Barinthus Biotherapeutics plc (BRNS), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel T cell immunotherapeutic candidates, today announced plans to prioritize its pipeline to focus on the development of VTP-300 in CHB and VTP-1000 in celiac disease.
The decision follows the positive interim data from the two ongoing Phase 2 clinical trials presented at the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) Congress on June 6, 2024. The data from the ongoing HBV003 and IM-PROVE II trials demonstrated VTP-300’s potential to significantly reduce and maintain Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) levels and achieve undetectable HBsAg levels in patients with CHB. Additionally, the strategic focus on Barinthus Bio’s proprietary SNAP-TI platform and lead candidate VTP-1000 in celiac disease, follows encouraging pre-clinical data demonstrating mode of action and disease amelioration being observed in a number of disease models. Celiac disease is a chronic autoimmune disorder affecting approximately 1% of people in Western countries that currently has no FDA or EMA approved treatments.1 VTP-1000 aims to balance the immune response by inducing gluten-specific T regulatory cells and reducing gluten-specific T effector cell responses. Initiation of the Phase 1 clinical trial is expected in the third quarter of 2024.
The development of VTP-300 in CHB and VTP-1000 in celiac disease will be prioritized and the ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial of VTP-850 in prostate cancer will be completed. The Company expects to undergo a restructuring to align resources with the streamlined pipeline, which will include a workforce reduction of approximately 25% and an estimated extension of the cash runway into the second quarter of 2026.
“Barinthus Bio remains focused on advancing immunotherapies to transform patients’ lives, and we believe that VTP-300 has great potential to do so as part of a functional cure regimen for HBV. With this pipeline prioritization, we put the Company in a strong position to maximize the probability of success, particularly given the encouraging VTP-300 Phase 2 interim data presented at EASL earlier this month and the compelling differentiation of our novel SNAP-TI platform to treat autoimmune diseases. In line with our pipeline prioritization, we have made the difficult decision to reduce our workforce. I would like to thank our talented employees for their contributions to the Company’s achievements. We will continue to execute well on advancing our promising pipeline and are excited about upcoming key clinical milestones in our HBV and celiac programs,” said Barinthus Bio’s Chief Executive Officer, Bill Enright.
