Oncternal Therapeutics Provides Business Update and Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2020 Financial Results

On March 11, 2021 Oncternal Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ONCT), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel oncology therapies, today provided a business update and reported fourth quarter and full year 2020 financial results (Press release, Oncternal Therapeutics, MAR 11, 2021, View Source [SID1234576486]).

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"In 2021, we are advancing a deep pipeline of differentiated oncology assets. We have now initiated early-stage work in ROR1-targeting immunotherapies, including CAR-T and CAR-NK cell therapies, while moving forward the later-stage clinical development of cirmtuzumab, an antibody targeting ROR1, in MCL, which has generated encouraging data in this difficult to treat cancer. At the same time, we continue to evaluate TK216, an ETS inhibitor which has generated promising results in Ewing sarcoma," said James Breitmeyer, M.D., Ph.D., Oncternal’s President and CEO. "We have also strengthened our balance sheet by raising $125 million in 2020, which provides us with the runway to advance our promising programs into 2023. We have several key data read-outs pending in the second quarter this year."

Recent Highlights

In January 2021, we announced an agreement with Lentigen Technology, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Miltenyi Biotec B.V. & Co. KG, to manufacture lentiviral vectors to support Oncternal’s investigational ROR1-targeting CAR-T cell therapy program.
In January 2021, we announced a research and development collaboration with Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, to advance novel ROR1-targeting CAR-T and CAR-NK cell therapies from the laboratory into the clinic.
In December 2020, we announced an interim clinical data update from the ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical trial of cirmtuzumab, an investigational anti-ROR1 monoclonal antibody, in combination with ibrutinib in patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting. Best objective response rate of 87%, including complete response (CR) rate of 47%, was reported for 15 evaluable patients with relapsed/refractory (r/r) MCL. Median progression-free survival (PFS) was not reached for patients with MCL, with the 95% confidence interval above 17.5 months, after a median follow-up of 12.1 months. The median PFS was not reached for patients with treatment-naïve CLL (n=19) after a median follow-up of 16.6 months, and median PFS was 29.5 months for patients with r/r CLL (n=30) after a median follow-up of 17.1 months. The combination of cirmtuzumab and ibrutinib was well tolerated in this trial.
In November 2020, we announced an interim clinical data update from the ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical trial evaluating TK216, an investigational, potentially first-in-class, targeted small-molecule inhibitor of the E26 transformation-specific (ETS) family of oncoproteins, in patients with r/r Ewing sarcoma at the Connective Tissue Oncology Society 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting. The reported disease control rate (CR, partial response or stable disease) was 43%, including two patients with durable complete responses that were ongoing at over 1.5 years and 8 months on treatment.
In October 2020, we announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted Rare Pediatric Disease designation for TK216 for the treatment of Ewing sarcoma.
In November and December 2020, we raised an aggregate of approximately $109 million in gross proceeds from two underwritten offerings.
Expected Upcoming Milestones

Cirmtuzumab (ROR1 antibody) programs
Clinical data update for patients with MCL and CLL treated with cirmtuzumab plus ibrutinib in the ongoing Phase 1/2 study in Q2 2021
Clinical data update for patients with HER2-negative breast cancer in the ongoing Phase 1b study in Q2 2021
Preclinical data in additional ROR1 expressing tumors in Q2 2021
ROR1 CAR-T program
First-in-human dosing in China in the second half of 2021
TK216 (ETS inhibitor) program
Clinical data for patients with Ewing sarcoma treated in the ongoing Phase 1/2 expansion cohort in Q2 2021
Preclinical data in additional ETS-driven tumors in Q2 2021
Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2020 Financial Results
Our grant revenue was $1.6 million for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2020. Our grant revenue is derived from a subaward under a grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to UC San Diego, which was awarded to advance our Phase 1/2 clinical trial evaluating cirmtuzumab in combination with ibrutinib for the treatment of patients with MCL or CLL. For the full year 2020, grant revenue was $3.4 million.

Our total operating expenses for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2020 were $4.4 million. Research and development expenses for the quarter totaled $3.0 million, and general and administrative expenses for the quarter totaled $1.5 million. Net loss for the fourth quarter was $2.6 million, or a loss of $0.09 per share, basic and diluted. For the full year 2020, total operating expenses were $20.9 million. Net loss for the full year 2020 was $17.2 million, or a loss of $0.85 per share, basic and diluted.

As of December 31, 2020, we had $116.7 million in cash and cash equivalents. We believe these funds will be sufficient to fund our operations into 2023. As of December 31, 2020, we had approximately 48.8 million shares of common stock outstanding.

Management Webcast
As previously announced, Oncternal will host a webcast today, March 11, 2020, at 5:00 p.m. ET. The live webcast will be available online and may be accessed from the "Investors" page of the company website at View Source A replay of the webcast will be available beginning approximately one hour after the conclusion of the call and will remain available for at least 30 days thereafter.