On May 5, 2021 MorphoSys AG (FSE:MOR; NASDAQ:MOR) reported its financial results for the first quarter of 2021 (Press release, MorphoSys, MAY 5, 2021, View Source [SID1234579187]).

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"For 2021, our focus is on three key areas: executing on the Monjuvi launch; rapidly advancing the tafasitamab backbone strategy through additional clinical studies; and expanding our pipeline," said Jean-Paul Kress, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of MorphoSys. "While we experienced headwinds from the pandemic in the first quarter, we are cautiously optimistic that the COVID-19 impact in the U.S. will start to diminish in the second half of 2021. We are confident in the potential of Monjuvi given its broad second-line label and overall profile in the r/r DLBCL setting. We are also making important progress initiating key trials for both tafasitamab and felzartamab this year."

Tafasitamab Highlights

Monjuvi(R) (tafasitamab-cxix) U.S. net product sales of € 12.9 million (US$ 15.5 million).
Monjuvi was granted a product-specific HCPCS J-Code, effective April 1, 2021.
On January 5, 2021, MorphoSys and Incyte announced that the Swiss Agency for Therapeutic Products (Swissmedic) had accepted the marketing authorization application (MAA) for tafasitamab and on January 12, 2021, MorphoSys and Incyte announced that Health Canada had accepted the New Drug Submission (NDS) for tafasitamab. Both applications seek approval for tafasitamab, in combination with lenalidomide, followed by tafasitamab monotherapy, for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), including DLBCL arising from low grade lymphoma, who are not eligible for, or refuse, autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT).
Pipeline Highlights

Felzartamab:

M-PLACE study of felzartamab in autoimmune membranous nephropathy ongoing: the safety run-in phase was completed and the full enrollment phase opened.
In February 2021, the first patient with autoimmune membranous nephropathy was dosed with felzartamab in the New-PLACE study, a phase 2 study evaluating different treatment schedules to identify the regimen for the pivotal study.
Otilimab:

On March 2, 2021, we announced that our partner GSK reported preliminary results of the OSCAR study using otilimab for the treatment of severe pulmonary COVID-19 related disease. Given these data suggest an important clinical benefit in a pre-defined sub-group of high-risk patients and the urgent public health need, GSK has amended the OSCAR study to expand this cohort to confirm these potentially significant findings. The dosing of the first patient in the expanded study triggered milestone payments totaling € 16 million to MorphoSys.
MOR210:

On January 25, 2021, MorphoSys and I-Mab announced that the first patient has been dosed in a phase 1 dose escalation study to evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD) of MOR210/TJ210 monotherapy in patients with relapsed or refractory advanced solid tumors in the United States.
Corporate Updates

On January 6, 2021, MorphoSys announced the appointment of Sung Lee as Chief Financial Officer, effective as of February 2, 2021.
Significant Events After The Reporting Period

On April 19, 2021, MorphoSys and Incyte announced that the first patient has been dosed in the placebo-controlled Phase 3 inMIND study evaluating the efficacy and safety of tafasitamab or placebo in combination with lenalidomide and rituximab in patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma (FL) or marginal zone lymphoma (MZL).

First Quarter 2021 Financial Results (IFRS)

Total revenues for the quarter ended March 31, 2021 were € 47.2 million compared to € 251.2 million for the comparable period in 2020. The year-over-year decline was driven by the upfront payment of the collaboration and license agreement with Incyte in the first quarter 2020 for the out-licensing of tafasitamab outside the USA.

Cost of Sales: In the first three months of 2021, cost of sales increased to € 5.0 million (3M 2020: € 3.3 million).

Research and Development (R&D) Expenses: In the first three months of 2021, research and development expenses were € 33.3 million (3M 2020: € 21.5 million). Growth over 2020 reflects the increased investment to support the advancement of proprietary programs and consisted primarily of expenses for external laboratory services and personnel expenses.

