London, 30 September 2019 - Tiziana Life Sciences plc ("Tiziana", AIM: TILS, NASDAQ: TLSA), the research and clinical stage biotechnology company focussing on proprietary drug candidates to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases, today announces its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2019.
Highlights during the period:
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
CLINICAL PROGRAMMES
Foralumab
TZLS-401
Foralumab is a fully human engineered anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody (mAB). It was in-licensed in December 2014 from Novimmune. In January 2016, Tiziana outlined its clinical development plan for Foralumab with initial plans to evaluate the drug in two clinical indications: non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
As the only fully human engineered human anti-CD3 mAB in clinical development, Foralumab has significant potential advantages such as a shorter treatment duration and reduced immunogenicity. With completion of the intravenous dosing for our Phase 2a trial in Crohn's Disease, Foralumab's ability to modulate T-cell response enables potential extension into a wide range of other autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, such as GvHD, ulcerative colitis, multiple sclerosis, type-1 diabetes (T1D), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis.
Foralumab is being developed as both an immunosuppressive and immunomodulatory agent, with therapeutic benefits of rendering T-cells unable to orchestrate an immune response and induction of immune tolerance via maintenance of regulatory T-cells. There is further potential for Foralumab to be combined with the Company's TZLS-501, a fully human anti-IL-6R mAB in development to target autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.
On 16 April, 2018, the Group entered into an exclusive license agreement with The Brigham and Women's Hospital, Inc. relating to a novel formulation of Foralumab dosed in a medical device for nasal administration. An investigational new drug application (IND) for the first-in-human evaluation of the nasal administration of Foralumab in healthy volunteers was filed in the second quarter of 2018, and a Phase 1 trial to evaluate biomarkers of immunomodulation of clinical responses was initiated in November 2018. The study was completed in September 2019 and Phase 1 clinical data demonstrated that nasally administered Foralumab, was well-tolerated at all doses. Importantly, the treatment showed significant positive effects on the biomarkers for activation of mucosal immunity, which is capable of inducing site-targeted immunomodulation to elicit anti-inflammatory effects.
Milciclib
TZLS-201
Milciclib, Tiziana's lead small molecule drug, was exclusively licenced in January 2015 from Nerviano Medical Sciences. Milciclib is an orally bioavailable, broad spectrum inhibitor of Cyclin Dependent Kinases (CDKs): 1, 2, 4, 5 and 7 and Src family kinases. Cyclin dependent kinases are a family of highly conserved enzymes that are involved in regulating the cell cycle. Src family kinases regulate cell growth and potential transformation of normal cells to cancer cells. A unique feature of Milciclib is its ability to reduce microRNAs, miR- 221 and miR-222, which silence gene expression. miR-221 and miR-222 promote the formation of blood vessels (angiogenesis) that are important for the spread of cancer cells (metastasis). Levels of these microRNAs are consistently increased in HCC patients and may contribute towards resistance to treatment with Sorafenib. As a result, the Group are investigating Milciclib both as a monotherapy and as a combination treatment with Sorafenib.
To date, Milciclib has been studied in a total of eight completed and ongoing Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials in 316 patients. In these trials, Milciclib was observed to be well-tolerated and showed initial signals of anti-tumour action. Prior to in-licensing, Milciclib was granted orphan designation by the European Commission and by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") for the treatment of malignant thymoma and an aggressive form of thymic carcinoma in patients previously treated with chemotherapy. In two Phase 2a trials, CDKO-125a-006 and CDKO125a-007, Milciclib showed signs of slowing disease progression and acceptable safety.
The Group initiated a Phase 2a trial (CDKO-125a-010) of Milciclib safety and tolerability as a single therapy in Sorafenib-resistant patients with HCC in the first half of 2017. In May 2018, the Independent Data Monitor committee (IDMC) completed an interim analysis of tolerability data from the first eleven treated patients and recommended expansion of the initial cohort to an additional 20 patients to complete the trial enrolment, which was completed in December 2018. Top-line data is expected in the third quarter of 2019. This trial is conducted in Sorafenib-resistant HCC patients. Typically, this population of patients have an advanced form of the disease with poor prognosis and an average overall survival expectancy of 3-5 months.
In March 2019, the IDMC reviewed safety data from patients as of February 26, 2019 and concluded that the administration of Milciclib to patients with advanced HCC was not associated with unexpected signs or signals of toxicity. 28 out of 31 treated patients were evaluable, 14 completed the 6-month duration study. The most frequent adverse events such as diarrhea, ascites, nausea, fatigue, asthenia, fever, ataxia, headache, and rash were manageable. No drug-related deaths were recorded.
As per the study protocol, data collection was limited to 6-months. Thus, clinical data were not collected from patients under compassionate use treatment. The clinical activity assessment in evaluable patients was based on the investigators' review using the modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (mRECIST).
· 9 out of 14 patients (64.2%) were approved by their respective ethical committees to continue the treatment.
· 5 of the 9 patients on compassionate use had received Milciclib for a total of 9, 9, 11, 13 and 16 months.
