On May 9, 2024 CorMedix Inc. (Nasdaq: CRMD), a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapeutic products for life-threatening diseases and conditions, reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024 and provided an update on its business (Press release, CorMedix, MAY 9, 2024, View Source [SID1234642985]).

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Recent Corporate Highlights:

On April 2, 2024, CMS published its HCPCS coding decision for DefenCath, establishing a new HCPCS Level II code for the product. CMS subsequently notified the Company on April 18th of its determination that DefenCath meets the criteria for a Transitional Drug Add-On Payment (TDAPA) and will be effective July 1, 2024. The TDAPA program currently provides for five years of additional payment reimbursement beyond the ESRD bundled rate to outpatient providers.
On April 15, 2024, the Company commenced commercial launch of DefenCath in the inpatient setting, and remains on schedule to commence outpatient launch in July.
The Company announced in April that it entered into a 5-year commercial supply contract with ARC Dialysis, LLC, a Florida-based dialysis provider, for the supply of DefenCath.
The FDA granted the Company’s Type C meeting request to discuss an updated development plan for DefenCath in Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN) and pediatric study requirements. The Company expects to receive feedback from the FDA by the end of the second quarter of 2024.
The Company submitted to FDA earlier this week a supplement to the CorMedix NDA adding Siegfried Hameln as an alternate finished dosage manufacturing site for DefenCath. Pending FDA review and approval, the Company anticipates approval of the supplement by the end of 2024.
Cash and short-term investments, excluding restricted cash, at March 31, 2024, amounted to $58.6 million.
Joe Todisco, CorMedix CEO, commented, "I am excited about the Company’s recent progress as we have officially transitioned to a commercial stage organization. In only a few weeks of inpatient deployment we have received meaningful interest in scheduling DefenCath for formulary review at various institutions, and we look forward to additional progress in the coming months. We are also focusing simultaneously on our upcoming outpatient launch and actively engaging with customers regarding the potential to implement DefenCath as a preventative measure to reduce the risk of CRBSI in their respective hemodialysis patients with CVCs."

First Quarter 2024 Financial Highlights

For the first quarter of 2024, CorMedix recorded a net loss of $14.5 million, or $0.25 per share, compared with a net loss of $10.6 million, or $0.24 per share, in the first quarter of 2023, an increase of $3.9 million, driven primarily by an increase in operating expenses, partially offset by the sale of New Jersey NOLs for $1.4 million.

Operating expenses in the first quarter 2024 were $15.9 million, compared with $11.0 million in the first quarter of 2023, an increase of approximately 44%.  The increase was driven by higher SG&A expenses which increased approximately 98% to $15.0 million, partially offset by a decrease in research and development expenses of approximately 75%. The increase in SG&A was primarily driven by the hiring of sales force, medical affairs and marketing personnel. Additionally, as a result of the post FDA approval commercial operations, costs related to medical affairs and certain personnel expenses that supported R&D efforts prior to the FDA approval of DefenCath have been recognized in selling, general and administrative expense during the three months ended March 31, 2024, as compared to the same period last year during which these items were recognized in R&D, which drove the decrease in R&D expenses for this period compared to the same period last year.

The Company reported cash and short-term investments of $58.6 million at March 31, 2024, excluding restricted cash. The Company believes that it has sufficient resources to fund operations for at least twelve months from the issuance of the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

Conference Call Information

The management team of CorMedix will host a conference call and webcast today, May 9, 2024, at 8:30am Eastern Time, to discuss recent corporate developments and financial results. Call details and dial-in information are as follows:

Thursday, May 9th @ 8:30am ET

Domestic: 1-888-886-7786

International: 1-416-764-8658

Conference ID: 32817785

Webcast: Webcast Link

On May 9, 2024 Coherus BioSciences, Inc. (Coherus, Nasdaq: CHRS), reported financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2024 and recent business highlights (Press release, Coherus Biosciences, MAY 9, 2024, View Source [SID1234642984]):

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RECENT BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS

