On August 7, 2019 Jounce Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: JNCE), a clinical-stage company focused on the discovery and development of novel cancer immunotherapies and predictive biomarkers for patient enrichment, reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2019 and provided a corporate update (Press release, Jounce Therapeutics, AUG 7, 2019, View Source [SID1234538304]).

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"2019 has been a time of clinical progress and important strategic business development activity for Jounce, with the initiation of our Phase 2 EMERGE trial for vopratelimab, the completion of enrollment in our Phase 1 clinical trial of JTX-4014 and the recently announced renegotiation of our Celgene collaboration. These important developments demonstrate the value and utilization of our novel scientific platform and reverse translational analyses to further advance our immuno-oncology pipeline with an aim to match the right therapies to the right patients," said Richard Murray, Ph.D., chief executive officer and president of Jounce Therapeutics. "Our translational science platform has been further validated by the establishment of our new licensing agreement with Celgene for the worldwide rights to JTX-8064. Now that we have retained full worldwide rights to vopratelimab, JTX-4014 and all of our discovery programs, we look forward to advancing our broad pipeline of potential next-generation immuno-oncology therapies."

Wholly-owned Programs:
Vopratelimab (JTX-2011)

Initiated Phase 2 EMERGE trial: In June 2019, Jounce announced the initiation of dosing in the Phase 2 EMERGE clinical trial of its lead product candidate, vopratelimab, in combination with ipilimumab in patients with non-small cell lung cancer or urothelial cancer who have progressed on or after PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor therapies.

The primary endpoint of EMERGE is overall response rate and secondary endpoints include safety, duration of response, progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Additional important assessments will include close monitoring of ICOS hi CD4 T cell emergence, and a range of other biomarkers, including exploratory assessment of potential predictive biomarkers. Jounce expects to report preliminary efficacy and biomarker relationships to clinical outcomes for up to 80 patients in 2020.

Key data presented at AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) 2019: In April 2019, Jounce presented two posters on vopratelimab at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting. Highlights from the poster presentations include:

Patients in the ICONIC trial with the emergence of ICOS hi CD4 T cells demonstrated improved PFS and OS compared to patients with ICOS lo CD4 T cells, based on an analysis of a subgroup of patients with multiple solid tumor types including PD-1 inhibitor naive and PD-1 inhibitor experienced patients.

The characteristics of ICOS hi CD4 T cells associated with vopratelimab treatment via translational analyses demonstrated that vopratelimab stimulates only primed CD4 T cells with high levels of ICOS. The translational data shows that vopratelimab, unlike PD-1 inhibitors, leads to expansion and activation of peripheral CD4 T effector cells, and that these are observed in patients with clinical benefit.
JTX-4014

Completed enrollment of Phase 1 trial: Jounce is pleased to announce the completion of enrollment in the Phase 1 clinical trial of JTX-4014, its PD-1 inhibitor, and determination of the recommended Phase 2 dose. Jounce plans to report data from the trial in the second half of this year.
Discovery Pipeline

On track to announce next discovery candidate: Jounce continues to advance and develop its broad discovery pipeline, which includes multiple programs targeting T-regulatory cells, macrophages and stromal cells. Jounce expects to move its next novel program into IND-enabling studies later this year.
Licensed Program:

JTX-8064

Licensed JTX-8064: In July 2019, Jounce announced a new agreement in which Celgene exclusively licensed the worldwide rights to JTX-8064, a highly-selective, potential first-in-class antibody that targets the LILRB2 receptor on macrophages. Under this license agreement, Jounce received a $50.0 million non-refundable license fee and is eligible to receive up to $480.0 million in development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments, as well as potential royalties on worldwide sales. Celgene will be responsible for all development and commercialization of JTX-8064.

Jounce and Celgene also entered into a mutual agreement to terminate the original strategic collaboration agreement, established in July 2016. Jounce now retains full worldwide rights to its pipeline beyond JTX-8064, including vopratelimab, JTX-4014 and all discovery programs.
Second Quarter 2019 Financial Results:

Cash Position: As of June 30, 2019, cash, cash equivalents and investments were $152.0 million, compared to $195.9 million as of December 31, 2018. The decrease in cash, cash equivalents and investments was primarily due to operating costs incurred during the period. In July 2019, Jounce received a $50.0 million license fee pursuant to its new license agreement with Celgene.

Collaboration Revenue: Collaboration revenue was $17.4 million for the second quarter of 2019, compared to $19.4 million for the same period in 2018. Collaboration revenue during both periods represents non-cash revenue recognition relating to the $225.0 million upfront payment received in July 2016 upon the execution of Jounce’s original strategic collaboration with Celgene. In connection with the termination of the original strategic collaboration, Jounce expects that the remaining deferred revenue relating to the Celgene agreement will be fully recognized in the third quarter of 2019.

Research and Development Expenses: Research and development (R&D) expenses were $18.1 million for the second quarter of 2019, compared to $18.5 million for the same period in 2018. The decrease in R&D expenses was primarily due to $0.5 million of decreased external research and development costs attributable to vopratelimab manufacturing expenses incurred during the second quarter of 2018, $0.4 million of decreased external clinical and regulatory costs and $0.3 million of decreased lab consumables expenses. These decreases were partially offset by $0.7 million of increased employee compensation costs.

General and Administrative Expenses: General and administrative (G&A) expenses were $7.3 million for the second quarter of 2019, compared to $6.5 million for the same period in 2018. The increase in G&A expenses was primarily due to $0.5 million of increased employee compensation costs, including $0.3 million of increased stock-based compensation expense, and $0.3 million of increased other G&A costs to support Jounce’s operations.

Net Loss: Net loss was $7.0 million for the second quarter of 2019, or a basic and diluted net loss per share of $0.21. Net loss was $4.7 million for the same period in 2018, or a basic and diluted net loss per share of $0.14. The increase in net loss and net loss per share was primarily attributable to the decrease in non-cash collaboration revenue from the second quarter of 2018 to the second quarter of 2019.
Financial Guidance:

Jounce reiterates its updated revenue guidance and expects to record $50.0 million in cash revenue in 2019 related to the license of JTX-8064 and approximately $98.0 million in non-cash revenue in 2019 representing the remaining recognition of the Celgene upfront payment received in July 2016.

Based on its operating and development plans, Jounce continues to expect gross cash burn on operating expenses and capital expenditures for the full year 2019 to be approximately $80.0 million to $95.0 million.

Conference Call and Webcast Information:

Jounce Therapeutics will host a live conference call and webcast today at 8:00 a.m. ET. To access the conference call, please dial (866) 916-3380 (domestic) or (210) 874-7772 (international) and refer to conference ID 4484315. The live webcast can be accessed under "Events & Presentations" in the Investors and Media section of the company’s website at www.jouncetx.com. The webcast will be archived and made available for replay on the company’s website approximately two hours after the call and will be available for 30 days.