PALO ALTO, Calif., May 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Kodiak Sciences
Inc. (Nasdaq: KOD), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company
specializing in novel therapeutics to treat chronic,
high-prevalence retinal diseases, today reported business
highlights and financial results for the first quarter ended
March 31, 2020.
"I am proud of the dedication and passion of our people who
continue to deliver on our mission to help patients with serious
retinal diseases as we all navigate the challenges of the COVID-19
pandemic," said Victor Perlroth, MD,
chairman and chief executive officer of Kodiak Sciences. "To date,
we are seeing minimal disruption from COVID-19 in our ongoing
clinical trials. In DAZZLE, patient missed visit rates are less
than 5%, and clinical trial sites continue to enroll new patients.
This is a testament to the serious diseases we are attempting to
treat and is a vote of confidence from the patients, physicians and
study sites partnering with us to advance KSI-301. With over
$430 million in cash, cash
equivalents and marketable securities at quarter end, and
thoughtful management of our spending, we remain on a strong
financial footing. We did delay initiation of our next set of
KSI-301 pivotal studies by one quarter from June/July to
September/October 2020 in order to
assess with physicians and our business partners how best to
minimize the impact of COVID-19 on clinical trial conduct. But our
2022 Vision towards a BLA filing in the key retinal disease
indications remains intact, and we have taken good advantage of
this additional time to upgrade our pivotal study plan for KSI-301.
We now intend to conduct two phase 3 studies in DME, one study in
wet AMD (our ongoing DAZZLE study), one study in RVO, and one study
in non-proliferative DR. There are multiple reasons for this shift
into two DME studies (and one RVO study) from our earlier plan of
two RVO studies (and one DME study). Operationally, we expect
faster, simpler and more predictable enrollment in the DME
indication and will be able to run the studies in fewer countries
and research sites. And further, we prefer to shift resources on
the margin into this higher prevalence, higher unmet need disease
which remains the leading cause of blindness in working-aged adults
in the United States and the EU.
Importantly, the data emerging in our phase 1b study remain consistent with our observations
shared in February, and we look forward to providing another
R&D update in July of this year, either virtually or at the
American Society of Retina Specialists meeting. We also recognize
the critical role the biopharma industry plays in fighting COVID-19
by developing effective therapies, and we have therefore taken
action to explore whether our anti-IL-6/anti-VEGF bispecific
protein that is a component of KSI-501 may be an effective
therapeutic strategy in patients with severe COVID-19."
COVID-19 Business Update
Ongoing Clinical Trials
Kodiak remains focused on ensuring safety and data integrity in
its ongoing clinical trials. Numerous enhancements have been
implemented into our ongoing study execution to help ensure the
safety of patients, physicians, study site staff and Kodiak
operations team members. Some specific actions we have taken
include the use of remote study monitoring, temporarily increasing
study site budget overhead rates, providing additional
transportation service options for patients to attend study site
visits and focusing new patient enrollment at study sites with
appropriate backup resource plans in place and where the local
COVID-19 situation allows. The company is actively monitoring
ongoing clinical trial participation and is engaging proactively
with study sites, corporate partners, and regulatory authorities to
safeguard study integrity and promptly respond to potential
disruptions.
In light of these efforts and the high risk of permanent vision
loss presented by the retinal diseases targeted by KSI-301,
existing patients continue to participate with few missed visits to
date (low- to mid- single digit percentage of missed visits), and
new patients continue to be enrolled in our ongoing DAZZLE clinical
study. As of May 8, 2020, 245
patients have been enrolled into DAZZLE. The company does not
intend to pause screening and enrollment into DAZZLE in
the United States but does
anticipate slower patient enrollment compared to the 50+ patients
per month observed in February and March
2020. Kodiak has issued guidance encouraging study sites to
prioritize participation of currently enrolled patients over
enrolling new patients, if necessary, for example due to staffing
limitations associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Similarly, in
the first quarter of 2020, we activated DAZZLE study sites in the
EU, but due to the pandemic, we deferred study patient screening.
We expect to begin patient recruitment activities at certain sites
in the EU in the second quarter of 2020 as guided by the local
COVID-19 situation.
