On August 6, 2024 Cogent Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: COGT), a biotechnology company focused on developing precision therapies for genetically defined diseases, reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2024 (Press release, Cogent Biosciences, AUG 6, 2024, View Source [SID1234645413]).

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"Cogent has made tremendous progress in the first half of 2024 and we look forward to continuing to execute on our key priorities across the portfolio," said Andrew Robbins, the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer. "All three of our bezuclastinib registration-directed trials remain on track and we expect to complete enrollment in our PEAK global Phase 3 trial this quarter, with topline data expected from all three trials in 2025. In parallel, our Research team continues to make excellent progress as we develop next-generation programs to build out our pipeline."

Recent Business Highlights

Announced alignment with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on the Company’s novel patient reported outcome measure, Mastocytosis Symptom Severity Daily Diary (MS2D2), for use in Part 2 of the registration-directed SUMMIT trial evaluating bezuclastinib in Nonadvanced Systemic Mastocytosis (NonAdvSM) patients.
Announced additional clinical data from SUMMIT Part 1 at the 2024 European Hematology Association (EHA) (Free EHA Whitepaper) Congress.
As of the cutoff date, December 18, 2023, patients in Part 1 treated at the recommended dose of 100 mg bezuclastinib demonstrated >90% reductions across all markers of mast cell burden. Additional data also showed meaningful reduction in symptom severity and objective measures of disease, including:
Substantial reduction in mast cell reactions (>50%) and patients’ most severe symptoms as measured by MS2D2.
Clinically meaningful reduction in all individual MS2D2 TSS symptoms and domains, as well as additional symptoms including dizziness, diarrhea severity, and brain fog.
Clinically meaningful improvement in skin symptoms as well as objective reduction in skin lesions.
Consistent with results previously reported, the recommended dose of 100 mg demonstrates a favorable safety and tolerability profile.
Presented positive lead-in data from the ongoing Phase 3 PEAK trial at the 2024 ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) annual meeting.
As of the cutoff date, April 1, 2024, 42 patients in Part 1 had been on study for a median of 15.3 months. The median progression-free survival (mPFS) during treatment with bezuclastinib and sunitinib was 10.2 months in all patients.
In a subset of patients with second-line gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) with only prior imatinib, which most closely resembles patients currently enrolling in Part 2 of PEAK, the data demonstrate a mPFS of 19.4 months.
In addition, the objective response rate (ORR) in all patients treated with bezuclastinib and sunitinib was 27.5% and in the subset of second-line patients the ORR was 33.3%, per investigator assessment. Combination treatment resulted in a disease control rate of 80% in all patients and 100% in patients with prior imatinib only.
The combination of bezuclastinib and sunitinib does not appear to add to the severity of adverse events known to be associated with sunitinib monotherapy and is well-tolerated. The majority of treatment-emergent adverse events ("TEAEs") were low-grade and reversible and discontinuations due to TEAEs remain limited.
Announced a new Phase 2 clinical trial of bezuclastinib plus sunitinib in later line GIST patients, sponsored by the Sarcoma Alliance for Research through Collaboration (SARC) and in collaboration with The Life Raft Group and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

The open label, single-arm Phase 2 trial sponsored by SARC and in collaboration with The Life Raft Group and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is designed to evaluate the mPFS as well as the safety and tolerability of bezuclastinib plus sunitinib in 40 patients with GIST who have previously progressed on sunitinib.
Appointed Cole Pinnow Chief Commercial Officer.
Mr. Pinnow joined Cogent from Pfizer, where he held increasing roles of responsibility, including President and Managing Director of Pfizer Canada and most recently as Global Franchise Lead, Genitourinary and Breast Cancer Business where he led a global commercial team accountable for the growth of a $5B innovative cancer portfolio in prostate, kidney, bladder and breast therapies. Prior to Pfizer, he held several leadership roles with Hospira and founded the company’s commercial development organization. Mr. Pinnow began his pharmaceutical career as a scientist at Abbott Laboratories.
Initiated IND-enabling studies for the potent, selective CNS-penetrant ErbB2 program following presentation of new preclinical data at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) 2024 Annual Meeting.
The poster described CGT4255’s exceptional stability in human whole blood and liver cytosol fractions and high oral bioavailability and low clearance across preclinical species.
In addition, CGT4255 demonstrated 80% brain penetrance in mice and was well-tolerated at 10 fold maximally efficacious concentration, resulting in mouse tumor regression, suggesting potential best-in class performance.
Anticipated Upcoming Milestones

