ESSA Pharma Provides Corporate Update and Reports Financial Results for Fiscal First Quarter Ended December 31, 2023

On February 13, 2024 ESSA Pharma Inc. ("ESSA", or the "Company") (NASDAQ: EPIX), a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on developing novel therapies for the treatment of prostate cancer, reported a corporate update and provided financial results for the fiscal first quarter ended December 31, 2023 (Press release, ESSA, FEB 13, 2024, View Source [SID1234640050]).

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"As we enter 2024, we are focused on advancing the investigation of masofaniten in combination with second-generation antiandrogen agents, with the goal of improving clinical outcomes for patients battling prostate cancer," said David Parkinson, MD, President and CEO of ESSA. "We are extremely pleased with the data reported to date from the Phase 1 dose escalation study evaluating masofaniten combined with enzalutamide in patients with mCRPC naïve to second generation anti-androgens where we continue to observe compelling, deep and durable reductions in prostate-specific antigen ("PSA"), along with an encouraging 16.6 month median time to PSA progression. We look forward to reporting updated Phase 1 dose escalation data during 2024. In addition, we continue to advance enrollment in both Phase 1 arms evaluating masofaniten in combination with apalutamide or abiraterone acetate, respectively, and look forward to reporting preliminary data during the second half of 2024."

"On the financial front, we are bolstered by our strong cash position that we expect will provide sufficient runway to fund our planned operations through several data readouts and beyond 2025. We are excited to execute on our key 2024 objectives which we believe will meaningfully advance the investigation of masofaniten and look forward to providing updates on our progress throughout the year," concluded Dr. Parkinson.

First Quarter Fiscal 2024 and Recent Highlights

Masofaniten Combination Studies

Reported Phase 1 dose escalation data at multiple medical meetings from the four cohorts of its ongoing Phase 1/2 study evaluating masofaniten in combination with enzalutamide in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer ("mCRPC") naïve to second-generation antiandrogens but may have been treated with chemotherapy in the metastatic castration-sensitive setting. These data were presented at the 2024 ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Genitourinary Cancers Symposium, the 2023 Prostate Cancer Foundation Scientific Retreat and at the European Society for Medical Oncology 2023 Congress. As of the most recent data presentation, the results demonstrated that the combination continues to be well tolerated at the dose levels tested through up to 25 cycles of dosing in some patients. Deep and durable reductions in PSA were observed across evaluable patients for efficacy in all dosing cohorts (n=16). Across all dosing cohorts, 88% of patients achieved PSA50, 81% of patients achieved PSA90, 69% of patients achieved PSA90 in less than 90 days, and 63% of patients achieved PSA <0.2ng/mL. While the data for time to PSA progression are still maturing with a current median follow up of 11.1 months, the median time to PSA progression is 16.6 months. ESSA expects to report updated data from the Phase 1 dose escalation study during the second half of 2024.
Enrollment is underway in the Phase 2 portion of the Phase 1/2 study evaluating the combination of masofaniten and enzalutamide compared to enzalutamide monotherapy in patients with mCRPC naïve to second-generation antiandrogens but who may have been treated with chemotherapy in the metastatic castration-sensitive setting. The Phase 2 portion of the study is an open-label randomized study comparing 160 mg once-daily of single agent enzalutamide to the combination of masofaniten with enzalutamide, and is expected to enroll approximately 120 patients. The recommended Phase 2 combination dose was identified as masofaniten 600 mg twice-daily combined with enzalutamide 160 mg once daily. The study is currently enrolling at approximately 25 sites in the USA, Canada and Australia. Expansion to European sites is in progress. ESSA plans to provide guidance for timing of the public disclosure of initial data once the Phase 2 portion has been underway for several months.
Initiated two additional masofaniten combination arms as part of the ongoing Phase 1 masofaniten study. One arm will evaluate masofaniten in combination with abiraterone acetate and prednisone in patients with either metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer or mCRPC while the second arm will evaluate masofaniten in combination with apalutamide in patients with non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer after 12 weeks of masofaniten single agent. ESSA expects to report preliminary data from these Phase 1 arms during the second half of 2024.
An investigator-sponsored neoadjuvant study was also initiated evaluating neoadjuvant use of the combination of masofaniten and darolutamide compared to darolutamide monotherapy in high-risk patients undergoing prostatectomy.
Masofaniten Monotherapy Study

