On May 15, 2018 Eleven Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: EBIO), a late-stage clinical company developing next-generation antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) therapies for the treatment of cancer, reported pipeline updates and operating results for the quarter ended March 31, 2018 (Press release, Eleven Biotherapeutics, MAY 15, 2018, View Source [SID1234526642]).
Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:
Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing
Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!
"2018 is set to be a transformational year for the company and, already in the first quarter, we have made important progress in advancing our lead program, Vicinium, for high-grade non-muscle invasive bladder cancer, or NMIBC," said Stephen Hurly, president and chief executive officer of Eleven Biotherapeutics. "Our Phase 3 registration trial, the VISTA Trial, investigating Vicinium for patients with high-grade NMIBC, is progressing well and recently completed enrollment. We look forward to presenting three-month data from the trial in an oral presentation at the American Urological Association Annual Meeting on May 21st, a significant catalyst for the company and our Vicinium program. High-grade NMIBC is a disease for which there is a desperate need for new treatment options, and we look forward to further exploring Vicinium as a potential treatment for these patients."
Pipeline Progress and Updates
Eleven Biotherapeutics will present three-month data from its ongoing Phase 3 VISTA Trial, which is evaluating Vicinium for the treatment of patients with high-grade NMIBC who have been previously treated with bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG). The data will be presented during a plenary session on Monday, May 21, 2018 at 11:00 a.m. PDT at the American Urological Association Annual Meeting being held in San Francisco. In March 2018, the company announced enrollment completion in the VISTA Trial.
In April 2018, Eleven Biotherapeutics presented preclinical data from its deBouganin program at the 2018 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting. DeBouganin is a potent deimmunized plant-based toxin designed for systemic use in the treatment of cancer and other indications. The data presented suggest that VB6-845d, a next generation ADC that is composed of an anti-EpCAM antibody fragment fused to deBouganin, mediates tumor cell killing by an immunogenic cell death (ICD) pathway. The potential cross-priming effect initiated by VB6-845d-induced ICD suggests that VB6-845d in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors may enhance their effectiveness in EpCAM-positive epithelial cancers. Additionally, in collaboration with Crescendo Biologics, the company presented data demonstrating that a potent fusion protein comprised of the company’s deBouganin payload and Crescendo’s Humabody is expressible as a soluble protein in E. coli supernatant and capable of potent killing of cancer cell lines.
First Quarter 2018 Financial Results
Cash Position: Cash and cash equivalents were $19.7 million as of March 31, 2018, compared to $20.3 for the same period in 2017.
Revenue: There was no revenue for the quarter ended March 31, 2018, compared to $0.4 million for the same period in 2017. The decrease was due to a reduction in revenue recognized from the company’s license agreement with F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd and Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. (Roche).
R&D Expenses: Research and development expenses were $3.3 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2018, compared to $2.9 million for the same period in 2017. The increase was due primarily to increases in clinical costs.
G&A Expenses: General and administrative expenses were $2.0 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2018, compared to $2.2 million for the same period in 2017. The decrease was due primarily to reductions in legal and professional costs.
Net Loss: Net loss was $4.0 million, or $0.11 per share, for the quarter ended March 31, 2018, compared to net loss of $6.1 million, or $0.25 per share, for the same period in 2017. The decrease was due primarily to the change in the fair value of contingent consideration.
Financial Guidance: Following Eleven Biotherapeutics’ $10.0 million financing in March 2018 and receipt of approximately $4.2 million from the exercise of common stock warrants through mid-May, the company maintains it will have capital to fund its current operating plans into early 2019.
Conference Call Information
The company will host a conference call on May 21, 2018 at 5 p.m. ET to review the data being presented at AUA. To participate in the conference call, please dial (844) 831-3025 (domestic) or (315) 625-6887 (international) and refer to conference ID 4453267. The webcast can be accessed in the Investor Relations section of the company’s website at www.elevenbio.com. The replay of the webcast will be available in the investor section of the company’s website at www.elevenbio.com for 60 days following the call.
About Vicinium
Vicinium, also known as VB4-845, is Eleven Biotherapeutics’ lead product candidate and is a next-generation antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), developed using the company’s proprietary Targeted Protein Therapeutics platform, for the treatment of high-grade non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). Vicinium is comprised of a recombinant fusion protein that targets epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) antigens on the surface of tumor cells to deliver a potent protein payload, Pseudomonas Exotoxin A (ETA). Vicinium is constructed with a stable, genetically engineered peptide linker to ensure the payload remains attached until it is internalized by the cancer cell, which is believed to decrease the risk of toxicity to healthy tissues, thereby improving its safety. In prior clinical studies conducted by Eleven Biotherapeutics, EpCAM has been shown to be overexpressed in NMIBC cells with minimal to no EpCAM expression observed on normal bladder cells. Eleven Biotherapeutics is currently conducting the Phase 3 VISTA Trial, designed to support the registration of Vicinium for the treatment of high-grade NMIBC in patients who have previously received two courses of bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) and whose disease is now BCG-unresponsive. Three-month data from the ongoing trial are planned for presentation at the 2018 American Urological Association Annual Meeting on May 21, 2018, with 12-month data anticipated in mid-2019. Additionally, Eleven Biotherapeutics believes that Vicinium’s cancer cell-killing properties promote an anti-tumor immune response that may potentially combine well with immuno-oncology drugs, such as checkpoint inhibitors. The activity of Vicinium in BCG-unresponsive NMIBC is also being explored at the US National Cancer Institute in combination with AstraZeneca’s immune checkpoint inhibitor durvalumab.