On July 31, 2018 Geron Corporation (Nasdaq: GERN) reported financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 (Press release, Geron, JUL 31, 2018, View Source [SID1234528419]).

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Second Quarter and Year to Date 2018 Results

For the second quarter of 2018, the Company reported a net loss of $6.9 million, or $0.04 per share, compared to $6.4 million, or $0.04 per share, for the comparable 2017 period. Net loss for the first six months of 2018 was $14.1 million, or $0.08 per share, compared to $13.6 million, or $0.09 per share, for the comparable 2017 period.

Revenues for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 were $208,000 and $526,000, respectively, compared to $174,000 and $711,000 for the comparable 2017 periods. Revenues for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017 included royalty and license fee revenues under various non-imetelstat license agreements. The Company adopted the new revenue recognition accounting standard as of January 1, 2018 using the modified retrospective transition method. Financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 are presented under the new accounting standard, but prior period amounts have not been adjusted and continue to be reported under accounting standards used historically. Therefore, there is a lack of comparability to the prior periods presented. As a result, the decrease in revenues for the six months ended June 30, 2018, compared to the same period in 2017, reflects not only a reduction in the number of active non-imetelstat license agreements and decreased product sales from licensees, but also a change in the method accounting. However, the Company does not expect the adoption of the new revenue recognition accounting standard to have a material impact to its financial statements on an ongoing basis.

Total operating expenses for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 were $7.4 million and $15.2 million, respectively, compared to $6.9 million and $14.9 million for the comparable 2017 periods. Research and development expenses for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 were $3.2 million and $5.6 million, respectively, compared to $2.5 million and $5.9 million for the comparable 2017 periods. The changes in research and development expenses for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, compared to the same periods in 2017, primarily reflect the variation in costs for our proportionate share of clinical development expenses under the imetelstat collaboration with Janssen Biotech, Inc. (Janssen). General and administrative expenses for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 were $4.2 million and $9.6 million, respectively, compared to $4.4 million and $9.1 million for the comparable 2017 periods. The overall increase in general and administrative expenses for the six months ended June 30, 2018, compared to the same period in 2017, primarily reflects the net result of higher legal and consulting costs, partially offset by lower stock-based compensation expense.

Interest and other income for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 was $717,000 and $1.1 million, respectively, compared to $346,000 and $678,000 for the comparable 2017 periods. The increase in interest and other income for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, compared to the same periods in 2017, primarily reflects higher yields on the company’s increased marketable securities portfolio.

The Company ended the second quarter of 2018 with $181.4 million in cash and marketable securities. Since December 2017, the Company has raised cumulative net cash proceeds of approximately $87 million from the sales of an aggregate of 23,892,415 shares of common stock under At Market Issuance Sales Agreements (Sales Agreements) after deducting sales commissions and offering expenses payable by Geron. The Company expects these net cash proceeds to provide additional capital structure flexibility under different scenarios. If Janssen elects to continue the collaboration, the funds can potentially support the future shared development of imetelstat and Geron’s business development efforts to diversify its business through in-licensing or acquisitions. If Janssen elects to discontinue the collaboration, and Geron chooses to continue development of imetelstat, the funds can support future development costs, including potentially the start of the Phase 3 portion of IMerge.
Company Events

"We still expect Janssen’s decision whether to continue imetelstat development by the end of the third quarter," said John A. Scarlett, M.D., Geron’s President and Chief Executive Officer. "During the second quarter, we strengthened our balance sheet and made progress on our plans to address either scenario resulting from Janssen’s decision. Therefore, we are confident in our ability to manage our business effectively going forward."

