On May 16, 2022 Galera Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: GRTX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing a pipeline of novel, proprietary therapeutics that have the potential to transform radiotherapy in cancer, reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2022 and provided recent corporate updates (Press release, Galera Therapeutics, MAY 16, 2022, View Source [SID1234614589]).

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!

"We are excited to announce our plan to submit an NDA for avasopasem by year end following discussions with the FDA," said Mel Sorensen, M.D., Galera’s President and CEO. "Based on the positive data readout from our Phase 3 ROMAN trial, Galera continues to execute on its development strategy to advance its lead program, avasopasem, toward potential commercialization. To that end, we are delighted to attend the upcoming ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting where our ROMAN data will be highlighted in an oral presentation. In addition, we recently announced positive topline data from our Phase 2a AESOP study of avasopasem for chemoradiotherapy-induced esophagitis in patients with lung cancer. We are encouraged by these results, which further demonstrate avasopasem’s ability to reduce radiation toxicity in high-risk patient populations."

Recent Corporate Updates

Radiotherapy-Induced Toxicity Programs:

Severe Oral Mucositis (SOM)

The Company announced plans to submit a New Drug Application (NDA) for avasopasem, its lead product candidate, for the treatment of radiotherapy-induced SOM to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by the end of 2022.
An abstract on the Phase 3 ROMAN data of avasopasem for SOM was accepted for an oral presentation on June 3rd at the 2022 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting.
Esophagitis

The Company reported positive topline data from the Phase 2a AESOP trial of avasopasem evaluating its ability to reduce the incidence of severe acute radiation-induced esophagitis in patients with lung cancer receiving concurrent chemoradiotherapy. Overall, avasopasem was well tolerated and the incidence of Grade 3 esophagitis was substantially reduced in comparison to literature. No patients experienced Grade 4 or 5 esophagitis at any point during the trial.
Anti-Cancer Programs:

Locally Advanced Pancreatic Cancer (LAPC)

Enrollment is ongoing in the Phase 2b, 160-patient randomized, multicenter, placebo-controlled GRECO-2 trial of rucosopasem, Galera’s second dismutase mimetic product candidate, in combination with stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) in patients with LAPC. The primary endpoint of the trial is overall survival.
A Trials in Progress abstract on GRECO-2 was accepted for presentation at the upcoming 2022 ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting.
Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)

Enrollment is ongoing in the Phase 1/2 GRECO-1 trial of rucosopasem in combination with SBRT in patients with NSCLC. The Company expects to report initial data from this trial in the first half of 2022.
First Quarter 2022 Financial Highlights

Research and development expenses were $8.1 million in the first quarter of 2022, compared to $12.4 million for the same period in 2021. The decrease was primarily attributable to a decrease in avasopasem development costs, partially offset by an increase in rucosopasem development costs.
General and administrative expenses were $5.0 million in the first quarter of 2022, consistent with the first quarter of 2021.
Galera reported a net loss of $(15.4) million, or $(0.58) per share, for the first quarter of 2022, compared to a net loss of $(18.7) million, or $(0.75) per share, for the same period in 2021.
As of March 31, 2022, Galera had cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $60.9 million. Galera expects that its existing cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments will enable Galera to fund its operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements into the second half of 2023.