UDENYCA RESULTS and ONBODY LAUNCH UPDATE

UDENYCA net product sales were $42.7 million in Q1 2024, an increase of 18% compared to $36.2 million in Q4 2023 and a 63% increase compared to the $26.2 million in Q1 2023. Total unit demand grew 36% in Q1 2024 compared to Q4 2023 and represented a 108% increase compared to Q1 2023.
UDENYCA Autoinjector presentation unit demand grew 158% in Q1 2024 compared to Q4 2023.
UDENYCA ONBODY, a novel and proprietary state-of-the-art delivery system for pegfilgrastim-cbqv, was launched in February 2024. High customer demand and confirmed payer coverage drove early robust uptake.
Based on data from IQVIA, UDENYCA franchise market share for Q1 2024 was 25%, an increase of 10 market share points in Q1 2024 compared to Q4 2023.
LOQTORZI LAUNCH UPDATE

LOQTORZI, the first and only FDA-approved treatment for recurrent, locally advanced or metastatic NPC, commercially launched on January 2, 2024.
Academic research hospital formulary position achieved on 55% of the 33 NCCN institutions, with the remaining institutional reviews scheduled or in process. Formulary position is expected to be achieved with all NCCN institutions by the end of Q2 2024.
Payer coverage has been confirmed on >85% of medical benefit lives in health plans including Medicare Fee for Service, Medicare Advantage, and national and regional commercial plans respectively.
LOQTORZI net sales in Q1 of $2.0 million, tracking to early launch stage expectations, with patient accrual momentum building.
Product-specific, permanent J Code has been granted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and will take effect July 1, 2024.
NOVEL IMMUNO-ONCOLOGY PIPELINE ADVANCES

Coherus entered into an agreement with the Cancer Research Institute (CRI) to supply LOQTORZI for a combination study with ENB-003, a first-in-class small molecule inhibitor of endothelin B receptor. Endothelin B receptor is implicated in tumorigenesis and tumor immune suppression for several solid tumors including ovarian cancer. CRI is overseeing the iPROC study.
Clinical data from the dose escalation stage of the Phase 1 study of CHS-114, a highly selective antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC)-enhanced anti-CCR8 antibody, will be presented at the 2024 ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting in June.
"The strength of our company’s first-quarter performance reflects our ongoing commitment to driving top-line revenues, controlling operating expenses, advancing our pipeline, and improving our capital structure," said Denny Lanfear, Coherus’ Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "The progress we reported today aligns with these objectives, consistent with our overarching mission to become a sustainable and growing oncology company improving outcomes for cancer patients."

FIRST QUARTER 2024 FINANCIAL RESULTS

Net revenue was $77.1 million during the three months ended March 31, 2024, and included $42.7 million of net sales of UDENYCA, $2.0 million of net sales of LOQTORZI, which was launched on January 2, 2024, $3.9 million of net sales of YUSIMRY, and $28.2 million of net sales of CIMERLI, which was divested to Sandoz on March 1, 2024. Net revenue was $32.4 million during the three months ended March 31, 2023.

Cost of goods sold (COGS) was $34.6 million and $16.9 million during the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. CIMERLI COGS included a low to mid 50% royalty on gross profits and UDENYCA COGS includes a mid-single digit royalty on net sales payable through the first half of 2024. The increase in COGS was primarily driven by higher royalty costs and an increase in product costs from the mix of products sold and the launch of new products.

Research and development (R&D) expense was $28.5 million and $34.2 million during the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The decrease was primarily due to savings from reduced headcount and lower costs related to biosimilar products, partially offset by increased costs related to moving LOQTORZI production from China to the United States.

Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expense for the three months ended March 31, 2024 was $56.5 million compared to $49.2 million for the same period in 2023. The increase was primarily due to the net $6.8 million charge in Q1 2024 associated with the full write-off of the outlicense intangible asset and associated release of the CVR liability related to NZV930, obtained in the Surface Oncology acquisition, and higher third-party processing fees from multiple products being commercialized, partially offset by savings from reduced headcount.

Gain on Sale, net for the divestiture of the ophthalmology franchise, which closed during the three months ended March 31, 2024, was $153.6 million, and reflects total cash proceeds of $187.8 million, net of assets transferred to Sandoz, assets derecognized, transactions costs of $7.2 million and other employee transition related expenses.

Net income for the first quarter of 2024 was $102.9 million, or $0.83 per share on a diluted basis, compared to a net loss of $75.7 million, or $(0.96) per share on a diluted basis for the same period in 2023.

Non-GAAP net loss for the first quarter of 2024 was $35.8 million, or $(0.32) per share on a diluted basis, compared to non-GAAP net loss of $59.5 million, or $(0.75) per share on a diluted basis for the same period in 2023. See "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below for a discussion on how Coherus calculates non-GAAP net loss and a reconciliation to the most directly comparable GAAP measures.