On track to complete the Phase 1b masofaniten monotherapy study evaluating masofaniten in patients with late-line mCRPC, which is currently ongoing. The initial results from the study were reported at the 2023 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Genitourinary Cancers Symposium, which demonstrated that masofaniten monotherapy was well-tolerated, achieved clinically significant exposures, and showed preliminary signals of anti-tumor activity in a subset of patients. ESSA plans to present the complete Phase 1a and 1b monotherapy results in 2024 at a medical conference.
Summary Financial results
(Amounts expressed in U.S. dollars)

Net Loss. ESSA recorded a net loss of $6.0 million for the first quarter ended December 31, 2023 compared to $6.7 million for the first quarter ended December 31, 2022. The decrease in the first quarter was primarily attributed to an increase in investment income over the prior period of $0.5 million.
Research and Development ("R&D") expenditures. R&D expenditures for the first quarter ended December 31, 2023 were $5.4 million compared to $5.3 million for the first quarter ended December 31, 2022, and include non-cash costs related to share-based payments $526,241 for the first quarter ended 2023 compared to $791,192 for the first quarter ended 2022. Reduced expenditure on manufacturing for the period was offset by additional investment in the clinical trial work on masofaniten.
General and Administration ("G&A") expenditures. G&A expenditures for the first quarter ended December 31, 2023 were $2.2 million compared to $2.5 million for the first quarter ended December 31, 2022 and include non-cash costs related to share-based payments of $277,177 for the first quarter ended 2023 compared to $772,419 for the first quarter ended 2022. The overall expenditure is largely comparable to the Company’s additional spend on professional fees to update Company’s documents for its shelf prospectus and ATM program.
Liquidity and Outstanding Share Capital

As of December 31, 2023, the Company had available cash reserves and short-term investments of $142.1 million. The Company’s cash position is expected to be sufficient to fund current and planned operations beyond 2025.
On November 6, 2023, the Company announced that it had entered into an Open Market Sale AgreementSM (the "ATM Sales Agreement") with Jefferies LLC, effective as of November 3, 2023. Under the ATM Sales Agreement, ESSA may, within the period that the ATM Sales Agreement is in effect, sell its common shares from time to time for up to $50.0 million in aggregate sales proceeds. No offers or sales of common shares will be made in Canada, to anyone known by Jefferies LLC to be a resident of Canada or on or through the facilities of any stock exchange or trading markets in Canada.
As of December 31, 2023, the Company had 44,163,647 common shares issued and outstanding.
In addition, as of December 31, 2023, there were 2,920,000 common shares issuable upon the exercise of prefunded warrants at an exercise price of $0.0001.

Global Registrational Phase III Study of Olverembatinib (HQP1351) Cleared by FDA

On February 13, 2024 Ascentage Pharma (6855.HK), a global biopharmaceutical company engaged in developing novel therapies for cancer, age-related diseases, and chronic hepatitis B (CHB), reported that it has received clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to initiate a global registrational Phase III trial of olverembatinib (HQP1351) in previously treated adult patients with chronic-phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML-CP) (Press release, Ascentage Pharma, FEB 13, 2024, View Source;cleared-by-fda-302061303.html [SID1234640049]).