Complete enrollment in the global, Phase 3 PEAK trial in patients with GIST in Q3 2024.
Provide additional safety, tolerability, and patient-reported outcomes data from the open label extension portion of SUMMIT Part 1 by the end of 2024.
Complete enrollment in the registration-directed APEX Phase 2 trial in patients with Advanced Systemic Mastocytosis (AdvSM) by the end of 2024 and report top-line results by mid-2025.
Complete enrollment in SUMMIT Part 2 in the second quarter of 2025 and deliver top-line results by the end of 2025.
Initiate a Phase 1 trial of the first Cogent-discovered pipeline program, designed as a potent, selective, reversible FGFR2 inhibitor with best-in-class potential in the second half of 2024.
Select lead candidate and initiate IND-enabling studies from ongoing PI3Kα program, designed to potently and selectively target the H1047R driver mutation, which affects >30,000 cancer patients each year.
Second Quarter 2024 Financial Results

Cash Position: As of June 30, 2024, cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities were $389.9 million, as compared to $435.7 million as of March 31, 2024. The company expects its existing cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities will be sufficient to fund its operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements into 2027 and through clinical readouts from ongoing SUMMIT, PEAK, and APEX registration-directed trials.

R&D Expenses: Research and development expenses were $54.3 million for the second quarter of 2024 as compared to $38.9 million for the second quarter of 2023. The increase was primarily due to costs associated with accelerating enrollment in both SUMMIT and PEAK clinical trials, on-going APEX costs and costs related to development of the research pipeline. R&D expenses include non-cash stock compensation expense of $4.7 million for the second quarter of 2024 as compared to $3.5 million for the second quarter of 2023. In the quarter, an additional $4.5 million was incurred to support sunitinib clinical supply for the PEAK trial due to faster than expected enrollment.

G&A Expenses: General and administrative expenses were $10.1 million for the second quarter of 2024 as compared to $8.2 million for the second quarter of 2023. The increase was primarily due to the growth of the organization. G&A expenses include non-cash stock compensation expense of $5.3 million for the second quarter of 2024 as compared to $3.6 million for the second quarter of 2023.

Net Loss: Net loss was $59.0 million for the second quarter of 2024 as compared to a net loss of $44.1 million for the same period of 2023.

On August 6, 2024 Caribou Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: CRBU), a leading clinical-stage CRISPR genome-editing biopharmaceutical company, reported financial results for the second quarter 2024 and reviewed recent pipeline progress (Press release, Caribou Biosciences, AUG 6, 2024, View Source [SID1234645412]).