Cash, cash equivalents and investments in marketable securities were $259.8 million as of March 31, 2024, compared to $117.7 million as of December 31, 2023. Proceeds from the divestiture of our ophthalmology franchise received in March 2024 were used to pay down $175.0 million of the total $250.0 in principal on Coherus’ 2027 Term Loans in April 2024.

2024 R&D and SG&A Expense Guidance
Coherus projects combined R&D and SG&A expenses for 2024 to be in the range of $250 to $265 million. This guidance includes approximately $40 million of stock-based compensation expense and excludes the effects of acquisitions, collaborations, investments, divestitures including expenses incurred on behalf of and reimbursed by Sandoz to satisfy Coherus’ obligations under the Transition Services Agreement (TSA), restructuring, the exercise of rights or options related to collaboration programs, and any other transactions or circumstances not yet identified or quantified. This guidance is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. See Forward-Looking Statements described in the section below.

Conference Call Information

When: Thursday, May 9, 2024, starting at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time

To access the conference call:
Dial: (800) 715-9871 (toll-free USA and Canada); (646) 307-1963 (international)

Conference ID: 4442005

Webcast: View Source

An archived webcast will be available on the "Investors" section of the Coherus website at View Source

On May 9, 2024 Cimeio Therapeutics, a biotechnology company leading the field of epitope shielding, reported data for its CD52 program during this week’s Annual Meeting of the American Society of Cell & Gene Therapy (ASGCT) (Free ASGCT Whitepaper) in Baltimore (Press release, Cimeio Therapeutics, MAY 9, 2024, View Source [SID1234642983]). The abstract is titled "Molecular Shielding of CD52 Retains Expression, Anti-Phagocytic Don’t Eat Me Function and Protects from Alemtuzumab-Mediated Depletion."

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The study is the first showing that T cells expressing an engineered CD52 can be effectively shielded from Alemtuzumab-mediated depletion, while maintaining the general features of this receptor. Cimeio’s research team also showed for the first time that CD52 mediates an anti-phagocytotic ‘Don’t Eat Me’ signal, which is retained by the engineering. This program can serve as the basis for a novel approach to treating patients with T cell malignancies, non-genotoxic conditioning, and aiding in improving the persistence of allogeneic CAR T cells.

"Exhaustive screening as well as comprehensive expression, glycan and functional analyses allowed us to identify a base editable point mutation that protected T cells from Alemtuzumab, while allowing CD52 to maintain its cell surface expression, processing and function," said Stefanie Urlinger, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer at Cimeio. "We are excited to explore the full potential of our engineered CD52 receptor in the future. This can represent a viable alternative to CD52 knock-out on allogeneic CAR T cells, mediating resistance to lymphodepletion using Alemtuzumab and perhaps also contributing to a prolonged in vivo persistence."

On May 9, 2024 Century Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: IPSC), an innovative biotechnology company developing induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived cell therapies in immuno-oncology and autoimmune diseases, reported financial results and business highlights for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024 (Press release, Century Therapeutics, MAY 9, 2024, View Source [SID1234642982]).

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"We have made significant clinical, operational and research-oriented progress so far this year, and I am incredibly excited by the momentum we’ve been able to achieve in such a short period of time," said Brent Pfeiffenberger, Pharm.D., Chief Executive Officer of Century Therapeutics. "Looking ahead, we will be sharing additional clinical data from the ELiPSE-1 trial of CNTY-101 in R/R NHL at the upcoming ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting in June. In addition, we are on track to initiate the Phase 1 CALiPSO-1 trial of CNTY-101 in SLE in the first half of 2024, while also continuing to progress the multiple planned regulatory filings for CNTY-101 in additional autoimmune disease indications later this year. We believe Century’s position as a leader in allogeneic, iPSC-derived cell therapy is fortified by the recent expansion of our pipeline and platform capabilities through the acquisition of Clade Therapeutics, and we are looking forward to continued execution across our robust portfolio of novel assets providing us with multiple near- and long-term potential value drivers."