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Under protocol HQP1351CG301, titled "A Global Multicenter, Open-Label, Randomized, Phase III Registrational Study of Olverembatinib (HQP1351) in Patients with Chronic-Phase Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (POLARIS-2)," the study is designed to assess the efficacy and safety of olverembatinib in the treatment of patients with CML-CP with or without the T315I mutation. The US FDA’s clearance of the trial marks the first global registrational Phase III trial for olverembatinib in patients with CP-CML to be conducted. The trial is scheduled to commence during the first half of 2024.

Olverembatinib is a global best-in-class novel drug developed by Ascentage Pharma. As the first and only China-approved third-generation BCR-ABL inhibitor, olverembatinib can effectively target BCR-ABL and a spectrum of BCR-ABL mutants, including the T315I mutation. In November 2021, olverembatinib was approved in China for the treatment of adult patients with TKI-resistant CML-CP or accelerated-phase CML (CML-AP) harboring the T315I mutation. In November 2023, olverembatinib was approved for a new indication in adult patients with CML-CP resistant and/or intolerant of first-and second-generation TKIs. And in early 2024, the drug was included in the latest guidelines from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) for the management of CML.

Dr. Dajun Yang, Chairman and CEO of Ascentage Pharma, remarked that, "FDA’s clearance of POLARIS-2 marks another major milestone for olverembatinib and our company at large, as we conduct a range of global registrational trials of our major assets to combat challenging hematologic malignancies. We are most encouraged that our cutting-edge, patient-centric innovation, which has culminated in a safe and effective treatment in China even in patients with relapsed, refractory, and/or difficult-to-treat cases of CML, will bring meaningful improvement to patients’ lives. Recent inclusion of olverembatinib in the prestigious NCCN CML management guidelines also marks another major milestone for olverembatinib, signalling its widespread acceptance by the oncology community. Fulfilling our mission of addressing unmet clinical needs in China and around the world, we will continue to investigate olverembatinib and accelerate our clinical development programs to benefit more patients."

*Olverembatinib is an investigational drug that has not been approved for any indication outside the Chinese mainland.

Krystal Biotech Receives FDA Fast Track Designation for Inhaled Oncology Candidate KB707 to Treat Solid Tumors of the Lung

On February 13, 2024 Krystal Biotech, Inc. (the "Company") (NASDAQ: KRYS), a commercial-stage biotechnology company, reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track Designation for inhaled KB707 for the treatment of patients with solid tumors with pulmonary metastases that are relapsed or refractory to standard of care therapy (Press release, Krystal Biotech, FEB 13, 2024, View Source [SID1234640048]).

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"The lung is often the predominant site of metastasis for many different cancers, most of which have limited or no standard of care immunotherapy treatment options" said Daniel Johnson, MD, Director of the Center for Innovative Cancer Therapies at the Ochsner MD Anderson Cancer Center Medical Center in New Orleans, LA. "The therapeutic benefits of cytokine therapy for the treatment of solid tumors have long been recognized, but difficult to harness due to toxicities when given systemically. Intra-tumoral injection of potent immunotherapies can avoid systemic toxicities, but many sites of disease, particularly the lung, are not accessible for direct injection. We are excited about the possibility of bringing cytokine therapy to this patient population via localized, sustained cytokine expression in the lung itself."

KB707 is a modified HSV-1 vector designed to deliver genes encoding both human interleukin-12 (IL-12) and interleukin-2 (IL-2) to the tumor microenvironment and promote systemic immune-mediated tumor clearance. In January 2024, the FDA cleared an amendment to the Company’s Investigational New Drug application to evaluate inhaled KB707 in a clinical trial to treat patients with locally advanced or metastatic solid tumors of the lung. The Company expects to dose the first patient in the open-label, multi-center, monotherapy, dose escalation and expansion Phase 1 clinical study (KYANITE-1) in the first half of 2024. Details of the study can be found at www.clinicaltrials.gov under NCT identifier: NCT06228326.

This is the second Fast Track Designation granted for KB707. In July 2023, the FDA granted intratumoral KB707 Fast Track Designation for the treatment of anti-programmed cell death protein-1 relapsed/refractory locally advanced or metastatic melanoma.