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"We are advancing our lead off-the-shelf CAR-T cell therapy, CB-010, in the ANTLER phase 1 trial with a partial HLA matching strategy with the objective of developing an allogeneic CAR-T cell therapy that can meaningfully rival the autologous CAR-T cell therapies," said Rachel Haurwitz, PhD, Caribou’s president and chief executive officer. "We are enrolling approximately 20 second-line and 10 prior CD19 relapsed LBCL patients, and we plan to present initial data for both patient cohorts in the first half of 2025. For CB-011, we expect to report initial dose escalation data in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma by the end of this year. For CB-012, dose level 1 was cleared, and we are enrolling patients at dose level 2 in the AMpLify Phase 1 trial. We continue to focus our efforts and resources on rapidly advancing our four oncology and autoimmune disease clinical-stage programs through multiple clinical data milestones expected in 2024 and 2025."
Clinical highlights
CB-010, a clinical-stage allogeneic anti-CD19 CAR-T cell therapy for B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma
•In June 2024, Caribou presented clinical data from the ongoing ANTLER Phase 1 clinical trial that indicate a single dose of CB-010 has the potential to rival the safety and efficacy of approved autologous CAR-T cell therapies. The clinical results were presented during a poster presentation (View Source) at the 2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting.
•At ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper), Caribou presented data on the first 46 patients enrolled in ANTLER. Three dose levels of CB-010 were evaluated (40×106, 80×106, and 120×106 CAR-T cells) and 80×106 CAR-T cells was selected as the recommended Phase 2 dose (RP2D). In dose escalation, 16 patients with multiple subtypes of aggressive relapsed or refractory B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (r/r B-NHL) were enrolled, and, in dose expansion, 30 patients with second-line large B cell lymphoma (2L LBCL) were enrolled. As of the April 1, 2024 data cutoff date, results demonstrated:
◦CB-010 was generally well tolerated. No Grade 3 or higher cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and no graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) was observed.
◦A retrospective analysis of all patient data demonstrated that patients who received a dose of CB-010 manufactured from a healthy donor who shared four or more matching human leukocyte antigen ("HLA") alleles with the patient (referred to as partial HLA matching) showed the potential for improved efficacy.
◦Pharmacokinetic (PK) data showed that partial HLA matching correlated with increased CAR-T cell expansion and persistence. Pharmacodynamic (PD) data showed extended B cell aplasia and rapid recovery of patients’ endogenous T and NK cells.
•Based on these data, Caribou has begun dosing a cohort of approximately 20 2L LBCL patients to prospectively confirm that partial HLA matching may improve patient outcomes.
•Caribou also is enrolling a cohort of up to 10 patients who have relapsed following any prior CD19-targeted therapy in a proof-of-concept cohort in this population of unmet need. This cohort will also incorporate partial HLA matching between donors and patients.
•Caribou plans to initiate a pivotal Phase 3 trial in the second half of 2025, should data confirm improved outcomes for patients receiving a partially HLA matched dose of CB-010 and following agreement with the FDA on a pivotal trial design.

CB-010, a clinical-stage allogeneic anti-CD19 CAR-T cell therapy for lupus
•Caribou plans to initiate the GALLOP Phase 1 clinical trial to evaluate a single infusion of CB-010 in adult patients with lupus nephritis (LN) and extrarenal lupus (ERL). The trial will incorporate partial HLA matching between donors and patients.
•Caribou plans to initiate the GALLOP Phase 1 clinical trial in adult patients with LN and ERL by year-end 2024.

CB-011, a clinical-stage allogeneic anti-BCMA CAR-T cell therapy for multiple myeloma
•Caribou is enrolling patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (r/r MM) in the dose escalation portion of the ongoing CaMMouflage Phase 1 clinical trial (View Source).
•Caribou plans to present initial dose escalation data from the ongoing CaMMouflage Phase 1 clinical trial by year-end 2024.

CB-012, a clinical-stage allogeneic anti-CLL-1 CAR-T cell therapy for acute myeloid leukemia
•In June 2024, a poster (View Source) was presented at ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) on the AMpLify Phase 1 trial design for CB-012 in adults with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (r/r AML).
•Caribou is enrolling patients with r/r AML in the dose escalation portion of the ongoing AMpLify Phase 1 clinical trial (View Source?term=cb-012&" target="_blank" title="View Source?term=cb-012&" rel="nofollow">View Source;rank=1&tab=table). Enrollment has concluded for dose level 1 (25×106 CAR-T cells, N=3) and patients are being enrolled at dose level 2 (75×106 CAR-T cells).
Corporate updates
Appointed autoimmune expert to Caribou’s scientific advisory board (View Source)
•In July 2024, Terri Laufer, MD, was appointed to Caribou’s scientific advisory board. Dr. Laufer is a leading rheumatologist known for her extensive research into immune cell regulation and dysfunction that leads to autoimmune diseases. She is an emeritus associate professor of medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and an attending rheumatologist at the Penn Presbyterian Medical Center and Philadelphia VA Medical Center.

