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Operating Expense Reduction
The Company has implemented a plan to reduce overall operating expenses, including a reduction in workforce. While the Company is still in the process of determining final results for the fourth quarter of 2020, it expects to end the year with cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments of approximately $82 million (unaudited) and debt of approximately $25 million.
Apulmiq (Inhaled Ciprofloxacin) in Non-Cystic Fibrosis Bronchiectasis (NCFB)
As part of a pipeline simplification strategy that focuses resources on Molgradex in aPAP and the IMPALA 2 trial, the Company has discontinued the Apulmiq clinical development program.
Phase 3 IMPALA 2 Update
While the Company is working to initiate the Phase 3 IMPALA 2 trial in North America, Europe, and Asia as quickly and as safely as possible, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the trial continues to evolve. To ensure COVID-19 mitigation strategies are in place, the Company today revised guidance on the initiation of IMPALA 2 and now expects the trial to start in Q2 2021, versus the end of Q1 2021.
About the AVAIL Trial
AVAIL is a Phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial designed to compare the efficacy and safety of AeroVanc (vancomycin hydrochloride inhalation powder) with placebo in people living with cystic fibrosis (CF) who have Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) lung infection. Total target enrollment was 200 patients. In March 2020, the Company stopped enrollment due to COVID-19 concerns. The trial enrolled 55 patients in the adult population out of a target of 50 and 133 patients in the primary analysis population (those between 6-21 years of age) out of a target of 150.
During Period 1 of the trial, patients were randomly assigned in a blinded 1:1 fashion to receive either AeroVanc (30 mg) twice daily, or placebo, by inhalation for 24 weeks (or 3 dosing cycles). A dosing cycle was defined as 28 days of treatment followed by 28 days of observation. During Period 2 of the trial, patients received open-label AeroVanc (30 mg) twice daily for an additional 24 weeks (or 3 dosing cycles), to evaluate the long-term safety of AeroVanc.
The primary endpoint is the mean absolute change in FEV1 percent predicted from baseline, which was analyzed sequentially at week 4 (end of cycle 1), week 12 (end of cycle 2) and week 20 (end of cycle 3). Analysis of the primary endpoint was based on patients between 6-21 years of age. Secondary efficacy endpoints included: (i) time-to-use of another antibiotic medication for pulmonary infection, (ii) the number of successful FEV1-response cycles a patient achieves over Period 1 (weeks 4, 12, and 20), (iii) relative change from baseline in FEV1 percent predicted at weeks 4, 12, and 20, (iv) change from baseline CF Questionnaire-Revised scores at weeks 4, 12, and 20 and (v) change from Baseline in CF Respiratory Symptom Diary-Chronic Respiratory Symptom Score scores at weeks 4, 12, and 20.
About Savara
Savara is an orphan lung disease company. Our lead program, Molgradex, is an inhaled granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) in Phase 3 development for autoimmune pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (aPAP). Our management team has significant experience in orphan drug development and pulmonary medicine, identifying unmet needs, and effectively advancing product candidates to approval and commercialization. More information can be found at www.savarapharma.com. (Twitter: @SavaraPharma, LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/savara-pharmaceuticals/).