Yes. Good morning, and welcome to PCI Biotech's Q1 presentation held here at Oslo Cancer Cluster Innovation Park. My name is Roni Skogradal, and I'm the CFO of the company. Unfortunately, I need to inform you that our CEO, Per Walde, is acute ill. So I need to take this presentation on short notice.
That's, of course, unfortunate, but I will do my best. So before we start with the presentation, please notice our important notice and disclaimer. At the end of the presentation, we will have a Q and A session, open both through a telephone conference facility where you can dial in for questions. But you can also, as usual, post questions through the webcast console. We will start the Q and A sessions with the telephone conference facility.
And you can find the details both in the slides and in the invite for the presentation. So first, a couple of words, intro words about PCI Biotech. We have an enabling technology, enabling intracellular delivery. We use this platform technology for 3 different programs: FIMAChem, our lead program, now in pivotal phase with the release study Simawak, our therapeutic cancer vaccine program, completed Phase I and recently published results in a scientific journal. And then the FIMA NAK program, our preclinical assets where we have a collaborative approach to try to bring this asset into the clinic.
Very briefly about the mode of action of our technology. It's a triggered endosomal release technology where we have a molecule named femaporfin, which is designed to attach to the inside of the endosomal membranes inside cells. When we apply light, this molecule takes up the energy from the light, generates the photochemical reaction, destabilizes the endosomal membranes and the trapped molecules are released into the cells. So that's why the intracellular delivery. And with this technology, we believe that we have the potential solution for key challenges for several modalities.
For Fimochem, we enhanced the effect of gemcitabine for bile drug cancer. For Fimavac, we enable cellular or we enhance cellular immune response, important for therapeutic vaccines. And for the NAC program, we are providing a delivery solution, which is a major hurdle for nucleic acid based therapeutics. Then highlights for FIMAChem. During Q1, we have seen increased screening and enrollment into the release study, and this is seen after implementation of the amended protocol and opening of sites in Asia.
However, we do not expect to see the full effect of these optimization initiatives until the COVID-nineteen situation improves further. And in April, meaning after the after balance sheet event, the first patient was enrolled into the release study in April. And going forward, we will continue with focus on enrollment into the release study, of course. But now the focus will go be more on regular trial management, meaning performance evaluation and replacement of underperforming sites. And this process is already initiated, so we have already started to wind down underperforming sites, both to save costs, but also to make sure that we focus our efforts towards sites that show real interest for the study.
And the time lines are retained as previously communicated. For FIMA WACC, the successful Phase I proof of concept study was in early January this year published in an high impact immunological journal, Frontiers in immunology. These data demonstrates FIMA WAC to enhance the immune response for peptide and protein based vaccines in healthy volunteers. And we will come back to some of the data there. And the focus going forward for the vaccine program will be utilizing these published data in partnering efforts and also planning for a clinical proof of concept study in a disease setting.
Then for FIMA NAK, The encouraging data of enhanced delivery of mRNA for various medical application was presented in February at U. K. Based virtual conference focusing on RNA therapeutics. And another after balance sheet date event in May, a couple of days ago, We announced that we had entered into a preclinical research collaboration with a South Korean company named Olex Pharmaceuticals, a leading developer of RNAi therapeutics. Then I will go more into the details for the Our Lead program first.
Simachem, important here to notice that or to understand that this is a first line treatment for an orphan indication. We have positive early clinical results from our Phase I study. We have had interactions with regulators both in U. S. And Europe.
So the pathway to market is settled. And the ongoing pivotal study with registrational intent is ongoing, and we foresee to have approximately 50 sites open across U. S, Europe and Asia. Now the number of sites will now start to fluctuate from quarter to quarter since we are implementing this trial management process with focusing on the high performing sites and potential underperforming sites, which do not show a real interest for the study, will be wind down. Yes.
