oric-8k_20200803.htm

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, DC 20549

 

FORM 8-K

 

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

of The Securities Exchange Act of 1934

 

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported)

August 3, 2020 

 

ORIC Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Delaware

 

001-39269

 

47-1787157

(State or other jurisdiction

of incorporation)

 

(Commission

File Number)

 

(IRS Employer
Identification No.)

240 E. Grand Ave, 2nd Floor

South San Francisco, CA 94080

(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)

 

(650) 388-5600

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Not Applicable

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

 

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

 

Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

 

Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) 

 

Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) 

 

Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c)) 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

 

Title of each class

Trading Symbol(s)

Name of each exchange on which registered

Common stock, par value $0.0001 per share

ORIC

The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC

(The NASDAQ Global Select Market)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

Emerging growth company

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.

 

 


 

Item 2.02 Results of Operations and Financial Condition.

On August 5, 2020, ORIC Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (the “Company”) issued a press release announcing its financial results for the fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2020. A copy of the press release is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated herein by reference.

All of the information furnished in this Item 2.02 and Item 9.01 (including Exhibit 99.1) shall not be deemed to be “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section, nor shall it be deemed incorporated by reference into any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), or the Exchange Act, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such a filing.

Item 3.02 Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities.

On August 3, 2020, the Company entered into a license agreement with Mirati Therapeutics, Inc. (“Mirati”) pursuant to which Mirati granted to the Company an exclusive, worldwide license to develop and commercialize Mirati’s allosteric polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) inhibitors for all indications. In accordance with the terms of such agreement, in exchange for such license, the Company issued 588,235 shares of its common stock (the “Shares”) to Mirati on August 3, 2020, which number of Shares was based on a price of $34.00 per share, representing a premium of 10% to the 60-day trailing volume weighted average trading price of the Company’s common stock. The Shares were issued in a private placement in reliance on Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act for transactions by an issuer not involving any public offering. The Company relied upon this exemption from registration based in part on representations made by Mirati in a stock issuance agreement entered into between the Company and Mirati, dated August 3, 2020. During the eighteen month period following the date of the stock issuance agreement, Mirati is subject to certain transfer restrictions, and the parties agreed to negotiate and enter into a registration rights agreement, with respect to the shares.   

Item 7.01 Regulation FD Disclosure.

On August 5, 2020, the Company issued a press release announcing the transaction with Mirati. A copy of the press release is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.2 and is incorporated herein by reference. 

All of the information furnished in this Item 7.01 and Item 9.01 (including Exhibit 99.2) shall not be deemed to be “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Exchange Act, or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section, nor shall it be deemed incorporated by reference into any filing under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such a filing.

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d) Exhibits

 

 

 

 

Exhibit No.

  

Description

 

 

99.1

  

Press Release dated August 5, 2020

99.2

  

Press Release dated August 5, 2020

2


 

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ORIC PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.

 

 

 

 

    Date: August 5, 2020

 

 

 

By:

 

/s/ Dominic Piscitelli

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dominic Piscitelli

Chief Financial Officer

 

 

3

oric-ex991_6.htm

 

 

Exhibit 99.1

ORIC Pharmaceuticals Reports Second Quarter 2020

Financial and Operational Update

 

Lead program ORIC-101 on track for multiple interim data readouts in 2021 and CD73 inhibitor ORIC-533 on track for IND filing in first half of 2021

Licensed exclusive worldwide development and commercialization rights to a potential best-in-class PRC2 inhibitor; IND filing expected in second half of 2021

ORIC to host conference call today at 4:30 p.m. ET

 

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO and SAN DIEGO, CA – Aug. 5, 2020 – ORIC Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ORIC), a clinical stage oncology company focused on developing treatments that address mechanisms of therapeutic resistance, today reported financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2020.

