Can-Fite to Present on its Liver Cancer Drug Namodenoson at the NYC Oncology Investor Conference

On October 25, 2018 Can-Fite BioPharma Ltd. (NYSE American: CANF) (TASE:CFBI), a biotechnology company advancing a pipeline of proprietary small molecule drugs that address liver and inflammatory diseases, reported that its CEO, Dr. Pnina Fishman, will present at The NYC Oncology Investor Conference 2018 View Source to take place on October 30-31 (Press release, Can-Fite BioPharma, OCT 25, 2018, View Source [SID1234530150]). Her lecture will be delivered on the 31st at 11:40 am.

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

Dr. Fishman will present the molecular mechanism mediating the anti-cancer effects of Namodenoson and will describe clinical data from the Company’s earlier Phase I/II liver cancer study. In addition, she will present the status of the current Phase II study in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma, Child Pugh B.

The global Phase II study is being conducted in the U.S., Europe and Israel. Patients with advanced HCC, Child Pugh B, who failed Nexavar (sorafenib) as a first line treatment are treated twice daily with 25 mg of oral Namodenoson or placebo using a 2:1 randomization. The primary endpoint of the Phase II study is Overall Survival (OS). Secondary endpoints include Progression Free Survival (PFS), safety, and the relationship between outcomes and A3AR expression.

Advanced liver cancer is categorized into 3 subclasses including Child Pugh A, mostly treated with Nexavar, Child Pugh B and Child Pugh C. Although a few drugs for the treatment of advanced liver cancer have recently launched, none are specifically aimed at treating patients who have reached the Child Pugh B stage. This represents a major unmet need and potentially positions Namodenoson as an important drug candidate to treat this patient population.

Accumulated safety data to date continues to indicate a favorable safety profile, with no clinically significant novel or emerging events attributed to chronic treatment with Namodenoson.

"We are pleased to present at the NYC Oncology Conference and share with investors our unique approach to treat patients with advanced HCC. This tumor is resistant to chemotherapy whereas Namodenoson has shown in an earlier pre-clinical study to induce specific apoptosis towards the liver cancer cells while sparing the normal liver cells," commented Dr. Pnina Fishman, company CEO.

About Namodenoson

Namodenoson is a small orally bioavailable drug that binds with high affinity and selectivity to the A3 adenosine receptor (A3AR). Namodenoson is being evaluated in Phase II trials for two indications, as a second line treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma, and as a treatment for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). A3AR is highly expressed in diseased cells whereas low expression is found in normal cells. This differential effect accounts for the excellent safety profile of the drug.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals to Release Third Quarter Financial Results and General Business Updates on November 8, 2018

On October 25, 2018 Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc., (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSX:AUP) reported that it will release its third quarter 2018 financial results on Thursday, November 8, 2018, after the market closes (Press release, Aurinia Pharmaceuticals, OCT 25, 2018, View Source [SID1234530151]). Aurinia’s management will host a conference call to discuss the company’s third quarter 2018 financial results and provide a general business update.

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

The conference call and webcast is scheduled for November 8, 2018 at 4:30pm EDT. In order to participate in the conference call, please dial +1-877-407-9170 (Toll-free U.S. & Canada). An audio webcast can be accessed under "News/Events" through the "Investors" section of the Aurinia corporate website at www.auriniapharma.com. A replay of the webcast will be available on Aurinia’s website.

PROVECTUS ANNOUNCES PRESENTATION OF UPDATED RESULTS FROM PHASE 1B TRIAL OF PV-10 IN COMBINATION WITH KEYTRUDA® (PEMBROLIZUMAB) FOR TREATMENT OF ADVANCED MELANOMA AT SMR 2018 CONGRESS

On October 25, 2018 Provectus (OTCQB: PVCT) reported that interim results from the Company’s ongoing Phase 1b/2 study of small molecule oncolytic immunotherapy PV-10 in combination with KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab), an anti-PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor, were presented at the 15th International Congress of the Society for Melanoma Research (SMR 2018 Congress), held in Manchester, England from October 24-27, 2018 (Press release, Provectus Biopharmaceuticals, OCT 25, 2018, View Source [SID1234530152]). Intratumoral injection of PV-10 can yield immunogenic cell death in solid tumor cancers and stimulate tumor-specific reactivity in circulating T cells.1-4

