Q4 2022 Immuneering Corporation Earnings Call
Operator: Welcome to the Immune Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2022 Financial Results and Corporate Update Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Following management's prepared remarks, we will hold a Q&A session. To ensure that we have ample time to address everyone's questions during the Q&A session, we would ask for a limit of one question and one follow-up question per person. To ask a question at that time, please press star, followed by 1.2. 1-1 on your touch-tone phone. As a reminder, this call is being recorded today, Monday, March 6, 2023. I would now like to turn the conference over to Lawrence Watts of Gilmartin Group. Please go ahead.
Speaker 3: at this time, all participants are in a listen only mode. Following management's prepared remarks, we will hold a Q&A session. To ensure that we have ample time to address everyone's questions during the Q&A session, we would ask for a limit of one question and one follow-up question per person.
Speaker 3: To ask a question at that time, please press star followed by 11 on your touch tone phone. As a reminder, this call is being recorded today, Monday, March 6, 2023. I would now like to turn the conference over to Lawrence Watts of Gilmartin Group. Please go ahead. We are now at left-hand side of Mcorr fingerboard.
Laurence Watts: Joining us on the call today from Immuneering are Chief Executive Officer Ben Diskin, Chief Scientific Officer Brett Hall, Chief Medical Officer Scott Barrett, and Vice President of Finance and Treasurer Mallory Murrill. During this conference call, management will make forward-looking statements, including statements relating to guidance and timing of data readouts for IMM1104 and I&D submission of IMM-415. These forward-looking statements are based on the company's current expectations and inherently involve significant risks and uncertainties. Our actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements.
Speaker 4: Thank you, Oparito.
Speaker 4: Joining us on the call today from Immunearing are Chief Executive Officer Ben Ziskin, Chief Scientific Officer Brett Hall, Chief Medical Officer Scott Barrett, and Vice President of Finance and Treasurer, Mallory Morales.
Speaker 4: During this conference call, management will make forward-looking statements, including statements relating to guidance and timing of data readouts for IMM 1.1.04 and IMD submission of IMM 6.4.1.5.
Speaker 4: These forward-looking statements are based on the company's current expectations and inherently involve significant risks and uncertainties.
Laurence Watts: As a result of these risks and uncertainty, factors that could cause results to be different from these statements include factors the company describes in the section titled risk factors in our annual report on Form 10.
Speaker 4: Our actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of these risks and uncertainties.
Speaker 4: Factors that could cause results to be different from these statements include factors the company describes in the section titled Risk Factors on our annual report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC today, March 6, 2023. Immunaring undertakes no duty or obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events, or changes in its expectations.
Laurence Watts: annual report on Form 10K filed with the SEC today, March 6, 2023. Immineering undertakes no duty or obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events, or changes in its expectations. With that, I will now turn the call over to Chief Executive Officer Ben Deskins.
Ben Diskin: Thank you, Lauren. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining our fourth quarter and full year 2022 Financial Result Conference, the first such call we are hosting in our company's 15-year history.
Speaker 4: With that, I will now turn the call over to Chief Executive Officer Ben Zescin.
Speaker 5: Thank you, Lauren. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining our fourth quarter and full year 2022 Financial Results Conference call.
Ben Diskin: Let me start by assuring you that we do not plan to host an earnings call every single quarter. We will probably do them more than once every 15 years though, maybe somewhere in the, Today we have a lot to say though about our plan for the upcoming year and about the timing of our ongoing clinical Our goal is to create medicines for large populations of cancer, And we took one giant leap in that direction in 2022, as the first patient was dose in our phase one to a trial of IMM-1104 for the treatment of RAS mutated solid We are proud to be a clinical stage oncology company thanks to years of hard work by so many immuniers.
Speaker 5: the first such call we are hosting in our company's 15-year history.
Speaker 5: Let me start by assuring you that we do not plan to host an earnings call every single quarter. We will probably do them more than once every 15 years though, maybe somewhere in between.
Speaker 5: Today we have a lot to say though about our plan for the upcoming year and about the timing of our ongoing clinical trial.
Speaker 5: Our goal is to create medicines for large populations with cancer patients.
Speaker 5: And we took one giant leap in that direction in 2022 as the first patient was dosed in our phase 1, 2A trial of IMM-1104 for the treatment of RAS mutated solid tumors.
Ben Diskin: And we are looking forward to sharing updates as the trial progresses. Before I cover our achievements in 2022 and recent events, let me first take a step back and give everyone context on our counterintuitive approach to drug development. It is our belief that the name of the game in cancer therapy is not how do you kill cancer cells. How do you kill cancer cells with less risk to the health system? It's all about therapy. And historically, that has been really hard.
Speaker 5: We are proud to be a clinical stage on college-y company thanks to years of hard work by so many engineers and we are looking forward to sharing updates as the trial proceeds.
Speaker 5: Before I cover our achievements in 2022 and recent events, let me first take a step back and give everyone context on our counterintuitive approach to drug development.
Speaker 5: It is our belief that the name of the game in cancer therapy is not how do you kill cancer cells, it's how do you kill cancer cells with less risk to the healthy cells.
Ben Diskin: And that's why cancer drugs are so commonly associated with such bad side, such poor tolerability. At Immuneering, we are developing what we believe is a fundamentally new way to achieve therapeutic index, a novel way to hit the tumor hard while going easy on the healthy, And we think it'll enable us to develop treatment with the potential to benefit large numbers of patients globally with wrath-driven Most companies either go narrow by developing medicines that target specific individual RAS mutations such as KRAS G12C, or they go broad and hit wild type raff and healthy cells and they hope to find a dose that harms the tumor more than the, In other words, unfortunately, this approach frequently leads to high They say no pain, no, We believe cancer patients deserve better. They deserve less pain and morgue.
Speaker 5: It's all about therapeutic index.
Speaker 5: historically that has been really hard and that's why cancer drugs are so commonly associated with such bad side effects such poor tolerability.
Speaker 5: At Immuniering, we are developing what we believe is a fundamentally new way to achieve therapeutic index, a novel way to hit the tumor hard while going easy on the healthy cells.
Speaker 5: And we think it will enable us to develop treatments with the potential to benefit large numbers of patients globally with RAS driven cancers.
Speaker 5: Most companies either go narrow by developing medicines that target specific individual rat mutations such as KRAS G12C, or they go broad and hit wild-type rats and healthy cells and they hope to find a dose that harms the tumor more than the patient.
Speaker 5: In other words, unfortunately, this approach frequently leads to high toxicity.
Speaker 5: In other words, unfortunately, this approach frequently leads to high toxicity. They say, no pain, no gain.
Ben Diskin: We are working to rewrite the rules to develop therapies that are designed to help patients with any mutations in KRAF, NRAF, or HRAF and that aim to provide more durable effects with better tolerability. Our approach utilizes a novel mechanism called Deep Cyclic Inhibition, which is designed to maximize therapeutic activity while providing improved tolerability and durability. We aim to do this by taking advantage of the fact that cancer cells are always on.
Speaker 5: We believe cancer patients deserve better. They deserve less pain and more gain.
Speaker 5: We are working to rewrite the rules to develop therapies that are designed to help patients with any mutation in KRAS, NRAS, or HRAS, and that aim to provide more durable effects with better tolerability.
Speaker 5: Our approach utilizes a novel mechanism called deep cyclic inhibition, which is designed to maximize therapeutic activity while providing improved tolerability and durability.
Speaker 5: We aim to do this by taking advantage of the fact that the cancer cells are always on. They need the MAP-10 news pathway all the time.
Ben Diskin: They need the MAPClinease pathway all the time, whereas healthy cells use the pathway more intermittently. And I'll have more to say about that in a short time. But first, we needed to figure out how to describe our approach. And there really wasn't an existing prefix or a suffix that worked.
Speaker 5: whereas healthy cells use the pathway more intermittently.
Speaker 5: and I'll have more to say on that shortly.
Speaker 5: But first, we needed to figure out how to describe our approach.
Speaker 5: and there really wasn't an existing prefix or a suffix that worked.
Speaker 5: The closest ones were multi and pan, and it's not wrong to say we see pan-RAS activities pre-clinically.
Ben Diskin: The closest ones were multi and pan, and it's not wrong to say we see pan-rass activities preclinically. Pan is a prefix from the ancient Greek and it sounds like cookware and it just doesn't capture the excitement and the newness of what we are trying to, Importantly, both pan and multi tend to be associated with therapies that do not distinguish between the wild type rafts and healthy cells and the mutant raft in cancer cells, which raises concerns about therapeutic index and long-term tolerability for those, So we adopted a phrase that aptly describes this uniquely broad approach and our fundamentally new way of achieving therapeutic index, and it's universal rap.
Speaker 5: But pan is a prefix from the ancient Greek and it sounds like cookware and it just doesn't capture the excitement and the newness of what we are trying to accomplish.
Speaker 5: Importantly, both PAN and MULTI tend to be associated with therapies that do not distinguish between the wild type rats and healthy cells and the mutant rats and cancer cells.