IMbark Status

IMbark is a Phase 2 trial in patients with Intermediate-2 or High Risk myelofibrosis (MF) who have relapsed after or are refractory to prior treatment with a JAK inhibitor. In March 2018, Janssen officially closed the trial to new patient enrollment. In the second quarter of 2018, Janssen initiated a protocol-specified primary analysis of IMbark, which includes an assessment of overall survival. The Company expects that following completion of the protocol-specified primary analysis, Janssen will notify Geron whether it elects to maintain the license rights and continue the development of imetelstat in any indication (the Continuation Decision). Geron expects Janssen to inform the Company of its decision by the end of the third quarter of 2018.

IMerge Status

IMerge is a two-part clinical trial evaluating imetelstat in transfusion dependent patients with Low or Intermediate-1 risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) who have relapsed after or are refractory to prior treatment with an erythropoiesis stimulating agent, or ESA. The primary efficacy endpoint is the rate of red blood cell transfusion independence lasting at least 8 weeks. Part 1 is a Phase 2, open-label, single-arm trial of imetelstat, and Part 2 is designed to be a Phase 3, randomized, controlled trial. Part 2 has not yet begun.

On June 17, 2018, updated data from the original Part 1 of IMerge was presented at the 23rd Congress of the European Hematology Association (EHA) (Free EHA Whitepaper) held in Stockholm, Sweden. The oral presentation described data as of May 2018 from the first 32 patients enrolled in Part 1 of IMerge with a median follow-up of 95 weeks. These data showed that among the 32 red blood cell transfusion-dependent MDS patients enrolled in Part 1, a subset of 13 patients, who had not received prior treatment with either a hypomethylating agent or lenalidomide and were non-del(5q), exhibited an increased rate and durability of transfusion independence compared to the overall trial population.

The slide presentation from the EHA (Free EHA Whitepaper) conference is available on Geron’s website at www.geron.com/r-d/publications.

Based on preliminary data from Part 1 of IMerge, Janssen expanded new patient enrollment in Part 1 and enrolled approximately 25 additional patients who are naïve to lenalidomide and HMA treatment and are non-del(5q) to increase the experience and evaluate the benefit-risk profile of imetelstat in this refined target patient population. In November 2017, the first patient was dosed in the expanded Part 1 of IMerge and enrollment was completed in February 2018.

Conference Call and Webcast

Geron will host a conference call to discuss second quarter financial results and recent events at 4:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 31, 2018.

Participants may access the conference call live via telephone by dialing domestically +1 (877) 303-9139 or internationally +1 (760) 536-5195. The passcode is 9464589. A live, listen-only webcast will also be available through on the Company’s website at www.geron.com/investors/events. If you are unable to listen to the live call, an archived webcast will be available on the Company’s website for 30 days.

On July 30, 2018 Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc., (NASDAQ: AUPH / TSX: AUP) reported that it will release its second quarter 2018 financial results on Thursday, August 9, 2018, after the market closes (Press release, Aurinia Pharmaceuticals, JUL 30, 2018, View Source [SID1234527956]). Aurinia’s management will host a conference call to discuss the company’s second quarter 2018 financial results and provide a general business update.

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The conference call and webcast is scheduled for August 9, 2018 at 4:30pm EDT. In order to participate in the conference call, please dial +1-877-407-9170 (Toll-free U.S. & Canada). An audio webcast can be accessed under "News/Events" through the "Investors" section of the Aurinia corporate website at www.auriniapharma.com. A replay of the webcast will be available on Aurinia’s website.

Champions Oncology has filed a 10-K – Annual report [Section 13 and 15(d), not S-K Item 405] with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (Filing, 10-K, Champions Oncology, 2018, JUL 30, 2018, View Source [SID1234527952]).

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On July 30, 2018 Immutep Limited (ASX: IMM; NASDAQ: IMMP) ("Immutep" or "the Company") reported the approval of its Investigational New Drug ("IND") application by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") for eftilagimod alpha ("efti" or "IMP321"), a LAG-3Ig fusion protein.