Extended cash runway into H2 2026
•In July 2024, Caribou discontinued the preclinical research activities associated with its allogeneic CAR-NK platform and reduced its workforce by approximately 12%. The workforce reduction, together with other cost containment measures, are expected to extend the cash runway by at least 6 months, into H2 2026. The Company will incur approximately $0.5 million to $1.0 million in one-time costs consisting primarily of cash severance costs, benefits, and transition support services for impacted employees.
Anticipated milestones
•CB-010 ANTLER: Caribou plans to present initial data from both the additional HLA-matched 2L and prior CD19 relapsed LBCL patient cohorts in H1 2025. Caribou plans to initiate a pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial in H2 2025 should data confirm improved outcomes for patients receiving a partially HLA matched dose of CB-010.
•CB-010 GALLOP: Caribou plans to initiate the GALLOP Phase 1 clinical trial in adult patients with LN and ERL by year-end 2024.
•CB-011 CaMMouflage: Caribou plans to present initial dose escalation data from the ongoing CaMMouflage Phase 1 clinical trial by year-end 2024.
•CB-012 AMpLify: Caribou plans to provide updates on dose escalation as the AMpLify Phase 1 clinical trial in r/r AML advances.
Second quarter 2024 financial results
Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities: Caribou had $311.8 million in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities as of June 30, 2024, compared to $372.4 million as of December 31, 2023. Caribou expects these cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities will be sufficient to fund its current operating plan into H2 2026.

Licensing and collaboration revenue: Revenue from Caribou’s licensing and collaboration agreements was $3.5 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024, compared to $3.8 million for the same period in 2023. The decrease was primarily due to the now-terminated AbbVie Collaboration and License Agreement, partially offset by an increase in revenue recognized under the Information Rights Agreement Caribou entered into with Pfizer on June 29, 2023. Licensing and collaboration revenue for the three months ended June 30, 2024, includes $1.6 million in a one-time receipt of non-cash equity consideration from one of Caribou’s licensees.
R&D expenses: Research and development expenses were $35.5 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024, compared to $26.5 million for the same period in 2023. The increase was primarily due to costs to advance pipeline programs, including the CB-010 ANTLER, CB-011 CaMMouflage, and CB-012 AMpLify Phase 1 clinical trials; personnel-related expenses, including stock-based compensation, due to headcount increases; and facilities and other allocated expenses.

G&A expenses: General and administrative expenses were $11.5 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024, compared to $10.1 million for the same period in 2023. The increase was primarily due to personnel-related expenses, including stock-based compensation, due to headcount increases, and legal expenses and other service-related expenses. These increases were partially offset by a decrease in patent prosecution and maintenance fees.

Net loss: Caribou reported a net loss of $37.7 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024, compared to $29.5 million for the same period in 2023.
About CB-010
CB-010 is the lead clinical-stage product candidate from Caribou’s allogeneic CAR-T cell therapy platform, and it is being evaluated in patients with relapsed or refractory B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (r/r B-NHL) in the ongoing ANTLER Phase 1 clinical trial and will be evaluated in patients with lupus nephritis (LN) and extrarenal lupus (ERL) in the GALLOP Phase 1 clinical trial. In the ANTLER clinical trial, Caribou is enrolling second-line (2L) patients with large B cell lymphoma (LBCL) comprised of different subtypes of aggressive r/r B-NHL (DLBCL NOS, PMBCL, HGBL, tFL, and tMZL) who have never received prior CD19-targeted therapy as well as LBCL patients who have relapsed on a prior CD19-targeted therapy. To Caribou’s knowledge, CB-010 is the first allogeneic CAR-T cell therapy in the clinic with a PD-1 knockout, a genome-editing strategy designed to improve activity against diseases by limiting premature CAR-T cell exhaustion. CB-010 is also, to Caribou’s knowledge, the first anti-CD19 allogeneic CAR-T cell therapy to be evaluated in the 2L LBCL setting and, for r/r B-NHL, CB-010 has been granted Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT), Fast Track, and Orphan Drug designations by the FDA. Additional information on the ANTLER trial (NCT04637763) can be found at clinicaltrials.gov (View Source).
About CB-011
CB-011 is a product candidate from Caribou’s allogeneic CAR-T cell therapy platform and is being evaluated in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (r/r MM) in the CaMMouflage Phase 1 trial. CB-011 is an allogeneic anti-BCMA CAR-T cell therapy engineered using Cas12a chRDNA genome-editing technology. To Caribou’s knowledge, CB-011 is the first allogeneic CAR-T cell therapy in the clinic that is engineered to improve antitumor activity through an immune cloaking strategy with a B2M knockout and insertion of a B2M–HLA-E fusion protein to blunt immune-mediated rejection. CB-011 has been granted Fast Track and orphan drug designations by the FDA. Additional information on the CaMMouflage trial (NCT05722418) can be found at clinicaltrials.gov (View Source).