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

The Phase 1b portion of the study completed enrollment in April 2018 of 23 patients with metastatic melanoma at clinical sites in the U.S. (NCT02557321). Patients with at least one injectable lesion and who were candidates for KEYTRUDA were eligible. Eligible subjects received the combination treatment of PV-10 and KEYTRUDA every three weeks for up to five cycles (i.e., over a period of up to 12 weeks, with no further PV-10 administered after week 12), followed by only KEYTRUDA every three weeks for up to 24 months. The primary endpoint for the Phase 1b trial was safety and tolerability. Objective response rate and progression-free survival were key secondary endpoints (both assessed via RECIST 1.1 after five treatment cycles, and then every 12 weeks thereafter). Response follow-up of 6 patients (26%) is ongoing.

Interim Results from the Presentation at SMR:

Baseline characteristics: 83% men; median age of 70 years (range 28-90) and 70% > 65 years; 91% checkpoint naïve.

Disease characteristics: 13% Stage IIIC/IIID and 52% Stage IV M1b/M1c; median of 2 cutaneous/subcutaneous lesions (range 1-15)5; most subjects had substantial non-injected systemic disease burden in addition to their injectable cutaneous and/or subcutaneous lesions.

Treatment summary: Subjects received a median of 4 cycles of PV-10 (mean 3.7, range 1-5) and a median of 5 injections of PV-10 (range 1-82); PV-10 was not administered after week 12.

Preliminary safety: adverse events were consistent with the established patterns for single-agent use of each drug; there were no unexpected toxicities or evidence of significant overlapping toxicity.

Preliminary target lesion efficacy (best overall response): 43% complete response and 65% objective response.

Preliminary overall efficacy (per RECIST 1.1): 9% complete response, 65% objective response, and 70% clinical benefit; 83% objective response in M1c patients.
The Company currently plans to present durability and survival data from these study participants at a medical conference in the first half of 2019. Provectus plans to open an expansion cohort of up to 24 patients in the Phase 1b portion of the study to assess the PV-10-KEYTRUDA combination in patients who have failed to respond to initial treatment with checkpoint inhibition.

Dominic Rodrigues, Vice Chair of the Company’s Board of Directors, said, "These updated results continue to highlight the non-overlapping safety profiles of PV-10 and checkpoint inhibition by authenticating the lack of correlation of adverse events between the two drugs. The data also continue to demonstrate the promising clinical benefit of cancer combination therapy with checkpoint inhibition after minimal PV-10 intervention.6 We believe successful combination therapy is achieved by pairing drugs that each show single-agent activity."

A copy of the poster presentation is currently available on Provectus’ website at

View Source

About PV-10

Provectus’ lead investigational oncology drug, PV-10, the first small molecule oncolytic immunotherapy, can induce immunogenic cell death. PV-10 is undergoing clinical study for adult solid tumor cancers, like melanoma and cancers of the liver, and preclinical study for pediatric cancers.

Gilead Sciences Announces Fourth Quarter 2018 Dividend

On October 25, 2018 Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: GILD) reported that the company’s Board of Directors has declared a cash dividend of $0.57 per share of common stock for the fourth quarter of 2018 (Press release, Gilead Sciences, OCT 25, 2018, View Source;p=irol-newsArticle&ID=2373558 [SID1234530156]). The dividend is payable on December 28, 2018, to stockholders of record at the close of business on December 14, 2018. Future dividends will be subject to Board approval.

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!


Gilead Sciences Announces Third Quarter 2018 Financial Results

On October 25, 2018 Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: GILD) reported its results of operations for the third quarter ended September 30, 2018 (Press release, Gilead Sciences, OCT 25, 2018, View Source [SID1234530106]).

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

The financial results that follow represent a year-over-year comparison of the third quarter 2018 to the third quarter 2017. Total revenues were $5.6 billion in 2018 compared to $6.5 billion in 2017. Net income was $2.1 billion or $1.60 per diluted share in 2018 compared to $2.7 billion or $2.06 per diluted share in 2017. Non-GAAP net income was $2.4 billion or $1.84 per diluted share in 2018 compared to $3.0 billion or $2.27 per diluted share in 2017.

Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended
September 30, September 30,
(In millions, except per share amounts) 2018 2017 2018 2017
Product sales $ 5,455 $ 6,402 $ 15,996 $ 19,825
Royalty, contract and other revenues 141 110 336 333
Total revenues $ 5,596 $ 6,512 $ 16,332 $ 20,158

Net income attributable to Gilead $ 2,097 $ 2,718 $ 5,452 $ 8,493
Non-GAAP net income $ 2,403 $ 2,990 $ 6,855 $ 9,311

Diluted earnings per share $ 1.60 $ 2.06 $ 4.15 $ 6.44
Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share $ 1.84 $ 2.27 $ 5.22 $ 7.06

Product Sales

Total product sales for the third quarter of 2018 were $5.5 billion compared to $6.4 billion for the same period in 2017. Product sales for the third quarter of 2018 were $4.1 billion in the United States, $873 million in Europe and $451 million in other locations. Product sales for the third quarter of 2017 were $4.5 billion in the United States, $1.2 billion in Europe and $663 million in other locations.

___________________________________

Note: Non-GAAP financial information excludes acquisition-related, up-front collaboration, stock-based compensation and other expenses, fair value adjustments of marketable equity securities and measurement period adjustments relating to the enactment of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (Tax Reform). A reconciliation between GAAP and non-GAAP financial information is provided in the tables on page 7, 8 and 9.

HIV product sales(1) were $3.7 billion for the third quarter of 2018 compared to $3.3 billion for the same period in 2017. The increase was primarily due to the continued uptake of products containing emtricitabine (FTC) and tenofovir alafenamide (TAF), which include Biktarvy (bictegravir 50 mg/emtricitabine 200 mg/tenofovir alafenamide 25 mg), Descovy (emtricitabine 200 mg/tenofovir alafenamide 25 mg), Genvoya (elvitegravir 150 mg/cobicistat 150 mg/emtricitabine 200 mg/tenofovir alafenamide 10 mg) and Odefsey (emtricitabine 200 mg/rilpivirine 25 mg/tenofovir alafenamide 25 mg).
Chronic hepatitis C (HCV) product sales, which consist of Epclusa (sofosbuvir 400 mg/velpatasvir 100 mg), Harvoni (ledipasvir 90 mg/sofosbuvir 400 mg), Vosevi (sofosbuvir 400 mg/velpatasvir 100 mg/voxilaprevir 100 mg) and Sovaldi (sofosbuvir 400 mg), were $902 million for the third quarter of 2018 compared to $2.2 billion for the same period in 2017. The decline was primarily due to lower sales of Harvoni and Epclusa across all major markets as a result of increased competition.
Yescarta (axicabtagene ciloleucel), which was launched in the United States in October 2017, generated $75 million in sales during the third quarter of 2018.
Other product sales, which include products from Gilead’s chronic hepatitis B (HBV), cardiovascular, oncology and other categories inclusive of Vemlidy (tenofovir alafenamide 25 mg), Viread (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate 300 mg), Letairis (ambrisentan 5 mg and 10 mg), Ranexa (ranolazine 500 mg and 1000 mg), Zydelig (idelalisib 150 mg) and AmBisome (amphotericin B liposome for injection 50 mg/vial), were $751 million for the third quarter of 2018 compared to $874 million for the same period in 2017.
Operating Expenses

Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended
September 30, September 30,
(In millions) 2018 2017 2018 2017
Research and development expenses (R&D) $ 939 $ 789 $ 3,068 $ 2,584
Non-GAAP R&D expenses $ 844 $ 745 $ 2,579 $ 2,446

Selling, general and administrative expenses (SG&A) $ 948 $ 879 $ 2,925 $ 2,626
Non-GAAP SG&A expenses $ 852 $ 806 $ 2,576 $ 2,440

During the third quarter of 2018, compared to the same period in 2017:

R&D and SG&A expenses increased primarily due to higher costs to support the growth of Gilead’s business following the acquisition of Kite Pharma, Inc. (Kite) and stock-based compensation expenses associated with Gilead’s acquisition of Kite.
Non-GAAP R&D and non-GAAP SG&A expenses increased primarily due to higher costs to support the growth of Gilead’s business following the acquisition of Kite.
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Marketable Securities

As of September 30, 2018, Gilead had $30.8 billion of cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities compared to $31.7 billion as of June 30, 2018. During the third quarter of 2018, Gilead generated $2.2 billion in operating cash flow. Gilead repaid $1.8 billion principal amount of senior unsecured notes due in September 2018, paid cash dividends of $742 million and utilized $449 million on stock repurchases.