· As of 1 September 2019, the remaining 4 patients continuing the treatment are in their 10th, 11th, 11th and 12th months.
· Both median TTP and PFS were 5.9 months (95% Confidence Interval ("CI") 1.5-6.7 months) out of the 6-months duration of the trial.
· 17 of 28 (60.7%) evaluable patients showed 'Stable Disease' (SD; met at least once in an 8-week interval).
· One patient (3.6%) showed 'Partial Response' (PR, unconfirmed).
· 18 of 28 (64.3%) evaluable patients showed 'Clinical Benefit Rate' defined as CBR=CR+PR+SD (with CR representing Complete Remission).
Preclinical data presented at the AASLD meeting in November 2018, demonstrated significant tumour reduction in an orthotopic mouse model of HCC following five weeks of treatment with Milciclib (-20% reduction, 30mg/kg/day)), Sorafenib (-20% reduction, 20 mg/kg/day) and the combination of Milciclib and Sorafenib (-38% reduction) relative to vehicle control.
PRE-CLINICAL PROGRAMMES
Anti IL-6R mAb
TZLS-501, formerly NI-1201
TZLS-501 is a fully human engineered mAb targeting the interleukin-6 receptor (IL-6R). Tiziana Life Sciences licensed the intellectual property from Novimmune in January 2017. This fully human mAb has a unique mechanism of action that binds to both the membrane-bound and soluble forms of the IL-6R resulting in lowering of circulating levels of IL-6 in the blood. Excessive production of IL-6 is regarded as a key driver of chronic inflammation, associated with autoimmune diseases such as multiple myeloma, oncology indications and rheumatoid arthritis, and the Group believes that TZLS-501 may have potential therapeutic value for these indications.
In preclinical studies, TZLS-501 demonstrated the potential to overcome limitations of other IL-6 blocking pathway drugs. Compared to tocilizumab and sarilumab, while binding to the membrane-bound IL-6R complex TZLS-501 has shown a higher affinity for the soluble IL-6 receptor as seen from the antibody binding studies conducted in cell culture. TZLS-501 also demonstrated the potential to block or reduce IL-6 signalling in mouse models of inflammation. The soluble form of IL-6 has been implicated to have a larger role in disease progression compared to the membrane-bound form. (Kallen, K.J. (2002). "The role of transsignalling via the agonistic soluble IL-6 receptor in human diseases". Biochimica et Biophysica Acta. 1592 (3): 323-343.).
StemPrintER™
StemPrintER is a multi-gene signature assay intended for use in patients diagnosed with estrogen-receptor positive ER+/HER2 negative breast cancers. The Group believes this in-vitro prognostic test will be used in conjunction with clinical evaluation to identify those patients at increased risk for early and/or late metastasis.
FINANCIAL
· For the six months to 30 June 2019 the consolidated Group made a loss of £3.63m (six months to 30 June 2018: £3.94m).
· The Group ended the period with £0.4m cash as at 30 June 2019 (31 December 2018: £4.1m).
The Company continues to carefully manage its working capital position and continues the process, as referred to below, to seek to raise further funds through the issue of ADSs through a United States Offering as well as through private placements.
Highlights post period:
· On 22 July, 2019, the Group announced the preliminary topline clinical data from a Phase 2a trial of Milciclib as a monotherapy in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common form of liver cancer. The primary endpoint of the study was overall safety. Under compassionate use, a few patients continued with total treatment for up to 16 months. Overall, treatment with Milciclib was well-tolerated and no drug-related deaths were recorded. Secondary endpoints of efficacy including progression-free survival (PFS) and time to progression (TTP) are currently being evaluated and will subsequently be reported.
· On 6 August 2019, the Company announced the commencement of an underwritten public offering in the United States of American Depositary Shares ("ADSs"), representing ordinary shares of nominal value £0.03 each in the capital of the Company ("Ordinary Shares") on the NASDAQ Global Market (the "Offering"). There can be no assurance as to whether or when the Offering may be completed, or as to the actual size or terms of the Offering. The price for the Offering has not yet been determined.
· On 4 September 2019 the Group announced additional positive Phase 2a clinical data exhibiting impressive clinical activity of Milciclib monotherapy in patients with advanced Sorafenib-resistant or -intolerant patients with unresectable or metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
· On 16 September 2019 the Group announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has allowed the initiation of a Phase I clinical trial in healthy volunteers using a novel oral enteric-coated capsule formulation of Foralumab, a fully human monoclonal antibody (mAb), in collaboration with the Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. This is the first clinical trial in which Foralumab will be administered orally to healthy subjects. The objective is to develop orally administered Foralumab for treatment of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.
Contacts:
Tiziana Life Sciences plc Gabriele Cerrone, Chairman and founder | +44 (0)20 7495 2379 |
Cairn Financial Advisers LLP (Nominated adviser) Liam Murray / Jo Turner | +44 (0)20 7213 0880 |
Shore Capital (Broker) Antonio Bossi / Fiona Conroy | +44 (0)20 7408 4050 |