In the interest of monitoring the progress and impact of the
COVID-19 pandemic, we delayed the initiation of the next set of
KSI-301 pivotal studies for DME and RVO into September/October 2020 versus the previously planned
June/July 2020 timeframe. We are
still evaluating whether we can initiate the NPDR (without DME)
study on the same timeframe and are expecting a one to two quarter
additional delay for the NPDR study start, due to the pandemic
resulting in deferral of diagnosis or follow-up in the NPDR patient
population who have overall lower disease severity than patients
with wAMD, DME and RVO.
Drug Supply
Kodiak's supply chain and manufacturing activities remain
intact, and the company does not currently anticipate disruptions
to its supply of KSI-301 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kodiak Business Operations
We have taken steps in line with guidance from the U.S. Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, and the State of California to protect the health and
safety of our employees and the community. In particular, the
Company has implemented remote work arrangements for non-essential
employees since March 17, 2020.
KSI-501 Program Acceleration
Our bispecific conjugate KSI-501 inhibits both interleukin 6, or
IL-6, and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor, or VEGF. IL-6
blockade is being explored as a novel therapeutic strategy in
patients with severe COVID-19 disease. VEGF is a potent inducer of
vascular permeability and edema which play a pathological role in
COVID-19 driven lung dysfunction. OG2072, the bispecific fusion
protein used to build our ophthalmology product candidate KSI-501,
binds with high affinity to both of its targets simultaneously
(IL-6 and VEGF) and shows synergistic inhibition of these
mechanisms of action in vitro. We are advancing by six months the
GMP manufacturing for OG2072 which may enable an assessment of
systemically administered OG2072 protein in patients with worsening
COVID-19 disease. Ancillary benefits of this acceleration include
the use of GMP material for KSI-501 toxicology program and a more
predictable IND submission and First in Human timeline for
bioconjugate KSI-501 in 2021 in patients with retinal vascular
diseases featuring an inflammatory component.
Additional Recent Business Highlights:
Closing of Royalty Funding Agreement
On December 1, 2019, we announced the sale of future
royalties on KSI-301 for $225.0
million to Baker Bros. Advisors. Under the terms of the
agreement, Baker Bros. Advisors purchased a capped 4.5% royalty on
net sales of KSI-301 to be paid upon marketing approval. On
February 4, 2020, we closed the
funding agreement and received the first $100.0 million payment.
DAZZLE Study Update
Through most of the first quarter, recruitment into our DAZZLE
pivotal study in wet AMD was very robust – a reflection of the
enthusiasm for KSI-301 on the part of clinical investigators and
patients. As of May 8, 245 patients
have been enrolled in DAZZLE. As noted above, we slowed U.S.
enrollment beginning in March 2020
due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Existing patients continue to
participate with few missed visits to date, and new patients
continue to be enrolled in DAZZLE. As of late April 2020, the number of weekly new patient
screenings and enrollment at DAZZLE sites in the US is increasing.
The Independent Data Monitoring Committee responsible for
safeguarding the interests of DAZZLE study participants, assessing
safety during the trial, and monitoring overall study conduct met
in early May 2020 and recommended
that DAZZLE should continue without modification.
Phase 1b Data
Presentation
Updated safety and efficacy results from our ongoing Phase
1b trial of KSI-301 in patients with
treatment naïve wet AMD, DME, or RVO were presented at the
Angiogenesis, Exudation, and Degeneration Annual Meeting in
February 2020. We believe the data
continue to support the highly differentiated "anti-VEGF Generation
2.0" profile of KSI-301. We intend to continue presenting data
updates from Phase 1b throughout
2020, and if meetings or congresses are canceled due to COVID-19,
we anticipate one or more virtual R&D webinars where new data
will be presented. We anticipate providing an R&D update
together with the American Society of Retina meeting in
July 2020.
Further Extension of the Phase 1b Study
Based on positive feedback from investigators and a desire to
continue to generate long-term safety and efficacy outcomes data
with KSI-301, we are amending the Phase 1b program to include an additional 18 months of
treatment and follow-up per patient, for a total of up to 36
months.
