On August 1, 2022 Biomea Fusion, Inc. (Nasdaq: BMEA), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to discovering and developing novel covalent small molecules to treat and improve the lives of patients with genetically defined cancers and metabolic diseases, reported second quarter 2022 financial results and business highlights (Press release, Biomea Fusion, AUG 1, 2022, View Source [SID1234617233]).

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"The team continues to deliver against critical corporate goals as we look to build tremendous value potential for the company in the near and long-term. During the second quarter, we focused specifically on key clinical operations and clinical science activities to support COVALENT-101. Additionally, we continued to design and execute key experiments to support our diabetes effort as we march towards the clinic," said Thomas Butler, Biomea’s Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board. "The scaffold protein menin has many more functional responsibilities than was previously characterized and, thus, is central to multiple disease settings. Moreover, we believe our approach of covalent menin inhibition with BMF-219 offers potential safety, tolerability, efficacy and durability benefits to patients. We are now well positioned to execute a robust clinical development plan for BMF-219, which includes many liquid and solid tumor indications, as well as type 2 diabetes. Beyond menin inhibition, we are advancing toward the clinic with our second IND candidate, BMF-500, a covalent FLT3 inhibitor with best-in-class potential."

Second Quarter 2022 Pipeline Highlights

Cancer

Enrolled first patient with MM in the ongoing first-in-human Phase I clinical trial (COVALENT-101) evaluating BMF-219 in patients with relapsed or refractory acute leukemias, DLBCL, and MM
Presented Trial in Progress posters for COVALENT-101 at multiple prominent oncology conferences in the United States and in Europe
Presented preclinical data in two posters at AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) 2022 highlighting the impact of BMF-219 on MYC- and KRAS-driven solid tumors. Building on prior data, BMF-219 exhibited robust anti-tumor effect in cell lines and PDX models in DLBCL and MM cell lines
On track to submit IND for BMF-219 in KRAS mutant NSCLC, CRC, and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) in the fourth quarter of 2022
Presented preclinical data at ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) 2022 demonstrating BMF-219’s potency in multiple ex vivo tumor models of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) with varying cytogenetic risk profiles, Rai stages, and resistance to standard-of-care agents indicating broad activity across these models
Announced IND candidate selection, BMF-500, a potential best-in-class oral covalent inhibitor of FLT3, one of the most frequently altered genes in AML and associated with poor prognosis
Diabetes

Presented new preclinical data in two posters at the ADA Scientific Sessions 2022, demonstrating BMF-219’s strong, prolonged glycemic control, insulin sensitization, and hemoglobin A1C (HbA1c) reduction in two preclinical rat models of diabetes while on drug and after washout, outperforming standard-of-care agents
Announced upcoming oral presentations of BMF-219 preclinical data from two animal models of diabetes at the EASD 2022 annual meeting which will include additional data not previously presented at the ADA Scientific Sessions 2022
On track to submit IND for BMF-219 in type 2 diabetes in the second half of 2022
Second Quarter 2022 Financial Results

Net Income/Loss: Biomea reported a net loss attributable to common stockholders of $33.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022, compared to a net loss of $14.3 million for the same period in 2021.
R&D Expenses: Research and development expenses were $23.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022, compared to $9.0 million for the same period in 2021. The increase of $14.9 million was primarily due to an increase in personnel-related expenses, as well as an increase in preclinical and clinical development costs, including manufacturing and external consulting, related to the Company’s product candidates, BMF-219 and BMF-500.
G&A Expenses: General and administrative expenses were $9.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022, compared to $5.3 million for the same period in 2021. The increase of $4.7 million was primarily due to higher personnel-related expenses and other corporate costs to support the Company’s expanding operations as well as additional costs incurred as a public company.
Cash, Cash Equivalents, Restricted Cash, and Investments: As of June 30, 2022, the Company had cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and investments of $150.2 million, compared to $175.7 million as of December 31, 2021.