Speaker 5: which raises concerns about therapeutic index and long-term tolerability for those therapies.
Speaker 5: So we adopted a phrase that aptly describes this uniquely broad approach and our fundamentally new way of achieving therapeutic index and it's universal wrath.
Speaker 5: I'm being a bit lighthearted about the name, but let me assure you that we believe the potential for universal RAS activity is incredibly serious and incredibly important to cancer patients and to their oncologists.
Speaker 5: The potential of our approach is supported by our preclinical data, and we are sharing some of our modeling data this week at the AACR Targeting RAS conference.
Ben Diskin: And I'm being a bit lighthearted about the name, but let me assure you that we believe the potential for universal RAS activity is incredibly serious and incredibly important to cancer patients and to their oncology. The potential of our approach is supported by our preclinical data, and we are sharing some of our modeling data this week at the AACR meeting targeting RASP. As described in our poster presentation, we tested 132 different cancer cell line models in our proprietary humanized 3D tumor growth assays in our labs in San Diego, including 75 models with RASMUTE.
Speaker 5: As described in our poster presentation, we tested 132 different cancer cell line models in our proprietary humanized 3D tumor growth assays in our labs in San Diego, including 75 models with RAP mutation.
Speaker 5: poster presentation, we tested 132 different cancer cell line models in our proprietary humanized 3D tumor growth assays in our labs in San Diego, including 75 models with RAS mutations. 75.
Speaker 5: We're not saying that every single RAS mutant model responds.
Speaker 5: but 64 of the 75 models tested, or approximately 85 percent did respond, and at least one model displayed response to IMM1104 for each observed RAS mutation regardless of the mutation position or amino acid substitution.
Ben Diskin: We're not saying that every single RAS mutant model responds. 64 of the 75 models tested, or approximately 85% did respond, and at least one model displayed a response to IMM-1104 for each observed RASC mutation, regardless of the mutation position or amino acid sequence. So this preclinical data suggests there's no RAS mutation we know of that's off-limits to IMM-110. And for our clinical trial enrollment criteria, any solid tumor patient with any mutation in K-RAS, N-RAS, or H-RAS is eligible to be screened for our phase-1 study. As a result of these broad inclusion criteria and the robust preclinical data we have generated to date, we're seeing great enthusiasm from our clinical investigation.
Speaker 5: So this preclinical data suggests there's no RAS mutation we know of that's off-limits IMM 1104.
Speaker 5: And for our clinical trial enrollment criteria, any solid tumor patient with any mutation in KRAS, NRAS, or HRAS is eligible to be screened for our Phase 1 trial.
Speaker 5: As a result of these broad inclusion criteria and the robust preclinical data we have generated to date, we're seeing great enthusiasm from our clinical investigators.
Speaker 5: And one indicator of that is the fact that we chose the first patient less than two months after receiving IND clearance.
Speaker 5: With enrollment ongoing, we are today providing guidance on when we could expect to report initial data readouts from the trial.
Speaker 5: Currently, we expect to share initial PK and safety data in mid-2023, initial pharmacodynamics, and updated PK and safety data in the second half of 2023.
Ben Diskin: And one indicator of that is the fact that we dosed the first patient less than two months after receiving IND. With enrollment ongoing, we are today providing guidance on when we could expect to report initial data readouts from the tribe.
Speaker 5: The announcement of a recommended Phase II dose and additional safety data in mid-2024 with additional trial updates on a periodic basis. We believe human PK data is a particularly important milestone for IMM-1104 because PK is such an important part.
Ben Diskin: Currently, we expect to share initial PK and safety data in mid-20203, initial pharmacodynamic, and updated PK and safety data in the second half of 2020, and the announcement of a recommended phase two dose and additional safety data in mid-20204, with additional trial updates on a periodic basis. We believe human PK data is a particularly important milestone for IMM1104 because PK is such an important part of how IMM1104 achieves universal RAS activity in pre-clinical studies.
Speaker 5: of how IMM 1104 achieves universal RAS activity in preclinical studies.
Speaker 5: I mentioned earlier that malignant cells depend on continuous signaling of the pathway, while the healthy cells can tolerate more interruptions.
Speaker 5: But one of the rules of targeted cancer therapy has been chronic pathway inhibition, which means if a pathway is locked on by a driver mutation, you must lock it off or chronically ablate it 24-7.
Speaker 5: And the problem with this approach is that healthy cells use the MAP kinase pathway too. We have this pathway for reasons other than for cancer to hijack it.
Speaker 5: But the conventional wisdom is you make drugs with long half-lives and they're dosed in such a way as to always maintain target occupancy.
Ben Diskin: I mentioned earlier that malignant cells depend on continuous signaling of the pathway, while healthy cells can tolerate more interruption. But one of the rules of targeted cancer therapy is chronic pathway inhibition, which means if a pathway is locked on by a driver mutation, you must lock it off or chronically ablate it 24-7. And the problem with this approach is that healthy cells use the MAP Kinase Pathway 2. We have this pathway for reasons other than for cancer to hijack.
Speaker 5: to maintain a drug trial.
Speaker 5: And it's intuitive, right? To shut down the pathway 24-7. But if we keep doing the intuitive thing, we'll keep getting the same results. The old no-pain-no-gain philosophy.
Speaker 5: So we decided to rewrite the rules in the design of IMM 1104.
Speaker 5: IMM 1104 began with a counterintuitive observation from our disease-canceling technology platform that earlier time points did a better job of reversing disease at the transcriptomic level than later ones. And that helped us to realize that you may not actually have to shut down the pathway 24-7. This'll end it there.
Speaker 5: You just have to prevent it from being on 24x7.
Ben Diskin: But the conventional wisdom is you make drugs with long half-lives, and they're dosed in such a way as to always maintain target oxygen levels to maintain a drug trial. And it's intuitive, right, to shut down the pathway 24-7. But if we keep doing the intuitive thing, we'll keep getting the same result.
Speaker 5: So we designed IMM-1104 to pulse the tumor with a many-fold higher refraction Cmax, or in plain English, a very high peak drug exposure.
Speaker 5: Yet, we also have a short half-life in order to enable sufficient inhibition of the pathway while still achieving a near-zero drug trough to allow the drug to clear the system and reset the pathway each day.
Speaker 5: A process we call deep cyclic innovation.
Ben Diskin: The old no pain, no gain philosophy. So we decided to rewrite the rules in the design of IMM1105. IMM-1104 began with a counterintuitive observation from our disease cancelling technology platform that earlier time points did a better job of reversing disease at the transcriptomic level than later ones. And that helped us to realize that you may not actually have to shut down the pathway 24-7, you just have to prevent it from being on 24.
Speaker 5: So our approach aims for every day to be a drug holiday for the healthy cells and every day to be judgment day for the tumor.
Speaker 5: IMM-114 has demonstrated preclinical activity with strong tumor growth inhibitions in each animal model we have tested.
Speaker 5: including KRAS G12C, KRAS G12F, KRAS G12C, KRAS G12V, as well as NRAS mutant animal models.
Speaker 5: And as I said earlier, we can now also say approximately 85% of the 75 RAS mutant models we tested in our humanized 3D tumor growth assay responded to IMM1104.
Ben Diskin: So we design IMM1104 to pulse the tumor with a manyfold higher refraction, CMAX, or in plain English, a very high peak drug exposure. Yet we also have a short half-life in order to enable sufficient inhibition of the pathway while still achieving a near-zero drug trough to allow the drug to clear the system and reset the pathway each time, a process we call deep, cyclic innovation. So our approach aims for every day to be a drug holiday for the healthy cells, and every day to be judgment day for the tumors. IMM-1104 has demonstrated pre-clinical activity with strong tumor growth inhibition in each animal model we have tested, including KRAF G12C, KRAF G12F, KRAF G12F, KRAS, KRAS G12V, as well as NRAS mutant animal models.
Speaker 5: This position is IMM1104 to be the first and only MAPClinase pathway inhibitor with the potential for universal RAS activity.
Speaker 5: Achieving that in humans depends on good tolerability with a short half-life and a high CMAT. And that's why the PK and safety data we expect to share in mid-2023 is so important.
Speaker 5: If IMM 1104 achieves in humans anything like what we have observed pre-clinically, I believe it has the potential to be truly game-changing for large numbers of cancer patients in the near term.
Speaker 5: This is also a serious responsibility and it requires our full focus and our undivided attention.
Speaker 5: So, we have made the decision to suspend our early-stage neuroscience programs and focus on ongoing development activities solely in oncology.
Speaker 5: Suspension of our neuroscience programs as well as other non-core adjustments
Ben Diskin: And as I said earlier, we can now also say approximately 85% of the 75 RAS mutin models we tested in our humanized 3D tumor growth assays responded to IMM110. This position is IMM-1104 to be the first and only MAP-Kinase pathway inhibitor with the potential for universal RASXX. Achieving that in humans depends on good tolerability with a short half-life and a high C- And that's why the PK and safety data we expect to share in mid-20203 is so important.
