On January 18, Cardiff Oncology Inc. (CRDF) announced new data from its lead clinical program in KRAS-mutated metastatic colorectal cancer. While the company was happy with the results, the stock suffered a huge blow in the after-hours.
During the regular trading session, the stock fluctuated between $6.12 and $6.75. CRDF stock closed the session at $6.14 with a loss of 10.50% at 1.05M shares. Following the announcement, the stock plunged further deep in the after-hours to lose 16.94%. Hence, it was trading at $5.10 apiece in the after-hours session.
The oncology therapeutics company, Cardiff Oncology Inc. was founded in 1999. Currently, its 41.96 million outstanding shares trade at a market capitalization of $287.87 million.
CRDF’s Lead Trial
The company is conducting a Phase 1b/2 trial of onvansertib in combination with standard-of-care (SOC) FOLFIRI and Avastin®. The trial is evaluating the safety and preliminary efficacy of the combination in second-line treatment of KRAS-mutated mCRC patients. Moreover, onvansertib is the CRDF’s first-in-class, third-generation inhibitor, under development with SOC anti-cancer therapeutics. According to the new data from the trial:
- 34% (12/35) patients at RP2D (recommended phase 2 dose) achieved a complete or partial response (CR: 1 patient, PR: 11 patients).
- 35% (17/48) patients at all dose levels achieved a CR or PR.
- 10% (5/48) discontinued the trial for surgical resection or microwave ablation.
- The median progression-free survival has not been achieved yet.
- No major or unexpected toxicities related to onvansertib were seen.
In addition, CRDF will be presenting a subset of the new data at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium (ASCOGI). Further, Dr. Heinz-Josef Lenz, the principal investigator will be presenting the poster at ASCOGI Cancers Symposium on January 22, 2022.
Recent Developments
On January 11, the company announced the addition of two new members to its management team.
Firstly. Tod Smeal, Ph.D. was appointed as CRDF’s chief scientific officer. Mr. Smeal has vast experience of over two decades in developing targeted therapies.
Secondly, Charles Monahan, RPh, was appointed as senior vice president of regulatory affairs of the company. Mr. Monahan also comes with over 20 years of regulatory experience and is a registered pharmacist.
CRDF’s Q3 Highlights
In the third quarter of 2021, the company had total operating expenses of $7.1 million approx. Comparatively, the same was $4.5 million in Q3 of 2020.
Furthermore, CRDF ended the quarter with cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments of $134 million.
