Sutro Biopharma Q1 2024 Financials, Business Highlights, and Key Milestones

Sutro Biopharma, Inc., a clinical-stage oncology company, has released its financial results for the first quarter of 2024 along with recent business highlights and upcoming milestones. Based in South San Francisco, Sutro focuses on developing innovative antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) designed to treat cancer more effectively.

In the first quarter of 2024, Sutro made significant progress on several fronts. The company advanced its lead ADC candidate, luveltamab tazevibulin (luvelta), through various clinical trials addressing significant unmet needs. CEO Bill Newell emphasized the company's efforts to push forward its pipeline and collaboration programs while establishing a new licensing agreement with Ipsen, further strengthening its financial position with upfront funding and recent financing activities.

One of the major developments included the completion of Part 1 (dose-optimization) of the REFRαME-O1 trial for platinum-resistant ovarian cancer (PROC). The trial has now moved to Part 2, which is actively enrolling patients across approximately 140 sites in 20 countries. Additionally, Sutro plans to initiate the registration-enabling REFRαME-P1 trial for pediatric patients with a rare form of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in the latter half of 2024. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared an Investigational New Drug (IND) application for treating non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), with patient enrollment expected to begin in the second half of 2024. The company also highlighted progress in a Phase 2 study combining luvelta with bevacizumab, anticipating enrollment completion in the first half of the year.

In April 2024, Sutro announced a global licensing agreement with Ipsen for STRO-003, an ADC targeting ROR1. This deal could potentially bring up to $899 million in upfront and milestone payments, with $75 million already received. Sutro is also eligible for tiered royalties on global sales of STRO-003. Looking ahead, the company plans to submit an IND for another ADC, STRO-004, in 2025.

Financially, Sutro reported having $267.6 million in cash and investments as of March 31, 2024, along with shares of Vaxcyte common stock valued at $45.6 million. In April, the company's financial position was bolstered by $150 million from an upfront payment and an equity investment from Ipsen, as well as funds raised through an underwritten offering of common stock.

The company's revenue for the first quarter was $13 million, a slight increase from the same period in 2023. Operating expenses rose to $69.6 million, primarily due to increased research and development costs. Sutro continues to collaborate with partners across various disease areas, generating approximately $864 million in payments through March 31, 2024.

Sutro has planned participation in two upcoming investor conferences in New York: the Citizens JMP Life Sciences Conference on May 13-14, 2024, and the Jefferies Healthcare Conference on June 5-6, 2024. Webcasts of these presentations will be available on Sutro's website.

The financial results reflect a rise in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities from $267.6 million as of March 31, 2024, with a noted unrealized gain of $3.7 million from the increase in value of Vaxcyte common stock. Total revenue showed a marginal increase from $12.7 million to $13 million year-over-year. Total operating expenses saw a rise, attributed to higher research and development expenditures.

Sutro Biopharma continues its mission to develop precisely engineered cancer therapeutics, leveraging its proprietary cell-free XpressCF® platform to improve patient outcomes. With a robust pipeline and strategic collaborations, the company is well-positioned to make significant strides in oncology treatment.