DALLAS, May 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Lantern
Pharma Inc. (NASDAQ: LTRN), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical
company using its proprietary RADR® artificial
intelligence ("A.I.") platform to transform oncology drug discovery
and development today announced financial results for the first
quarter ended March 31,
2021.
![Lantern Pharma (LTRN) Logo (PRNewsfoto/Lantern Pharma) Lantern Pharma (LTRN) Logo (PRNewsfoto/Lantern Pharma)](https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1216507/Lantern_Pharma_Logo.jpg)
"We are very pleased with our continued rapid progress in
expanding and advancing our pipeline of targeted cancer drug
candidates and are on pace to launch the Phase 2 trial of LP-300 in
non-small cell lung cancer among non-smokers in the third quarter
of this year," stated Panna Sharma,
President and CEO of Lantern Pharma. "During the first quarter, we
dramatically accelerated the pace with which we gather, curate, tag
and assemble biologically relevant data for our RADR®
A.I. platform. Our RADR® A.I. platform now exceeds 4.6
billion datapoints, representing a nearly 16-fold increase in the
number of datapoints since our IPO in June
2020. RADR® grew by approximately 1 billion
datapoints per month during the first quarter of 2021. The size and
scope of our RADR® A.I. platform is opening up new
insights and areas of opportunity for the discovery of additional
indications for our existing drug candidates, as well as the
identification of entirely new drug candidates and new therapeutic
indications for existing molecules in the fight against
cancer."
"Perhaps most exciting, as our RADR® A.I. platform
grows, potential partnerships with biopharma companies are now even
more clearly in our sights," continued Sharma. "Earlier today, we
announced that we have entered into an equity-based collaboration
with Actuate Therapeutics to apply the remarkable power of
RADR® to better understand the mechanism of action of
Actuate's 9-ING-41 drug candidate and utilize these insights to
advance a biomarker signature of response and a biomarker guided
development strategy. We are excited about the opportunity to
continue to build additional value-driven partnerships in the
quarters ahead."
The collaboration will focus on leveraging the RADR®
machine learning technology, large-scale oncology datasets, and the
A.I. platform to accelerate key aspects of Actuate's 9-ING-41 drug
candidate, a best-in-class GSK-3β inhibitor in active development
in multiple Phase 2 clinical trials, including for pancreatic
cancer. The collaboration is expected to start immediately and will
potentially generate novel intellectual property that will be
jointly owned by the companies. Lantern will receive upfront equity
in Actuate Therapeutics subject to meeting certain conditions of
the collaboration, as well as development milestones in the form of
additional equity if results from the collaboration are utilized in
future development efforts.
Lantern is developing four drug candidates and an ADC program
across seven disclosed targets, including:
- LP-100 (Irofulven), in a Phase 2 trial for the treatment
of metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) which is
out-licensed to Allarity Therapeutics.
- LP-300, a small molecule candidate that is preparing to
enter a Phase 2 trial as a combination therapy in non-smokers with
Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC).
- LP-184, a small molecule DNA damaging candidate
anticipated to enter clinical development in 1H'22, with
opportunities in several genomically-defined cancers, including:
prostate, pancreatic, glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), atypical
teratoid rhabdoid tumors (ATRT) and potentially additional tumors
defined by the overexpression of PTGR1.
- LP-284, an alkylating agent in the research optimization
stage, that appears to be preferentially active in certain
hematologic cancers.
- Antibody Drug Conjugate (ADC) program leveraging
RADR® A.I. to identify targeted or therapeutic
antibodies and aimed at utilizing a unique library of linkers to
conjugate with LP-184 and other compounds.
First Quarter 2021 Financial Highlights
- Cash Position: Cash and cash equivalents were
$81.4 million as of March 31, 2021 compared to $19.2 million as of December 31, 2020. The increase in cash and cash
equivalents reflects the proceeds from our January 20, 2021 follow-on public offering with
gross proceeds of $69.0 million.
- R&D Expenses: Research and development expenses were
$1,279,037 for the quarter ended
March 31, 2021, compared to
$137,104 for the quarter ended
March 31, 2020. The increase was
primarily attributable to increases in research studies, expansion
of the company's research team, and research and development
related stock option compensation expense of approximately
$116,000 (a non-cash item) for the
quarter ended March 31, 2021.
