Werewolf Therapeutics Q1 2024 Financial Results and Business Update

Werewolf Therapeutics, Inc., based in Watertown, Massachusetts, is a pioneering biopharmaceutical company focused on developing conditionally activated therapeutics designed to stimulate the body's immune system to treat cancer and other immune-mediated conditions. On May 3, 2024, the company provided a business update and announced its financial results for the first quarter ending March 31, 2024.

The company's primary focus remains on the execution of its lead clinical programs, WTX-124 and WTX-330. Werewolf plans to present updates on these programs later in the second quarter. At the upcoming ASCO (American Society for Clinical Oncology) Annual Meeting, they will share data from the dose-escalation portion of their Phase 1/1b trial evaluating WTX-124 both as a monotherapy and in combination with pembrolizumab. Additionally, the company will present first-in-human monotherapy dose escalation data from the ongoing Phase 1/1b trial of WTX-330 in the second quarter.

WTX-124 is a systemically delivered, conditionally activated Interleukin-2 (IL-2) INDUKINE molecule being tested as both a standalone therapy and in combination with pembrolizumab for various solid tumor types. The company will present additional interim data from its monotherapy dose-escalation arm and preliminary dose-escalation data from its combination arm at the ASCO Annual Meeting.

WTX-330 is another systemically delivered, conditionally activated therapeutic, this time targeting Interleukin-12 (IL-12). Werewolf plans to present interim data from Study WTX-330x2101, a Phase 1, multi-center, open-label trial, evaluating WTX-330 as a monotherapy in patients with advanced or metastatic solid tumors or non-Hodgkin lymphoma, during the second quarter of 2024.

On the preclinical side, Werewolf is advancing candidates including WTX-712 and WTX-518, INDUKINE molecules targeting IL-21 and IL-18 respectively, for cancer treatments. The company also has a development candidate for an INDUKINE molecule delivering IL-10 for treating Irritable Bowel Disease. During the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting in April 2024, Werewolf presented progress on WTX-518 and WTX-712 preclinical programs, demonstrating promising in vitro activities and tumor regression in mouse models.

Additionally, at the American Association of Immunologists Meeting starting May 3, 2024, Werewolf will present data on their IL-10 INDUKINE molecule's application in immune-mediated diseases. The data indicate that these molecules were inactive in peripheral tissues but conditionally activated in target tissues, preventing intestinal damage and inhibiting inflammatory cytokine production in mouse models of colitis.

Financially, Werewolf secured a loan and security agreement with K2 HealthVentures in May 2024, providing access to up to $60 million in capital. This financing, along with existing cash, has extended their financial runway through at least the first quarter of 2026.

For the first quarter of 2024, Werewolf reported a cash position of $139.2 million, a slight increase from $134.3 million as of December 31, 2023. They had collaboration revenue of $0.7 million in the first quarter of 2024, a decrease from $4.5 million for the same period in 2023. The company’s research and development expenses were $12.9 million, up from $11.7 million in 2023, largely due to ongoing clinical trials for WTX-124 and WTX-330. General and administrative expenses remained steady at $5.0 million. The net loss for the first quarter of 2024 was $16.2 million, compared to $12.0 million in the same period in 2023.

Werewolf Therapeutics continues to leverage its proprietary PREDATOR™ platform to design conditionally activated molecules that stimulate both adaptive and innate immunity, aimed at addressing the limitations of conventional immune therapies. The company is committed to advancing its pipeline of INDUKINE™ molecules in oncology and immunology, with WTX-124 and WTX-330 as its lead clinical candidates.