On June 7, 2016 Provectus Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE MKT: PVCT, www.provectusbio.com), a clinical-stage oncology and dermatology biopharmaceutical company ("Provectus" or "The Company"), reported that an article on the use of PV-10 for in-transit melanoma has been published by the Journal of Surgical Oncology (Filing, 8-K, Provectus Pharmaceuticals, JUN 7, 2016, View Source [SID:1234513115]). It expands on a presentation on the same topic given at the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons 85th Annual Scientific Congress, which was held 2-6 May 2016, in Brisbane, Australia.

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Titled "Intralesional PV-10 for In-Transit Melanoma—A Single Centre Experience," the article reports on use of PV-10 in the management of in-transit melanoma at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, in East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The article was authored by Jocelyn Lippey et al. using retrospective analysis of data from nineteen patients receiving PV-10 at the center between 2010 and 2014.

Dr. Lippey reported, "After a median follow up of 11.7 months, disease control was achieved in 63% of patients. Five patients (26%) achieved a complete response, another five (26%) patients achieved a partial response, and two patients had stable disease (11%) at the time of last follow-up. Seventy-four percent (14/19) of patients had a clinical response at time of first follow-up (median time 21 days); range 8–91 days. Younger patients and those with smaller lesions were more likely to respond to treatment." The median age of patients in this series was 80 years.

Dr. Lippey also noted, "Ten patients did not have all lesions injected, primarily due to the number of lesions present. A bystander response was noted in un-injected lesions in 50% of patients who did not have all their lesions directly injected."
Eric Wachter, CTO of Provectus commented, "The results reported here are consistent with other evaluations of PV-10 in melanoma, and highlight both the rapid ablative properties and the immunologic features of PV-10 as an investigational ablative immunotherapy."

About the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre is Australia’s only public hospital solely dedicated to cancer treatment, research and education. The hospital treats more cancer patients each year than any other hospital and the highly skilled medical, nursing and allied health team is backed by the largest cancer research group in Australia. Peter Mac has five locations across the state and provides services to patients from across Victoria and Australia and overseas. Multi-disciplinary teams, consisting of medical, surgical and radiation oncologists, nurses, radiation therapists and allied health professionals, develop comprehensive and coordinated treatment plans, ensuring patients get treatment and a team tailored to their individual needs. For more information, visit View Source

On June 7, 2016 Provectus Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE MKT:PVCT, www.provectusbio.com), a clinical-stage oncology and dermatology biopharmaceutical company ("Provectus" or "The Company"), reported that an article on the use of PV-10 for in-transit melanoma has been published by the Journal of Surgical Oncology (Press release, Provectus Pharmaceuticals, JUN 7, 2016, View Source [SID:1234513114]). It expands on a presentation on the same topic given at the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons 85th Annual Scientific Congress, which was held 2-6 May 2016, in Brisbane, Australia.

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Titled "Intralesional PV-10 for In-Transit Melanoma – A Single Centre Experience," the article reports on use of PV-10 in the management of in-transit melanoma at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, in East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The article was authored by Jocelyn Lippey et al. using retrospective analysis of data from nineteen patients receiving PV-10 at the center between 2010 and 2014.

Dr. Lippey reported, "After a median follow up of 11.7 months, disease control was achieved in 63% of patients. Five patients (26%) achieved a complete response, another five (26%) patients achieved a partial response, and two patients had stable disease (11%) at the time of last follow-up. Seventy-four percent (14/19) of patients had a clinical response at time of first follow-up (median time 21 days); range 8–91 days. Younger patients and those with smaller lesions were more likely to respond to treatment." The median age of patients in this series was 80 years.

Dr. Lippey also noted, "Ten patients did not have all lesions injected, primarily due to the number of lesions present. A bystander response was noted in un-injected lesions in 50% of patients who did not have all their lesions directly injected."

Eric Wachter, CTO of Provectus commented, "The results reported here are consistent with other evaluations of PV-10 in melanoma, and highlight both the rapid ablative properties and the immunologic features of PV-10 as an investigational ablative immunotherapy."

