On April 25, 2018 Five Prime Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq:FPRX), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing innovative immuno-oncology protein therapeutics, reported that it will present two posters during the 2018 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting, being held June 1-5, 2018, in Chicago (Press release, Five Prime Therapeutics, APR 25, 2018, View Source [SID1234525691]).

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Abstract Number and Title: #TPS4135, "FIGHT: A Phase 3 Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo Controlled Study Evaluating (Bemarituzumab) FPA144 and Modified FOLFOX6 (mFOLFOX6) in Patients with Previously Untreated Advanced Gastric and Gastroesophageal Cancer with a Dose Finding Phase 1 Lead-In"
Poster Session: Gastrointestinal (Noncolorectal) Cancer
Session Date and Time:Sunday, June 3, 2018; 8:00 – 11:30 a.m. CT
Location: Hall A,PosterBoard Number: #322a

Abstract Number and Title: #3020, "Pharmacodynamics (PD) and Genomic Profiling of Pts Treated with cabiralizumab (cabira) + nivolumab (NIVO) Provide Evidence of On-Target Tumor Immune Modulations and Support Future Clinical Applications"
Poster Session: Developmental Therapeutics – Immunotherapy
Session Date and Time:Monday, June 4, 2018; 8:00 – 11:30 a.m. CT
Location: Hall A, Poster Board Number: #234
Discussion Session Date and Time:Monday, June 4, 2018; 11:30 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. CT
Discussion Session Location: Hall B1

About Bemarituzumab (FPA144)

Bemarituzumab is an isoform-selective, humanized monoclonal antibody in clinical development as a targeted immuno-therapy for tumors that overexpress FGFR2b, a splice variant of a receptor for some members of the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) family. Clinical results to date suggest that the specificity of FPA144 avoids toxicities that have been seen with less selective FGFR2 small molecule therapeutics. FPA144 has also been engineered for enhanced antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) to increase direct tumor cell killing by recruiting natural killer (NK) cells.

About Cabiralizumab (FPA008)

Cabiralizumab is an investigational antibody that inhibits the CSF-1 receptor and has been shown in preclinical models to block the activation and survival of monocytes and macrophages. Inhibition of CSF1R in preclinical models of several cancers reduces the number of immunosuppressive tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) in the tumor microenvironment, thereby facilitating an immune response against tumors. Cabiralizumab is currently in clinical trials in oncology indications and in pigmented villonodular synovitis (PVNS). Cabiralizumab is being developed under an exclusive worldwide license and collaboration agreement entered into with Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) in October 2015.

Late Tuesday, after a fifth buyout offer from Takeda, Shire said the Japanese drugmaker had finally landed on a proposal worth recommending to shareholders (Press release, Shire, APR 25, 2018, http://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/shire-takeda-agree-to-preliminary-deal-and-analysts-agree-other-bidders-aren-t-coming?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=rss [SID1234525690]). It’s a cash-and-stock bid now worth $64 billion or so, about $4 billion more than its first offer.

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The deal still has to be approved by both boards and is subject to due diligence. The U.K.’s takeover board, which has strict rules for the timing and disclosure of bids, extended a deadline to give Takeda and Shire until May 8 to wrap it up.

In per-share terms, Takeda would fork over 0.839 new Takeda shares and $30.33 in cash for each Shire share. Based on Takeda’s share price at Monday’s close, that’s £49 per share, Shire said in a statement—and £5 per share more than its first bid.

That share price is a moving target, though; Takeda’s stock plummeted by 7% on the news Wednesday morning.

Structured this way, the deal "seems to be much more of a merger," Bernstein analyst Ronny Gal pointed out in a note to clients. Shire shareholders will receive 50% of the value of the combined company, and the companies will do reciprocal due diligence before any deal closes.

RELATED: Fifth and final bid? A determined Takeda said to be nearing $60B-plus Shire deal

At least one analyst isn’t so sure Shire shareholders will be interested.