So our technology here for Bardock Cancer has an excellent fit with the medical need and the existing treatments for bile duct cancer patients. We have encouraging early results from the Phase I study. The technology is easy to use. The illumination can be done through standard endoscopic methods. We are enhancing the recommended first line chemotherapy gemcitabine, and we boost the effect locally.
So it's easy to understand the potential benefits with the treatment. We have orphan drug designations in both EU and U. S. The competition pipeline is limited And the reason for that is that the competitors are mainly focusing on intrahepatic CCA, meaning bile duct cancer inside the liver, while we are focusing on extra hepatic by the cancer. That's due to the light application.
And also competitors are not necessarily focusing on first line treatment. And being an orphan indication, there is a premium price potential. Here on this slide, I do not intend to go into details for this slide. I think most of this information is fairly well known. But here we have a map of the European sites sorry, in the European countries we are active in and also U.
S. And in Asia, South Korea and Taiwan. So now we have by end April, there were 46 sites open, one less than last quarter. But as I said, that's due to this management trial management procedures. We have 9 sites open in Asia and the 1st Asian patient was enrolled in October last year.
We have 6 sites open in the U. S, and the first U. S. Patient was enrolled in April. U.
S. Has been difficult, but we hope that we now with the first patient enrolled also can get up to speed in the U. S. And we have implemented several initiatives to recoup the COVID-nineteen delays and most important being increased number of sites also going into Asia, protocol amendments and to expand the eligibility criteria. So study progress going forward.
As I said, we have seen increased screening and enrollment in Q1, but we do expect to see even further increase when the COVID-nineteen situation improves. Focus going forward, regular trial management, replacement of underperforming sites and also monitoring of the study specific risks, meaning adherence to study procedures and eligibility criteria to make sure that we have a solid data package when we approach the authorities. And as I said, expected time lines for interim read retained as previously communicated. Further, some endpoints, milestones and time lines. I do not go into details here, but I can draw the attention to the center of the slides regarding the IDMC.
We plan to have a seamless safety review by an independent data monitoring committee when 8 patients have undergone 2 FemaChem treatments, and we foresee that to happen in second half of twenty twenty one. Then FIMA WACC. As I said, we have compelling preclinical results, particularly strong CD8 T cell immune responses. We have successfully translated the technology into humans through the healthy volunteer study, which has recently been published. And the platform is versatile, meaning that it can potentially be used with several modalities, including nucleic acid based technologies.
And the results from the Phase 1 is well known and I will just draw the attention the highlights here that we saw increased number of responders in the study, enhanced T cell responses and improved T cell functionality. So going forward for FEMA AVAC, we are seeing or we are growing robust evidence with the Phase I study now published in a high impact journal. And we are actively exploring and preparing for a potential clinical proof of concept study for therapeutic vaccination, both on the collaborative path, but also looking at opportunities we have for in house development. And here we are also working with international experts and having considerations around how to take this further in our best possible way, and you can see further details around these considerations in the report. Then for Fimanak, Here we are targeting to solve one of the major issues for nucleic acid based therapeutics, meaning the intracellular delivery issue.
It's still a major challenge for this type class of drugs. We have a compelling preclinical results, Strong data and also we see that the FEMA NAK technology works in synergy with several vehicles, meaning other types of technologies to achieve the same intracellular delivery. We are addressing the major hurdle here. And with our with Pimanaq, we foresee that we are able to provide high payloads into the target cells. And here we have our collaborative approach And we have several collaborations with players in the field and most recently with a South Korean company.
And the strategy here is to continue with our targeted business development approach for taking this asset into the clinic. And these collaborations provide important know how and for us and encouraging has also provided encouraging results. Currently, we have 5 collaborations, And we see strong potential for further development of Fimanak, not least within the field of mRNA based on the recent successes mRNA based therapeutics have had in the pandemic. So we actively center our efforts towards the most attractive FIMA NAK opportunities, meaning that we also in house look at what potential synergies we see with our potential collaborators. And for the compelling results, I'm not going into details on this slide, but I draw the attention to the figure here.