Research and Development Highlights and Upcoming Milestones

CNTY-101

CNTY-101 is a CD19 targeting allogeneic iNK cell therapy with 6 precision gene edits powered by Century’s Allo-Evasion technology, which enables repeat dosing without the need for continued lymphodepletion. Century’s core Allo-Evasion edits are designed to overcome the three major pathways of host versus graft rejection: CD8+ T cells, CD4+ T cells and NK cells.

· In April 2024, the Company announced plans to expand clinical development of CNTY-101 into additional autoimmune disease indications beyond SLE. In the second half of 2024, Century intends to submit additional regulatory filings for CNTY-101 in autoimmune disease indications with limited current treatment options and high unmet need. Additionally, the Company is planning to evaluate CNTY-101 for SLE in the Phase 1 CALiPSO-1 trial, which is on track to be initiated in the first half of 2024 with preliminary data expected by the end of 2024.

· Century plans to share additional data from its Phase 1 ELiPSE-1 trial in R/R non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) at the upcoming ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting, being held May 31-June 4, 2024, in Chicago, IL. As previously announced, in this heavily pretreated and refractory patient population, CNTY-101 has demonstrated a favorable safety profile in the initial seven patients treated with Dose Level 1 (100 million cells) and Dose Level 2 (300 million cells) on a once monthly schedule. In these low dose levels, CNTY-101 demonstrated encouraging early response signals, including two complete responses (CRs) and one partial response (PR). Initial translational data supports the potential for Allo-Evasion to enable a multidose regimen without the need for continued lymphodepletion.

Platform Technology and Additional Pipeline Programs

· In April 2024, Century shared six poster presentations at the 2024 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting showcasing new preclinical data on additional Allo-Evasion edits in addition to the Company’s end-to-end cell therapy capabilities including expertise across iPSC reprogramming, gene editing, protein engineering, Allo-Evasion technology and computational biology. Key abstracts highlighted Century’s novel, dual-targeting CAR for B-cell mediated malignancies demonstrating in vitro and in vivo cytotoxicity and antigen loss resistance; and new data on the Allo-Evasion platform showcasing its potential to evade identification by the host immune system, which would allow for repeat dosing without rejection, enabling increased persistence of the cells during the treatment period and potentially leading to deeper and more durable responses. Across all six posters, the findings highlight Century’s unique gene editing, protein engineering, and manufacturing capabilities that are the foundations of its allogeneic cell therapy pipeline and platform. The presented posters are available at the Scientific Resources page of the Company’s website.

· In April 2024, the Company announced the acquisition of Clade Therapeutics, a privately held biotech company focused on discovering and delivering engineerable, off-the-shelf, scalable, and consistent stem cell-based medicines, with a focus on iPSC-derived αβ T cells. This acquisition brings complementary technology to enhance Century’s Allo-Evasion platform and additional next-generation iT programs spanning targets in cancer, and autoimmune diseases. These programs include CLDE-308, an αβ iT cell program targeting CD19 in autoimmune disease and B-cell malignancies, CLDE-361, an αβ iT cell program targeting BCMA in myasthenia gravis, and an undisclosed iT cell focused research program in solid tumors.

Business Highlights

· In April 2024, the Company entered into a securities purchase agreement with a select group of institutional investors for an approximately $60 million private placement of its common stock. The private placement closed on April 15, 2024, and was led by new investors Bain Capital Life Sciences, Adage Capital Partners LP, Octagon Capital, and Superstring Capital, and existing investors including Casdin Capital, Boxer Capital, Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners and DAFNA Capital Management, LLC.

First Quarter 2024 Financial Results

· Cash Position: Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities were $249.9 million as of March 31, 2024, as compared to $261.8 million as of December 31, 2023. Net cash used in operations was $30.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024, compared to net cash used in operations of $29.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023.

· Collaboration Revenue: Collaboration revenue generated through the Company’s collaboration, option and license agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) was $0.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024, compared to $1.7 million for the same period in 2023.

· Research and Development (R&D) expenses: R&D expenses were $23.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024, compared to $24.9 million for the same period in 2023. The decrease in R&D expenses was primarily due to the reduction in force that occurred in January of 2023.

· General and Administrative (G&A) expenses: G&A expenses were $8.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024, compared to $8.9 million for the same period in 2023.

· Net loss: Net loss was $28.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024, compared to $31.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023.

