On May 6, 2020 BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:BCRX) reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020, and provided a corporate update (Press release, BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, MAY 6, 2020, View Source [SID1234557085]).

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

"This is a transformational year for BioCryst as we prepare to launch berotralstat in multiple territories to bring our oral, once-daily prophylactic medicine to HAE patients, and begin generating significant revenue," said Jon Stonehouse, president and chief executive officer of BioCryst.

"We are excited to see the clinical response in treatment-naïve PNH patents at the 50 mg and 100 mg twice-daily dose levels, and more than 98 percent suppression of complement in both alternative pathway assays at the 200 mg and 400 mg twice-daily levels in healthy volunteers," said Dr. William Sheridan, chief medical officer of BioCryst.

"This profile provides strong support for BCX9930 as an oral monotherapy. We look forward to studying 200 mg and 400 mg twice-daily in PNH patients and advancing this program to treat multiple complement-mediated diseases," Sheridan added.

Program Updates and Key Milestones

Hereditary Angioedema (HAE) Program – Berotralstat (BCX7353): Oral, once-daily treatment for prevention of HAE attacks

BioCryst expects three regulatory approvals for berotralstat in 2020 and early 2021. These timelines remain on track.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is currently reviewing a new drug application for berotralstat and has set an action date of December 3, 2020, under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA).

In Japan, the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA) is reviewing a new drug application (JNDA) for berotralstat under the Sakigake timeline, and the company expects approval in Japan in the second half of 2020.

On March 30, 2020, the company announced that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) had validated its marketing authorization application (MAA) submission for berotralstat and begun their formal review of the MAA under the centralized procedure. An opinion from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) is expected within approximately 12 months from MAA validation.

Ongoing commercial launch preparations are on track in the U.S., EU and Japan. The company does not expect delays due to COVID-19.

On May 5, 2020, the company announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued a notice of allowance for a new composition of matter patent which extends patent protection for berotralstat in the U.S. market by four years through October 2039.
Complement Oral Factor D Inhibitor Program – BCX9930

Low dose cohort (50 mg and 100 mg twice-daily) data in three treatment-naïve paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) patients who completed 28 days of therapy shows BCX9930 inhibited complement and was safe and generally well tolerated.

Patients were severely ill with pre-treatment LDH from 3.7 to 11× the upper limit of normal (ULN) and low hemoglobin of 6.0 to 8.2 g/dL.

All patients had dose-dependent reductions in LDH and increases in hemoglobin.

No drug-related serious adverse events were observed.

No PNH patients experienced rash.

Based on the investigators’ assessment of clinical benefit, all three patients continued on therapy with BCX9930 (100 mg twice-daily) following the 28-day study window.

With the recent enrollment of a fourth patient with PNH, enrollment is now complete in treatment-naïve cohort 1 (50 mg and 100 mg twice-daily). Treatment-naïve cohort 2 (200 mg and 400 mg twice-daily) is expected to begin enrollment upon completion of cohort 1, with data expected in Q3 2020.

The company plans to begin enrolling PNH patients resistant to C5 inhibitors in Q3 2020 and expects to report data from these treatment-resistant patients by the end of 2020.

Data from the 200 mg and 400 mg twice-daily multiple ascending dose (MAD) cohorts in healthy volunteers shows >98 percent suppression of the alternative pathway beyond 12 hours and no dose-limiting adverse events.
Given these data, the company expects to achieve its goal of monotherapy for PNH patients in cohort 2 (200 mg and 400 mg twice-daily).

Additional details can be found on slides, which can be accessed at the Investors’ section of BioCryst’s website at http://www.biocryst.com.

Coronavirus Antiviral Program – Galidesivir (BCX4430)

Patient dosing is underway in Brazil in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial to assess the safety, clinical impact and antiviral effects of galidesivir in patients with COVID-19. The trial (NCT03891420) is being funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.

Part 1 of the trial is enrolling 24 hospitalized adults diagnosed with moderate to severe COVID-19 confirmed by PCR. Three cohorts of eight patients will be randomized to receive intravenous (IV) galidesivir (n=6) or placebo (n=2) every 12 hours for seven days. Upon completion of part 1 of the trial, an optimized dosing regimen of galidesivir will be selected for part 2 of the trial, based on part 1 results. In part 2 of the trial, up to 42 hospitalized patients with COVID-19 will be randomized 2:1 to receive IV galidesivir or placebo.

In vitro testing of galidesivir against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is underway. Galidesivir has been shown to be active against more than 20 RNA viruses in nine different families, including coronaviruses.

The company also is working closely with the government to increase the supply of galidesivir.
Additional Updates

On April 2, 2020, the company announced the appointment of Anthony Doyle as senior vice president and chief financial officer.