Speaker 5: extends our projected cash runway by one quarter into the fourth quarter of 2024, which is reflected in the updated runway guidance we have provided today.
Speaker 5: The Oncology Pipeline, which is now our sole focus, started less than five years ago as a research project by an extraordinary consultant named Brett Hall, who subsequently became our chief scientific officer.
Speaker 5: Let me now turn the call over to Brett to say a few words about our unique approach and our latest data. Thank you, Ben.
Speaker 5: I'd like to start off by highlighting a key factor that we believe truly differentiates immunaring from other biotech companies in the oncology space.
Ben Diskin: If IMM-1-110-o-4 achieves in humans anything like what we have observed preclinically, I believe it has the potential to be truly game-changing for large numbers of cancer patients in the nearer. This is also a serious responsibility, and it requires our full focus and our undivided attention. So, we have made a decision to suspend our early stage neuroscience programs and focus ongoing development activities solely on oncology. The suspension of our neuroscience programs, as well as other non-core adjustments, extends our projected cash runway by one quarter into the fourth quarter of 2024, which is reflected in the updated runway guidance we have provided today.
Speaker 5: R.A. is to develop drugs for larger patient population using translational bioinformatics and humanized 3D tumor growth assets.
Speaker 5: We believe this approach enables us to design drug candidates with distinguishing features that select for a favorable activity and toxicity profile.
Speaker 5: One example of this application is the pharmacokinetics and target engagement of our lead asset IMM1-104.
Speaker 5: IMM1-104 was designed to have a short half-life that can lead to many-fold higher drug-free fractions while still achieving near-zero drug trough.
Speaker 5: We believe this profile enables deep cyclic pathway inhibition. We also designed IMM 104 to overcome resistance from C-RAP bypass.
Speaker 5: We said that we project approximately a two hour half-life in humans.
Speaker 5: which is much shorter when compared to other mech inhibitors in the space that have up to multi-day half-life.
Ben Diskin: The oncology pipeline, which is now our sole focus, started less than five years ago as a research project by an extraordinary consultant named Brett Hall, who subsequently became our chief scientific officer. Let me now turn the call over to Brett to say a few words about our unique approach and our latest discovery. Thank you, Ben.
Speaker 5: Our preclinical data suggests potential for robust activity in pancreatic cancer, melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer, colorectal cancer, and other solid tumors with RAS mutant disease.
Speaker 5: Using humanized 3D tumor growth assays followed by select and vivo studies, we have identified NRAS driven melanoma and KRAS driven pancreatic cancer.
Speaker 5: as two potential high-currency indications that we believe are both largely unaddressed and may be broadly sensitive to IMM-1-104.
Brett M. Hall: I'd like to start off by highlighting a key factor that we believe truly differentiates immunineering from other biotech companies in the oncology space. Our aim is to develop drugs for larger patient populations using translational bioinformatics and humanized 3D tumor growth tests. We believe this approach enables us to design drug candidates with distinguishing features that select for a favorable activity and toxicity profile. One example of this application is the pharmacokinetics and target engagement of our lead asset, IMM1104.
Speaker 5: But as Ben mentioned earlier, we have reported on 132 tumor models that span over a dozen tumor types with various mutational profiles.
Speaker 5: and we observed broad activity in 64 out of the 75 models, or approximately 85%, that display mutant grass.
Speaker 5: And there was no specific RAS mutation where we didn't see potential activity.
Speaker 5: Additionally, our translational research team is further evaluating KRAS mutant lung cancer and KRAS mutant colorectal cancer to identify biomarkers that enrich for highest potential for monotherapy response.
Speaker 5: In 2022, Immunaring presented three abstracts on two programs, two at the American Society of Clinical Oncology, or ASCO, in May of 2022, and one at the CITSE annual meeting in November of 2022.
Brett M. Hall: IMM1104 was designed to have a short half-life that can lead to many-fold higher drug-free fraction while still achieving near-zero drug trough. We believe this profile enables deep cyclic pathway inhibition. We also designed IMM104 to overcome resistance to CRAF 500.
Speaker 5: The first abstract, a head-to-head comparison of IMM1-104 versus Sotaracib or Adagrassib in KRAS mutant pancreatic cancer demonstrated lack of tumor growth inhibition by both Sotaracib and Adagrassib in the KRAS G12V mutant CAPN2 pancreatic ductile adenocarcinoma tumor model.
Brett M. Hall: We said that we project approximately a two hour half-life, which is much shorter when compared to other MEC inhibitors in the space that have up to multi-day half-life. Our preclinical data suggests potential for robust activity in pancreatic cancer, melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer, colorectal cancer, and other solid tumors with Rasmuton disease. Using humanized 3D tumor growth assays, followed by SelectinVivo studies, we have identified NRAS-driven melanoma and K-RAS-driven pancreatic as two potential high priority indications that we believe are both largely unaddressed and may be broadly sensitive to IMM104.
Speaker 5: In contrast, IMM1-104 observed tumor growth inhibitions of 49 to 84 percent across all doses and schedules tested. Consistent with other IMM1-104 and vivo studies, median body weight was no more than 3 to 6 percent at the top doses.
Speaker 5: The second abstract we presented at ASCO found KRAS mutant pancreatic cancer and NRAS mutant melanoma were the most broadly sensitive to IMM-104 in patient-aligned 3D human tumor growth assays and thus are included among the expected target indications for immunarians phase 1 to a clinical trial.
Speaker 5: Finally, the third abstract presented at CITSE highlighted the preclinical activity of our second pipeline asset, IMM6415, as a single agent as well as a combination therapy with checkpoint inhibitors in ras-mut-and-cholorectal cancer and non-small cell lung cancer models driven by diverse MAP kinase pathway mutations. IMM6415, in combination with immuno-oncology agents, is a single agent.
Brett M. Hall: But, as Ben mentioned earlier, we have reported on 132 tumor models that span over a dozen tumor types with various mutational profiles, and we observe broad activity in 64 out of the 75 models, or approximately 85%, that display mutant wrath.
Speaker 5: may have the potential to overcome resistance in the map county's pathway and to provide deeper and more durable responses.
Speaker 5: We expect to file the IND with the FDA for IMM 6415 in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Brett M. Hall: And there was no specific RAS mutation where we didn't see potential activity. Additionally, our translational research team is further evaluating K-Rass mutant lung cancer and K-Rast mutant colorectal cancer to identify biomarkers that enrich for the highest potential for monotherapy response. In 2022, Immuneering presented three abstracts on two programs, two at the American Society of Clinical Oncology, or ASCO, in May of 2022, and one at the SITC annual meeting in November of 2020.
Speaker 5: As Ben mentioned, for IMM1-104, we expect to share initial Phase 1 pharmacokinetic and safety data in mid-2023. With that, I'll turn the call over to Scott to share an update on our Phase 1 clinical trial program.
Speaker 5: Thank you, Brett. Just before you do that, if I could just say that Scott joined our team in 2019, and at the time everyone said, why do you need a chief medical officer when you're a few years from the clinic? And we said two reasons. We want a clinician's perspective in our preclinical development, and so we can lay all the groundwork to really hit the ground running in phase one. And I'm really proud of what a great team Scott has built.
Speaker 6: And what a great job they've done getting our trial up and running.
Speaker 6: trial up and running. So with that, over to you Scott.
Brett M. Hall: The first abstract, a head-to-head comparison of IMM-104 versus Soteracib or Etagrasib in K-Ras mutant pancreatic cancer demonstrated lack of tumor growth inhibition by both Soteracib and Etagrasib in the KRAS G12V mutant cap and 2 pancreatic ductylidecic carcinoma tumor model. In contrast, IMM1104 observed tumor growth inhibitions of 49 to 84% across all Consistent with other IMM1-104 in vivo studies, the medium body weight was no more than 3 to 6% at the top dose.
Speaker 7: Thank you, Brett and Ben. I'm delighted about the progress that we're making in our first Inhuman Clinical Trial, evaluating IMM-1104 in a Phase I, IIa open-label study designed to evaluate safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and the
Speaker 7: and preliminary efficacy.
Speaker 7: IMM-1104 is administered as a once daily coral monotherapy for adult cancer patients with wrapped mutated solid tumors in an advanced setting. Hand or trial requires that they have already failed at least one line of systemic standard of care treatment. This stage 1 open-label study utilizes a Bayesian MTPI-2 escalation.
Brett M. Hall: The second abstract we presented at ASCO found K-Rasmuton pancreatic cancer and N-Rasmuton melanoma were the most broadly sensitive to IMM 104 in patient-aligned 3D human tumor growth assays and thus are included among the expected target indications for immunineering phase 1, 2A clinical trial. Finally, the third abstract presented at Sissy highlighted the preclinical activity of our second pipeline asset, IM6-415, as a single agent as well as a combination therapy with checkpoint inhibitors in Rasmute and colorectal cancer and non-small cell lung cancer models driven by diverse MAP-Kinase pathway mutations. I.M6-415, in combination with immune oncology agents, may have the potential to overcome resistance in the MAP-Kinase pathway and provide deeper and more durable responses.
