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F-star Therapeutics Reports Full-Year 2021 Financial Results and Provides Corporate Update

On March 14, 2022 F-star Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSTX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing next generation immunotherapies to transform the lives of patients with cancer, reported full-year 2021 financial results and will provide a corporate update (Press release, F-star, MAR 14, 2022, View Source [SID1234610045]).

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"Bispecifics have come of age, and F-star is exceptionally well positioned in this field with our unique tetravalent bispecific platform," said Eliot Forster, Chief Executive Officer of F-star Therapeutics. "With all four of our clinical programs poised to generate clinical data later this year, F-star is now entering a period with multiple, data-driven inflection points, each of which has the potential to be transformative to our company. Reaching these important readouts is possible as a result of diligence, tenacity and execution by the F-star team. During 2021, we successfully navigated the challenges of COVID-19 to advance our clinical programs, secured two new partnerships, closed a significant financing, strengthened our patent portfolio, and added even more depth and experience to our leadership team. We want to thank investors, our staff, partners and patients and look forward to continuing our important work together this year and beyond."

Highlights:

FS222 Trial-in-Progress update at ESMO (Free ESMO Whitepaper) Immuno-Oncology Congress 2021: The clinical study (Part A) comprised an Accelerated Dose Titration (ADT) component, followed by a 3+3 dose escalation and dose-expansion cohorts. FS222 targets CD137 (4-1BB) and PD-L1 in patients with advanced malignancies. Part B consists of tumor-specific efficacy expansion cohorts. The ADT component of Part A was completed successfully, and identification of optimal patient groups, dose and schedule is ongoing. FS222 is a potentially best in class bispecific antibody targeting CD137 and PD-L1 and is designed to improve treatment outcomes in patients with cancer, including those with low PD-L1 tumors. FS222 is currently in Part A of a Phase 1 study that will assess safety, PK/PD, biomarkers and preliminary efficacy.

FS120 poster presented at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) (Free SITC Whitepaper) 2021 Conference highlighting the benefits of triple immune activation: FS120 in combination with anti-PD-1 (pembrolizumab) was shown to enhance T cell activity in multiple human primary immune assays. In combination with an anti-PD-1, FS120 surrogate increased antitumor efficacy in a mouse tumor model with pharmacodynamic changes related specifically to T cell activation, when compared to monotherapies supporting the development of FS120 in combination with Keytruda in patients with cancers that are resistant to checkpoint inhibitor therapy. FS120 is a first-in-class conditional OX40/CD137 (4-1BB) dual stimulator bispecific antibody which has been designed to improve check point inhibitor (CPI) and chemotherapy outcomes. FS120 is currently in Part A of a Phase 1 trial as a monotherapy in patients with solid tumors to determine the optimal pharmacologically active dose. Part B of the Phase 1 study will evaluate FS120 in combination with Merck’s KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) and will assess safety, PK/PD, and biomarker data.

Further strengthening of patent protection with the issuance of U.S. Patent to protect FS118: United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has granted a patent protecting the composition of matter of FS118, a tetravalent bispecific antibody which blocks PD-L1 and LAG-3 receptors. U.S. Patent No. 11,214,620 is entitled "Binding Molecules Binding PD-L1 and LAG-3"and is expected to provide F-star with exclusivity for FS118 until at least August 2038.

Additional partnership validation and potential revenue through Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany exercising a Fourth Licensing Option: Under the terms of the agreement, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany will be responsible for all future development and commercialization costs of the bispecific program and will pay future success-based milestones and royalties on any net sales resulting from programs covered by the agreement.

License Agreement with Janssen to Develop and Commercialize Multiple Next Generation Bispecific Antibody Therapeutics: Under the terms of the agreement, F-star will grant Janssen a worldwide, exclusive royalty-bearing license to research, develop, and commercialize up to five novel bispecific antibodies directed to Janssen therapeutic targets using F-star’s proprietary Fcab and mAb2 platforms. Janssen will be responsible for all research, development, and commercialization activities under the agreement. F-star is entitled to receive potential future milestones of up to $1.35 billion.

Anticipated Program Milestones:

In 2022:

A clinical efficacy readout of FS118 in PD-1 acquired resistance head and neck cancer patients who have failed checkpoint therapies.

Clinical update on FS222 Phase 1 trial.

Program update on the Phase 1 trial of FS120.

FS120 trial part B initiation, in combination with Merck’s pembrolizumab.

Program update of the dose-escalation study of SB 11285, a next-generation intravenously administered novel STING agonist.

Full-Year 2021 Financial Update

Cash Position

Cash and cash equivalents totalled $78.5M for the year ended December 31, 2021, compared to $18.5M for the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase in cash and cash equivalents was driven primarily by proceeds from our ATM and equity financing, debt financing and collaboration revenue, offset by the Company’s operational needs during 2021.

