NEW YORK, March 03, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TG Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: TGTX) today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2019 and recent company developments, along with a business outlook for 2020.
Michael S. Weiss, the Company's Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "2019 was a transformational year for TG as we were able to report positive outcomes for umbralisib in both previously treated marginal zone lymphoma and follicular lymphoma from the UNITY-NHL trial. We also confirmed a submission pathway with the FDA and early this year commenced a single rolling submission based on these data, which we hope to complete in the first half of this year.” Mr. Weiss continued, “Looking forward, we expect 2020 to be yet another impactful year as we await the topline results from our Phase 3 programs in CLL and MS and potentially our first FDA approval around year-end.”
2019 Highlights & Recent Developments
- Marginal Zone Lymphoma & Follicular Lymphoma:
° Received breakthrough therapy designation (BTD) for patients with marginal zone lymphoma (MZL) who have received at least one prior therapy including an anti-CD20 regimen, and orphan drug designation for umbralisib for the treatment of patients with MZL.
° Announced positive outcome from the MZL cohort of the UNITY-NHL Phase 2b trial, which met the primary endpoint of Overall Response Rate (ORR), as determined by Independent Review Committee (IRC).
° Presented interim safety and efficacy data from the MZL cohort of UNITY-NHL during oral presentations at the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting, the 55th American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting and the 2019 International Conference on Malignant Lymphoma (ICML).
° Announced positive outcome from the follicular lymphoma (FL) cohort of the UNITY-NHL Phase 2b trial, with ORR results meeting the Company’s prespecified 40 – 50% target, as determined by IRC. The Company plans to present the data at a future medical conference.
° Received guidance from the FDA allowing submission of a single New Drug Application (NDA) for MZL and FL indications. In January 2020, a rolling NDA submission for umbralisib to treat adult patients with previously treated MZL and FL was initiated, with completion of submission targeted for first half of 2020. - Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia:
° Awaiting topline progression free survival (PFS) results from the Company’s Phase 3 UNITY-CLL trial evaluating “U2” (the combination of umbralisib and ublituximab) in patients with frontline and previously treated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).
° Final long-term results from the Phase 3 GENUINE study demonstrated that ublituximab in combination with ibrutinib improved PFS, as determined by IRC.
° Presented triple therapy data at the 61stAmerican Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition from the Phase 1/2 study of ublituximab in combination with umbralisib and venetoclax, in patients with relapsed/refractory CLL, during an oral session. - Multiple Sclerosis:
° Updated Phase 2 extension trial data for ublituximab in relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (RMS), as well as the ULTIMATE I & II Phase 3 RMS program study design and demographic data, were presented at the 35th Annual Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS).
° Awaiting topline data from the Company’s Phase 3 ULTIMATE I & II trials evaluating ublituximab in patients with RMS. - Early Pipeline:
° TG-1801: Commenced a Phase 1 first-in-human, dose-escalation study of TG-1801, the Company’s anti-CD47/CD19 bispecific antibody, in patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell lymphoma and presented the first preclinical data of TG-1801 at the 24th European Hematology Association (EHA) annual congress.
° TG-1701: Presented the first clinical data from TG-1701, the Company’s once daily, oral, BTK inhibitor, as a single agent and as a triple therapy in combination with U2 at ASH 2019.
Key Objectives for 2020
- Report topline PFS results from the Phase 3 UNITY-CLL trial evaluating U2 in patients with frontline and previously treated CLL, and if successful, target a potential New Drug Application (NDA)/Biologics Licensing Application (BLA) submission by year-end.
- Complete rolling NDA submission for umbralisib in patients with previously treated MZL and FL, in the first half of 2020.
- Report topline results from the Phase 3 ULTIMATE I & II trials in RMS, in the second half of 2020.
- Continue to advance our early pipeline candidates including TG-1501 (cosibelimab), TG-1701 and TG-1801.
Financial Results for the Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2019
- R&D Expenses: Other research and development (R&D) expense (not including non-cash compensation and non-cash in-licensing expense) was $29.5 million and $148.3 million for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2019, respectively, compared to $51.1 million and $149.8 million for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2018, respectively. The decrease in R&D expense is primarily attributable to the winding down of our late-stage clinical development programs during the year ended December 31, 2019.
- G&A Expenses: Other general and administrative (G&A) expense (not including non-cash compensation) was $2.9 million and $9.5 million for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2019, respectively, as compared to $1.7 million and $7.9 million for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2018, respectively.
- Net Loss: Net loss was $39.6 million and $172.9 million for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2019, respectively, compared to a net loss of $53.9 million and $173.5 million for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2018, respectively. Excluding non-cash items, the net loss for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2019 was approximately $34.0 million and $161.4 million, respectively, compared to a net loss of $52.4 million and $156.6 million for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2018, respectively.
- Cash Position and Financial Guidance: Cash, cash equivalents and investment securities were $140.4 million as of December 31, 2019. The Company believes its cash, cash equivalents and investment securities on hand as of December 31, 2019, will be sufficient to fund the Company's planned operations well into 2021.
ABOUT TG THERAPEUTICS, INC.
TG Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the acquisition, development and commercialization of novel treatments for B-cell malignancies and autoimmune diseases. Currently, the company is developing multiple therapies targeting hematological malignancies and autoimmune diseases. Ublituximab (TG-1101) is a novel, glycoengineered monoclonal antibody that targets a specific and unique epitope on the CD20 antigen found on mature B-lymphocytes. TG Therapeutics is also developing umbralisib (TGR-1202), an oral, once-daily dual inhibitor of PI3K-delta and CK1-epsilon, which may lead to a differentiated safety profile. Both ublituximab and umbralisib, or the combination of which is referred to as "U2", are in Phase 3 clinical development for patients with hematologic malignancies, with ublituximab also in Phase 3 clinical development for Multiple Sclerosis. Additionally, the Company has recently brought into Phase 1 clinical development, TG-1501, its anti-PD-L1 monoclonal antibody, TG-1701, its covalently-bound Bruton’s Tyrosine Kinase (BTK) inhibitor and TG-1801, its anti-CD47/CD19 bispecific antibody. TG Therapeutics is headquartered in New York City.