Pivotal Study Program Design
Following our communications with FDA at the time of our
end of phase 2 meeting as well as subsequent communications, we
have further upgraded our pivotal study program and now
intend to conduct two Phase 3 studies in DME to provide the
mutually-confirmatory studies required by FDA for initial
demonstration of safety and efficacy, one Phase 2/3 study in wAMD
(our ongoing DAZZLE study), one Phase 3 study in RVO, and one Phase
3 study in NPDR without DME. By conducting our paired studies in
DME, we are able to generate additional data on the safety,
efficacy and durability of KSI-301 in this area of high unmet need
and commercial opportunity, while also narrowing the number of
sites and countries required for successful enrollment of the
entire pivotal program. We expect a majority of research sites to
be located in the U.S. with contributions from EU countries and
China. Given that we are currently
seeing continued new patient enrollment and low missed visit rates
in our DAZZLE wAMD pivotal study in the US despite the ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic, we believe refocusing the KSI-301 program helps
minimize uncertainty with respect to clinical trial conduct during
and through the COVID-19 pandemic and towards our "2022 Vision."
Additional specific reasons for running paired DME pivotals (and
one RVO pivotal) include: fewer countries and sites needed
for two DME studies versus two RVO studies (avoiding the cost and
logistical burdens of opening and supporting clinical trial sites
that would only participate in RVO studies); better oversight of
operational execution (essentially all sites can concurrently
enroll treatment naïve patients in wAMD, DME and RVO); lower
probability of disruption; higher unmet need in DME versus RVO;
marginal, if any, increase in overall trial execution costs; and
the potential for similar timelines for two DME versus two RVO
pivotals. On top of these operational considerations, we remain
pleased with the DME clinical data we are seeing in the Phase
1b study and want to align greater
clinical data generation in DME given the larger number of diabetic
patients and higher unmet need and market opportunity as compared
to that of RVO.
Charles Bancroft Appointed to Board of Directors
Charles Bancroft, formerly Chief
Financial Officer of Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), joined Kodiak's
Board of Directors as chair of our audit committee and member of
our nominating and governance committee in April 2020. Charles recently retired from a
successful career at BMS where he held a number of leadership roles
in commercial, strategy and finance. Charles brings financial and
management experience that will be vital to Kodiak as the company
continues to scale and build its manufacturing and commercial
capabilities.
Kodiak and Kodiak Sciences Trademarks Registered to Kodiak
Sciences
The company received full registration of their trademarks
"Kodiak" and "Kodiak Sciences" from the U.S. Patent and Trademark
Office for the exclusive use of Kodiak Sciences Inc. and its
subsidiaries. Obtaining exclusive trademark rights over "Kodiak"
and "Kodiak Sciences" strengthens recognition of Kodiak as a leader
in the research and development of medicines to treat and prevent
retinal diseases.
Expected Upcoming Events/Milestones in 2020
- Host conference call and webcast to review recent business
highlights
- Initiate two KSI-301 pivotal Phase 3 randomized head-to-head
studies against aflibercept in treatment naïve Diabetic Macular
Edema (DME) patients
- Initiate KSI-301 pivotal Phase 3 randomized head-to-head study
against aflibercept in treatment naïve branch Retinal Vein
Occlusion (BRVO) and central Retinal Vein Occlusion (CRVO)
patients
- Initiate KSI-301 pivotal Phase 3 randomized study against sham
in non-proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy (NPDR) without DME
patients
- Present additional Phase 1b data
updates throughout 2020 at major medical meetings and/or company
organized virtual events with next update planned for July 2020
First Quarter 2020 Financial Results
Cash Position
Kodiak ended the first quarter of 2020 with $430.4 million of cash, cash equivalents and
marketable securities. Based on the company's current cash
position, Kodiak estimates having sufficient funds to execute on
current operating plans into 2022.
Net Loss
The net loss for the first quarter of 2020 was $24.4 million, or $0.54 per share on both a basic and diluted
basis, as compared to a net loss of $8.0
million, or $0.21 per share on
both a basic and diluted basis, for the first quarter of 2019.
R&D Expenses
Research and development (R&D) expenses were $20.2 million for the first quarter of 2020, as
compared to $5.7 million for the
first quarter of 2019. Research and development expenses included
$3.4 million in stock-based
compensation expense for the first quarter of 2020.
G&A Expenses
General and administrative (G&A) expenses were $5.6 million for the first quarter of 2020, as
compared to $2.7 million for the
first quarter of 2019. General and administrative expenses included
$2.6 million in stock-based
compensation expense for the first quarter of 2020.
