On September 16, 2020 The Jerome Canady Research Institute for Advanced Biological and Technological Sciences (JCRI-ABTS) in collaboration with US Medical Innovations, LLC (USMI) reported that Canady Helios Cold Plasma (CHCP) has been used as an effective inhibitor of cell viability in breast cancer molecular subtypes (Press release, JCRI-ABTS, SEP 16, 2020, View Source [SID1234565254]).

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JCRI-ABTS recently published in the journal of Clinical Plasma Medicine that in vitro testing demonstrated a 92–99% reduction of viability across seven breast cancer cell lines 48 hours after treatment with CHCP. (Access report here: Canady Cold Plasma Conversion System Treatment)

According to the American Cancer Society’s 2020 statistics, in the United States alone, an estimated 276,480 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in women, and breast cancer deaths are projected to exceed 42,000. There are over 3.5 million women in the US currently living with breast cancer.

Dr. Canady commented, "We are very excited about the results of this new report, particularly the results pertaining to the Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) cell lines. TNBC patients do not respond to endocrine therapies or HER2-targeted therapies, such as trastuzumab. Compared to other breast cancer phenotypes, TNBC has a significantly higher rate of death, recurrence and risk of metastatic spread to the lungs, liver, and brain despite adjuvant chemotherapy."

The JCRI-ABTS team has also just completed two additional milestones:

The first study demonstrates a 95-100% apoptosis (cell death) of all breast cancer cell lines.
The second study identifies a survival gene for breast cancer after CHCP treatment. Both studies will be submitted for publication this year.
As a result of this research, JCRI-ABTS is planning the development of the first plasma immunotherapy drug for solid tumors early in 2021, followed by animal studies and a phase I clinical trial in humans later next year.

JCRI-ABTS and USMI are currently conducting the first FDA-approved clinical trial (IDE #190165) to evaluate cold atmospheric plasma (Canady Helios Cold Plasma) for the treatment of stage IV recurrent solid tumors at Rush University Medical Center (Chicago, IL) and Sheba Medical Center (Ramat Gan, Israel). Prior to the Phase I clinical trial, human-use of Canady Helios Cold Plasma was limited to FDA approved Compassionate Use Cases (The most recent case is still tumor-free after 14 months). There have been no adverse events in the IDE clinical trial and compassionate use cases.

On September 16, 2020 Volastra Therapeutics, a biotechnology company developing novel therapies to treat and prevent the formation of metastatic disease, reported that it has named Charles Hugh-Jones, MD, FRCP, as its Chief Executive Officer (Press release, Volastra Therapeutics, SEP 16, 2020, View Source [SID1234565252]). Dr. Hugh-Jones brings a strong leadership background from across both multinational pharmaceutical organizations and smaller biotechnology companies. Over the course of his career, he has built extensive expertise in the development and commercialization of medicines.

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"We are incredibly fortunate that Charles is joining the team. His breadth of experience and scientific acumen will be vital in fulfilling our mission," said Volastra Executive Chair Sandra Peterson, former Group Worldwide Chairman of Johnson & Johnson, current Partner at Clayton, Dubilier, and Rice, and current board member of Microsoft.

Dr. Hugh-Jones, a board-certified physician, began his career at Schering AG, Enzon Pharmaceuticals and Sanofi, where he held various positions of increasing responsibility. He then joined Pfizer Oncology division as their Chief Medical Officer where he had medical oversight of all late-stage drug development and commercialization activities. Most recently, Dr. Hugh-Jones was global Chief Medical Officer of Allergan PLC, where he led complex interdisciplinary teams and supported the launch of novel medicines in multiple therapeutic areas.

"We are excited to have Charles at the helm as we tackle chromosomal instability, a pervasive feature of metastatic cancers," said Volastra Co-founder and Advisor Lewis Cantley, PhD, Professor of Cancer Biology in Medicine and Meyer Director of the Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center at Weill Cornell Medical College. "Our goal is to further uncover novel insights into chromosomal instability and its clear association with the formation, progression, and maintenance of metastasis to ultimately develop new therapies."

"I’m inspired by Volastra’s mission to bring new therapies to patients with metastatic solid tumors, which are notoriously among the toughest to treat with existing therapies," said Dr. Hugh-Jones. "There is a tremendous unmet need in this patient population, and Volastra’s novel research holds great promise. I look forward to working with the entire team to build upon the scientific discoveries of its founders and grow a pipeline of potential therapies that can make a difference in patients’ lives."

Volastra Therapeutics launched earlier this year with $20 million in financing. Polaris Partners led the financing with additional investment from Vida Ventures, ARCH Venture Partners, DROIA Oncology Ventures, and the Global Health Sciences (GHS) Fund (Quark Venture LP and GF Securities). As a cornerstone tenant in a new biotech development, the company recently secured 11,000 square feet of laboratory and office space in West Harlem, New York. Dr. Hugh-Jones will lead the growing team at this new location.

