InveniAI and Kyowa Kirin Enter AI-Powered Novel Target Discovery Collaboration

On December 9, 2020 InveniAI LLC, a global leader in pioneering the application of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to transform innovation across drug discovery and development, and Kyowa Kirin Co., Ltd. (Kyowa Kirin, TSE:4151), a global specialty pharmaceutical company creating innovative medical solutions utilizing the latest biotechnology, reported that they have expanded their collaboration agreement to harness the power of InveniAI’s AI-platform, AlphaMeld, for novel target discovery (Press release, Kyowa Hakko Kirin, DEC 9, 2020, View Source [SID1234572602]).

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InveniAI and Kyowa Kirin have been collaborating since 2018, to maximize Kyowa Kirin’s portfolio value through the re-innovation of an existing therapeutic pipeline into new disease indications utilizing AlphaMeld. Through this expansion, Kyowa Kirin will leverage AlphaMeld for novel target discovery and validation to generate a clinical pipeline of therapeutic antibodies that address the enduring unmet needs of patients across multiple diseases. Under the terms of the agreement, Kyowa Kirin will select multiple programs to advance into clinical development.

"As we work towards our mission to contribute to human health and well-being worldwide through state-of-the-art therapeutic modalities, we are excited to advance the next generation of antibody technology which offers numerous advantages over traditional monoclonal antibodies," said Yoshifumi Torii, Ph.D., Executive Officer, Vice President, Head of R&D Division of Kyowa Kirin. "We are thrilled to partner with InveniAI to leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning to comprehensively identify viable connections between novel targets and diseases at unprecedented scale and speed. The expansion of the agreement will allow us to prioritize and advance our programs into clinical development with the highest probability of success while minimizing time and cost."

"After a successful initial collaboration, our expanded partnership with Kyowa Kirin evidences the continued success of our AI-powered technology to drive the discovery and development of meaningful therapeutics across multiple modalities such as antibody, small molecule, RNAi, and gene therapy," said Krishnan Nandabalan, Ph.D., President and CEO, InveniAI LLC. "Numerous programs to emerge from the platform in various stages of clinical development are a testament to the veracity and validation of the platform. In fact, one of the earliest programs, BXCL501, developed by our sister company, has recently completed a Phase III readout making this the first AI-powered platform to accomplish this feat," he added.

Under the terms of the collaboration, InveniAI will receive an upfront payment, development and commercial milestones, and royalties

Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement

On December 9, 2020, Innovation Pharmaceuticals Inc. (the "Company") reported that it entered into a securities purchase agreement (the "Securities Purchase Agreement") with an investor for the sale of an aggregate of 5,089 shares of the Company’s newly-created Series B-2 5% convertible preferred stock (the "preferred stock"), for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $5.0 million (Filing, 8-K, Innovation Pharmaceuticals, DEC 9, 2020, View Source [SID1234572581]). Under the Securities Purchase Agreement, the Company will also issue to the investor warrants to purchase up to an additional 10,178 shares of preferred stock. An initial closing relating to the sale of 3,053 shares of preferred stock and accompanying warrants occurred on December 9, 2020, and a second closing relating to the sale of 2,036 shares of preferred stock and accompanying warrants is expected to occur sixty trading days following the date of the first closing, subject to the trading price for the Company’s common stock being greater than $0.07 per share and the value of the daily trading volume for the Company’s common stock being greater than $50,000, in each case for each of the ten trading days prior to the second closing date, and subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions as set forth in the Securities Purchase Agreement.

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The rights and preferences of the preferred stock are set forth in a Certificate of Designation of Preferences, Rights and Limitations of Series B-2 5% Convertible Preferred Stock (the "Certificate of Designation") filed with the Nevada Secretary of State on December 7, 2020. Each share of preferred stock has an initial stated value of $1,080 and may be converted at any time at the holder’s option into shares of the Company’s common stock at a conversion price equal of the lower of (i) $0.35 per share on or before August 15, 2021, and $0.50 per share thereafter, and (ii) 85% of the lowest volume weighted average price of the Company’s common stock on a trading day during the ten trading days prior to and ending on, and including, the conversion date. The conversion price may be adjusted following certain triggering events and subsequent equity sales and is subject to appropriate adjustment in the event of stock splits, stock dividends, recapitalization or similar events affecting the Company’s common stock.

The holders of the preferred stock are limited in the amount of stated value of the preferred stock they can convert on any trading day. The conversion cap limits conversions by the holders to the greater of $75,000 and an amount equal to 30% of the aggregate dollar trading volume of the Company’s common stock for the five trading days immediately preceding, and including, the conversion date. However, the conversion cap will be increased if the trading volume in the first 30 minutes of any trading session exceeds certain trailing average daily volume amounts. In addition, the holders of the preferred stock may not convert shares of preferred stock if, after giving effect to the conversion, a holder together with its affiliates would beneficially own in excess of 9.99% of the outstanding shares of the Company’s common stock.

