AVEO Oncology (NASDAQ: AVEO) today reported financial results for the full year ended December 31, 2018 and provided a business update.
“The results of TIVO-3, presented in February at the 2019 ASCO GU Symposium, underscore a unique activity and tolerability profile among VEGF TKIs in the treatment of kidney cancer,” said Michael Bailey, president and chief executive officer of AVEO. “We continue to believe that there is a significant potential commercial opportunity for an active and well tolerated therapy within the third plus line of therapy, particularly one that demonstrated activity in a highly refractory patient population that has received prior PD-1 treatment. We are hopeful that the positive PFS outcomes from TIVO-3 translate into an improved overall survival hazard ratio and look forward to reporting a more mature interim OS outcome in the fourth quarter of 2019.”
Recent Highlights
Full Year 2018 Financial Highlights
Financial Guidance
AVEO believes that its $24.4 million in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities at the end of 2018, together with the additional $7.5 million raised from sales under its sales agreement with SVB Leerink in February 2019 and together with the extension of the interest-only period under the Hercules loan agreement, which results in deferment of principal payments, would allow it to fund planned operations into the first quarter of 2020. This estimate assumes no receipt of additional milestones from AVEO’s partners, no additional funding from new partnership agreements, no additional equity or debt financings, and no sales of equity through the exercise of outstanding warrants issued in connection with the 2016 private placement or outstanding warrants issued in connection with the recent settlement of the securities class action litigation.
About Tivozanib (FOTIVDA®)
Tivozanib (FOTIVDA®) is an oral, once-daily, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) discovered by Kyowa Hakko Kirin and approved for the treatment of adult patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in the European Union plus Norway and Iceland. It is a potent, selective and long half-life inhibitor of all three VEGF receptors and is designed to optimize VEGF blockade while minimizing off-target toxicities, potentially resulting in improved efficacy and minimal dose modifications.1,2 Tivozanib has been shown to significantly reduce regulatory T-cell production in preclinical models3 and has demonstrated synergy in combination with nivolumab (anti PD-1) in a Phase 2 study in RCC. Tivozanib has been investigated in several tumor types, including renal cell, hepatocellular, colorectal and breast cancers. In addition, a new formulation of tivozanib is in pre-clinical development for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration.
About AVEO
AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (the “Company” or “AVEO”) is a biopharmaceutical company seeking to advance targeted medicines for oncology and other unmet medical needs. The Company is working to develop and commercialize its lead candidate tivozanib in North America as a treatment for RCC. The Company has sublicensed tivozanib (FOTIVDA®) for oncological indications in Europe and other territories outside of North America. Tivozanib is approved in the European Union, as well as Norway and Iceland, for the first-line treatment of adult patients with RCC and for adult patients who are vascular endothelial growth factor receptor and mTOR pathway inhibitor-naïve following disease progression after one prior treatment with cytokine therapy for RCC. The Company also has clinical collaborations to study tivozanib in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors in RCC and in hepatocellular carcinoma. In addition, a new formulation of tivozanib is in pre-clinical development for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration. As part of the Company’s strategy, the Company has also entered into partnerships to help fund the development and commercialization of its other product candidates. Ficlatuzumab, a hepatocyte growth factor inhibitory antibody, is currently being tested in several investigator sponsored studies jointly funded by the Company and one of its development partners for the potential treatment of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, AML, and pancreatic cancer. The Company’s partner for AV-203, an anti-ErbB3 monoclonal antibody, is planning to initiate clinical studies in China in 2019 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and has committed to funding the development of AV-203 through proof-of-concept. The Company has recently regained the rights to AV-380, a humanized IgG1 inhibitory monoclonal antibody targeting growth differentiation factor 15, a divergent member of the TGF-ß family, for the potential treatment of cancer cachexia, and is working to initiate preclinical toxicology studies mid-2019 to support the potential filing of an investigational new drug application with the FDA. The Company is evaluating options for the development of its preclinical AV-353 platform which targets the Notch 3 pathway.
For more information, please visit the Company’s website at www.aveooncology.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements of AVEO that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, contained in this press release are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “could,” “should,” “would,” “seek,” “look forward,” “advance,” “goal,” “strategy,” or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions, are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. These forward-looking statements include, among others, statements about: the potential commercial opportunity of tivozanib; AVEO’s plans to make a NDA filing decision following the availability of more mature OS results; AVEO’s plans to complete an interim OS analysis for the TIVO-3 trial in August 2019 and to report the results of this analysis in the fourth quarter; AVEO’s expectation that the OS outcome will be more mature by August 2019; the potential efficacy, safety, and tolerability of tivozanib, as a single agent and in combination with other therapies in several indications, such as RCC and liver cancer; timing for the commencement of the Phase 1 portion of the IMFINZI and tivozanib combination study; AVEO’s cash runway; AVEO’s plans and strategies for commercialization of tivozanib in the United States and Europe; AVEO’s plan to develop the AV-353 platform; AVEO’s plans regarding AV-380 and AVEO’s other strategy, prospects, plans and objectives for its product candidates and for the Company generally. AVEO has based its expectations and estimates on assumptions that may prove to be incorrect. As a result, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these expectations and estimates. Actual results or events could differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations disclosed in the forward-looking statements that AVEO makes due to a number of important factors, including risks relating to: AVEO’s ability, and the ability of its licensees, to demonstrate to the satisfaction of applicable regulatory agencies such as the FDA the safety, efficacy and clinically meaningful benefit of AVEO’s product candidates, including, in particular, tivozanib; AVEO’s ability to successfully file an NDA for tivozanib; and AVEO’s ability to enter into and maintain its third party collaboration and license agreements, and its ability, and the ability of its strategic partners, to achieve development and commercialization objectives under these arrangements. AVEO faces other risks relating to its business as well, including risks relating to the timing and costs of seeking and obtaining regulatory approval; AVEO’s and its collaborators’ ability to successfully enroll and complete clinical trials; AVEO’s ability to maintain compliance with regulatory requirements applicable to its product candidates; AVEO’s ability to obtain and maintain adequate protection for intellectual property rights relating to its product candidates; AVEO’s ability to successfully implement its strategic plans; AVEO’s ability to raise the substantial additional funds required to achieve its goals, including those goals pertaining to the development and commercialization of tivozanib; unplanned capital requirements; adverse general economic and industry conditions; competitive factors; and those risks discussed in the sections titled “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity and Capital Resources” included in AVEO’s quarterly and annual reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and in other filings that AVEO makes with the SEC. The forward-looking statements in this press release represent AVEO’s views as of the date of this press release, and subsequent events and developments may cause its views to change. While AVEO may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, it specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. You should, therefore, not rely on these forward-looking statements as representing AVEO's views as of any date other than the date of this press release. Any reference to AVEO’s website address in this press release is intended to be an inactive textual reference only and not an active hyperlink.