Financial Guidance

· The Company expects full year generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) operating expenses to be between $150 million and $160 million as compared to the previous guidance range of $135 million to $145 million. The increase is driven by additional operating expenses related to the integration of Clade Therapeutics, as well as the Company’s planned expanded clinical development of CNTY-101 into additional autoimmune disease indications. The Company is currently in the process of completing its accounting analysis of the acquisition of Clade. The revised guidance does not include any potential non-cash charges related to the acquisition.

· The Company estimates its cash, cash equivalents, and investments will support operations into 2026.

On May 9, 2024 Lisata Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: LSTA) ("Lisata" or the "Company"), a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company developing innovative therapies for the treatment of advanced solid tumors and other serious diseases, reported a business update and announced financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2024 (Press release, Lisata Therapeutics, MAY 9, 2024, View Source [SID1234642981]).

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"2024, a pivotal year for Lisata, is off to a very strong start," stated David J. Mazzo, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Lisata. "Although we project multiple data readouts over the next 18 months, topline results from the Phase 2b ASCEND trial later this year have transformative potential for the Company. These results will be instrumental in determining the future of Lisata, and we plan to use them to explore conditional approvals with various regulatory agencies and/or to design an optimized Phase 3 program in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Since the start of the year, we have received both U.S. FDA Orphan Drug and Rare Pediatric Disease designations for certepetide, previously known as LSTA1, in osteosarcoma, further validating the broad therapeutic potential of this innovative therapy. We are energized by the progress we are making and excited about Lisata’s prospects."

Dr. Mazzo added, "Our continued prudent financial management allows us to reaffirm our projection that currently available cash will fund operations into early 2026, providing a solid foundation to fund all ongoing and planned trials through to completion. More than ever, we remain confident in our ability to execute our development activities with the goal of reaching critical milestones at the earliest possible juncture."

Development Portfolio Highlights

Certepetide as a treatment for solid tumors in combination with other anti-cancer agents
Certepetide is an investigational drug designed to activate the CendR uptake pathway that allows co-administered or molecularly bound anti-cancer drugs to target and penetrate solid tumors more effectively. Certepetide is designed to actuate this active transport system in a tumor-specific manner, resulting in systemically co-administered anti-cancer drugs more efficiently penetrating and accumulating in the tumor, to the exclusion of normal tissues. In preclinical models, certepetide has also shown the ability to modify the tumor microenvironment, leading to the expectation that tumors will become more susceptible to immunotherapies and inhibiting the metastatic cascade (i.e., the spread of cancer to other parts of the body). Lisata and its development partners have amassed significant non-clinical data demonstrating enhanced delivery of a range of existing and emerging anti-cancer therapies, including chemotherapeutics, immunotherapies, and RNA-based therapeutics. To date, certepetide has also demonstrated favorable safety, tolerability and activity in completed and ongoing clinical trials designed to test its ability to enhance delivery of standard-of-care ("SOC") chemotherapy for metastatic pancreatic cancer ("mPDAC"). Certepetide has been granted orphan drug designation for pancreatic cancer in the U.S. and Europe as well as for glioblastoma multiforme ("GBM") and osteosarcoma in the U.S. It also received a Fast Track designation from the FDA for pancreatic cancer and, just recently, a Rare Pediatric Disease designation from the FDA for osteosarcoma. Currently, certepetide is the subject of multiple ongoing or planned Phase 2a and 2b clinical studies being conducted globally in a variety of solid tumor types in combination with a variety of anti-cancer regimens:

