NEW YORK, May 08, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Indaptus Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:INDP) ("Indaptus" or the "Company"), a clinical stage biotechnology company dedicated to pioneering innovative cancer and viral infection treatments, today announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024, and provided a corporate update. Jeffrey Meckler, Chief Executive Officer of Indaptus, commented, "We continue to make steady progress in our clinical development plans and are receiving regular validation for results reported to date, both through a presentation in April at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting, and the acceptance of further data to be presented in a poster at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting, which is considered among the top annual oncology conferences. We are encouraged by the results we have reported, along with the early results we are seeing as we advance our trial, and believe they are indicative of the potential for Decoy20, and indeed our platform as a whole. We look forward to reporting more about our progress as it develops." Key recent highlights: Presenting poster, titled, "Preliminary results of a phase 1 study of Decoy20, an intravenous, killed, multiple immune receptor agonist bacterial product in patients with advanced solid tumors," at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting on June 1, 2024, in Chicago. Presented poster outlining mechanism of action of Decoy platform at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting in April 2024. Reported preliminary positive results from second cohort of Phase 1 trial and initiated multi-dose cohort in March 2024. Announced granting of key patent that helped to further expand intellectual property portfolio in January 2024. Financial Highlights for First Quarter ended March 31, 2024 Research and development expenses for the three-month period ended March 31, 2024, were $1.6 million, a decrease of $0.3 million, or 15%, compared with $1.9 million in the three-month period ended March 31, 2023. The decrease was primarily due to the manufacturing processes of Decoy20 that were conducted in the three months period ended March 31, 2023. General and administrative expenses for the three-month period ended March 31, 2024, were $2.4 million, a decrease of $0.2 million, or 9%, compared with $2.6 million in the three-month period ended March 31, 2023. The decrease was primarily due to decreased legal fees, recruitment costs and directors' and officers' insurance expenses, and was offset by an increase in payroll and related expenses and investor relations expenses. Loss per share for the three-month period ended March 31, 2024 was $0.45, compared with $0.51 for the three-month period ended March 31, 2023. As of March 31, 2024, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $9.7 million. As of December 31, 2023, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $13.4 million. The Company expects that its current cash and cash equivalents will support its ongoing operating activities through the third quarter of 2024. This cash runway guidance is based on the Company's current operational plans and excludes any additional funding and any business development activities that may be undertaken. Indaptus continues to assess all financing options that would support its corporate strategy. Net cash used in operating activities was $3.9 million for the three-month period ended March 31, 2024, compared with net cash used in operating activities of $4.9 million for the three-month period ended March 31, 2023. The $1.0 million decrease in net cash used was primarily attributable to a decrease in our research and development and general and administrative expenses and was also attributable to a settlement fee that was paid in February 2023. There was no net cash provided by or used in investing activities in the three months ended March 31, 2024. Net cash provided by investing activities was approximately $2.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023, which was related to the maturity of $9.0 million in marketable securities, offset by net investment of approximately $6.9 million in marketable securities. Net cash provided by financing activities for the three months ended March 31, 2024 was approximately $0.3 million, which was provided by issuance and sale of our common stock under the At The Market Offering Agreement. There was no net cash provided by or used in financing activities in the three months ended March 31, 2023. About Indaptus Therapeutics Indaptus Therapeutics has evolved from more than a century of immunotherapy advances. The Company's novel approach is based on the hypothesis that efficient activation of both innate and adaptive immune cells and pathways and associated anti-tumor and anti-viral immune responses will require a multi-targeted package of immune system-activating signals that can be administered safely intravenously (i.v.). Indaptus' patented technology is composed of single strains of attenuated and killed, non-pathogenic, Gram-negative bacteria producing a multiple Toll-like receptor (TLR), Nucleotide oligomerization domain (NOD)-like receptor (NLR) and Stimulator of interferon genes (STING) agonist Decoy platform. The product candidates are designed to have reduced i.v. toxicity, but largely uncompromised ability to prime or activate many of the cells and pathways of innate and adaptive immunity. Decoy product candidates represent an antigen-agnostic technology that have produced single-agent activity against metastatic pancreatic and orthotopic colorectal carcinomas, single agent eradication of established antigen-expressing breast carcinoma, as well as combination-mediated eradication of established hepatocellular carcinomas, pancreatic and non-Hodgkin's lymphomas in standard pre-clinical models, including syngeneic