"The FDA’s decision to grant inhaled KB707 Fast Track Designation is a reflection of both the urgent unmet need that exists for patients with lung metastases and the robust preclinical data we have generated to date in stringent syngeneic mouse models of checkpoint inhibitor refractory metastatic disease," said Suma Krishnan, President, Research & Development, Krystal Biotech. "We look forward to the first patient being dosed with inhaled KB707 later this year."

About Fast Track Designation
Fast Track Designation is designed to facilitate the development and expedite the review of drugs to treat serious conditions and treat a serious or unmet medical need, enabling drugs to reach patients sooner. Clinical programs with Fast Track Designation may benefit from early and frequent communication with the FDA throughout the regulatory review process, and such clinical programs may be eligible to apply for Accelerated Approval and Priority Review if relevant criteria are met.

About KB707
IL-2 and IL-12 are secreted cytokines with complementary functions promoting cell-mediated immunity in humans. Both IL-2 and IL-12 have been shown to elicit anti-tumor immune responses in preclinical or clinical models and have been extensively studied for their potential in cancer immunotherapy. Despite promising signs of efficacy, it has proven difficult to effectively harness IL-2 and IL-12 for therapeutic benefit, as systemic administration is often poorly tolerated, and their inherently short half-lives necessitate high dose levels and extremely frequent dose intervals. KB707 is a modified HSV-1 vector designed to deliver genes encoding both human IL-12 and IL-2 directly to a patient’s tumor(s) and promote systemic immune-mediated tumor clearance. KB707 targets solid tumors that are accessible via intratumoral injection or inhalation.

Roivant Reports Financial Results for the Third Quarter Ended December 31, 2023, and Provides Business Update

On February 13, 2024 Roivant (Nasdaq: ROIV) reported its financial results for the third quarter ended December 31, 2023, and provided a business update (Press release, Roivant Sciences, FEB 13, 2024, View Source [SID1234640045]).

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Roivant completed the sale of Telavant to Roche for $7.1B with an additional $150M in cash payable upon the completion of a near-term milestone


Batoclimab produced positive results in Graves’ disease with response rates meaningfully exceeding 50% in the initial cohort of an ongoing 24-week Phase 2 trial


VTAMA (tapinarof) cream, 1% net product revenue was $20.7M for the quarter ended December 31, 2023, with over 300,000 prescriptions written by approximately 14,000 unique prescribers since launch


New VTAMA positive long-term efficacy and safety data announced from analyses of the ADORING Phase 3 program in atopic dermatitis. Data from these analyses will be included in sNDA submission expected this quarter


Brepocitinib topline data from the Phase 2 trial in patients with non-infectious uveitis (NIU) is expected this quarter


Roivant reported its consolidated cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash of $6.7B at December 31, 2023, supporting cash runway into profitability

"This was another productive quarter across the company – we were pleased to announce the closing of the Telavant transaction with Roche in December. I am proud of our continued progress in clinical development, with another positive result generated by the Immunovant team in Graves’ disease. The positive initial data continues to support our view of the broad applicability of FcRn and the potentially meaningful clinical benefits associated with deeper IgG suppression," said Matt Gline, CEO of Roivant. "Looking ahead, we are excited about multiple upcoming clinical data readouts and other catalysts expected this year, as well as the prospect of expanding our clinical pipeline. 2024 will be a year of growth for Roivant."

Recent Developments


Roivant: In December 2023, Roivant announced the completion of the sale of Telavant to Roche for an upfront payment of approximately $7.1 billion with an additional $150 million in cash payable upon the completion of a near-term milestone. Under the terms of the agreement, Roche gained the rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize RVT-3101 in the US and Japan for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease and potentially other diseases. Prior to the closing of the transaction, Roivant owned 75% of the issued and outstanding shares of common stock and preferred stock of Telavant and Pfizer owned the remaining 25%, in each case on an as-converted basis. Roivant’s net cash proceeds from the transaction are approximately $5.2 billion. Approximately $110 million of the additional milestone payment will be payable to Roivant.

