Sergio Traversa
Analyst · Jefferies
Thank you, Tim, as always, and good afternoon to everyone. I’m pleased to welcome to the Relmada fourth quarter and full year 2021 conference call. During today’s call, I will review our recently achieved milestones and provide an update on anticipated clinical trial readouts time line for REL-1017, our lead product candidate, that we are currently studying as an adjunctive treatment and monotherapy for patients with major depressive disorder or MDD. Following my comments, Maged Shenouda, our Chief Financial Officer, will review the financial results and recently strengthened balance sheet, and we will then take your questions. Looking ahead, we expect 2022 to be a catalyst-rich year for Relmada. We kicked off 2022 by reporting top line results from the second human abuse potential or HAP study, which I will recap shortly. We intend to generate REL-1017 clinical data readouts beginning mid-year for the ongoing RELIANCE Phase 3 trial. We anticipate completing the enrollment of RELIANCE III, the ongoing monotherapy registrational Phase 3 trial, followed by top line data readout by midyear 2022. In the third and fourth quarter of this year, we expect top line results from RELIANCE I and RELIANCE II, respectively. These are two ongoing Phase 3 sister 2-arm, placebo-controlled pivotal studies evaluating well REL-1017 as a potential adjunctive treatment for MDD. The goal of this comprehensive development program is to address the significant need for a new therapeutic option to the 17 million individuals in the U.S., who suffer from MDD. The current antidepressant therapies have significant limitations in terms of efficacy, and they can take up to 4 to 6 weeks to show any effect. Up to 65% of patients do not respond to their frontline antidepressant treatment and up to 40% of patients take combination therapy. Furthermore, there are only three FDA-approved adjunctive treatment for MDD, all of which are antipsychotic, which offer limited efficacy and can cause long-term side effects. It is evident that new treatment options are needed, and we believe REL-1017 has the potential to be a safe and effective options for these patients and their caregivers, as a monotherapy and adjunctive treatment. We made significant progress in advancing our development program. To this end, in February, we reported positive top line data from our second HAP study, which compared REL-1017 versus intravenous ketamine. As a reminder, our first HAP study comparing REL-1017 versus oxycodone, was completed in July 2021, and presented in a poster presentation late last year at the 60th Annual Meeting of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology. Both studies were designed in accordance with the FDA 2017 Abuse Potential Guidance and at 2022, clinical and regulatory standards by incorporating extensive input from FDA staff on the measures and the comparators on trial design. While we went into extensive detail during our February investor call on the ketamine HAP study results, I would like to recap just the main findings. The primary endpoint, as is typical in these studies, was a drug liking score comparison of three doses of REL-1017 to ketamine. Ketamine dosed at 0.5 milligrams per kilograms intravenous administered over 40 minutes. The three doses of REL-1017 were the same as in the oxycodone study that we presented last year, and they were the 25-milligram, the therapeutic dose; the 75 milligrams, which is 3 times the therapeutic dose; and 150 milligrams, which is 6 times the therapeutic dose and is the maximum tolerated dose. 51 subjects completed all arms of the study. The FDA guidance on Abuse Potential Trial details that the statistical analysis should be based on data from participants, who complete the study, the all completed population. Data based on the all completed population for both of the HAP studies showed a statistically significant difference from ketamine and oxycodone on all tested doses of REL-1017, and they were statistical equivalent to placebo all tested doses of REL-1017. In summary, the finding of these two HAP studies are consistent with the 2019 DEA statement on esmethadone that states that the d-isomer lacks significant respiratory depressant action and addiction liability. The results of the oxycodone and ketamine HAP study also confirm and support the previous data published regarding the potential for abuse of REL-1017. We believe that the oxycodone comparative data significantly derisked in Schedule II potential for REL-1017 and that the ketamine comparison data, significantly derisk the drug Schedule III potential. Collectively, the data generated today from our REL-1017 program indicates that REL-1017 could be proposed as a Schedule V drug and eventually nonscheduled following 1 or 2 years of marketing. In order to support the potential regulatory submission seeking approval for REL-1017 as a monotherapy as well as adjunctive treatment, the FDA confirmed that based on what is known at this time, Relmada will not be required to conduct two-years carcinogenicity study of REL-1017 with an understanding that sufficient preclinical safety data has been generated today. The FDA also confirmed that Relmada does not need to conduct the TQT cardiac study in human to support cardiac safety in a potential regulatory submission for REL-1017. The data provided to date as well as the data to be generated from the ongoing Phase 3 program would be adequate to evaluate and confirm the cardiac safety of REL-1017. Moving on to the Phase 3 program. We anticipate the completion of enrollment of RELIANCE III, the ongoing monotherapy registrational Phase 3 trial, followed by top line data readout by year-end. [Ph] RELIANCE III aims to randomize up to 364 patients, that is targeted for individuals, who are diagnosed with depression and are currently standard antidepressant therapy. Importantly, this is prior to the anticipated conclusion of RELIANCE I and RELIANCE II, the adjunctive MDD studies, which I will discuss momentarily. As a reminder, conducting RELIANCE III as a Phase 3 study could meaningfully reduce the time for a potential approval of REL-1017 as an MDD monotherapy. Let me now provide an update on the ongoing RELIANCE I and RELIANCE II studies, each of which is designed to include up to 364 participants per study across 55 study sites per study. As a reminder, RELIANCE I and RELIANCE II are designed to evaluate REL-1017 as an adjunctive treatment for MDD and both include two arms, placebo and 25 milligrams of REL-1017. Both arms are studying the use of REL-1017 in addition to a standard antidepressant for participants, who have had inadequate response to at least one and up to three standard antidepressant therapies. The primary endpoint is the change in MADRS score at day 28. Key secondary endpoints include the change in MADRS at day 7 and change in Clinical Global Impression Severity Scale, the CGI-S score at day 28. Day 28 was chosen as the primary endpoint in agreement with the FDA with an understanding that depression is a chronic disease and that day 28 will support REL-1017 as a chronic treatment. Both, RELIANCE I and the RELIANCE II are progressing with top line data expected in the second half of this year. The RELIANCE development programs also include the RELIANCE-OLS, the long-term open-label safety study that is enrolling both, rollover participants for all three pivotal studies, as well as de novo participants. RELIANCE-OLS is ongoing and enrolling participants as planned. Data from these long-term open-label safety studies will be part of the planned NDA filing package. I would also like to add that the recent pre-planned interim safety analysis conducted on a periodic day by an independent data monitoring committee, the IDMC, confirmed the lack of safety signals and concluded with the recommendation for the studies to proceed as planned. This analysis reviewed data from all of the ongoing RELIANCE trials, including the open-label safety study. I would like to highlight that the Phase 2 data were published in the peer-reviewed American Journal of Psychiatry, the most widely read psychiatry journal in the world late in 2021. The manuscript further details finding that from the Phase 2 study assessing REL-1017 as adjunctive treatment for MDD. The primary endpoint demonstrated the rapid, significant and sustained efficacy versus placebo REL-1017. As our robust REL-1017 development program continues to advance expeditiously, we continue to be supported by a strong balance sheet, which was further enhanced by the successful oversubscribed follow-on offering that closed in the fourth quarter of last year, and generated gross proceeds of $172.5 million. With that, I will turn now the call to Maged for a review of the financials, including further details on the completed public offering. Maged, the stage is yours.