On August 5, 2024 Nuvation Bio Inc. (NYSE: NUVB), a late clinical-stage, global biopharmaceutical company tackling some of the greatest unmet needs in oncology, reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2024, and provided a business update (Press release, Nuvation Bio, AUG 5, 2024, View Source [SID1234645355]).

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

"In the second quarter, we were pleased to share data at ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) from TRUST-I, the pivotal study of taletrectinib in China, which although immature due to an early data cutoff, demonstrated taletrectinib’s efficacy, durability, and safety profiles. At WCLC, we will be presenting data from TRUST-II, the global, pivotal Phase 2 study of taletrectinib, while at ESMO (Free ESMO Whitepaper) we will present more mature and comprehensive taletrectinib data, including pooled efficacy and safety data from both pivotal TRUST-I and TRUST-II studies. The ESMO (Free ESMO Whitepaper) data set will be used to support our planned NDA filing in the U.S. and, assuming regulatory approval, will position us to commercialize taletrectinib in 2025," said David Hung, M.D., Founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Nuvation Bio. "We are also progressing the global Phase 2 study of safusidenib and continuing to dose escalate in a Phase 1/2 study of our first clinical-stage drug-drug conjugate, NUV-1511. As we focus on our late-stage pipeline and prepare to potentially bring taletrectinib to patients in the U.S. in 2025, we have decided not to initiate a Phase 2 study of NUV-868 in the solid tumor indications studied to date. This decision comes after careful review of the data generated in the Phase 1 monotherapy study and Phase 1b study of NUV-868 in combination with olaparib or enzalutamide. We are exploring next steps for NUV-868 in new indications and will share updates as available. We are proud of Nuvation Bio’s transformational momentum in the first half of this year and look forward to building upon it as we tackle some of the greatest unmet needs in oncology."

Recent Pipeline Updates:

Taletrectinib, ROS1 inhibitor: Advanced ROS1-positive NSCLC

Latest data from the Phase 2 TRUST-I clinical study evaluating taletrectinib in patients in China with advanced ROS1-positive NSCLC was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology and presented at the 2024 ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting.
Latest pooled data from the pivotal Phase 2 TRUST-I and TRUST-II studies to be presented at the ESMO (Free ESMO Whitepaper) Congress 2024 in September, which will support the Company’s planned NDA in the U.S.
Latest data from the global, pivotal Phase 2 TRUST-II study to be presented at the WCLC in September.
Granted Orphan Drug Designation by the U.S. FDA for the treatment of ROS1-positive NSCLC and other NSCLC indications.
Safusidenib, mIDH1 inhibitor: Diffuse IDH1-mutant glioma

Global phase 2 study of safusidenib for treatment of patients with diffuse IDH1-mutant glioma remains ongoing.
NUV-1511, drug-drug conjugate (DDC): Advanced solid tumors

Phase 1/2 dose escalation study of NUV-1511 for the treatment of patients with various advanced solid tumors remains ongoing.
NUV-868, BD2-selective BET inhibitor: Advanced solid tumors

Concluded the Phase 1b dose escalation study of NUV-868 in combination with olaparib for the treatment of patients with ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer, metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), triple negative breast cancer, and other solid tumors, and in combination with enzalutamide for the treatment of patients with mCRPC.
Completed an internal analysis of efficacy and safety data collected from the Phase 1 monotherapy and Phase 1b combination studies of NUV-868. Following this analysis, Nuvation Bio decided not to initiate a Phase 2 study of NUV-868 as a monotherapy or in combination with olaparib or enzalutamide in the advanced solid tumor indications that were part of the Phase 1 and Phase 1b study designs. The Company is evaluating next steps for the NUV-868 program, including further development in combination with approved products for indications in which BD2-selective BET inhibitors may improve outcomes for patients.
Second Quarter 2024 Financial Results

As of June 30, 2024, Nuvation Bio had cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $577.2 million.

For the three months ended June 30, 2024, research and development expenses were $29.2 million, compared to $18.6 million for the three months ended June 30, 2023. The increase was primarily due to a $5.9 million increase in personnel-related costs driven by the acquisition of AnHeart Therapeutics, Ltd. (AnHeart), stock-based compensation and other benefits and a $4.7 million increase in third-party costs related to research services and drug manufacturing as a result of clinical study expense for taletrectinib.

On April 9, 2024, as a result of the acquisition of AnHeart, Nuvation Bio recorded a $425.1 million charge representing an acquired in-process research and development asset with no alternative future use in acquired in-process research and development expenses.

For the three months ended June 30, 2024, general and administrative expenses were $16.1 million, compared to $7.5 million for the three months ended June 30, 2023. The increase was due to a $3.9 million increase in personnel-related costs as a result of the acquisition of AnHeart, a $1.1 million increase in professional fees, a $1.2 million increase in marketing expense, a $0.8 million increase in legal fees, a $0.2 million increase in occupancy expense, a $0.2 million increase in foreign currency impact, and a $1.4 million increase in miscellaneous expense offset by a $0.2 million decrease in insurance expense.

For the three months ended June 30, 2024, Nuvation Bio reported a net loss of $462.5 million, or $(1.89) per share. This compares to a net loss of $20.6 million, or $(0.09) per share, for the comparable period in 2023.

About Taletrectinib

Taletrectinib is an oral, potent, central nervous system-active, selective, next-generation ROS1 inhibitor specifically designed for the treatment of patients with ROS1-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Taletrectinib is being evaluated for the treatment of patients with advanced ROS1-positive NSCLC in two Phase 2 single-arm pivotal studies: TRUST-I (NCT04395677) in China, and TRUST-II (NCT04919811), a global study. Taletrectinib has been granted Orphan Drug Designation by the U.S. FDA for the treatment of patients with ROS1-positive NSCLC and Breakthrough Therapy Designations by both the U.S. FDA and China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) for the treatment of patients with advanced or metastatic ROS1-positive NSCLC. Based on results of the TRUST-I clinical study, China’s NMPA has accepted and granted Priority Review Designations to New Drug Applications for taletrectinib for the treatment of adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic ROS1-positive NSCLC who either have or have not previously been treated with ROS1 tyrosine kinase inhibitors.