On May 9, 2019 Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NasdaqGS: SPPI), a biopharmaceutical company focused on novel and targeted oncology therapies, reported financial results for the three-month period ended March 31, 2019 (Press release, Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, MAY 9, 2019, View Source [SID1234536089]).
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"We are well on our way to fully executing our strategy for Spectrum," said Joe Turgeon, President and CEO of Spectrum Pharmaceuticals. "The Q1 sale of our portfolio of legacy oncology products provided cash and allowed us to focus on our late-stage assets as well as new growth opportunities. Earlier today, we announced the acquisition of two new assets and a novel antibody-interferon fusion technology platform that could have broad application in oncology. With key near-term catalysts for poziotinib and ROLONTIS and two newly acquired assets, we are building a robust oncology pipeline."
Pipeline Overview
Poziotinib, an irreversible tyrosine kinase inhibitor targeting EGFR and HER2 mutations
Topline results from the EGFR previously treated non-small cell lung cancer cohort (cohort 1) in the ZENITH20 trial are expected in Q4 2019; data from cohort 1 are intended to support a New Drug Application (NDA) filing with the FDA.
Enrollment for the HER2 previously treated non-small cell lung cancer cohort (cohort 2) is progressing ahead of previous expectations that enrollment would be complete in Q4. This cohort also has the potential to support an NDA filing with the FDA in the future.
ROLONTIS (eflapegrastim), a novel long-acting GCSF
Integrated data from the two Phase 3 ROLONTIS clinical trials (n = 643) will be presented in a poster session at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) 2019 annual meeting.
Spectrum is working on filing the ROLONTIS BLA as soon as possible.
Business Development
Spectrum completed an asset purchase and license agreement for a novel immuno-oncology platform and two early stage assets. Originally developed by scientists at UCLA and licensed to Spectrum by UCLA Technology Development Group, the FIT platform fuses interferon with various monoclonal antibodies targeting various tumor antigens and potentially has broad application in oncology. The license also includes two novel assets derived from this platform.
The first asset is an antibody-interferon fusion molecule directed against CD20 (Anti-CD20-IFNá). This drug candidate is in Phase 1 development for treating relapsed or refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma, including diffuse large b-cell lymphoma patients where a considerable unmet medical need exists. Research for this program received financial support through the Therapy Acceleration Program of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Inc. (LLS), and an LLS research grant to UCLA.
The second asset is an antibody-interferon fusion molecule directed against GRP94, a target for which currently there are no existing approved therapies. It has the potential for treating both solid and hematologic malignancies.
Three-Month Period Ended March 31, 2019 (All numbers are from Continuing Operations and are approximate)
GAAP Results
Spectrum recorded a loss of $39.8 million, or a loss of $0.36 per basic and diluted share, in the three-month period ended March 31, 2019, compared to a loss of $19.2 million, or a loss of $0.19 per basic and diluted share, in the comparable period in 2018. Total research and development expenses were $21.9 million in the quarter, as compared to $13.4 million in the same period in 2018. Selling, general and administrative expenses were $16.0 million in the quarter, compared to $16.6 million in the same period in 2018.
Non-GAAP Results
Spectrum recorded a non-GAAP loss of $29.2 million, or a non-GAAP loss of $0.27 per basic and diluted share, in the three-month period ended March 31, 2019, compared to a non-GAAP net loss of $26.8 million, or a non-GAAP loss of $0.27 per basic and diluted share, in the comparable period in 2018. Non-GAAP research and development expenses were $20.4 million, as compared to $12.7 million in the same period of 2018. Non-GAAP selling, general and administrative expenses were $10.7 million, as compared to $14.3 million in the same period in 2018.
Conference Call
Thursday, May 9, 2019 @ 4:30 p.m. Eastern/1:30 p.m. Pacific
Domestic: (877) 837-3910, Conference ID# 4290388
International: (973) 796-5077, Conference ID# 4290388
This conference call will also be webcast. Listeners may access the webcast, which will be available on the investor relations page of Spectrum Pharmaceuticals’ website: www.sppirx.com on May 9, 2019 at 4:30 p.m. Eastern/1:30 p.m. Pacific.