mouse tumors and human tumor xenografts. In pre-clinical studies tumor eradication was observed with Decoy product candidates in combination with anti-PD-1 checkpoint therapy, low-dose chemotherapy, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, or an approved, targeted antibody. Combination-based tumor eradication in pre-clinical models produced innate and adaptive immunological memory, involved activation of both innate and adaptive immune cells, and was associated with induction of innate and adaptive immune pathways in tumors after only one i.v. dose of Decoy product, with associated "cold" to "hot" tumor inflammation signature transition. IND-enabling, nonclinical toxicology studies demonstrated i.v. administration without sustained induction of hallmark biomarkers of cytokine release syndromes, possibly due to passive targeting to liver, spleen, and tumor, followed by rapid elimination of the product. Indaptus' Decoy product candidates have also produced significant single agent activity against chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) and chronic human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections in pre-clinical models. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. These include statements regarding management's expectations, beliefs and intentions regarding, among other things: our expectations and plans regarding our Phase 1 clinical trial of Decoy20, including the timing and design thereof; the anticipated effects of our product candidates, including Decoy20; the plans and objectives of management for future operations; our research and development activities and costs; the sufficiency of our cash and cash equivalents to fund our ongoing activities and our cash management strategy; and our assessment of financing options to support our corporate strategy. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as "believe", "expect", "intend", "plan", "may", "should", "could", "might", "seek", "target", "will", "project", "forecast", "continue" or "anticipate" or their negatives or variations of these words or other comparable words or by the fact that these statements do not relate strictly to historical matters. Because forward-looking statements relate to matters that have not yet occurred, these statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from any future results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Many factors could cause actual activities or results to differ materially from the activities and results anticipated in forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to the following: our limited operating history; conditions and events that raise substantial doubt regarding our ability to continue as going concern; the need for, and our ability to raise, additional capital given our lack of current cash flow; our clinical and preclinical development, which involves a lengthy and expensive process with an uncertain outcome; our incurrence of significant research and development expenses and other operating expenses, which may make it difficult for us to attain profitability; our pursuit of a limited number of research programs, product candidates and specific indications and failure to capitalize on product candidates or indications that may be more profitable or have a greater likelihood of success; our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approval of any product candidate; the market acceptance of our product candidates; our reliance on third parties to conduct our preclinical studies and clinical trials and perform other tasks; our reliance on third parties for the manufacture of our product candidates during clinical development; our ability to successfully commercialize Decoy20 or any future product candidates; our ability to obtain or maintain coverage and adequate reimbursement for our products; the impact of legislation and healthcare reform measures on our ability to obtain marketing approval for and commercialize Decoy20 and any future product candidates; product candidates of our competitors that may be approved faster, marketed more effectively, and better tolerated than our product candidates; our ability to adequately protect our proprietary or licensed technology in the marketplace; the impact of, and costs of complying with healthcare laws and regulations, and our failure to comply with such laws and regulations; information technology system failures, cyberattacks or deficiencies in our cybersecurity; and unfavorable global economic conditions. These and other important factors discussed under the caption "Risk Factors" included in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2024 to be filed with the SEC, our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 13, 2024, and our other filings with the SEC, could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements made in this press release. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements included in this press release. We undertake no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that arise after the date made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by applicable law. Investor Relations Contact: CORE IR Louie Toma Media Contact: CORE IR Jules Abraham   INDAPTUS THERAPEUTICS, INC.Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets     March 31, 2024     December 31, 2023   Assets               Current assets:               Cash and cash equivalents $ 9,741,638     $ 13,362,053   Prepaid expenses and other current assets   551,031       633,156                   Total current assets   10,292,669       13,995,209                   Non-current assets:               Property and equipment, net   -       735   Right-of-use asset   151,118       173,206   Other assets   504,728       754,728                   Total non-current assets   655,846       928,669                   Total assets $ 10,948,515     $ 14,923,878