On March 19, 2024 Corvus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Corvus or the Company) (Nasdaq: CRVS) (GLOBAL NEWSWIRE), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, reported a business update and reported financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2023 (Press release, Corvus Pharmaceuticals, MAR 19, 2024, View Source [SID1234641259]).

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"Corvus is pioneering the development of ITK inhibition with a focus on advancing our lead program, soquelitinib, into a registrational Phase 3 trial for patients with relapsed PTCL," said Richard A. Miller, M.D., co-founder, president and chief executive officer of Corvus. "We believe we are well positioned to execute on this trial, with recent positive updates from our Phase 1/1b clinical trial, alignment on the final study protocol with FDA, interest from leading academic centers in North America, and the receipt of Orphan Drug Designation for soquelitinib. We also continue to expand our knowledge and experience with ITK-mediated immunomodulation as a novel therapeutic for a broad range of cancers and immune diseases. We have several exciting opportunities in immunology, including plans for a randomized, placebo controlled clinical trial of soquelitinib in atopic dermatitis. In addition, we continue to progress our next-generation ITK inhibitors, which have been designed to optimize T cell modulation for specific immune indications. Based on current timelines, we anticipate the atopic dermatitis trial will be initiated in the second quarter of 2024 with initial data potentially available by year end, and we anticipate the PTCL trial will be initiated in the third quarter."

Business Update and Strategy

Prioritized Program: Soquelitinib (formerly CPI-818, Corvus’ selective ITK inhibitor)

Soquelitinib for T Cell Lymphoma

Corvus continues to follow patients with relapsed T cell lymphoma in a Phase 1/1b clinical trial evaluating single agent therapy with soquelitinib. Updated interim data as of January 22, 2024 (data shown below in Figures 1-2):
A total of 23 patients were enrolled in the Phase 1/1b trial at the optimum 200 mg two-times a day dose and meet the eligibility criteria for the planned registrational Phase 3 clinical trial based on ≥1 and ≤3 prior therapies (eligible patient population), including 21 evaluable patients.
For the 21 evaluable patients, objective responses (complete response, CR plus partial response, PR) were seen in seven patients, including four CRs and three PRs. Compared to the prior data (as of November 21, 2023) reported from the trial in December 2023 in conjunction with the 65th American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) Annual Meeting and Exposition, one of the patients achieving a PR continued to respond and achieved a CR.
Disease control (CR, PR and stable disease) was seen in 12 of 21 patients. The stable disease group included five patients who achieved tumor reductions that did not meet the criteria for a PR, with two of these patients continuing to receive therapy. Several patients experiencing tumor regression are continuing to receive therapy.
The Company presented a poster at ASH (Free ASH Whitepaper) that included additional data from the Phase 1/1b clinical trial and complementary preclinical data, including the evaluation of blood samples and tumor biopsies from eight patients who participated in the trial. The results support soquelitinib’s novel mechanism of action, and demonstrated increases in cytotoxic killer T cells and reductions in markers of T cell exhaustion.
Figure 1: Waterfall Plot for Patients in the 200 mg Dose Cohort of the Soquelitinib Phase 1/1b Clinical Trial for Peripheral T Cell Lymphoma. The plot shows the best percent change in tumor volume in the 21 evaluable patients (eligible patient population), as of January 22, 2024, that were measurable by CT scan or by Modified Severity-Weighted Assessment Tool (mSWAT) for patients with cutaneous involvement.

Waterfall Plot for Patients in the 200 mg Dose Cohort of the Soquelitinib Phase 1/1b Clinical Trial for Peripheral T Cell Lymphoma. The plot shows the best percent change in tumor volume in the 21 evaluable patients (eligible patient population), as of January 22, 2024, that were measurable by CT scan or by Modified Severity-Weighted Assessment Tool (mSWAT) for patients with cutaneous involvement.

Figure 2: Swimmer Plot of Eligible Patient Population Demonstrating Response and Time on Therapy. Tumor histologies, as of January 22, 2024, are also shown indicating different types of T cell lymphoma. PTCL-NOS, peripheral T cell lymphoma not otherwise specified; CTCL, cutaneous T cell lymphoma of either Sezary or mycosis fungoides type; NKTCL, natural killer cell T cell lymphoma; ALCL, anaplastic large cell lymphoma; AITL, angioimmunoblastic T cell lymphoma.

Swimmer Plot of Eligible Patient Population Demonstrating Response and Time on Therapy. Tumor histologies, as of January 22, 2024, are also shown indicating different types of T cell lymphoma. PTCL-NOS, peripheral T cell lymphoma not otherwise specified; CTCL, cutaneous T cell lymphoma of either Sezary or mycosis fungoides type; NKTCL, natural killer cell T cell lymphoma; ALCL, anaplastic large cell lymphoma.