References
1. Fotivda (Tivozanib) SmPC August 2017
2. Motzer RJ, Nosov D, Eisen T, et al. J Clin Oncol 2013; 31(30): 3791-9.
3. Pawlowski N et al. AACR 2013. Poster 3971.
| AVEO PHARMACEUTICALS, INC. | ||||||||||||||||
| Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations | ||||||||||||||||
| (In thousands, except per share amounts) | ||||||||||||||||
| (Unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||
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Three Months Ended
December 31, |
Year Ended
December 31, |
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| 2018 | 2017 | 2018 | 2017 | |||||||||||||
| Revenues: | ||||||||||||||||
| Collaboration and licensing revenue | $ | 1,296 | $ | 63 | $ | 4,947 | $ | 7,560 | ||||||||
| Partnership royalties | 187 | 19 | 462 | 19 | ||||||||||||
| 1,483 | 82 | 5,409 | 7,579 | |||||||||||||
| Operating expenses: | ||||||||||||||||
| Research and development | 5,201 | 5,676 | 20,652 | 25,179 | ||||||||||||
| General and administrative | 2,625 | 2,404 | 10,781 | 9,138 | ||||||||||||
| Settlement costs | — | 2,073 | (667 | ) | 2,073 | |||||||||||
| 7,826 | 10,153 | 30,766 | 36,390 | |||||||||||||
| Loss from operations | (6,343 | ) | (10,071 | ) | (25,357 | ) | (28,811 | ) | ||||||||
| Other income (expense), net: | ||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense, net | (570 | ) | (637 | ) | (2,191 | ) | (2,373 | ) | ||||||||
| Change in fair value of PIPE Warrant liability | 26,431 | 14,207 | 19,919 | (33,740 | ) | |||||||||||
| Other income (expense), net | 2,300 | — | 2,300 | — | ||||||||||||
| Other income (expense), net | 28,161 | 13,570 | 20,028 | (36,113 | ) | |||||||||||
| Net income (loss) before provision for income taxes | 21,818 | 3,499 | (5,329 | ) | (64,924 | ) | ||||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | — | — | — | (101 | ) | |||||||||||
| Net income (loss) | $ | 21,818 | $ | 3,499 | $ | (5,329 | ) | $ | (65,025 | ) | ||||||
| Basic net income (loss) per share | ||||||||||||||||
| Net income (loss) per share | $ | 0.18 | $ | 0.03 | $ | (0.04 | ) | $ | (0.61 | ) | ||||||
| Weighted average number of common shares outstanding | 124,395 | 118,323 | 120,592 | 105,930 | ||||||||||||
| Diluted net income (loss) per share | ||||||||||||||||
| Net income (loss) per share | $ | (0.03 | ) | $ | (0.08 | ) | $ | (0.19 | ) | $ | (0.61 | ) | ||||
| Weighted average number of common shares and dilutive common share equivalents outstanding | 133,580 | 130,108 | 130,731 | 105,930 | ||||||||||||
| Consolidated Balance Sheet Data | ||||||||
| (In thousands) | ||||||||
| (Unaudited) | ||||||||
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December 31,
2018 |
December 31,
2017 |
|||||||
| Assets | ||||||||
| Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities | $ | 24,427 | $ | 33,525 | ||||
| Accounts receivable | 3,026 | 402 | ||||||
| Prepaid expenses and other current assets | 482 | 1,256 | ||||||
| Insurance recovery | — | 15,000 | ||||||
| Other assets | — | 15 | ||||||
| Total assets | $ | 27,935 | $ | 50,198 | ||||
| Liabilities and stockholders’ deficit | ||||||||
| Accounts payable and accrued expenses | $ | 12,451 | $ | 13,215 | ||||
| Loans payable | 19,033 | 18,477 | ||||||
| Deferred revenue and research and development reimbursements | 5,914 | 2,820 | ||||||
| PIPE Warrant liability | 16,674 | 37,746 | ||||||
| Estimated settlement liability | — | 17,073 | ||||||
| Other liabilities | 1,090 | 1,630 | ||||||
| Stockholder’s deficit | (27,227 | ) | (40,763 | ) | ||||
| Total liabilities and stockholders’ deficit | $ | 27,935 | $ | 50,198 | ||||
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AVEO:
David Pitts, Argot Partners
(212) 600-1902
aveo@argotpartners.com