On November 4, 2021 SpringWorks Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: SWTX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing life-changing medicines for patients with severe rare diseases and cancer, reported financial results for the third quarter and year-to-date periods ended September 30, 2021 and provided an update on recent company developments (Press release, SpringWorks Therapeutics, NOV 4, 2021, View Source [SID1234594450]).
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"In the third quarter of 2021, we continued to execute across our diversified portfolio of targeted oncology programs being evaluated as standalone and combination therapies for patients with rare tumors, hematological cancers and biomarker-defined metastatic solid tumors," said Saqib Islam, Chief Executive Officer of SpringWorks. "Our team remains focused on advancing our 16 development programs on behalf of oncology patients while simultaneously building our commercial organization in anticipation of serving patients with desmoid tumors as well as expanding our drug discovery capabilities to continue growing our early-stage pipeline."
Recent Business Highlights and Upcoming Milestones
Late-Stage Rare Oncology
SpringWorks is conducting the Phase 3 DeFi trial evaluating nirogacestat in adult patients with progressing desmoid tumors. DeFi is an event-driven trial with a primary endpoint of progression-free survival. SpringWorks expects to reach the 51 events required for the study analysis by the end of the year. The Company expects to report topline results from the study, after data validation and analysis, by the end of the fourth quarter of 2021 or in early 2022.
Recruitment is ongoing in a Phase 2 study sponsored by the Children’s Oncology Group evaluating nirogacestat in pediatric patients with desmoid tumors.
SpringWorks expects to complete enrollment in the Phase 2b ReNeu trial evaluating mirdametinib in adult and pediatric patients with NF1-associated plexiform neurofibromas (NF1-PN) in the second half of 2021, as previously disclosed.
Patients continue to be dosed in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial evaluating mirdametinib in children and young adults with low-grade glioma.
B-cell Maturation Antigen (BCMA) Combinations in Multiple Myeloma
In October 2021, SpringWorks announced an update from its ongoing clinical collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline evaluating nirogacestat in combination with BLENREP (belantamab mafodotin-blmf) in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. The first combination dose level, which is evaluating 0.95 mg/kg Q3W BLENREP plus nirogacestat, has been expanded based on encouraging preliminary data observed in the dose exploration Phase 1 portion of the nirogacestat DREAMM-5 sub-study. This dose level has advanced into a randomized Phase 2 cohort expansion and is now enrolling patients to further explore the safety and efficacy profile compared to a 2.5 mg/kg Q3W BLENREP monotherapy control arm, which is the same as the FDA approved monotherapy dose and schedule of BLENREP. In parallel, additional dose levels and schedules of BLENREP plus nirogacestat continue to be evaluated in the Phase 1 portion of the study. In addition, two new sub-studies will evaluate the BLENREP plus nirogacestat combination with standard-of-care multiple myeloma therapies in the DREAMM-5 trial (pomalidomide plus dexamethasone and lenalidomide plus dexamethasone). Data from these two new sub-studies may enable future clinical trials in earlier lines of multiple myeloma.
SpringWorks continues to evaluate nirogacestat as a potential cornerstone of BCMA-directed therapy across modalities in collaboration with six industry leaders. In addition to the current ongoing studies, SpringWorks expects that a Pfizer-sponsored trial of nirogacestat + elranatamab (PF-0686313) will initiate enrollment in the second half of 2021, as previously disclosed, and a Seagen-sponsored trial of nirogacestat + SEA-BCMA will initiate enrollment in the first quarter of 2022.
In August 2021, SpringWorks entered into a research collaboration agreement with Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to further investigate nirogacestat with anti-BCMA agents in a variety of preclinical multiple myeloma models.
Biomarker-Defined Metastatic Solid Tumors
Enrollment is ongoing in a Phase 1b/2 trial evaluating mirdametinib with BeiGene’s RAF dimer inhibitor, lifirafenib, in adult patients with RAS/RAF mutant and other MAPK pathway aberrant solid tumors. Initial clinical data from the BeiGene-sponsored trial are expected to be presented at an upcoming SpringWorks-sponsored R&D Day.
Enrollment is ongoing in a Phase 1 trial of BGB-3245 in adult patients with RAF mutant solid tumors. BGB-3245 is a selective RAF dimer inhibitor being developed by MapKure, LLC, a joint venture between SpringWorks and BeiGene. Initial clinical data from the MapKure-sponsored trial are expected to be presented at an upcoming SpringWorks-sponsored R&D Day.
In August 2021, SpringWorks announced a platform study sponsored by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to evaluate mirdametinib both as a monotherapy and as a combination therapy in advanced solid tumors harboring selected MAPK-activating mutations. This trial initiated enrollment in September 2021 and is exploring mirdametinib in two patient cohorts: the first in combination with fulvestrant, a selective estrogen receptor degrader, in patients with estrogen receptor-positive metastatic breast cancer with MAPK alterations, and the second as a monotherapy in advanced solid tumors harboring oncogenic MEK1 or MEK2 mutations.
In October 2021, SpringWorks entered into an exclusive worldwide license agreement with Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (Dana-Farber) and a sponsored research agreement with Stanford Medicine for a portfolio of novel small molecule inhibitors of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) designed for the treatment of EGFR-mutant cancers. In addition, SpringWorks entered into a collaboration agreement with Ab Magnitude Ventures Group, LLC and Ab Magnitude Fund, LP (collectively, "Ab Magnitude") to collaborate on target discovery and initial hit finding to advance next generation oncology therapeutics. SpringWorks and Ab Magnitude will also collaborate on the portfolio of EGFR inhibitors in-licensed by SpringWorks from Dana-Farber, with Ab Magnitude supporting optimization and characterization of the portfolio using its computational structural biology platform.
General Corporate
In the second half of 2021, the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued two new composition of matter patents, U.S. Patent Nos. 11,066,358 and 11,084,780, covering several polymorphic forms of mirdametinib, including the polymorphic form that is currently in clinical development. These patents expire in 2041.
Third Quarter 2021 Financial Results
Research and Development (R&D) Expenses: R&D expenses were $22.9 million for the third quarter, compared to $13.9 million for the comparable period of 2020. The increases in R&D expenses were attributable to an increase in internal costs driven by the growth in employee costs associated with increases in the number of R&D personnel and an increase in stock-based compensation expense as well as an increase in external costs related to drug manufacturing and trial costs.
General and Administrative (G&A) Expenses: G&A expenses were $18.0 million for the third quarter, compared to $7.7 million for the comparable period of 2020. The increases in G&A expenses were primarily attributable to the hiring of additional personnel in our G&A functions, as we continued to expand our operations to support the organization, including commercialization preparation efforts that are underway, and an increase in stock-based compensation expense. In addition, G&A expenses included an increase in information technology costs, and consulting and professional services, including legal, regulatory and compliance.
Net Loss Attributable to Common Stockholders: SpringWorks reported net loss of $41.0 million, or $0.84 per share, for the third quarter of 2021. This compares to a net loss of $21.7 million, or $0.51 per share, for the comparable period of 2020.
Cash Position: Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities were $480.6 million as of September 30, 2021.
COVID-19 Update
To date, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a relatively modest impact on SpringWorks’ business operations, in particular on SpringWorks’ clinical trial programs, and SpringWorks is undertaking considerable efforts to mitigate the various challenges presented by this crisis. For further details and descriptions of the risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, please see the Risk Factors in SpringWorks’ periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and refer to the Forward-Looking Statements section in this press release.