Speaker 7: This is expected to segue into a phase 2A dose expansion in approximately 160 total patients in four parallel cohorts, which independently evaluate monotherapy treatment effect in RAS mutated melanoma, pancreatic cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, and colorectal cancer.
Speaker 7: The primary endpoint of the Phase II trial will be response rate, defined by objective radiographic response assessment, measured by radiographic imaging changes from pretreatment baseline. This is first observed for each patient at two months and continues every eight weeks thereafter.
Speaker 7: for patients receiving benefit from study drug for up to 48 weeks of treatment. Overall, we've received great enthusiasm from our investigators across five clinical sites in the United States who are all eager to enroll patients as soon as possible. In fact, we have a robust wait list for patients.
Ben Diskin: We expect to file the I&D with the FDA for IMM6-415 in the fourth quarter of 2023. As Ben mentioned, for IMM1-104, we expect to share initial phase one pharmacokinetic and safety data in mid-20203. With that, I'll turn the call over to Scott to share an update on our Phase 1 clinical trial program. Brett, Brett, thank you. Just before you do that, if I could just say that Scott joined our team in 2019, and at the time, everyone said, "Why do you need a chief medical officer when you're a few years from the clinic?" And we said two reasons.
Speaker 7: Our Phase 1 program is now open to all comers with evidence of any RAS mutation, including KRAS, NRAS, and H-RAS, as IMM1104 has been designed to be broadly active in tumors addicted to MAP kinase pathway signaling.
Speaker 7: In November 2022, we successfully dosed our first patient in the trial.
Speaker 7: For the time being, that's all we've disclosed, but I expect that much more to say in the coming months as we begin to share data from the trial, as Ben has laid out in today's guide and dr log to help you generate that correct information and that, again, you're looking to go once and you're continuing that misperception of guidance.
Speaker 7: So with that, I'll turn the call over to Mallory to cover our fourth quarter and full year financial.
Speaker 8: Thank you, Scott. In addition to the financial results summarized in our press release we issued earlier today, I will share some key financial highlights on this call. You can also find additional information in our Form 10-K that was also issued earlier today.
Ben Diskin: We want a clinician's perspective on our pre-clinical development, so we can lay all the groundwork to really hit the ground running in phase one. And I'm really proud of what a great team Scott has built and the great job they've done getting our trial up. So with that, over to you.
Speaker 8: As of December 31, 2022, our cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities were 105.5 million compared with 150.2 million as of December 31, 2021.
Speaker 8: Operating expenses for the fourth quarter of 2022 were $14 million compared with $11.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2021. Full year 2022 operating expenses were $51.9 million compared to $34.8 million for full year 2021. Please like, subscribe and share this video.
Scott Barrett: Thank you, Brett and Ben. I'm delighted about the progress that we're making in our first human clinical trial evaluating IMM-1104 in a phase 1-2A open-label study designed to evaluate safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and preliminary efficacy. IMM-1104 is administered as a once daily oral monotherapy for adult cancer patients with rat mutated solid tumors in an advanced setting, and or trial requires that they've already failed at least one line of systemic standard of care treatment.
Speaker 8: The increase in total operating expenses in 2022 was primarily due to the advancement of IMM-1104 through IND and into our Phase I-2A clinical trial, as well as employee-related costs due to increased headcount. That loss attributable to common stockholders was $13.2 million for the current
Scott Barrett: This phase one open-label study utilizes a Bayesian MTPI2 escalation design for IMM1104. This includes a dose escalation phase and a dose evaluation phase in order to evaluate safety and establish an optimized recommended phase two dose, or RP2D, candidate in mid-2020. This is expected to segue into a phase 2A dose expansion in approximately 160 total patients in four parallel cohorts, which will independently evaluate monotherapy treatment effects in rath mutated melanoma, pancreatic cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, and colorectal cancer.
Speaker 8: 3.5 million for the full year 2021.
Speaker 8: As of February 27, 2023, we have 26,436,109 shares outstanding. In terms of our cash runway, management expects our cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities to be sufficient to fund operations into the fourth quarter of 2024.
Speaker 8: That concludes the financial update and I'll now turn my call back over to Ben.
Speaker 6: Thank you, Mallory. Mallory and her team are doing a phenomenal job and we're very lucky to have them.
Speaker 6: Let me wrap things up by saying that nobody should be dying of cancer in 2023. I'll say that again.
Speaker 6: Nobody should be dying of cancer in 2023. Cancer doesn't work by magic, not some paranormal force. It operates by a set of biological mechanisms that are actually well understood. It's just really good at hiding among the healthy cells and it essentially hijacked the person's body and take them hostage. The challenges.
Scott Barrett: The primary endpoint of the phase two trial will be response rate, defined by objective radiographic response assessment, measured by radiographic imaging changes from pre-treatment baseline. This is first observed for each patient at two months and continues every eight weeks thereafter for patients receiving benefit from the study drug for up to 48 weeks of treatment. Overall, we've received great enthusiasm from our investigators across five clinical sites in the United States, who are all eager to enroll patients as soon as possible.
Speaker 6: How do you kill the hijackers with less risk to the hostages? How do you achieve a therapeutic index? And to date, companies have either gone narrow by targeting a single mutation such as KRAS G12C, or they've gone broad, but in a way that hits wild-type rats and healthy cells. At Immuniering, we believe it's time to go broad.
Speaker 6: We believe that deep cyclic inhibition represents a fundamentally new way of focusing the activity against the malignant cells.
Speaker 6: of taking out the hijackers with less risk to the hostages. It's time to make medicine with the potential for universal RAS activity. In the past 24 hours, we've released new preclinical data we'll be showing at AACR Targeting RAS this week, which is a tour de force in demonstrating the universal RAS activity of IMM-1104 in preclinical models.
Scott Barrett: In fact, we have a robust wait list for patients. Our phase one program is now open to all comers with evidence of any RAS mutations, including KRAF, NRAS, and H-RAS, as IMM-1104 has been designed to be broadly active in tumors addicted to the MAP kinase pathway signaling. In November 2022, we successfully dosed our first patient in the trials. For the time being, that's all we've disclosed, but I expect that we will have much more to say in the coming months as we begin to
Speaker 6: our clinical trials moving forward rapidly because our enrollment criteria are truly universal rats.
Speaker 6: and soon it will be time to share data showing how that deep cyclic inhibition is playing out in humans.
Speaker 6: We believe 2023 is shaping up to be immune-earings breakout year, and we aspire to make 2023 a year that marks an important turning point in the battle against cancer.
Scott Barrett: as we begin to share data from the trial, as Benet has laid out in today's guidance.
Speaker 6: With that, I'd like to thank all of our patients, clinical investigators, and stakeholders for their continued support of immunaring, and I look forward to updating you all in the coming months on our progress towards our goal of a universal RAP therapy for cancer patients.
Mallory Murrill: So with that, I'll turn the call over to Mallory to cover our fourth quarter and full-year financial results.
Mallory Murrill: Thank you, Scott. In addition to the financial results summarized in our press release we issued earlier today, I will share some key financial highlights on this call. You can also find additional information in our Form 10K that was also issued earlier today. As of December 31st, 2022, our cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities were 105.5 million, compared with 150.2 million as of December 31st, 2021. Operating expenses for the fourth quarter of 2022 were $14.4 million compared with $11.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2021.
Speaker 6: I will now open the call up for questions.
Speaker 3: Operator. As a reminder to ask a question, please press star 11 on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press star 11 again.
Speaker 3: Please stand by while we compile the Q&A roster.
Speaker 3: Our first question comes from the line of Swapnell Malkar from Piper Sandler.
Great. Thank you for taking my questions. I have a couple of them. First one is, can you comment on how many patients have been dosed in the 104 trial so far, and what is the extent of the data that will be presented in the mid-2023 update?
Hey, Swabh now, thanks for the question. We're really pleased with the progress of the trial. I think we provided very detailed guidance today, probably more granular than many companies often do. We're really excited to share the initial PK and the...
Mallory Murrill: Full year 2022 operating expenses were 51.9 million compared to 34.8 million for full year 2021. The increase in total operating expenses in 2022 was primarily due to the advancement of IMM-1104 through IND and into our Phase 1-2A clinical trial, as well as employee-related costs due to increased headcount. The net loss attributable to common stockholders was 13.2 million for the quarter ended December 31st, 2022, compared to 10.8 million for the quarter ended December 31st, 2021.
and safety data in mid-2023 and the rest of the data as we got online. Thank you so much.
Okay, and then I have one follow-up. So regarding the AACR poster tomorrow, what additional data does the poster include that has not been previously presented? And from this new clinical studies, are you seeing any specific trends in the data? So, I'm just going to go through
related to tumor types or mutation status that could inform your ongoing clinical trial in terms of patient selection. Thank you for taking my question.
Sure, thanks Swamil. I'll hand it over to Brett in a second to see if there's anything he wants to add. But the poster is available already on our website. And I think one of the key takeaways from the poster is really the universal RAS activity that we're seeing. The fact that about 85% of the...
