Equillium Inc (EQ)

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Enough funding through 2025 ..

November 13 2024 - 4:01PM
Business Wire

Equillium retains rights to itolizumab following substantial funding from Ono partnership

Evaluating accelerating Phase 3 EQUATOR study in aGVHD to completion in Q1 2025

Phase 2 ulcerative colitis study recently completed; topline data expected Q1 2025

Equillium, Inc. (Nasdaq: EQ), a clinical-stage biotechnology company leveraging a deep understanding of immunobiology to develop novel therapeutics to treat severe autoimmune and inflammatory disorders, today announced financial results for the third quarter 2024 and provided corporate and clinical updates.

“At the end of October we announced that our partnership with Ono Pharmaceutical had ended following substantial non-dilutive financing that has fully funded itolizumab research and development since July 2022. This funding enabled us to advance the program through two recent milestones – positive interim review from the Phase 3 EQUATOR study in acute graft-versus-host disease and positive topline data from the EQUALISE study in lupus nephritis. Ono informed us that their decision was strategic in nature, and that the data we have delivered from these studies met expectations with no observed or reported safety concerns,” said Bruce Steel, chief executive officer at Equillium. “We have enrolled over 150 patients in EQUATOR, and as of the end of October have temporarily paused enrollment to review clinical options for the program, including the potential to accelerate our timeline to topline data to the first quarter of 2025 while preserving registrational integrity of the study. We maintain orphan drug and fast track designations for first-line acute graft-versus-host disease, where currently no drugs are approved. In addition, in collaboration with Equillium, our partner Biocon has recently completed a robust placebo-controlled Phase 2 study of itolizumab in biologic-naïve patients with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis, and we expect topline data from this study also in the first quarter of 2025. We remain enthusiastic about the therapeutic potential and commercial opportunity for itolizumab, and we are very pleased to maintain our rights to the program as we approach the two most important data events in Equillium’s history.”

Highlights Since the Beginning of the Third Quarter of 2024:

• Retained rights to itolizumab following Ono partnership
• Positive interim analysis of Phase 3 EQUATOR study of itolizumab in acute graft-versus-host disease subjects
• Phase 2 ulcerative colitis study completed by partner Biocon

Anticipated Upcoming Milestones:

• Itolizumab: Topline data from Phase 2 study in ulcerative colitis – Q1 2025
• Itolizumab: Topline data from Phase 3 EQUATOR study in aGVHD – potential acceleration to Q1 2025

Third Quarter 2024 Financial Results

Revenue for the third quarter of 2024 was $12.2 million, compared to $8.9 million during the same period in 2023. Revenue in the third quarters of 2024 and 2023 consisted entirely of itolizumab development funding and amortization of the upfront payment related to our former partnership with Ono.

Research and development (R&D) expenses for the third quarter of 2024 were $9.6 million, compared to $9.0 million for the same period in 2023. The increase was primarily due to greater expenses associated with chemistry, manufacturing and controls (CMC) activities related to itolizumab, greater non-clinical research expenses, and an increase in employee compensation expenses, which were partially offset by lower clinical study expenses primarily driven by the EQUALISE and EQ101 clinical studies, partially offset by greater expenses for our EQUATOR clinical study.

General and administrative (G&A) expenses for the third quarter of 2024 were $3.3 million, compared with $3.5 million for the same period in 2023. The decrease was primarily driven by lower legal, audit and tax professional fees.

Net loss for the third quarter of 2024 was approximately $7,000, or $(0.00) per basic and diluted share, compared with a net loss of $3.7 million, or $(0.11) per basic and diluted share, for the same period in 2023. The decrease in net loss was primarily attributable to greater revenue related to the Ono partnership, lower income tax expense, and other income, which were partially offset by the increase in R&D expense.

Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments totaled $25.9 million as of September 30, 2024, compared to $33.3 million as of June 30, 2024. Equillium believes that its cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments are sufficient to fund operations into the fourth quarter of 2025, assuming certain operational changes including accelerating the completion of the Phase 3 EQUATOR study based on reduced enrollment and early unblinding of the study, pausing further development activities related to EQ101 and EQ302, the elimination of certain positions and the reduction of certain discretionary expenditures, as well as assuming no further repurchases under our stock repurchase program.