On March 21, 2024 Bolt Biotherapeutics (Nasdaq: BOLT), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer, reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2023, and provided a business update (Press release, Bolt Biotherapeutics, MAR 21, 2024, View Source [SID1234641338]).
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"We made substantial progress advancing our two proprietary clinical-stage development programs in 2023," said Randall Schatzman, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer. "We have now administered BDC-1001, which we have renamed trastuzumab imbotolimod, to patients in all five of the Phase 2 cohorts. BDC-3042 also continues to advance, and has now entered the fourth dose escalation cohort without a dose-limiting toxicity. Both clinical programs are on track and we look forward to providing updates later this year."
Recent Highlights and Anticipated Milestones
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Trastuzumab imbotolimod (BDC-1001) Phase 2 program continues to advance. Trastuzumab imbotolimod is a BoltbodyTM ISAC that is currently in Phase 2 clinical development across five distinct cohorts treating patients with HER2-positive cancer. The first three cohorts evaluate monotherapy trastuzumab imbotolimod in colorectal, endometrial, and gastroesophageal cancer, and the fourth and fifth cohorts evaluate trastuzumab imbotolimod with or without pertuzumab for the treatment of HER-2 positive metastatic breast cancer. All cohorts utilize a Simon two-stage design. Roche is providing pertuzumab in support of the trial. The most recent update on trastuzumab imbotolimod was presented at the ESMO (Free ESMO Whitepaper) 2023 Congress in October 2023, noting a 29% objective response rate (ORR) comprising 1 complete response (CR) and 3 partial responses (PRs) in evaluable patients with HER2-positive tumors at the recommended Phase 2 dose (RP2D). BDC-1001 was well tolerated. The most common treatment-related treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAE) was Grade 1 or 2 infusion-related reactions, which were seen in 30% of patients in the study.
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BDC-3042 Phase 1 dose escalation study continues to advance. BDC-3042 is a proprietary agonist antibody that targets Dectin-2, an immune-activating receptor expressed by tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). This dose-escalation Phase 1 clinical study will initially evaluate BDC-3042 as monotherapy in patients with a variety of solid tumors, and will then evaluate the combination of BDC-3042 with a PD-1 inhibitor. Bolt has completed the first three dosing cohorts without observing any dose-limiting toxicities and the trial is enrolling well.
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Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities were $128.6 million as of December 31, 2023. Cash on hand is expected to fund multiple clinical milestones in 2024 and operations through late 2025.
Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2023 Financial Results
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Collaboration Revenue – Collaboration revenue was $2.1 million for the quarter and $7.9 million for the full year ended December 31, 2023, compared to $1.4 million and $5.7 million for the same quarter and year in 2022. Revenue in the comparative periods was generated from the services performed under our R&D collaborations as we fulfill our performance obligations.
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Research and Development (R&D) Expenses – R&D expenses were $16.3 million for the quarter and $61.5 million for the full year ended December 31, 2023, compared to $16.8 million and $73.1 million for the same quarter and year ended 2022. The decrease in R&D expenses was due to lower manufacturing expenses related to the timing of batch production, offset by higher clinical expenses related to the advancement of trastuzumab imbotolimod clinical trial into Phase 2.
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General and Administrative (G&A) Expenses – G&A expenses were $5.5 million for the quarter and $22.5 million for the full year ended December 31, 2023, compared to $5.6 million and $22.9 million for the same quarter and year in 2022.
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Loss from Operations – Loss from operations was $19.8 million for the quarter and $76.2 million for the full year ended December 31, 2023, compared to $21.0 million and $90.3 million for the same quarter and year in 2022. This is in part a reflection of proactive cost-containment measures taken in June 2022.
About the Boltbody Immune-Stimulating Antibody Conjugate (ISAC) Platform
Bolt Biotherapeutics’ Boltbody ISAC platform harnesses the precision of antibodies with the power of the innate and adaptive immune system to reprogram the tumor microenvironment to generate a productive anti-cancer response. Each Boltbody ISAC candidate comprises a tumor-targeting antibody, a non-cleavable linker, and a proprietary immune stimulant. The antibody is designed to target one or more markers on the surface of a tumor cell and the immune stimulant is designed to recruit and activate myeloid cells. Activated myeloid cells initiate a positive feedback loop by releasing cytokines and chemokines, chemical signals that attract other immune cells and lower the activation threshold for an immune response. This increases the population of activated immune system cells in the tumor microenvironment and promotes a robust immune response with the goal of generating durable therapeutic responses for patients with cancer.