The company remains on track to report data in 2H 2020 from its ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial of BCX9250, an oral ALK-2 kinase inhibitor for treatment of fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP), in healthy subjects.
First Quarter 2020 Financial Results

For the three months ended March 31, 2020, total revenues were $4.8 million, compared to $5.9 million in the first quarter of 2019. The decrease was primarily due to reduced peramivir product sales and lower royalty revenues, partially offset by amortization of deferred revenue from the Torii Pharmaceutical, Co. commercialization agreement.

Research and development (R&D) expenses for the first quarter of 2020 increased to $29.9 million from $27.5 million in the first quarter of 2019, primarily due to due to increased spending on the company’s complement-mediated diseases program and other preclinical development initiatives.

Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses for the first quarter of 2020 increased to $15.9 million, compared to $6.2 million in the first quarter of 2019. The increase was primarily due to increased spending on commercial activities and medical affairs to support the U.S. commercial launch of berotralstat in 2020 and contingent legal costs associated with our Seqirus UK Limited (Seqirus) dispute.

Interest and other income were $6.4 million in the first quarter of 2020, compared to $0.6 million in the first quarter of 2019. The increase was primarily due to the partial arbitration award related to our Seqirus dispute.

Interest expense was $3.0 million in the first quarter of 2020, compared to $2.7 million in the first quarter of 2019 and was associated with an increase in the outstanding balance of the company’s secured credit facility in February 2019 and increased interest expense associated with the company’s non-recourse notes payable.

Net loss for the first quarter of 2020 was $37.6 million, or $0.24 per share, compared to a net loss of $31.1 million, or $0.28 per share, for the first quarter of 2019.

Cash, cash equivalents and investments totaled $114.6 million at March 31, 2020, and reflect a decrease from $137.8 million at December 31, 2019. Operating cash use for the first quarter of 2020 was $23.1 million.

Financial Outlook for 2020

BioCryst expects full year 2020 net operating cash use to be in the range of $125 to $150 million, and its operating expenses to be in the range of $135 to $160 million. The company’s operating expense range excludes equity-based compensation expense due to the difficulty in reliably projecting this expense, as it is impacted by the volatility and price of the company’s stock, as well as by the vesting of the company’s outstanding performance-based stock options.

Conference Call and Webcast

BioCryst management will host a conference call and webcast at 8:30 a.m. ET today to discuss the financial results and provide a corporate update. The live call may be accessed by dialing 877-303-8027 for domestic callers and 760-536-5165 for international callers and using conference ID # 4679821. A live webcast of the call and any slides will be available online at the investors section of the company website at www.biocryst.com. A telephone replay of the call will be available by dialing 855-859-2056 for domestic callers or 404-537-3406 for international callers and entering the conference ID # 4679821.

On May 6, 2020 TG Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: TGTX), reported it has raised gross proceeds of approximately $60 million through its At-the-Market (ATM) facility, $40 million of which came from longtime shareholder, RA Capital Management (Press release, TG Therapeutics, MAY 6, 2020, View Source [SID1234557084]). The Company sold approximately 3.5 million shares of the Company’s common stock on May 5, 2020, at the then-prevailing market prices.

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

TG Therapeutics intends to use the capital raised through the ATM to fund the ongoing development and commercialization of the Company’s lead assets, ublituximab and umbralisib, as well as for research and development activities of the Company’s pipeline, and for general corporate purposes.

Michael S. Weiss, the Company’s Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "On the heels of the positive topline UNITY-CLL data, we were pleased to bolster our balance sheet with $60 million, including $40 million coming unsolicited from a top-tier biotechnology investor. We greatly appreciate their continued confidence in TG and our efforts to bring the best possible treatment options to patients with B-cell diseases. We look forward to an exciting remainder of 2020, with many important upcoming milestones, including completion of our rolling NDA submission for umbralisib in previously treated marginal zone lymphoma and follicular lymphoma, topline data from the ULTIMATE program evaluating ublituximab in multiple sclerosis, as well as a regulatory submission for the combination regimen of umbralisib and ublituximab in chronic lymphocytic leukemia targeted by year-end."

The shares of common stock were sold pursuant to an automatically-effective registration statement that the Company previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities described herein, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

On May 6, 2020 Constellation Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company using its expertise in epigenetics to discover and develop novel therapeutics, reported its first-quarter 2020 financial results (Press release, Constellation Pharmaceuticals, MAY 6, 2020, View Source [SID1234557083]).

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

"In the face of the serious public health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, we at Constellation remain focused on our mission of addressing unmet medical needs in cancer and hematological diseases," said Jigar Raythatha, president and chief executive officer of Constellation Pharmaceuticals. "We are continuing to make progress on each of our development programs and are steadily advancing toward our goal of becoming a fully integrated hematology / oncology company with a sustainable product pipeline.