About CB-012
CB-012 is a product candidate from Caribou’s allogeneic CAR-T cell therapy platform and is being evaluated in the AMpLify Phase 1 clinical trial in patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (r/r AML). CB-012 is an anti-CLL-1 CAR-T cell therapy engineered with five genome edits, enabled by Caribou’s patented next-generation CRISPR technology platform, which uses Cas12a chRDNA genome editing to significantly improve the specificity of genome edits. To Caribou’s knowledge, CB-012 is the first allogeneic CAR-T cell therapy with both checkpoint disruption, through a PD-1 knockout, and immune cloaking, through a B2M knockout and B2M–HLA-E fusion protein insertion; both armoring strategies are designed to improve antitumor activity.
Caribou has exclusively in-licensed from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in the field of allogeneic CLL-1-targeted cell therapy a panel of fully human scFvs targeting CLL-1, from which the company has selected a scFv for the generation of the company’s CAR.
Additional information on the AMpLify trial (NCT06128044) can be found at clinicaltrials.gov (View Source).

On August 6, 2024 Black Diamond Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: BDTX), a clinical-stage oncology company developing MasterKey therapies that target families of oncogenic mutations in patients with cancer, reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2024, and provided a corporate update (Press release, Black Diamond Therapeutics, AUG 6, 2024, View Source [SID1234645411]).

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"We continue to execute on enrollment of patients with EGFR mutant NSCLC into second/third-line and first-line Phase 2 cohorts, and remain on track to announce initial results later in the third quarter of this year and in the first quarter of 2025, respectively", said Mark Velleca, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Black Diamond Therapeutics. "We also look forward to sharing analyses of real world data at the 2024 ESMO (Free ESMO Whitepaper) Congress in September 2024 on treatment practices and therapeutic outcomes for newly diagnosed NSCLC patients with non-classical EGFR mutations that demonstrate a significant unmet medical need."

Recent Developments & Upcoming Milestones:

BDTX-1535:

In April 2024, Black Diamond described real world evidence of the evolving EGFR mutation landscape in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and the potential of BDTX-1535 to address a broader range of mutations compared to existing therapies at the 2024 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) annual meeting. The analyses revealed a spectrum of previously underappreciated non-classical mutations, as well as an increased prevalence of the acquired resistance mutation C797S. These non-classical EGFR mutations were present in 20-30% of newly diagnosed epidermal growth factor receptor mutation positive (EGFRm) NSCLC patients.
In June 2024, Black Diamond presented additional data from the Phase 1 dose escalation trial of BDTX-1535 in patients with relapsed/recurrent glioblastoma (GBM), and initial intratumoral pharmacokinetic data from a "window of opportunity" (also known as a Phase 0/1 "Trigger") trial sponsored by the Ivy Brain Tumor Center, in patients with recurrent high-grade glioma (HGG), at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting. Safety and tolerability data in the Phase 1 trial were consistent with BDTX-1535 clinical data in patients with NSCLC previously presented in October 2023 at the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer-National Cancer Institute-American Association for Cancer Research (AACR-NCI-EORTC) (Free AACR-NCI-EORTC Whitepaper) AACR-NCI-EORTC (Free AACR-NCI-EORTC Whitepaper) International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics (EORTC-NCI-AACR) (Free ASGCT Whitepaper) (Free EORTC-NCI-AACR Whitepaper). Among 19 efficacy evaluable patients, several experienced stable disease with promising durability. Results from the investigator-sponsored trial demonstrated that BDTX-1535 penetrates the blood brain barrier with clinically meaningful unbound drug concentration in gadolinium non-enhancing regions of the brain and inhibition of corresponding pharmacodynamic markers. Eight out of nine patients exceeded the pre-specified threshold for drug concentration in the brain tumor tissue and continued on study.
Black Diamond anticipates the following upcoming key milestones for BDTX-1535:
Disclosure of initial Phase 2 data in 2L/3L EGFRm NSCLC patients with non-classical mutations or the acquired resistance C797S mutation remains on track for later in Q3 2024.
Disclosure of initial Phase 2 data in 1L EGFRm NSCLC patients with non-classical mutations remains on track for Q1 2025 (NCT05256290).
An abstract has been accepted for presentation at the 2024 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) (Free ESMO Whitepaper) Congress titled "Real World Evidence of Treatment Practices and Therapeutic Outcomes for Newly Diagnosed NSCLC Patients with Non-classical EGFR Mutations Demonstrates High Unmet Medical Need", which will detail an analysis of Guardant Inform data on treatment outcomes for newly diagnosed NSCLC patients with tumors expressing non-classical mutations.
BDTX-4933:

BDTX-4933 is a brain-penetrant oral inhibitor of oncogenic alterations in KRAS, NRAS and BRAF.
Enrollment of patients with BRAF and select RAS/MAPK mutation-positive cancers, with an emphasis on patients with KRAS mutant NSCLC, is progressing through escalating doses in a Phase 1 trial (NCT05786924). An update from this trial is on track for Q4 2024.
Corporate

Chief Business Officer & Chief Financial Officer, Fang Ni, Pharm.D, will participate in a panel discussion at the Wedbush PacGrow Healthcare Conference taking place August 13-14, 2024, in New York, NY.
Financial Highlights

Cash Position: Black Diamond ended the second quarter of 2024 with approximately $123.0 million in cash, cash equivalents, and investments compared to $131.4 million as of December 31, 2023. Net cash used in operations was $14.7 million for the second quarter of 2024 compared to $14.4 million for the second quarter of 2023.
Research and Development Expenses: Research and development (R&D) expenses were $12.6 million for the second quarter of 2024, compared to $13.2 million for the same period in 2023. The decrease in R&D expenses was primarily due to workforce efficiencies and reduced spending on early discovery projects.
General and Administrative Expenses: General and administrative (G&A) expenses were $9.6 million for the second quarter of 2024, compared to $6.9 million for the same period in 2023. The increase in G&A expenses was primarily due to an increase in consulting and other professional fees.
Net Loss: Net loss for the second quarter of 2024 was $19.9 million, as compared to $19.2 million for the same period in 2023.
Financial Guidance

Black Diamond ended the second quarter of 2024 with approximately $123.0 million in cash, cash equivalents and investments which the Company believes is sufficient to fund its anticipated operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements into the fourth quarter of 2025.

On August 6, 2024 BioXcel Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: BTAI), a biopharmaceutical company utilizing artificial intelligence to develop transformative medicines in neuroscience and immuno-oncology, reported its financial results for the second quarter of 2024 (Press release, BioXcel Therapeutics, AUG 6, 2024, View Source [SID1234645410]).

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"We are on track with our business priorities as we focus on bringing BXCL501 to the greatest number of patients in need," said Vimal Mehta, Ph.D., CEO of BioXcel Therapeutics. "We are pleased with the progress with our SERENITY and TRANQUILITY programs and our focused market-access strategy for IGALMI. Our confidence in our lead neuroscience asset is underpinned by its broad therapeutic potential across multiple neuropsychiatric conditions and its growing intellectual property portfolio."

Late-Stage Clinical Programs

· SERENITY At-Home* Pivotal Phase 3 Trial: designed to evaluate the safety of a 120 mcg dose of BXCL501 in the at-home setting for agitation associated with bipolar disorders or schizophrenia.

o Recently received feedback on protocol from U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

· TRANQUILITY In-Care Pivotal Phase 3 Trial: designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a 60 mcg dose of BXCL501 for agitation associated with Alzheimer’s dementia (AAD).

o Protocol being finalized for planned submission to FDA.

IGALMI (dexmedetomidine) Sublingual film

Post-marketing Requirement (PMR) Study

· Reported positive topline results from PMR study evaluating PRN (as-needed) treatment of IGALMI for agitation associated with bipolar disorders or schizophrenia.

o Study achieved its objective and demonstrated no evidence of tachyphylaxis, tolerance, or withdrawal with 180 mcg dose (highest approved dose).

o Although this PMR study was not statistically powered to evaluate repeat dose efficacy, a reduction in agitation was observed for each episode occurring during the seven-day study period, and no serious adverse events were reported following treatment.

Commercialization

· IGALMI net revenue grew 90% in Q2 2024 over Q1 2024 driven by focused market-access strategy and increased contracting with psychiatric care clinics and behavioral health facilities using a small commercial team.

Patent Portfolio

The Company continues to strengthen its intellectual property portfolio for IGALMI.