R&D Expense

R&D expense was $28.8M for the year ended December 31, 2021, compared to $14.1 M for the 2020 year-end. The increase in R&D expense was due primarily to the expansion of our FS118 clinical trial into acquired resistance head & neck patients, as well as our CPI naïve trial in NSCLC and DLBCL, a full year of spend on the mono and combo SB11285 clinical trial, and continued progression of our FS120 and FS222 clinical programs.

G&A Expense

G&A expenses were $23.1M for the year ended December 31, 2021, compared to $19.5M for the full year 2020. This increase is primarily due to a $2.4M increase in stock-based compensation expense, $1.6M increase in public company Directors & Officers insurance for a full year, $1.0M in facilities and IT costs, offset by a $1.4M reduction in legal and professional fees and G&A staff costs.

Net Loss Attributable to Common Shareholders

Net loss attributable to common shareholders was $31.3million or ($1.88) per share, for the year ended December 31, 2021, as compared to a net loss of $25.6 million or ($9.69) per share for the year ended December 31, 2020.

Conference Call and Webcast

F-star will host a conference call today, March 14, 2021, beginning at 9:00 a.m. EST.

To access the call, participants may join via a live webcast on the Investors & News section of the F-star Therapeutics website, under Events and Presentations. To join by phone, participants may dial the following numbers at least 10 minutes prior to the start of the call:

A replay of the conference call will be available for 90 days from the call and may be accessed in the Investors & News/Events and Presentations section on the F-star Therapeutics website.

VLB Therapeutics to Report Year-End 2021 Financial Results on March 23

On March 14, 2022 VBL Therapeutics (Nasdaq: VBLT), a late-clinical stage biotechnology company focused on developing first-in-class therapeutics for difficult-to-treat malignant solid tumors and immune or inflammatory indications, reported that it will release financial results for the year ended December 31, 2021 on Wednesday, March 23 before market open (Press release, VBL Therapeutics, MAR 14, 2022, View Source [SID1234610044]). Professor Dror Harats, M.D., Chief Executive Officer, and Sam Backenroth, Chief Financial Officer, will host a conference call at 8:30am ET to discuss the results and provide a corporate update.

Heat Biologics Provides Year-End 2021 Business Update

On March 14, 2022 Heat Biologics, Inc. ("Heat") (NYSE American: HTBX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing first-in-class therapies to modulate the immune system, reported that provided strategic, financial, and operational updates for the year ended December 31, 2021 (Press release, Heat Biologics, MAR 14, 2022, View Source [SID1234610043]).

Jeff Wolf, Chief Executive Officer of Heat, commented, "2021 was a transformative year for Heat as we progress our strategic evolution to become a fully-integrated biopharmaceutical company. On the clinical front, we presented favorable survival data at The American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) of HS-110 in combination with checkpoint inhibitors for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We recently submitted meeting requests to the FDA for separate Type B ("End of Phase 2 Meeting") and Type C (Phase 3 "CMC Readiness Meeting") meetings to receive feedback on our proposed trial design and regulatory path forward. We anticipate these meetings will be scheduled for the second quarter of 2022. Following these meetings, we should be in a better position to advance potential strategic discussions regarding this program."

"In September, based on our positive review of the Phase 1 data generated to date, we announced additional dose levels for our Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating the safety of PTX-35 monotherapy in patients with solid tumors and look forward to reporting the results of this trial later this year. We also recently announced new data demonstrating a single dose of the preclinical version of PTX-35 (mPTX-35), was able to expand regulatory T cells (Tregs) and significantly improve disease and graft survival outcome in a model of pancreatic islet allotransplantation for the treatment of diabetes."

"We continued to make great strides towards becoming a fully integrated biotech capable of driving innovations from discovery through delivery. With the formation of Skunkworx Bio, we have ramped up our in-house discovery of biologics for our preclinical and clinical development efforts."

"Our biomanufacturing and analytical team at Scorpion Biological Services broke ground on a new facility in San Antonio, Texas, designed to decrease our dependence on third-party CDMOs, reducing costs and accelerating timelines. In addition to supporting our own internal operations, we intend to offer manufacturing services to other biopharma companies on a fee-for-service basis. These efforts reinforce our goal of maximizing efficiency of drug development to expedite the delivery of novel immune activating therapies."

"At the World Vaccine Conference, we announced our new biosecurity/biodefense initiative led by RapidVax, a novel vaccine platform designed to enable an accelerated response and long-lasting immunological memory against a wide variety of infectious agents. RapidVax is designed to utilize a common unprogrammed vaccine base that can be manufactured in bulk, stockpiled, and rapidly customized upon identification of a biological threat to enable an accelerated time to clinic that can harness shared development, clinical safety, and manufacturing synergies. Our gp96-based cellular vaccines have previously demonstrated prophylactic protection in animal models against a range of diseases, including malaria, HIV/SIV, Zika and SARS-CoV-2 in multiple DOD and NIH-funded studies. Since launching this program, we have filed patents to protect our proprietary technology and have established our new Biothreat Advisory Board, which includes highly renowned individuals in the fields of biosecurity and biodefense, to guide the development of our programs."

