On November 21, 2018 Celyad (Paris:CYAD) (Brussels:CYAD) (NASDAQ:CYAD) (Euronext Brussels and Paris, and Nasdaq: CYAD), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of CAR-T cell-based therapies, reported its update on key clinical and operational developments for the third quarter ended September 30, 2018 (Press release, Celyad, NOV 21, 2018, View Source [SID1234531539]).
Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:
Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing
Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!
THIRD QUARTER 2018 HIGHLIGHTS
FDA permitted the IND application for CYAD-101 to go into effect
No toxicity observed in the initial patient treated in the THINK CyFlu cohort evaluating the safety and anti-tumor activity of CYAD-01 after standard preconditioning chemotherapy
Key additions to the Board of Directors and Senior Leadership Team
Cash position of €55.9 million as of September 30, 2018
Dr. Christian Homsy, CEO of Celyad, commented: "We continue to be pleased with the flow of data from our clinical programs for CYAD-01. The data to date for CYAD-01 add to a growing body of evidence showing that our cell therapy has encouraging clinical activity across several indications, including acute myeloid leukemia and metastatic colorectal cancer, and is well-tolerated. In addition, we are excited for our lead allogeneic candidate, CYAD-101, which leverages our understanding of NKG2D biology, to enter the clinic for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer by year-end."
THIRD QUARTER 2018 OPERATIONAL AND FINANCIAL REVIEW
Updates to Allogeneic CYAD-101 Program and CYAD-01 THINK CyFlu Cohort
In July 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted the Investigational New Drug (IND) application for CYAD-101, the world’s first non-gene edited, allogeneic CAR-T clinical candidate, and permitted it to go into effect. CYAD-101 will initially be evaluated in the alloSHRINK trial. Enrollment in the trial is expected to begin by year-end 2018. In September, Celyad announced the successful injection of the first patient under the amended protocol of the THINK trial, referred to as THINK CyFlu, in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.
Strengthening our Management Team
In August, the Company announced that Dr. Margo Roberts, former Chief Scientific Officer of Kite Pharma Inc., joined Celyad’s Board of Directors and scientific committee. During the quarter, the Company also announced the appointment of Filippo Petti as Chief Financial Officer and Carri Duncan, PhD, as Vice President Corporate Development & Communications.
Financial review
The Company ended the quarter with €55.9 million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments. Use of cash over the third quarter of 2018 amounted to €6.7 million, in line with expectations. The Company confirms its previous guidance that existing cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments should be sufficient to fund operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements, based on the current scope of activities, until mid-2020.
HIGHLIGHTS SUBSEQUENT TO QUARTER-END
In October, Celyad announced an exclusive agreement with Horizon Discovery Group plc (LSE: HZD), for the use of its shRNA technology to generate Celyad’s second non-gene-edited allogeneic platform. Details of the agreement can be found on our website.
In early November, Celyad presented updated clinical results for the CYAD-01 program in solid tumors as well as translational research data at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) (Free SITC Whitepaper) 33rd Annual Meeting. Press release highlighting our advancing clinical and technological platforms can be found here.
Celyad is scheduled to present two abstracts detailing updated clinical results from the Phase 1 THINK dose-escalation trial and upcoming clinical trials for the CYAD-01 program at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) Annual Meeting in San Diego, December 1-4, 2018. Details can be found on our website here.