- G&A Expenses: General and administrative expenses
were $1,173,258 for the quarter ended
March 31, 2021, compared to
$340,172 for the quarter ended
March 31, 2020. The increase was
primarily attributable to expenses associated with operating as a
public company and general and administrative related stock option
compensation expense of approximately $130,000 (a non-cash item) for the quarter ended
March 31, 2021.
- Net Loss: Net losses were $2,452,295 for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, or $0.24 per share, compared to a net loss of
$477,276 for the quarter ended
March 31, 2020, or $0.24 per share. The net loss includes non-cash
expenses related to employee stock options of approximately
$246,000 for the quarter ended
March 31, 2021.
Mr. Sharma concluded, "We will continue to aggressively advance
our portfolio, both clinically and in new preclinical indications,
and continue to leverage our A.I. platform to uncover new rescue or
repurposing opportunities on our own or with partners. Our team is
committed to building Lantern into a best-of-breed biopharma
company that transforms the cost, pace and risk of oncology drug
development by leveraging insight from our RADR® A.I.
platform with the experience and expertise of our cancer-focused
research team and a roster of collaborations with world-renowned
cancer research institutions. Our financial position has never been
stronger and our portfolio of targeted oncology drug candidates is
positioned to deliver significant ongoing value for
shareholders."
Conference Call
Lantern will host a conference call and webcast today,
Monday, May 3, at 4:30 p.m. ET.
Toll-free US and Canada:
800–791–4813 – conference ID 97381
US and Canada callers one touch
dial: +1.800.791.4813,,97381#
International: 785–424–1102 – conference ID 97381
Replay Number: 1-800-839–8389, no passcode. Available through
11:59 pm ET on June 3, 2021.
Webcast
Live webcast will be available
at: https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/2460/41104
The webcast will be archived on https://ir.lanternpharma.com
through 11:59 pm ET on June 3, 2021.
Contact
Marek
Ciszewski, JD
Director, Investor Relations
628-777-3167
ir@lanternpharma.com
About Lantern Pharma
Lantern Pharma (LTRN) is a clinical-stage oncology-focused
biopharmaceutical company leveraging its proprietary
RADR® A.I. platform and machine learning to discover
biomarker signatures that identify patients most likely to respond
to its pipeline of genomically-targeted therapeutics. Lantern is
currently developing four drug candidates and an ADC program across
seven disclosed tumor targets, including two phase 2 programs. By
targeting drugs to patients whose genomic profile identifies them
as having the highest probability of benefiting from the drug,
Lantern's approach represents the potential to deliver
best-in-class outcomes. More information is available
at: www.lanternpharma.com and
Twitter @lanternpharma.
Forward-looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended. These forward-looking statements include, among other
things, statements relating to: future events or our future
financial performance; the potential advantages of our
RADR® platform in identifying drug candidates and
patient populations that are likely to respond to a drug candidate;
our strategic plans to advance the development of our drug
candidates and antibody drug conjugate (ADC) development program;
estimates regarding the development timing for our drug candidates
and ADC development program; our research and development efforts
of our internal drug discovery programs and the utilization of our
RADR® platform to streamline the drug development
process; our intention to leverage artificial intelligence, machine
learning and genomic data to streamline and transform the pace,
risk and cost of oncology drug discovery and development and to
identify patient populations that would likely respond to a drug
candidate; estimates regarding potential markets and potential
market sizes; sales estimates for our drug candidates and our plans
to discover and develop drug candidates and to maximize their
commercial potential by advancing such drug candidates ourselves or
in collaboration with others. Any statements that are not
statements of historical fact (including, without limitation,
statements that use words such as "anticipate," "believe,"
"contemplate," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "seek,"
"may," "might," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project,"
"target," "objective," "aim," "should," "will," "would," or the
negative of these words or other similar expressions) should be
considered forward-looking statements. There are a number of
important factors that could cause our actual results to differ
materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements,
such as (i) the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, (ii) the risk that
none of our product candidates has received FDA marketing approval,
and we may not be able to successfully initiate, conduct, or
conclude clinical testing for or obtain marketing approval for our
product candidates; (iii) the risk that no drug product based on
our proprietary RADR A.I. platform has received FDA marketing
approval or otherwise been incorporated into a commercial product,
and (iv) those other factors set forth in the Risk Factors section
in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission on March 10,
2021. You may access our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the
year ended December 31, 2020 under
the investor SEC filings tab of our website
at www.lanternpharma.com or on the SEC's website
at www.sec.gov. Given these risks and uncertainties, we can
give no assurances that our forward-looking statements will prove
to be accurate, or that any other results or events projected or
contemplated by our forward-looking statements will in fact occur,
and we caution investors not to place undue reliance on these
statements. All forward-looking statements in this press release
represent our judgment as of the date hereof, and, except as
otherwise required by law, we disclaim any obligation to update any
forward-looking statements to conform the statement to actual
results or changes in our expectations.
