JERUSALEM, Nov. 10, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Entera Bio Ltd. (NASDAQ: ENTX), (“Entera” or the “Company”) a leader in the development of orally delivered peptides and therapeutic proteins, today announced its financial results for the third quarter of 2022 and provided the following corporate updates.
Corporate Updates:
Achieved FDA Agreement for Pivotal Study of EB613, the World’s First Daily Bone Forming Oral PTH Tablet
- On October 6th, 2022, Entera announced that it had successfully completed its Type C meeting and reached a record agreement with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that a single pivotal Phase 3 placebo-controlled study could support a New Drug Application (NDA) submission for its lead clinical candidate, EB613 under the 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway.
- Importantly, the FDA also agreed that total hip bone mineral density (BMD), not fracture, could serve as the primary endpoint for the registrational study of EB613; and that Entera could enroll the same post-menopausal osteoporosis patient population that significantly benefited from EB613 treatment during Entera’s Phase 2 clinical study which was reported in 2021.
- EB613 is the first oral, daily tablet formulation of synthetic hPTH (1-34), (teriparatide), consisting of the exact same 34 amino acid sequence as daily subcutaneous teriparatide injection, Forteo® which has been the leading anabolic treatment of osteoporosis since 2002 with peak sales of $1.7 billion in 2018 prior to patent expiration. EB613 tablets are simple, small (~ 6 mm wide) and administered once daily.
- Low BMD osteoporotic patients at high risk of fracture are often reluctant to initiate injectable anabolic (bone forming) therapy and represent an estimated 40% of the 3 million currently treated patients across the United States, while current bone forming injections treat less than 10% of these patients1. As the first daily tablet PTH osteoanabolic treatment, EB613 could significantly impact the osteoporosis treatment paradigm. Patient enrollment in the pivotal phase 3 study is expected to commence in 2023.
New Phase 2 Data Presented at the ASBMR Annual Meeting Demonstrate Statistically Significant Correlation of EB613’s Dose Proportional Oral Absorption and Clinical Benefit
- New findings on EB613 were presented in a poster titled “A Six-month Phase 2 Study of Oral PTH (EBP05) in Postmenopausal Women with Low Bone Mass – Dose Proportional Absorption and Effect on Lumbar Spine BMD (SUN-591)” at the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR) 2022 Annual Meeting in September.
- New analyses of hPTH concentration in blood shortly after a dose of EB613 tablets confirmed a strong, statistically significant correlation between mean blood level and the dose of EB613 taken.
- These findings are consistent with the positive correlation between the change in lumbar spine BMD and EB613 dose after six months of treatment.
“Following a full redesign of our proposed Phase 3 study, timely submission, and successful conclusion of our Type C meeting, our third quarter culminated with the FDA’s concurrence with our proposed registrational path for EB613. This was an historic moment for Entera. We believe this is the first osteoporosis program that has reached agreement on both a placebo-controlled design and a BMD endpoint, which we believe speaks to the urgent need for highly effective and more patient friendly treatments to help rebuild bone. EB613 leverages the validated and safe mechanism of action of PTH which has been at the forefront of osteoporosis therapy for the last 20 years, and addresses patients’ unease with injections via our simple daily tablet form. We continue to strengthen all functional areas at Entera to remain on track for patient enrollment to commence in 2023, while continuing our strategic discussions and preparing our new formulation of EB612 PTH tablets for hypoparathyroidism to re-enter the clinic in 2023,” stated Miranda Toledano, Chief Executive Officer of Entera.
Results for Third Quarter Ended September 30, 2022
Revenues for the three months ended September 30, 2022 were $8,000 compared to $140,000 for the three months ended September 30, 2021. For both the three months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, the majority of our revenues were attributable to pre-clinical R&D services provided to Amgen as part of our ongoing license agreement. The decrease in revenue for the quarter ended September 30, 2022 as compared to the prior year period was primarily due to finalization of third year pre-clinical R&D services to Amgen. The cost of revenues for the three months ended September 30, 2022 was $6,000 compared to $65,000 for the three months ended September 30, 2021 and were primarily attributed to expenses in connection with R&D services provided to Amgen.
Research and development expenses for the three months ended September 30, 2022 were $1.4 million compared to $1.8 million for the three months ended September 30, 2021. The decrease of $0.4 million was primarily due to a decrease of $0.7 million in pre-clinical activities related to our Phase 3 clinical trial for EB613 and a decrease of $0.1 million related to the completion of our Phase 2 trial for EB613 in September 2021. This decrease was partially offset by an increase of $0.1 million in connection with a one-time employee compensation payment as part of a separation agreement and an increase of $0.3 million attributed to ongoing materials and production costs to supply our Phase 3 clinical trial for EB613.
General and administrative expenses for both the three months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021 were $1.5 million. For the quarter ended September 30, 2022, there was an increase of $0.2 million in professional fees and an increase of $0.1 million in D&O insurance costs, as compared to the 2021 period, which was offset by a decrease of $0.3 million in share-based compensation mainly due to a reversal of share-based compensation expense related to the separation agreement of our former Chief Executive Officer.
Operating expenses for the three months ended September 30, 2022 were $2.9 million compared to $3.3 million for the three months ended September 30, 2021. Entera’s operating loss was $2.9 million for the three months ended September 30, 2022, compared to $3.2 million for the three months ended September 30, 2021.
The net comprehensive loss was $3.1 million or $0.11 per ordinary share (basic and diluted) for the three months ended September 30, 2022, compared to $3.2 million, or $0.11 per ordinary share (basic and diluted) for the three months ended September 31, 2021.
As of September 30, 2022, Entera had cash and cash equivalents of $14.3 million, compared to $17.3 million as of June 30, 2022. Entera expects that its existing cash resources are sufficient to fund operations through the second quarter of 2023. This assumes ongoing R&D, the Hypo PK study and continued investments in production, analytics, and clinical research operations to enable initiation of EB613 phase 3 during the second half of 2023.
About EB613 (a.k.a. EBP05)
EB613 is the first oral, daily tablet formulation of synthetic hPTH (1-34), (teriparatide), consisting of the exact same 34 amino acid sequence as daily subcutaneous teriparatide injection, Forteo® which has been the leading anabolic treatment of osteoporosis since 2002 with peak sales of $1.7 billion in 2018 prior to patent expiration. Entera’s Oral PTH formulations have been administered collectively to a total of 225 subjects in two Phase 1 studies and 3 phase 2 studies (including 35 in 2 phase 2 hypoparathyroidism studies). The most recent study was a dose ranging Phase 2 study in postmenopausal women with low bone mass. This study met primary and key secondary endpoints and was presented in a late-breaker oral presentation at the ASBMR 2021 conference. For the primary efficacy endpoint: a statistically significant increase in P1NP (a bone formation marker) at 3 months was achieved. A significant dose response was observed for 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.5 mg oral PTH doses on P1NP, Osteocalcin and bone mineral density (BMD). Subjects receiving the 2.5 mg dose of EB613 showed significant increases in dose-related BMD at the Lumbar Spine, Total Hip, and Femoral Neck at 6 months. Subjects receiving the 2.5 mg dose of EB613 daily for 6 months had a significant placebo adjusted increase of 3.78% in Lumbar Spine BMD (p