The article can be found at View Source

About the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre is Australia’s only public hospital solely dedicated to cancer treatment, research and education. The hospital treats more cancer patients each year than any other hospital and the highly skilled medical, nursing and allied health team is backed by the largest cancer research group in Australia. Peter Mac has five locations across the state and provides services to patients from across Victoria and Australia and overseas. Multi-disciplinary teams, consisting of medical, surgical and radiation oncologists, nurses, radiation therapists and allied health professionals, develop comprehensive and coordinated treatment plans, ensuring patients get treatment and a team tailored to their individual needs. For more information, visit View Source

On June 7, 2016 MabVax Therapeutics Holdings, Inc. (OTCQB: MBVX), a clinical-stage oncology drug development company, reported the initiation of patient enrollment at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) in the Phase I clinical trial evaluating its leading clinical development product MVT-5873 (HuMab-5B1) as a therapeutic treatment for patients with locally advanced or metastatic adenocarcinoma of the pancreas (PDAC) or other CA19-9 positive malignancies (Press release, MabVax, JUN 7, 2016, View Source [SID:1234513112]). This is the second investigational site in the Phase I trial with patient recruitment currently underway at the Sarah Cannon Research Institute in Nashville, TN. MabVax previously announced receipt of authorization to proceed on the Investigational New Drug (IND) application filed from U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

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The open-label, dose-escalation Phase I therapeutic trial is evaluating the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of MVT-5873. The first group of patients are being enrolled to assess safety and determine the recommended phase II dose of the antibody. A second patient group will establish the safety and dose of the antibody when administered with a standard-of-care chemotherapy. Eileen O’Reilly, MD, Associate Director for Clinical Research at MSK’s David M. Rubenstein Center for Pancreatic Cancer Research, is serving as the lead investigator at the investigational site.

"We are very fortunate to have an established and productive relationship with MSK," said David Hansen, MabVax President and CEO. "With the addition of this investigational site, we are now recruiting patients in our Phase I therapeutics trial at two highly respected institutions. We continue on track to announce interim results from this trial in the third quarter of 2016."

About HuMab-5B1:

MabVax’s HuMab-5B1 antibody is fully human and was discovered from the immune response of cancer patients vaccinated with an antigen-specific vaccine during a Phase I trial at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. In preclinical research, the 5B1 antibody has demonstrated high specificity and affinity, and has shown potent cancer cell killing capacity and efficacy in animal models of pancreatic, colon and small cell lung cancers. The antigen the antibody targets is expressed on more than 90% of pancreatic cancers making the antibody potentially broadly applicable to most patients suffering from this type of cancer. MabVax’s two lead antibody clinical programs utilize HuMab-5B1 as a naked antibody (MVT-5873) and as an immuno-PET imaging agent (MVT-2163).

On June 7, 2016 Delcath Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: DCTH), a specialty pharmaceutical and medical device company focused on oncology with an emphasis on the treatment of primary and metastatic liver cancers, reported it has entered into a securities purchase agreement with an institutional investor to issue $35.0 million of senior convertible notes (the Notes) and related common stock purchase warrants (Press release, Delcath Systems, JUN 7, 2016, View Source;p=RssLanding&cat=news&id=2175682 [SID:1234513107]). The Notes will be issued at an 8% original issue discount. The aggregate proceeds of $32.2 million will be used to fund the Company’s ongoing operations, commercial activities and clinical development programs, including its global Phase 3 trial with Melphalan/HDS in hepatic dominant ocular melanoma (the FOCUS Trial) and its global Phase 2 program with Melphalan/HDS in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC).

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Of the $32.2 million in aggregate proceeds, $3 million will be unrestricted and immediately and freely available for use by the Company and its subsidiaries. The remaining $29.2 million will be subject to a cash covenant restricting its use and requiring it to be held in certain control accounts of the Company. Subsequently, $3.0 million of the restricted cash shall become unrestricted cash on the 20th trading day after the later of the stockholder approval of the transaction in accordance with NASDAQ rules, or the six-month anniversary of the closing date (such 20th trading day, the Trigger Date). Thereafter, the remaining $26.2 million of restricted cash will become unrestricted in equal quarterly installments starting the 30th trading day after the Trigger Date, such that the balance will become unrestricted by December 29, 2017, subject to the fulfillment of certain equity conditions.

The Notes will be convertible, at the option of the holder, at 110% of the market price (the Conversion Price) into a fixed number of common shares. The market price will be determined on the closing date and will be based on the Volume Weighted Average Price (VWAP) of the three trading days immediately prior to the closing date. Commencing on the 20th trading day after the six-month anniversary of the closing date, and for each 20th trading day period thereafter, the Notes will amortize in equal installments payable in common stock (at the installment conversion price with pre-delivery and a $0.05 floor), subject to the fulfillment of certain equity conditions, or, at the Company’s option, in cash.

The Company has the right to redeem the notes with restricted cash or any other cash of the Company, at its option, at any time after the earlier of March 31, 2017 or such time as at least $18 million of restricted cash shall have become unrestricted cash under the terms of the Notes.

Roth Capital Partners acted as sole placement agent for the offering.

