Company continues to expand its portfolio of
highly selective antibodies targeting root cause of Alzheimer's,
ALS and Parkinson's disease
TORONTO and CAMBRIDGE, MA, Aug. 13,
2019 /CNW/ - ProMIS Neurosciences, Inc. (TSX: PMN) (OTCQB:
ARFXF), a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and
development of antibody therapeutics targeting toxic oligomers
implicated in the development of neurodegenerative diseases, today
announced its operational and financial results for the three and
six months ended June 30, 2019.
"Over the course of the first half of 2019, the breadth and
depth of our unique discovery and development platform was further
evidenced as ProMIS made considerable progress in expanding its
portfolio of opportunities in neurodegenerative diseases," stated
Eugene Williams, ProMIS' Executive
Chairman. "In the second quarter of this year, we were able to
identify novel antibodies for Alzheimer's disease (AD) with
selectivity for the neurotoxic form of tau. This is in addition to
the prior identification of antibody candidates selectively
targeting toxic forms of alpha-synuclein (α-syn) for Parkinson's
disease (PD) and toxic, aggregated forms of TDP43 for amyotrophic
lateral sclerosis (ALS)."
Narrated updates relating to ProMIS' unique approach and
capabilities can be found on the ProMIS website by clicking on the
links below:
- Click here for Chief Medical Officer Dr. James Kupiec's update on demonstrating early
proof-of-concept with biomarkers and focused patient
populations
- Click here for Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Neil Cashman's overview of ProMIS' unique
capability to design and develop antibodies selectively targeting
toxic misfolded proteins that are a root cause of neurodegenerative
diseases
- Click here for Chief Development Officer, Dr. Johanne Kaplan's podium presentation at the
Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC) 2019
showing selective targeting of toxic oligomers by PMN310, a
monoclonal antibody rationally designed for greater therapeutic
potency in AD
Corporate Highlights
- In June 2019, the Company
completed a private placement of 4,680,000 common share units at a
price of $0.25 per unit resulting in
gross proceeds of approximately $1,170,000 ($1,093,492 net of share issuance costs). Each
unit consisted of one common share and one common share warrant.
The common shares are subject to a four-month hold period from the
date of issuance. Each warrant is exercisable into one common share
at a price of $0.35 per share at any
time for five years.
- In May 2019, ProMIS announced the
identification of novel antibodies for AD with selectivity for the
neurotoxic form of tau. ProMIS leveraged its proprietary drug
discovery and development platform to identify several novel
antibodies that selectively bind toxic oligomers of tau. The
platform produced antibodies that meet a key success factor for a
viable Alzheimer's disease therapy: the ability to selectively
target the neurotoxic form of a protein, while sparing the normal
forms of the protein, a challenge that has contributed to recent
late-stage clinical trial failures. The platform not only generates
high-quality antibody candidates, it delivers powerful, validated
candidates in months versus years. Used in combination with new
biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease, researchers could dramatically
improve the success and speed of future therapy development
efforts.
- In June 2019, ProMIS presented
key data on monoclonal antibody PMN310 for AD at the Keystone
Symposium on Neurodegenerative Diseases: New Insights and
Therapeutic Opportunities. For nearly fifty years, the conference
has attracted the world's most accomplished researchers in
neurodegenerative diseases to discuss future directions in therapy
and care. ProMIS Chief Development Officer Dr. Johanne Kaplan presented data showing that
PMN310 possesses superior selectivity for amyloid beta toxic
oligomers and improved therapeutic potential compared with other
amyloid beta-directed antibodies.
- Scientific Advisory Board Appointment
In June 2019, the Company
appointed C. Warren Olanow, MD,
FRCPC, FAAN, FRCP(Hon) to its scientific advisory board (SAB). Dr.
Olanow has dedicated his career to the study of neurodegeneration,
particularly Parkinson's disease, through his work in academia,
scientific research, clinical trials and professional societies. He
is the previous Henry P. and Georgette Goldschmidt Professor and
Chairman of the Department of Neurology at the Mount Sinai School
of Medicine in New York City and
is presently Professor Emeritus in the Department of Neurology and
in the Department of Neuroscience. He also serves as Chief
Executive Officer of CLINTREX, a pharmaceutical advisory firm that
has designed numerous clinical trials in neurodegenerative disease
for the pharmaceutical industry.
