Harpoon Therapeutics Reports Third Quarter 2020 Financial Results and Provides Corporate Update
“We continue to be excited by the advancement of our novel TriTAC pipeline, and are planning for our fourth program, HPN328, to enter the clinic this year for the treatment of DLL3-expressing tumors including small cell lung cancer,” said
Third Quarter 2020 Business Highlights and Other Recent Developments
- Harpoon remains on track to initiate a Phase 1/2 clinical trial for HPN328 in the fourth quarter, which will be our fourth TriTAC in clinical development. HPN328 targets Delta-like canonical Notch ligand 3 (DLL3) for the treatment of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and other DLL3-expressing tumors.
- Harpoon has nominated its first ProTriTAC product candidate, HPN601, which targets epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM), and is applicable to a wide array of solid tumors. ProTriTACs have the potential for additional tumor specificity and enhanced safety profiles due to limited interaction with their molecular targets in healthy tissue, which enables targeting tumor-associated antigens that may be more broadly expressed. Furthermore, a HPN601 preclinical data abstract has been selected for an oral presentation at the
Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) annual meeting onNovember 12 .
- Harpoon continues to expand the expertise within its executive team. In August, Harpoon appointed
Karin Ann Thacker ,M.Sc ., as Vice President, Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance. In October, Harpoon appointedOmer Siddiqui as Vice President, Development Operations and Program Management. BothMs. Thacker andMr. Siddiqui are recognized R&D leaders in oncology across both early and late-stage clinical development.
- In July, Harpoon appointed
Joanne Viney , Ph.D., to its board of directors as an independent board member.Dr. Viney is an entrepreneurial scientist and experienced biotech executive with deep autoimmune and inflammatory disease expertise and currently serves as President, CSO and Co-founder of Pandion Therapeutics.
Third Quarter 2020 Financial Results
- Harpoon ended the third quarter of 2020 with
$162.3 million in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities compared to$155.1 million as ofDecember 31, 2019 . The increase was due primarily to a$50.0 million milestone payment received from AbbVie in the second quarter, partially offset by cash used in operations.
- Revenue for the third quarter ended
September 30, 2020 was$3.9 million compared to$1.4 million for the third quarter endedSeptember 30, 2019 . For the nine months endedSeptember 30, 2020 , revenue was$10.0 million compared to$3.5 million for the nine months endedSeptember 30, 2019 . During both the three and nine month periods, the increase in revenue was primarily due to revenue recognized from the development and option agreement with AbbVie, signed inNovember 2019 .
- Research and development (R&D) expense for the third quarter ended
September 30, 2020 was$13.1 million compared to$9.5 million for the third quarter endedSeptember 30, 2019 . For the nine months endedSeptember 30, 2020 , R&D expense was$37.5 million , compared to$28.9 million for the nine months endedSeptember 30, 2019 . The increase for both periods primarily arose from higher clinical development and personnel-related expense, which included conducting preclinical studies and the continuation and preparation of the clinical trials for HPN424, HPN536, HPN217 and HPN328. These higher expenses were offset by a decrease in manufacturing costs due to a scale up of manufacturing activities in 2019 compared to 2020 to support our four TriTAC product candidates in various stages of development.
- General and administrative (G&A) expense for the third quarter ended
September 30, 2020 was$4.4 million compared to$8.5 million for the third quarter endedSeptember 30, 2019 . G&A expense for the nine months endedSeptember 30, 2020 was$12.3 million compared to$18.1 million for the nine months endedSeptember 30, 2019 . For the third quarter endedSeptember 30, 2020 , the decrease was primarily attributable to a decrease in legal expenses associated with the Maverick litigation, partially offset by an increase in personnel expenses due to an increase in headcount. For the nine months endedSeptember 30, 2020 , the decrease was primarily attributable to a decrease in legal expenses associated with Maverick litigation, partially offset by an increase in personnel expenses related to an increase in headcount and other professional services to support our operations as a public company.
