Optimize manufacturing process towards commercial scalability: The Company continues to execute on its multi-pronged strategy to expand manufacturing capacity and efficiency. The Company doubled its manufacturing capacity in 2022 allowing for production of two products simultaneously. The Company also filed an IND amendment to move from fresh to cryopreserved product and expects to begin implementing this change in the first half of 2023. The use of cryopreserved cell products will reduce manufacturing process time from 30 days to 26 days, a 13% decrease, while increasing flexibility for patient scheduling and treatment. The Company has ongoing initiatives to optimize the process and further reduce the manufacturing time.
Explore next generation TCR-T cell therapy approaches to deepen clinical responses: The Company is advancing its mbIL-15 TCR-T cell therapy program towards an IND filing anticipated in the second half of 2023. The Company believes mbIL-15 has the potential to increase the survival of TCR-T cells in the harsh tumor microenvironment and deepen clinical responses. In addition, Alaunos continues to conduct translational assessments of treated patients to guide next generation TCR-T therapy approaches including potential combination and multiplexed TCR-T cell therapies.
Cash Position and Financial Guidance
Alaunos ended the fourth quarter of 2022 with unaudited cash and cash equivalents of approximately $39.1 million and restricted cash of approximately $13.9 million. Based on current operating plans, the Company expects its operating cash flow for 2023 to be between approximately $35 million and $40 million. The Company expects to have sufficient cash resources to fund research and development programs and operations into Q4 2023.
About Alaunos Therapeutics
Alaunos is a clinical-stage oncology-focused cell therapy company, focused on developing T cell receptor (TCR) therapies based on its proprietary, non-viral Sleeping Beauty gene transfer technology and its TCR library targeting shared tumor-specific hotspot mutations in key oncogenic genes including KRAS, TP53 and EGFR. The Company has a clinical and strategic collaboration with the National Cancer Institute.
Forward-Looking Statements Disclaimer
This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts, and in some cases can be identified by terms such as “may,” “will,” “could,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes” or other words or terms of similar meaning. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the Company’s business and strategic plans, the anticipated outcome of preclinical and clinical studies by the Company or its third-party collaborators, the Company’s cash runway and forecast operating cash flow, the Company’s manufacturing capabilities and the timing of the Company’s research and development programs, including the expected timeline for enrolling and dosing patients, submitting and receiving approvals on INDs and similar regulatory submissions and the timing and forums for announcing data from the Company’s clinical trials. Although the management team of Alaunos believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, investors are cautioned that forward-looking information and statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of Alaunos, that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied or projected by, the forward-looking information and statements. These risks and uncertainties include,