Lantern Pharma
Inc. and Subsidiary
Condensed
Consolidated Balance Sheets
|
|
|
|
March 31,
|
|
|
December 31,
|
|
|
|
2021
|
|
|
2020
|
|
|
|
(Unaudited)
|
|
|
|
|
|
CURRENT
ASSETS
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash
|
|
$
|
81,373,725
|
|
|
$
|
19,229,232
|
|
Prepaid expenses and
other current assets
|
|
|
1,110,770
|
|
|
|
1,007,690
|
|
Total current
assets
|
|
|
82,484,495
|
|
|
|
20,236,922
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Property and
equipment, net
|
|
|
20,164
|
|
|
|
21,507
|
|
Deferred offering
costs
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
|
101,205
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TOTAL
ASSETS
|
|
$
|
82,504,659
|
|
|
$
|
20,359,634
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CURRENT
LIABILITIES
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Accounts payable and
accrued expenses
|
|
$
|
664,533
|
|
|
$
|
552,339
|
|
Total current
liabilities
|
|
|
664,533
|
|
|
|
552,339
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
PPP loan
payable
|
|
|
108,500
|
|
|
|
108,500
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TOTAL
LIABILITIES
|
|
|
773,033
|
|
|
|
660,839
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
COMMITMENTS AND
CONTINGENCIES (NOTE 4)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
STOCKHOLDERS'
EQUITY
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Preferred Stock - Par
Value (1,000,000 authorized at March 31, 2021 and December 31,
2020; $.0001 par value) (Zero shares issued and outstanding at
March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020)
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
|
-
|
|
Common Stock – Par
Value (25,000,000 authorized at March 31, 2021 and December 31,
2020; $.0001 par value) (11,181,447 shares issued and outstanding
at March 31, 2021; 6,220,927 shares issued and outstanding at
December 31, 2020)
|
|
|
1,118
|
|
|
|
622
|
|
Additional paid-in
capital
|
|
|
96,842,698
|
|
|
|
32,358,068
|
|
Accumulated
deficit
|
|
|
(15,112,190)
|
|
|
|
(12,659,895)
|
|
Total
stockholders' equity
|
|
|
81,731,626
|
|
|
|
19,698,795
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TOTAL LIABILITIES
AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
|
|
$
|
82,504,659
|
|
|
$
|
20,359,634
|
|
Lantern Pharma
Inc. and Subsidiary
Condensed
Consolidated Statements of Operations (Unaudited)
|
|
|
|
Three Months
Ended
March 31,
|
|
|
|
2021
|
|
|
2020
|
|
Operating
expenses:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
General and
administrative
|
|
|
1,173,258
|
|
|
|
340,172
|
|
Research and
development
|
|
|
1,279,037
|
|
|
|
137,104
|
|
Total operating
expenses
|
|
|
2,452,295
|
|
|
|
477,276
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NET LOSS
|
|
$
|
(2,452,295)
|
|
|
$
|
(477,276)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net loss per share of
common shares, basic and diluted
|
|
$
|
(0.24)
|
|
|
$
|
(0.24)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weighted-average
number of common shares outstanding, basic and diluted
|
|
|
10,074,623
|
|
|
|
2,020,966
|
|
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SOURCE Lantern Pharma