Apellis Pharmaceuticals Reports Third Quarter 2018 Business Update and Financial Results

- Commenced Phase 3 Program of APL-2 in Geographic Atrophy (GA) -

- Cash Position of $220.6 Million at Quarter-End -

CRESTWOOD, Ky. and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Nov. 13, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: APLS), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapeutic compounds to treat disease through the inhibition of the complement system, today announced its third quarter 2018 financial results and business highlights.

“The third quarter of 2018 was very important for Apellis, as we initiated our Phase 3 program in GA and now have two clinical programs in Phase 3 following the initiation of the PEGASUS trial of APL-2 in paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) patients in June,” said Cedric Francois, MD, PhD, founder and chief executive officer of Apellis. “This is a considerable accomplishment as we work towards the goal of treating patients with complement mediated diseases with APL-2 as an approved drug. We remain steadfast in our commitment to patients and voluntarily implemented a temporary pause in dosing in both our Phase 3 GA program and in our Phase 1b/2 Wet AMD trial last month following observations of non-infectious inflammation in patients that we believe resulted from a single manufacturing lot of APL-2. We do not believe the pause will delay the projected enrollment timeline of 18 months in the Phase 3 GA program and in the first half of December we plan to provide an update following confirmatory studies and review by the data safety monitoring board. We also look forward to sharing updates on our hematology programs later this quarter at the 2018 American Society of Hematology (ASH) conference.”

Business Highlights and Upcoming Milestones:

APL-2 in GA

• Initiated patient dosing in the Phase 3 GA program, consisting of two Phase 3 trials (DERBY & OAKS), in September 2018.
• Received Fast Track designation for the treatment of patients with GA from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) in July 2018.
• Plan to provide an update on the Phase 3 GA program in the first half of December 2018.

APL-2 in PNH

• Provided interim results from the Phase 1b PHAROAH trial evaluating APL-2 in PNH patients on treatment with eculizumab (Soliris™) in September 2018. All four patients, who were severely anemic and transfusion dependent while on eculizumab, were transitioned to APL-2 monotherapy.
• Plan to provide an update on the ongoing Phase 1b PNH trials at the 2018 ASH conference in December.

APL-2 In Other Indications

• Plan to provide an update on the ongoing Phase 2 monotherapy trial of APL-2 in both warm autoimmune hemolytic anemia (wAIHA) and cold agglutinin disease (CAD) at the 2018 ASH conference in December.
• Expect data from the ongoing Phase 2 monotherapy trial of APL-2 in four types of complement-dependent nephropathies (IgA nephropathy, C3 glomerulopathy, primary membranous nephropathy and lupus nephritis) in 2019. The trial timeline has been updated from a four month data readout to a one year data readout.

Third Quarter 2018 Financial Results:

As of September 30, 2018, Apellis had $220.6 million in cash and cash equivalents, compared to $253.8 million as of June 30, 2018.

Apellis reported a net loss of $36.0 million for the third quarter of 2018, compared to a net loss of $11.6 million for the third quarter of 2017.

Research and development expenses were $29.5 million in the third quarter of 2018, compared to $9.5 million in the third quarter of 2017. The increase in research and development expenses was primarily attributable to an increase of $10.2 million in clinical trial costs associated with the preparation for and commencement of our Phase 3 clinical trials, an increase of $6.8 million in manufacturing expenses in connection with the supply for our Phase 3 clinical trials of APL-2, an increase of $2.5 million in employee related costs primarily due to the hiring of additional personnel, an increase of $0.3 million related to research and development supporting activities and an increase of $0.2 million in preclinical study expenses.

General and administrative expenses were $6.3 million in the third quarter of 2018, compared to $2.1 million in the third quarter of 2017. The increase in general and administrative expenses was primarily attributable to an increase in employee related costs of $2.0 million due to the hiring of additional personnel, an increase in professional and consulting fees of $0.9 million, an increase in license agreement costs of $0.7 million attributable to our achievement of milestones, an increase of $0.4 million in director stock option compensation and an increase of $0.2 million in insurance costs.

About APL-2
APL-2 is designed to inhibit the complement cascade centrally at C3 and may have the potential to treat a wide range of complement-mediated diseases more effectively than is possible with partial inhibitors of complement. APL-2 is a synthetic cyclic peptide conjugated to a polyethylene glycol (PEG) polymer that binds specifically to C3 and C3b, effectively blocking all three pathways of complement activation (classical, lectin, and alternative).

About Apellis
Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapeutic compounds for the treatment of a broad range of life-threatening or debilitating autoimmune diseases based upon complement immunotherapy through the inhibition of the complement system at the level of C3. Apellis is the first company to advance chronic therapy with a C3 inhibitor into clinical trials. For additional information about Apellis and APL-2, please visit http://www.apellis.com. For additional information regarding our clinical trials, visit www.apellis.com/clinical-trials.html.

Forward-Looking Statements 
Statements in this press release about future expectations, plans and prospects, as well as any other statements regarding matters that are not historical facts, may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to the implications of preliminary clinical data. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including: whether dosing in the Phase 3 GA program will resume when anticipated; whether preliminary or interim results from a clinical trial will be predictive of the final results of the trial; whether results obtained in preclinical studies and clinical trials will be indicative of results that will be generated in future clinical trials; whether APL-2 will successfully advance through the clinical trial process on a timely basis, or at all; whether the results of such clinical trials will warrant regulatory submissions and whether APL-2 will receive approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration or equivalent foreign regulatory agencies for GA, PNH or any other indication; whether, if Apellis’ products receive approval, they will be successfully distributed and marketed; and other factors discussed in the “Risk Factors” section of Apellis’ Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 13, 2018 and the risks described in other filings that Apellis may make with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof, and Apellis specifically disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.