Selling, General and Administrative (SG&A) Expenses: Selling expenses increased in the first three months of 2021 to € 28.2 million (3M 2020: € 12.8 million) and general and administrative expenses remained almost unchanged at € 10.3 million (3M 2020:€ 10.1 million). The year-over-year increase in selling expenses was primarily driven by the full quarter impact of the expenses for services provided by Incyte as part of the joint U.S. marketing activities for Monjuvi.

Operating Loss: Operating loss amounted to € 29.6 million in the first three months of 2021 (3M 2020: operating profit of € 203.5 million).

Consolidated Net Loss: For the first three months of 2021, consolidated net loss was € 41.6 million (3M 2020: consolidated net profit of € 195.5 million).

Cash and Investments: As of March 31, 2021, the Company had cash and investments of € 1,215.0 million compared to € 1,244.0 million on December 31, 2020.

Number of shares: The number of shares issued remained unchanged since year-end 2020 and totaled 32,890,046.

Financial Guidance and Operational Outlook for 2021

*Group revenues includes the announced € 16 million milestone payments from GSK, but excludes other potential significant milestones from development partners and/or licensing partnerships. This revenue guidance is subject to a number of uncertainties including the potential for variability from the first full year of the Monjuvi product launch, the limited visibility that MorphoSys has on the Tremfya royalty stream as well as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the impact on our as well as our partner’s business operations.

**Operating expenses is comprised of R&D and SG&A, inclusive of Incyte’s share of Monjuvi selling costs in the USA.

MorphoSys expects for Tafasitamab the following events and activities in 2021:

Continuation of the phase 1b trial with tafasitamab in previously untreated DLBCL (firstMIND);
Initiation of a pivotal phase 3 trial of tafasitamab in previously untreated DLBCL (frontMIND);
Continuation of the phase 3 inMIND trial of tafasitamab in patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma (FL) or marginal zone lymphoma (MZL);
Investigation of tafasitamab, plamotamab and lenalidomide in patients with relapsed or refractory DLBCL, first-line DLBCL and relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma (r/r FL) jointly with Incyte and Xencor;
Continuation of the L-MIND study of tafasitamab and evaluate the long-term efficacy and safety data;
Continuation of the phase 3 B-MIND study of tafasitamab in combination with bendamustine for r/r DLBCL;
Presentation of data from the 3-year follow up of L-MIND as well as other abstracts at several scientific conferences (e.g. ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper), EHA (Free EHA Whitepaper));
Decision on the European Marketing Authorization Application (MAA), seeking approval of tafasitamab in combination with lenalidomide, followed by tafasitamab monotherapy, for the treatment of adult patients with r/r DLBCL which is currently under review;
Support of Incyte in submitting marketing authorization applications in other markets.
MorphoSys will hold its conference call and webcast tomorrow, May 6, 2021, to present the results for the first quarter of 2021 and the further outlook for 2021.

A live webcast and slides will be made available at the Media and Investors section under Conferences on MorphoSys’ website at View Source and after the call, a slide-synchronized audio replay of the conference will be available at the same location.

The interim statement for the first quarter of 2021 (IFRS) is available online:
View Source/Reports

About tafasitamab
Tafasitamab is a humanized Fc-modified cytolytic CD19 targeting monoclonal antibody. In 2010, MorphoSys licensed exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize tafasitamab from Xencor, Inc. Tafasitamab incorporates an XmAb(R) engineered Fc domain, which mediates B-cell lysis through apoptosis and immune effector mechanism including antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) and antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis (ADCP).

Monjuvi(R) (tafasitamab-cxix) is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in combination with lenalidomide for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) not otherwise specified, including DLBCL arising from low grade lymphoma, and who are not eligible for autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT). This indication is approved under accelerated approval based on overall response rate. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in a confirmatory trial(s).

In January 2020, MorphoSys and Incyte entered into a collaboration and licensing agreement to further develop and commercialize tafasitamab globally. Monjuvi(R) is being co-commercialized by Incyte and MorphoSys in the United States. Incyte has exclusive commercialization rights outside the United States.