"In addition to our internal biodefense initiatives, we announced a definitive merger agreement to acquire Elusys Therapeutics, a commercial-stage biodefense company and the manufacturer of ANTHIM (obiltoxaximab), which is approved for the treatment of inhalation anthrax in the U.S., Canada, Europe. Since announcing this acquisition, Elusys completed the first phase of a contract for $50 million with an option to procure up to an additional $31 million of ANTHIM by the first half of 2023. Given the growing global uncertainty, we believe the risks of anthrax and other biological threats are more present than ever. This acquisition is aligned with our strategy to take a leading role in the biodefense market."

2021 Financial Results

Recognized $2.1 million of grant and contract revenue, primarily for qualified expenditures under the CPRIT grant for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to $2.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. The decrease in grant revenue in the current-year period primarily reflects the expected timing of completion of deliveries under the current phase of the contracts. As of December 31, 2021, we had a grant receivable balance of $1.3 million for CPRIT proceeds not yet received but for which the costs had been incurred or the conditions of the award had been met. We continue our efforts to secure future non-dilutive grant funding to subsidize ongoing research and development costs.
Research and development expense was $18.8 million and $12.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The increase was primarily due to manufacturing and patient costs for PTX-35, consulting expenses in our clinical and CMC groups, and a $2.4 million impairment of IPR&D.
General and administrative expense was $16.8 million and $14.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020. The increase was primarily due to the increase in salaries, D&O insurance expense, and legal fees.
Net loss attributable to Heat Biologics was approximately $35.1 million, or ($1.41) per basic and diluted share for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to a net loss of approximately of $26.0 million, or ($1.63) per basic and diluted share for the year ended December 31, 2021.
As of December 31, 2021, the Company had approximately $96.4 million in cash, cash equivalents and short term investments.

CORRECTION: Athenex to Provide Corporate and Financial Update for the Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2021, on March 16, 2022

On March 14, 2022 Athenex (NASDAQ: ATNX), a global biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development, and commercialization of novel therapies for the treatment of cancer and related conditions, reported that the Company will provide a corporate and financial update for the fourth quarter and full year 2021, on Wednesday, March 16, 2022 (Press release, Athenex, MAR 14, 2022, View Source [SID1234610042]). Athenex’s management team will host a conference call and live audio webcast at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

Please note the call is being rescheduled from the previously announced date of March 15 at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

To participate in the call, dial either the domestic or international number fifteen minutes before the conference call begins:

The live conference call and replay can also be accessed via audio webcast here and on the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website under "Events and Presentations", located at View Source

Biogen and Eisai amend collaboration agreements on Alzheimer’s disease treatments

On March 14, 2022 Biogen Inc. (Nasdaq: BIIB) and Eisai Co., Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan) reported that the companies have amended their existing collaboration agreement on aducanumab, which is commercialized in the United States as ADUHELM (aducanumab-avwa). Effective as of January 1, 2023, Eisai will receive a tiered royalty based on net sales of ADUHELM rather than sharing global profits and losses (Press release, Eisai, MAR 14, 2022, View Source [SID1234610041]). The royalty rate starts at 2% and reaches 8% when annual sales exceed $1 billion. Effective immediately Biogen’s existing final decision-making rights on ADUHELM have converted to sole decision making and commercialization rights worldwide. Overall, economic arrangements for both companies in 2022 are expected to remain materially unchanged with Eisai’s share of expenses capped at an agreed amount for the costs related to development, commercialization and manufacturing of ADUHELM for the period from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2022. Once the tiered royalty model commences on January 1, 2023, Eisai will not participate in ADUHELM’s economics beyond these royalties.

The companies will continue to jointly develop and commercialize the investigational therapy lecanemab. Eisai continues to serve as the lead of lecanemab development and regulatory submissions globally with both companies co-commercializing and co-promoting the product, and Eisai having final decision-making authority. Both companies share economics equally with Eisai booking all sales for lecanemab and Biogen reflecting its 50% share of profits and losses. The supply agreement related to lecanemab has been extended from five to 10 years. Biogen will manufacture the lecanemab drug substance in its Solothurn, Switzerland facility with the goal of providing reliable commercial supply worldwide.

"This amended collaboration agreement will increase operational efficiency and agility in addressing market developments, including the final determination of CMS on coverage of ADUHELM," said Michel Vounatsos, Chief Executive Officer at Biogen. "In addition we are pleased to be expanding our agreement with Eisai through a new long-term manufacturing contract."

"The collaboration between both companies has resulted in the approval of ADUHELM in the U.S. as the first treatment to address a defining pathology of Alzheimer’s disease, which is a significant step into a new chapter of Alzheimer’s therapy." said Haruo Naito, Chief Executive Officer at Eisai Co., Ltd. "We believe this new arrangement will be more effective and enable more focused execution with the goal of maximizing the value of both ADUHELM and lecanemab. Eisai will increase its focus on lecanemab and remains committed to bringing a new treatment option expeditiously to patients in need worldwide."