On October 8, 2020 Nordic Nanovector ASA (OSE: NANO) reported that its preclinical study investigating the ability of Betalutin (177Lu-lilotomab satetraxetan) to reverse rituximab-resistance in disease models of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) has been published in the October 2020 issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine (M. Malenge et al*) (Press release, Nordic Nanovector, OCT 8, 2020, View Source [SID1234568246]).

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NHL is the most common blood cancer and has a high mortality rate. The CD20-targeting monoclonal antibody immunotherapy rituximab was approved for treatment of NHL more than 20 years ago and is the current standard of care. However, many patients eventually develop resistance against rituximab, which is often associated with changes (a decrease) in expression of the CD20 antigen on NHL cells.

The study found that:

Betalutin (an anti-CD37 radioimmunoconjugate) acted synergistically with rituximab (anti-CD20 immunotherapy) to suppress tumour growth in a rituximab-resistant xenograft NHL mouse model.
The median survival time of mice treated with this combination doubled when compared to survival of mice given Betalutin monotherapy and was five times longer than for mice given rituximab monotherapy.
In NHL cell lines, Betalutin was found to substantially increase CD20 expression and rituximab binding to rituximab-resistant Raji2R cells and to increase rituximab-mediated antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) activity, resulting in significant tumor growth delay.
"This work is potentially very important, as it could provide a welcome treatment option for the large pool of NHL patients who have become resistant to rituximab. If those patients receive an injection of Betalutin, they could be treated again with rituximab and have an improved response," said Dr Jostein Dahle, Chief Scientific Officer of Nordic Nanovector. "In a Phase 1b clinical trial, a 100 percent complete response rate was achieved in the first group of patients treated with Betalutin followed by rituximab. Achieving a complete response is very important as it usually correlates with an improved duration of response and overall survival."

Dr Dahle continued, "Combination treatments are the future for cancer therapy. By exploring strategies with radioimmunotherapy together with other drugs, nuclear medicine may play an important role in lymphoma therapy."

On October 8, 2020 Intec Pharma Ltd. (NASDAQ: NTEC) ("Intec" or "the Company") reported it has entered into a new research collaboration agreement with MSD, the tradename of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA. Details of the agreement are confidential (Press release, Intech Pharmaceuticals, OCT 8, 2020, View Source [SID1234568245]).

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"We are very excited to continue to work with MSD," said Jeffrey A. Meckler, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Intec Pharma. "This new agreement builds upon the relationship we have enjoyed in prior research and allows the companies to leverage their combined experience in delivery."

On October 8, 2020 Bausch Health Companies Inc. (NYSE/TSX: BHC) ("Bausch Health" or the "Company") reported provided a preliminary update on its third-quarter 2020 financial results and the pace of its business recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic (Press release, Bausch Health, OCT 8, 2020, View Source [SID1234568244]).

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Bausch Health expects third-quarter 2020 revenue to be greater than $2.1 billion, which would be a sequential increase of approximately 28% compared to the second quarter of 2020. Reported revenue in the second quarter of 2020 declined 23% compared to the second quarter of 2019, and the Company expects third-quarter 2020 reported revenue to decline approximately 3% compared to the third quarter of 2019.

Additionally, based on the pace of recovery of its various businesses observed in the third quarter of 2020 and assuming its businesses continue to rebound from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bausch Health currently expects its full-year 2020 revenue and Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) to be around the midpoint of its current guidance ranges of $7.80 – $8.00 billion for revenue and $3.15 – $3.30 billion for 2020 Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP).

Other than with respect to GAAP Revenues, the Company only provides guidance on a non-GAAP basis. The Company does not provide a reconciliation of forward-looking Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) to GAAP net income (loss), due to the inherent difficulty in forecasting and quantifying certain amounts that are necessary for such reconciliation. In periods where significant acquisitions or divestitures are not expected, the Company believes it might have a basis for forecasting the GAAP equivalent for certain costs, such as amortization, which would otherwise be treated as non-GAAP to calculate projected GAAP net income (loss). However, because other deductions (such as restructuring, gain or loss on extinguishment of debt and litigation and other matters) used to calculate projected net income (loss) vary dramatically based on actual events, the Company is not able to forecast on a GAAP basis with reasonable certainty all deductions needed in order to provide a GAAP calculation of projected net income (loss) at this time. The amount of these deductions may be material and, therefore, could result in projected GAAP net income (loss) being materially less than projected Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP). The financial results estimates proposed above within the full-year guidance ranges reflect our assumptions due to the recovery of the Company’s business from the actual impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in the third quarter. These impacts have affected the Company’s assumptions regarding base performance and growth rates. These statements represent forward-looking information and may represent a financial outlook, and actual results may vary. Please see the risks and assumptions referred to in the Forward-looking Statements section of this news release.

The Company will release its full financial results for the third quarter of 2020 on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. Bausch Health will host a conference call and live web cast at 8:00 a.m. ET to discuss the results and provide a business update. All materials will be made available on the Investor Relations section of the Bausch Health website prior to the start of the call.

On October 8, 2020 CARISMA Therapeutics Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing innovative immunotherapies, reported that the company will present at upcoming virtual healthcare industry conferences in October 2020 (Press release, Carisma Therapeutics, OCT 8, 2020, View Source [SID1234568243]).

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Cell & Gene Meeting on the Mesa, October 12-16, 2020:
The presentation given by Steven Kelly, President and CEO, will be available to view on-demand throughout the entirety of the conference.
Macrophage-directed Therapies Summit, October 27-29, 2020:
Michael Klichinsky, PhD, Co-Founder and Vice President of Discovery Research, will present virtually and participate in a panel discussion on October 29, 2020. Both will be accessible via webcast.

On October 8, 2020 eHealth, Inc. (NASDAQ: EHTH), a leading private online health insurance exchange, reported that the company plans to release third quarter 2020 financial results on October 22, 2020 (Press release, eHealth Insurance, OCT 8, 2020, View Source [SID1234568242]).

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Chief Executive Officer Scott Flanders and Chief Financial Officer Derek Yung will host the earnings conference call beginning at 5 p.m. Eastern Time on October 22nd to discuss these results.

Individuals interested in listening to the conference call may do so by dialing (877) 930-8066 for domestic callers and (253) 336-8042 for international callers. The participant passcode is 8351208.

A telephone replay will be available two hours following the conclusion of the call for a period of 7 days and can be accessed by dialing (855) 859-2056 for domestic callers and (404) 537-3406 for international callers. The call ID for the replay is 8351208. The live and archived webcast of the call will also be available on the company’s website at www.ehealthinsurance.com under the Investor Relations section.