"Our vision is to transform the standard of care in myelofibrosis with CPI-0610. Encouraging preliminary data on CPI-0610 suggest possible disease-modifying effects, including improvement in bone marrow fibrosis, hemoglobin increases, and conversion of transfusion dependence to transfusion independence, as well as spleen volume reductions and symptom improvement – both in combination with ruxolitinib and as a monotherapy.

"We are also working to create novel treatments for patients in other therapeutic areas," Mr. Raythatha concluded. "We believe that our EZH2-inhibitor franchise of CPI-1205 and CPI-0209 provides potential opportunities to treat a wide range of oncology patients, and we aim to achieve important milestones with each of these molecules this year."

Program Updates

CPI-0610

On May 14, we expect three abstracts to publish in association with the European Hematology Association (EHA) (Free EHA Whitepaper). We will provide an update with 12-week data from 29 JAK-inhibitor-naïve (first-line) patients, 24-week data from 15 JAK-inhibitor-naïve patients, and 24-week data from 48 JAK-inhibitor-experienced (second-line) patients.

Data will include preliminary evidence of disease modification, including bone marrow fibrosis, hemoglobin changes, and conversion from transfusion dependence to transfusion independence, in addition to spleen and symptom improvement.

In mid-June, we expect to present a further update in conjunction with the EHA (Free EHA Whitepaper) meeting, including 12-week data from approximately 50 first-line patients, and 24-week data from 25-30 first-line patients and 70-80 second-line patients.

We aim to start a global clinical trial for CPI-0610 in the first-line setting during the second half of 2020.

We continue to plan to meet with the FDA in mid-2020 to discuss the future development of CPI-0610.
EZH2

The ProSTAR trial is fully enrolled and we plan to determine next steps for CPI-1205 after taking a mid-year data cut. As we previously discussed, our plans for any potential Phase 3 program for CPI-1205 will depend on our assessment of these data on duration of effect, as well as other considerations.

The Phase 1 clinical trial for CPI-0209 is proceeding as planned, and we expect to determine a recommended Phase 2 dose in the second half of 2020. Once we have established the Phase 2 dose we plan to start a broad-based expansion study in solid tumors.
Impact of COVID-19

Execution of ongoing clinical trials. Patient safety remains paramount in the execution of our clinical trials. In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, we continue to treat patients in our MANIFEST, ProSTAR, and CPI-0209 clinical trials.

Patient enrollment in MANIFEST began to slow toward the end of first quarter of 2020. Prior to the pandemic, we had met or exceeded our internal enrollment goal for MANIFEST, and we continue to assess what impact the pandemic could have on our MANIFEST trial timeline. Similarly, while we have had incidences of incomplete data collection to date, we are utilizing provisions of the protocol and recent regulatory guidance that provide potential flexibility in the time and place of data collection, and we will continue to monitor the situation. We expect to provide a data update at EHA (Free EHA Whitepaper) similar to our plans prior to the COVID-19 outbreak.

To date, we have not seen a significant impact of COVID-19 on clinical trials for CPI-1205 or CPI-0209. The ProSTAR trial for CPI-1205 is proceeding, and we continue to expect to do a data cut in mid-2020 and to provide an update shortly thereafter. Our CPI-0209 Phase 1 trial continues as planned before the COVID-19 outbreak and we continue to expect to determine a recommended Phase 2 dose in the second half of 2020.
CPI-0610 Phase 3 clinical trial. Conditions at clinical trial sites caused by COVID-19 may impact the timing of the start of our Phase 3 clinical trial for CPI-0610. However, we still aim to begin this trial in the second half of 2020.

Manufacturing. We have experienced some disruption in our supply chain due to COVID-19. However, supply chain disruptions have not impacted our overall timelines for conducting clinical trials to date, and we continue to manufacture batches for our ongoing clinical trials.
Milestones

The Company anticipates achieving the following milestones during 2020:

CPI-0610 – Provide MANIFEST program update at EHA (Free EHA Whitepaper) in June

CPI-0610 – Initiate Phase 3 clinical trial in second half of 2020

CPI-0610 – Provide additional MANIFEST program update by end of year

CPI-1205 – Provide ProSTAR program update and determine next steps mid-year

CPI-0209 – Provide program update, including recommended Phase 2 dose, by end of year

First Quarter 2020 Financial Results

Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities as of March 31, 2020, were $358.8 million, a decrease of 6.5% compared to December 31, 2019, primarily due to operating expenses.

Research and development (R&D) expenses increased 28.1% year over year to $20.1 million in the first quarter of 2020, mainly due to increased clinical trial expenses.