Roivant reported its consolidated cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash of $6.7 billion at December 31, 2023.


Immunovant: In November 2023, Immunovant reported IMVT-1402, a second-generation antibody targeting the neonatal fragment crystallizable receptor (FcRn), continued to show potentially best-in-class profile in a Phase 1 clinical trial in healthy adults. Initial data from the 600 mg MAD cohort showed that four subcutaneously administered doses of 600 mg IMVT-1402 reduced total immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels by a mean of 74%, very similar to the 76% IgG reduction after four weekly injections of 680 mg batoclimab, but with no or minimal changes in serum albumin and LDL cholesterol, consistent with observations in placebo.

In December 2023, Immunovant reported in an open-label Phase 2 proof-of-concept clinical trial of batoclimab in Graves’ disease, response rates from an initial cohort of patients who were hyperthyroid despite treatment with an anti-thyroid medication for more than 12 weeks were meaningfully higher than 50 percent, after receiving once-weekly subcutaneous injections of 680 mg batoclimab for 12 weeks. This trial is ongoing.


Dermavant: For the third quarter ended December 31, 2023, Roivant reported VTAMA net product revenue of $20.7M, representing a 28.5% gross-to-net yield for the quarter. As of February 2024, over 300,000 VTAMA prescriptions1 have been written by approximately 14,000 unique prescribers for psoriasis2, based on IQVIA data. VTAMA is covered for 137 million US commercial lives, including coverage by all three of the top pharmacy benefit managers.

In January 2024, Dermavant announced new positive efficacy and safety data from analyses of ADORING 3, an ongoing open-label, long-term extension Phase 3 trial being conducted to evaluate the safety and efficacy of VTAMA cream, 1% in patients with AD for up to 48 weeks of total treatment. The integrated analysis across the ADORING development program showed that efficacy continued to improve beyond the 8-week double blind treatment period in ADORING 1 and ADORING 2 across multiple endpoints including:

o
vIGA-AD score of 0 (clear) or 1 (almost clear) with at least a 2-grade improvement from baseline was observed in 73% (519/711) of patients included

o
80.7% (574/711) of patients achieved at least a 75% improvement in the Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI75)

o
77.9% (218/280) of patients ≥12 years old with a baseline Peak Pruritus Numeric Rating Scale (PP-NRS) score ≥4 achieved a ≥4-point reduction in PP-NRS

o
92.3% (656/711) of patients achieved at least a 1-grade improvement in vIGA-AD score

The interim analysis of the ADORING 3 open-label, long-term extension Phase 3 trial demonstrated that 51.2% (373/728) of patients achieved complete disease clearance (vIGA-AD score of 0). No new safety signals were observed with up to 56 weeks of treatment. Data from these analyses will be included in sNDA submission expected this quarter.


Hemavant: We have discontinued the development of RVT-2001 after an interim data analysis from the Phase 1/2 study.

Major Upcoming Milestones


Immunovant expects initial results from period 1 of the Phase 2b clinical trial of batoclimab in CIDP in the second or third quarter of calendar year 2024, while top-line data from the Phase 3 clinical trials of batoclimab in MG and TED are on track and expected in the second half of calendar year 2024 and the first half of calendar year 2025, respectively. For IMVT-1402, Immunovant plans to initiate 4-5 potentially registrational programs by March 31, 2025 and plans to initiate trials in 10 indications by March 31, 2026 (inclusive of the 4-5 potentially registrational programs).


Priovant expects to announce topline results from the Phase 2 POC study in non-infectious uveitis (NIU) in the first quarter of calendar year 2024 and topline results from the Phase 3 trial in dermatomyositis (DM) in calendar year 2025.


