Sierra Oncology to Present at the Wedbush PacGrow Healthcare Conference in New York

On August 7, 2018 Sierra Oncology, Inc. (Nasdaq: SRRA), a clinical stage drug development company focused on advancing next generation DNA Damage Response (DDR) therapeutics for the treatment of patients with cancer, reported that Dr. Nick Glover, President and Chief Executive Officer, will present an overview of the company at the 2018 Wedbush PacGrow Healthcare Conference being held in New York on August 14-15 (Press release, Sierra Oncology, AUG 7, 2018, View Source [SID1234528571]). The presentation is scheduled for 9:10 a.m. ET on Wednesday, August 15. A live audio webcast and archive of the presentation will be accessible through the Sierra Oncology website at www.sierraoncology.com.

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XOMA Reports Second Quarter 2018 Financial Results

On August 7, 2018 XOMA Corporation (Nasdaq: XOMA), a pioneer in the discovery, development and licensing of therapeutic antibodies, reported its second quarter 2018 financial results (Press release, Xoma, AUG 7, 2018, View Source [SID1234528769]).

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"We continue to focus our efforts on expanding our portfolio of partner-funded programs through both acquisition and out-license activities," said Jim Neal, Chief Executive Officer at XOMA. "We believe we are well-positioned to execute on our royalty-aggregator strategy to create near- and long-term value for shareholders."

Financial Results
XOMA recorded total revenues of $2.3 million for the second quarter of 2018, $1.8 million of which was recognized under XOMA’s license agreement and common stock purchase agreement with Rezolute. In the second quarter of 2017, XOMA reported $10.9 million in revenue, $10.0 million of which was milestone revenue earned under one of the Company’s license agreements with Novartis.

Research and development (R&D) expenses were $0.4 million for the second quarter of 2018, compared to $2.9 million for the second quarter of 2017. The decrease in R&D expenses was due primarily to reductions of $1.0 million in clinical trial costs, $0.4 million in consulting costs, $0.4 million in the allocation of facilities costs, $0.4 million in external manufacturing activities, and $0.1 million in stock-based compensation. The significant reduction in R&D spending is a result of the discontinuation of clinical trial activities and the execution of the Company’s royalty-aggregator business model.

General and administrative (G&A) expenses were $4.4 million for the second quarter of 2018, compared to $5.2 million for the second quarter of 2017. The decrease in G&A expenses was due primarily to reductions of $0.9 million in stock-based compensation, $0.2 million in legal and accounting fees, and $0.1 million in information technology costs, partially offset by increases of $0.2 million in consulting services and $0.4 million in the allocation of facilities costs due to a greater proportion of G&A personnel after the Company’s restructuring activities.

The Company recorded a lease-related restructuring charge of $0.5 million in the second quarter of 2018, compared with $1.5 million for personnel-related restructuring expenses in the same period of 2017.

Total other income, net was $1.2 million for the second quarter of 2018, compared to other expense of $0.7 million for the second quarter of 2017. During the second quarter of 2018, we recorded $1.0 million in income from Ology Bioservices related to the disposition of our biodefense business in March 2016. Separately, we received long-term equity securities that consisted of an investment in Rezolute Inc.’s common stock under the terms of a licensing agreement. As of June 30, 2018, the fair value of the long-term equity securities had decreased, and we recognized a loss of $0.4 million.

Net loss for the second quarter of 2018 was $1.9 million, compared to net income of $0.3 million for the second quarter of 2017.

On June 30, 2018, XOMA had cash and cash equivalents of $38.7 million. The Company ended December 31, 2017, with cash and cash equivalents of $43.5 million. The Company’s current cash and cash equivalents are expected to be sufficient to fund its operations for multiple years.

Teneobio and Poseida Expand Their Partnership to Develop UniDabs® for Advanced CAR-T Therapies

On August 7, 2018 Teneobio, Inc., a next generation multi-specific antibody therapeutics company, and Poseida Therapeutics, Inc., a San Diego-based clinical-stage company translating best-in-class gene engineering technologies into lifesaving cell therapies, reported a new research collaboration and licensing agreement to develop novel CAR-T therapies using Teneobio’s heavy chain only domain antibodies (UniDabs) (Press release, TeneoBio, AUG 7, 2018, View Source [SID1234558319]).

