Structure Therapeutics Q1 2024 Financial Results and Highlights

Structure Therapeutics Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative oral small molecule therapeutics for metabolic and cardiopulmonary diseases, has released its financial results for the first quarter ending March 31, 2024. The company also highlighted recent achievements and outlined upcoming milestones.

Dr. Raymond Stevens, Founder and CEO of Structure Therapeutics, expressed anticipation for the upcoming 12-week Phase 2a data for GSBR-1290 expected in June, and the commencement of the 36-week Phase 2b obesity study later in the year. He emphasized the significant unmet need for effective obesity treatments, with over 100 million people in the U.S. and more than 800 million globally affected by obesity. Unlike current peptide GLP-1s, GSBR-1290, an oral, non-peptide small molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist, offers scalability and potential to address the growing obesity epidemic.

Key upcoming milestones for GSBR-1290 were detailed. Topline data from the 12-week Phase 2a study, including efficacy data for 40 participants and safety and tolerability for 64 participants, is expected in June 2024. A formulation bridging and titration study is ongoing to compare capsule versus tablet pharmacokinetics (PK) and explore different titration regimens, with high-level PK results anticipated in June 2024. Additionally, a global Phase 2b obesity study is planned for the fourth quarter of 2024, with a Phase 2 study in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) to commence in the second half of 2024.

Structure Therapeutics is also advancing several other programs. The oral small molecule amylin program aims to develop receptor agonists for use alone or alongside GLP-1R agonists to treat obesity and related diseases, with a development candidate selection expected in the fourth quarter of 2024. The oral small molecule GIPR program is focused on developing a GIPR selective agonist and GLP-1R/GIPR combinations, targeting a development candidate selection in the first half of 2025. The oral small molecule Apelin receptor (APJR) program is evaluating ANPA-0073, a Phase 2-ready biased APJR agonist for selective or muscle-sparing weight loss and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). A Phase 1 study showed ANPA-0073 was generally well-tolerated without serious adverse events.

In another significant development, Structure Therapeutics is working on LTSE-2578, an oral small molecule antagonist targeting lysophosphatidic acid 1 receptor (LPA1R) for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Preclinical studies have shown substantial anti-fibrotic activity, and the company plans to initiate a first-in-human study in June 2024.

Financially, the company reported cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments totaling $436.4 million as of March 31, 2024, sufficient to fund operations through at least 2026. Research and development (R&D) expenses for the first quarter of 2024 were $20.7 million, up from $13.1 million in the same period in 2023, primarily due to advancements in the GLP-1R franchise, other research programs, clinical study activities, and increased personnel-related expenses. General and administrative (G&A) expenses rose to $11.3 million from $6.5 million, driven by professional services and employee-related expenses to support the company's growth as a publicly traded entity. The net loss for the first quarter of 2024 was $26.0 million, compared to $18.0 million for the first quarter of 2023, with non-cash share-based compensation expenses of $2.7 million and $2.5 million, respectively.

Structure Therapeutics continues to leverage its structure-based drug discovery platform to develop a robust GPCR-targeted pipeline, featuring several proprietary clinical-stage small molecule compounds designed to overcome the limitations of traditional biologic and peptide therapies.