Dermavant plans to submit its sNDA for VTAMA in atopic dermatitis to the FDA in the first quarter of calendar year 2024.


Kinevant plans to report topline data from the ongoing Phase 2 trial of namilumab for the treatment of sarcoidosis in the second half of calendar year 2024.

Third Quarter Ended December 31, 2023 Financial Summary
Cash Position
As of December 31, 2023, the Company had consolidated cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash of $6.7 billion.

Research and Development Expenses
Research and development expenses decreased by $1.8 million to $123.7 million for the three months ended December 31, 2023, compared to $125.5 million for the three months ended December 31, 2022. Changes in the components of research and development expenses included a decrease in program-specific costs of $10.0 million offset by increases in personnel-related expenses of $6.5 million and other expenses of $1.1 million.

Within program-specific costs, the decrease of $10.0 million was primarily driven by a decrease of $9.5 million related to other development and discovery programs due to the deconsolidation of Proteovant Sciences, Inc. ("Proteovant") in August 2023, along with the reprioritization of certain programs and drug discovery efforts, and decreases of $3.1 million each related to RVT-2001 and batoclimab. These decreases were partially offset by an increase in expense of $4.0 million related to RVT-3101, which was acquired in November 2022, and an increase of $3.5 million related to IMVT-1402. The rights to further develop and manufacture RVT-3101 were sold to Roche in December 2023.

The increase of $6.5 million in personnel-related expenses was primarily driven by a special one-time cash retention bonus award granted to employees during the three months ended December 31, 2023.

Non-GAAP R&D expenses were $115.2 million for the three months ended December 31, 2023, compared to $117.4 million for the three months ended December 31, 2022.

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
Selling, general and administrative expenses increased by $29.0 million to $197.3 million for the three months ended December 31, 2023, compared to $168.3 million for the three months ended December 31, 2022, primarily due to an increase in personnel-related expenses of $27.0 million as a result of a special one-time cash retention bonus award granted to employees.

Non-GAAP SG&A expenses were $148.4 million for the three months ended December 31, 2023, compared to $115.9 million for the three months ended December 31, 2022.

Gain on Sale of Telavant Net Assets
Gain on sale of Telavant net assets resulted from the sale of our entire equity interest in Telavant to Roche in December 2023. At closing, we received approximately $5.2 billion in cash for our pro rata portion of the consideration. Additionally, we derecognized the carrying amount of noncontrolling interest in Telavant of $87.5 million and transferred net liabilities of $26.5 million. This resulted in a gain of approximately $5.3 billion.

Net Income (Loss)
Net income was approximately $5.1 billion for the three months ended December 31, 2023, compared to a net loss of $384.9 million for the three months ended December 31, 2022. On a basic and diluted per common share basis, net income was $6.37 and $6.03, respectively, for the three months ended December 31, 2023. Basic and diluted net loss per common share was $0.49 for the three months ended December 31, 2022. Non-GAAP net loss was $174.9 million for the three months ended December 31, 2023, compared to $297.5 million for the three months ended December 31, 2022.

Investor Conference Call Information
Roivant will host a live conference call and webcast at 8:00 a.m. ET on Tuesday, February 13, 2024, to report its financial results for the third quarter ended December 31, 2023, and provide a corporate update.

To access the conference call by phone, please register online using this registration link. The presentation and webcast details will also be available under "Events & Presentations" in the Investors section of the Roivant website at https://investor.roivant.com/news-events/events. The archived webcast will be available on Roivant’s website after the conference call.

Rezolute Reports Second Quarter Fiscal 2024 Results and Provides Business Update

On February 13, 2024 Rezolute, Inc. (Nasdaq: RZLT) ("Rezolute" or the "Company"), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to developing novel, transformative therapies for serious metabolic and rare diseases, reported its financial results for the second quarter of fiscal 2024 ended December 31, 2023, and provided an update on recent business developments and outlook (Press release, Rezolute, FEB 13, 2024, View Source [SID1234640043]).