In February 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Orphan Drug Designation for soquelitinib for the treatment of T cell lymphoma, providing potential benefits including assistance in the drug development process, tax credits for clinical costs, exemptions from certain FDA fees and seven years of post-approval marketing exclusivity. The Company has also obtained alignment with FDA on its protocol for a registrational Phase 3 clinical trial of soquelitinib in patients with relapsed PTCL and anticipate initiating the trial in the third quarter of 2024. There are currently no FDA fully approved agents for the treatment of relapsed PTCL.
Soquelitinib for Immune Diseases

Corvus plans to initiate a randomized, placebo-controlled Phase 1 trial of soquelitinib in patients with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis in the second quarter of 2024, with the potential for initial data from the trial before year end 2024. The trial is planned to enroll 64 patients that have failed at least one prior therapy across four different 28-day dosing regimens of soquelitinib compared to a placebo group. The endpoints include safety and improvement in Eczema Area and Severity Index ("EASI"). Patients and physicians will be blinded to treatment assignment.
In February 2024, Corvus presented preclinical data for soquelitinib at the Keystone Symposia on Systemic Autoimmunity and Autoinflammatory Diseases. The data included the first description of Corvus’ next-generation ITK inhibitor preclinical product candidates, which were designed to deliver precise T-cell modulation that is optimized for specific immunology indications. These preclinical product candidates exhibit specific biologic properties that are anticipated to enable more precise inhibition of Th1, Th2 and/or Th17 cell function. Atopic dermatitis and asthma are thought to be mediated primarily by Th2 lymphocytes. Th17 cells are associated with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. The results suggest that chemical structures may be refined to perform more specific biologic functions and may enable targeting of various types of immune disease. This data builds on the publication of preclinical data on soquelitinib as a preprint at bioRxiv in November 2023 that demonstrated ITK’s selective inhibition which produced therapeutic benefits in several autoimmune and allergy preclinical models including psoriasis, asthma, pulmonary fibrosis, scleroderma and graft versus host disease.
In February 2024, the Company appointed Jeffrey Arcara as Chief Business Officer, with responsibility for leading corporate strategy, business development, portfolio strategy, and new product planning. This includes an initial focus on maximizing the potential of the Company’s ITK inhibitor programs, both internally and through partnerships. Mr. Arcara previously served as senior vice president, head global marketing & portfolio and strategy for the innovative medicines and biosimilars business at Teva Pharmaceuticals.
Partner Led Programs: Ciforadenant (adenosine 2a receptor inhibitor) and Mupadolimab (anti-CD73)

The Kidney Cancer Research Consortium is enrolling a Phase 1b/2 clinical trial evaluating ciforadenant as a potential first line therapy for metastatic renal cell cancer (RCC) in combination with ipilimumab (anti-CTLA-4) and nivolumab (anti-PD-1). The Phase 1b portion of this trial has been completed and patients are now being enrolled in the Phase 2 portion. The clinical trial is expected to enroll up to 60 patients and initial data is anticipated in the first half of 2024.
Angel Pharmaceuticals, Corvus’ partner in China, is enrolling patients in a Phase 1/1b clinical trial of mupadolimab in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and head and neck squamous cell cancers (HNSCC). In this clinical trial, patients will receive mupadolimab monotherapy or in combination with pembrolizumab.
Financial Results
As of December 31, 2023, Corvus had cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $27.1 million as compared to $42.3 million as of December 31, 2022. During the year ending December 31, 2023, the Company sold 2,461,903 shares of its common stock through its at-the-market program, generating net proceeds to the Company of approximately $7.8 million.

Research and development expenses for the three months and full year ended December 31, 2023 totaled $4.0 million and $16.5 million, respectively, compared to $4.1 million and $24.5 million for the same periods in 2022. For the full year 2023, the decrease of $8.0 million was primarily due to lower clinical trial and manufacturing costs associated with the development of mupadolimab.

The net loss for the three months ended December 31, 2023 was $6.7 million compared to a net loss of $9.8 million for the same period in 2022. Total stock compensation expense for the three months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 was $0.6 million and the non-cash loss from Corvus’ equity method investment in Angel Pharmaceuticals was $1.4 million for the three months ended December 31, 2023 compared to $4.6 million in the same period in 2022.

Conference Call Details
Corvus will host a conference call and webcast today, Tuesday, March 19, 2024, at 4:30 p.m. ET (1:30 p.m. PT), during which time management will provide a business update and discuss the fourth quarter and full year 2023 financial results. The conference call can be accessed by dialing 1-877-407-0784 (toll-free domestic) or 1-201-689-8560 (international) or by clicking on this link for instant telephone access to the event. The live webcast may be accessed via the investor relations section of the Corvus website. A replay of the webcast will be available on Corvus’ website for 90 days.