On March 22, 2024 Checkpoint Therapeutics, Inc. ("Checkpoint") (Nasdaq: CKPT), a clinical-stage immunotherapy and targeted oncology company, reported financial results for the full-year ended December 31, 2023, and recent corporate highlights (Press release, Checkpoint Therapeutics, MAR 22, 2024, View Source [SID1234641380]).

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James F. Oliviero, President and Chief Executive Officer of Checkpoint, said, "We continue to work closely with our third-party contract manufacturing organization to expeditiously resolve the deficiencies noted in the complete response letter ("CRL") we received last December, and are targeting a Biologics License Application ("BLA") resubmission for cosibelimab by mid-year to potentially obtain marketing approval before the end of 2024. Simultaneously, we continue to execute on a select number of key long lead time commercial launch preparation activities to shorten our launch timeline in anticipation of a potential approval. We remain highly confident in the clinical data and safety package in support of cosibelimab. We look forward to providing additional updates in the second quarter."

2023 and Recent Corporate Highlights:

Checkpoint submitted a BLA to the FDA seeking approval of cosibelimab in January 2023 and the FDA accepted the BLA for filing in March 2023. In December 2023, the FDA issued a CRL for the cosibelimab BLA. The CRL only cited findings that arose during a multi-sponsor inspection of Checkpoint’s third-party contract manufacturing organization as approvability issues to address in a resubmission. The CRL did not state any concerns about the clinical data package, safety, or labeling for the approvability of cosibelimab. Checkpoint intends to address the feedback in a BLA resubmission to potentially enable marketing approval in 2024.
In December 2023, Checkpoint announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") issued a new patent (U.S. Patent No. 11,834,505) covering a method of treating various cancers, including cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma ("cSCC"), through the administration of cosibelimab. Checkpoint secured U.S. patent protection for cosibelimab through at least May 2038.
In October 2023, Checkpoint announced the publication of results from the multicenter, multiregional, pivotal trial evaluating cosibelimab in patients with metastatic cSCC in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer (JITC), the peer-reviewed, online journal of the Society of Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) (Free SITC Whitepaper). The paper, entitled, "Efficacy and Safety of Cosibelimab, an Anti–PD-L1 Antibody, in Metastatic Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma", describes safety and efficacy results from 78 patients with metastatic cSCC enrolled at clinical sites in eight countries.
In July 2023, Checkpoint announced new, longer-term data for cosibelimab from its pivotal studies in locally advanced and metastatic cSCC. These results demonstrate a deepening of response over time, resulting in higher complete response rates than previously reported (55% objective response rate; 26% complete response rate in locally advanced cSCC and 50% objective response rate; 13% complete response rate in metastatic cSCC). Furthermore, responses continue to remain durable over time.
In June 2023, Checkpoint announced that new pharmacokinetic ("PK") modeling data on cosibelimab supporting the extension to an every-three-week dosing regimen were presented at the Population Approach Group Europe 2023 Annual Meeting. Results support comparability of the cosibelimab 800 mg every-two-week and 1200 mg every-three-week dosing regimens.
Throughout 2023 and in January 2024, Checkpoint completed multiple registered direct offerings priced At-the-Market under Nasdaq rules and concurrent private placements of two series of warrants to purchase Checkpoint common stock, for total gross proceeds of approximately $47.6 million. Additionally, in October 2023, Checkpoint announced entry into a definitive agreement for the immediate exercise of warrants for $11.1 million in gross proceeds.
In March 2024, Checkpoint announced the appointment of accomplished life sciences executive, Amit Sharma, M.D., FACP, FASN, FNKF, currently Vice President of Clinical Development and Therapeutic Head for Nephrology and Hematology at Alexion, AstraZeneca Rare Disease, as a non-executive director to Checkpoint’s Board of Directors.
Financial Results:

Cash Position: As of December 31, 2023, Checkpoint’s cash and cash equivalents totaled $4.9 million, compared to $12.1 million at December 31, 2022, a decrease of $7.2 million. This cash position is not reflective of the registered direct offering that closed in January 2024 for total gross proceeds of approximately $14.0 million.
R&D Expenses: Research and development expenses for the year ended December 31, 2023, were $43.6 million, compared to $49.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, a decrease of $6.2 million. Research and development expenses for the year ended December 31, 2023 included $4.6 million of non-cash stock expenses, compared to $2.8 million in non-cash stock expenses for the year ended December 31, 2022.
G&A Expenses: General and administrative expenses for both the years ended December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, were $8.7 million. General and administrative expenses for the year ended December 31, 2023 included $2.7 million of non-cash stock expenses, compared to $2.5 million in non-cash stock expenses for the year ended December 31, 2022.
Net Loss: Net loss attributable to common stockholders for the year ended December 31, 2023, was $51.8 million, or $3.17 per share, compared to a net loss of $62.6 million, or $7.09 per share, for the year ended December 31, 2022.