General and administrative (G&A) expenses grew 33.4% year over year to $5.9 million in the first quarter of 2020, primarily due to building out the organization of the company.

The net loss attributed to common shareholders increased 31.0% year over year to $25.4 million for the first quarter of 2020, mainly due to increased R&D and G&A expenses. The net loss per share attributable to common shareholders decreased 18.7% to $0.61 per share due to an increase in shares outstanding as a result of the private placement in October 2019 and the public offering in December 2019, offset in part by the increased net loss.
Financial Guidance

Constellation expects that its current cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities will enable it to fund operations into the second half of 2022.

Conference Call

Constellation will host a conference call at 8:00 AM EDT on May 6, 2020, to discuss its clinical programs and financial results. The event will be webcast live and can be accessed on the Investor Relations section of Constellation’s website at View Source To participate in the live question-and-answer session, please dial (877) 473-2077 (domestic) or (661) 378-9662 (international) and refer to conference ID 4372778.

On May 6, 2020 Bicycle Therapeutics plc (NASDAQ: BCYC), a biotechnology company pioneering a new and differentiated class of therapeutics based on its proprietary bicyclic peptide (Bicycles) technology, reported that management will present at the Bank of America 2020 Health Care Conference on Thursday, May 14, 2020 at 3:00 p.m. ET (Press release, Bicycle Therapeutics, MAY 6, 2020, View Source [SID1234557082]). The conference will be held in a virtual meeting format.

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

A live webcast of the presentation will be accessible in the Investors & Media section of Bicycle’s website at www.bicycletherapeutics.com. An archived replay of the webcast will be available for 60 days following the presentation date.

On May 6, 2020 Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has extended the action date by three months for the biologics license application (BLA) for lisocabtagene maraleucel (liso-cel), a CD19-directed chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy for the treatment of adults with relapsed or refractory (R/R) large B-cell lymphoma after at least two prior therapies (Press release, Bristol-Myers Squibb, MAY 6, 2020, View Source [SID1234557081]). The new Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) action date set by the FDA is November 16, 2020.

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

Subsequent to the submission and acceptance of the BLA and upon FDA request, the company submitted additional information to the FDA, which was deemed to constitute a major amendment to the application and will require additional time for FDA review. The company will work closely with the FDA to support the continued review of the BLA for liso-cel and is committed to bringing this therapy to patients.

For Holders of Contingent Value Rights (CVR), Ticker BMY-RT

U.S. FDA approval of liso-cel by December 31, 2020 is one of the required remaining milestones of the Contingent Value Rights issued upon the close of the Celgene acquisition in the fourth quarter of 2019. The other is U.S. FDA approval of Idecabtagene Vicleucel (ide-cel) by March 31, 2021.

The company is committed to working with FDA to progress both applications and achieve the remaining regulatory milestones required by the CVR.

About Lisocabtagene Maraleucel (liso-cel)

Liso-cel is an investigational chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy designed to target CD19, which is a surface glycoprotein expressed during normal B-cell development and maintained following malignant transformation of B cells. Liso-cel aims to target CD19-expressing cells through a CAR construct that includes an anti-CD19 single-chain variable fragment (scFv) targeting domain for antigen specificity, a transmembrane domain, a 4-1BB costimulatory domain hypothesized to increase T-cell proliferation and persistence, and a CD3-zeta T-cell activation domain. The defined composition of CAR-positive viable T-cells (consisting of CD8 and CD4 components) in liso-cel may reduce product variability; however, the clinical significance of defined composition is unknown.

Bristol Myers Squibb: Advancing Cancer Research

At Bristol Myers Squibb, patients are at the center of everything we do. The goal of our cancer research is to increase patients’ quality of life, long-term survival and make cure a possibility. We harness our deep scientific experience, cutting-edge technologies and discovery platforms to discover, develop and deliver novel treatments for patients.

Building upon our transformative work and legacy in hematology and Immuno-Oncology that has changed survival expectations for many cancers, our researchers are advancing a deep and diverse pipeline across multiple modalities. In the field of immune cell therapy, this includes registrational CAR T cell agents for numerous diseases, and a growing early-stage pipeline that expands cell and gene therapy targets, and technologies. We are developing cancer treatments directed at key biological pathways using our protein homeostasis platform, a research capability that has been the basis of our approved therapies for multiple myeloma and several promising compounds in early- to mid-stage development. Our scientists are targeting different immune system pathways to address interactions between tumors, the microenvironment and the immune system to further expand upon the progress we have made and help more patients respond to treatment. Combining these approaches is key to delivering new options for the treatment of cancer and addressing the growing issue of resistance to immunotherapy. We source innovation internally, and in collaboration with academia, government, advocacy groups and biotechnology companies, to help make the promise of transformational medicines a reality for patients.