On May 6, 2024 ORIC Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ORIC), a clinical stage oncology company focused on developing treatments that address mechanisms of therapeutic resistance, reported financial results and operational updates for the quarter ended March 31, 2024 (Press release, ORIC Pharmaceuticals, MAY 6, 2024, View Source [SID1234642681]).

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"In the first quarter of 2024, we continued making steady progress across our clinical and preclinical programs, while also strengthening our cash position and runway," said Jacob M. Chacko, M.D., president and chief executive officer. "Most recently, we announced the selection of provisional recommended phase 2 doses for ORIC-114 that confirm its wide therapeutic index, and we initiated three expansion cohorts in patients with EGFR/HER2 mutated non-small cell lung cancer, including those with active, untreated CNS metastases. For ORIC-944, we presented clinical and preclinical data that further reinforce its promise as a potential best-in-class treatment option for prostate cancer based upon its superior drug properties and clinical half-life versus competitor PRC2 inhibitors. We are laser focused on flawless execution as we continue to advance these two programs towards the initiation of registrational studies, which we anticipate in the second half of 2025."

First Quarter 2024 and Other Recent Highlights

ORIC-114: a brain penetrant, orally bioavailable, irreversible EGFR/HER2 inhibitor

Announced the completion of the dose escalation portion of the Phase 1b trial of ORIC-114 and the selection of the provisional recommended phase 2 doses.
Announced first patients dosed across three expansion cohorts in the Phase 1b trial of ORIC-114 in patients with mutated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), including EGFR exon 20 insertion (EGFR exon 20 inhibitor naïve), HER2 exon 20 insertion, and EGFR atypical mutations.
Initiated an extension cohort to evaluate ORIC-114 for the treatment of patients with first-line, treatment-naïve EGFR exon 20 insertion NSCLC.
Expect to report updated Phase 1b data in the first half of 2025.
ORIC-944: a potent and selective allosteric inhibitor of PRC2

Reported initial Phase 1b monotherapy data for ORIC-944 in metastatic prostate cancer supporting advancement into combination development and demonstrating the potential as a best-in-class PRC2 inhibitor, including a clinical half-life of ~20 hours, no signs of CYP autoinduction that was observed with first-generation PRC2 inhibitors, robust target engagement, and a well-tolerated safety profile.
Presented preclinical data at the 2024 AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting demonstrating superior preclinical drug properties and synergy data in prostate cancer models, reinforcing the promise of ORIC-944 as a potential best-in-class treatment for combination with AR inhibitors.
Proceeding with combination of ORIC-944 with AR inhibitor(s) in metastatic prostate cancer and expect to provide a program update in mid-2024.
ORIC-533: a highly potent, orally bioavailable small molecule inhibitor of CD73

The company is completing a Phase 1b trial and plans to pursue strategic partnership for combination studies.
Discovery Pipeline:

Presented at the 2024 AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) annual meeting the first preclinical data on ORIC-613, a potential first- and best-in-class development candidate selectively inhibiting PLK4.
Corporate Highlights:

Strengthened cash position and runway with a $125 million private placement financing from new and existing healthcare specialist funds in January 2024.
First Quarter 2024 Financial Results

Cash, Cash Equivalents and Investments: Cash, cash equivalents and investments totaled $331.5 million as of March 31, 2024, which the company expects will be sufficient to fund its operating plan into late 2026.

R&D Expenses: Research and development (R&D) expenses were $22.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024, compared to $19.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023, an increase of $2.4 million. The increase was due to a net increase in external expenses related to the advancement of product candidates and discovery programs, as well as higher personnel costs, including additional non-cash stock-based compensation of $0.7 million.

G&A Expenses: General and administrative (G&A) expenses were $7.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024, compared to $6.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023, an increase of $0.9 million. The increase was primarily due to higher personnel costs, including additional non-cash stock-based compensation of $0.7 million.