On August 1, 2022 Fennec Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:FENC; TSX: FRX), a specialty pharmaceutical company, reported up to a US$45 million investment from Petrichor Healthcare Capital Management ("Petrichor") (Press release, Fennec Pharmaceuticals, AUG 1, 2022, View Source [SID1234617232]). Under the terms of the investment agreement:

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Subject to customary closing conditions, Petrichor will purchase $5 million of senior secured promissory notes which are convertible into Fennec common shares at a price per share of $8.11 based upon a 20% premium to the 5-day VWAP immediately prior to announcement of the investment. The Company intends to repay in full its existing secured indebtedness with Bridge Bank before the first closing;
An additional $20 million to be funded upon the potential U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of PEDMARKTM by September 30, 2022 and satisfaction of other closing conditions. Fennec upon mutual agreement with Petrichor may draw up to $20 million of additional financing under the investment agreement; and
The notes have a five-year term and bear interest at a rate equal to the US Prime Rate plus 4.5%, with 3.5% of the interest paid in kind for the first twenty-four months.
Rosty Raykov, chief executive officer of Fennec, said, "Petrichor is a premier healthcare-dedicated investment firm who has worked with us to structure this transaction, which provides substantial capital and flexibility to support the launch and commercialization of PEDMARKTM, if approved. We appreciate the confidence that Petrichor is demonstrating in Fennec and the potential market opportunity for PEDMARKTM as we await a decision from the FDA by the September 23, 2022 PDUFA target action date."

Tadd Wessel, Founder and Managing Partner of Petrichor, said, "We are pleased to partner with Fennec as they seek to commercialize PEDMARKTM. The Fennec team has a clear strategic vision and the potential to bring a transformative medication to the pediatric cancer community, as PEDMARKTM stands to be the first FDA-approved therapy to reduce the risk of ototoxicity associated with cisplatin in pediatric patients. Our investment strengthens Fennec’s balance sheet and provides management with the financial flexibility to potentially capitalize on near-term growth opportunities for PEDMARKTM."

Further information surrounding the investment agreement is set forth in the Current Report on Form 8-K filed by the Company with the SEC on or about August 1, 2022. The offer and sale of the notes and the shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of the notes, if any, have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the securities laws of any other jurisdiction, and the notes and such shares may not be offered or sold absent registration with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") or an applicable exemption from registration requirements, or in a transaction not subject to, such registration requirements. We intend to rely upon the exemption set forth in Section 602.1 of the TSX Company Manual, which provides that the TSX will not apply its standards to certain transactions involving eligible interlisted issuers on a recognized exchange, such as Nasdaq.

No regulatory authority has either approved or disapproved the contents of this press release. This press release is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer to buy the notes or the shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of the notes, if any, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

About PEDMARK

Cisplatin and other platinum compounds are essential chemotherapeutic agents for many pediatric malignancies. Unfortunately, platinum-based therapies cause ototoxicity, or hearing loss, which is permanent, irreversible and particularly harmful to the survivors of pediatric cancer.

In the U.S. and Europe, it is estimated that, annually, over 10,000 children may receive platinum-based chemotherapy. The incidence of ototoxicity depends upon the dose and duration of chemotherapy, and many of these children require lifelong hearing aids. There is currently no established preventive agent for this hearing loss and only expensive, technically difficult and sub-optimal cochlear (inner ear) implants have been shown to provide some benefit. Infants and young children that suffer ototoxicity at critical stages of development lack speech language development and literacy, and older children and adolescents lack social-emotional development and educational achievement.

PEDMARK has been studied by cooperative groups in two Phase 3 clinical studies of survival and reduction of ototoxicity, The Clinical Oncology Group Protocol ACCL0431 and SIOPEL 6. Both studies have been completed. The COG ACCL0431 protocol enrolled childhood cancers typically treated with intensive cisplatin therapy for localized and disseminated disease, including newly diagnosed hepatoblastoma, germ cell tumor, osteosarcoma, neuroblastoma, and medulloblastoma. SIOPEL 6 enrolled only hepatoblastoma patients with localized tumors.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for filing the Company’s resubmitted New Drug Application (NDA) for PEDMARKTM (a unique formulation of sodium thiosulfate (STS)) for the prevention of platinum-induced ototoxicity in pediatric patients with localized, non-metastatic, solid tumors. The PDUFA target action date for the NDA is September 23, 2022. The Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for sodium thiosulfate (tradename PEDMARQSI) is currently under evaluation by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). PEDMARK has received Breakthrough Therapy and Fast Track Designation by the FDA in March 2018.

On August 1, 2022 Gracell Biotechnologies Inc. ("Gracell" or the "Company",NASDAQ: GRCL), a global clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing highly efficacious and affordable cell therapies for the treatment of cancer, reported the appointment of Wendy Li, M.D., as its Chief Medical Officer (CMO) (Press release, Gracell Biotechnologies, AUG 1, 2022, View Source [SID1234617227]). In this role, Dr. Li will oversee Gracell’s clinical development activities, including the advancement of its pipeline of autologous and allogeneic product candidates across the Company’s multiple proprietary technology platforms.

