On October 2, 2020 Bioscept reported that an agreement has been signed with pre-clinical CAR T development company, Carina Biotech, that will see the advancement of a promising cancer immunotherapy (Press release, Biosceptre, OCT 2, 2020, View Source;utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=biosceptre-signs-deal-with-carina-biotech [SID1234567897]).

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Biosceptre, a biopharmaceutical company developing targeted therapeutics and immune-oncology products, has acquired the exclusive rights to Carina Biotech’s nfP2X7-targeted CAR-T cells and associated intellectual property, which has shown encouraging cancer-killing capacity against a number of cancers in pre-clinical testing.

Biosceptre and Carina will collaborate to further develop the nfP2X7 CAR-T program with the aim of advancing towards clinical trials in the near future. Under the terms of the deal Carina received an upfront cash payment and equity in Biosceptre.

"With this deal we are building on our commitment to therapies focussed on non-functional P2X7, a cancer target that has been shown to be present on the majority of cancers", said Gavin Currie CEO of Biosceptre. "Our goal is to bring novel therapeutics to patients suffering from a wide range of malignancies and CAR-T therapy is an important part of our immune-oncology approach".

Deborah Rathjen, PhD, CEO of Carina Biotech said

"This agreement with Biosceptre represents a significant milestone for Carina as it is the first commercial agreement involving our proprietary CAR-T technology. We believe that nfP2X7-targeting CAR-T cells hold significant promise as a potential treatment for a range of solid cancers and we are pleased to be working with Biosceptre to further bolster their pipeline of therapies exploiting the novel nfP2X7 target".

On October 1, 2020 Ziopharm Oncology, Inc. (Nasdaq: ZIOP), reported that Laurence Cooper, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Ziopharm, is scheduled to participate in a fireside chat at the 7th Annual Jefferies Cell Therapy Virtual Summit on October 5, 2020 at 12:30 pm ET (Press release, Ziopharm, OCT 1, 2020, View Source [SID1234569926]).

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To access the live webcast presentation, or the subsequent archived recording, please visit the "Investors" section of the Ziopharm website at www.ziopharm.com.

On October 1, 2020 Geron Corporation (Nasdaq: GERN), a late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company, reported that it has entered into a loan facility for up to $75 million with Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE: HTGC) and Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) (Press release, Geron, OCT 1, 2020, View Source [SID1234569805]). The loan facility provides the Company with access to non-dilutive financial resources to support the imetelstat development program, as well as working capital and general corporate purposes.

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"This debt financing strengthens our balance sheet and provides additional financial flexibility as our imetelstat program advances with two Phase 3 registration-enabling clinical trials – the ongoing IMerge trial in lower risk myelodysplastic syndromes and the planned trial in refractory myelofibrosis," said Olivia K. Bloom, Chief Financial Officer. "We look forward to working with Hercules and SVB in the future as we include non-dilutive capital in our financing strategy."

The loan facility is available to Geron in three tranches. The Company received $25 million as part of the first tranche at closing, with the remaining $10 million available through June 15, 2021. The second tranche of an additional $15 million is available to Geron in 2021, subject to achievement of certain clinical milestones. The remaining $25 million in the third tranche is available to the Company through year-end 2022, and subject to approval from the lenders.

About Imetelstat

Imetelstat is a novel, first-in-class telomerase inhibitor exclusively owned by Geron and being developed in hematologic myeloid malignancies. Early clinical data suggest imetelstat may have disease-modifying activity through the apoptosis of malignant stem and progenitor cells, which allows potential recovery of normal hematopoiesis. Geron’s imetelstat development program includes two registration-enabling studies, IMerge, an ongoing Phase 2/3 clinical trial in lower risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), and a planned Phase 3 clinical trial in refractory myelofibrosis (MF) expected to be open for patient screening and enrollment in the first quarter of 2021. Imetelstat has been granted Fast Track designation by the United States Food and Drug Administration for both the treatment of patients with non-del(5q) lower risk MDS who are refractory or resistant to an erythropoiesis-stimulating agent and for patients with Intermediate-2 or High-risk MF whose disease has relapsed after or is refractory to janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor treatment.

On October 1, 2020 Replimune Presented the Corporate Presentation (Presentation, Replimune, OCT 1, 2020, View Source [SID1234568709]).

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On October 1, 2020, PDL BioPharma, Inc., ("PDL," "we" or the "Company") reported that completed the previously announced separation of LENSAR, Inc. ("LENSAR") from PDL in the form of a dividend involving the distribution of all outstanding shares of LENSAR common stock owned by PDL to holders of PDL common stock (the "Distribution") (Filing, 8-K, PDL BioPharma, OCT 1, 2020, View Source [SID1234568213]). The Distribution was made to the Company’s stockholders of record as of the close of business on September 22, 2020 (the "Record Date"), and such stockholders received 0.075879 shares of LENSAR common stock for every one PDL common share held as of close of business on the Record Date. Stockholders of PDL who acquired shares of PDL common stock in the "regular way" market since shortly before the record date and through October 1, 2020 acquired such shares with an entitlement to receive shares of LENSAR common stock in connection with the distribution. Stockholders of PDL who acquired their shares of PDL common stock ex-distribution during that time did so without an entitlement to receive shares of LENSAR common stock in connection with the distribution.

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Prior to the Distribution, PDL owned approximately 81.5% of LENSAR common stock. Following the completion of the distribution, PDL does not own any equity interest in LENSAR. As a result of the Distribution, LENSAR became an independent public company whose stock is listed and trading under the symbol "LNSR" on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Basis of Presentation

The following unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated financial statements were derived from the historical financial statements of PDL as of and for the six months ended June 30, 2020 and for each of the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, which were prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America ("GAAP").

The unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated financial statements for the six months ended June 30, 2020 and the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017 assume the Distribution occurred on May 11, 2017 when PDL obtained control of 100% of the voting shares of LENSAR, making it a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company. The unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated balance sheet assumes the Distribution and the related transactions occurred on June 30, 2020. Beginning in the fourth quarter of 2020, the results of operations of LENSAR will be presented as discontinued operations for historical periods through August 31,2020, the day prior to the Company’s adoption of the liquidation basis of accounting effective September 1, 2020.

The unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated financial statements are provided for illustrative purposes only and do not reflect what PDL’s results of operations or financial position would have been had the Distribution been completed on the dates assumed and are not necessarily indicative of PDL’s future results of operations or financial position.

The following unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes to the unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with (i) the historical consolidated financial statements of PDL for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, the accompanying notes to those financial statements and "Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in exhibit 99.1 of PDL’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on June 29, 2020, (ii) the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes and "Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" included in PDL’s Form 10-Q for the six months ended June 30, 2020 filed with the SEC on August 7, 2020 and (iii) the historical consolidated financial statements of LENSAR in LENSAR’s Registration Statement on Form 10 filed with the SEC on August 26, 2020, as amended on September 14, 2020.