On August 8, 2024 Century Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: IPSC), an innovative biotechnology company developing induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived cell therapies in immuno-oncology and autoimmune disease, reported financial results and business highlights for the second quarter ended June 30, 2024 (Press release, Century Therapeutics, AUG 8, 2024, View Source [SID1234645589]).
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"Our strategic autoimmune expansion, as highlighted by the recent initiation of the CALiPSO-1 trial in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and addition of a Lupus Nephritis-specific cohort, positions Century as a potential leader in allogeneic cell therapies for autoimmune diseases. 2024 remains a time of focused execution as we work to advance our next-generation allogeneic iPSC-derived cell therapy platform and pipeline, equipped with our proprietary Allo-Evasion technology, capturing a diversified opportunity to address a broad range of indications with high unmet need. I am proud of the significant progress we have achieved in such a short period of time, particularly underscored by the evolution of our platform and capabilities, which we anticipate will enable our iPSC candidates to have a more controlled, durable, and tolerable profile," said Brent Pfeiffenberger, Pharm.D., Chief Executive Officer of Century Therapeutics. "We remain focused on progressing CNTY-101 in both of our clinical-stage programs, including advancement into dose expansion in the ELiPSE-1 trial in patients with r/r B-cell lymphomas and acceleration of patient enrollment following the recent initiation of the CALiPSO-1 trial. We’ve made strides in our initial execution of autoimmune expansion as evidenced by our CALiPSO-1 trial updates, while simultaneously pursuing additional regulatory filings for CNTY-101 in other autoimmune disease indications in the second half of the year. We look forward to continued execution and the opportunity to deliver on our next set of potential catalysts, including the expectation of initial clinical data from CALiPSO-1 by year-end."
Research & Development Highlights
· Consistent with Century’s autoimmune disease expansion efforts announced in April 2024, the Company recently initiated the Phase 1 CALiPSO-1 trial of CNTY-101 (NCT06255028) in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE). The first clinical trial site has been activated, with additional sites continuing to open across the United States. The Company expects initial clinical data from CALiPSO-1 by year-end 2024. Furthermore, Century recently amended the protocol to include a new indication-specific cohort of Lupus Nephritis (LN) patients. CALiPSO-1 is an open-label multi-center clinical trial to evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and clinical response of CNTY-101 in patients with moderate to severe SLE and LN who have failed at least two standard immunosuppressive therapies. The inclusion of LN patients highlights Century’s execution in pursuing additional regulatory filings as a way of accelerating and broadening its research and development initiatives in autoimmune diseases. The Company intends to submit additional regulatory filings for CNTY-101 in autoimmune disease indications with limited current treatment options and high unmet need in the second half of 2024.
· In May 2024, Century presented two posters at the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ASGCT) (Free ASGCT Whitepaper) Annual Meeting showcasing the potential ability of its lead program, CNTY-101, a CD19 targeting allogeneic iNK cell therapy with 6 precision gene edits powered by Century’s Allo-Evasion technology, to treat B-Cell driven autoimmune diseases including SLE, and new preclinical data demonstrating the potential utility of using a novel synthetic ligand targeting CD300a as a universal strategy for preventing natural killer (NK) cell mediated rejection in allogeneic cell therapies. The Company believes that these capabilities demonstrate the potential protection of allogeneic cell therapies with the possibility for improved outcomes, while delivering a broadly beneficial treatment option across a range of indications.
· In June 2024, the Company presented encouraging interim efficacy and safety data from the ongoing Phase 1 ELiPSE-1, multicenter, open-label clinical trial of CNTY-101 (NCT05336409) in heavily pre-treated patients with R/R CD19-positive B-cell lymphomas at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting. Evaluable preliminary safety (n=12) and efficacy (n=10) as of the data cutoff date of March 27, 2024, from the ongoing dose escalation portion of the trial, demonstrated a manageable tolerability profile with no observed dose limiting toxicities (DLT) or graft-versus-host disease (GvHD). After rapidly trafficking out of circulation, pharmacokinetics (PK), evaluated by a novel cell-free DNA method, showed that CNTY-101 persistence outside the bloodstream trended with increases in dose. Data also showed additional responses across escalating doses and different types of B-cell malignancies in heavily pretreated patients with predominantly aggressive or high-risk histologies.
· The Company recently completed dose escalation of schedule A (single dose per cycle) and schedule B (3 doses per cycle) in the ELiPSE-1 trial and is currently enrolling patients in the dose confirmation portion. Progression into dose expansion is expected in the second half of 2024.
Corporate Highlights
· In April 2024, the Company completed a private placement of common stock with gross proceeds of $60 million with new and existing investors. Also in April 2024, the Company closed the acquisition of Clade Therapeutics, bringing enhancement of its Allo-Evasion platform and adding three preclinical stage αβ iT programs spanning across cancer and autoimmune diseases to its pipeline.
Second Quarter 2024 Financial Results
· Cash Position: Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities were $269.6 million as of June 30, 2024, as compared to $261.8 million as of December 31, 2023. Net cash used in operations was $57.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024, compared to net cash used in operations of $48.5 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023.
· Collaboration Revenue: Collaboration revenue generated through the Company’s collaboration, option, and license agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb was $0.8 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024, compared to $0.1 million for the same period in 2023.
· Research and Development (R&D) expenses: R&D expenses were $27.2 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024, compared to $22.7 million for the same period in 2023. The increase in R&D expenses was primarily due to increased manufacturing activity for CNTY-101 and the acquisition of Clade Therapeutics.
· General and Administrative (G&A) expenses: G&A expenses were $8.3 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024, compared to $8.2 million for the same period in 2023.
· Net loss: Net loss was $31.2 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024, compared to $33.3 million for the three months ended June 30, 2023.
Financial Guidance
· The Company expects full year generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) operating expenses to be between $150 million and $160 million.
· The Company estimates its cash, cash equivalents, and investments will support operations into 2026.