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Poseida will apply UniDab binders, which demonstrate significant advantages over traditional single chain variable antibody fragment (scFv) binders, to the development of its next generation CAR-T therapies.

The new collaboration follows a commercial license agreement between the companies that was announced in May of 2017. Under the terms of the new agreement, Teneobio will generate multiple UniDab product candidates using its proprietary UniRat transgenic human antibody ‘heavy-chain only’ rodent platform and its state-of-the-art sequence-based discovery engine, TeneoSeek. Poseida will have exclusive global licensing rights for the clinical development and commercialization of specific UniDabs for CAR-T therapies.

Teneobio Inc. will receive an upfront payment and is eligible to receive future research, development and regulatory milestone payments per UniDab candidate, with total potential earnings of over $250 million for CAR-T therapies developed by Poseida. Teneobio would also receive royalties on worldwide net sales of each CAR-T therapy.

"We are delighted to partner with Poseida and to help create the next generation of cell therapies," said Roland Buelow, CEO of Teneobio. "Domain antibodies have been clinically validated as excellent targeting moieties in CAR-T cells. They confer robust in vivo specificity and efficacy. They are smaller in size, have greater humanicity, and superior developability relative to standard scFv’s. The use of UniDabs as binders in CAR-T products is predicted to result in a lack of tonic signaling and lower immunogenicity, thus solving some of the problems of the first-generation, scFv-based CAR-T therapies."

Eric Ostertag, CEO of Poseida, noted, "Teneobio’s UniDab binders are an ideal match for Poseida’s novel and industry-leading CAR-T platform technologies. Poseida has demonstrated that UniDabs can be engineered to serve as binding molecules for our CAR-T therapeutics and oftentimes may function better than other binders for use in CAR-T products."

"We are pleased to expand our existing partnership with Poseida, whose cutting-edge genetic engineering tools combined with our targeting UniDab candidates will enable the development of the next generation of superior CAR-T therapies to treat cancer. We believe that UniDabs provide differentiated advantages from other targeting moieties, and that their utility and reach will extend beyond antibody therapeutics to novel transformational cell therapy treatments," added Omid Vafa, CBO of Teneobio.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals Announces Second Quarter 2018 Financial Results

On August 7, 2018 Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc (Nasdaq: JAZZ) reported financial results for the second quarter of 2018 and updated financial guidance for 2018 (Press release, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, AUG 7, 2018, View Source [SID1234528488]).

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"We had another highly productive quarter, including strong commercial performance, achievement of significant regulatory and R&D milestones, and further strengthening of our balance sheet," said Bruce Cozadd, chairman and chief executive officer of Jazz Pharmaceuticals. "We head into the second half of 2018 focused on supporting our sales momentum, progressing our pre-clinical and clinical pipeline, deploying our resources to expand the business through R&D and corporate development activities, and preparing for multiple near-term regulatory milestones, including three potential marketing approvals."

GAAP net income for the second quarter of 2018 was $92.3 million, or $1.50 per diluted share, compared to $105.6 million, or $1.72 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2017. GAAP net income for the second quarter of 2018 included an impairment charge of $42.9 million resulting from the company’s decision to sell its rights related to Prialt.

Adjusted net income for the second quarter of 2018 was $214.6 million, or $3.49 per diluted share, compared to $157.4 million, or $2.56 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2017. Reconciliations of applicable GAAP reported to non-GAAP adjusted information are included at the end of this press release.

Total revenues increased 27% in the second quarter of 2018 compared to the same period in 2017 due to the contribution of strong sales from Xyrem, Erwinaze/Erwinase, Defitelio and the addition of Vyxeos following the launch in August 2017.

Xyrem net product sales increased 19% in the second quarter of 2018 compared to the same period in 2017.

Erwinaze/Erwinase net product sales increased 20% in the second quarter of 2018 compared to the same period in 2017. The company experienced supply disruptions during both periods and fluctuations in quarterly results reflect, in part, the timing of supply availability. The company expects continued supply challenges from time to time for the remainder of 2018.

Defitelio/defibrotide net product sales increased 34% in the second quarter of 2018 compared to the same period in 2017. The company continues to expect inter-quarter variability in Defitelio net sales given that veno-occlusive disease is an ultra-rare disease.

