SELLAS Life Sciences Announces Closing of $15 Million Public Offering

On June 18, 2019 SELLAS Life Sciences Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SLS) ("SELLAS" or the "Company"), a late-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel cancer immunotherapeutics for a broad range of indications, reported the closing of its previously announced underwritten public offering of (i) 26,367,200 shares of common stock together with common stock warrants (the "common warrants") to purchase 26,367,200 shares of common stock and (ii) 73,632,800 pre-funded warrants, with each pre-funded warrant exercisable for one share of common stock, together with common warrants to purchase 73,632,800 shares of common stock (Press release, Sellas Life Sciences, JUN 18, 2019, View Source [SID1234537157]). At closing, SELLAS received aggregate net proceeds from the offering of approximately $13.5 million, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses. The common warrants have an initial exercise price of $0.50 per share and have a 5-year term.

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SELLAS intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to commence a pivotal Phase 3 trial for its lead clinical candidate, galinpepimut-S ("GPS"), as a monotherapy in acute myeloid leukemia patients following second complete remission and to continue its Phase 1/2 basket type trial of GPS in combination with pembrolizumab, as well as for general corporate purposes and funding its working capital needs.

A.G.P./Alliance Global Partners acted as sole book-running manager for the offering. Maxim Group LLC acted as co-manager.

A registration statement on Form S-1 relating to the offering was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on May 23, 2019, amended on June 6, 2019 and June 13, 2019, and was declared effective on June 13, 2019. The offering was made only by means of a prospectus. SELLAS’ SEC filings are available to the public from the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Copies of the final prospectus relating to the offering may also be obtained by contacting A.G.P./Alliance Global Partners, 590 Madison Avenue, 36th Floor New York, NY 10022 or via telephone at 212-624-2006 or email: [email protected].

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or other jurisdiction

Arbutus Appoints William Collier as Next President & CEO and Announces Retirement of Current President & CEO, Mark J. Murray Ph.D.

On June 18, 2019 Arbutus Biopharma Corporation (Nasdaq: ABUS), an industry-leading Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) therapeutic solutions company, reported the appointment of William H. Collier as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective June 24th (Press release, Arbutus Biopharma, JUN 18, 2019, View Source [SID1234537156]). Mr. Collier has also been appointed as a member of the Board of Directors of Arbutus, effective June 24th, to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Mark J. Murray, Ph.D., from the Board of Directors. Dr. Murray will continue to serve as President and Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the Board of Directors until his retirement on June 23rd. Dr. Murray and Arbutus Biopharma entered into a consulting agreement on June 13, 2019 whereby Dr. Murray will provide transition services from June 24, 2019 to August 23, 2019.

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Mr. Collier has over 30 years of experience as a senior executive in the pharmaceutical industry and previously served as President and General Manager, North America at ViiV Healthcare. At ViiV he led the industry-leading launches of several new treatments for HIV. Prior to joining ViiV in 2009, Mr. Collier held multiple senior leadership roles at GlaxoSmithKline. Earlier in his career he led the launches of new treatments for herpes and bacterial infections. Mr. Collier received his BSc in Mathematics and Management Sciences from the University of Manchester Institute of Science & Technology, UK, and served on The President’s Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS from 2014 to 2017.

"I am delighted to join Arbutus at this important inflection point in the company’s growth," said Mr. Collier. "HBV represents a global public health threat. It is the world’s most common serious liver infection and is up to 100 times more infectious than the HIV virus. It is also the primary cause of liver cancer, which is the second leading cause of cancer death in the world. Regrettably, as yet, there are no effective curative treatments for these patients. I believe that Arbutus’ diverse pipeline focused on HBV has the promise to offer people suffering from Hepatitis B a potentially curative treatment."

Dr. Mark Murray noted, "With the effective consolidation of Arbutus’s operations and scientific team in Warminster, Pennsylvania, a pipeline focused on a combination therapeutic regimen to cure HBV, and a clear strategic business plan in place, I believe this is an opportune time for me to retire and for Arbutus to move forward under Bill Collier’s leadership. I believe Bill’s extensive experience in the development and commercialization of multiple virology products and his passion for building competitive, high performing teams will be of great value to Arbutus."

"I would like to thank Mark for his service and extend a warm welcome to Bill," said Frank Torti, M.D., Chairman of Arbutus’ Board of Directors. "We are excited to have Bill join our exceptionally experienced team – one that has already demonstrated a remarkable ability to discover and develop important new anti-viral medicines – and look forward to him leading the next phase of the company’s growth."