About KSI-301
KSI-301 is an investigational anti-VEGF therapy built on the
Company's Antibody Biopolymer Conjugate, or ABC, Platform and is
designed to maintain potent and effective drug levels in ocular
tissues for longer than existing agents. Kodiak's objective with
KSI-301 is to develop a new first-line agent to improve outcomes
for patients with retinal vascular diseases and to enable earlier
treatment and prevention of vision loss for patients with diabetic
eye disease. The Company's DAZZLE pivotal study in patients with
treatment-naïve wet AMD was initiated in October 2019. Kodiak plans to initiate additional
pivotal studies of KSI-301 in 2020 in diabetic macular edema,
retinal vein occlusion and diabetic retinopathy. These studies are
anticipated to form the basis of the Company's initial BLA to
support potential approval and commercialization. Kodiak Sciences
Inc. is developing KSI-301 and owns rights to KSI-301 in key
geographies including the US, EU, China and other major countries.
About the DAZZLE Study
The DAZZLE study (also called Study KSI-CL-102) is a global,
multi-center, randomized study designed to evaluate the safety and
efficacy of KSI-301 in patients with treatment-naïve wet AMD.
Patients are randomized to receive either KSI-301 on an
individualized dosing regimen as infrequently as every five months
and no more often than every three months or to receive
standard-care aflibercept on its every eight-week dosing regimen,
each after three monthly initiating doses. The primary endpoint is
at one year and each patient will be treated and followed for two
years. Additional information about DAZZLE can be found on
www.clinicaltrials.gov under Trial Identifier NCT04049266
(https://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT04049266).
About the KSI-301 Clinical Program
The KSI-301 Clinical Program is designed to assess KSI-301's
safety, efficacy and durability in wet AMD, DME, RVO and
non-proliferative DR (without DME) through clinical studies run in
parallel. We have agreed on the order and number of clinical
studies required to support the licensure of KSI-301 in wet AMD,
DME, RVO and non-proliferative DR at an end of Phase 2 meeting with
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). We confirmed that two
clinical studies conducted in a single indication are expected by
FDA to demonstrate the initial safety and efficacy of KSI-301. One
clinical study each in the additional disease indications, if
successful, can be used to support approval in the additional
indications. We intend to conduct two Phase 3 studies in DME to
provide the mutually confirmatory studies required by FDA for
initial demonstration of safety and efficacy. We also intend to
conduct one study in wAMD (our ongoing DAZZLE study) and one study
in RVO to support approval of these additional indications. We
intend to file this package together in a single BLA in 2022. We
also plan to run an additional study in patients with
non-proliferative DR without DME which depending on data readiness
may be combined either into the single initial BLA or may be filed
as a supplemental BLA. We estimate that the global KSI-301 clinical
program will be conducted at 100+ study sites in more than 10
countries.
About Kodiak Sciences Inc.
Kodiak (Nasdaq: KOD) is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical
company developing novel therapeutics to treat chronic,
high-prevalence retinal diseases. Founded in 2009, we are focused
on bringing new science to the design and manufacture of next
generation retinal medicines to prevent and treat the leading
causes of blindness globally. Our ABC Platform™ uses molecular
engineering to merge the fields of antibody-based and
chemistry-based therapies and is at the core of Kodiak's discovery
engine. Kodiak's lead product candidate, KSI-301, is a novel
anti-VEGF antibody biopolymer conjugate being developed for the
treatment of retinal vascular diseases including age-related
macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness in elderly
patients, and diabetic eye diseases, a leading cause of blindness
in working-age patients. Kodiak has leveraged its ABC Platform to
build a pipeline of product candidates in various stages of
development including KSI-501, our bispecific anti-IL-6/VEGF
biopolymer conjugate for the treatment of neovascular retinal
diseases with an inflammatory component, and we are expanding our
early research pipeline to include ABC Platform based triplet
inhibitors for multifactorial retinal diseases such as dry AMD and
glaucoma. Kodiak is based in Palo Alto, CA. For more
information, please visit www.kodiak.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of
the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934 and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. These forward-looking statements are not based on historical
fact and include statements regarding the potential licensure of
KSI-301 and a BLA submission in wet AMD, DME, RVO and diabetic
retinopathy; the sufficiency of our cash, cash equivalents and
marketable securities; our platform technology and potential
therapies; future development plans; clinical and regulatory
objectives and the timing thereof, anticipated design of planned
clinical trials, expectations regarding the potential efficacy and
commercial potential of our product candidates; the anticipated
presentation of data; the results of our research and development
efforts and our ability to advance our product candidates into
later stages of development; and the impact of the COVID-19
pandemic on our operations, clinical studies and the global
economy. Forward-looking statements generally include statements
that are predictive in nature and depend upon or refer to future
events or conditions, and include words such as "may," "will,"
"should," "would," "expect," "plan," "believe," "intend," "pursue,"
and other similar expressions among others. Any forward-looking
statements are based on management's current expectations of future
events and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that
could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from
those set forth in or implied by such forward-looking statements.
