- Intensification of R&D efforts behind 5 proprietary projects and on the TPD platform project leads 3Q’21 R&D costs to increase by 49%
- New highly attractive MCL-1 target disclosed in CT-03 project – Clinical trials to start in 2023, a potential first-in-class MCL-1 degrader
- Cash level reaches PLN 236M making Captor well financed to mid-term period
Wrocław, Poland, November 29, 2021 - Captor Therapeutics S.A. (WSE:CTX), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of targeted protein degradation (TPD) drugs for cancer and autoimmune diseases, today announces its 3Q’21 Financial Results and provides a business update.
“The announced positive pharmacological results of CT-03 are a strong endorsement of the potential of targeted protein degradation technology against MCL-1, especially considering how difficult MCL-1 is as a molecular target. Although MCL-1 is a protein with a well-recognized role in cancer, classical drug development approaches have so far failed to successfully develop any MCL-1 targeted therapies” - said Dr Tom Shepherd, Chief Executive Officer of Captor Therapeutics.
“These are very significant results for Captor, but also for the broader TPD sector. I believe we have made an important step in developing a new approach against cancer and we are getting closer to our goal of entering the clinic in 2023, providing patients with therapeutic solutions overcoming the limitations of current therapies" added Dr Shepherd.
3Q'21 Financial Results
As Captor Therapeutic (Captor) is still in Research and Development stage, Captor did not generate substantial revenues this quarter. However, Captor has secured contracts for considerable amounts of non-dilutive funding from European Funds via the NCBR which significantly supports the companies R&D expenditure. This support amounted to PLN 5.9 m in Q32021 (including advanced which were booked after 30.09.2021).
Operating costs amounted to PLN 38.1m, up from PLN 25.4m in 3Q’20. Within these operating costs, in 3Q’21, Research and Development costs accounted for almost three-quarters total operating costs at PLN 10.9m, up 49% over the same period last year). General and Administrative costs reached PLN 5.8m (increased from 3.0m in 3Q’20) reflecting the costs associated with becoming a Public Company, employee stock plan costs and Captor’s geographic expansion in Switzerland, as well as an increased level of corporate activities.
As a consequence, Operating Loss reached PLN 20.9m in 3Q’21, an increased from 10.7m in 3Q’20. Non-operational costs reached PLN 0.8m, leading Net Loss for the quarter to reach PLN 21.7m, or PLN 5.25 per share.
As of September 30, 2021, Captor Therapeutics had PLN 236m in Cash, Cash Equivalents and secured non-dilutive funding contracts, sufficient to fund operations through completion of initial clinical trials in two of Captor’s lead programmes.
“Our expenses are under full control - the increased level of expenses is to be expected as our projects advance from discovery to development, making the optimum use of the funds from NCBR and the capital obtained through our oversubscribed IPO earlier this year” said Radosław Krawczyk, Member of the Management Board and Chief Financial Officer of Captor Therapeutics.
“Part of the increase in R&D costs was non-cash items related to long-term incentive plans used to attract and reward the most talented individuals in the industry. From the point of view of access to talent, we work in a very demanding industry where an employee's knowledge is a competitive advantage for the company. That is why we make every effort to nurture employee development, which favours long-term cooperation" added Radosław Krawczyk.
Significant progress of the CT-03 project with MCL-1 as disclosed molecular target
The announcement of MCL-1 as molecular target of Captor’s proprietary project CT-03 has confirmed Captor Therapeutics’ position as a significant global player in the area of TPD (Targeted Protein Degradation) and in the overall oncology space. The latest results of CT-03 were presented at the 4th Annual Targeted Protein Degradation (TPD) Summit in Boston (October 26 to 29, 2021) by Dr Michal Walczak, Captor’s Chief Scientific Officer.
MCL-1 was identified over 25 years ago as being implicated in cancer cells resistance to drugs and it serves as a major pro-survival signal for a large number of tumors, including Multiple Myeloma (MM), Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML), non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL), Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC), Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) and triple-negative Breast Cancer (TNBC).
Several pharmaceutical companies are working on developing inhibitors to MCL-1, but while the efficacy seems promising, these compounds are progressing slowly in clinical development, with some compounds generating concern over cardiotoxicity.
Captor believes that our MCL-1 degraders have the potential of superior efficacy and superior safety profile over MCL-1 inhibitors in treating various haematological malignancies and selected solid tumors.
Business development activities
The company presented at Bio-Europe Digital – an online partnering meeting, where Captor Therapeutics' CEO held over 20 one-on-one meetings with representatives of major pharmaceutical companies.
“The growing importance of TPD is reflected in an increasing interest from pharmaceutical companies in companies involved in this highly innovative field. Following our MCL-1 announcement and our meetings at BioEurope, I can see that the Captor is increasingly known on the world pharmaceutical stage as an innovator in the TPD space, and I am convinced that this will result in interesting new collaborations in the future” - commented Dr Shepherd.
The Company also became one of the founding members of BioInMed - the Polish Association of Innovative Medical Biotechnology Companies, established to work with all stakeholders and the public administration to build an ecosystem that will make medical biotechnology a flagship sector of Polish innovation and a significant driver of the economy. The first general meeting was held on October 20, 2021.
About Captor Therapeutics
Captor Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company focused on leveraging Targeted Protein Degradation (TPD) technology to discover and develop breakthrough drug candidates in diseases with high unmet medical needs. TPD is a revolutionary approach to developing new drugs that can address novel molecular targets which are deemed “undruggable” with classical drug development approaches, as well as providing additional treatment options for diseases where existing drugs fail to provide optimal medical benefit. Captor is currently developing therapeutics for undertreated severe conditions, including malignancies and autoimmune diseases.
More information on Captor Therapeutics is available at: http://www.captortherapeutics.com
LinkedIn: @CaptorTherapeutics
Twitter: @CaptorTherapeu1
For further information, please contact:
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Polish Media and Investor relations: Point of View Jakub Radzewicz +48 601 155 582
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International Investor Relations: LifeSci Advisors Guillaume van Renterghem +41 (0)76 735 01 31 gtfvanrenterghem@lifesciadvisors.com |
