- Positive data from CDX-0159 Phase 1b Study in Chronic Inducible Urticaria presented at EAACI 2021 -
- Raised $287 million in gross proceeds from a follow-on public offering of common stock, closed in July 2021 -
HAMPTON, N.J., Aug. 05, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Celldex Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLDX) today reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2021 and provided a corporate update.
“Last month, Celldex reported positive data from our ongoing Phase 1b study of CDX-0159 in chronic inducible urticaria, where a single dose demonstrated a rapid, profound and durable response,” said Anthony Marucci, Co-founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Celldex Therapeutics. “These data not only spoke to the potential to bring patients suffering from urticaria an opportunity for fast, lasting and meaningful relief, but also showed that CDX-0159 safely depletes mast cells, a significant scientific and medical achievement that indicates CDX-0159’s potential to help other patients in need across a myriad of diseases with mast cell involvement.”
Mr. Marucci continued, “Importantly, driven by these data, we successfully completed a $287.5 million follow-on offering which will support the expansion of the CDX-0159 program into later stage studies and additional indications, along with the continued development of our bispecific platform, which is exploring important pathways in inflammatory diseases, auto-immune disorders and oncology. We look forward to building on our successes in what promises to be an exciting second half of the year.”
Recent Program Highlights
CDX-0159 - KIT Inhibitor Program
CDX-0159 is a humanized monoclonal antibody developed by Celldex that binds the KIT receptor with high specificity and potently inhibits its activity. The KIT receptor tyrosine kinase is expressed in a variety of cells, including mast cells, which mediate inflammatory responses such as hypersensitivity and allergic reactions. KIT signaling controls the differentiation, tissue recruitment, survival and activity of mast cells.
CDX-1140 - CD40 Agonist Program
CDX-1140 is a potent CD40 human agonist antibody developed by Celldex that the Company believes has the potential to successfully balance systemic doses for good tissue and tumor penetration with an acceptable safety profile.
CDX-527 - Bispecific Antibody Program
CDX-527 is the first candidate developed by Celldex from its bispecific platform and utilizes the Company’s proprietary highly active anti-PD-L1 and CD27 human antibodies to couple CD27 co-stimulation with blockade of the PD-L1/PD-1 pathway.
Corporate Highlights
While Celldex’s clinical development programs have not been significantly, negatively impacted by COVID-19 to date, the Company continues to carefully monitor the evolving situation closely across all development programs and work to minimize potential impact/disruptions.
Second Quarter 2021 Financial Highlights and 2021 Guidance
Cash Position: Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities as of June 30, 2021 were $164.0 million compared to $176.1 million as of March 31, 2021. The decrease was primarily driven by second quarter cash used in operating activities of $11.9 million. At June 30, 2021, Celldex had 39.6 million shares outstanding. In July 2021, the Company issued 6,845,238 shares of its common stock in an underwritten public offering of common stock resulting in net proceeds to the Company of approximately $270.0 million, after deducting underwriting fees and offering expenses.
Revenues: Total revenue was $3.5 million in the second quarter of 2021 and $4.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2021, compared to $0.2 million and $3.0 for the comparable periods in 2020. The increase in revenue was primarily due to an increase in services performed under our contract manufacturing and research and development agreements with Rockefeller University and Gilead Sciences, partially offset by a decrease in revenue from product development and licensing agreements as a result of the $1.8 million milestone payment received from Rockefeller University in the first quarter of 2020 related to Celldex’s manufacturing and development services agreement.
R&D Expenses: Research and development (R&D) expenses were $12.4 million in the second quarter of 2021 and $25.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2021, compared to $9.7 million and $21.4 million for the comparable periods in 2020. The increase in R&D expenses was primarily due to an increase in clinical trial, contract research, and personnel expenses, partially offset by a decrease in rent expense.
G&A Expenses: General and administrative (G&A) expenses were $4.3 million in the second quarter of 2021 and $8.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2021, compared to $3.5 million and $7.2 million for the comparable periods in 2020. The increase in G&A expenses was primarily due to higher personnel expenses.
Intangible Asset Impairment: The Company recorded a non-cash impairment charge of $3.5 million during the second quarter of 2020 due to the discontinuation of the CDX-3379 program.
Changes in Fair Value Remeasurement of Contingent Consideration: The loss on fair value remeasurement of contingent consideration was $0.3 million for the second quarter of 2021 and $0.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2021, primarily due to changes in discount rates and the passage of time.
Net Loss: Net loss was $13.4 million, or ($0.34) per share, for the second quarter of 2021, and $29.9 million, or ($0.76) per share, for the six months ended June 30, 2021, compared to a net loss of $11.0 million, or ($0.50) per share, for the second quarter of 2020 and $23.7 million, or ($1.20) per share, for the six months ended June 30, 2020.
Financial Guidance: Celldex believes that the cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities at June 30, 2021, along with the approximately $270.0 million in net proceeds raised in our July 2021 underwritten public offering of common stock, are sufficient to meet estimated working capital requirements and fund planned operations through 2025.
KEYTRUDA® is a registered trademark of Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ USA.
About Celldex Therapeutics, Inc.Celldex is a clinical stage biotechnology company dedicated to developing monoclonal and bispecific antibodies that address devastating diseases for which available treatments are inadequate. Our pipeline includes antibody-based therapeutics which have the ability to engage the human immune system and/or directly affect critical pathways to improve the lives of patients with inflammatory diseases and many forms of cancer. Visit .
Forward Looking Statement This release contains "forward-looking statements" made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are typically preceded by words such as "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "will," "may," "should," or similar expressions. These forward-looking statements reflect management's current knowledge, assumptions, judgment and expectations regarding future performance or events. Although management believes that the expectations reflected in such statements are reasonable, they give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct or that those goals will be achieved, and you should be aware that actual results could differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, our ability to successfully complete research and further development and commercialization of Company drug candidates, including CDX-0159, in current or future indications; the uncertainties inherent in clinical testing and accruing patients for clinical trials; our limited experience in bringing programs through Phase 3 clinical trials; our ability to manage and successfully complete multiple clinical trials and the research and development efforts for our multiple products at varying stages of development; the effects of the outbreak of COVID-19 on our business and results of operations; the availability, cost, delivery and quality of clinical materials produced by our own manufacturing facility or supplied by contract manufacturers, who may be our sole source of supply; the timing, cost and uncertainty of obtaining regulatory approvals; the failure of the market for the Company's programs to continue to develop; our ability to protect the Company's intellectual property; the loss of any executive officers or key personnel or consultants; competition; changes in the regulatory landscape or the imposition of regulations that affect the Company's products; our ability to continue to obtain capital to meet our long-term liquidity needs on acceptable terms, or at all, including the additional capital which will be necessary to complete the clinical trials that we have initiated or plan to initiate; and other factors listed under "Risk Factors" in our annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q.
All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary notice. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. We have no obligation, and expressly disclaim any obligation, to update, revise or correct any of the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Company ContactSarah CavanaughSenior Vice President, Corporate Affairs & Administration(508) 864-8337scavanaugh@celldex.com
Patrick TillSenior Director, Investor Relations & Corporate Communications(484) 788-8560ptill@celldex.com