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The FDA approval of the IND allows the Company, subject to the completion of other preparatory steps, to initiate the TACTI-002 Phase II clinical study in the U.S. that will evaluate the combination of efti and anti-PD-1 therapy KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) in patients with non-small cell lung carcinoma ("NSCLC") or head and neck carcinoma. Immutep expects to commence the TACTI-002 trial in the second half of 2018 and to report the first data from the trial in 2019.

"We are very excited to be able to initiate the Phase II study soon, now that we have received the approval from the FDA of the IND for efti, especially as it enables us to start clinical development of efti in the U.S." said Marc Voigt, CEO of Immutep. "This is one more important milestone for the Company’s pipeline of LAG-3 immunotherapeutic products that aim to transform the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases. Through our clinical programs, and the efforts of our partners, we believe Immutep is securely positioned to play an important role in the development of combination therapies utilizing LAG-3."

The IND application allows Immutep to ship efti across U.S. state borders to U.S. clinical investigators participating in the Company’s planned TACTI-002 Phase II clinical study.

About the TACTI-002 clinical trial

Up to 120 patients will be recruited for the TACTI-002 (Two ACTive Immunotherapies) Phase II study which will take place across approximately 15 study centres in the U.S., Europe and Australia. The trial is being conducted in collaboration with Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA (known as "MSD" outside the United States and Canada). It will evaluate the safety and efficacy of the combination of efti with MSD’s KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) in patients with non-small cell lung carcinoma or head and neck carcinoma. It will be a Simon two-stage, non-comparative, open-label, single-arm, multicentre clinical study. Patients participating in the trial will be given the combination treatment from day 1 of cycle 1 of KEYTRUDA treatment.

About Eftilagimod Alpha

Eftilagimod alpha is a MHC II agonist that is a soluble recombinant fusion protein consisting of the Fc portion of a human antibody and the four extracellular domains of LAG-3. Efti has been engineered to be

soluble rather than expressed on the surface of cells, is very stable, and has a high affinity for dendritic cells. It is a first-in-class antigen presenting cell ("APC") activator, which has been proven to induce sustained immune responses in cancer patients when used at low dose, as a cancer vaccine adjuvant or used at higher doses to get a systemic effect (i.e. general APC activation). Efti binds to MHC II on immature dendritic cells, with high affinity, which results in boosting and sustaining CD8+ T cell responses.

Efti has been shown to be safe and well tolerated, thus making it an ideal combination partner for other drugs or drug candidates, which is the most promising way to fight cancer.

On July 30, 2018 BioLineRx Ltd. (NASDAQ: BLRX) (TASE: BLRX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on oncology and immunology, reported the expansion of its immuno-oncology collaboration with Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA (known as MSD outside the United States and Canada) for the support of a Phase 2a program investigating BioLineRx’s BL-8040 in combination with KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab), an anti-PD-1 therapy marketed by Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA, in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer (Press release, BioLineRx, JUL 30, 2018, View Source;p=RssLanding&cat=news&id=2360649 [SID1234527957]). Under the expansion, a triple combination arm investigating the safety, tolerability and efficacy of BL-8040, KEYTRUDA and chemotherapy will be added to the ongoing COMBAT/KEYNOTE-202 study. The triple combination arm will focus on second-line pancreatic cancer patients. Regulatory submissions required to conduct the additional arm of the study have been made and the trial is planned to be initiated in the fourth quarter of 2018.

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BioLineRx previously disclosed partial results from the BL-8040 monotherapy portion of the COMBAT/KEYNOTE-202 study at the ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) 2018 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium in January 2018. The partial monotherapy results showed that BL-8040 is safe and well tolerated and that BL-8040 increases infiltration of T cells into the tumor in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer, confirming the mechanism of action of BL-8040 in this difficult-to-treat patient population. In addition, BL-8040 also induced an increase in the number of total immune cells in the peripheral blood, while the frequency of peripheral blood regulatory T cells (Tregs), known to impede the anti-tumor immune response, was decreased. Topline clinical results of the combination will be reported in H2 2018 as planned.