In connection with the appointment of Mr. Collier, Arbutus entered into an employment agreement with Mr. Collier that, among other things, provides for the grant of a stock option outside of Arbutus’ 2016 Omnibus Share and Incentive Plan, or any other equity incentive plans of Arbutus, as an inducement material to Mr. Collier’s entering into employment with Arbutus in accordance with Nasdaq Stock Market LLC Listing Rule 5635(c)(4). The stock option to purchase 1,112,000 common shares of Arbutus is being granted effective as of Mr. Collier’s start date on June 24, 2019. The stock option grant was approved by the independent Executive Compensation and Human Resources Committee of the Board of Directors in accordance with Nasdaq Stock Market LLC Listing Rule 5635(c)(4). The stock option will have an exercise price per share equal to the closing price per share of Arbutus’ common shares on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on June 24, 2019. The stock option will have a ten-year term and will vest as to 25% of the common shares on the one-year anniversary of Mr. Collier’s start date and as to an additional 1/48th of the total original number of common shares subject to Mr. Collier’s stock option on the corresponding day of each month over the three year period thereafter, subject to Mr. Collier’s continued employment with Arbutus through the applicable vesting dates.

Sutro Biopharma to Present at the JMP Securities Life Sciences Conference

On June 18, 2019 Sutro Biopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: STRO), a clinical-stage drug discovery, development and manufacturing company focused on the application of precise protein engineering and rational design to create next-generation oncology therapeutics, reported that Steve Worsley, Chief Business Officer, will present a company overview at the JMP Securities Life Sciences Conference on Thursday, June 20 at 12:30 p.m. ET at the St. Regis Hotel in New York (Press release, Sutro Biopharma, JUN 18, 2019, View Source [SID1234537155]).

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A live webcast of the presentation will be accessible through the Events and Presentations page of the Investor Relations section of the company’s website at www.sutrobio.com. A replay of the webcast will be available for approximately 30 days following the event.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals to present at the BMO Prescription for Success Healthcare Conference

On June 18, 2019 Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: IONS), the leader in antisense therapeutics, reported that management will present a company overview at the BMO Prescription for Success Healthcare Conference at 9:20 a.m. ET on Tuesday, June 25, 2019 in New York, NY (Press release, Ionis Pharmaceuticals, JUN 18, 2019, View Source [SID1234537154]).

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A live webcast of the presentation will be available on the Investors & Media section of the Ionis website. The replay will be available within 48 hours and will be archived for a limited time.

Kleo Pharmaceuticals Announces a CD38 Targeting Antibody Recruiting Molecule (ARM™) to Treat Multiple Myeloma as the First Clinical Candidate in its Partnership with PeptiDream

On June 18, 2019 Kleo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Kleo), an immuno-oncology company developing next-generation synthetic bispecific compounds designed to emulate or enhance the activity of biologics, reported that CD38-ARM, a CD38 targeting antibody recruiting molecule (ARM) to treat multiple myeloma, will be its first product candidate to move into the clinic with anticipated human studies to commence in 2020 (Press release, Kleo Pharmaceuticals, JUN 18, 2019, View Source [SID1234537153]).

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CD38-ARM is designed to recruit endogenous antibodies to multiple myeloma cancer cells, targeting them for destruction by natural killer (NK) cells and macrophages. CD38 is a validated multiple myeloma target, which is also overexpressed in chronic lymphocytic leukemia and other cancers. The molecule was chosen after showing positive signals towards safety and efficacy in preclinical models. This is the first candidate to emerge from Kleo’s strategic alliance with PeptiDream Inc., (Tokyo:4587).

"We’re excited to announce CD38-ARM as the first clinical candidate for Kleo, which is also the first clinical candidate resulting from our collaboration agreement with PeptiDream," said Douglas Manion, MD, CEO of Kleo. "PeptiDream’s PDPS technology and Kleo’s ARM platform together have created a product candidate we intend to advance into the clinic next year. CD38-ARM is being developed to enhance, complement or replace currently marketed anti-CD38 multiple myeloma drugs through better safety and efficacy. We are hopeful CD38-ARM will be the first of a series of novel clinical candidates to emerge from our innovative development platforms."

"PeptiDream takes great pride in being a strong leader in transforming peptides into new effective treatment options using our Peptide Discovery Platform System (PDPS)," stated Patrick Reid, PhD, CEO of PeptiDream. "We are pleased to partner with Kleo in CD38-ARM’s advancement into the clinic recognizing its potential in becoming the next generation of first-in-class and best-in-class immunotherapies."