- Net loss for the third quarter ended
September 30, 2020 was$13.3 million compared to$15.9 million for the third quarter endedSeptember 30, 2019 . The net loss for the nine months endedSeptember 30, 2020 was$38.6 million compared to$41.3 million in the first nine months of the prior year.
COVID-19 Business Update
In response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Harpoon has established testing and other protocols for personnel access to its headquarter offices and laboratory although substantially all of the company’s employees continue to telecommute. Harpoon is currently continuing its clinical trials it has underway at sites in
About
Cautionary Note on Forward-looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “target,” “estimate,” “intend” and similar expressions (as well as other words or expressions referencing future events, conditions or circumstances) are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on Harpoon Therapeutics’ expectations and assumptions as of the date of this press release. Each of these forward-looking statements involves risks and uncertainties that could cause Harpoon Therapeutics’ clinical development programs, future results or performance to differ significantly from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements about the progress, timing, scope and anticipated results of preclinical and clinical trials, the timing of the presentation of data, the association of data with potential treatment outcomes, the development and advancement of product candidates, the timing of development milestones for product candidates, and the anticipated potential impacts to Harpoon Therapeutics’ business from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Many factors may cause differences between current expectations and actual results, including unexpected safety or efficacy data observed during clinical studies, clinical trial site activation or enrollment rates that are lower than expected, unanticipated or greater than anticipated impacts or delays due to COVID-19, changes in expected or existing competition, changes in the regulatory environment, the uncertainties and timing of the regulatory approval process, and unexpected litigation or other disputes. Other factors that may cause Harpoon Therapeutics’ actual results to differ from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements in this press release are discussed in Harpoon Therapeutics’ filings with the
Contacts:
Chief Financial Officer
media@harpoontx.com
Westwicke ICR
Managing Director
858-356-5932
robert.uhl@westwicke.com
Harpoon
Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss
(Unaudited)
(in thousands, except share and per share amounts)
For the Three Months Ended September 30, | For the Nine Months Ended September 30, | |||||||||||||||
2020 | 2019 | 2020 | 2019 | |||||||||||||
Revenue | ||||||||||||||||
Collaboration and license revenue | $ | 3,893 | $ | 1,417 | $ | 9,952 | $ | 3,543 | ||||||||
Total revenue | 3,893 | 1,417 | 9,952 | 3,543 | ||||||||||||
Operating expenses | ||||||||||||||||
Research and development | 13,057 | 9,533 | 37,500 | 28,886 | ||||||||||||
General and administrative | 4,428 | 8,493 | 12,286 | 18,059 | ||||||||||||
Total operating expenses | 17,485 | 18,026 | 49,786 | 46,945 | ||||||||||||
Loss from operations | (13,592 | ) | (16,609 | ) | (39,834 | ) | (43,402 | ) | ||||||||
Interest income, net | 299 | 727 | 1,298 | 2,143 | ||||||||||||
Other expense, net | (14 | ) | (26 | ) | (15 | ) | (45 | ) | ||||||||
Net loss | (13,307 | ) | (15,908 | ) | (38,551 | ) | (41,304 | ) | ||||||||
Other comprehensive loss: | ||||||||||||||||
Net unrealized (loss) gain on marketable securities | (115 | ) | (25 | ) | 86 | 85 | ||||||||||
Comprehensive loss | $ | (13,422 | ) | $ | (15,934 | ) | $ | (38,465 | ) | $ | (41,220 | ) | ||||
Net loss per share, basic and diluted | $ | (0.53 | ) | $ | (0.65 | ) | $ | (1.55 | ) | $ | (1.95 | ) | ||||
Weighted-average shares used in computing net loss per share, basic and diluted | 25,081,680 | 24,457,402 | 24,892,731 | 21,202,848 |
Selected Balance Sheet Data
(Unaudited)
September 30, 2020 | December 31, 2019 | |||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||
Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities | $ | 162,321 | $ | 155,129 | ||||
Total assets | $ | 183,321 | $ | 176,604 | ||||
Total liabilities | $ | 122,579 | $ | 82,384 | ||||
Total stockholders' equity | $ | 60,742 | $ | 94,220 |
Source: Harpoon Therapeutics