Calithera Biosciences (CALA) reported earnings on Tue 9 May 2017 (a/h)

• +15%

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (AP) _ Calithera Biosciences Inc. (CALA) on Tuesday reported a loss of $5.6 million in its first quarter.

On a per-share basis, the South San Francisco, California-based company said it had a loss of 22 cents.

The drug developer posted revenue of $4.2 million in the period.

Calithera shares have more than tripled since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Tuesday, shares hit $11.30, more than doubling in the last 12 months.

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• Collaboration with Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY). The pair were already evaluating a combination therapy with Calithera's CB-839 and Squibb's fast-growing blockbuster cancer drug Opdivo in clear cell renal cell carcinoma, and will now evaluate the same combination in non-small cell lung cancer and melanoma.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMY) and Calithera Biosciences, Inc. (CALA), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing novel small molecule drugs directed against tumor metabolism and tumor immunology targets for the treatment of cancer, today announced the companies have expanded their existing collaboration to evaluate Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Opdivo in combination with Calithera’s CB-839 in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and melanoma. CB-839 is an investigational orally administered glutaminase inhibitor currently in Phase 1/2 clinical studies.

Preclinical data suggest that CB-839, which is designed to target a pathway to starve tumor cells of the key nutrient glutamine, may enhance the effects of checkpoint inhibitors and may also reverse tumor resistance to checkpoint inhibitors by altering the immune-suppressive microenvironment and promoting an anti-tumor immune response. Opdivo is designed to overcome immune suppression. The companies will evaluate the potential clinical value of combining these two agents to treat NSCLC and melanoma.

“We are pleased to expand our collaboration with Calithera into NSCLC and melanoma, building upon our existing clinical study evaluating Opdivo and CB-839 in clear cell renal cell carcinoma,” said Fouad Namouni, M.D., senior vice president, Head of Oncology Development, Bristol-Myers Squibb.