On September 4, 2018 Turnstone Biologics, a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company developing the next generation of oncolytic viral therapies, and the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology reported that they have entered into a collaboration and licensing agreement whereby Turnstone will utilize La Jolla Institute’s proprietary neoantigen identification methodology to select personalized neoantigens to target with its proprietary viral technologies for the development of new cancer immunotherapies (Press release, Turnstone Biologics, SEPT 4, 2018, View Source [SID1234529266]).

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Under the terms of the agreement, Turnstone will license the neoantigen identification methods developed by La Jolla Institute professors Dr. Stephen Schoenberger, Division of Developmental Immunology, and Dr. Bjoern Peters, Division of Vaccine Discovery, for use in cancer immunotherapies. Turnstone will fund collaborative research to further develop antigen identification methods for use in a Phase I/II clinical trial using its proprietary MG1 viral platform, expected to commence in 2019. Turnstone will also make development and regulatory milestone payments for therapies that utilize La Jolla Institute’s technology.

"Neoantigen-based treatments have the potential to transform cancer patient care by targeting specific genetic mutations in cancer malignancies," said Dr. Mike Burgess, MBChB, Ph.D., President of Research and Development of Turnstone. "Neoantigens identified using the highly-predictive functional-based approach developed at La Jolla Institute will be incorporated into our MG1 viral platform to form powerful immunotherapies. We are excited to be collaborating with the La Jolla Institute with the goal of developing best-in-class personalized cancer medicines."

"The field of neoantigens has evolved tremendously, and we are diligently working to more accurately predict patient-specific cancer mutations that can be targeted to drive more effective cancer treatments," says Dr. Stephen Schoenberger. "Turnstone has exciting proprietory technologies for eliciting strong anti-tumor immune responses and we are looking forward to capitalizing on their novel approach to bring personalized neoantigen therapies to patients."

On September 4, 2018 MediciNova, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company traded on the NASDAQ Global Market (NASDAQ:MNOV) and the JASDAQ Market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange (Code Number: 4875), reported that MediciNova will attend the Morgan Stanley Global Healthcare Conference which will be held at the Grand Hyatt New York in New York City from September 12 – 14, 2018 (Press release, MediciNova, SEPT 4, 2018, View Source;p=irol-newsArticle&ID=2366038 [SID1234529265]). Yuichi Iwaki, MD, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Geoffrey O’Brien, JD/MBA, Vice President and Executive Officer, will be available for one-on-one meetings at this conference and investors may request a one-on-one meeting through Morgan Stanley

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On September 4, 2018 Pieris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: PIRS), a biotechnology company advancing novel biotherapeutics through its proprietary Anticalin technology platform for cancer, respiratory and other diseases, reported that it has dosed the first patient in the Company’s Phase 1 combination clinical trial of PRS-343, its lead proprietary immuno-oncology drug candidate targeting HER2 and 4-1BB, plus atezolizumab (Tecentriq), an approved PD-L1 inhibitor (Press release, Pieris Pharmaceuticals, SEPT 4, 2018, View Source [SID1234529264]).

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The trial, a multicenter, open-label, Phase 1 dose escalation study, is designed to determine the safety, tolerability, and potential synergistic anti-tumor effects of PRS-343 plus anti-PD-L1 immunotherapy in patients with advanced or metastatic HER2-positive solid tumors. Elevated HER2 expression is associated with multiple cancers, including gastroesophageal, bladder, breast, and a range of other tumor types. The trial is fully funded and sponsored by Pieris, while Roche is supplying atezolizumab.

"The initiation of the combination trial of PRS-343 with an anti-PD-L1 immunotherapy marks the beginning of Pieris’ investigation into the potential synergistic effects of its 4-1BB-targeted therapy with PD-1/L1 blockade," said Louis Matis, M.D., Senior Vice President and Chief Development Officer of Pieris. "Given evidence from multiple preclinical studies demonstrating synergistic anti-tumor activity from concurrent 4-1BB activation and PD-(L)1 pathway blockade, we believe that combination therapy with PRS-343 and atezolizumab has the potential to provide significant clinical benefit for patients. We are enthusiastic to be initiating this trial and look forward to reporting our findings from this combination study next year."

About PRS-343

PRS-343 is a bispecific monoclonal antibody-Anticalin fusion protein comprised of a HER2 tumor-targeting antibody genetically linked to a potent Anticalin specific for the immune costimulatory TNF family receptor 4-1BB (CD137). PRS-343 is being developed as the first 4-1BB based bispecific therapeutic to mediate the activation of tumor-specific T lymphocytes selectively within the tumor microenvironment (TME). 4-1BB is a potent costimulatory immunoreceptor and an established marker for tumor-specific infiltrating T lymphocytes, and is, therefore, an attractive target for cancer immunotherapy. In in vivo preclinical tumor models, PRS-343 has demonstrated potent T lymphocyte activation localized to the TME of established HER2-positive tumors, indicating the potential for both enhanced safety and efficacy.

About HER2-Positive Malignancies

HER2 is a tyrosine kinase receptor growth-promoting protein found on the surface of some cancer cells and is associated with aggressive disease progression. Multiple tumor types can express HER2 including breast, gastroesophageal, bladder, biliary (cholangiocarcinoma), colorectal, endometrial, ovarian, non-small cell lung, pancreatic, head and neck, and other cancers.

On September 4, 2018 Horizon Pharma plc (Nasdaq: HZNP) reported that the company will participate in the following conference (Press release, Horizon Pharma, SEPT 4, 2018, View Source [SID1234529263]):

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Morgan Stanley 16th Annual Global Healthcare Conference

Date: Sept. 13, 2018
Presentation Time: 10:35 a.m. ET
Location: New York, NY

On September 4, 2018 Allergan plc (NYSE: AGN), a leading global biopharmaceutical company, reported that Chairman and CEO Brent Saunders will participate in a fireside chat at the 2018 Morgan Stanley Global Healthcare Conference in New York, NY (Press release, Allergan, SEPT 4, 2018, View Source [SID1234529262]). The presentation will begin at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, September 13, 2018.

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The presentation will be webcast live and can be accessed on Allergan’s Investor Relations website at View Source;. The webcast can also be accessed through the following URL: View Source;

An archived version will be available within approximately two hours of the live presentation and can be accessed at the same location for 180 days.