 

“Since the beginning of the year, we have realized substantial progress advancing our wholly owned, internally developed pipeline,” said Jacob Chacko, M.D., president and chief executive officer. “Looking forward, we see a number of important events as we continue to execute against our strategic plans. We expect to select the recommended Phase 2 dose and initiate the expansion cohorts in both of our ongoing ORIC-101 clinical studies in the second half of the year. Additionally, we are preparing for the development of our newly licensed, potential best-in-class PRC2 inhibitor, ORIC-944, which along with ORIC-533, we anticipate as IND candidates for 2021.”

 

Second Quarter 2020 and Other Recent Highlights

 

 

Licensed Exclusive Worldwide Rights to PRC2 Inhibitors:  In August 2020, ORIC licensed exclusive worldwide development and commercialization rights to a potential best-in-class PRC2 inhibitor, ORIC-944, from Mirati Therapeutics, Inc. Under the terms of the agreement with Mirati, ORIC paid to Mirati a one-time non-cash payment of $20 million in shares of ORIC common stock. The number of shares issued was based on a price of $34.00 per share, representing a premium of 10% to the 60-day trailing volume weighted average trading price of ORIC’s common stock. ORIC is not subject to any future milestone or royalty payment obligations to Mirati.

 

 

Preclinical Data on ORIC-101 Presented at AACR: In June 2020, ORIC presented three poster presentations at the 2020 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Virtual Meeting II. Key findings of the presentations included:

 

A transcriptional signature of glucocorticoid receptor (GR) activity was identified in a panel of 32 cell lines across triple negative breast cancer, non-small cell lung


 

 

 

cancer and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, which translated from preclinical models to human tumors;

 

ORIC-101 overcame GR-mediated resistance to chemotherapeutic agents including taxanes, antimetabolites and platinum agents, in both in vitro and in vivo efficacy studies spanning a variety of solid tumors; and

 

Transcriptional and histological profiling showed that ORIC-101 reversed GR-activated pathways involved in drug resistance and reversed in vivo markers of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, antiapoptosis, and hypoxia.

 

 

Preclinical Data on CD73 Inhibitor Program Presented at AACR: In June 2020, ORIC presented two poster presentations at the 2020 AACR Annual Virtual Meeting II. Key findings of the presentations included:

 

ORIC’s CD73 inhibitors demonstrated suppression of adenosine production in vitro across multiple cell types and rescued activation of CD8+ T cells exposed to AMP with greater potency than competitor compounds;

 

ORIC-533 was shown to result in sustained inhibition of adenosine production after drug washout, consistent with its slow off-rate, and differentiating from other CD73 inhibitors;

 

ORIC-533 potency in high AMP environments distinguishes it from other compounds, with activity in AMP concentrations as high as 1 millimolar, which may better reflect certain tumor microenvironments; and

 

Daily oral delivery of ORIC’s CD73 inhibitors significantly inhibited tumor growth, with corresponding in vivo reduction of adenosine levels in tumors, and immune modulation consistent with decreased immunosuppression.

 

Expanded and Strengthened its Board: In June 2020, the company appointed Lori Kunkel, M.D., to its board of directors. Dr. Kunkel brings more than twenty-five years of experience in oncology and immunology drug development and commercialization.

 

 

Completed $138 Million Initial Public Offering: On April 28, 2020, the company completed its initial public offering (IPO), selling 8,625,000 shares of common stock, which included the full exercise by the underwriters of their option to purchase up to 1,125,000 additional shares, at $16.00 per share. Gross proceeds from the IPO, excluding underwriting discounts and commissions and other estimated offering costs, were $138.0 million.

 

Anticipated Milestones

 

ORIC expects to select the recommended Phase 2 dose for its two ongoing ORIC-101 combination trials in the second half of 2020 and to report interim data from one of the trials in the first half of 2021 and from the other trial in the second half of 2021.

 

ORIC expects to file an Investigational New Drug (IND) Application for ORIC-533 with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the first half of 2021.


 

 

 

ORIC expects to file an IND Application for ORIC-944 with the FDA in the second half of 2021.

