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Aduro Biotech Reports First Quarter 2018 Financial Results

On May 2, 2018 Aduro Biotech, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADRO) reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2018. Net loss for the first quarter of 2018 was $21.5 million, or $0.28 per share, compared to net loss of $21.8 million, or $0.32 per share, for the same period in 2017 (Press release, Aduro Biotech, MAY 2, 2018, View Source;p=RssLanding&cat=news&id=2346437 [SID1234525952]).

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Recent Developments:

Reported preclinical data on ADU-S100, BION-1301 and ADU-1604 at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper)

Reported initial observations from the first patient treated with our personalized neoantigen-based immunotherapy

Received a milestone payment from Merck for initiation of a Phase 1 trial of our anti-CD27 antibody for patients with advanced solid tumors
Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities totaled $327.8 million at March 31, 2018, compared to $349.7 million at December 31, 2017.

Revenue was $6.6 million for the first quarter of 2018 compared to $3.8 million for the same period in 2017. The increase of $2.8 million was primarily due to a $3.0 million milestone payment received from Merck for initiation of a Phase 1 trial for our anti-CD27 antibody.

Research and development expenses were $20.1 million for the first quarter of 2018 compared to $20.6 million for the same period in 2017. The decrease of $0.5 million was due to lower contract manufacturing expense of $3.1 million primarily related to BION-1301, partially offset by increases in clinical development and contract research expenses for our ongoing programs including ADU-S100, BION-1301, ADU-1604 and our personalized neoantigen-based immunotherapy, as well as increases in stock-based compensation and personnel related expenses.

General and administrative expenses were $9.0 million for the first quarter of 2018 compared to $8.3 million for the same period in 2017. The increase of $0.7 million was driven primarily by legal fees associated with our patent portfolio and higher stock-based compensation expense, partially offset by decreased compensation expense.

Income tax benefit was approximately $21 thousand for the first quarter of 2018 compared to an income tax benefit of $2.8 million for the same period in 2017. The income tax benefit for 2017 related to federal income tax benefit associated with the carryback of the 2017 losses.

Xencor to Present at Deutsche Bank 43rd Annual Health Care Conference

On May 2, 2018 Xencor, Inc. (NASDAQ: XNCR), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing engineered monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, asthma and allergic diseases and cancer, reported that Bassil Dahiyat, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer, will present at the Deutsche Bank 43rd Annual Health Care Conference on Wednesday, May 9, 2018 at 9:20 a.m. ET in Boston, MA (Press release, Xencor, MAY 2, 2018, View Source [SID1234525946]).

A live webcast of the presentation will be available under "Events & Presentations" in the Investors section of the Company’s website located at www.xencor.com. A replay of the presentation will be posted on the Xencor website approximately one hour after the live event and will be available for 90 days following the presentation.

Selecta Biosciences Announces Date of First Quarter 2018 Financial Results Conference Call

On May 2, 2018 Selecta Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:SELB), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on unlocking the full potential of biologic therapies by mitigating unwanted immunogenicity, reported that it plans to issue its first quarter 2018 financial results before the open of the U.S. financial markets on Wednesday, May 09, 2018 (Press release, Selecta Biosciences, MAY 2, 2018, View Source [SID1234525945]).

At 8:30 a.m. ET that day, Selecta will host a conference call via live webcast to discuss these results and provide a corporate update. Investors and the public can access a live and archived webcast of this call via the Investors & Media section of the company’s website, View Source Individuals may also participate in the live call via telephone by dialing (844) 845-4170 (domestic) or (412) 717-9621 (international) and may access a teleconference replay for one week by dialing (877) 344-7529 (domestic) or (412) 317-0088 (international) and using confirmation code 10118841

PDL BioPharma to Announce First Quarter 2018 Financial Results on May 9, 2018

On May 2, 2018 PDL BioPharma, Inc. (PDL or the Company) (NASDAQ: PDLI) reported that it will release its first quarter 2018 financial results for the period ended March 31, 2018, on Wednesday, May 9, 2018, after market close (Press release, PDL BioPharma, MAY 2, 2018, View Source [SID1234525944]). PDL’s management will host a conference call and webcast that day at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time to discuss the financial results. A slide presentation relating to the call will be available via the webcast link on the PDL website.

Conference Call Details
To access the live conference call via phone, please dial (800) 668-4132 from the United States and Canada or (224) 357-2196 internationally. The conference ID is 1798597. Please dial in approximately 10 minutes prior to the start of the call. A telephone replay will be available for one week following the call and may be accessed by dialing (855) 859-2056 from the United States and Canada or (404) 537-3406 internationally. The replay passcode is 1798597.

To access the live and subsequently archived webcast of the conference call, go to the Company’s website at View Source and go to "Events & Presentations." Please connect to the website at least 15 minutes prior to the call to allow for any software download that may be necessary.

Kura Oncology Announces New Patent for Tipifarnib in Hematologic Malignancies

On May 2, 2018 Kura Oncology, Inc. (Nasdaq:KURA), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of precision medicines for oncology, reported that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued a new patent protecting the company’s lead product candidate, tipifarnib (Press release, Kura Oncology, MAY 2, 2018, View Source [SID1234525943]).

U.S. patent 9,956,215, "Methods of Treating Cancer Patients with Farnesyltransferase Inhibitors," includes multiple claims directed to the use of tipifarnib as a method of treating patients with CXCL12-expressing peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL) or acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The newly issued patent has an expiration date of November 2037, excluding any possible patent term extension. Kura continues to pursue U.S. and foreign patent protection in these and other indications.

"We are excited by the potential opportunity for tipifarnib in hematologic malignancies, and this new patent represents an important milestone in our development plan," said Troy Wilson, Ph.D., President and CEO of Kura Oncology. "In addition, the issuance of this patent comes less than one year after the USPTO issued a similar patent for tipifarnib in HRAS mutant head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC), reinforcing the potential of our broader strategy to generate intellectual property related to the use of our drug candidates in genetically defined patient populations."

"Although tipifarnib has been known to be clinically active in hematologic malignancies for over a decade, a precise molecular mechanism of action was never elucidated and few if any clinical trials using genetic selection were conducted," said Antonio Gualberto, M.D., Ph.D., Head of Development and Chief Medical Officer of Kura Oncology. "At Kura, we discovered that the CXCL12 pathway is a potential target for tipifarnib, and markers of CXCL12 pathway activation may provide methods to select or stratify patients who are most likely to benefit from tipifarnib therapy."

In December 2017, Kura presented new findings at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) Annual Meeting that identified activation of the CXCL12 pathway and bone marrow homing of myeloid cells as potential biomarkers of tipifarnib’s activity in certain hematologic malignancies, including PTCL, AML, myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML). Based on these observations, the company is now working to prospectively validate these potential biomarkers in its ongoing Phase 2 trials of tipifarnib in hematologic malignancies. Kura expects biomarker-enriched data from these ongoing Phase 2 trials in the second half of 2018.

About Tipifarnib

Tipifarnib is a potent, selective and orally bioavailable inhibitor of the enzyme farnesyl transferase. Tipifarnib was previously studied in more than 5,000 cancer patients and demonstrated compelling and durable anti-cancer activity in certain patients with a manageable side effect profile. Following a positive Phase 2 trial in HRAS mutant HNSCC and a successful end of Phase 2 meeting with the FDA, Kura is planning to conduct a global, registration-directed trial of tipifarnib in at least 59 recurrent or metastatic patients with HRAS mutant HNSCC. The trial, called AIM-HN, is expected to initiate in the second half of 2018.