On February 28, 2017 NewLink Genetics Corporation (NASDAQ:NLNK), a biopharmaceutical company focused on bringing novel immuno-oncology therapies to patients with cancer, reported consolidated financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended 2016, as well as progress in its clinical development programs (Press release, NewLink Genetics, FEB 28, 2017, View Source [SID1234517892]). NewLink Genetics also outlined key 2017 business priorities related to the clinical development programs for the Company’s immuno-oncology pipeline.

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"NewLink Genetics has two separate and distinct IDO pathway inhibitors in clinical development. In 2017, we look forward to advancing clinical validation of IDO as an immuno-oncology target," said Charles J. Link, Jr. MD, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Scientific Officer. "Our priorities going into 2017 are clear. For GDC-0919, we anticipate continued progress in the clinic in collaboration with our partner Genentech/Roche. We believe indoximod will emerge as one of the leading IDO pathway inhibitor programs in 2017."

2016 Highlights

The IDO pathway, which helps cancer escape the patient’s immune system, became increasingly validated as an immuno-oncology target, with clinical data coming from NewLink Genetics and others.
Presented early Phase 2 clinical data of indoximod plus gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel for the treatment of patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer at the 2016 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting, suggesting evidence of safety and clinical activity.
Presented promising interim Phase 2 clinical data from a cohort of patients with advanced melanoma treated with indoximod plus pembrolizumab at the 2016 ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting.
Our Ebola vaccine candidate (rVSV∆G-ZEBOV GP), partnered with Merck, received breakthrough therapy designation from the FDA and PRIME status from the European Medicines Agency. In December 2016 the final results of the Guinea trial were published on-line in The Lancet and confirmed efficacy of the vaccine.
Finished 2016 with $131.5 million in cash and equivalents.
Anticipated Highlights in 2017

Our investigators have submitted an abstract to the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) on the Phase 2 study cohort of patients with advanced melanoma treated with indoximod in combination with pembrolizumab.
We have been informed by the AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) committee that our abstract concerning our new chemical entity NLG802, a novel prodrug of indoximod, has been accepted for a poster presentation.
Genentech is expected to update on progress on a Phase 1b study of GDC-0919 in combination with atezolizumab for patients with solid tumors.
We intend to update progress from the Phase1b, dose-escalation study of indoximod and standard of care therapy in patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML).
We expect to finish the year with approximately $75 million in cash. This excludes potential payments from partners, the proceeds from any offering, and any costs associated with any strategic acquisitions.
"We are excited to be presenting clinical data for indoximod at upcoming scientific meetings in 2017 beginning at AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) next month," said Nicholas Vahanian, M.D., President and Chief Medical Officer.

Financial Results

Cash Position: NewLink Genetics ended the year on December 31, 2016, with cash, cash equivalents, and certificates of deposit totaling $131.5 million compared to $197.8 million for the year ending December 31, 2015. The Company’s cash position is sufficient to fund current operations in the near and medium term.

R&D Expenses: Research and development expenses were $19.5 million and $93.3 million in the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2016 compared to $14.8 million and $71.4 million during the comparable periods in 2015. The increase year-over-year was due primarily to $11.1 million of charges incurred as a result of the restructuring during the second quarter of 2016, including a non-cash charge of $4.0 million related to impaired assets, with the remainder of the increase due to increases in contract manufacturing costs, supplies and equipment and clinical trial expenses.

G&A Expenses: General and administrative expenses in the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2016 were $7.2 million and $33.2 million compared to $7.7 million and $30.7 million during the comparable periods in 2015. The increase was due to an increase of $2.9 million in personnel-related expenses due to changes in transiently increased staffing levels, share-based compensation expense and compensation increases, an increase of $500,000 due to charges incurred as a result of the restructuring, offset by a decrease of $930,000 in consulting, legal and licensing fees, and supplies.

Net Loss: NewLink Genetics reported a net loss of $13.5 million or $0.46 per diluted share for the fourth quarter of 2016 and a net loss of $85.2 million or $2.94 per diluted share for the year ended December 31, 2016, compared to a net loss of $21.6 million or $0.75 per diluted share for the fourth quarter of 2015 and a net loss of $40.4 million or $1.41 per diluted share for the year ended December 31, 2015.

NewLink Genetics ended 2016 with 29,163,673 shares outstanding.