A marketing authorization application (MAA) seeking the approval of tafasitamab in combination with lenalidomide in the EU has been validated by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and is currently under review for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory DLBCL, including DLBCL arising from low grade lymphoma, who are not candidates for ASCT.

Tafasitamab is being clinically investigated as a therapeutic option in B-cell malignancies in a number of ongoing combination trials.

Monjuvi(R) is a registered trademark of MorphoSys AG.
XmAb(R) is a registered trademark of Xencor, Inc.

On May 20, 2021 TRACON Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:TCON), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel targeted cancer therapeutics and utilizing a cost efficient, CRO-independent product development platform to partner with ex-U.S. companies to develop and commercialize innovative products in the U.S., reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021 (Press release, Tracon Pharmaceuticals, MAY 5, 2021, View Source [SID1234579186]). The Company will host a conference call and webcast today at 4:30 PM Eastern Time / 1:30 PM Pacific Time.

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"We continue to be pleased with the pace of enrollment in the pivotal ENVASARC trial and remain on track to deliver interim data in the 2nd half of this year and final data in 2022," said Charles Theuer, M.D., Ph.D., President and CEO of TRACON. "We have now initiated 22 sites and have enrolled more than 20 patients which has triggered the initial Data Monitoring Committee review of safety data from each cohort, which we expect later this quarter."

Recent Corporate Highlights

Envafolimab

In April, we resubmitted our Orphan Drug Designation application to the FDA in response to a request for preclinical or clinical evidence of activity for envafolimab in sarcoma. We expect correspondence from the FDA this quarter based on the amended application.

As of May 5, we have initiated 22 U.S. clinical sites and enrolled more than 20 patients in the pivotal ENVASARC trial of single agent envafolimab and envafolimab combined with Yervoy, which has triggered the initial Data Monitoring Committee review of safety data from each cohort.
Expected Key Upcoming Milestones

Orphan Drug Designation for envafolimab in soft tissue sarcoma from FDA in 1H 2021.

Independent Data Monitoring Committee review of ENVASARC safety data in 1H 2021.

American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) presentation of ENVASARC pivotal trial design in 1H 2021.

ASCO presentation of TJ004309 Phase 1 data in 1H 2021.

Interim ENVASARC efficacy and safety data in 2H 2021.

Request FDA breakthrough therapy designation or Fast Track designation for envafolimab in 2H 2021.

Decision on the envafolimab New Drug Application (NDA) in MSI-H/dMMR cancer that is under priority review by the Chinese National Medical Products Administration (NMPA).
First Quarter 2021 Financial Results

Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments were $30.4 million at March 31, 2021, compared to $36.1 million at December 31, 2020. The Company expects that its current cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments will fund operations into the second half of 2022.

Research and development expenses for the first quarter of 2021 were $2.3 million, compared to $2.0 million for the first quarter of 2020.

General and administrative expenses for the first quarter of 2021 were $2.7 million, compared to $1.9 million for the first quarter of 2020.

Net loss for the first quarter of 2021 was $5.1 million, compared to $4.0 million for the first quarter of 2020.
Conference Call Details

Wednesday, May 5, at 4:30 PM Eastern Time / 1:30 PM Pacific Time
Domestic: 855-779-9066
International: 631-485-4859
Conference ID: 8852857
A live webcast of the conference call will be available online from the Investor/Events and Presentation page of the Company’s website at www.traconpharma.com.

After the live webcast, a replay will remain available on TRACON’s website for 60 days.