These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the
preliminary safety, efficacy and durability data for our KSI-301
product candidate will not continue or persist; cessation or delay
of any of the ongoing clinical studies and/or our development of
KSI-301 may occur, including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic;
future potential regulatory milestones of KSI-301, including those
related to current and planned clinical studies may be insufficient
to support regulatory submissions or approval; anticipated
presentation of data at upcoming conferences may not occur; our
research and development efforts and our ability to advance our
product candidates into later stages of development may fail; any
one or more of our product candidates may not be successfully
developed, approved or commercialized; adverse conditions in the
general domestic and global economic markets, including the
COVID-19 pandemic, which may significantly impact our business and
operations, including out of our headquarters in the San Francisco Bay Area and our clinical trial
sites, as well as the business or operations of our manufacturers,
contract research organizations or other third parties with whom we
conduct business; as well as the other risks identified in our
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. For a
discussion of other risks and uncertainties, and other important
factors, any of which could cause our actual results to differ from
those contained in the forward-looking statements, see the section
entitled "Risk Factors" in our most recent Form 10-K, as well as
discussions of potential risks, uncertainties, and other important
factors in our subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the
date hereof and Kodiak undertakes no obligation to update
forward-looking statements, and readers are cautioned not to place
undue reliance on such forward-looking statements.
Kodiak®, Kodiak Sciences®, ABC™, ABC Platform™ and the Kodiak
logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Kodiak Sciences
Inc. in various global jurisdictions.
Kodiak Sciences
Inc.
|
Condensed
Consolidated Statements of Operations
|
(Unaudited)
|
(in thousands,
except share and per share amounts)
|
|
|
|
Three Months
Ended
March
31,
|
|
|
2020
|
|
|
2019
|
Operating
expenses
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Research and
development
|
|
$
|
20,170
|
|
|
$
|
5,723
|
General and
administrative
|
|
|
5,553
|
|
|
|
2,737
|
Total operating
expenses
|
|
|
25,723
|
|
|
|
8,460
|
Loss from
operations
|
|
|
(25,723)
|
|
|
|
(8,460)
|
Interest
income
|
|
|
1,208
|
|
|
|
462
|
Interest
expense
|
|
|
(7)
|
|
|
|
(4)
|
Other income
(expense), net
|
|
|
130
|
|
|
|
18
|
Net loss
|
|
$
|
(24,392)
|
|
|
$
|
(7,984)
|
Net loss per common
share, basic and diluted
|
|
$
|
(0.54)
|
|
|
$
|
(0.21)
|
Weighted-average
common shares outstanding
used in computing net
loss per common share,
basic and diluted
|
|
|
44,824,587
|
|
|
|
37,248,165
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Kodiak Sciences
Inc.
|
Condensed
Consolidated Balance Sheet Data
|
(Unaudited)
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
|
|
|
March
31,
2020
|
|
|
December
31,
2019
|
Cash, cash
equivalents and marketable securities
|
|
$
|
430,393
|
|
|
$
|
348,177
|
Working
capital
|
|
$
|
410,973
|
|
|
$
|
327,519
|
Total
assets
|
|
$
|
443,042
|
|
|
$
|
358,866
|
Accumulated
deficit
|
|
$
|
(182,523)
|
|
|
$
|
(158,131)
|
Total stockholders'
equity
|
|
$
|
327,687
|
|
|
$
|
345,359
|
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SOURCE Kodiak Sciences Inc.