· Recently received a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Notice of Allowance for U.S. Patent Application No. 18/526,686 for IGALMI. Once issued by the USPTO, the patent is expected to have an expiration date of January 12, 2043, and will be submitted for listing in the FDA’s Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations (commonly known as the "Orange Book").

· This is expected to be the 11th listed U.S. patent for IGALMI in the Orange Book.

On August 6, 2024 Bicycle Therapeutics plc (NASDAQ: BCYC), a pharmaceutical company pioneering a new and differentiated class of therapeutics based on its proprietary bicyclic peptide (Bicycle) technology, reported recent business progress and financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2024 (Press release, Bicycle Therapeutics, AUG 6, 2024, View Source [SID1234645409]).

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"In the second quarter, we continued to demonstrate the ongoing progress of our pipeline and highlight the emerging differentiated profiles of our Bicycle Toxin Conjugates zelenectide pevedotin and BT5528 compared to antibody drug conjugates. As we enter the second half of the year, we look forward to sharing the first set of data updates from our clinical programs at the upcoming ESMO (Free ESMO Whitepaper) Congress," said Kevin Lee, Ph.D., CEO of Bicycle Therapeutics. "Additionally, I am honored to welcome renowned oncology experts from around the world to our Clinical Advisory Board. Their advice and counsel will be critical as we work to develop therapies that can help patients live longer and live well."

Dr. Lee continued: "Bicycle Therapeutics also significantly strengthened our balance sheet in the second quarter through the support of leading healthcare investors. Moreover, we have prioritized our pipeline and streamlined our leadership team to enable us to focus on the clinical programs and research areas that we believe have the highest potential for value creation and align with our strategy to support the long-term growth of our company."

Second Quarter 2024 and Recent Events

Four abstracts accepted for poster presentation at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) (Free ESMO Whitepaper) Congress 2024 being held September 13-17 in Barcelona. Bicycle Therapeutics will present four abstracts containing updated clinical data for zelenectide pevedotin (formerly BT8009) in metastatic urothelial cancer (mUC), BT5528 in advanced solid tumors such as mUC and ovarian, and BT7480 in advanced solid tumors.

In June, the company presented two abstracts at the 2024 American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting outlining clinical pharmacokinetics of Bicycle Toxin Conjugate (BTC) molecules zelenectide pevedotin and BT5528 compared to antibody drug conjugate enfortumab vedotin and evaluating the emerging safety profile of both BTC molecules, along with an overview of the company’s ongoing Phase 2/3 Duravelo-2 registrational trial of zelenectide pevedotin in mUC.
Focused research and development (R&D) pipeline on clinical programs and research areas that the company believes have the highest potential to maximize value creation. Activities include:
Prioritizing the clinical development of zelenectide pevedotin and BT5528 in multiple tumor types.
Focusing near-term research efforts on advancing the company’s Bicycle Radionuclide Conjugate (BRC) pipeline and the discovery of next-generation BTC molecules.
Except for BT7480, exploring innovative ways to continue development of the company’s immuno-oncology portfolio, including Bicycle Tumor-targeted Immune Cell Agonist (Bicycle TICA) molecules, through collaboration.
Streamlined leadership team to better align with strategic and pipeline priorities.
Michael Skynner, Ph.D., chief technology officer, has assumed leadership of Bicycle Therapeutics’ discovery research team, and all discovery research activities will be consolidated and moved to the company’s headquarters in Cambridge, UK.
Jennifer Perry, Pharm.D., promoted to chief strategy officer and head of commercial. Since joining Bicycle Therapeutics in August 2022, Ms. Perry has been instrumental in establishing and growing Bicycle Therapeutics’ commercial organization. In this expanded role, she will oversee the company’s corporate and end-to-end portfolio strategy while also fulfilling her existing commercial responsibilities. Ms. Perry has more than 20 years of experience in pharma and biotech, with 15 years in oncology. Her experience spans commercial and medical roles with a focus on go-to-market strategies for launching oncology medicines at GSK, Tesaro, TG Therapeutics and Pharmacyclics.
Nick Keen, Ph.D., chief scientific officer, is transitioning to an advisor role with the company as a distinguished fellow, where he will advise the company as needed. The company also hired Eric Westin, M.D., former vice president of clinical development and translational sciences at ImmunoGen, to an advisor role with the company as a distinguished fellow to help refine the company’s translational and clinical strategy.