About Envafolimab

Envafolimab (KN035), a novel, single-domain antibody against PD-L1, is the first subcutaneously injected PD-(L)1 inhibitor to be studied in pivotal trials. Envafolimab is currently being studied in the ENVASARC Phase 2 pivotal trial in the U.S. sponsored by TRACON, has been studied in a completed Phase 2 pivotal trial as a single agent in MSI-H/dMMR advanced solid tumor patients in China and is being studied in an ongoing Phase 3 pivotal trial in combination with gemcitabine and oxaliplatin in advanced biliary tract cancer patients in China, with both Chinese trials sponsored by 3D Medicines. TRACON’s partners Alphamab Oncology and 3D Medicines submitted an NDA to the NMPA in China for envafolimab in MSI-H/dMMR cancer that was accepted for review in December 2020 and granted priority review in January 2021. In the Phase 2 MSI-H/dMMR advanced solid tumor trial, the confirmed objective response rate (ORR) by blinded independent central review in MSI-H/dMMR colorectal cancer (CRC) patients treated with envafolimab who failed a fluoropyrimidine, oxaliplatin and irinotecan was 32%, which was similar to the 28% confirmed ORR reported in the Opdivo package insert in MSI-H/dMMR CRC patients who failed a fluoropyrimidine, oxaliplatin, and irinotecan and the 33% confirmed ORR reported for Keytruda in MSI-H/dMMR CRC patients who failed a fluoropyrimidine, oxaliplatin and irinotecan in cohort A of the KEYNOTE-164 clinical trial.

About ENVASARC (NCT04480502)

The ENVASARC pivotal trial is a multi-center, open label, randomized, non-comparative, parallel cohort study at approximately 25 top cancer centers in the United States that began dosing in December 2020. TRACON expects the trial to enroll 160 patients with UPS or MFS who have progressed following one or two lines of prior treatment and have not received an immune checkpoint inhibitor, with 80 patients enrolled into cohort A of treatment with single agent envafolimab and 80 patients enrolled in cohort B of treatment with envafolimab and Yervoy. The primary endpoint is ORR by blinded independent central review with duration of response a key secondary endpoint.

About TRC102

TRC102 (methoxyamine) is a novel, small molecule inhibitor of the DNA base excision repair pathway, which is a pathway that causes resistance to alkylating and antimetabolite chemotherapeutics. TRC102 is currently being studied in multiple Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials sponsored by the National Cancer Institute through a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) and has orphan drug designation from the U.S. FDA in malignant glioma, including glioblastoma.

About TJ004309

TJ004309 is a novel, humanized antibody against CD73, an ecto-enzyme expressed on stromal cells and tumors that converts extracellular adenosine monophosphate (AMP) to adenosine, which is highly immunosuppressive. TJ004309 is currently being studied in an ongoing Phase 1 trial to assess safety and preliminary efficacy as a single agent and when combined with the PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitor Tecentriq in patients with advanced solid tumors.

On May 15, 2021 Xencor, Inc. (NASDAQ:XNCR), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing engineered monoclonal antibodies and cytokines for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases, reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021 and provided a review of recent business and clinical highlights (Press release, Xencor, MAY 5, 2021, View Source [SID1234579185]).

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"We continue to expand and mature our clinical portfolio of XmAb drug candidates, recently initiating a Phase 1 study for our second cytokine program, XmAb564, a wholly owned IL-2-Fc fusion protein, in healthy volunteers. We engineered this molecule to preferentially activate regulatory T cells, an emerging mechanism for treating patients with autoimmune diseases," said Bassil Dahiyat, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer at Xencor. "Additionally, at the AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) meeting, we presented preclinical data from multiple early-stage programs that highlight our protein engineering expertise with our third cytokine, a wholly owned IL-12-Fc fusion protein, as well as the potential of our CD28 platform and XmAb 2+1 bispecific antibody format. Looking ahead, we will continue to present maturing data from our clinical-stage programs, and we have plans to initiate several additional clinical studies this year and early 2022, including a Phase 2 study in prostate cancer with XmAb717, our PD-1 x CTLA-4 bispecific antibody."