Mallory Murrill: The net loss attributable to common stockholders for the full year 2022 was 50.5 million compared to 33.5 million for the full year 2021. As of February 27, 2023, we have 26,436,109 shares outstanding. In terms of our cash runway, management expects our cash, cash equivalence, and marketable securities to be sufficient to fund operations into the fourth quarter of 2024. That concludes the financial update, and I'll now turn the call back over to Ben.
cell lines that we tested with RAS mutations in the humanized 3D tumor growth assay are really responsive to IMM1104. And there's really no mutation that's not responsive. Every mutation has at least one model that's responsive. But let me see if there's anything Brett would like to add there.
Thanks, Ben. And hey, Swapna. Yeah, I would add that the poster is really a deep dive into a broad panel of tumor models that we've evaluated that have RAS and other MAP-county pathway and non-MAP-county pathway-driven mutations. It really is a deep look or a deep dive into our core platform, our human eyes.
Ben Diskin: Mallory. Nowary and her team are doing a phenomenal job, and we're very lucky to have them. Let me wrap things up by saying that nobody should be dying of cancer in 2020. I'll say that again.
Ben Diskin: Nobody should be dying of cancer in 2020. Cancer doesn't work by magic, not some paranormal force. It operates by a set of biological mechanisms that are actually well understood. It's just really good at hiding among the healthy cells, and it essentially hijacks the person's body and takes them to the hospital. The challenge is, how do you kill the hijackers with less risk to the hospital?
have all basically been embedded both in the 3D-TGA as well as in Viva.
So it's just really, thank you Brett, yeah so it's just really broadens the scope of models that we've released publicly and I think all of this contributes to the universal RAS activity that we've seen clinically and frankly supports the enrollment criteria for our clinical trial which is truly open to patients with any
mutation in K-Raps, N-Raps, or H-Raps. So with that, thanks for your question, Swapna.
Thank you. One moment for our next question. Our next question comes from the line of Michael Yee from Jeffries. Jeffries.
Ben Diskin: How do you achieve a therapeutic effect, And to date, companies have either gone narrow by targeting a single mutation, such as K-RAS G12C, or they've gone broad, but in a way that hits wild type RAS and helps. At Immuneering, we believe it's time to go broad, and we believe that deep cyclic inhibition represents a fundamentally new way of focusing the activity against the malignant cells, taking It's time to make medicine with the potential for universal raft activity.
Hi guys, this is Dina on from Mike. I just had a couple of quick questions and can grab the guy on the progress. What doses are you using right now, those escalate? Are the low doses that you're starting at therapeutic at all where we could potentially see responses?
in that mid-2023 or second half update. I know you just only said that you would be seeing or sharing PK, PD, and safety data, but just wondering if there is a potential for efficacy data or dose response data that we'd see there. And I guess another thing, if you could just share some more color on.
the PD modeling that you are planning to share in the second half, what does that entail and what type of biomarkers are you really looking to share there? Thank you.
Ben Diskin: In the past 24 hours, we've released new preclinical data that will be showing at AACR targeting RAS this week, which is a tour de force in demonstrating the universal RAS activity of IMM1104 in preclinical models. And our clinical trial is moving forward rapidly because our enrollment criteria are truly universal rapid. Soon, it will be time to share data showing how that deep cyclic inhibition is playing out in. We believe 2023 is shaping up to be an immunineering breakout year, and we aspire to make 2023 a year that marks an important turning point in the battle against cancer. With that, I'd like to thank all of our patients, clinical investigators, and stakeholders for their continued support of immunineering, and I look Operator.
Sure, yeah, thanks for the question. I can take the first part and I'll maybe hand it over to Brett to speak a bit to the second part. But again, we're really pleased with the progress of the trial. And I think we've provided some really granular guidance today that should hopefully be helpful in your Home
you know, really knowing when we're going to share data. So, you know, I think that's really what I'd say about the trial. And then, Brett, maybe you want to speak to some color on the PD model. Yeah, absolutely. Happy to. So, we're looking at two orthogonal pharmacodynamic assays. One is an induction-based assay, PPMCs, and the other is a
is an oncogene-driven PD assay where we're looking at reduction from baseline of a K-RAS-driven model. And so the key thing that we're looking for there, of course, is attenuation of the MAP kinase pathway at the level of the MAC in ERK.
Operator: As a reminder, to ask a question, please press star 1-1 on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press star 1-1 again. Please stand by while we compile the Q&A roster. Our first question comes from the line of Swapnell Mallcar from Piper Sandler.
I believe that was the question. I hope to back in the event.
Thank you. I guess just a quick follow up on safety. I know you guys are going to be sharing a lot of that data this year given that it's like a cyclical mech inhibition. What kind of talks profile are you guys looking to see that kind of, you know, give you give you conference around the hypothesis of cyclical inhibition if you don't mind?
Swapnell Mallcar: Great, thank you for taking my questions. I have a couple of them.
Yeah, thank you. So yeah, I mean, look, the tolerability that we've seen in preclinical models has been really quite good. So, you know, we've described that across the, you know, multiple animal studies that we've run, each of which have shown very strong tumor growth inhibition.
Swapnell Mallcar: The first one is, can you comment on how many patients have been dosed in the 104 trials so far and what is the extent of the data that will be presented in the mid-2020 update?
Ben Diskin: Hey Swabnell,
Ben Diskin: We're really pleased with the progress of the trial. And, you know, I think we provided very, very detailed guidance today, probably more granular than many companies often do. And, you know, we're really, really excited to share the initial PK and safety data in mid-20203 and the rest of the
in different models with different mutations in the RAS pathway, in each of those we've seen very little body weight loss, so no more than 3 to 6 percent body weight loss. So really good tolerability and I think that, as you heard in my comments, is really...
you know, really kind of the key thing. And, you know, I think seeing a short half-life is really important to that as well, right? I mean, I think that's fundamental to the deep cyclic inhibition mechanism, is seeing the short half-life, seeing the high Cmax.
Swapnell Mallcar: Okay, and then I have one follow-up. So regarding the AACR poster tomorrow, what additional data does the poster include that has not been previously presented? And from these new clinical studies, are you seeing any specific trends related to tumor types or mutation status that could inform your ongoing clinical trial in terms of patient selection? Thank you for taking my question. Sure, thanks, Swapnell.
many pulled higher C-max and you know so these are these are some of the things. Let me just let me see if Brett wants to add anything there.
No, I think you covered it well, Ben. Thanks again for that question. Let's take the next one.
Thank you. One moment for our next question. Our next question comes from the line of Yaron Werber from Cowen. Hi, this is Joyce Ahn from Yaron. Thanks for taking our question.
Ben Diskin: Sure, thanks, Swapnell. I'll hand it over to Brett in a second to see if there's anything he wants to add. But the, you know, the poster is already available on our website.
Maybe just a couple on IMM 6415. What additional preclinical data are you collecting right now? How are you thinking about your clinical development program and the potential design of a phase one trial? How are you thinking about your clinical development program and the potential design of a phase one trial?
Ben Diskin: You know, and I think, you know, one of the key takeaways from the poster is really the universal RAS activity that we're seeing, the fact that about 85% of the cell lines that we tested with RAS mutations and the humanized 3D tumor growth assay are really responsive to IMM-1104. And there's really no mutation that's, you know, that's not responsive, right? Every mutation has at least one model that's in that's responsive. But let me see if there's anything Brett, Brett would like to add there. Thanks, Ben. And hey, Slopno.
And how are you thinking about selection of focused tumor types versus what you're doing for IMM-1104? Thanks. Well, everyone wanted to speak to this question.
Thanks, Joyce, and we look forward to seeing you at your conference tomorrow. So, yeah, I mean, we're really excited about IMM 6415. It's on track to file the INV by the end of this year. And just as we're calling the next session, we're going to take a few minutes to get
calling IMM 1104 the universal RAS program. We're actually calling 415 a universal MATK program. And that's because we, really one of the key differences is that 6415 has a shorter half life. So we project that it'll end up being the idea twice a day.
Brett M. Hall: Yeah, I would add that the poster is really a deep dive into a broad panel of tumor models that we've evaluated that have RAS and other MAP-Kinease pathway-driven mutations. And it really is a deep look or a deep dive into our core platform, or humanized 3D tumor growth assay platform that we've used and have vetted additionally with in vivo studies on the back end. So including, you know, those that we've discussed before, like Miapaka, 85549, SKML2, and others, have all basically been vetted both in the 3D TGA as well as in VEVA.
in humans versus 104, which is of course once a day. We think that just kind of like tuning the dial on old-fashioned radio, tunes in a different station with a different frequency. We think that different cadence will be optimized for unique biology. We showed in our 50 posts, early last year responses as a monotherapy.
in rat and rat mutant disease, so there's the universal MAPK, as well as in combination with the immuno-oncology agent. But I think you can expect the clinical trial to really be focused initially on monotherapy.
you know, that's really our initial focus given the really nice data that we're seeing as a monotherapy. It's obviously a much clearer path to start as monotherapy, and I think therapies that can do that too. So we're certainly excited to pursue it as a monotherapy. And you know, the rest of the trial design.