"We are very excited to report the expansion of our immuno-oncology collaboration with Merck and the inclusion of an additional arm in the COMBAT/KEYNOTE-202 study. The decision to investigate the combination of BL-8040 and KEYTRUDA, together with chemotherapy, stems from the encouraging results we have seen in the trial," stated Philip Serlin, Chief Executive Officer of BioLineRx. "These results continue to demonstrate the safety and tolerability of BL-8040, as well as validate its mechanism of action, namely that BL-8040 mobilizes immune cells into the peripheral blood, promotes T-cell infiltration into tumors, and has an effect on immuno-suppressive cells."

"In light of this," continued Mr. Serlin, "the addition of cytotoxic chemotherapy may be synergistic with the existing combination, due to the fact that besides helping to reduce the overall tumor burden, chemotherapy induces immunogenic cell death, thus leading to activation and expansion of new tumor-reactive T cells. Based on its demonstrated mechanism of action, BL-8040 should facilitate the infiltration of these T cells into the tumor core, alongside the restoration of T-cell activity within the tumor by KEYTRUDA. We look forward to presenting results from the dual combination arm of BL-8040 and KEYTRUDA in the COMBAT/KEYNOTE-202 study later this year, and expect to present results from the new triple combination arm of the study in the second half of next year."

About the COMBAT/KEYNOTE-202 Study

The COMBAT/KEYNOTE-202 study, a Phase 2a study, is currently an open-label, multicenter, single-arm trial designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the combination of BL-8040 and KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab), an anti-PD-1 therapy marketed by Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA (known as MSD outside the United States and Canada), in over 30 subjects with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma. The study is primarily designed to evaluate the clinical response, safety and tolerability of the combination of these therapies, and is being carried out in the US, Israel and additional territories. The study is being conducted by BioLineRx under a collaboration agreement signed in 2016 between BioLineRx and MSD, through a subsidiary, to support a Phase 2a program investigating BioLineRx’s BL-8040 in combination with KEYTRUDA in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer.

BL-8040, BioLineRx’s lead oncology platform, is a CXCR4 antagonist that has been shown in several clinical trials to be a robust mobilizer of immune cells to peripheral blood and to be effective at inducing direct tumor cell death. In addition, clinical findings have demonstrated the ability of BL-8040 to mediate infiltration of T cells into tumors that were previously immunologically "cold" and devoid of immune cell infiltrate. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (such as KEYTRUDA) produce anti-cancer effects by increasing the activity of T cells through blockade of the interaction between the immune checkpoint receptor PD-1, on T cells, and its ligand PD-L1, on tumor cells. Pancreatic cancers have very little T-cell infiltrate, making them less susceptive to checkpoint blockade than other tumors that are infiltrated by T cells. Therefore, combining BL-8040 with immune checkpoint blockade is predicted to increase the responsiveness of pancreatic cancer patients to immunotherapy. Further increase in the sensitivity of pancreatic cancer cells to BL-8040 and KEYTRUDA may be achieved by chemotherapy-mediated immunogenic cell death and exposure of new tumor antigens resulting in activation of new anti-cancer T cell clones.

About BL-8040

BL-8040 is a short synthetic peptide for the treatment of hematological malignancies, solid tumors, and stem cell mobilization. It functions as a high-affinity best-in-class antagonist for CXCR4, a chemokine receptor that is directly involved in tumor progression, angiogenesis, metastasis and cell survival. CXCR4 is over-expressed in more than 70% of human cancers and its expression often correlates with disease severity. In a number of clinical and pre-clinical studies, BL-8040 has shown robust mobilization of cancer cells and immune-cells from the bone marrow, thereby sensitizing cancer cells to chemo- and bio-based anti-cancer therapy, as well as a direct anti-cancer effect by inducing cell death (apoptosis). BL-8040 was licensed by BioLineRx from Biokine Therapeutics and was previously developed under the name BKT-140.