Cantargia publishes interim report for first quarter 2018

Cantargia AB’s (”Cantargia”) interim report for the first quarter of 2018 is now available on the company’s web page www.cantargia.com/en/investors/financial-reports.

Significant events in the first quarter 

In January, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) notified Cantargia that it had issued a Notice of Allowance for the company’s second, follow-up patent application, in the solid tumours patent family. In the same patent family, Cantargia also received formal approval for a patent application in China. In February, the USPTO issued a Notice of Allowance for the company’s second, follow-up patent application, in the hematological cancer family.

In 2016, a third party filed oppositions to two of Cantargia’s patents in Europe. One of the patents relates to IL1RAP as target molecule for treatment of hematological cancer while the other relates to solid tumours. In January this year, the European Patent Office decided that both patents should remain in force.

Cantargia’s Nominating Committee for the Annual General Meeting 2018 was appointed and consists of Claus Andersson (Sunstone Life Science Ventures), Mats Larsson (First AP Fund) and Jannis Kitsakis (Fourth AP Fund).

During the period, Lund University Bioscience AB, one of Cantargia’s previous owners, decided to distribute its holding in Cantargia to the shareholders of Lund University Bioscience AB.

In March, it was announced that antibody treatment of IL1RAP signalling had been found to reduce metastases in an experimental cancer model. The results point to a new mechanism for preventing the spread of metastases and the results were presented at the AACR scientific conference in April 2018.

 Significant events after the end of the period 

In April, Cantargia presented data concerning blocking of metastases using antibodies against IL1RAP at the 2018 Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) in Chicago, USA. The results show that targeted treatment with an antibody aimed at IL1RAP can, in addition to stimulating the killing of tumour cells and blocking their response to IL-1, block metastasis by affecting the tumour’s microenvironment. The poster is published on the company’s website.

Financial information

First quarter (1 Jan 2018 – 31 Mar 2018)

•  Net sales, kSEK 0 (0).
•  Operating loss, kSEK -15,250 (-18,415).
•  Loss after tax for the period, kSEK -13,699 (-18,402).
•  Earnings per share, before and after dilution, SEK -0.21 (-0.65).
•  Equity/assets ratio, 92 (89) per cent.
•  Cash and cash equivalents, kSEK 80,581 (63,736).
•  Short-term investments, kSEK 160,000 (20,000).

For further information, please contact

Göran Forsberg, CEO
Telephone: +46 (0)46-275 62 60
E-mail: goran.forsberg@cantargia.com

This constitutes information that Cantargia is required to publish under the EU’s Market Abuse Regulation and the Swedish Securities Market Act. The information was submitted for publication through the above contact person at 08.30 CET on 15 May 2018. 

About us

Cantargia AB (publ), reg.no. 556791-6019, is a biotech company that is developing antibody-based treatments for life-threatening diseases. The original discovery by the research team behind Cantargia was the overexpression of a specific target molecule, interleukin 1 receptor accessory protein (IL1RAP) in leukemic stem cells. Subsequent research has also identified IL1RAP in many other forms of cancer. The company’s main project, the CAN04 antibody targeted at IL1RAP, is being studied in the CANFOUR clinical phase I/IIa study, where the primary focus is on non-small cell lung cancer and pancreatic cancer. CAN04 has two modes of action: it blocks the function of IL1RAP and stimulates the immune system to destroy tumour cells. Cantargia’s second project, currently in the research phase, is aimed at developing an IL1RAP-binding antibody that is optimised for treatment of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.

Cantargia is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm First North (ticker: CANTA). Sedermera Fondkommission is the company’s Certified Adviser. More information about Cantargia is available at http://www.cantargia.com.

---