"This committed financing provides us with the resources to advance our clinical development plan through the end of 2017 while also supporting our commercialization programs in Europe," said Jennifer K. Simpson, Ph.D., MSN, CRNP, President and Chief Executive Office of Delcath. "We are positioned to achieve important clinical inflection points in our FOCUS trial and our global Phase 2 program in HCC and ICC, which we believe represent the fastest path to U.S. FDA approval and ultimately the generation of shareholder value. This financing will be valuable to our efforts to expand global access to our Melphalan/HDS for the benefit of patients suffering with primary and metastatic liver cancers."

In addition to the Notes, the Company will issue common stock purchase warrants in a quantity equal to 85% of the number of shares of common stock the institutional investor would receive if the Notes were converted in full at the initial Conversion Price on the closing date (without regards to any limitations on conversion set forth therein). The warrants will be initially exercisable one year after their initial issuance date and expire five years thereafter. The warrants will include a one-time, downward-only reset of the warrant exercise price based on the market price on the maturity date, and for 75% of the warrants a corresponding adjustment of the number of warrant shares such that the aggregate exercise price of the warrants remains the same after the reset.

For additional information concerning the details of the financing, please refer to the Form 8-K to be filed by Delcath with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Notes, warrants and shares of common stock issuable upon conversion or exercise thereof have not been registered under the Securities Act or any applicable state securities laws and may not be offered or sold absent such registration or pursuant to an available exemption from such registration requirements. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities nor shall there be any sale of any of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

On June 7, 2016 Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ:CELG) reported the presentation of a study comparing treatment patterns, healthcare costs and overall survival between African American and Caucasian Medicare beneficiaries with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (Press release, Celgene, JUN 7, 2016, View Source [SID:1234513105]). The study, which was presented by Dr. Sikander Ailawadhi of the Mayo Clinic at a poster session during the 52nd ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting in Chicago, Ill, discussed disparities observed in treatment initiation between the two studied populations and the impact of these disparities on patient outcomes.

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"African Americans may be more at risk for developing multiple myeloma than Caucasians, however, they often can have a better prognosis when they get the proper care," said Dr. Manali Patel of the Stanford Cancer Center and an investigator in the study. "Through studies like this, we are trying to better understand potential modifiable drivers of these disparities to improve outcomes for African Americans living with multiple myeloma."

The study found that elderly African Americans with multiple myeloma had lower rates of receiving access to autologous stem cell transplant (3% vs 6%, p < 0.01) and novel combination therapies (66% vs 74% among patients with pharmacological therapy, p < 0.01) compared to Caucasians with the disease. The median times from diagnosis to therapy initiation (2.3 vs 1.7 months, p < 0.05) and novel therapy initiation (5.3 vs 3.1 months, p < 0.05) were also significantly longer for African Americans than Caucasians. The study found, however, that overall survival (OS) was comparable between African Americans and Caucasians (26.7 vs 30.0 months, p = 0.27) and total healthcare costs were similar across cohorts, although African Americans had higher costs for hospitalizations, emergency visits, and skilled nursing facility.

The study evaluated 2,200 Caucasian and 536 African American multiple myeloma patients in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (SEER) Medicare database from 2007 and 2011, with the index date being defined as the first date of diagnosis with multiple myeloma. Patients were required to be continuously enrolled in Medicare Part A, B, and D for six months before (baseline period) and at least six months after the index date (study period), unless they died.

"Treatment disparities exist between African American and Caucasian patients suffering from multiple myeloma," said Dr. Mohamad Hussein, Vice President of Global Medical Affairs for Celgene. "At Celgene, we believe it is imperative to improve education, awareness and treatment access among African Americans, particularly since they are more predisposed to being diagnosed with the disease."

Researchers determined that differences in disease aggressiveness and other clinical characteristics at baseline between African Americans and Caucasians should be explored in future studies as they can impact treatment outcomes.

Multiple myeloma is the second most common form of blood cancer in the United States, and the most common blood cancer among African Americans. African Americans are twice as likely to be diagnosed with multiple myeloma. Novel therapeutic advances made in multiple myeloma over the past decade have significantly improved outcomes for patients when they receive access to timely care and treatment.

To address this disparity in multiple myeloma, Celgene created the "Standing in the Gaap for African Americans with Multiple Myeloma" program in 2015 to raise awareness about how multiple myeloma affects African Americans differently and to improve the quality of care they receive. In addition to addressing treatment disparities and access for African Americans with multiple myeloma, the program is committed to understanding the genetic differences between African American patients and other patients to better guide current treatment decisions and future research. In addition, the program aims to improve enrollment of African American multiple myeloma patients in clinical trials, which is critical to accelerating knowledge gathering and new discoveries for this highly fatal disease.