Recent Business and Portfolio Highlights

XmAb564 (IL-2-Fc Cytokine): XmAb564 is a wholly owned, monovalent IL-2-Fc fusion protein, engineered to selectively activate and expand regulatory T cells (Tregs) for the potential treatment of patients with autoimmune diseases. XmAb564 is engineered with reduced binding affinity for IL-2’s beta receptor and increased binding affinity for its alpha receptor. In preclinical studies, XmAb564 was well-tolerated, promoted the selective and sustained expansion of Tregs and exhibited a favorable pharmacokinetic profile. In April 2021, the first subject was dosed in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 1 clinical study evaluating the safety and tolerability of XmAb564, administered subcutaneously in healthy adult volunteers.
Preclinical Presentations at AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper): At the 2021 AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting, the Company presented four posters highlighting several preclinical-stage programs, including its IL-12-Fc cytokine program, two XmAb 2+1 bispecific antibodies (Claudin-6 x CD3 and GPC3 x CD3), and a PD-L1 x CD28 bispecific program. Such targeted CD28 bispecific antibodies, a new class of T cell engager, may provide conditional co-stimulation of T cells, for example, to T cells recognizing neoantigens or in concert with CD3 T-cell engaging bispecific antibodies. The Company is also advancing through preclinical development a wholly owned lead CD28 candidate, a B7-H3 x CD28 bispecific antibody, which will be evaluated for the treatment of patients with a range of solid tumors.
New Academic Collaboration with UCLA: In February, the Company entered an agreement with UCLA to develop novel therapeutic antibodies, pairing novel targets proposed by scientists at UCLA and Xencor’s modular suite of XmAb technology platforms. The UCLA Technology Development Group will work with faculty to propose potential antibody drug candidates. For selected candidates, the Company and UCLA expect to use a framework with predefined terms to enter sponsored research agreements and potential license agreements.
Multiple Clinical Studies Planned to Advance Xencor’s Wholly Owned Programs

XmAb717 (PD-1 x CTLA-4): The Company plans to initiate a Phase 2 study in patients with certain molecular subtypes of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) in mid-2021. This study will evaluate XmAb717 as a monotherapy or in combination depending on the subtype, as these patients represent a high unmet medical need.
Tidutamab (SSTR2 x CD3): The Company plans to initiate a clinical study in patients with Merkel cell carcinoma and small cell lung cancer, SSTR2-expressing tumor types known to be responsive to immunotherapy, in mid-2021.
Plamotamab (CD20 x CD3): In November 2020, the Company entered a strategic clinical collaboration with MorphoSys AG to investigate the chemotherapy-free triple combination of plamotamab, tafasitamab and lenalidomide in patients with relapsed or refractory (r/r) diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL), first-line DLBCL and r/r follicular lymphoma (FL). The Company plans to initiate the first of these studies, in patients with r/r DLBCL, an aggressive type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), in late 2021 or early 2022.
XmAb698 (CD38 x CD3): The Company plans to support investigator-initiated studies of XmAb698 (formerly AMG 424), and a new study is currently being planned to start later in 2021.
XmAb819 (ENPP3 x CD3): XmAb819 is engineered with the multi-valent XmAb 2+1 bispecific antibody format to enable greater tumor selectivity, and it is in development for patients with renal cell carcinoma. The Company plans to submit an investigational new drug (IND) application in 2021 and initiate a Phase 1 study in early 2022.
Progress Across Partnered Programs

MorphoSys AG: In April 2021, MorphoSys initiated the Phase 3 inMIND study to evaluate the addition of tafasitamab to lenalidomide and rituximab in patients with r/r follicular lymphoma or marginal zone lymphoma. Xencor earned $12.5 million for the development milestone and recognized royalty revenue of $1.4 million on net sales of Monjuvi during the first quarter of 2021.
Vir Biotechnology, Inc.: Vir and its partner GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK) are evaluating VIR-7831 in an extensive ongoing clinical development program. In March 2021, Vir and GSK submitted an emergency use authorization (EUA) application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration based on an interim analysis of the Phase 3 COMET-ICE (COVID-19 Monoclonal antibody Efficacy Trial – Intent to Care Early) trial, which demonstrated an 85% reduction in hospitalization or death in high-risk adult outpatients with COVID-19 receiving VIR-7831 as monotherapy compared to placebo, the primary endpoint of the trial.
Monjuvi is a registered trademark of MorphoSys AG.