Following 90 days after the second closing, the Company may elect to redeem the preferred stock for 120% of the aggregate stated value then outstanding, plus all accrued but unpaid dividends and all liquidated damages and other amounts due in respect of the preferred stock. The Company’s right to redeem the preferred stock is contingent upon it having complied with a number of conditions, including compliance with its obligations under the Certificate of Designation. Shares of preferred stock will generally have no voting rights, except as required by law and except that the Company shall not take certain actions without the consent of the holders of the preferred stock.

Each share of preferred stock will be sold together with two warrants: (i) a Series 1 warrant, which will entitle the holder thereof to purchase one share of preferred stock at $982.50 per share, or 5,089 shares of preferred stock in the aggregate for approximately $5.0 million in aggregate exercise price, for a period of up to 18 months following issuance, and (ii) a Series 2 warrant, which will entitle the holder thereof to purchase one share of preferred stock at $982.50 per share, or 5,089 shares of preferred stock in the aggregate for approximately $5.0 million in aggregate exercise price, for a period of up to 24 months following issuance.

Subject to the satisfaction of certain circumstances, the Company may call for cancellation any or all of the warrants following 90 days after their issuance, for a payment in cash equal to 8% of the aggregate exercise price of the warrants being called. The warrants subject to any such call notice will be cancelled ten days following the Company’s payment of the call fee, provided that the warrant holders have not exercised the warrants prior to cancellation.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes, including research and development.

The securities were registered pursuant to the Company’s effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-239817) (the "Registration Statement") and the related base prospectus included in the Registration Statement, as supplemented by the prospectus supplement dated December 9, 2020. The legal opinions and consents of Gary Henrie and Hogan Lovells US LLP addressing the validity of the securities (including shares of the Company’s preferred stock underlying the warrants and shares of the Company’s common stock issuable upon conversion of the preferred stock) are filed as Exhibit 5.1 and Exhibit 5.2, respectively, to this Current Report on Form 8-K and are incorporated into the Registration Statement.

The foregoing descriptions of the terms and conditions of the Securities Purchase Agreement, Certificate of Designation and warrants are not complete and are qualified in their entirety by the full text of the Securities Purchase Agreement, Certificate of Designation and form of warrant, which are filed herewith as Exhibits 10.1, 3.1 and 4.1, respectively, and incorporated into this Item 1.01 by reference.

The Securities Purchase Agreement contains customary representations and warranties, covenants, conditions to closing and indemnification provisions that the parties made to, and solely for the benefit of, each other in the context of all of the terms and conditions of such agreement and in the context of the specific relationship between the parties. The provisions of the Securities Purchase Agreement, including the representations and warranties contained therein, are not for the benefit of any party other than the parties to such agreement or parties expressly permitted to rely on such provisions and are not intended for investors and the public to obtain factual information about the current state of affairs of the parties thereto. Rather, investors and the public should look to other disclosures contained in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

This Current Report on Form 8-K contains "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including statements related to the closings under the Securities Purchase Agreement and the use of proceeds therefrom. The words "may," "will," "could," "would," "should," "expect," "intend," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "project," "potential," "continue," "ongoing" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. While the Company believes its plans, intentions and expectations reflected in those forward-looking statements are reasonable, these plans, intentions or expectations may not be achieved. The Company’s actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those contemplated, expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. For information about the factors that could cause such differences, please refer to the Company’s SEC filings. Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

BIOLASE To Present At The 13th Annual LD Micro Main Event Conference

On December 9, 2020 BIOLASE, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIOL), the global leader in dental lasers, reported that it will be presenting at the 13th annual LD Micro Main Event investor conference on Monday, December 14 at 9:40 AM PST / 12:40 PM EST (Press release, Biolase Technology, DEC 9, 2020, https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/biolase-to-present-at-the-13th-annual-ld-micro-main-event-conference-301189336.html [SID1234572557]). President and CEO Todd Norbe and Executive Vice President, CFO and COO John Beaver will be presenting to a live, virtual audience.

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Register to attend the event here: ve.mysequire.com/

The Main Event will feature a new and unique format, with companies presenting for 10 minutes, followed by 10 minutes of Q&A by a panel of investors and analysts.

"The time has finally come to do something different in the virtual conference world. Let’s see if we can pull off something that can be enjoyed by both executives and investors alike," stated Chris Lahiji, Founder of LD, now a wholly owned subsidiary of SRAX, Inc.

The Main Event will take place on December 14th and 15th, exclusively on the Sequire Virtual Events platform.

RxPONDER Study Results Demonstrate that the Oncotype DX® Test Can Now Spare Chemotherapy Use in the Majority of Women with Node-positive Early-stage Breast Cancer

On December 9, 2020 Exact Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ: EXAS) reported that data from the Rx for Positive Node, Endocrine Responsive Breast Cancer, or RxPONDER, trial successfully defined the benefit of chemotherapy in early-stage, node-positive breast cancer patients with Oncotype DX Breast Recurrence Score results of 0 to 25. First results from the study, led by the independent SWOG Cancer Research Network, and sponsored by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), identified the majority of women with 1-3 positive nodes who received no benefit from chemotherapy (Press release, Exact Sciences, DEC 9, 2020, View Source [SID1234572556]).i The data will be presented on December 10 at the 2020 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS).

