NEW YORK, Nov. 13, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Prevail Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: PRVL), a biotechnology company developing potentially disease-modifying AAV-based gene therapies for patients with neurodegenerative diseases, today reviewed recent clinical and business updates and reported financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2020.

“We’re pleased to be making significant progress across our pipeline as we seek to develop urgently needed disease-modifying gene therapy treatments for patients with neurodegenerative diseases,” said Asa Abeliovich, M.D., Ph.D., Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Prevail. “We are encouraged by the continuation of patient dosing in our Phase 1/2 PROPEL trial of PR001 for Parkinson’s disease with GBA1 mutations, and we are excited to advance our PROVIDE and PROCLAIM clinical trials for Type 2 Gaucher disease and frontotemporal dementia with GRN mutations, respectively, this year.”

Recent Business Updates

Patient Dosing Continues in Phase 1/2 PROPEL Trial of PR001 for Parkinson’s disease with GBA1 mutations (PD-GBA): Enrollment in the Phase 1/2 PROPEL clinical trial for PD-GBA has resumed following implementation of modifications to the clinical protocol. As previously announced, Prevail elected to modify the immunosuppression regimen in the clinical protocol for PROPEL and has adapted the trial design to be open-label. The Company expects to provide the next biomarker and safety analysis on a subset of patients in the PROPEL trial by mid-2021.

Phase 1/2 PROVIDE Trial Expected to Initiate Enrollment in Fourth Quarter of 2020: Initiation of patient enrollment remains on track for the fourth quarter of 2020 for the Phase 1/2 PROVIDE clinical trial of PR001 for Type 2 Gaucher disease. The optimized immunosuppression regimen used in the amended PROPEL trial will also be implemented in the PROVIDE trial. The Company currently anticipates it will provide the next update on PR001 biomarker and safety data for neuronopathic Gaucher disease (nGD) in 2021.

Phase 1/2 PROCLAIM Trial Expected to Initiate Enrollment in Fourth Quarter of 2020: Initiation of patient enrollment remains on track for the fourth quarter of 2020 for the Phase 1/2 PROCLAIM clinical trial of PR006 for frontotemporal dementia with GRN mutations (FTD-GRN). The optimized immunosuppression regimen used in the amended PROPEL trial will also be implemented in the PROCLAIM trial. The Company currently anticipates it will provide a biomarker and safety analysis on a subset of patients in the PROCLAIM trial in 2021.

PR001 Granted U.S. FDA Fast Track Designation for nGD: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Fast Track designation for PR001 for the treatment of nGD. The FDA previously granted PR001 Rare Pediatric Disease designation for the treatment of nGD, and Orphan Drug designation for the treatment of patients with Gaucher disease. In addition, the FDA has granted Fast Track designation for PR001 for the treatment of PD-GBA.

Strengthened Leadership with Board Appointment: Prevail has appointed William H. Carson, M.D., to its Board of Directors. Dr. Carson was most recently the President and CEO of Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc. (OPDC), leading the development and regulatory approvals of Otsuka’s global compounds. Before joining Otsuka, he held several roles in the CNS Research and Development department at Bristol Myers Squibb. Dr. Carson currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of OPDC and is also the Chairman of the Board of the Sozosei Foundation, a newly established Otsuka charitable organization with a main focus on decriminalization of mental illness. He is a Board Member of Excision Biotherapeutics and Trustee of the non-profit Internet2. He is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, the National Medical Association and the Executive Leadership Council. Prior to joining the pharmaceutical industry, Dr. Carson, a board-certified psychiatrist, was an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Medical University of South Carolina.

Favorable Decision Received in Alector Arbitration: Prevail announced a favorable decision in the arbitration proceeding brought in 2019 by Alector Inc. against Prevail’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Asa Abeliovich, M.D., Ph.D. The arbitrator rejected Alector’s claims against Dr. Abeliovich that Alector confidential information was used in connection with his work on behalf of Prevail and that Alector had rights to Prevail’s patents and patent applications. The arbitrator found that Dr. Abeliovich did not breach his confidentiality obligations to Alector under his consulting agreement. Prevail was not a party to this arbitration.

Third Quarter 2020 Financial Results

• Cash Position: Cash, cash equivalents and investments were $114.3 million as of September 30, 2020, as compared to $131.2 million and $168.1 million as of June 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively. The Company continues to anticipate that its cash runway will extend into the first half of 2022.
• R&D Expenses: R&D expenses were $12.3 million for the third quarter of 2020 compared to $16.8 million for the third quarter in 2019. The decrease was primarily due to a decrease of $3.9 million in external manufacturing costs due to the timing of production of clinical and preclinical supply, a decrease of $1.5 million in direct clinical trial costs, and a decrease of $0.5 million related to external preclinical studies. These decreases were partially offset by an increase of $1.4 million in employee-related costs, resulting from an increase in research and development employees hired to execute the development of our clinical-stage product candidates and preclinical pipeline.
• G&A Expenses: G&A expenses were $6.3 million for the third quarter of 2020, compared to $4.5 million for the third quarter of 2019. The increase was primarily due to a $1.3 million increase in employee related costs, resulting from an increase in general and administrative employees to support our expanded operations and establish capabilities to operate as a public company, a $0.8 million increase in legal fees, offset by a decrease of $0.2 million in other professional services and facilities cost.
• Net Loss: Net loss was $18.6 million, or $0.55 loss per share, for the third quarter of 2020, compared to $20.3 million, or $0.62 loss per share, for the third quarter of 2019.

About Prevail Therapeutics
Prevail is a gene therapy company leveraging breakthroughs in human genetics with the goal of developing and commercializing disease-modifying AAV-based gene therapies for patients with neurodegenerative diseases. The Company is developing PR001 for patients with Parkinson’s disease with GBA1 mutations (PD-GBA) and neuronopathic Gaucher disease (nGD); PR006 for patients with frontotemporal dementia with GRN mutations (FTD-GRN); and PR004 for patients with certain synucleinopathies.

Prevail was founded by Dr. Asa Abeliovich in 2017, through a collaborative effort with The Silverstein Foundation for Parkinson’s with GBA and OrbiMed, and is headquartered in New York, NY.