"Are SHPG shareholders willing to accept an offer that is in effect 44% cash and 56% equity?" Jefferies’ David Steinberg wrote in a note to clients. While the latest bid is much more heavily weighted toward cash than Takeda’s third bid—just 38% cash—"we still wonder if it is enough to satisfy SHPG shareholders, who would still bear some not insignificant risk going forward as ~50% owners of NewCo," he wrote.

Gal, on the other hand, figures the deal will go through.

"The risk to the deal is unlikely in our view to come from Shire shareholders or anti-trust authorities," he wrote, noting that its Takeda’s shareholders, not Shire’s., that have sent the stock downward throughout the bidding process. Still, he pegged the probability of the deal going through at between 80% and 90%.

"Short of Takeda stock price imploding a deal is likely," he added.

RELATED: What would a Shire buy look like for Pfizer, Amgen or AbbVie? Analysts lay out pros and cons

Both analysts agree on one thing, though: Another bidder, which some industry watchers previously expected, probably won’t come out of the woodwork at this point.

"We expect Shire bankers to have left no stone unturned looking for other bidders," Gal wrote, with Steinberg adding that "we continue to think any potential group of buyers to be very limited … it’s arguably less than a 50% chance that another suitor emerges

On April 25, 2018 Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCPH), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on addressing key mechanisms of tumor drug resistance, reported that an abstract highlighting DCC-2618, the Company’s KIT and PDGFRα inhibitor, has been selected for poster presentation and discussion at the 2018 American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting, taking place June 1-5, 2018 in Chicago, IL (Press release, Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, APR 25, 2018, View Source [SID1234525689]).

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Details of the presentation on DCC-2618 are as follows:

Poster Title: Mutation profile of drug resistant gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) patients (pts) enrolled in the phase 1 study of DCC-2618.

Author: Suzanne George, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Session: Sarcoma, Poster and Discussion Session
Abstract #: 11511
Poster Board #: 256
Date & Time: Saturday June 2, 20183:00 PM – 4:15 PM CT
Location: Hall A, S404, McCormick Place, Chicago, IL

About DCC-2618

DCC-2618 is a KIT and PDGFRα kinase switch control inhibitor in clinical development for the treatment of KIT and/or PDGFRα-driven cancers, including gastrointestinal stromal tumors, or GIST, systemic mastocytosis, or SM, and glioblastoma multiforme. DCC-2618 was specifically designed to improve the treatment of GIST patients by inhibiting a broad spectrum of mutations in KIT and PDGFRα. DCC-2618 is a KIT and PDGFRα inhibitor that blocks initiating and secondary KIT mutations in exons 9, 11, 13, 14, 17, and 18, involved in GIST as well as the primary D816V exon 17 mutation involved in SM. DCC-2618 also inhibits primary PDGFRα mutations in exons 12, 14,and 18, including the exon 18 D842V mutation, involved in a subset of GIST.

On April 25, 2018 Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq:CNAT) reported that it will report financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2018, after the market close on Wednesday, May 2, 2018 (Press release, Conatus Pharmaceuticals, APR 25, 2018, View Source [SID1234525687]). Conatus will host a conference call and audio webcast at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, May 2, 2018, to discuss the financial results and provide a corporate update.

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To access the conference call, please dial 877-312-5857 (domestic) or 970-315-0455 (international) at least five minutes prior to the start time and refer to conference ID 5286754. A live and archived audio webcast of the call will also be available in the Investors section of the Conatus website at www.conatuspharma.com.

On April 25, 2018 Cerus Corporation (Nasdaq:CERS) reported that its first quarter results will be released on Tuesday, May 8, 2018, after the close of the stock market (Press release, Cerus, APR 25, 2018, View Source [SID1234525685]). The company will host a conference call and webcast at 4:15 PM ET that afternoon, during which management will discuss the Company’s financial results and provide a general business overview and outlook.

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To access the live webcast, please visit the Investor Relations page of the Cerus website at View Source Alternatively, you may access the live conference call by dialing (866) 235-9006 (U.S.) or (631) 291-4549 (international).

A replay will be available on the company’s website, or by dialing (855) 859-2056 (U.S.) or (404) 537-3406 (international) and entering conference ID number 2366225. The replay will be available approximately three hours after the call through May 22, 2018.