On September 16, 2020 Aldeyra Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALDX) (Aldeyra) reported that President and CEO Todd C. Brady, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Financial Officer Joshua Reed, and Chief Commercial Officer David McMullin will be participating in a fireside chat and hosting one-on-one meetings at Oppenheimer’s Fall Healthcare Life Sciences & MedTech Summit, which is being held in a virtual format (Press release, Aldeyra Therapeutics, SEP 16, 2020, View Source [SID1234565251]).

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The fireside chat is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. ET Wednesday, September 23, 2020. A live webcast of the event will be available on the investor relations page of the company’s corporate website at View Source After the live webcast, the event will remain archived on the Aldeyra Therapeutics website for 90 days.

On September 16, 2020 Immune-Onc Therapeutics, Inc. ("Immune-Onc"), a cancer immunotherapy company focused on developing first-in-class biotherapeutics that target novel immunosuppressive myeloid checkpoints, reported that the first patient has been dosed in its Phase I study evaluating IO-202, a first-in-class antibody targeting leukocyte immunoglobulin-like receptor B4 (LILRB4, also known as ILT3) (Press release, Immune-Onc Therapeutics, SEP 16, 2020, View Source [SID1234565250]). The Phase I dose escalation and expansion trial will evaluate IO-202 in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with monocytic differentiation and in chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML).

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IO-202 is the first T-cell activator for AML. In preclinical studies, IO-202 has shown evidence of activating T cell cytotoxicity against leukemia cells and blocking leukemia infiltration.

"I am thrilled that we’ve met this important goal and with the support of our investigators are one step closer to bringing a new approach to the treatment of blood cancers, AML and CMML," said Charlene Liao, Ph.D., chief executive officer of Immune-Onc. "As we learn more about myeloid cell biology and its role in cancer, we see opportunities to explore the potential of IO-202 and other novel antibodies in other types of cancer, including solid tumors, in the near future."

The dose-escalation phase of the trial will identify the optimal dose of IO-202. Once the recommended dose of IO-202 is selected, the trial will enroll patients in an expansion cohort to evaluate IO-202 as monotherapy. There is potential to evaluate IO-202 in combination with other agents with a protocol amendment. Biomarkers will be assessed to enable a mechanistic understanding of clinical data and inform future trials. In August, the company announced it had been awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support development of IO-202.

ABOUT AML and CMML

AML, the most common acute leukemia (blood and bone marrow cancer) in adults, is characterized by the proliferation of abnormal myeloblasts (a type of white blood cell) in the bone marrow. Nearly 20,000 new cases are expected in the U.S. in 2020. Despite advances in treatment, less than 30 percent of acute myeloid leukemia patients are alive five years after initial diagnosis.

CMML is a cancer that starts in blood-forming cells in the bone marrow and invades the blood. The condition is rare, with about 1,100 cases in the U.S. each year.

ABOUT IO-202

IO-202 is a first-in-class monoclonal antibody that blocks signaling of leukocyte immunoglobulin-like receptor B4 (LILRB4, also known as ILT3), an immune inhibitory receptor, with high binding affinity and specificity. In October 2018, Immune-Onc and The University of Texas published pioneering research in Nature (DOI: 10.1038/s41586-018-0615-z) illuminating the roles of LILRB4 in immune suppression and tumor infiltration in AML. IO-202 is the first T-cell activator for AML. Preclinical studies showed that IO-202 can convert a "don’t kill me" to "kill me" signal by activating T cell killing of AML cells and a "don’t find me" to "find me" signal by inhibiting leukemia infiltration.

On September 16, 2020 IMV Inc. (Nasdaq: IMV; TSX: IMV), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering a novel class of cancer immunotherapies and vaccine against infectious diseases, reported that company’s Chief Executive Officer, Frederic Ors will participate at the Vaccines Panel of the 20th Annual Biotech in Europe Forum held on September 21-24, 2020 (Press release, IMV, SEP 16, 2020, View Source [SID1234565249]).

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The Vaccines Panel will be held on Monday September 21 at 13:05 CET (7.05 am ET) and will be chaired by Thomas Shrader, Managing Director & Healthcare Analyst, BTIG, LLC.

Other panelists include:

Andrei Floroiu, President & CEO, Vaxart Inc.
Andrew Allen, Co-Founder, President & CEO, Gritstone Oncology, Inc.
Johan Van Hoof, Global Therapeutic Area, Head of Infectious Diseases & Vaccines, and Managing Director, Janssen Vaccines & Prevention B.V.
The 20th Annual Biotech in Europe Forum is recognized as the leading international stage for investing and partnering in the biotech and life science industry. This highly transactional event draws together an exciting cross-section of early-stage/pre-IPO, late-stage, and public companies with leading investors, analysts, money managers, and pharma licensing executives. Under current circumstances, including travel restrictions, #Sachs_BEF will be held in a digital format. Please, note that it is a private event—registration on the event website.