Operating expenses changed over the prior year period primarily due to the following:

Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses increased in the second quarter of 2018 compared to the same period in 2017 on a GAAP and on a non-GAAP adjusted basis due to higher expenses resulting from the expansion of the company’s business, including pre-launch activities for the potential approvals of Vyxeos in the EU and solriamfetol in the U.S.
Research and development (R&D) expenses increased in the second quarter of 2018 compared to the same period in 2017 on a GAAP and on a non-GAAP adjusted basis due to an increase in expenses related to the company’s pre-clinical and clinical development programs, regulatory activities and support of partner programs.
Cash Flow and Balance Sheet

As of June 30, 2018, cash, cash equivalents and investments were $815.1 million and the outstanding principal balance of the company’s long-term debt was $1.8 billion. During the six months ended June 30, 2018, the company generated $354.0 million of cash from operations, purchased a priority review voucher for $110.0 million and used $55.6 million to repurchase approximately 373,000 ordinary shares under the company’s share repurchase program at an average cost of $149.16 per ordinary share.

In June 2018, the company refinanced its senior credit facilities to increase the borrowing capacity available under the revolving credit facility to $1.60 billion from $1.25 billion and to extend the maturity profile of the facilities to June 2023 from July 2021.

Recent Developments

At the Associated Professional Sleep Societies meeting in June 2018, the company presented long-term safety and efficacy results from its global multi-center studies evaluating Xyrem for the treatment of cataplexy in pediatric patients with narcolepsy and solriamfetol in adult patients with excessive sleepiness associated with obstructive sleep apnea and with narcolepsy.

In June 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted for priority review the company’s supplemental new drug application (sNDA) seeking revised labeling for Xyrem to include an indication to treat cataplexy and excessive daytime sleepiness in pediatric narcolepsy patients. The Prescription Drug User Fee Act goal date for an FDA decision is October 27, 2018.

In June 2018, the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) issued a positive opinion recommending marketing authorization of Vyxeos for the treatment of adults with newly diagnosed t-AML or AML-MRC.

In July 2018, the company announced that data from the pivotal Phase 3 study of Vyxeos compared to standard of care cytarabine and daunorubicin (7+3) was published online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

In August 2018, the company announced that the United States Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services granted approval for a New Technology Add-on Payment for Vyxeos for the treatment of adults with newly diagnosed, therapy-related acute myeloid leukemia (t-AML) or AML with myelodysplasia-related changes (AML-MRC).

In August 2018, the company and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center announced a five-year collaboration to evaluate potential treatment options for hematologic malignancies, with a near-term focus on Vyxeos.

Conference Call Details

Jazz Pharmaceuticals will host an investor conference call and live audio webcast today at 4:30 p.m. EDT (9:30 p.m. IST) to provide a business and financial update and discuss its 2018 second quarter results. The live webcast may be accessed from the Investors section of the company’s website at www.jazzpharmaceuticals.com. Please connect to the website prior to the start of the conference call to ensure adequate time for any software downloads that may be necessary. Investors may participate in the conference call by dialing +1 855 353 7924 in the U.S., or +1 503 343 6056 outside the U.S., and entering passcode 4989706.

A replay of the conference call will be available through August 14, 2018 by dialing +1 855 859 2056 in the U.S., or +1 404 537 3406 outside the U.S., and entering passcode 4989706. An archived version of the webcast will be available for at least one week in the Investors section of the company’s website at www.jazzpharmaceuticals.com.

Synlogic to Webcast Presentation at the 2018 Wedbush PacGrow Healthcare Conference

On August 7, 2018 Synlogic (Nasdaq:SYBX) reported that Aoife Brennan, M.B., B.Ch., Synlogic’s interim president and chief executive officer, and chief medical officer, will present a corporate update at the 2018 Wedbush PacGrow Healthcare Conference at 3:05pm ET on Tuesday, August 14, 2018, in New York City (Press release, Synlogic, AUG 7, 2018, View Source [SID1234528504]).

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A live webcast of the presentation can be accessed under "Event Calendar" in the Investors & Media section of the Company’s website. An archived webcast recording will be available on the Synlogic website for approximately 30 days after the event.