Ziopharm Oncology (ZIOP) Posts Q1 Loss of 69c/Share

Ziopharm Oncology (NASDAQ: ZIOP) reported Q1 EPS of ($0.69), $0.56 worse than the analyst estimate of ($0.13). Revenue for the quarter came in at $272 thousand versus the consensus estimate of $130 thousand.

Recent and Upcoming Corporate Highlights

In January, ZIOPHARM and its partner, Intrexon Corporation, entered into an exclusive license agreement with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center for programs and associated technologies related to the development of non-viral adoptive cellular therapies, including CAR T, TCR and associated cell-based therapies. When combined with Intrexon's technology suite and ZIOPHARM's further clinical validation of the RheoSwitch Therapeutic System® (RTS®) gene switch, the resulting proprietary methods and technologies may help realize the promise of genetically modified immune cells by tightly controlling expansion and activation in the body, thereby minimizing off-tissue effects and toxicity while maximizing therapeutic efficacy.

In March, ZIOPHARM and Intrexon announced an exclusive strategic collaboration and license agreement to develop and commercialize CAR T cancer therapies with Merck Serono, the biopharmaceutical business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. Under the agreement, Merck will nominate targets of interest for which selected CAR-T products will be developed, and will lead pre-IND interactions, IND filing, clinical development and commercialization. Under the terms of the agreement, Intrexon will share equally all economic provisions of the collaboration with ZIOPHARM, including an upfront payment of $115 million. For the first two targets of interest selected by Merck Serono, Intrexon will receive research funding and is eligible to receive up to $826 million in development, regulatory and commercial milestones ($413 million per Product), as well as tiered royalties on product sales. In addition, Intrexon is also eligible to receive further payments upon achievement of certain technology development milestones.

Under the agreement, Intrexon and ZIOPHARM have the opportunity to explore targets independently, granting Merck opt-in rights during clinical development.

Also in April, ZIOPHARM announced the initiation of a Phase 1b/2 study of Ad-RTS-hIL-12 and veledimex following standard chemotherapy for the treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer. The study will be conducted at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Ad-RTS-hIL-12 is a novel gene therapy candidate for the controlled expression of IL-12, an important protein for collapsing tumor stroma and stimulating an anti-cancer T cell immune response. The study employs a unique protocol designed to explore the potential to extend or augment response to first or second line standard therapy through an immunotherapy phase of treatment.

This study was followed recently by the initiation of a Phase 1 study of Ad-RTS-hIL-12 and veledimex in patients with recurrent or progressive glioblastoma or Grade III malignant glioma, a form of brain cancer. Among the centers expected to begin enrolling patients in the study are the Stanford School of Medicine, Dana Farber/Brigham and Women's, the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, Cedars-Sinai/the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Ziopharm Oncology (ZIOP) click here.

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