First Quarter Ended March 31, 2021 Financial Results

Cash, cash equivalents and marketable investment securities totaled $577.1 million at March 31, 2021, compared to $604.0 million at December 31, 2020. The decrease reflects royalties, milestone payments and equity received related to licensing agreements, net of cash used to fund operating activities in the first quarter of 2021.

Total revenue for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021 was $34.0 million, compared to $32.4 million for the same period in 2020. Revenues in the first quarter of 2021 included revenues related to the Janssen collaboration, milestone revenue recognized from MorphoSys and the royalty revenue from Alexion and MorphoSys, compared to revenues from the same period in 2020, which were primarily revenue recognized from MorphoSys, royalty revenue from Alexion, and licensing revenue from Aimmune and Gilead.

Research and development expenditures for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021 were $41.4 million, compared to $33.9 million for the same period in 2020. Additional spending on research and development expenses for the first quarter of 2021 was primarily due to increased spending on XmAb306, XmAb564 and XmAb819 programs.

General and administrative expenses for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021 were $8.2 million, compared to $7.2 million in the same period in 2020. Additional spending on general and administrative expenses for the first quarter of 2021 reflects increased spending related to staffing.

Other income for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021 was $13.2 million and included a gain of $12.9 million from equity related to a licensing transaction, compared to $0.7 million for the same period in 2020, which was primarily net interest income earned for the period.

Non-cash, stock-based compensation expense for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021 was $8.3 million, compared to $6.5 million for same period in 2020.

Net loss for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021 was $2.5 million, or $(0.04) on a fully diluted per share basis, compared to net loss of $8.1 million, or $(0.14) on a fully diluted per share basis, for the same period in 2020. The lower net loss reported for first quarter of 2021 compared to the net loss for the same period in 2020 is primarily due to other income recognized related to equity received in the first quarter of 2021 in excess of increased spending on research and development.

The total shares outstanding were 58,221,953 as of March 31, 2021, compared to 57,001,253 as of March 31, 2020.

Financial Guidance

Based on current operating plans, Xencor expects to have cash to fund research and development programs and operations into 2024. Xencor expects to end 2021 with between $425 million and $475 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities.

Conference Call and Webcast

Xencor will host a conference call today at 4:30 p.m. ET (1:30 p.m. PT) to discuss these first quarter 2021 financial results and provide a corporate update.

The live call may be accessed by dialing (877) 359-9508 for domestic callers or +1 (224) 357-2393 for international callers and referencing conference ID number 2378094. A live webcast of the conference call will be available online from the Investors section of Xencor’s website at www.xencor.com. The webcast will be archived on Xencor’s website for 30 days.

On May 5, 2021 Personalis, Inc. (Nasdaq: PSNL), a leader in advanced genomics for population sequencing and cancer, reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021 (Press release, Personalis, MAY 5, 2021, View Source [SID1234579184]).

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First Quarter Highlights

Record quarterly revenue of $20.9 million in the first quarter of 2021 compared with $19.2 million in the first quarter of 2020, a 9% increase
Revenue of $7.7 million from biopharma and all other customers, excluding VA MVP, in the first quarter of 2021 compared with $4.4 million in the first quarter of 2020, a 74% increase
Announced a collaboration with Natera in the field of personalized oncology; Personalis to provide the exome sequence data for Natera to pair with their personalized ctDNA platform, SignateraTM
Announced a collaboration with MapKure, LLC, a company jointly owned by BeiGene, Ltd. and SpringWorks Therapeutics, Inc., LLC for use of the NeXT PlatformTM for clinical trials and companion diagnostic development
Added approximately $162 million of cash to balance sheet from public offering of common stock financing in the first quarter of 2021; ended the quarter with cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments of $353.4 million as of March 31, 2021
"I’m proud to say that we were able to report record revenue once again this quarter and achieved our nineteenth consecutive quarter of growth, as we converted an increasing number of orders into revenue. Biopharma and all other customer revenue grew 74% year-over-year, and orders from customers exceeded revenues reported once again this quarter," said John West, Chief Executive Officer. "Recently, we announced a partnership with Natera in the field of personalized oncology, and a companion diagnostics collaboration with MapKure. Both collaborations further validate our NeXT platform as a leading front end tissue-sequencing platform, capable of detecting cancer cell mutations that conventional exome tests often miss. Our tissue offering complements our whole exome liquid biopsy product that we launched in August 2020 and NeXT Personal, our Minimal Residual Disease (MRD) offering that we expect to launch in 2021, providing Personalis with access to three distinct revenue opportunities in the rapidly growing cancer monitoring market."

