On November 10, 2022 Lineage Cell Therapeutics, Inc. (NYSE American and TASE: LCTX), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing allogeneic cell therapies for unmet medical needs, reported financial and operating results for the third quarter of 2022 (Press release, Lineage Cell Therapeutics, NOV 10, 2022, View Source [SID1234623708]). Lineage management will host a conference call and webcast today at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time/1:30 p.m. Pacific Time to discuss its third quarter 2022 financial and operating results and to provide a business update.

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"A single administration of RG6501 (OpRegen), a proprietary retinal pigment epithelial cell transplant, across an area of atrophy in advanced AMD patients has shown the potential to slow, stop, or reverse the progression of GA in our phase 1/2a clinical trial. To our knowledge, this is the first intervention that has reported anatomical changes of this magnitude in the field of GA, so we are pleased with the continued progress on RG6501 and the efforts which have been made to initiate its next clinical trial," stated Brian M. Culley, Lineage CEO. "Looking ahead, our focus turns increasingly to planned regulatory interactions for OPC1 and VAC2, from which we expect to inform and enable their next phases of clinical development in spinal cord injury and oncology, respectively. In parallel, we are advancing our newly launched cell transplant programs in photoreceptors for vision disorders and auditory neurons for hearing loss, with initial preclinical studies from our photoreceptor program currently ongoing and the start of preclinical testing of our auditory neuron program anticipated prior to year-end. We believe that completing these efforts while maintaining our commitment to disciplined spending will help Lineage create shareholder value in the coming year."

Recent milestones and activities included:

– Announced appointment of Jill Howe as Chief Financial Officer effective November 14, 2022

Ms. Howe brings more than 20 years of significant strategic, financial, and operational experience to Lineage, with an emphasis on capital strategy, corporate finance, treasury management, global infrastructure, and operational excellence. Ms. Howe has successfully built biotechnology organizations and implemented operational infrastructures alongside the execution of over $1.66 billion of capital raising transactions and will bring extensive strategic experience to the role.
– Established new U.S. R&D facility and expanded current GMP manufacturing facility in Israel

New Carlsbad facility will allow us to broaden R&D capabilities in the U.S. and facilitate the advancement of current and future allogeneic cell transplant programs and partnerships; the expansion of the Israel-based facility is expected to increase infrastructure, including development and optimization of larger-scale clinical manufacturing processes, and continued execution under the ongoing collaboration with Roche and Genentech for RG6501 (OpRegen).
– Strengthened intellectual property portfolio

Company announced notice of allowance of two patents covering processes for manufacturing allogeneic oligodendrocyte progenitor and retinal pigmented epithelium cells.
– OPC1

Completed verification and validation and preclinical testing activities for the novel parenchymal spinal delivery (PSD) system to support an upcoming regulatory submission.
– VAC2

Pre-Investigational New Drug (IND) application briefing package submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to support U.S. clinical development for immuno-oncology.
– ANP1 & PNC1

Continued process development and activities in support of ongoing and planned preclinical testing.
Some of the key upcoming milestones and activities anticipated by Lineage include:

– Planned Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) submission to FDA before year-end regarding an OPC1 IND amendment to enable clinical testing of a novel spinal cord delivery system.

– Response to a pre-IND regulatory submission which should provide clarity on a VAC2 CMC, nonclinical, and clinical information package to inform future U.S. clinical development, expected around year-end.

– Completion of an R&D manufacturing process sufficient to support initiation of preclinical testing and the initiation of such testing with ANP1 for the treatment of hearing loss, anticipated prior to year-end.

– An additional OPC1 manuscript from a Phase 1/2a clinical study in subacute cervical spinal cord injury.

– Submission of a grant application to California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) for the continued support of the clinical development of OPC1.

– Clinical data update from the ongoing VAC2 Phase 1 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) study, pending release from Cancer Research UK (CRUK).

– Evaluation of new partnership opportunities and/or expansion of existing collaborations.

– Continued participation in investor and partnering meetings and medical and industry conferences to broaden awareness of our mission, programs, and accomplishments.

Balance Sheet Highlights

Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities totaled $66.4 million as of September 30, 2022, which is expected to support planned operations into Q3 2024.

Third Quarter Operating Results

Revenues: Lineage’s revenue is generated primarily from licensing fees, royalties, collaboration revenues, and research grants. Total revenues for the three months ended September 30, 2022 were approximately $3.0 million, a net increase of $0.7 million as compared to $2.3 million for the same period in 2021. The increase was driven by collaboration and licensing revenue recognized from deferred revenues from the Roche Agreement, partially offset by less royalty revenues.

Operating Expenses: Operating expenses are comprised of research and development ("R&D") expenses and general and administrative ("G&A") expenses. Total operating expenses for the three months ended September 30, 2022 were $8.0 million, a decrease of $0.1 million as compared to $8.1 million for the same period in 2021.

R&D Expenses: R&D expenses for the three months ended September 30, 2022 were $3.6 million, a net increase of $0.8 million as compared to $2.8 million for the same period in 2021. The net increase was primarily driven by higher OpRegen related expenses to support the Roche collaboration.

G&A Expenses: G&A expenses for the three months ended September 30, 2022 were $4.4 million, a net decrease of approximately $0.9 million as compared to $5.3 million for the same period in 2021. The decrease was primarily driven by $1.1 million in lower litigation and legal expenses and $0.3 million in lower investor relations expense, partially offset by a $0.5 million increase in payroll and related benefits expense.

Loss from Operations: Loss from operations for the three months ended September 30, 2022 was $5.2 million, a decrease of $1.6 million as compared to $6.8 million for the same period in 2021.

Other Expenses, Net: Other expenses, net for the three months ended September 30, 2022 reflected other expense, net of $0.3 million, compared to other expense, net of $2.0 million for the same period in 2021. The net change was primarily driven by a decrease in the value of marketable equity securities and exchange rate fluctuations related to Lineage’s international subsidiaries.

Net Loss Attributable to Lineage: The net loss attributable to Lineage for the three months ended September 30, 2022 was $6.1 million, or $0.04 per share (basic and diluted), compared to a net loss attributable to Lineage of $7.8 million, or $0.05 per share (basic and diluted), for the same period in 2021.

Conference Call and Webcast

Interested parties may access today’s conference call by dialing (800) 715-9871 from the U.S. and Canada and should request the "Lineage Cell Therapeutics Call" or provide conference ID number 5262180. A live webcast of the conference call will be available online in the Investors section of Lineage’s website. A replay of the webcast will be available on Lineage’s website for 30 days and a telephone replay will be available through November 17, 2022, by dialing (800) 770-2030 from the U.S. and Canada and entering conference ID number 5262180.