Corvus Pharmaceuticals Q2 2024 Financial Results and Business Update

Corvus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, has recently released significant updates on its ongoing projects and financial status for the second quarter ending June 30, 2024. The company is making considerable strides with its lead drug candidate, soquelitinib, and other projects targeting various immune diseases and cancers.

Soquelitinib, formerly known as CPI-818, is a selective ITK (interleukin-2-inducible T cell kinase) inhibitor. Corvus is currently conducting a randomized, placebo-controlled Phase 1 clinical trial of soquelitinib in patients with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis. This trial aims to enroll 64 patients who have failed at least one prior therapy. The study is evaluating four different 28-day dosing regimens of soquelitinib compared to a placebo group, with endpoints including safety and improvement in the Eczema Area and Severity Index.

As of July 31, 2024, preliminary results from three evaluable patients in the first cohort, who completed the 28-day dosing regimen, indicate clinical activity and changes in serum cytokine levels consistent with soquelitinib's mechanism of action. These promising early results support the potential of ITK inhibition to treat immune diseases.

Corvus anticipates presenting interim data from this trial in the fourth quarter of 2024. Additionally, recent studies from Cornell University have shown that ITK inhibition can control the fate of inflammatory Th17 cells, converting them into Treg cells that suppress inflammation. These findings further underscore the potential of soquelitinib in treating various immune diseases.

In the realm of T cell lymphomas, Corvus continues to follow patients in its Phase 1/1b clinical trial, evaluating soquelitinib as a single agent therapy for relapsed T cell lymphoma. Updated interim results from July 16, 2024, show objective responses in 9 out of 23 evaluable patients, with a 39% response rate, including six complete responses. This data supports the planned Phase 3 clinical trial of soquelitinib for relapsed PTCL, which is set to begin enrollment in the third quarter of 2024.

Corvus is also collaborating with the Kidney Cancer Research Consortium on a Phase 1b/2 clinical trial evaluating ciforadenant, an adenosine A2a receptor inhibitor, as a first-line therapy for metastatic renal cell cancer (RCC). The trial, which combines ciforadenant with ipilimumab and nivolumab, has already met its pre-specified statistical threshold for efficacy based on a deep response rate analysis.

Additionally, Angel Pharmaceuticals, Corvus' partner in China, is enrolling patients in an expansion cohort of a Phase 1/1b clinical trial of mupadolimab, an anti-CD73 antibody, for relapsed non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This trial aims to explore the potential of mupadolimab monotherapy in enhancing immune responses against tumors.

Financially, Corvus reported having $47.2 million in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities as of June 30, 2024. This is a significant increase from $27.1 million at the end of 2023, primarily due to a registered direct offering that generated $30.3 million in net proceeds. The company expects full-year net cash used in operating activities to range between $24 million and $27 million, projecting a cash balance of $31 million to $34 million by the end of 2024. Corvus anticipates that its current funds will support operations into the fourth quarter of 2025.

For the three months ended June 30, 2024, Corvus' research and development expenses were $4.1 million, slightly up from $4.0 million in the same period in 2023. The increase is mainly attributed to higher clinical trial costs for soquelitinib. The net loss for the same period was $4.3 million, a decrease from the $6.5 million net loss in the second quarter of 2023.

Corvus Pharmaceuticals continues to make progress in developing innovative treatments for immune and cancer-related diseases, with several key trials advancing and a solid financial position to support ongoing and future initiatives.