Brett M. Hall: So it just really broadens the scope of models that we've released publicly, and I think all of this contributes to the, really, universal RAS activity that we've seen pre-clinically and, frankly, supports the enrollment criteria for our clinical trial, which is truly open to patients with any mutation in K-RAS, NRAF, or H-RF. So with that, thanks for your question, Sotland.
We'll talk about it in due course. Let me see, Scott, did I miss anything on the 415 design? Well, it's a work in progress. We're evolving it, but obviously the objective is to integrate multiple aspects of the map kind of pathway and that into that building.
include graft and graft-driven disease.
Operator: Thank you. One moment for our next question. Our next question comes from the line of Michael Yee from Jeffrey.
Thank you, Scott. Thanks. Thanks, Joe.
Thank you, Scott. Thanks. Thanks, Joe. Next question, please.
Thank you. One moment for our next question. Our next question comes from the line of Jeff Hung from Morgan Stanley . Thanks for taking my questions. I have two on this week's AACR data. You indicated that no particular mutation position or amino acid substitution was exclusively found to convert resistance to drug exposure. So, based on what you've seen in any event,
Dina: Hi guys, this is Dina on behalf of Mike. I just had a couple of quick questions, and congratulations again on the progress. What doses are you using right now, dose escalation, and are the low doses that you're starting at therapeutic at all, where we could potentially see responses in that mid-20203 or second half update? I know you only said that you would be seeing or sharing PK, PD, and safety data, but just wondering if there is a potential for efficacy data or response data that we would see there.
which mutations do you expect to be particularly challenging or relatively easier to treat? And then I have a follow up.
Sure. Hey, Jeff. Thanks for the question. You know, they're all... universal RAS means universal RAS. Yeah. You know, we've not seen any difference really among the different mutations at different positions in KRAS, NRAS, or HRAF in terms of sensitivity or resistance to 104.
Dina: And I guess another thing, if you could just share some more color on the PD modeling that you are planning to share in the second half, what does that entail, and what type of biomarkers are you really looking to share there? Thank you.
And I think that makes sense in that we target MEK, so we're targeting downstream of RAP. So it's logical that we sort of be agnostic to the specific mutation. Where we do start to see differences in responses, it really has to do with the mutations in other parallel pathways unrelated to MAP kinase.
Ben Diskin: Sure, yeah, thanks for the question. I can take the first part, and I'll maybe hand it over to Brett to speak a bit about the second part. But again, you know, we're really pleased with the progress of the trial. And I think we've provided some really granular guidance today that should hopefully be helpful in really knowing when we're going to share data. So, you know, I think that's what we're really like the way I'd say about the trial. And then Brett, maybe you want to speak to some color on the PD model. Yeah, absolutely happy to.
So for instance, we disclose that in our phase 2A and the colorectal cancer arm, we plan to look specifically at APC wild type patients who are K-Rap mutated. And that gives you a sense, for instance, that an APC mutation on a colorectal cancer model might be a little more challenging. But let me see if Brett wants to add anything to that, and then we'll take your second question.
Brett M. Hall: So we're looking at two orthogonal pharmacodynamic assays. One is an induction-based assay, PBMCs, and the other is an oncogene-driven PD-assay where we're looking at reduction from baseline in a K-REST-driven model. And so the key thing that we're looking for there, of course, is attenuation of the MAP-Kinase pathway at the level of MECNN. I believe that was the question. I'll turn back for you.
Yeah, absolutely. Hi Jeff. I would add, we've also discussed that really the drivers for resistance to 104 are not really the mutation profile upstream, whether that's a BRAF or KRAS, HS, NRAS. It really has to do with the profile of mutations in the given model.
And we've outlined this extensively, for example, in NRAS models where the NRAS mutation, you know, is something that sets up for utilization or addiction, but addiction is really defined by how many compensatory mutations and parallel pathways exist. And so the more of those events that you see, the lower likely of single agent response to IMM 104.
Dina: Yeah, thank you. I guess just a quick follow-up on safety. I know you guys are going to be sharing a lot of that data this year, given that it's like cyclical mech inhibition. What kind of talk profile are you guys looking to see that kind of, you know, gives you confidence around the hypothesis of cyclical inhibition, if you don't mind?
And that's part of what the mapping exercise for the AACR Targeting RAS Poster really starts to get at.
Great, thanks. And then the data were generated in 3D tumor growth assays. Would you expect some more broad activity in rodent models in humans? Thanks.
Ben Diskin: Yeah, thank you. So, yeah, I mean, look, the tolerability that we've seen in preclinical models has been really quite good. So, you know, we've described that across the multiple animal studies that we've run, each of which has shown very strong tumor growth inhibition in different models with different mutations in the RAS pathway. And in each of those, we've seen very little body weight loss, so no more than 3 to 6% body weight loss.
Brett, do you want to speak to that? Yeah, absolutely. So, yeah, so we've actually also disclosed that, so, for example, when you look at the depth of sensitivity or response in the 3D TGA, we've generally observed, in the models that we've already published and disclosed on, that the deeper responding models, such as MIA-PAKA2, which is the haira strain, is goingret narrated nature, not quite, we show it everywhere right now. It is based in events like this, and in fact is not captured in the surrounding data, compared to random rely, but it is referring to rates in terms of what is Shannon's
Ben Diskin: So really good tolerance. And I think that, as you heard in my comments, is really, you know, really kind of the key thing. And, you know, I think seeing a short half-life is really important to that as well, right? I mean, I think that's fundamental to the deep, deep-cyclogen emission mechanism, seeing the short half-life, seeing the high, the high C-max, many-fold higher C-Mex. And, you know, these are some of the things. But, let me just, let me see if Brett wants to add anything. No, I think you covered it well then.
cancer model that K-REST G12S as well as CAPIN-2 which is a pain-gratic cancer G12V model. Those have an intermediate response profile and we see stable disease or flat-lining the tumor if you will in vivo. And so basically when you start to look at the profiles and start to map out what those different response profiles are.
Brett M. Hall: Thanks again for that question. Let's take the next one.
Operator: Thank you. One moment for our next question. Our next question comes from Yaron Werber from Cowan.
Joyce: Hi, this is Joyce on for your own. Thanks for taking our question.
And then compare them to also we've disclosed on what we call upset plots, which are basically projections of the molecular characteristics that align with those models in patients. That you see the broadest single monotherapy response potential in KRAS pancreatic cancer and then rest melanoma. We also see very promising single agent monotherapy potential in KRAS mutant lung cancer as well as KRAS mutant colorectal cancer.
Joyce: Maybe just a couple on IMM6-415. What additional preclinical data are you collecting right now? How are you thinking about your clinical development program and the potential design of a phase one trial? And how are you thinking about selection of focused tumor types versus what you're doing for IMM-110?
And thanks, Brett. And I would just emphasize, Jeff, this is a really unique and proprietary capability that we have. So the 3D tumor growth assays, this is a proprietary assay that we have up and running at our labs in San Diego. And we highly encourage everyone to schedule a time to come visit those labs. We give a great tour.
Ben Diskin: Yeah, thanks for the, thanks Joyce, and we look forward to seeing you at your conference tomorrow. So yeah, I mean, we're really excited about IMM6, 415. It's on track to file the INV by the end of this year. And, you know, just as we're calling, you know, calling IMM1104, the Universal RAS program, we're actually calling 415 the universal MACK program. And that's because we, you know, really one of the key differences is that.
second only to Disneyland in popularity in Southern California. But it you know it really enabled us to very broadly assess the response profiles of
you know, of different different mutational profiles and and that proprietary view, I mean 132, right, how many companies we know that have run 132 models on their lead program and then, you know, that that really ties in elegantly with all the deep informatics capabilities that we've developed over the last 15 years.
Ben Diskin: that 645 has a shorter half. So we project that it'll end up being BID or twice a day in humans versus 104, which is, of course, once a day. And so we think that, you know, just kind of like tuning the dial on an old-fashioned radio tuns to a different station with a different frequency.
to create these plots that Brett described where we're actually projecting onto patient populations using real patient data to really identify and prioritize which, you know, which indications we think to kind of go after first. So it's really a you know, it's a platform that I think is very unique to immune hearing.
Ben Diskin: We think that different cadence will be optimized for unique biology. And we showed in our SIPC poster late last year, responses as monotherapies in RAPE and Rast mutant disease, so there's the universal MAPK, as well as in combination with amino oncology agents. But, you know, I think you can expect the clinical trial to really be focused initially on monotherapy. You know, that's really our initial focus, given the really nice data that we're seeing as monotherapy.
Hey, good afternoon. Thanks for taking our questions. You know, the first one kind of goes back to something Ben mentioned. I mean, this is a drug that acts on MEK, which is, of course, downstream from RAS. I guess I'm finding myself wondering why we should be at all surprised that this...