Financial Results
Results of Operations – Three months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018
Net loss for the three months ended June
30, 2019 was $1,858,530,
compared to a net loss of $2,214,861
for the three months ended June 30,
2018, respectively. Included in the net loss amount
for the three months ended June 30,
2019 were non-cash expenses of $153,461, representing share-based compensation
and amortization of an intangible asset, compared to $173,544 for the three months ended June 30, 2018. The decrease in the net loss
in the three months ended June 30,
2019 reflects a decrease in costs associated with external
contract research organizations for internal programs, patent costs
and share-based compensation offset by increased consultant
salaries and associated costs and general corporate
expenditures.
Research and development expenses for the three months ended
June 30, 2019 were $1,042,618, as compared to $1,531,075 in the three months ended June 30, 2018. The decrease in research and
development expense for the three months ended June 30, 2019 is primarily attributed to
decreased costs associated external contract research organizations
for internal programs and patent costs offset by higher contracted
research salaries and associated costs, and higher share-based
compensation.
General and administrative expenses for the three months ended
June 30, 2019 were $815,937, as compared to $683,786 in the three months ended June 30, 2018. The increase in general and
administrative expense for the three months ended June 30, 2019 is primarily attributable to
increased consultant salaries and associated costs and general
corporate expenditures offset by decreased share-based
compensation.
Results of Operations – Six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018
Net loss for the six months ended June
30, 2019 was $4,305,107,
compared to a net loss of $3,771,733
for the six months ended June 30,
2018, respectively. Included in the net loss amount
for the six months ended June 30,
2019 were non-cash expenses of $417,334, representing share-based compensation
and amortization of an intangible asset, compared to $502,555 for the six months ended June 30, 2018. The increase in the net loss
in the six months ended June 30, 2019
reflects the costs associated with operating the Company's AD
therapeutics program, increased contracted research and consultant
salaries and associated costs and general corporate
expenditures.
Research and development expenses for the six months ended
June 30, 2019 were $2,813,271, as compared to $2,229,082 in the six months ended June 30, 2018. The increase in research and
development expense for the six months ended June 30, 2019 is primarily attributed to
increased spending on external contract research organizations for
internal programs, higher contracted research salaries and
associated costs, and higher share-based compensation offset by
reduced patent costs.
General and administrative expenses for the six months ended
June 30, 2019 were $1,491,861, as compared to $1,542,656 in the six months ended June 30, 2018. The decrease in general and
administrative expense for the six months ended June 30, 2019 is primarily attributable to
decreased share-based compensation offset by increased consultant
salaries and associated costs, general corporate expenditures and
foreign exchange.
Outlook
The Company will continue to build on its unique, proprietary
discovery and development platform to further characterize the
potential benefits of its programs selectively targeting toxic
aggregates of TDP43 and SOD1 in ALS, toxic forms of α-syn in PD and
other α-syn-related disorders, and toxic forms of tau and amyloid
beta in AD and other dementias to further support ongoing
pharmaceutical partnering discussions.
About ProMIS Neurosciences, Inc.
ProMIS Neurosciences, Inc. is a development stage biotechnology
company focused on discovering and developing antibody therapeutics
selectively targeting toxic oligomers implicated in the development
and progression of neurodegenerative diseases, in particular
Alzheimer's disease (AD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and
Parkinson's disease (PD). The Company's proprietary target
discovery platform is based on the use of two complementary
thermodynamic, computational discovery engines -ProMIS and
Collective Coordinates – to predict novel targets known as Disease
Specific Epitopes on the molecular surface of misfolded proteins.
Using this unique precision approach, the Company is developing
novel antibody therapeutics for AD, ALS and PD. ProMIS is
headquartered in Toronto, Ontario,
with offices in Cambridge,
Massachusetts. ProMIS is listed on the Toronto Stock
Exchange under the symbol PMN, and on the OTCQB Venture Market
under the symbol ARFXF.
Company documents relating to the fiscal year 2018 annual report
and fiscal year 2019 quarterly reports can be viewed on the System
for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) at the link
below:
https://www.sedar.com/search/search_en.htm
Visit us at www.promisneurosciences.com or follow us
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The TSX has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility
for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This information
release contains certain forward-looking information. Such
information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and
other factors that may cause actual results, performance or
achievements to be materially different from those implied by
statements herein, and therefore these statements should not be
read as guarantees of future performance or results. All
forward-looking statements are based on the Company's current
beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently
available to it as well as other factors. Readers are cautioned not
to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which
speak only as of the date of this press release. Due to risks and
uncertainties, including the risks and uncertainties identified by
the Company in its public securities filings, actual events may
differ materially from current expectations. The Company disclaims
any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events
or otherwise.
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SOURCE ProMIS Neurosciences Inc.