•ASCEND: Phase 2b double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial evaluating two dosing regimens of certepetide in combination with gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel SOC chemotherapy in patients with mPDAC. Cohort A of the study receives a single dose of 3.2 mg/kg certepetide essentially simultaneously with SOC, while Cohort B is identical to Cohort A, but with a second dose of 3.2mg/kg of certepetide given four hours after the first. The trial is being conducted at 25 sites in Australia and New Zealand led by the Australasian Gastro-Intestinal Trials Group in collaboration with the University of Sydney and with the National Health and Medical Research Council Clinical Trial Centre at the University of Sydney as the Coordinating Centre. The conclusion of a planned interim futility analysis in 2023 by the Independent Data Safety Monitoring Committee was that the conditions for futility were not met and that the study should proceed to completion. With trial enrollment completed in the fourth quarter of 2023, Lisata expects topline data from the 95 patients assigned to Cohort A of the study to be reported in the fourth quarter of 2024 and the complete data set of all 158 patients from the study to be available by mid-2025.
•BOLSTER: Phase 2a double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-center, randomized trial in the U.S. evaluating certepetide in combination with SOC in first-line cholangiocarcinoma. The trial is actively enrolling with enrollment completion expected by the end of the third quarter of 2024.
•CENDIFOX: Phase 1b/2a open-label trial in the U.S. of certepetide in combination with neoadjuvant FOLFIRINOX based therapies in pancreatic, colon and appendiceal cancers. The trial continues to make steady progress with enrollment completion for all three arms expected by the end of 2024.
•Qilu Pharmaceutical, the licensee of certepetide in the Greater China territory, is currently evaluating certepetide in combination with gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel as a treatment for mPDAC. During the 2023 ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting, Qilu Pharmaceutical presented an abstract sharing preliminary data from the study which corroborated previously reported findings from the Phase 1b/2a trial of certepetide plus gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel conducted in Australia in patients with mPDAC. As recently announced, Qilu has begun treating patients in their Phase 2 placebo-controlled trial in mPDAC. The study is planned to take approximately 18 months to complete enrollment and another 13 months for patient follow-up and data analysis and reporting.
•iLSTA: Phase 1b/2a randomized, single-blind, single-center, safety and pharmacodynamic trial in Australia evaluating certepetide in combination with the checkpoint inhibitor, durvalumab, plus standard-of-care gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel chemotherapy versus standard-of-care alone in patients with locally advanced non-resectable PDAC. Enrollment completion is expected in the second half of 2024.
•A Lisata-funded Phase 2a, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, proof-of-concept study evaluating certepetide in combination with standard-of-care temozolomide versus temozolomide alone in patients with newly diagnosed GBM is being conducted across multiple sites in Estonia and Latvia and is targeted to enroll 30 patients with a randomization of 2:1 in favor of the certepetide treatment group.
First Quarter 2024 Financial Highlights
For the three months ended March 31, 2024, operating expenses totaled $6.6 million, compared to $6.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023, representing a decrease of $0.2 million or 3.6%.
Research and development expenses were approximately $3.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024, compared to $3.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023, representing an essentially unchanged spend. The minor increase of $62,000 or 2.0% was primarily due to an increase in expenses associated with enrollment activities in the current year for the BOLSTER trial, partially offset by a reduction in expenses associated with the Phase 2b ASCEND trial which completed enrollment in the prior year.
General and administrative expenses were approximately $3.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024, compared to $3.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023, representing a decrease of $0.3 million or 8.3%. This was primarily due to a decrease in staffing costs associated with the elimination of the Chief Business Officer position on May 1, 2023, a reduction in option assumption equity expense in connection with the Company’s merger with Cend Therapeutics, Inc., a decrease in directors and officers insurance premiums, and a reduction in spend on consulting and legal fees partially offset by one-off settlement-related costs.

Overall, net losses were $5.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024, compared to $6.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023.
Balance Sheet Highlights
As of March 31, 2024, Lisata had cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities of approximately $43.3 million. Based on its current expected capital needs, the Company believes that its projected capital will fund its current proposed operations into early 2026, encompassing anticipated data milestones from all its ongoing and planned clinical trials.
Conference Call Information
Lisata will hold a live conference call today, May 9, 2024, at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time to discuss financial results, provide a business update and answer questions.
Those wishing to participate must register for the conference call by way of the following link: CLICK HERE TO REGISTER. Registered participants will receive an email containing conference call details with dial-in options. To avoid delays, we encourage participants to dial into the conference call 15 minutes ahead of the scheduled start time.
A live webcast of the call will also be accessible under the Investors & News section of Lisata’s website and will be available for replay beginning two hours after the conclusion of the call for 12 months.
About Lisata Therapeutics
Lisata Therapeutics is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development and commercialization of innovative therapies for the treatment of advanced solid tumors and other major diseases. Lisata’s lead product candidate, certepetide, is an investigational drug designed to activate a novel uptake pathway that allows co-administered or tethered anti-cancer drugs to target and penetrate solid tumors more effectively. Based on Lisata’s CendR Platform Technology, Lisata has already established noteworthy commercial and R&D partnerships. The Company expects to announce numerous clinical study and business milestones over the next two years and has projected that its current business and development plan is funded with available capital through these milestones and into early 2026. For more information on the Company, please visit www.lisata.com.