CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Synlogic, Inc. (NASDAQ:SYBX), a clinical stage company applying synthetic biology to beneficial microbes to develop novel, living medicines, today reported its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2019 and provided an update on its programs.

“In the first half of the year we made significant advances in our Synthetic Biotic programs while strengthening our platform capabilities and our balance sheet,” said Aoife Brennan, M.B., B.Ch., Synlogic’s president and chief executive officer. “We look forward to an equally productive second half of the year as we continue to advance our novel Synthetic Biotic medicines to provide potential therapeutic solutions for patients with unmet medical needs.”

Recent Highlights and Updates

• Positive topline clinical data from phenylketonuria (PKU) patient cohorts in Phase 1/2a clinical trial enable next stage of clinical development of new solid formulation of SYNB1618. In July, Synlogic announced positive top-line clinical data demonstrating safety and tolerability of a liquid formulation of SYNB1618 in patients with PKU. Importantly, the data also demonstrated that production of biomarkers related to SYNB1618’s engineered ability to consume phenylalanine (Phe) was equivalent in patients and healthy volunteers. Synlogic has initiated a bridging study in healthy volunteers to evaluate the activity and maximum tolerated dose of a solid oral formulation of SYNB1618 manufactured by the company using an improved fermentation process. Full data and a description of the model will be presented at the annual symposium of the Society for the Study of Inborn Errors of Metabolism (SSIEM) in Rotterdam, September 3-6, 2019.
• Expanded collaboration with Ginkgo Bioworks provides expanded synthetic biology capabilities and strengthens Synlogic balance sheet. In June, Synlogic and Ginkgo entered into a long-term strategic platform collaboration. Under the agreement Ginkgo invested $80.0 million in Synlogic at a premium to market. Synlogic will use Ginkgo’s cell programming platform for building and testing thousands of microbial strains to accelerate progression of early preclinical leads to drug candidates optimized for further clinical development. Synlogic paid $30.0 million to Ginkgo for synthetic biology services to be provided over an initial period of five years which can be extended. Synlogic has exclusive rights to any Synthetic Biotic medicines that it develops as part of the collaboration and to intellectual property covering such products.
• Establishment of clinical collaboration with Roche will enable evaluation of SYNB1891, engineered to express a STING agonist, in combination with PD-L1-blocking checkpoint inhibitor (CPI) atezolizumab (Tecentriq®) in patients with advanced solid tumors. Synlogic remains on track to file an Investigational New Drug application with the U.S. Federal Drug Administration in the second half of 2019 for SYNB1891 to enable the company to initiate an open-label Phase 1 clinical trial to evaluate the candidate as a monotherapy and a combination treatment with atezolizumab.
• Appointment of Scott Plevy, M.D., as Chief Scientific Officer to lead Synlogic’s research organization. Dr. Plevy is a gastroenterologist who most recently served as Vice President, Gastroenterology Disease Area Leader and IL-23 Pathway Leader at Janssen Research & Development, LLC, after a successful career in academia. He has a wealth of experience in early-phase clinical trials and performed translational research to advance the understanding of novel immunologic interventions in inflammatory bowel disease, other inflammatory conditions, and microbiome-related diseases.

Second Quarter 2019 Financial Results

As of June 30, 2019, Synlogic had cash, cash equivalents and short and long-term investments of $149.1 million.

In June 2019, Synlogic issued to Ginkgo 6,340,771 shares of common stock at a purchase price per share of $9.00, and pre-funded warrants to purchase an aggregate of 2,548,117 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $9.00 per share, with $8.99 of such exercise price paid at the closing of the offering. The net proceeds to Synlogic were approximately $79.9 million.

For the three months ended June 30, 2019, Synlogic reported a consolidated net loss of $12.3 million, or $0.45 per share, compared to a consolidated net loss of $14.6 million, or $0.59 per share, for the corresponding period in 2018.

Research and development expenses were $9.7 million for the three months ended June 30, 2019 compared to $10.9 million for the corresponding period in 2018. The decrease was primarily due to decreased clinical development costs for its SYNB1618 program and a decrease in nonclinical development costs for its programs, partially offset by increased research and development support costs.

General and administrative expenses for the three months ended June 30, 2019 were $3.7 million compared to $4.7 million for the corresponding period in 2018. The decrease was primarily due to a decrease in compensation costs and other employee-related expenses.

Revenues were $0.4 million for the three months ended June 30, 2019, compared to $0.3 million for the corresponding period in 2018. Revenue for both periods was associated with Synlogic’s collaboration with AbbVie to develop Synthetic Biotic medicines for the treatment of irritable bowel disease.

Six-months Results For the six months ended June 30, 2019, the consolidated net loss was $25.3 million, or $0.96 per share, compared to a consolidated net loss of $25.8 million, or $1.14 per share, for the corresponding period in 2018.

Total operating expenses were $27.5 million for the six months ended June 30, 2019, compared to $27.6 million for the corresponding period in 2018.

About Synlogic Synlogic is pioneering the development of a novel class of living medicines, Synthetic Biotic medicines, based on its proprietary drug development platform. Synlogic leverages the tools and principles of synthetic biology to genetically engineer probiotic microbes to perform or deliver critical functions missing or damaged due to disease. The company’s two lead programs, SYNB1020 and SYNB1618, target hyperammonemia as a result of liver damage or genetic disease, and PKU, respectively. When delivered orally, Synthetic Biotic medicines can act from the gut to compensate for the dysfunctional metabolic pathway and have a systemic effect, with the potential to significantly improve symptoms of disease for affected patients. In addition, the company is leveraging the broad potential of its platform to create Synthetic Biotic medicines for the treatment of more common diseases, including liver disease, inflammatory and immune disorders, and cancer. Synlogic is collaborating with AbbVie to develop Synthetic Biotic-based treatments for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). For more information, please visit www.synlogictx.com.