Siren Biotechnology and Catalent Enter Partnership for Manufacturing of AAV Gene Therapies for Cancer

On May 8, 2024 C4 Therapeutics, Inc. (C4T) (Nasdaq: CCCC), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to advancing targeted protein degradation science, reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024, as well as recent business highlights (Press release, Catalent, MAY 8, 2024, https://www.catalent.com/catalent-news/siren-biotechnology-and-catalent-enter-partnership-for-manufacturing-of-aav-gene-therapies-for-cancer/ [SID1234642851]).

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"We are off to a strong start in 2024 with enrollment progressing well in our ongoing Phase 1/2 trials of CFT7455, now known as cemsidomide, and CFT1946. We look forward to maintaining this momentum and are on track for clinical readouts from both trials in the second half of the year," said Andrew Hirsch, president and chief executive officer of C4 Therapeutics. "During the first quarter, we continued to leverage our discovery expertise as we entered into a new license and collaboration agreement with Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany and delivered our first development candidate to Biogen. Together, these accomplishments further validate the excitement around our TORPEDO platform and our ability to design innovative molecules for a range of diseases where degraders have the potential to become new therapeutic options for patients searching for treatments."

FIRST QUARTER 2024 AND RECENT ACHIEVEMENTS
Cemsidomide (CFT7455): Cemsidomide (CFT7455) is an oral degrader of IKZF1/3 for the potential treatment of relapsed/refractory (R/R) multiple myeloma (MM) and R/R non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas (NHL).
•Advanced the Phase 1/2 Clinical Trial. The dose escalation portion of the Phase 1/2 trial evaluating cemsidomide (CFT7455) in combination with dexamethasone for R/R MM and as a monotherapy for R/R NHL continues to enroll patients. For the combination with dexamethasone MM arm, the 62.5 µg dose has been declared safe and patients are enrolling at a higher dose level. Simultaneously, additional patients are enrolling in the 62.5 µg expansion cohort. For the monotherapy NHL arm, the 62.5 µg cohort has been declared safe and patients are enrolling at a higher dose level.
CFT1946: CFT1946 is an oral degrader targeting BRAF V600X mutations for the potential treatment of solid tumors including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), colorectal cancer (CRC) and melanoma.

•Advanced the Phase 1/2 Clinical Trial. The dose escalation portion of the CFT1946 Phase 1/2 trial for BRAF V600X mutations, including NSCLC, CRC and melanoma, continues to enroll patients. The 320 mg dose has been declared safe and patients are enrolling at a higher dose level. Simultaneously, additional patients are enrolling at the 160 mg and 320 mg dose levels for pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic and anti-tumor activity evaluation.
•Presented New Preclinical Data at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting 2024. In April 2024, C4T presented preclinical data highlighting superior activity of CFT1946 compared to BRAF inhibitor standard of care combinations in models of BRAF V600X NSCLC, CRC, melanoma and brain metastasis.
•Trial-in-Progress Poster Accepted at European Society for Medical Oncology Congress (ESMO) (Free ESMO Whitepaper) Gastrointestinal (GI) Cancers Congress 2024. C4T will present a trial-in-progress poster on the CRC opportunity within the ongoing CFT1946 Phase 1/2 trial at ESMO (Free ESMO Whitepaper) GI 2024, taking place from June 26 to June 29, 2024.
Collaborations:
•Delivered development candidate to Biogen. In April 2024, C4T earned an $8 million payment after Biogen accepted delivery of a development candidate in an undisclosed indication. Biogen is responsible for all future clinical development and commercialization for this program.
•License and collaboration agreement with Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany (MKDG). In March 2024, C4T entered into a license and collaboration agreement with MKDG to exclusively discover two targeted protein degraders against critical oncogenic proteins that C4T has progressed within its internal discovery pipeline. Under the terms of the agreement, C4T received an upfront payment of $16 million. MKDG will fund C4T’s discovery research efforts. C4T has the potential to receive up to approximately $740 million in discovery, regulatory and commercial milestone payments across the collaboration. In addition, C4T is eligible for mid-single to low-double digit tiered royalties on future sales for each program.

CORPORATE UPDATES
•In April 2024, Dan Powers, DO, was appointed as senior vice president, clinical development. Dr. Powers brings over 20 years of leadership experience in clinical development and medical affairs within the hematology and solid tumor space. Dr. Powers reports to C4T’s chief medical officer, Len Reyno, M.D., and is responsible for leading clinical development programs as well as supporting and executing our ongoing clinical studies.

KEY UPCOMING MILESTONES
Cemsidomide (CFT7455):
•Present updated data from the ongoing Phase 1 dose escalation trial in R/R MM in 2H 2024.
•Present data from the ongoing Phase 1 dose escalation trial in R/R NHL in 2H 2024.
•Complete Phase 1 dose exploration in R/R MM and R/R NHL by year-end 2024.
CFT1946:
•Present data from the ongoing Phase 1 monotherapy dose escalation trial in NSCLC, CRC, melanoma and other cancers with BRAF V600X mutations in 2H 2024.

FIRST QUARTER 2024 FINANCIAL RESULTS

Revenue: Total revenue for the first quarter of 2024 was $3.0 million, compared to $3.8 million for the first quarter of 2023. The decrease in revenue was primarily due to the Biogen and Calico research terms ending in 2023. In 2024, we commenced work on our new collaboration agreements with Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC (Merck) and MKDG, which were signed in December 2023 and March 2024, respectively. Total revenue for the first quarter of 2024 reflects revenue recognized under our collaborations with MKDG, Merck, Roche and Biogen, and total revenue recognized in the first quarter of 2023 reflects revenue recognized under collaboration agreements with Roche, Biogen and Calico.

Research and Development (R&D) Expense: R&D expense, net of a one-time $1.9 million restructuring charge, was $22.5 million for the first quarter of 2024. This is compared to $29.0 million for the first quarter of 2023. The reduction in R&D expense was primarily due to the prioritization of our internal discovery efforts and stopping clinical development for CFT8634, partially offset by increased clinical trial expense as cemsidomide (CFT7455) and CFT1946 continue to advance.

General and Administrative (G&A) Expense: G&A expense, net of a one-time $0.5 million restructuring charge, was $10.3 million for the first quarter of 2024. This is compared to $10.9 million for the first quarter of 2023. The nominal decrease in G&A expense was primarily attributable to a reduction in external consulting spend.
Net Loss and Net Loss per Share: Net loss for the first quarter of 2024 was $28.4 million, compared to $34.8 million for the first quarter of 2023. Net loss per share for the first quarter of 2024 was $0.41 compared to $0.71 for the first quarter of 2023.

Cash Position and Financial Guidance: Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities as of March 31, 2024 were $299.2 million, compared to $281.7 million as of December 31, 2023. The increase was primarily the result of proceeds received in January 2024 from the sale of shares of our common stock to a subsidiary of our partner Betta Pharmaceuticals and proceeds from settlement of shares under our at the market (ATM) offering arrangement, both of which were previously disclosed. These inflows were partially offset by cash used in operating activities. C4T expects that its cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities as of March 31, 2024 will be sufficient to fund planned operating expenses and capital expenditures into 2027.