On December 17, 2019 Bausch Health Companies Inc. (NYSE/TSX: BHC) ("Bausch Health" or the "Company") reported that it has priced its previously announced offering of $1,250,000,000 aggregate principal amount of 5.000% senior notes due 2028 (the "2028 Notes") and $1,250,000,000 aggregate principal amount of 5.250% senior notes due 2030 (the "2030 Notes" and, together with the 2028 Notes, the "Notes") (Press release, Bausch Health, DEC 17, 2019, View Source [SID1234552445]). The aggregate size of the offering of the Notes is $2,500,000,000, which reflects an increase of $1,250,000,000 from the previously announced offering size of $1,250,000,000. The 2028 Notes will be sold to investors at a price of 100% of the principal amount thereof and the 2030 Notes will be sold to investors at a price of 100% of the principal amount thereof. Bausch Health intends to use the proceeds from the offering of the Notes, along with cash on hand, to finance amounts owed under the Company’s recently announced $1.21 billion settlement agreement (the "Settlement") relating to the U.S. putative securities class litigation filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey (which is subject to court approval), and redeem $1.24 billion aggregate principal amount of the Company’s outstanding 5.875% Senior Notes due 2023, as well as to pay related fees and expenses.

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The Notes will be guaranteed by each of the Company’s subsidiaries that are guarantors under the Company’s credit agreement and existing senior notes. Consummation of the offering of the Notes is subject to various closing conditions, and there can be no assurance that the Company will be able to successfully complete this transaction on the terms described above, or at all.

The Notes will not be registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), or any state securities law and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration under the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws. The Notes will be offered in the United States only to persons reasonably believed to be qualified institutional buyers pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act and outside the United States to non-U.S. persons pursuant to Regulation S under the Securities Act. The Notes have not been and will not be qualified for sale to the public by prospectus under applicable Canadian securities laws and, accordingly, any offer and sale of the Notes in Canada will be made on a basis which is exempt from the prospectus requirements of such securities laws.

This news release is being issued pursuant to Rule 135c under the Securities Act and shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

On December 17, 2019 Colorado’s life sciences ecosystem reported that it raised $750 million in 2019, with funds from federal and state grants, successful financing rounds and acquisitions (Press release, Colorado Life Sciences, DEC 17, 2019, View Source [SID1234552444]). The record-breaking acquisition of Boulder-based Array BioPharma by Pfizer for $11.4 billion raises the Colorado financing total to $12.1 billion.

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Major financings contributed to the notable fundraising year for Colorado companies and institutions. Clovis Oncology raised $175 million in clinical trial financing and Inscripta closed $125 million in Series D financing to fund commercialization of its digital genome engineering platform.

Additionally, more than 40 companies and institutions in Colorado received federal grants including funds from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the U.S. Air Force and Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grants from the Small Business Administration. The University of Colorado, National Jewish Health and Colorado State University were the state’s largest recipients of federal grants, all from the National Institutes of Health.

Jennifer Jones Paton, President & CEO of Colorado BioScience Association, says:

"Our ecosystem’s track record of successful financings and acquisitions highlights the global impact made by companies and organizations from Colorado. Life sciences breakthroughs from our state change and save lives around the world. The record-breaking acquisition and successful fundraising demonstrate the strong interest in Colorado’s thriving life sciences ecosystem."

Emily Roberts, Vice President of Colorado BioScience Association, says:

"We are proud of the companies in our ecosystem that landed Advanced Industries Grants from the state of Colorado. These funds are critical for our start-up and mid-stage companies as they seek to prove out concepts and move into commercialization. We are committed to advocating for this important state funding of our innovators and job creators."

The State of Colorado awarded 16 Advanced Industries grants to Colorado life sciences companies in 2019, with grants ranging from $20,000-$250,000. As a designated Advanced Industry in Colorado, the life sciences ecosystem makes a significant contribution to the state’s diverse and fast-growing economy, creating high-paying jobs for more than 89,000 Coloradans.

Colorado BioScience Association works actively on capital and growth initiatives to accelerate investment in our state’s life sciences ecosystem. While robust, Colorado’s percentage of funding per capita lags behind bioscience clusters in California and Massachusetts.

On December 17, 2019 Sengenics, a leading commercial stage precision medicine focused company, reported that Dr Arif Anwar, CEO of Sengenics, has been invited to present at the Biotech Showcase during the upcoming 38th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference week in San Francisco (Press release, Sengenics, DEC 17, 2019, View Source [SID1234552443]).

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Dr Arif Anwar will present an overview of the commercialisation strategy of the company, as well as applications of its well-differentiated and patented KREX technology for intra-disease stratification and autoimmune and cancer immunotherapy drug response prediction. The identity of the autoantibody biomarkers discovered from these applications can also guide drug development decision-making for the pharmaceutical industry, allowing for the early elimination of poor drug candidates. For clinical stage candidates, this can result in very significant cost savings as well as acceleration of the best candidates towards faster FDA drug approval. For commercially launched drugs, KREX offers unparalleled opportunities to gain market share by identifying new true responders.

Sengenics currently has partnerships with 9 out of the top 20 pharma to co-develop complementary and companion diagnostic tests for autoimmune and cancer immunotherapy drugs. The company has commenced the process for obtaining FDA 510(k) approval for several of these tests and plans to launch them in 2020. Sengenics’ key value drivers, which are derivatives from enhancing precision medicine, are primarily based on maximising the probability that drugs are prescribed only to patients who have a greater than 90% chance of responding to them. These new Sengenics tests offer a compelling business case for the pharmaceutical industry as well as medical insurance companies, whilst ultimately delivering upon the promise of precision medicine for autoimmune and cancer immunotherapy drugs.

