On August 15, 2024 TriSalus Life Sciences Inc., (Nasdaq: TLSI), an oncology company integrating novel delivery technology with immunotherapy to transform treatment for patients with liver and pancreatic tumors, reported its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2024, and provided a business update (Press release, TriSalus Life Sciences, AUG 15, 2024, View Source [SID1234645953]).
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Mary Szela, President and Chief Executive Officer of TriSalus Life Sciences, stated, "We concluded the second quarter with robust revenue growth and effective execution across our operations. Our sustained revenue growth underscores the critical demand for our Pressure Enabled Drug Delivery technology (PEDD ). We are excited to launch the DELIVER program, which will showcase the advantages of our TriNav system in treating a diverse array of complex patients."
"Additionally, we have successfully advanced development of nelitolimod, having treated 100 patients in four indications and three clinical trials using our PEDD technology. Our progress to date indicates that nelitolimod can be delivered to the liver and pancreas with minimal systemic exposure and shows early promise of benefit in heavily pretreated patients with advanced disease," added Ms. Szela. "We anticipate further growth of our PEDD technology and TriNav system and look forward to presenting our final Phase 1 data for uveal melanoma liver metastases and locally advanced pancreatic cancer in the fourth quarter."
Second Quarter Business Update
DELIVER Program
TriSalus is excited to unveil the DELIVER program, a series of clinical trials designed to significantly expand the addressable market by evaluating the use of the TriNav system across a diverse range of complex patient populations, with the intent to further validate prior clinical studies that demonstrated the favorable clinical effects of the PEDD technology. This initiative aims to generate comprehensive data and solidify the evidence supporting TriNav’s application in patients who might not be suitable candidates for traditional transarterial chemotherapy and radioembolization treatments. A key focus of the DELIVER program is to investigate the potential of combining use of the TriNav system with these therapies to enhance effectiveness and address resistance mechanisms in challenging cancers.
The Company expects to launch the program with its first clinical study, named "PROTECT" (Pressure Enabled Retrograde Occlusive Therapy with Embolization for Control of Thyroid Disease). The goal of the trial is to highlight the advantages of this novel approach compared to conventional surgical methods.
Nelitolimod Clinical Studies in Uveal Melanoma Liver Metastases, Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma, and Locally Advanced Pancreatic Cancer via the Pressure-Enabled Regional Immuno-Oncology (PERIO) Clinical Program
In November 2023, TriSalus presented initial Phase 1 results for the PERIO-01 and PERIO-03 studies at the Society of Immunotherapy for Cancer annual meeting, and in June 2024, it presented top-line results for PERIO-02 at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) annual meeting.
PERIO-01 is a Phase 1 trial evaluating hepatic arterial delivery of nelitolimod via the PEDD technology in patients with uveal melanoma liver metastases. The trial includes dose-escalation cohorts with monotherapy and in combination with checkpoint inhibitors. The preliminary data show a tolerable safety profile, evidence of liver metastases myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) depletion with T cell infiltration, and promising indications of activity, including ctDNA responses, disease control, and survival beyond historical benchmarks in predominantly pre-treated patients. The final results for the PERIO-01 Phase 1 trial are expected in Q4 2024.
PERIO-02 focuses on the hepatic arterial delivery of nelitolimod via the PEDD technology for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma or intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. The study has been completed, and recent findings presented by investigators from MD Anderson Cancer Center at ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) demonstrated consistent safety and immunologic effects, along with encouraging survival times in a subset of patients treated with a systemic checkpoint inhibitor doublet. The Company expects further investigation into these indications to continue only through investigator-initiated studies.
PERIO-03 is a Phase 1 dose-escalation study of nelitolimod in locally advanced pancreatic cancer. Nelitolimod is administered through outpatient interventional radiology procedures using the Pancreatic TriSalus Infusion System PEDD device. Phase 1 results for this study are anticipated in Q4 2024.
Closed up to $50 million of Debt Financing with OrbiMed to support TriNav Growth Initiatives
In April, TriSalus announced the closing of a debt financing facility with OrbiMed, a healthcare investment firm. Under the terms of the credit agreement with OrbiMed, the Company borrowed $25 million at closing. In addition, an aggregate of up to an additional $25 million is available in two tranches at the Company’s option, subject to the Company’s achievement of certain revenue thresholds.
Cash and cash equivalents on hand totaled $16.5 million on June 30, 2024. Including the Company’s Standby Equity Purchase Agreement (SEPA) and other existing sources of liquidity and assuming it achieves the revenue targets and borrow the remaining $25 million of the debt financing, the Company expects to have sufficient cash runway to fund operations through the end of 2025.
Completion of Warrant Exchange Offer
On May 24, 2024, TriSalus announced an exchange offer of 0.30 shares of Common Stock for each publicly traded and private warrant tendered.
The offer’s purpose was to simplify the Company’s capital structure and reduce the potential dilutive impact of the warrants, thereby providing the Company with more flexibility for financing its operations in the future.
On July 1st, the Company issued 2,110,366 shares of common stock in exchange for 6,529,954 (or 79%) of its publicly traded warrants and 504,685 (or 10%) of its private warrants.
Financial Results for Q2 2024
Revenue, all of which is from the sale of the TriNav system, was $7.4 million and $13.8 million, respectively, for the three and six months ended June 30, 2024, up 60% and 82%, respectively, compared to the same periods in 2023. Revenue growth was driven primarily by increased selling resources and continued market share increases.
Gross margins were 88% and 86% for the three and six months ended June 30, 2024, respectively, compared to 83% and 81%, respectively, for the same periods in 2023. The improvement in the quarter and year-to-date is due to increased factory volumes and improved operational efficiency.
Operating losses were $8.2 million and $19.9 million, respectively, for the three and six months ended June 30, 2024, respectively, compared to losses of $11.4 million and $21.6 million, respectively, for the same periods in 2023. Current year reductions in operating losses are due to increased sales, improved gross margins, and reduced research and development spending associated with the timing of clinical trial spending.
Net losses available to common stockholders were $4.3 million and $17.6 million, respectively, for the three and six months ended June 30, 2024, compared to losses of $14.0 million and $22.2 million, respectively, for the same periods in 2023. Net losses in 2024 include non-cash related losses on change in fair value of the Company’s SEPA, warrant and revenue base redemption liabilities of $9.0 million and $6.5 million, respectively for the three and six months ended June 30, 2024, compared to gains of $1.1 million and $3.5 million, respectively, for the same periods in 2023. Net losses in 2023 also include the impact of non-cash related losses on equity issuance of $4.2 million in the three and six months ended June 30, 2023. These amounts are partially offset in 2024 by the impact of non-cash related gains on the change in fair value of contingent earnout liabilities of $13.7 million and $9.7 million, respectively, for the three and six months ended June 30, 2024.
The basic and diluted loss per share for the three and six months ended June 30, 2024, were $0.21 and $0.81, respectively, compared to $35.84 and $59.79 for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023, respectively.
Conference Call
TriSalus will host a webcast to discuss its second quarter 2024 financial results and business highlights on August 15, 2024 at 9:00 a.m. EDT. The webcast can be accessed on the investor relations section of TriSalus’ website at View Source Following the conclusion of the event, a webcast replay will be available on the website for approximately 90 days. Interested parties participating by phone will need to register using this online form. After registering for the webcast, dial-in details will be provided in an auto-generated e-mail containing a link to the conference phone number and a personal pin.