 

 

Second Quarter 2020 Financial Results

 

Cash and Cash Equivalents: Cash and cash equivalents totaled $196.6 million as of June 30, 2020, which includes the gross proceeds of $138.0 million from the company’s IPO in April 2020. The company expects its current cash and cash equivalents will be sufficient to fund its current operating plan into the fourth quarter of 2022.

 

 

R&D Expenses: Research and development (R&D) expenses were $7.7 million for the three months ended June 30, 2020, compared to $5.0 million for the three months ended June 30, 2019, an increase of $2.7 million. For the six months ended June 30, 2020, R&D expenses were $15.0 million compared to $10.3 million for the same period of 2019, an increase of $4.7 million. The increases were primarily due to the continued advancement of the ORIC-101 and ORIC-533 programs and higher personnel and related expenses, including non-cash stock-based compensation.

 

 

G&A Expenses: General and administrative (G&A) expenses were $3.4 million for the three months ended June 30, 2020, compared to $1.3 million for the three months ended June 30, 2019, an increase of $2.1 million. For six months ended June 30, 2020, general and administrative expenses were $5.3 million compared to $2.4 million for the same period in 2019, an increase of $2.9 million. These increases were primarily due to higher professional services and related costs to operate as a public company, and higher personnel costs, including non-cash stock-based compensation.

 

 

Webcast and Conference Call

ORIC will host a webcast and conference call today, August 5th, at 4:30 p.m. ET. To participate in the conference call, please dial (866) 393-4306 (domestic) or (734) 385-2616 (international) and refer to conference ID: 5167646. Please join the conference call at least 15 minutes early to register. A live webcast will be available in the Investors section of the company's website at www.oricpharma.com. The webcast will be archived for 60 days following the presentation.

 

About ORIC Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

 

ORIC Pharmaceuticals is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to improving patients’ lives by Overcoming Resistance In Cancer.  ORIC’s lead product candidate, ORIC-101, is a potent and selective small molecule antagonist of the glucocorticoid receptor, which has been linked to resistance to multiple classes of cancer therapeutics across a variety of solid tumors. ORIC-101 is currently in two separate Phase 1b trials of ORIC-101 in combination with (1) Xtandi (enzalutamide) in metastatic prostate cancer and (2) Abraxane (nab-paclitaxel) in


 

 

advanced or metastatic solid tumors. ORIC’s other product candidates include (1) ORIC-533, an orally bioavailable small molecule inhibitor of CD73, a key node in the adenosine pathway believed to play a central role in resistance to chemotherapy- and immunotherapy-based treatment regimens, and (2) ORIC-944, an allosteric inhibitor of the polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) via the EED subunit, being developed for prostate cancer. Beyond these three product candidates, ORIC is also developing multiple precision medicines targeting other hallmark cancer resistance mechanisms. ORIC has offices in South San Francisco and San Diego, California. For more information, please go to www.oricpharma.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

 

This press release contains forward-looking statements as that term is defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Statements in this press release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements regarding ORIC’s development plans and timelines; the potential best-in-class nature of ORIC-944; plans underlying ORIC-101 clinical trials and development; the expected timing of reporting interim data from the ORIC-101 clinical trials; plans underlying ORIC-533, ORIC-944 or any other development programs; the planned filing of INDs for ORIC-533 and ORIC-944; the potential advantages of ORIC’s product candidates; the period over which ORIC estimates its existing cash and cash equivalents will be sufficient to fund its current operating plan; and statements by the company’s president and chief executive officer. Words such as “believes,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “expects,” “intends,” “will,” “goal,” “potential” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained herein are based upon ORIC’s current expectations and involve assumptions that may never materialize or may prove to be incorrect. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to: risks associated with the process of discovering, developing and commercializing drugs that are safe and effective for use as human therapeutics and operating as an early clinical stage company; ORIC’s ability to develop, initiate or complete preclinical studies and clinical trials for, obtain approvals for and commercialize any of its product candidates; changes in ORIC’s plans to develop and commercialize its product candidates; the potential for clinical trials of ORIC-101, ORIC-533, ORIC-944 or any other product candidates to differ from preclinical, preliminary or expected results; negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on ORIC’s operations, including clinical trials; the risk of the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could give rise to the termination of the Mirati license agreement; ORIC’s ability to raise any additional funding it will need to continue to pursue its business and product development plans; regulatory developments in the United States and foreign countries; ORIC’s reliance on third parties, including contract manufacturers and contract research organizations; ORIC’s ability to obtain and maintain intellectual property protection for its product candidates; the loss of key scientific or management personnel; competition in the industry in which ORIC operates; general economic and market conditions; and other risks. Information regarding the foregoing and