Details of Sengenics’ presentation are as follows:

Event: Biotech Showcase 2020

Date: Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Time: 2:30 PM Pacific Time (5:30 PM Eastern Time)

Title: Realising the Potential of Precision Medicine for Autoimmune and Cancer Drugs using Sengenics’ KREX Technology

Location: Franciscan B (Ballroom Level), Hilton San Francisco Union Square – 333 O’Farrell Street

The presentation document will be available on the Sengenics website in the "Downloads" section on the same day.

On December 17, 2019 Vermillion, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRML), a bioanalytical-based women’s health company focused on gynecologic disease and Einstein Medical Center, the largest independent academic medical center in Philadelphia, reported the first patient enrolled in a study that compares OVA1 to CA125 assay for detection of ovarian cancer risk in African American women (Press release, Vermillion, DEC 17, 2019, View Source [SID1234552442]).

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The study will enroll over 200 prospective African American women with adnexal masses. Ovarian cancer risk will be assessed by both CA125 and OVA1 Plus. The primary objective is to determine the differences in sensitivity and accuracy of cancer risk detection between the testing methodologies. The study is to be expanded to women of varying ethnic backgrounds as well.

"African American women have lower incidence of ovarian cancer than Caucasian women, yet a higher all-cause mortality rate," said Lead Investigator Kate Stampler, D.O., Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Einstein Medical Center Philadelphia. "Recent evidence demonstrates that they also have lower levels of CA125 that could lead to underdiagnosis."

Recently published studies demonstrate that OVA1 has greater sensitivity in detecting ovarian cancer across multiple ethnicities and technologies including CA125 and ROMA:

OVA1 in African American women is 2.38-times more sensitive than CA125: 79.2% v 33.3%1
OVA1 in African American women is 1.45-times more sensitive than ROMA: 79.1% v 54.5%2
OVA1 in Caucasian women is more sensitive than CA125: 93.2% v 74.4%1
OVA1 in Caucasian women is more sensitive than ROMA: 93.2% v 82.9%2
"This study should confirm that OVA1 provides more sensitive risk detection in African American women. It may also define differences in sensitivity amongst various ethnicities and races," said Charles Dunton, MD, Global Medical Director, Vermillion. "This study can help address the disparities in diagnosis and outcomes of ovarian cancer in African American women."

OVA1 is an FDA-cleared and ACOG-endorsed blood test offered via ASPiRA Labs. OVA1 proactively assesses the risk of ovarian malignancy from a simple blood test, as a pre-operative biopsy is not medically appropriate. Clinically, OVA1 objectively guides the patient treatment care plan for low-risk and high-risk pelvic mass patients.

On December 17, 2019 Cellestia Biotech AG reported the closing of a CHF 20 million Series B financing round (Press release, Cellestia Biotech, DEC 17, 2019, View Source [SID1234552441]). The new funds will be added to the previous, including CHF 8 million Seed financing, CHF 20 million Series A financing and CHF 1 million non-dilutive research grants, bringing the total capital raised to date by Cellestia to CHF 49 million (USD 50 million).

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"This financing strengthens our balance sheet as we work to achieve important milestones for our clinical candidate CB-103 as well as the follow-up compounds," said Gaudenz von Capeller, CFO of Cellestia Biotech AG.

Cellestia is progressing the ongoing clinical development program of CB-103, a first-in-class small molecule targeted therapy with a novel mode of action. CB-103 is a highly selective protein-protein interaction inhibitor targeting an oncogene transcription factor for the precision medicine treatment of specific cancers. It will also allow Cellestia to advance its innovative R&D pipeline activity.

In June 2019, Guido Guidi (Former Head Europe Novartis Pharma / Head Novartis Oncology Europe) was elected new Chairman of Board of Directors. Robert Karsunky (Head Latin America & Canada at Novartis Pharma) elected new Chairman of the Audit Committee and to the Board of Directors.

Michael Bauer, CEO of Cellestia Biotech AG said, "Guido’s experience and knowledge in development, business and building a successful organisation is a tremendous asset to our company, and we are delighted that he has joined Cellestia as Chairman of our Board. Robert brings long-standing financial expertise to the board and strengthens internal governance in his roles of Chairman of the Audit Committee and Member of the Board. With these additions to the board, we are further adopting the board memberships in line with the company´s growth and development."

"I am excited to be a part of Cellestia’s journey. I find the science to be compelling and look forward to supporting the development of this novel precision oncology solution," said Guido Guidi.

About PPF/SOTIO

PPF Group is an international investment company focusing on multiple market segments such as banking, financial services, telecommunications, insurance, real estate, agriculture and biotechnology. PPF’s reach spans from Europe to Russia, the USA and across Asia. PPF’s assets under management totalled to almost EUR 47 billion (as at 30 June 2019). SOTIO is an international biotechnology company spearheading PPF’s investment and partnering activities in the biotechnology sector. For more information about PPF and Sotio visit www.ppf.eu and www.sotio.com.

About FC Capital

FC Capital is a China-based private equity firm specializing in healthcare investments in the Greater China region, the US and the European countries. FC Capital focuses in cultivating and investing in early and growth stage sector leaders ranging from pharmaceutical companies to technology and data providers that are aligning with secular growth trends or building innovative solutions to emerging challenges. Its parallel RMB and USD funds target high-quality companies looking for a patient and strategic partner to achieve unprecedented cross-border and long-term success.