Aura Biosciences, Inc. - AURA STOCK NEWS

Aura Biosciences announces the appointment of Jill Hopkins, M.D., as Chief Medical Officer and President of Research & Development, and Mark Plavsic, Ph.D., as Chief Technology Officer. Cadmus Rich, M.D., will step down as Chief Medical Officer and assume a new role as Senior Clinical Advisor. Aura's goal is to bring the first vision-preserving targeted therapy for patients with early-stage choroidal melanoma to market. Hopkins brings over 30 years of experience in ophthalmology, while Plavsic has 30 years of global biopharmaceutical experience.

Aura Biosciences Inc. reported financial results for Q2 2023, with cash and cash equivalents totaling $162.0 million. The company announced key appointments to its clinical and regulatory leadership team. They also released the drug product manufactured with a commercial process for their global Phase 3 trial, with the first patient expected to be dosed in 2H 2023. Aura remains focused on executing their clinical studies and plans to share 12-month data from the Phase 2 trial in choroidal melanoma in the second half of 2023.

Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ: AURA) announced FDA Fast Track Designation for belzupacap sarotalocan (bel-sar) to treat choroidal metastasis, signifying a significant opportunity for a new standard of care. Following positive Phase 2 results for early-stage choroidal melanoma, the global Phase 3 trial is set to begin dosing in 1H 2023. Financial results reveal a cash position of $188.8 million, sufficient to fund operations into 2025.

However, R&D expenses surged to $42.2 million, contributing to a net loss of $58.8 million for the year.

Aura Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: AURA) announced positive interim Phase 2 safety and efficacy data for its treatment, bel-sar, aimed at early-stage choroidal melanoma. Results showed an impressive 100% tumor control rate and an 88% visual acuity preservation rate after an average of nine months follow-up in patients. The therapy demonstrated favorable safety, with only one case of visual acuity loss and no serious adverse events reported. Aura plans to initiate a global Phase 3 trial this year, bolstering confidence in bel-sar's potential as a first-line treatment. These results were presented at the Macula Society’s 46th Annual Meeting in Miami, FL.

Aura Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ: AURA), a clinical-stage biotech firm, focuses on developing virus-like drug conjugate (VDC) therapies for oncology. CEO Elisabet de los Pinos will present at the SVB Securities Global Biopharma Conference on February 16, 2023 at 12:00 p.m. ET and at the 43rd Annual Cowen Healthcare Conference on March 8, 2023, participating in an auditory and ophthalmology panel at 12:50 p.m. ET. These events will be accessible via live webcasts on Aura's website, where replays will be available for 90 days.

Aura's lead VDC candidate, bel-sar, targets ocular cancers and is in a Phase 3 trial for treating early-stage choroidal melanoma.

Aura Biosciences, Inc. has announced the pricing for an underwritten public offering of 6,700,000 shares of its common stock at $12.00 per share, aiming to raise gross proceeds of approximately $80.4 million. The offering is expected to close by December 5, 2022, pending customary closing conditions. Aura has also offered underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 1,005,000 additional shares. This capital is intended to support the development of its virus-like drug conjugate therapies targeting multiple oncology indications, particularly for ocular cancers.