Post by kclawdog on Mar 10, 2016 2:51:28 GMT
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So I guess far and away the most surprising thing to come out of this call is -
As far as milestones
So I guess far and away the most surprising thing to come out of this call is -
Punit Dhillon: As noted in our previous conference call, we have taken additional measures to control our burn rate and implement immediate cost efficiency. To focus our clinical expenditures and conserve cash, we have prioritized our efforts to focus on melanoma in breast cancer, where we believe we have the greatest market opportunity and can drive the greatest value. To that end, we will put further enrollment in the head and neck cancer trial on hold for the time being. We have stopped enrolling patients in the study, but patients that are already enrolled and undergoing treatment in the study will continue. We are planning to present available data from this study, including supporting preclinical data at the upcoming EUROGIN 2016 Conference in June. This clinical decision allows us to better manage our resources appropriately, while executing our strategy and programs that we believe will maximize value for OncoSec.
Robert Pierce: Yes. I can amplify on that Mark. We did not enroll enough patients to have the pause in enrollment based on clinical responses or biomarker data. So just to put away that concern, it was purely based on a desire to conserve resources, it wasn’t based on say no or lack of signal from the study. That’s just the fact.
As far as milestones
Punit Dhillon: So to recap, we look forward to telling you more about this first of its kind novel DNA combination molecule delivering multiple immunomodulatory teams in combination which we still intend to announce in the first half of 2016. We will also continue to position ImmunoPulse as an ideal combination partner for checkpoint inhibitors and other immunotherapies. Finally, we stated the intention of announcing a new collaboration in the first half of 2016. OncoSec continues to establish relationships with academic leaders and industry participants to further advance our research. Our leadership in intratumoral immunotherapy and Gene Electro-Transfer make us well positioned to attract collaborators who want to enter and participate in the growing immuno-oncology field. In the near-term we will seek to establish collaborations with industry participants and academic centers similar to the ones we have already done with key biologics Plexxikon, UC Davis and Mass General Hospital. We believe we are making good progress in these discussions and we will update you as we have something more tangible to announce.
Punit Dhillon: So, before closing, I would like to reemphasize OncoSec’s upcoming milestones. For our near-term milestones, we plan to announce the new key academic or industry collaboration in the first half of this year and announce a new lead candidate for our ImmunoPulse platform. By the end of the year, we plan to have preliminary clinical and biomarker data from our Phase 2 clinical trials. These data will be presented at key scientific conferences. We also expect to provide updates on our preclinical programs, including studies with our existing industry collaborators as well as the continued expansion of our R&D pipeline.