Orca Bio Raises $192 Million Series D for Cell Therapies

On June 17, 2020 Orca Bio reported that it closed on a Series D financing worth $192 million, bringing the total raised since 2016 to $300 million (Press release, ORCA Biosystems, JUN 17, 2020, View Source [SID1234561188]). The round was co-led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and an undisclosed investor. New and existing investors included 8VC, DCVC Bio, ND Capital, Mubadala Investment Company, Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, Kaiser Permanente Group Trust and IMRF.

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!

Orca focuses on high-precision allogeneic cell therapy with the goal of being able to replace a patient’s diseased blood and immune system with a healthy one. Its approach is based on a proprietary mix of cells that can cure disease and eliminate dangerous side effects.

The funds will be used to continue advancing its cell therapy pipeline and novel manufacturing platform. The technology sorts blood at the single-cell level with a high level of purity. There can be a trade-off when it comes to bone marrow transplants, with using only a few cells with great precision or using a lot of cells and giving up some of that precision. The most common approach is to have less precision in order to utilize large numbers of cells to treat patients. Orca’s technology processes large numbers of cells while maintaining single-cell precision.

The most advanced program is TRGFT-201, a formulation of T-cells that includes subsets of regulatory T-Cells. Currently there is an ongoing Phase Ib trial in advanced hematologic malignancies that is projected to wrap in September 2022. The second trial is of OGFT-001, which is in a Phase I trial in acute myeloid leukemia, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, myelodysplastic syndromes and acute leukemia. It is projected to be completed on July 1, 2022.

"The capital we have raised has formed the launch pad for a world-class, fully integrated allogeneic cell therapy company differentiated from all others," said Ivan Dimov, co-founder and chief executive officer of Orca Bio. "Replacing bone marrow transplants is a logical first step in next-generation allogeneic cell therapy. While a conventional bone marrow transplant administers an uncontrolled cell product, Orca Bio has been the first to deliver a high precision cell therapy. We are initially focused on advancing two clinical programs in patients with blood cancers and have successfully treated the largest-ever number of patients with a high precision cell therapy. We believe our approach has the potential to transform allogeneic cell therapy, and thus the treatment of not only blood cancer, but also many other diseases with significant unmet need, such as a variety of genetic diseases and autoimmune disorders."

The company’s leadership team also includes Nate Fernhoff, chief scientific officer and Jeroen Bekaert, chief operating officer, who all met at Stanford University and launched the company in 2016.

Orca’s board of directors and scientific advisory board includes Irv Weissman, director of the Stanford Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine; Ted Love, president and chief executive officer of Global Blood Therapeutics (GBT); Jonathan MacQuitty, Venture Partner at Lightspeed; Joe Jimenez, former chief executive officer of Novartis; Mike Knapp, founder and former chief executive officer of Caliper Life Sciences; Ronald Martell, president and chief executive officer of Nuvelution Pharma; Alex Kolicich, Founding Partner at 8VC; and Rich Klausner, founder and chief executive officer of Lyell Immunopharma, founder and director of Juno Therapeutics and GRAIL, former director of the National Cancer Institute.

"With precise reconstitution using highly defined cell preps and a swift reboot of the patient’s immune system, Orca Bio’s product candidates have the potential to eliminate fatal side effects, such as graft-versus-host disease, and infections commonly associated with bone marrow transplants while maintaining or enhancing anti-tumor efficacy," said Klausner. "The possibility of improving cure rates and minimizing toxicity holds the promise of expanding the eligible patient population for successful bone marrow transplantation in cancer."

Halozyme To Participate In The BMO 2020 Prescriptions For Success Healthcare Conference

On June 17, 2020 Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: HALO) reported that Dr. Helen Torley, president and chief executive officer, will be participating in the upcoming BMO 2020 Prescriptions for Success Healthcare Conference, which is being held as a virtual event. Dr. Torley will participate in a fireside chat at 3:00 p.m. ET / 12:00 p.m. PT on Tuesday, June 23, 2020 (Press release, Halozyme, JUN 17, 2020, View Source [SID1234561187]).

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!

A live webcast of each event can be accessed through the "Investors" section of Halozyme’s website (www.halozyme.com), and an archive will be made available for 90 days following each event. To access a live webcast, please visit Halozyme’s website approximately 15 minutes prior to the presentation to register and download any necessary audio software.

Leap Therapeutics Announces Proposed Public Offering of Common Stock and Pre-Funded Warrants

On June 17, 2020 Leap Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:LPTX), a biotechnology company focused on developing targeted and immuno-oncology therapeutics, reported that it has commenced an underwritten public offering of its common stock and, in lieu of common stock, Leap intends to offer and sell to certain investors pre-funded warrants to purchase shares of its common stock (Press release, Leap Therapeutics, JUN 17, 2020, View Source [SID1234561186]). All shares of common stock and pre-funded warrants to be sold in the offering will be offered by Leap. Leap intends to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an aggregate of an additional 15% of the securities offered in the public offering. The offering is subject to market, regulatory, and other conditions, and there can be no assurance as to whether or when the offering may be completed, or as to the actual size or terms of the offering.

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!

Piper Sandler & Co. and Raymond James & Associates, Inc. will act as book-running managers for the offering.

Leap intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to fund: (i) the continued development of DKN-01; (ii) manufacturing of clinical trial material; and (iii) general corporate purposes, including working capital and other general and administrative expenses.

The securities will be issued pursuant to an effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-223419) that was previously filed by Leap with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on March 2, 2018 and was declared effective by the SEC on March 16, 2018. A preliminary prospectus supplement and the related prospectus will be filed with the SEC and will be available for free on the SEC’s website at View Source Copies of the preliminary prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relating to the offering, when available, may be obtained from: Piper Sandler & Co., Attn: Prospectus Department, 800 Nicollet Mall, J12S03, Minneapolis, MN, 55402, by telephone at (800) 747-3924, or by email at [email protected]. These documents may also be obtained from: Raymond James & Associates, Inc., Attention: Equity Syndicate, 880 Carillon Parkway, St. Petersburg, Florida 33716, or by telephone at (800) 248-8863, or e-mail at [email protected].

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

Agios to Present at the BMO 2020 Prescriptions for Success Healthcare Virtual Conference on Tuesday, June 23, 2020

On June 17, 2020 Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AGIO), a leader in the field of cellular metabolism to treat cancer and rare genetic diseases, reported that the company is scheduled to present at the BMO 2020 Prescriptions for Success Healthcare Virtual Conference on Tuesday, June 23, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. ET (Press release, Agios Pharmaceuticals, JUN 17, 2020, View Source [SID1234561185]).

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!

A live webcast of the presentation can be accessed under "Events & Presentations" in the Investors section of the company’s website at www.agios.com. A replay of the webcast will be archived on the Agios website for at least two weeks following the presentation.

AbbVie Declares Quarterly Dividend

On June 17, 2020 The board of directors of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE: ABBV) reported a quarterly cash dividend of $1.18 per share (Press release, AbbVie, JUN 17, 2020, View Source [SID1234561184]).

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 cash dividend is payable August 14, 2020 to stockholders of record at the close of business on July 15, 2020.

Since the company’s inception in 2013, AbbVie has increased its dividend by 195 percent. AbbVie is a member of the S&P Dividend Aristocrats Index, which tracks companies that have annually increased their dividend for at least 25 consecutive years.