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"2024 is an exciting year of execution and milestones across our pipeline, with RZ358 continuing to demonstrate benefit to patients with hypoglycemia resulting from varying causes of hyperinsulinism, and in different indications," said Nevan Charles Elam, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Rezolute. "We recently initiated sunRIZE, a global, pivotal, Phase 3 clinical study in patients with congenital hyperinsulinism, and we also continue to see favorable outcomes from our Expanded Access Program with RZ358, in patients with tumor-associated hyperinsulinism caused by insulinomas, for which we are evaluating a potential development program. Additionally, we completed enrollment in the Phase 2 study of RZ402 in patients with diabetic macular edema and look forward to reporting topline data from that program in the second quarter of 2024."

Clinical and Regulatory Highlights

RZ358 is a monoclonal antibody for the treatment of hyperinsulinism.

cHI
Rezolute initiated sunRIZE, a global, pivotal, Phase 3 clinical study in participants with cHI, in Europe and other geographies outside of the U.S.
Topline results expected mid-2025.
Innovation and Licensing Application Passport (ILAP) designation awarded to RZ358 for the treatment of cHI by the U.K. Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
Designation was granted based on the recognition of substantial unmet medical need in this condition and the potential benefit to patients as evidenced by the Phase 2b RIZE study results in cHI, which safely demonstrated significant improvements in hypoglycemia.
Supplements analogous PRIME designation status already granted by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in E.U.
taHI
RZ358 has been shown to counteract excessive insulin action downstream, at the insulin-receptor on target organs. The unique mechanism of action of RZ358 makes the therapy a potential universal treatment for hypoglycemia resulting from any cause of hyperinsulinism, including neuroendocrine tumors (insulinomas).
Given the unmet need in taHI and the potential therapeutic benefit of RZ358 as demonstrated in the individual case reports from the EAP, the Company met with FDA in January 2024 (January Meeting) and received a favorable opinion from the Agency on the feasibility of RZ358 being studied in a late-stage clinical trial as a new development program and second rare disease indication for RZ358.
In the January Meeting, FDA indicated that current dose caps on cHI studies would not be applicable to taHI studies. Therefore, considering the indication is primarily adult, current partial clinical holds pertaining to cHI studies would be largely irrelevant in taHI.
The Company remains engaged with FDA in the attempt to resolve ongoing partial clinical holds on clinical studies in the cHI indication.
RZ402 is a selective and potent oral plasma kallikrein inhibitor for the treatment of diabetic macular edema (DME).

Completed enrollment in Phase 2 U.S., multi-center, randomized, double-masked, placebo-controlled, parallel-arm study evaluating the safety, efficacy, and pharmacokinetics of RZ402 administered as an oral monotherapy over a 12-week treatment period in participants with DME who are naïve to or have received limited anti-VEGF injections.
Topline results expected in the second quarter of 2024.
Corporate Highlights

Expanded leadership team with appointment of Daron Evans, M.S., M.B.A, as Chief Financial Officer.
Mr. Evans has substantial experience leading public and private life science companies, with expertise in corporate finance, capital markets, and strategic transactions. He will help shepherd Rezolute through its next chapter in late-stage development.
Second Quarter Fiscal 2024 Financial Results

Cash, cash equivalents and investments in marketable debt securities totaled $96.0 million as of December 31, 2023, compared to $118.4 million as of June 30, 2023

Research and development expenses were $12.0 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2024, compared to $10.9 million for the same period in fiscal 2023, with the increase primarily attributable to increased expenditures in clinical trial activities and manufacturing costs

General and administrative expenses were $3.2 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2024, compared to $3.4 million for the same period in fiscal 2023, with the decrease primarily attributable to lower personnel-related expenses

Net loss was $13.9 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2024, compared to $13.6 million for the same period in fiscal 2023