And the figure shows fold increase of mRNA expression with FIMA NAK and with different applications. Here the first bar with intramuscular delivery with FIMA NAK close to 10 times fold increase with the intradermal application close to 30 times fold increase and with intratumoral, meaning direct into the tumor, close to 50 times fold increase with this application. And that's why we see strong potential for the technology here going forward. And also the established collaborations show that the external world also show interest for the technology. So to short summary of FIMA NAK with naked mRNA delivery.
We have a local delivery technology, which is an asset, the Brazilian S-ray. And we can co inject our molecule with mRNA. And we can avoid systemic side effects by that. And we can The illumination can be done in the same procedure. And by the illumination, we target and restrict the mRNA effects to the illuminated areas.
Since PCI is a platform technology, The clinical proven programs, meaning FIMAChem and FIMALAK supports the application of the NAC platform as well. We have ample safety data in humans, both from systemic and by local administration. And this is important for the next step by taking Fibonacci into the clinic. Yes, I think that's the details I'm able to provide on this slide. Then some words about the collaboration recently established with Olex Pharmaceuticals.
It's an extensive preclinical research collaboration with a leading developer of RNA Therapeutics. We will combine our know hows and technology platforms to explore synergies and the potential for further partnership. The partnership is governed by a research collaboration agreement And there are no monetary terms in this collaboration. So and there are no major financial commitments for PCI Biotech in this collaboration matter. But it's important step and it's our first step into Asia.
So that's also good for the interest of the technology in general terms. So the existing collaborations we have are listed here, and we continue to pursue new and value adding collaboration opportunities. Then it is my usual slide, the finance slide. And in Q1, there are no major changes from previous quarters. We have a net change in cash during the period around NOK20 1,000,000 minus, which is kind of the average we have had over the last year.
And more specifically also in the figures, we had a very special situation in Q1 last year with actual net profit, but that was due to exchange rate effects in on the bank deposits placed in euros. So we have still have a solid cash position here of NOK164 1,000,000 by end of March. Then we have an overview of the recent key achievements and near term milestones. In second half twenty twenty, we enrolled the 1st Asian patient in October last year. We also worked hard with optimizing the study by optimizing the protocol and procedures and implement them at all sites.
And the increased screening And enrollment we see in Q1 'twenty one is a direct result of this work. And as I said, we also hope and expect to see further improvements as the COVID-nineteen impact on the study further improves. For FIMAVAC, Early January this year, Phase I results were published in a scientific journal. And these data are now being used for partnering efforts. And also for FIMA NAC, we presented results from previous collaborations at the Scientific Conference, U.
K.-based virtual conference focusing on our presentation, we're focusing on the mRNA delivery. And now in April this year for Rictimachem, we had the first patient enrolled in the release study and we continue with our trial management procedures. And we now expect to see the IDMC review of safety for 2 FemaChem treatments within second half of 'twenty one. Then I think I have completed the presentation, and we can open up for questions through the telephone conference. So please, moderator, if there are any questions out there.
Speakers, we have our first question from Adam Carlson at ABG Fundamental Collier. Please go ahead sir. Your line is open.
Hi, Ronny. Thanks for taking my questions. And I said my regards to Para. I hope it's nothing serious and he makes a recovery. You've communicated that there would be a reshuffling of trial sites for the release study closure in effective sites and so on.
I was wondering whether you could give any more details on approximate numbers or roughly how many sites have been replaced because of a lack of recruitments? And separately, whether you can give an indication of the approximate portion of currently open sites that have enrolled their first patients?
I can answer the first at least that there are a couple of sites that have been closed. Regarding the proportion of sites, I can answer that as well because I don't know. That's the easy question easy answer for me. I don't know. I'm sorry.