Ben Diskin: It's obviously a much, you know, a much clearer path to start as monotherapy. And I, you know, I think therapy is very good. can do that, so we're certainly excited to pursue it as a, as a monotherapy. And, you know, the rest of the trial design, you know, we'll talk about in due course. So let me see, Scott, did I miss anything on the 415? Well, it's a work in progress. We're evolving it. But obviously, the objective is to integrate, you know, multiple aspects of the
activity or observing is independent of specific rat mutations. Shouldn't that be the case for any mac inhibitor or is there something different with this one? And the second question is just with regard to the timing of initiation of expansion cohorts.
You know, we're talking about identifying a recommended phase 2 dose by middle of next year. Can we assume that's a prerequisite before initiation of expansion cohorts? Thank you.
Scott Barrett: multiple aspects of the MAP kinase pathway, and that will include RAS and RAS-driven disease. Thank you, Scott.
Hey Mark, thanks for the question. So you know you're right. In theory, MEK has always been a great target, right? But it really hasn't lived up to its potential yet. And I think really that's because the first generation MEK inhibitors...
Operator: Thank you. One moment for our next question. Our next question comes from the line of Jeff Hung for Morgan Stanley.
Jeff Hung: Thanks for taking my questions. I have two on this week's ACR data. You indicated that no particular mutation position or amino acid substitution was exclusively found to confer resistance to drug exposure. So based on what you've seen, which mutations do you expect to be particularly challenging or relatively easier to treat? And then we'll have a follow-up.
They really had two main challenges. Number one, they've been limited mainly to rap mutant disease. And secondly, they've really been quite toxic, very poorly tolerated. And I think that's really because, in part, because they've all been developed in the same old chronic inhibition paradigm, where you shut down the pathway 24-7.
You maintain a drug trial. You never let the level of drug get close to zero. And again, the problem is healthy cells need to map kinase pathway to. And so, you know, these these first-generation MEK inhibitors really
Ben Diskin: Sure, hey Jeff, thanks for the question. You know, they're all universal RAS means universal RAS. You know, we've not seen any difference, really, among the different mutations at different positions in K-RAS or H-RAS in terms of sensitivity or resistance to 104. And, you know, I think that makes sense in that we target MEC, so we're targeting downstream of RAS. So it's logical that, you know, we sort of are agnostic to the specific mutations.
which just kind of harm the, you know, or create challenges for the, the kind of pathway and healthy cells. And so I think that combined with the fact that they're, they're also also susceptible to a feedback loop called C-Rap bypass, that makes this, you know, really, really challenging to go after a rap mutant disease.
And so those were some of the design choices we made in creating 104. You know, we gave it the ability to block the RAP 5 pass. We gave it a, you know, the ability to cause a many fold higher CMACs to really hit the tumor hard. And then we gave it a very short half-life. So we've consistently said we've projected to our half-life humans.
Ben Diskin: You know, where we do start to see differences in response, it really has to do with the mutations in other parallel pathways unrelated to math kinase. So, for instance, we've disclosed that in our phase 2A trial in the colorectal cancer arm, we plan to look specifically at APC wild-type patients who are KRAP mutated. And that gives you a sense, for instance, that, you know, an A.R.R. you can see mutation in a colorectal cancer model might, you know, might be a little more challenging. But let me see if Brett wants to add anything to that, and then we'll take your second question. Yeah, absolutely. Hi Jeff.
And the combination of those things gives it, you know, the ability to hit the tumor hard, but then allow the pathway to reach that. It's, you know, it's really the idea, as I said earlier, you know, every day is a drug holiday for the healthy cells, and yet every day is a judging day for the tumor. And so, you know, every day is a judging day for the tumor.
I think that is why we have been able to go after MEK in a unique way that we think preclinically is living up to the full potential of MEK as a target. And you're right, conceptually MEK is a great target to...
Brett M. Hall: I would add, we've also discussed that really the drivers for resistance to 104 are not really the mutation profile upstream, whether that's a DRAF or KRAF, HRS, HHS, or NRAF. It really has to do with the profile of the, the mutation profile of the mutations in the given model.
to really target any mutation in RAP and really achieve that kind of universal RAP activity. Let me give Brett wants to add anything on your first question and we can talk about the second question. Yeah, just really quickly. Hi, Mark. So I would add...
Brett M. Hall: And we've outlined this extensively, for example, in NRAF models where the NRAF mutation, you know, is something that sets up for utilization or addiction. But addiction is really defined by how many compensatory mutations and parallel pathways exist. And so the more of those events that you see, the lower the likelihood of single agent response to IMM 104, and that's part of what the mapping exercise for the AACR targeting RAS poster really starts to get out. Great, thanks.
The strength, our core thesis is that deep cyclic inhibition with a novel engagement mechanism that prevents or resists the the C-RAP bypass and other bypass mechanisms is critical. And I think here is where a good example of the existing MEC inhibitors, their strength becomes their weakness, right?
There's 24-7 chronic inhibition, sustainably induces these adaptive resistance mechanisms that basically is kind of like a having a snow plow where the snow builds up in front of the plow and eventually just slows down the ability for the truck to be effective and removes snow. Very similar with mech inhibitors. And we have weak-
Jeff Hung: And then the data were generated in 3D tumor growth assays. Would you expect some more broad activity in rodent models and humans? Thanks.
Brett M. Hall: Brett, do you want to speak to that? Yeah, absolutely. So, yeah, so we've actually also disclosed that, so for example, when you look at the depth of sensitivity or response in the 3D TGA, we've generally observed in the models that we've already published and disclosed on, that the deeper responding models, such as Mia Paca 2, which is a K-RAS G-G-12C pancreatic cancer model, as well as SKML2, which is an NRAS mutin melanoma model, model, which are highly sensitive in the 3D TGA and actually show regressions or mid-cycle regressions in vivo, for those that have an intermediate response profile, such as A549, which is a non-small cell lung cancer model, that's K-REST, G12S, as well as KPAN2, which is a pancreatic cancer G12V model, those have an intermediate response profile, and we see stable disease or flatlining the tumor, if you will, in vivo.
from the other mechanism. Okay, I guess I'm also just wondering if you included any of the more conventional mechanism hipers in your screen against humanized food e-tumor models, if you saw any sort of difference there. I see your question. Yeah, so we haven't guided on that.
on our SKML2 model, where we saw mid-cycle regressions with 104, but really very minimal to no effect with full-dose binometinib.
Okay, great. And then with respect to the timing on expansion cohort? Yeah, yeah, thanks. Thanks for that second question, Mark. So given that RP2D stands for recommended phase two dose, I'll ask Scott to confirm this with his decades of clinical experience.
Brett M. Hall: So basically, when you start to look at the profiles and start to map out what those different response profiles are, and then compare them to what we've disclosed in what we call upset plots, which are basically projections of the molecular characteristics that align with those models in patients, you see the broadest single monotherapy response potential in KRAPancreatic cancer and in RASMelanoma. We also see very promising single-agent monotherapy potential in KRAS mutant lung cancer. as well as K-Rast mutant colorectal cancer. And thanks, Brett.
I think it would be hard to start the phase two until we have that recommended phase two dose. I think Mark is asking in the spirit. Can you hear me? Yes, yes. Sorry. In the spirit of dose optimization, we're proactively volunteering to have a dose evaluation phase, what we're calling internally phase one B. And so we'll come up with candidate dose or dose RP-2 dose candidates and then evaluate them further.
to make sure that we've selected the definitive one before we start phase 2a. So, yes, in answer to your question, Mark, we plan to complete dose escalation before we formally evaluate two or more dose candidates.
sure that we've selected the definitive one before we start phase 2a. So yes, in answer to your question, Mark, we plan to complete those escalations before we formally evaluate two or more of those candidates. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Ben Diskin: And I would just emphasize, Jeff, this is a really unique and proprietary capability that we have. So the 3D tumor growth assays, you know, this is a proprietary assay that we have up and running at our labs in San Diego. And we highly encourage everyone to schedule time to come visit those labs. We give a great tour. Second only to Disneyland in popularity in Southern California.
And thanks, that's a great point. And I first heard about the project optimist from Scott and his team years before it sort of sort of got the popular and gained a lot of prominence and attention. So we've been very focused on that from the early days. But thanks again, Mark, for your questions and I'll go on to the next question.
Ben Diskin: But, you know, it really enables us to very broadly assess the response profiles of, you know, different mutational profiles. And that proprietary view, I mean, 132, right? How many companies do we know that have run 132 models on their lead program? And then, you know, that really ties in elegantly with all the deep informatics capabilities that we've developed over the last 15 years to create these plots that Brett described, where we're actually projecting onto patient populations using real patient data.
Thank you. One moment for our next question. Our last question comes from the line of Michael Schmidt from Gubenheim Partners. Hey guys, thanks for taking my question. Just make a quick follow up on the phase one study. Based on me enrollment criteria, what?
two more histologies, would you expect to enroll a predominant plane? And based on that, as you think ahead towards you reaching more efficacious, more higher doses in the study, where would you expect to see early clinical activity? Thanks so much. Hey Michael, thanks for the questions and the last but still.