___________________________________

(1) Excludes sales of Viread as Viread is primarily used for treatment of chronic HBV.

Revised Full Year 2018 Guidance

Gilead revised its full year 2018 guidance, initially provided on February 6, 2018 and revised on July 25, 2018:

(In millions, except percentages and per share amounts) Initially Provided
February 6, 2018
Reiterated
May 1, 2018 Updated
July 25, 2018


Updated

October 25, 2018

Net Product Sales $20,000 – $21,000 $20,000 – $21,000 $20,800 – $21,300
Non-GAAP
Product Gross Margin 85% – 87% 85% – 87% 85% – 87%
R&D Expenses $3,400 – $3,600 $3,400 – $3,600 $3,400 – $3,600
SG&A Expenses $3,400 – $3,600 $3,400 – $3,600 $3,400 – $3,600
Effective Tax Rate 21.0% – 23.0% 19.0% – 21.0% 18.0% – 20.0%
Diluted EPS Impact of Acquisition-related, Up-front Collaboration, Stock-based Compensation and Other Expenses $1.41 – $1.51 $1.50 – $1.60 $1.50 – $1.60

Corporate Highlights

Announced that John F. Milligan, Ph.D., will step down as President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
John C. Martin, Ph.D., announced his intent to step down from the Board at the time a new CEO joins the company.
Announced plans to launch authorized generic versions of Epclusa and Harvoni in the United States through a newly created subsidiary, Asegua Therapeutics LLC.
Announced that Laura Hamill has joined the company as Executive Vice President, Worldwide Commercial Operations.
Announced that Gregg Alton has been appointed Chief Patient Officer and that Diana Brainard, M.D., has been promoted to Senior Vice President, HIV and Emerging Viral Infections. Also announced that Andrew Cheng, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer, decided to leave Gilead to pursue another opportunity.
Announced that Michael Amoroso has joined the company as Senior Vice President and Head of Worldwide Commercial, Cell Therapy.
Product and Pipeline Updates announced by Gilead during the Third Quarter of 2018 include:

HIV and Liver Diseases Programs

Announced a strategic collaboration with Precision BioSciences (Precision) to develop therapies targeting the in vivo elimination of HBV virus with Precision’s proprietary genome editing platform, ARCUS.
Announced that the China National Drug Administration has approved Genvoya for the treatment of HIV-1 infection.
Presented data at the 22nd International AIDS Conference, which included the announcement of a retrospective nationwide analysis of the impact of Truvada (emtricitabine 200mg and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate 300mg) for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use across all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. Conducted in collaboration with researchers at Emory University Rollins School of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, these data demonstrated that use of once-daily oral Truvada for PrEP has had an independent and significant impact on the number of new HIV infections diagnosed in the United States from 2012 to 2016.
Oncology and Cell Therapy Programs

Announced a license agreement with Trianni, Inc. (Trianni) that grants Gilead the use of the Trianni transgenic human monoclonal antibody discovery platform to support drug discovery efforts.
Announced that the European Commission has granted Marketing Authorization for Yescarta as a treatment for adult patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma, after two or more lines of systemic therapy.
Announced a strategic collaboration with Gadeta B.V. (Gadeta) to develop novel gamma delta T cell receptor therapies in various cancers.
Inflammation Programs

Announced that FINCH 2, a global, randomized, placebo-controlled, Phase 3 study of filgotinib, an investigational, selective JAK1 inhibitor, in adults with moderately-to-severely active rheumatoid arthritis and prior inadequate response/intolerance to biologic agents, achieved its primary endpoint in the proportion of patients achieving an American College of Rheumatology 20 percent response at week 12.
Announced that the randomized, placebo-controlled Phase 2 TORTUGA study of filgotinib achieved its primary efficacy endpoint in adults with moderately to severely active ankylosing spondylitis (AS). In the study, patients treated with filgotinib achieved significantly greater improvements in AS Disease Activity Score, the primary endpoint, at week 12, with a mean change from baseline of -1.5 versus -0.6 for those treated with placebo (p<0.0001).