 

 

additional risks may be found in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in ORIC’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on August 5, 2020, and ORIC’s future reports to be filed with the SEC.  These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release, and ORIC assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

 

 

 

Contact:

Dominic Piscitelli, Chief Financial Officer

dominic.piscitelli@oricpharma.com

info@oricpharma.com



 

 

ORIC PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.

CONDENSED BALANCE SHEETS

(in thousands, except share and per share amounts)

 

 

 

June 30,

2020

 

 

December 31, 2019

 

 

 

(unaudited)

 

 

 

 

 

Assets

 

Current assets:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents

 

$

196,642

 

 

$

89,159

 

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

 

 

2,586

 

 

 

840

 

Total current assets

 

 

199,228

 

 

 

89,999

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Property and equipment, net

 

 

1,978

 

 

 

2,241

 

Deferred offering costs

 

 

 

 

 

1,343

 

Other assets

 

 

319

 

 

 

510

 

Total assets

 

$

201,525

 

 

$

94,093

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Liabilities, Convertible Preferred Stock and Stockholders' Equity (Deficit)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current liabilities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accounts payable

 

$

1,389

 

 

$

152

 

Accrued other liabilities

 

 

4,389

 

 

 

5,202

 

Total current liabilities

 

 

5,778

 

 

 

5,354

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deferred rent - long term

 

 

500

 

 

 

765

 

Total liabilities

 

 

6,278

 

 

 

6,119

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Convertible preferred stock

 

 

 

 

 

178,058

 

Total stockholders' equity (deficit)

 

 

195,247

 

 

 

(90,084

)

Total liabilities, convertible preferred stock and stockholders' equity (deficit)

 

$

201,525

 

 

$

94,093

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

ORIC PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.

STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE LOSS

(Unaudited)

(in thousands, except share and per share amounts)

 

 

Three Months Ended June 30,

 

 

Six Months Ended June 30,

 

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

Operating expenses:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Research and development

$

7,723

 

 

$

5,040

 

 

$

14,977

 

 

$

10,252

 

General and administrative

 

3,400

 

 

 

1,315

 

 

 

5,325

 

 

 

2,449

 

Total operating expenses

 

11,123

 

 

 

6,355

 

 

 

20,302

 

 

 

12,701

 

Loss from operations

 

(11,123

)

 

 

(6,355

)

 

 

(20,302

)

 

 

(12,701

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other income:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interest income, net

 

25

 

 

 

317

 

 

 

266

 

 

 

578

 

Other income

 

74

 

 

 

73

 

 

 

140

 

 

 

143

 

Total other income

 

99

 

 

 

390

 

 

 

406

 

 

 

721

 

Net loss and comprehensive loss

$

(11,024

)

 

$

(5,965

)

 

$

(19,896

)

 

$

(11,980

)

Net loss per share, basic and diluted

$

(0.51

)

 

$

(3.19

)

 

$

(1.68

)

 

$

(6.51

)

Weighted-average shares outstanding, basic and diluted

 

21,627,361

 

 

 

1,872,309

 

 

 

11,808,103

 

 

 

1,841,233

 

 

 

 

oric-ex992_31.htm

 

 

Exhibit 99.2

 