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Dr. Li brings to Gracell over 20 years of experience leading all critical aspects of clinical and medical operations at early-stage and large pharmaceutical organizations in the U.S. and China. Her expertise spans both clinical development and medical affairs, including leading early- and late-stage clinical trials for several therapeutic candidates for the treatment of hematological malignancies and solid tumors, and overseeing over 30 successful Investigational New Drug applications (INDs), New Drug Applications (NDAs) and Biologics License Applications (BLAs) that led to several multi-billion-dollar blockbuster drugs.

"Dr. Li is a distinguished and enthusiastic clinical leader and shares our commitment to discovering and developing breakthrough cell therapies. We are excited to add her experience to Gracell’s global leadership team," said Dr. William (Wei) Cao, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Gracell. "Dr. Li’s decades of experience in leading clinical development and strategy across many types of cancers and treatment modalities, as well as expertise in working with regulatory agencies, will be invaluable as we continue to advance our pipeline of breakthrough cell therapies and approach the filing of our U.S. IND application for GC012F later this year."

Prior to joining Gracell, Dr. Li served as CMO of EXUMA Biotech, where she provided strategic medical and clinical leadership for the advancement of its cell therapy pipeline in the U.S. and Asia. She has also held clinical development and medical affairs leadership positions at Pfizer, Sanofi, Genentech, and Sihuan Pharmaceutical. Dr. Li holds an M.D. from Sun Yat-Sen University of Medical Sciences.

"With years of experience in CAR-T, I recognize this therapy’s potential to fulfill patients’ unmet needs and am eager to join a company with a pipeline as promising as Gracell’s," Dr. Li said. "I believe the company’s FasTCAR and TruUCAR platforms have vast potential to solve some of the greatest challenges facing CAR-T therapy. The lead candidate, GC012F, is a highly differentiated CAR-T therapy that potentially affords competitive efficacy, combined with a favorable safety profile and faster delivery to patients. I look forward to joining Gracell’s leadership team and bringing the company to its next stage of growth."

On August 1, 2022 Biosight Ltd., a pharmaceutical development company focused on the development of innovative therapeutics for hematological malignancies and disorder, reported that the United States Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Orphan Drug Designation to aspacytarabine (BST-236), an investigational novel antimetabolite, for the treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes, in addition to the Orphan Drug Designation granted in 2019 for aspacytarabine for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) (Press release, BioSight, AUG 1, 2022, View Source [SID1234617226]).

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Following the encouraging single-agent efficacy and safety profile of aspacytarabine in the recently completed Phase 2b trial in front-line treatment of AML patients unfit for standard induction chemotherapy, aspacytarabine development program is being expanded to second-line treatment of AML and MDS in two ongoing Phase 2 clinical trials, one in the US and Israel and one in France in collaboration with the European cooperative group, GFM. In addition to the monotherapy development programs, a Phase 1/2 trial of aspacytarabine in combination with the Bcl2 inhibitor, venetoclax, for the treatment of AML patients unfit for standard chemotherapy will be launched in the coming weeks.

"We are very pleased to have received from the FDA the Orphan Drug Designation for aspacytarabine for the treatment of MDS, which adds to the designation granted already for the treatment of AML" said Dr. Ruth Ben Yakar, CEO of Biosight. "The accumulating clinical data from more than a hundred patients treated to date with aspacytarabine monotherapy in four clinical trials, suggest that aspacytarabine, with a differentiated mechanism that enables high-dose chemotherapy with reduced toxicity, has the potential to transform standard of care for AML and MDS patients".

Orphan Drug Designation by the FDA entitles Biosight to seven years of market exclusivity for the use of aspacytarabine for the treatment of MDS, if approved, plus significant development incentives, including tax credits related to clinical trial expenses, an exemption from the FDA-user fee, and FDA assistance in clinical trial design.

About Aspacytarabine (BST-236)

Aspacytarabine is a novel proprietary anti-metabolite. It is composed of cytarabine covalently bound to asparagine, acting as a pro-drug of cytarabine. Cytarabine serves as the backbone of AML and MDS therapy for over 45 years due to its superior efficacy, however, it is associated with severe bone marrow, gastrointestinal, and neurological toxicities, which significantly limit its use, especially in older and medically compromised patients. Due to its unique pharmacokinetics and metabolism, aspacytarabine enables high-dose therapy with lower systemic exposure to free cytarabine and relative sparing of normal tissues. As such, aspacytarabine may serve as a superior therapy for AML, MDS, and other hematological malignancies and disorders, including for older adults who are unfit for intensive therapy.