First Quarter 2021 Financial Results

Revenues were $20.9 million in the three months ended March 31, 2021, up 9% from $19.2 million in the same period of the prior year.

Gross margin was 35.6% in the three months ended March 31, 2021, compared with 21.1% in the same period of the prior year.

Operating expenses were $19.9 million in the three months ended March 31, 2021, compared with $13.7 million in the same period of the prior year.

Net loss was $12.4 million in the three months ended March 31, 2021 and net loss per share was $0.29 based on a weighted-average basic and diluted share count of 42.3 million, compared with a net loss of $9.1 million and a net loss per share of $0.29 on a weighted-average basic and diluted share count of 31.3 million in the same period of the prior year.

Business Outlook

Personalis expects the following for the second quarter of 2021:

Total Company revenues to be approximately $21.3 million
Revenues from biopharma and all other customers, excluding VA MVP, to be in the range of $7.3 million to $7.7 million
Net Loss to be in the range of $16 million to $17 million; estimated outstanding shares of 43 million
Personalis expects the following for the full year of 2021:

Total Company revenues to be approximately $85 million
Revenues from biopharma and all other customers, excluding VA MVP, to be in the range of $30 million to $32 million
Net Loss to be in the range of $70 million to $75 million; estimated outstanding shares of 44 million
Webcast and Conference Call Information

Personalis will host a conference call to discuss the first quarter 2021 financial results after market close on Wednesday, May 5, 2021 at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time / 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The conference call can be accessed live over the phone by dialing (866) 220-8061 for U.S. callers or (470) 495-9168 for international callers, using the conference ID: 6587766. The live webinar can be accessed at View Source

On May 5, 2021 Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: NBIX) reported its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021 and provided revised full-year 2021 financial expense guidance (Press release, Neurocrine Biosciences, MAY 5, 2021, View Source [SID1234579183]).

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"Our first quarter results reflect a lower than normal refill rate per patient due to the typical seasonal payor dynamics for INGREZZA that were exacerbated by COVID. Importantly, we did not see an increase in discontinuations and exited the quarter with more patients on INGREZZA versus the prior quarter. New patient starts did pick up late in the quarter and we are focused on restoring INGREZZA growth as the impact of the pandemic wanes," said Kevin Gorman, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Neurocrine Biosciences. "We made meaningful progress advancing our large, growing and diverse pipeline, including initiating a registrational study for the treatment of pediatric patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia and a Phase II study in essential tremor. With important commercial products addressing patient needs and on track to initiate nine mid-to-late stage clinical studies this year, we are executing our plan to build a leading neuroscience-based company."

First Quarter Net Product Sales and Commercial Highlights:

INGREZZA net product sales for the first quarter of 2021 were $230 million and $227 million on an inventory adjusted basis
Annual seasonal payor dynamics resulted in lower refill rates per existing patient as compared to historical norms due to the COVID-19 pandemic and related disruption on timing of patient insurance reauthorizations
Exiting the first quarter, commercial activity and weekly new prescriptions both achieved their highest levels since the start of the pandemic reflecting an improved environment for diagnosis of tardive dyskinesia (TD). We expect second quarter inventory adjusted sales sequential dollar growth to be similar to 2020.
INGREZZA direct-to-consumer advertising campaign, "TD Spotlight", to be launched in May to educate patients about tardive dyskinesia and the benefits of INGREZZA
Financial Highlights:

First quarter 2021 GAAP net income and diluted earnings per share were approximately $32 million and $0.33, respectively, compared with approximately $37 million and $0.39, respectively, in the first quarter of 2020
First quarter 2021 non-GAAP net income and diluted earnings per share were approximately $48 million and $0.49, respectively, compared with approximately $79 million and $0.82, respectively, in the first quarter of 2020
Difference between first quarter 2021 GAAP and non-GAAP net income and diluted earnings per share vs. the first quarter of 2020 were driven by:
Increased Research and Development (R&D) expense primarily due to increased investment across our expanded pipeline programs and higher headcount costs
Increased Selling, General and Administrative (SG&A) expense primarily due to increased investment in commercial initiatives
At March 31, 2021, the Company had cash, cash equivalents and debt securities available-for-sale of $1.1 billion
A reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP financial results can be found in Table 3 and Table 4 at the end of this earnings release.

Provision for Income Taxes:

First quarter 2021 benefit from income taxes was $4.9 million, compared with a provision for income taxes of $1.5 million in the first quarter of 2020. Our effective tax rate for the first quarter of 2021 was lower than federal and state statutory rates primarily due to excess tax benefits related to stock compensation. On December 31, 2020, the Company released substantially all of its valuation allowance against its net operating losses and other deferred tax assets. Beginning in the first quarter of 2021, the Company began recording a provision for income taxes using an effective tax rate approximating federal and state statutory rates. Due to our ability to offset our pre-tax income against previously benefited federal net operating losses, no federal cash tax is expected in 2021.

Recent Events

In February 2021, the Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation (MTPC) reported positive top-line results from the J-KINECT Phase III Study, designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of valbenazine in tardive dyskinesia. Detailed results from this trial will be presented at a future medical conference. In April 2021, MTPC submitted a Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) with the Ministry of Health and Welfare in Japan for valbenazine for the treatment of tardive dyskinesia. MTPC submission of valbenazine triggered a milestone payment of $15 million, to be paid by MTPC to Neurocrine Biosciences and recognized as collaboration revenue in the second quarter of 2021.
In February 2021, the Company notified Voyager Therapeutics, Inc. (Voyager) of the Company’s termination of the NBIb-1817 (VY-AADC) development program in Parkinson’s disease (the Program). The Company will work to transfer the rights to the Program to Voyager by August 2, 2021.
On March 2, 2021, the Company announced that investigational drug luvadaxistat (NBI-1065844/TAK-831) did not meet its primary endpoint in the Phase II INTERACT study in adults with negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Luvadaxistat met both secondary endpoints of cognitive assessment. The Company plans to initiate a Phase II study for the treatment of cognitive impairment associated with schizophrenia (CIAS) by the end of 2021.
In April 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a 60 mg INGREZZA capsule for the treatment of adults with tardive dyskinesia. The 60 mg capsule of INGREZZA is expected to be available to patients by late second quarter 2021.
Previously, the Company expected combined GAAP R&D and SG&A expenses in the range of $800 million to $850 million and combined non-GAAP R&D and SG&A expenses in the range of $675 million to $725 million
Increase to GAAP and Non-GAAP expense guidance range primarily driven by investment in INGREZZA direct-to-consumer marketing campaign, "TD Spotlight"
GAAP-only guidance includes approximately $130 million of share-based compensation. GAAP-only guidance does not include any potential milestones or in-process research and development costs associated with current collaborations or future business development activities.
Conference Call and Webcast Today at 4:30 PM Eastern Time
Neurocrine Biosciences will hold a live conference call and webcast today at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time (1:30 p.m. Pacific Time). Participants can access the live conference call by dialing 800-895-3361 (US) or 785-424-1062 (International) using the conference ID: NBIX. The webcast can also be accessed on Neurocrine Biosciences’ website under Investors at www.neurocrine.com. A replay of the webcast will be available on the website approximately one hour after the conclusion of the event and will be archived for approximately one month.

(Press release, Neurocrine Biosciences, MAY 5, 2021, View Source [SID1234579183])