ORIC Pharmaceuticals Expands Precision Oncology Pipeline with Exclusive Worldwide License to Highly Selective Allosteric PRC2 Inhibitors from Mirati Therapeutics

 

ORIC licenses exclusive worldwide development and commercialization rights to a potential best-in-class PRC2 inhibitor

IND filing to support clinical development of ORIC-944 in prostate cancer expected in 2H 2021

ORIC to host conference call today at 4:30 p.m. ET

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO and SAN DIEGO, CA – Aug. 5, 2020 – ORIC Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ORIC), a clinical stage oncology company focused on developing treatments that address mechanisms of therapeutic resistance, today announced it has entered into an exclusive worldwide license agreement with Mirati Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: MRTX), a leading targeted oncology company dedicated to advancing novel therapeutics.  ORIC will have exclusive worldwide rights for the development activities and commercialization of a small molecule allosteric inhibitor program directed towards the polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2), a validated oncogenic target across several cancers with promising therapeutic potential in prostate cancer, among other indications.  

 

“We are excited to add another program to our pipeline that is well aligned with our mission of overcoming cancer resistance and our expertise in hormone-dependent cancers, key tumor dependencies and precision oncology,” said Jacob Chacko, M.D., president and chief executive officer of ORIC.  “Our lead program, ORIC-101, and the rest of our innovative, wholly-owned pipeline of precision medicines have thus far been internally generated by our fully integrated drug discovery and development team.  This PRC2 inhibitor is the first externally sourced program we’ve added to our pipeline and, based on work conducted at ORIC, we believe Mirati’s novel approach in targeting PRC2 may address an area of significant unmet medical need in treatment-resistant prostate cancer.”

 

“We are pleased to enter into this agreement with ORIC, which enables the continued advancement of Mirati’s PRC2 inhibitors” said James G. Christensen, Ph.D., executive vice president and chief scientific officer of Mirati. “With ORIC’s focus on novel treatments for prostate cancer, ORIC is an ideal partner to further the research and development of this program.”

 

Mirati has developed highly selective allosteric inhibitors of PRC2, including a lead candidate now designated as ORIC-944, that target its regulatory embryonic ectoderm development (EED) subunit and may represent a best-in-class approach for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer.  Prior to entering into the license agreement with Mirati, ORIC generated compelling in vivo


 

 

efficacy data in enzalutamide-resistant prostate cancer models with ORIC-944.  ORIC expects to file an IND for ORIC-944 in the second half of 2021.

 

Under the terms of the agreement, in exchange for an exclusive worldwide license to develop and commercialize Mirati’s PRC2 inhibitor program, ORIC paid to Mirati a one-time non-cash payment of $20 million in shares of ORIC common stock.  The number of shares issued to Mirati was based on a price of $34.00 per share, representing a premium of 10% to the 60-day trailing

volume-weighted average trading price of ORIC’s common stock.  ORIC is not subject to any future milestone or royalty payment obligations to Mirati.

Webcast and Conference Call

 

ORIC will host a webcast and conference call today, August 5th, at 4:30 p.m. ET.  To participate in the conference call, please dial (866) 393-4306 (domestic) or (734) 385-2616 (international) and refer to conference ID: 5167646.  Please join the conference call at least 15 minutes early to register.  A live webcast will be available in the Investors section of the company's website at www.oricpharma.com.  The webcast will be archived for 60 days following the presentation.

 

About PRC2

 

The polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) has methyltransferase activity required for long term epigenetic silencing of chromatin and plays a critical role in cancer.  PRC2 core subunits EED, EZH2, and SUZ12 function as part of a complex to selectively repress gene expression by regulating the transfer of methyl groups to a distinct lysine residue on histone proteins associated with DNA.  Overexpression and/or mutations in PRC2 can result in aberrant methylation activity, leading to tumorigenesis in multiple solid tumors and hematological malignancies.  In particular, PRC2 dysfunction can lead to decreased expression of tumor suppressor genes and other target genes that have been associated with poor prognosis in patients with metastatic prostate cancer.