Aspacytarabine was granted FDA Fast Track Designation for the treatment of AML in adults who are age 75 years or older, or who have comorbidities that preclude use of intensive induction chemotherapy, and Orphan Drug designations from the FDA and EMA, which entitles Biosight to seven and ten years of market exclusivity upon aspacytarabine marketing approval for the treatment of AML in the US and Europe, respectively.

Results from the recently completed Phase 2b study evaluating aspacytarabine as a single-agent first-line AML therapy demonstrate safety and single-agent activity, and additional studies are ongoing to evaluate aspacytarabine as a second line treatment for patients with relapsed or refractory MDS or AML. For more information regarding the Phase 2b clinical study of aspacytarabine, please visit www.clinicaltrials.gov.

On August 1, 2022 Tavanta Therapeutics, a clinical-stage specialty pharmaceutical company developing a diverse pipeline of specialty drugs that bring clinically meaningful benefits to patients with serious or debilitating diseases, reported the completion of patient enrollment in the Company’s pivotal Phase 3 study for TAVT-45 (abiraterone acetate) Granules for Oral Suspension ("TAVT-45") (Press release, Tavanta Therapeutics, AUG 1, 2022, View Source [SID1234617225]). TAVT45CO2 is a global Phase 3 clinical trial evaluating TAVT-45 in patients with metastatic castrate-sensitive prostate cancer (mCSPC) and metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). The primary objective of the study is to establish therapeutic equivalence between TAVT-45 and Zytiga tablets.

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TAVT-45 is designed to provide an easy-to-consume oral suspension of abiraterone acetate, reconstituted in water or juice, for patients with difficulty taking large tablets. Approximately 20 to 30 percent of cancer patients have difficulty swallowing pills and capsules (dysphagia) and may benefit from an alternate formulation. The prevalence of dysphagia also increases with age and is an issue for many patients with prostate cancer, whom have a median age of over 65 years old at time of diagnosis.

"The current standard of care treatment for metastatic prostate cancer requires patients to ingest multiple large tablets, and under strict fasting conditions due to the risk of increased and highly variable abiraterone exposures with food," said Kenneth M. Kernen, M.D., study investigator and partner in the Michigan Institute of Urology. "Dysphagia is an issue for many – and it occurs more frequently in elderly patients. If TAVT-45 proves successful in this trial, clinicians may soon have access to an alternative, easy-to-drink formulation of abiraterone acetate with improved bioavailability and reduced systemic variability, which may ultimately help patients achieve better clinical outcomes."

This Phase 3 registrational trial (NCT04887506) is a global, randomized, multi-center, open-label trial designed to evaluate the pharmacodynamic effect and safety profile of TAVT-45 Granules compared to Zytiga tablets, in combination with prednisone, in patients with mCSPC and mCRPC. In addition to establishing therapeutic equivalence between TAVT-45 Granules and Zytiga tablets, the study aims to characterize the multiple-dose pharmacokinetic profile of TAVT-45 Granules. Topline results for the trial are expected by the end of this year.

"On behalf of Tavanta, we would like to thank the clinical study site investigators and the patients who are participating in and supporting this pivotal trial, especially in light of the ongoing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. We look forward to completing the dosing and follow-up phases of the study," said Lynne Powell, chief executive officer of Tavanta Therapeutics. "As we work to complete this registrational trial for TAVT-45, we will begin preparing for the submission of our New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the third quarter of 2023, while also evaluating strategic options for commercialization of TAVT-45."

About TAVT-45 Granules
TAVT-45 Granules is an enhanced formulation of abiraterone acetate for the treatment of metastatic prostate cancer. When reconstituted with water or juice to yield an oral suspension, TAVT-45 Granules may provide an alternative for the 20 to 30 percent of patients who suffer from dysphagia or have difficulty swallowing tablets and may increase the bioavailability of abiraterone and therefore allow a lower dose to be administered. In addition to the multiple large tablets required daily, other limitations of Zytiga include the requirement to be taken on an empty stomach and the high variability in systemic exposure. This high variability in systemic exposure has been shown to result in patients with low abiraterone plasma concentrations and exposure, which can lead to suboptimal clinical outcomes.i,ii It is anticipated that TAVT-45 Granules may be given regardless of food consumption and may result in fewer patients having sub-optimal abiraterone trough plasma concentrations.