Suda Pharmaceuticals ends June quarter with $6.7 million in bank as it prepares to move forward its iNKT cell therapy platform licence

Suda Pharmaceuticals Ltd has ended the June quarter with $6.717 million in cash as it prepares to move forward with its newly acquired invariant Natural Killer T (iNKT) cell therapy platform, initially for the treatment of blood cancers.  The biotechnology company released its fourth-quarter report, unveiling cash receipts for the quarter of $68,000 and net outflow of $909,000 from operating activities for the quarter.  Promising platform to treat cancer Suda Pharmaceuticals chief executive officer and managing director Dr Michael Baker said: “We are delighted to have licensed what we believe is a promising platform that can be used to treat cancer. “There is a lot of hard work to get to human clinical trials but we are motivated by the data from preclinical studies and the potential positive impact that we believe this therapy may have on the lives of cancer patients.” Significant advantage In June, SUDA acquired the global and exclusive licence to the iNKT cell therapy platform, which was developed by Professor Anastasios Karadimitris at Imperial College London. Preclinical studies demonstrated that the natural properties of iNKT cells allow them to target cancer cells. iNKT cells can be further modified to equip them with a Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR), and CAR-iNKT cells have two ways to recognise, attach to, and destroy cancer cells, making them dual targeting. In preclinical studies, CAR-iNKT cells displayed superior activity relative to conventional cell therapies in eradicating cancer cells and extending tumour-free survival. The therapy is initially being developed for the treatment of blood cancers. Professor Karadimitris’ research group was the first to demonstrate that iNKT cells are protective against graft versus host disease (GVHD), providing a critical advantage that the iNKT cell platform may be used “off-the-shelf”, meaning the cells can be isolated from a healthy donor, modified to enhance their activity against cancer and stored frozen, ready to be administered to cancer patients as needed. This would represent a significant advantage for the field, the company said. Heavily oversubscribed placement In June, the company’s heavily oversubscribed placement raised $3.65 million, from the initial target of a minimum of $3 million. The placement was strongly supported by sophisticated and institutional investors. It was conducted in conjunction with the Definitive Licence Agreement for the iNKT cell therapy platform. The proceeds will be used to support the initial development of the iNKT cell therapy platform, including the hiring of key personnel and initiating the manufacturing of critical components to produce the product. Due to the timing of the June 2021 placement, the closing cash balance at June 30, 2021, does not include the costs associated with the capital raise, which will be included in the September quarter. New appointments to boost program In April, SUDA appointed Gunnar Birgegård, PhD, MD, to the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) for the anagrelide program. Gunnar joins Dr Richard Franklin, Professor Anil Sood and Professor Steve Watson as members of the SAB. The company is developing anagrelide to be used as an adjunct therapy to treat patients with specific solid tumours and thrombocytosis and the appointment represents another strong addition to its program. Earlier in the year, SUDA contracted the services of MedPharm to assist in stabilising the anagrelide formulation, which would enable the formulation to progress into preclinical toxicology studies. In the June quarter, SUDA also appointed Malar Armugam to the team as program manager. Malar has more than 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical sector, with previous roles at Mayne Pharma, Pfizer (NYSE:PFE), Hospira (NYSE:HSP) and GSK.