 

First-generation PRC2 inhibitors, which target the catalytic EZH2 subunit, have demonstrated clinical activity in several cancers, and one has been approved by the FDA for the treatment of epithelioid sarcoma and follicular lymphoma.  More recent scientific advances have focused on developing allosteric inhibitors of PRC2, which may help to address several limitations of first-generation PRC2 inhibitors.  Research conducted at ORIC demonstrated that allosteric inhibitors of PRC2 are more efficacious in treatment-resistant prostate cancer models than has been reported by traditional non-allosteric PRC2 inhibitors.

 

About ORIC Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

 

ORIC Pharmaceuticals is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to improving patients’ lives by Overcoming Resistance In Cancer.  ORIC’s lead product candidate, ORIC-101, is a potent and selective small molecule antagonist of the glucocorticoid receptor, which has been linked to resistance to multiple classes of cancer therapeutics across a variety of solid tumors.  ORIC-101 is currently in two separate Phase 1b trials of ORIC-101 in combination with


 

 

(1) Xtandi (enzalutamide) in metastatic prostate cancer and (2) Abraxane (nab-paclitaxel) in advanced or metastatic solid tumors.  ORIC’s other product candidates include (1) ORIC-533, an orally bioavailable small molecule inhibitor of CD73, a key node in the adenosine pathway believed to play a central role in resistance to chemotherapy- and immunotherapy-based treatment regimens, and (2) ORIC-944, an allosteric inhibitor of the polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) via the EED subunit, being developed for prostate cancer.  Beyond these three product candidates, ORIC is also developing multiple precision medicines targeting other hallmark cancer resistance mechanisms.  ORIC has offices in South San Francisco and San Diego, California.  For more information, please go to www.oricpharma.com.

 

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

 

This press release contains forward-looking statements as that term is defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.  Statements in this press release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements.  Such forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements regarding the ability of ORIC-944 to treat prostate cancer; the potential benefits of and activity under the license agreement between ORIC and Mirati; preclinical data and development plans underlying ORIC-944; the planned filing of an IND for ORIC-944; the potential best-in-class nature of ORIC-944; plans underlying clinical trials and development for ORIC-101; the potential advantages of ORIC’s product candidates; statements by ORIC’s president and chief executive officer; and statements by Mirati’s executive vice president and chief scientific officer.  Words such as “believes,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “expects,” “intends,” “will,” “goal,” “potential” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements.  The forward-looking statements contained herein are based upon ORIC’s current expectations and involve assumptions that may never materialize or may prove to be incorrect.  Actual results could differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to: risks associated with the process of discovering, developing and commercializing drugs that are safe and effective for use as human therapeutics and operating as an early clinical stage company; ORIC’s ability to develop, initiate or complete preclinical studies and clinical trials for, obtain approvals for and commercialize any of its product candidates; changes in ORIC’s plans to develop and commercialize its product candidates; the potential for clinical trials of ORIC-101, ORIC-944 or any other product candidates to differ from preclinical, preliminary or expected results; negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on ORIC’s operations, including clinical trials; the risk of the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could give rise to the termination of the license agreement; risks related to the effect of the announcement of the transaction on ORIC’s business relationships, operating results and business generally; ORIC’s ability to raise any additional funding it will need to continue to pursue its business and product development plans; regulatory developments in the United States and foreign countries; ORIC’s reliance on third parties, including contract manufacturers and contract research organizations; ORIC’s ability to obtain and maintain intellectual property protection for its product candidates; the loss of key scientific or management personnel; competition in the industry in which ORIC operates; general economic and market conditions; and other risks.  Information regarding the foregoing and additional risks may be found in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in ORIC’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q


 

 

filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on August 5, 2020, and ORIC’s future reports to be filed with the SEC.  These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release, and ORIC assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

 

Contact:

Dominic Piscitelli, Chief Financial Officer

dominic.piscitelli@oricpharma.com

info@oricpharma.com