Ben Diskin: to really identify and prioritize which, you know, which indications we think to kind of go after first. So it's really a platform that I think is very unique to immune engineering that we're, that we're quite proud of.
Operator: Thank you, Jeff. Next question, please.
Operator: Thank you. One moment for our next question. Our next question comes from the line of Mark Breedingbach from Oppenheimer.
Mark Breedingbach: Hey, good afternoon; thanks for taking our questions. The first one kind of goes back to something Ben mentioned.
or specifying particular tumor types as part of the phase one. However, as you know, we've identified what we believe are the most likely phase two area for dose expansion and that based on the use of these.
Mark Breedingbach: This is a drug that acts on MEC, which is, of course, downstream from RAS. I guess I'm finding myself wondering why we should be at all surprised that this activity you're observing is independent of specific RAS mutations. Shouldn't that be the case for any MEC inhibitor, or is there something different with this one?
Ben Diskin: And the second question is just with regard to the timing of the initiation of the expansion cohorts. You know, we're talking about identifying a recommended phase two dose by the middle of next year. Can we assume that's a prerequisite before the initiation of the expansion cohorts? Thank you.
Ben Diskin: Thanks for the question. So, you know, you're right. In theory, MEC has always been a great target, right? But it really hasn't lived up to its potential yet. And I think that's because the first-generation MEC inhibitors really had two main challenges. Number one, they were limited mainly to RAPB mutant disease. And secondly, they were quite toxic, very, very poorly tolerated.
the dancer. So, you know, I think you can expect, you know, you might expect to see a bit more of those in the in the trial. But again, you know, we have, and I'll hand over to Scott the comments, but again, we have very broad, broad enrollment criteria to really, really really kept the, kept the wide net.
Scott, I don't know if there's anything you want to add there. No, I think you covered it well. They're all the phase 1 investigators are clinician scientists that are involved in our protocol development and are very excited about the clinical proof of concept. So they're basically actively looking at the
Ben Diskin: And I think that's really because, in part, because they've all been developed in this same old chronic inhibition paradigm, where you shut down the pathway 24-7, you maintain chronic occupancy, you maintain a drug trial, and you never let the level of the drug get close to zero. And again, the problem is healthy cells need to map the Kynase pathway. And so, you know, these first-generation MEC inhibitors really just kind of harm or create challenges for the MAP kinase pathway and healthy cells.
to enrich for the tumor types that we built our model for four words.
rich for the tumor type that we built our model there. Okay, thank you.
Great, thanks, Michael. Thank you. At this time, I would now like to turn the conference back over to Ben Zeskind for closing remarks. Thank you.
Great, thank you operator and thanks everyone for the great questions and everyone who was listening on the call. In the coming weeks we plan to attend the Cowan and Oppenheimer Healthcare Investor conferences and we welcome your requests for meetings at these events or directly through us. Feel free to reach out to Gil Martin if you'd like to schedule some time.
Ben Diskin: And so I think that combined with the fact that they're also all susceptible to a feedback loop called CRAP bypass that makes it, you know, really, really challenging to go after RAPS meets. And so those were some of the design choices we made in creating 104. We gave it the ability to block CRAP 5 paths. We gave it, you know, the ability to cause a many-fold higher CMAX to really hit the tumor hard. And then we gave it a very short half-life.
With that, I would like to thank all of you for participating in today's call and wish you a good evening. This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect. The conference will begin shortly.
Ben Diskin: So we've consistently said we've projected a two-hour half-life in humans. And the combination of those things gives it, you know, essentially the ability to hit the tumor hard, but then allow the pathway to reset. It's, you know, the idea, as I said earlier, every day is a drug holiday for the healthy cells, and yet every day is a judgment day.
To raise and lower your hand during Q&A, you can dial star 11.
Ben Diskin: And so I think that's, you know, that's really why, you know, we've been able to go after MEC in a unique way that we think, certainly preclinically, is really kind of living up to the full potential of MEC as a target. And you're right, conceptually, MEC is a great target to really target any, you know, any mutation in RAPs and really achieve that kind of universal Let me see if Brett wants to add anything to your first question, then we can talk about the second question. Yeah, just really quickly. Hi Mark.
So.
Brett M. Hall: So I would add the strength, our core thesis is that deep cyclic inhibition with a novel engagement mechanism that prevents or resists the CRAP bypass bypass and other bypass mechanisms is critical. And I think here is where a good example of the existing MEC inhibitors, their strength becomes their weakness, right? There 24-7 chronic inhibition sustainably induces these adaptive resistance mechanisms that basically is kind of like having a snow plow where the snow builds up in front of the plow and eventually just slows down the ability for that truck to be effective and remove snow.
Brett M. Hall: Very similar with MEC inhibitors, and we can avoid that or significantly reduce that by the deep cyclic inhibition approach where we reset the pathway every day as well as the novel mechanistic engagement that actually resists the buildup in the first place.
Brett M. Hall: And I think those two, the one-two punch of deep cyclic inhibition with IMM 104, really stands apart from the other mechanism. Okay, I guess I'm also just wondering if you included any of the more conventional MEC inhibitors in your screen against humanized 3D tumor models, if you saw any sort of, I see your question. Yeah, so we haven't guided on that at this point, but what we have actually run, and we've already mentioned that we do see a nice read-through of the 3DJ into in vivo.
Oh.
Brett M. Hall: And we did publish, for example, you know, in the head-to-head comparison of IMM 104 versus Benametinib in the NRAS, NRAS Q61R SKML2 model, where we saw at mid-cycle regressions with 104 but really very minimal to no effect with full dose been a met.
Mark Breedingbach: Okay, great. And then with respect to the timing of the expansion cohort? Yeah, yeah, thanks for that second question, Mark. So given that RP2D stands for a recommended phase two dose, you know, I'll have got to confirm this with his decades of clinical experience, but I think it would be hard to start phase two until we have that recommended phase two. I think Mark is asking in the spirit, "Can you hear me?". Yes. Sorry. In the spirit of dose optimization, we're proactively volunteering to have a
agues book you uh you you you
Scott Barrett: dose evaluation phase, what we're calling internally phase 1B. And so we'll come up with candidate doses or RP2 dose candidates, and then
Scott Barrett: Evaluate them.
Scott Barrett: to make sure that we've selected the definitive one before we start phase 2A. So yes, and to answer your question mark.
Ben Diskin: We plan to complete these escalation before we formally evaluate two or more of these candidates. Understood. Thank you. And thanks, that's a great point.
Ben Diskin: And thanks, that's a great point. And, you know, I first heard about Project Optimus from Scott and his team years before it sort of got popular and, you know, gained a lot of prominence and attention. So we've been very, very focused on that from the early days. But thanks again, Mark, for your questions. And let's go on to the next question.
Operator: Thank you. One moment for our next question. Our last question comes from the line of Michael Schmidt from Guggenheim Park.
Michael Werner Schmidt: Hey guys, thanks for taking my question. Just make a quick follow-up on the phase one study. Based on the enrollment criteria, what tumor histologies would you expect to enroll predominantly? And based on that, you know, as you think ahead towards reaching more efficacious, higher doses in the study, where would you expect to see early clinical signs? Thank you so much.
Ben Diskin: Hey, Michael, thanks for the questions. And last but certainly not least, I appreciate the question. And yeah, look, I mean, our phase one enrollment criteria is quite broad, right? It's truly universal RAS, any solid tumor patient with any mutation in K-RAS, N-RAS, or H-RAS is eligible to be screened. So we're not requiring or specifying particular tumor types as part of phase one. However, as you know, we've identified what we believe are the most likely phase 2A areas for dose expansion.
Ben Diskin: And that's based on the use of these humanized gene tumor growth assays and the informatics that we definitely described earlier, and so all our clinical investigators are familiar with those data, and in fact, we've chosen our clinical sites in part based on their expertise with those types of cancer, so you know, I think
Scott Barrett: No, I think you covered it well. They're all clinician scientists that are involved in our protocol development and are very excited about the clinical proof of concept. And so they're basically, you know, actively looking to enrich for the tumor types that we built to be our metast monotherapy perform.
Michael Werner Schmidt: Great, thanks, Michael.
Ben Diskin: Thank you. At this time, I would now like to turn the conference back over to Ben Zeskind for closing remarks.
Ben Diskin: Great, thank you operator and thanks to everyone for the great questions and to everyone who was listening in on the call. In the coming weeks, we plan to attend the Cowan and Oppenheimer Healthcare Investor Conferences, and we welcome your request for meetings at these events or directly through us. Feel free to reach out to Gilmartin if you'd like to schedule some. With that, I would like to thank all of you for participating in today's call and wish you a good evening. This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect. The conference will begin shortly. To raise and lower your hand during TUNA, you can dial star 1-1. Thank you.
Operator: This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect. The conference will begin shortly. To raise and lower your hand during TUNA, you can dial star 1-1.
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