Omega Therapeutics Reports Third Quarter 2021 Financial Results and Outlines Key Corporate Objectives
"We continue to progress our pioneering OMEGA platform and our pipeline of Omega Epigenomic Controllers (OECs) with our first candidate, OTX-2002 for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma, which we believe is one of many potential therapeutic applications of our platform, currently advancing through Investigational New Drug (IND)-enabling studies. The third quarter was marked by our successful initial public offering (IPO), which left us well capitalized to continue advancing our other high priority pipeline programs, including OECs targeting CXCL 1-3/IL8 for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), SFRP1 for alopecia, c-MYC for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and HNF4a for liver disease," said
Recent Business Highlights and Corporate Update
Financial and Corporate
- Omega has made progress advancing its preclinical programs and developing the OMEGA platform. The Company continues to evaluate new DNA-sequence-based epigenomic zip codes, EpiZips™, and Insulated Genomic Domains (IGDs) for biologically validated gene targets through its OMEGA platform with the goal of further broadening its pipeline and bringing its new class of mRNA therapeutics as programmable epigenetic medicines, OECs, to patients across a broad range of diseases.
- In
October 2021 , Omega announced a strategic research collaboration with theStanford University School of Medicine . The collaboration will explore the therapeutic potential of OECs to control ocular disease genes associated with inflammation or regeneration of ocular tissues. Using the OMEGA platform, theOphthalmology Department of Stanford University School of Medicine will discover and research novel ocular targets for potential future OEC development candidates. - In
August 2021 , Omega completed a successful IPO, raising$141.1 million in aggregate gross proceeds, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses, and listed on The Nasdaq Global Select Market. The IPO followed the closing of a Series C crossover financing of$126 million in gross proceeds inMarch 2021 .
Development Pipeline and Platform
- OTX-2002: IND-enabling studies are ongoing for Omega's lead OEC candidate OTX-2002, the first in a new class of programmable epigenetic medicines targeting proprietary EpiZips in the MYC IGD and being developed for the downregulation of c-Myc oncogene expression in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. In preclinical studies, OTX-2002 demonstrated its ability to potently down-regulate c-Myc oncogene expression. The Company continues to target filing an IND for OTX-2002 in the first half of 2022.
Additional OEC Development : The Company is working on multiple programs in pre-clinical studies, including ARDS with CXCL1-3/IL8, alopecia with SFRP1, NSCLC with c-MYC and liver disease with HNF4a, and is targeting the identification of additional development candidates for the first half of 2022 and an additional IND for the second half of 2022 or early 2023.- OMEGA Epigenomic Programming Platform: Omega continues to evolve and develop its OMEGA platform, most notably, continual integration and updating of its suite of technologies that enable the development of potentially breakthrough medicines. These include state of the art artificial intelligence (AI) tools, proprietary and public data sets for target identification, machine learning (ML) based predictive models and a high throughput automated lab for genetic engineering. This digital infrastructure, paired with the Company's process of systematic, rational and integrative drug design, enables Omega to efficiently develop breakthrough therapeutics with a higher predicted success rate and a lower cost. Against the backdrop of the advancements to the platform, Omega continues to identify additional gene targets and evaluate them in preclinical studies.
Third Quarter 2021 Financial Results
As of
Research and development (R&D) expenses increased to
General and administrative expenses (G&A) increased to
Net loss for the third quarter of 2021 was
About
For more information, visit omegatherapeutics.com, or follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements contained in this press release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements, including without limitation statements regarding our expectations surrounding the potential of our product candidates, including our lead OEC candidate OTX-2002; development timelines; anticipated timing of regulatory submissions and filings; the success of our collaboration with
Investor contact:
212.600.1902
ArgotOmega@argotpartners.com
Media contact:
212.600.1902
david.rosen@argotpartners.com
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||||||||||||||||
Condensed Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss |
||||||||||||||||
(in thousands, except share and per share amounts) |
||||||||||||||||
(Unaudited) |
||||||||||||||||
Three Months Ended |
Nine Months Ended |
|||||||||||||||
2021 |
2020 |
2021 |
2020 |
|||||||||||||
Operating expenses: |
||||||||||||||||
Research and development |
$ |
12,289 |
$ |
5,505 |
$ |
33,222 |
$ |
13,921 |
||||||||
General and administrative |
4,459 |
2,047 |
10,911 |
4,422 |
||||||||||||
Related party expense, net |
473 |
493 |
1,235 |
1,060 |
||||||||||||
Total operating expenses |
17,221 |
8,045 |
45,368 |
19,403 |
||||||||||||
Loss from operations |
(17,221) |
(8,045) |
(45,368) |
(19,403) |
||||||||||||
Other expense, net: |
||||||||||||||||
Interest expense, net |
(339) |
(196) |
(741) |
(584) |
||||||||||||
Change in fair value of warrant liability |
(970) |
1 |
(1,310) |
5 |
||||||||||||
Other income (expense), net |
2 |
(1) |
(7) |
— |
||||||||||||
Total other expense, net |
(1,307) |
(196) |
(2,058) |
(579) |
||||||||||||
Net loss and comprehensive loss |
$ |
(18,528) |
$ |
(8,241) |
$ |
(47,426) |
$ |
(19,982) |
||||||||
Net loss per common stock attributable to common |
$ |
(0.57) |
$ |
(1.97) |
$ |
(3.41) |
$ |
(4.98) |
||||||||
Weighted-average common stock used in net loss per share |
32,303,540 |
4,180,696 |
13,898,089 |
4,014,800 |
|
|||||||
Condensed Balance Sheets |
|||||||
(in thousands, except share and per share amounts) |
|||||||
(Unaudited) |
|||||||
|
|
||||||
2021 |
2020 |
||||||
Assets |
|||||||
Cash and cash equivalents |
$ |
234,275 |
$ |
22,951 |
|||
Other assets |
8,996 |
5,132 |
|||||
Total assets |
$ |
243,271 |
$ |
28,083 |
|||
Liabilities, redeemable convertible preferred stock, and stockholders' equity (deficit) |
|||||||
Liabilities |
$ |
22,932 |
$ |
17,486 |
|||
Redeemable convertible preferred stock |
— |
75,225 |
|||||
Stockholders' equity (deficit) |
220,339 |
(64,628) |
|||||
Total liabilities, redeemable convertible preferred stock, and stockholders' equity (deficit) |
$ |
243,271 |
$ |
28,083 |
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