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Corvus Pharmaceuticals Provides Business Update and Reports First Quarter 2019 Financial ResultsAnnounces Initiation of Enrollment in Phase 1/1b Trial of ITK inhibitor CPI-818 Conference Call Today at 4:30 p.m. ET / 1:30 p.m. PT BURLINGAME, Calif., May 09, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Corvus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRVS), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of precisely targeted oncology therapies, today provided a business update and announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2019. “With the initiation of patient enrollment in our Phase1/1b trial of CPI-818, Corvus now has three agents with novel mechanisms of action in clinical trials for a wide range of cancers,” said Richard A. Miller, M.D., co-founder, president and chief executive officer of Corvus. “Looking forward, we have several important milestones for each of our programs in 2019.” “For the adenosine pathway, we continue to be in a leadership position with ciforadenant (CPI-444), our small molecule inhibitor of the A2A receptor, and CPI-006, our anti-CD73 antibody. We are enrolling patients in two ciforadenant Phase 1b/2 trials and we have discovered a potentially predictive genetic biomarker, the Adenosine Signature, that may provide clinicians with the ability to select patients most likely to benefit from therapy. This positions us to potentially initiate a molecularly defined, late stage study of ciforadenant in patients with renal cell cancer around the end of the year. For CPI-006, the initial clinical data from both the monotherapy and combination arms of our Phase 1/1b clinical trial will be presented in an oral presentation at the ASCO annual meeting in June. In addition, we expect incremental data updates on these programs at major medical meetings over the course of the year.” “Turning to CPI-818, we are very excited to be investigating it in patients with T-cell lymphomas, a patient group that often has limited treatment options and poor clinical outcomes,” continued Dr. Miller. “We believe that CPI-818 represents a novel approach for these patients and the Phase 1/1b study is designed to evaluate both anti-tumor activity and its effect on normal T-cells, which could provide valuable information for future trials of CPI-818 in other types of cancer and autoimmune diseases. We currently anticipate that initial data from the study will be presented in late 2019, providing another potential catalyst for the Company.” CPI-818, an oral, covalent, selective interleukin-2-inducible kinase (ITK) inhibitor, is based on a similar targeting strategy to that of Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors. Key members of the scientific team at Corvus led the development of the first BTK inhibitor, ibrutinib, which is approved for the treatment of several types of B-cell lymphomas. ITK, the T-cell homologue of BTK, has many biochemical and functional similarities with BTK. T-cell lymphomas are often incurable, especially after relapse. As ITK is frequently overexpressed in T-cell lymphoma, we believe the selective inhibition of ITK may represent a new treatment strategy for this type of cancer, possibly analogous to the effects of BTK inhibition with ibrutinib in B-cell lymphomas. Unlike other ITK inhibitors, the selectivity of CPI-818 has been shown in preclinical studies to shift immune responses to a T-cytotoxic type 1 (Th1) phenotype. We believe CPI-818 has the potential to display a dual mechanism of action: direct cytotoxicity to T-cell lymphoma and enhancement of the immune system by increasing the Th1 immune response. Recent Achievements
CPI-006: Anti-CD73 Antibody
CPI-818: A small molecule ITK inhibitor
Financial Results At March 31, 2019, Corvus had cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities totaling $105.8 million, as compared to cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $114.6 million at December 31, 2018. Research and development expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2019 totaled $9.4 million compared to $12.1 million for the same period in 2018. The decrease of $2.7 million was primarily due to a decrease in ciforadenant program costs. The net loss for the three months ended March 31, 2019 was $11.6 million, compared to a net loss of $14.3 million for the same period in 2018. Total stock compensation expense for the three months ended March 31, 2019 was $2.0 million compared to $1.8 million of total stock compensation expense for the same period in 2018. Conference Call Details About Corvus Pharmaceuticals Tecentriq® is a registered trademark of Genentech. About ciforadenant (CPI-444) About CPI-006 CPI-818 Phase 1/1b Trial Design About CPI-818 Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements related to the potential safety and efficacy of ciforadenant, CPI-006 and CPI-818, the potential similarities of BTK inhibition and ITK inhibition, the Company’s ability to develop and advance product candidates into and successfully complete preclinical studies and clinical trials, including the Company’s Phase 1/1b clinical trial of ciforadenant, the Company’s Phase 1/1b clinical trial of CPI-006, and the Company’s Phase 1/1b clinical trial of CPI-818, the utility of biomarker data collected and the suitability of dosing regimen selected for clinical trials, and the potential timing and availability of data from the Company’s ongoing clinical trials. All statements other than statements of historical fact containd in this press release are forward-looking statements. These statements often include words such as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “estimate,” “seek,” “will,” “may” or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which involve factors or circumstances that are beyond the Company’s control. The Company’s actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied in forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including but not limited to, risks detailed in the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2019, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 9, 2019, as well as other documents that may be filed by the Company from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In particular, the following factors, among others, could cause results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements: the accuracy of the Company’s estimates relating to its ability to initiate and/or complete clinical trials; the Company’s ability to demonstrate sufficient evidence of efficacy and safety in its clinical trials of ciforadenant, CPI-006 and CPI-818; the Company’s ability to utilize biomarker data and select a suitable dosing regimen; the results of preclinical studies may not be predictive of future results; the unpredictability of the regulatory process; regulatory developments in the United States and foreign countries; the costs of clinical trials may exceed expectations; and the Company’s ability to raise additional capital. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot guarantee that the events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements will be achieved or occur, and the timing of events and circumstances and actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. All such statements speak only as of the date made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. INVESTOR CONTACT: MEDIA CONTACT:
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