Sure. And out of interest, I don't know if you're able to say, but In what geographies or kind of regions, countries or larger are you seeing the most enrollment? And Is that a changing picture? Or is that has it been kind of static over time, independent of the COVID impact and so on?
No, what we have said is that the opening of sites in Asia has had good effect. So we see good activity in Asia. And with only one patient enrolled in the U. S, the other activities are in Europe, and we see increased activities across several countries in Europe.
Sure. Thank you. And in regards to the OLEX collaboration you announced earlier this week. I was wondering whether you could comment on kind of how that came about. Obviously, it's a South Korean company far away, geographically speaking anyway.
Was it that they approached you or kind of who initiated that and was it driven by any kind of particular data? Thinking about the presentation at the RNA Therapeutics Conference, was there any kind of trigger that growth that about? Or yes, any details around that?
Yes. I think all the things you mentioned with both the publishing of the data and our internal efforts has generated this interest. This is not our 1st collaboration, but it's the first in Asia. And I can give credit to our BD CBO for managing to not placing the technology in Asia yet, at least open a door in Asia.
Sure. And Just finally, perhaps I was wondering whether there's any comment that you can make on the status or with the stage of the now 5 FEMA NAC collaborations that you have in place, are liberty to say whether there's any kind of any one of them potentially getting close to maybe translating into a more formal product development partnership or go into the next stage, so to speak?
We are not willing to give any details on that. But what I can say is that the different collaborations are at different activity levels, and it varies over time. But they are all active, and we had and a review of all the collaborations last year when we where we closed down some of the collaborations due to not a clear interest from the counterparty. And we do regular reviews of the collaborations in that sense as well. But there are good progress within some of these collaborations without going into any further details.
Okay, perfect. Thank you very much.
Question from Trond Johansen, Private Investor. Please go ahead.
Yes. Thank you. Hello, Roni. Last time, I asked about the Timna Nack Coal operation. And Payvalde said that you had interest from big pharma companies.
Do you still have this interest from them?
We still see interest for the FIMA NAK technology, yes. I'm not going into specifics of the size of the companies that shows interest, but we see interest and recently proven by this South Korean collaboration, but I'm not commenting on details on sizes of companies for potential other discussions.
Okay. One more You're telling regarding both Simavac and Sema Nacht that you are actively now exploring the potentials of this. And also, as you said on SemaNak, you are looking for value added collaboration opportunities. For an investor, value adding means payment, if you can say so, for the technology. Do you believe that you can achieve this during this year?
I will not guide on that.
Thank you. We have no further questions at this time from the audio.
Okay. Then I suggest that we take a short break, and I'll have the opportunity to review potential questions from the Yes. Thank you for your patience. And I will be assisted here in The cancer cluster with reading some of the questions from the lab.
Yes. So we have a couple of questions from the web here. The first one, you are expecting an IDMC safety review in the second half of 'twenty one. Does that mean that you have close to 8 patients that has got 2 FemaChem treatments?
Yes. The review is done after 8 patients have gone through the 2nd FIMACAM treatment, and there is a safety window after that. So yes, we expect to see 8 patients to have gone through the second FEMAKAN treatment. And we are able to then report on this during second half of twenty twenty one. So I'm not saying that we have 8 patients today, but we expect to have the review done in second half of twenty twenty one.
Yes.
Okay. Thank you. Another question here. Did you mean that Ulix is bearing the majority of the cost for this new collaboration?
What I try to communicate is that this is a preclinical collaboration. There are no major costs in this preclinical setting. And some of the experiments will be done here. Usually, some of these experiments are done here in these calibrations and some of the experiments are done by the counterpart. And we cover the costs as they occur in this, but there are no major cost commitments for either parties in this collaboration due to being a preclinical stage.
Okay. Thank you very much.
Okay. Thank you. Thank you for the attention. And I also take the liberty to send warm thoughts to my boss, and I hope that Per will be back on the podium at the next event. And for those of you that understand North Norwegian,