ORYZON reports financial results and corporate update for quarter ended December 31, 2023

Oryzon Genomics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company leveraging epigenetics to develop therapies in diseases with a strong unmet medical need, today reported financial results for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2023 and provided a corporate update on recent developments. 

Fourth Quarter and Recent Highlights

Vafidemstat in large multifactorial CNS indications:

Topline results from PORTICO, a multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled Phase IIb conducted in the U.S. and EU to evaluate the efficacy and safety of vafidemstat in BPD patients, were reported on January 5, 2024. The primary endpoints, improvement in Borderline Personality Disorder Checklist (BPDCL) and in agitation/aggression by the Clinical Global Impression – Severity Agitation/Aggression (CGI-S A/A), did not reach statistical significance. However, nominal statistical significance was achieved on the secondary endpoint Borderline Evaluation of Severity (BEST), an overall measure of BPD disease severity, at weeks 8-12 (p = 0.042), with a relative reduction observed in the vafidemstat-treated group over the placebo group of 28.9%. Nominal statistical significance was also achieved on the secondary endpoint State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory 2 (STAXI-2) Trait Anger, a measure of agitation and aggression, at weeks 8-12 (p = 0.026), with a relative reduction observed in the vafidemstat-treated group over the placebo group of 46.7%. Results across all primary and secondary efficacy endpoints consistently favored vafidemstat over placebo. Global Statistical Test (GST p-values) confirmed a consistent trend across efficacy endpoints. Vafidemstat was safe and well-tolerated. Adverse events (AEs) were generally consistent with the safety profile of vafidemstat seen to date, with no new safety findings. Based on the efficacy and safety results, Oryzon intends to request an end-of-Phase II meeting with the FDA to discuss plans for a registrational Phase III study for the treatment of BPD. The company is currently completing the full data analysis and plans to provide a full data presentation at a psychiatric conference later this year, as well as in a peer-reviewed journal publication.

The EVOLUTION Phase IIb clinical trial with vafidemstat in patients with schizophrenia continues to enroll patients. This Phase IIb study aims to evaluate the efficacy of vafidemstat on negative symptoms and cognitive impairment in patients with schizophrenia. This project is partially financed with public funds from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and is being carried out in various Spanish hospitals.

Vafidemstat in monogenic CNS indications:

We continue the preparations of a new precision medicine trial in Kabuki Syndrome (KS). The company is in a dialogue with the regulatory agencies to refine the final design of this trial and expects to submit an IND for HOPE to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2024.

Iadademstat in oncology:

FRIDA, an open-label, multicenter Phase Ib clinical trial of iadademstat in combination with gilteritinib in patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) harboring a FMS-like tyrosine kinase mutation (FLT3mut+), continues to enroll patients. The first cohort has been completed (six patients), and the combination was safe and showed strong antileukemic activity. The second cohort (six patients) is fully enrolled and ongoing. The primary objectives of the trial are to evaluate the safety and tolerability of iadademstat in combination with gilteritinib in patients with FLT3mut+ R/R AML and to establish the Recommended Phase 2 Dose (RP2D) for this combination. Secondary objectives include the evaluation of the treatment efficacy, measured as the rate of complete remission and complete remission with partial hematological recovery (CR/CRh), the Duration of Responses (DoR), and the assessment of Measurable Residual Disease (MRD). The study is being conducted in the U.S. and will accrue up to approximately 45 patients. If successful, Oryzon and the FDA have agreed to hold a meeting to discuss the best plan to further develop this combination in this much-in-need AML population.

The Company is further expanding the clinical development of iadademstat in AML through an Investigator-initiated study (IIS). This trial will be a Phase Ib dose-finding study to evaluate iadademstat in combination with venetoclax and azacitidine in first-line AML patients, led by Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). The trial received FDA IND approval in 4Q2023 and is expected to begin enrolling patients in 1Q2024.

The collaborative Phase II basket trial of iadademstat in combination with paclitaxel in platinum R/R small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and extrapulmonary high-grade neuroendocrine tumors (NET trial) continues to enroll patients. This trial is being conducted in the U.S. under a collaborative clinical research agreement with the FCCC, under which the FCCC will be conducting different collaborative combination clinical trials with iadademstat, with Oryzon providing funding, the drug, and technical expertise. PRESS RELEASE 2024 Pioneering Personalized Medicine in Epigenetics 

A new clinical trial of iadademstat in combination with an immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) in firstline metastatic SCLC, which will be conducted under the Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) signed with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in the United States, is under preparation. This trial will be led by the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), which plans to file the IND with the FDA in 1Q2024.

The STELLAR trial, a randomized, multicenter Phase Ib/II study of iadademstat plus a checkpoint inhibitor in first-line extensive-stage SCLC, will be informed and refined from the findings of the CRADA-MSKCC trial in the same space and with the same design that is expected to start in 1Q2024, as mentioned above. The company believes that STELLAR could potentially support an application for accelerated approval.

Earlier stage programs:

ORY-4001, Oryzon’s highly selective histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6) inhibitor nominated as a clinical candidate for the treatment of certain neurological diseases such as Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT), Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and others, is progressing through IND enabling studies to prepare it for clinical studies. The Company recently announced that is has received a 0.5 million USD grant from the ALS Association in the U.S. to support the regulatory preclinical development of ORY-4001 for ALS. ORY-4001 has been previously shown to reverse disease progression symptoms in a CMT mice model which reliably recapitulates many of the symptoms of this condition in humans, improving myelination and restoring axon integrity in the sciatic nerve, and improving compound muscle action potential and nerve conduction. These results are fruit of a collaboration entered in 2022 between Oryzon and the CMT Research Foundation (CMTRF), a U.S.- based patient-led, non-profit organization focused on delivering treatments and cures for CMT.

Oryzon has received two new grants to further explore the role of epigenetic targets in the treatment of neuronal pathologies. These are two collaborative projects with public research centers, focused on the discovery and validation of novel biomarkers and epigenetic targets for the treatment of neuronal pathologies. The projects have a global budget of 2.3 million euros, of which Oryzon will receive up to 1.4 million euros.

Financial Update: Fourth Quarter 2023 Financial Results

Research and development (R&D) expenses were $3.9 and $16.6 million for the quarter and twelve months ended December 31, 2023, respectively, compared to $5.0 and $18.1 million for the quarter and twelve months ended December 31, 2022.

General and administrative expenses were $1.2 and $4.2 million for the quarter and twelve months ended December 31, 2023, respectively, compared to $1.2 and $4.8 million for the quarter and twelve months ended December 31, 2022.

Net losses were $1.4 and $5.0 million for the quarter and twelve months ended December 31, 2023, respectively, compared to $1.6 and $5.9 million for the quarter and twelve months ended December 31, 2022. The result is as expected, given the biotechnology business model where companies in the development phase typically have a long-term maturation period for products, and do not have recurrent income.

Negative net result was $3.7 million (–$0.064 per share) for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023, compared to a negative net result of $4.5 million (–$0.085 per share) for the twelve months ended December 31, 2022

Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities totaled $13.5 million as of December 31, 2023.