April – June
Financial summary for the quarter
- Net turnover amounted to SEK 0.9 (4.0) million.
- The loss before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounted to SEK -17.1 (-12.4) million. Basic and diluted earnings per share amounted to SEK -0.35 (-0.52) and SEK -0.35 (-0.52) respectively.
- Cash flow from operating activities amounted to SEK -21.9 (-23.3) million.
- Liquid assets and short-term investments at the end of the period amounted to SEK 247.8 (94.9) million.
Significant events during the quarter
- On April 16, it was announced that Magnus Christensen had been appointed interim CEO of Medivir. He took up his new role in connection with Medivir’s AGM on May 5, 2021.
- On April 19, it was announced that the overall results from the first part of the phase Ib study with MIV-818 were positive with a good safety and tolerability profile. Thus, the starting dose for the second part of the phase Ib study could be determined.
- In May, positive results from an investigator-initiated phase II clinical study of remetinostat in patients with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) were released on clinicaltrials.gov.
- In May, the design for the upcoming phase 1b/2a combination study with the company's leading candidate drug, MIV-818 against liver cancer, was presented. In the study, MIV-818 will be administered in two combinations, with either lenvatinib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, or pembrolizumab, an anti-PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor.
January - June
Financial summary for the period
- Net turnover amounted to SEK 10.8 (11.4) million.
- The loss before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounted to SEK -24.3 (-33.1) million. Basic and diluted earnings per share amounted to SEK -0.57 (-1.49) and SEK -0.57 (-1.49) respectively.
- Cash flow from operating activities amounted to SEK -23.3 (-40.0) million.
- Liquid assets and short-term investments at the end of the period amounted to SEK 247.8 (94.9) million.
Significant events after the end of the period
- In July, Malene Jensen was appointed Vice President Clinical Development. She will assume her role on September 6, 2021.
- In August, it was announced that data from the MIV-818 phase 1b study will be presented at the ESMO Congress in September.
- In August, the positive results from the phase II study with remetinostat against basal cell carcinoma were published in the scientific journal Clinical Cancer Research.
- In August, it was announced that Medivir, through a renegotiated multi-party agreement, strengthens the business development potential for remetinostat.
Conference call for investors, analysts and the media
The Interim Report January - June 2021 will be presented by Medivir’s interim CEO, Magnus Christensen.
Time: Thursday, August 19, 2021, at 14.00 (CET).
Phone numbers for participants from:
Sweden + 46 8 505 583 55
Europe +44 33 3300 9271
US +1 646 722 4902
The conference call will also be streamed via a link on the website: www.medivir.com
The presentation will be available on Medivir’s website after completion of the conference.
CEO’s message
The clinical development of MIV-818 remains in focus. Positive topline results in the phase 1b monotherapy study. The design determined for the phase 1b/2a combination study in the clinical MIV-818 program.
Medivir's central task is to advance the clinical program for our leading candidate drug MIV-818, which has the potential to be a liver-directed, orally administered drug that can help patients with various cancers of the liver. This work has also characterized our operations also in the past quarter.
In April we were able to announce that the results from the first part of the phase 1b study with MIV-818 were positive with a good safety and tolerability profile. Thereby, we were also able to determine the starting dose for the second part of the study, where we combine MIV-818 with standard treatment. Data from the first part of the phase 1b study will be presented at the ESMO scientific conference in September.
Due to its unique mechanism of action, MIV-818 is attractive to combine with a multitude of other drugs for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We have been working on refining the design for the next step in the clinical program, the upcoming phase 1b/2a combination study with MIV-818, and at the end of May we presented how the study is structured. MIV-818 will be administered in two combinations, either with lenvatinib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, or with pembrolizumab, an anti-PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor.
The study is an open-label, multi-center phase 1b/2a study that begins with a dose escalation part to determine the recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D). This is followed by the expansion study (phase 2a) with an initial evaluation of the safety and efficacy of the combinations of MIV-818 with lenvatinib or pembrolizumab. The study will include patients with HCC who have progressed on, or are intolerant of, first line standard therapy.
We plan to recruit the first patient for the combination study in the second half of 2021. However, we cannot guarantee that the Covid-19 pandemic will not affect our schedule.
MIV-818 is proprietary and wholly owned by Medivir, i.e. we do not have to pay any future milestones or royalties to any third party.
We have two more drug development projects in the clinical development phase, remetinostat, and MIV-711. Medivir does not conduct clinical development of these projects on its own, but instead seeks partners for further development.
During the quarter, positive results were published from an investigator-initiated clinical phase II study of remetinostat in patients with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). The study was conducted at the Stanford University School of Medicine in California, USA. The primary objective of the study was to assess the effects of topical remetinostat on biopsy-proven SCC and SCC in situ tumors. In August, the positive results from the phase II study with remetinostat in patients with BCC were also published in the scientific journal Clinical Cancer Research.
The results are very promising and provide further support for the potential of remetinostat as a treatment for a number of skin-associated cancers in addition to cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL). Medivir renegotiated in August a multi-party agreement with the originators of remetinostat and TetraLogic Pharmaceuticals Corporation and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society regarding the financial obligations for remetinostat in order to create better conditions for business development.
Medivir's birinapant project, for the treatment of solid tumors, was outlicensed to the American company IGM Biosciences at the beginning of the year. IGM has the global and exclusive rights to develop birinapant. According to IGM's Q2 report, they plan to initiate clinical trials with birinapant in combination with their proprietary antibody IGM-8444 during 2021.
At Medivir's AGM on May 5, former CEO Yilmaz Mahshid was elected new board member and Uli Hacksell was elected chairman of the board. This guarantee continued scientific vitality and business acumen in the Board's work.
In July, Malene Jensen was recruited as Vice President Clinical Development and a member of the company's management team. With extensive experience in clinical development, Malene will focus on the clinical studies with MIV-818.
I am really impressed by the determination and dedication shared by all Medivir employees. The goal is to develop an effective drug against liver cancer through MIV-818. Given that this work continues to show good results, it could make a big difference for patients and for healthcare and thus also for the company's shareholders.
Magnus Christensen
Interim CEO and CFO
For further information, please contact
Magnus Christensen, interim CEO and CFO, +46 (0)8 5468 3100
E-mail: magnus.christensen@medivir.com
This report has not been subject to auditors' review.
The information was submitted for publication at 08.30 CET on August 19, 2021