for the first quarter of 2022 compared to $16.1 million for the first quarter of 2021 with non-cash stock compensation expense of $6.2 million and $0.5 million for the first quarters of 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Upcoming Events

2022 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting
A trial-in-progress poster on Day One’s FIREFLY-1 pivotal study, abstract number TPS10062, will be presented at the ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting on Monday, June 6, 2022, from 8 to 11 a.m. CST.

The 20th International Symposium on Pediatric Neuro-Oncology (ISPNO) Annual Meeting
An educational exhibit on Day One’s pipeline will be displayed at Booth #F.05, at ISPNO’s Annual Meeting, which is being held June 12-15, 2022.
About Tovorafenib
Tovorafenib is an investigational, oral, brain-penetrant, highly-selective type II pan-RAF kinase inhibitor designed to target a key enzyme in the MAPK signaling pathway, which is being investigated in primary brain tumors or brain metastases of solid tumors. Tovorafenib has been studied in over 250 patients to date. Currently tovorafenib is under evaluation in a pivotal Phase 2 clinical trial (FIREFLY-1) among pediatric, adolescent and young adult patients with pediatric low-grade glioma (pLGG), which is an area of considerable unmet need with no approved therapies. Tovorafenib is also being evaluated alone or as a combination therapy for adolescent and adult patient populations with recurrent or progressive solid tumors with MAPK pathway aberrations (FIRELIGHT-1). Tovorafenib has been granted Breakthrough Therapy and Rare Pediatric Disease designations by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of patients with pLGG harboring an activating RAF alteration. Tovorafenib has also received Orphan Drug designation from the FDA for the treatment of malignant glioma, and from the European Commission (EC) for the treatment of glioma.

About Pimasertib
Pimasertib is an investigational, oral, highly selective, small molecule inhibitor of mitogen‐activated protein kinases 1 and 2 (MEK-1/-2) within the MAPK signaling pathway. Pimasertib has been dosed in over 850 patients to date for various tumor types. Preclinical data indicates that the combination of a MEK inhibitor, such as pimasertib, and a type II RAF inhibitor, such as tovorafenib, has synergistic anti-tumor activity.

Day One is conducting a Phase 1b/2 study (FIRELIGHT-1) to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and preliminary efficacy of combining pimasertib with tovorafenib in adolescent and adult patients (≥12 years of age) with recurrent, progressive, or refractory solid tumors with MAPK pathway aberrations.