Formed new Clinical Advisory Board with distinguished global oncology experts to support the advancement of clinical oncology programs. The company expects that the advisors will provide invaluable guidance and insights for the global clinical development of the company’s clinical programs. Inaugural members include:
Charles Swanton, M.D., Ph.D., FRS, FMedSci, FRCP, is the chair of Bicycle Therapeutics’ Clinical Advisory Board and Scientific Advisory Board. He leads the Cancer Evolution and Genome Instability Laboratory at the Francis Crick Institute in London. Dr. Swanton’s research is focused on how tumors evolve over space and time, and he has authored over 250 papers developing an understanding of branching evolutionary histories of solid tumors, processes that drive cancer cell-to-cell variation and the impact of cancer diversity on effective immune surveillance and clinical outcome.
Toni K. Choueiri, M.D., is the director of the Lank Center for Genitourinary (GU) Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jerome and Nancy Kohlberg Chair and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Choueiri and colleagues have made seminal observations that have defined and evolved the treatment of kidney cancer and led to the approval of several therapies. He has over 800 PubMed-indexed publications and is the lead investigator of multiple national and international Phase 1-3 trials in GU cancers.

Sherene Loi, MBBS (Hons), Ph.D., FRACP, FAHMS, is a medical oncologist specialized in breast cancer treatment and a clinician scientist (lab head) with expertise in genomics, immunology and drug development at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, Australia. She is recognized internationally as a leading clinician scientist whose work has led to new insights into the breast cancer immunology field as well as leading international clinical trials in breast cancer immunotherapy. Professor Loi has published over 330 research articles, co-chairs the International Breast Cancer Study Group and is the Inaugural National Breast Cancer Foundation of Australia Endowed Chair. In 2021, she received the Australian Prime Minister’s Frank Fenner Prize for Life Scientist of the Year.

Solange Peters, M.D., Ph.D., is full professor and chair of medical oncology and the chair of the thoracic malignancies program in the Department of Oncology at the University Hospital of Lausanne in Switzerland. She currently oversees teaching and patient care in thoracic malignancies at Lausanne University, and her main fields of interest include new biomarker discovery and validation in preclinical and clinical settings as well as cancer immunotherapy. She is the youngest president of ESMO (Free ESMO Whitepaper), serving for an extended period of 2020-2022. Professor Peters has authored over 500 peer-reviewed manuscripts and book chapters and is associate editor of the Annals of Oncology, deputy editor of Lung Cancer and serves on the editorial board of several other oncology journals. She was the deputy editor of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology for 10 years.

Raised gross proceeds of $555 million in private investment in public equity (PIPE) financing. The PIPE financing, with participation from leading healthcare investors, is expected to extend the company’s financial runway into the second half of 2027. The company plans to use the net proceeds of $544.1 million to fund the continued development of its proprietary pipeline and for other R&D, as well as for general corporate purposes.
Repaid and voluntarily terminated outstanding debt with Hercules. In July 2024, Bicycle Therapeutics announced the repayment of its loan with Hercules Capital, Inc., ahead of its 2025 maturity date, with total payments of $31.9 million, including accrued and unpaid interest, an end-of-term charge and an early repayment fee.
Second Quarter 2024 Financial Results

Cash and cash equivalents were $961.4 million as of June 30, 2024, compared to $526.4 million as of December 31, 2023. The increase in cash and cash equivalents is primarily due to net proceeds from the PIPE financing and share option exercises, offset by cash used in operating activities.
R&D expenses were $40.1 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024, compared to $39.7 million for the three months ended June 30, 2023. The increase in expense of $0.4 million was primarily due to increased clinical program expenses for zelenectide pevedotin development and increased personnel-related expenses, offset by decreased clinical program expenses for Bicycle TICA molecule development, decreased discovery, platform and other expenses and incremental U.K. R&D tax credits.
General and administrative expenses were $15.9 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024, compared to $14.8 million for the three months ended June 30, 2023. The increase of $1.1 million was primarily due to increased personnel-related costs.
Net loss was $39.8 million, or $(0.77) basic and diluted net loss per share, for the three months ended June 30, 2024, compared to net loss of $42.6 million or $(1.41) basic and diluted net loss per share, for three months ended June 30, 2023.