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RxPONDER showed a different effect of chemotherapy based on Recurrence Score results for postmenopausal and premenopausal women. Postmenopausal women with Recurrence Score results 0-25 were not observed to show benefit from chemotherapy and may avoid the associated side effects of the treatment. Importantly, no chemotherapy benefit was observed regardless of the number of affected nodes, tumor grade, or size. Two-thirds of the women in the trial were postmenopausal.

The first results also demonstrated, after a median of five years of follow-up, that premenopausal women with Recurrence Score results 0-25 were observed to have a statistically significant chemotherapy benefit, with an average improvement in distant recurrence rates at 5 years of 3%.

Approximately 85% of women with node- positive disease have Recurrence Score results of 0 to 25. ii Postmenopausal and premenopausal women with Recurrence Score results 26-100 were not included in the study because investigators reviewed prior studies and determined that this patient group had chemotherapy benefit. The SWOG investigators intend to publish the detailed RxPONDER results in a peer-reviewed publication.

"Every day in clinics around the world, physicians wrestle with the question of how to best treat women with this common form of breast cancer," said study lead author Kevin Kalinsky, MD, a long-time SWOG investigator and director of the Glenn Family Breast Center at the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University. "These results are practice changing and demonstrate that the great majority of postmenopausal women can be spared unnecessary chemotherapy and receive only hormone therapy. This should bring more clarity to physicians and some relief for patients."

Approximately 25% of patients diagnosed with hormone receptor (HR)-positive, HER2-negative early breast cancer have tumor that has spread to their lymph nodes and two out of three are postmenopausal.iii The vast majority of these patients currently receive chemotherapy.iv

"With the RxPONDER and TAILORx trials, there is now definitive and undeniable clarity on who does and who does not benefit from chemotherapy among early-stage breast cancer patients, with either node-negative or node positive disease," said Steven Shak, MD, chief medical officer at Exact Sciences. "These long-awaited results, which continue to build on the body of evidence supporting the role of the Oncotype DX test in shaping clinical practice, are estimated to impact tens of thousands of women worldwide."

One of the largest clinical trials in women with node-positive HR+, HER2- early breast cancer, RxPONDER is a prospective, randomized Phase III study conducted at 632 sites in nine countries – the United States, Canada, Mexico, Colombia, Ireland, France, Spain, South Korea, and Saudi Arabia. The study enrolled more than 5,000 women with up to three positive nodes. Women with a Recurrence Score result 0-25 were randomized for treatment with hormone therapy alone or chemotherapy followed by hormone therapy. Randomized patients were stratified based on their Recurrence Score result, menopausal status, and the type of lymph node surgery.

The use of the Oncotype DX test in early-stage breast cancer is supported by prospective outcomes from more than 17,000 patients with node-positive disease and more than 83,000 patients with node-negative disease, including the TAILORx study. Results from TAILORx, published in 2018, showed that the Oncotype DX test identifies the vast majority of women with node-negative disease who receive no substantial benefit from chemotherapy (approximately 80%), as well as the important minority for whom chemotherapy can be life-saving.

About Oncotype DX
The Oncotype DX portfolio of breast, colon and prostate cancer tests applies advanced genomic science to reveal the unique biology of a tumor in order to optimize cancer treatment decisions. In breast cancer, the Oncotype DX Breast Recurrence Score test is the only test that has been shown to predict the likelihood of chemotherapy benefit as well as recurrence in invasive breast cancer. Additionally, the Oncotype DX Breast DCIS Score test predicts the likelihood of recurrence in a pre-invasive form of breast cancer called DCIS. In prostate cancer, the Oncotype DX Genomic Prostate Score test predicts disease aggressiveness and further clarifies the current and future risk of the cancer prior to treatment intervention, and the Oncotype DX AR-V7 Nucleus Detect test helps determine which patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) are resistant to androgen receptor (AR)-targeted therapies. The Oncotype DX AR-V7 Nucleus Detect test is performed by Epic Sciences at its centralized, CLIA-certified laboratory in San Diego and offered exclusively by Exact Sciences. With more than 1 million patients tested in more than 90 countries, the Oncotype DX tests have redefined personalized medicine by making genomics a critical part of cancer diagnosis and treatment. To learn more about Oncotype DX tests, visit www.OncotypeIQ.com, www.MyBreastCancerTreatment.org or www.MyProstateCancerTreatment.org.

Bolt Biotherapeutics Presents Ongoing Clinical Trial Poster at San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium 2020 Virtual Meeting

On December 9, 2020 Bolt Biotherapeutics, a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company developing tumor-targeted therapies that leverage the power of the innate and adaptive immune systems, reported the presentation of a poster detailing the design of its ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical trial for BDC-1001 in patients with HER2-expressing solid tumors at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS) 2020 Virtual Meeting, being held Dec. 8-11, 2020 (Press release, Bolt Biotherapeutics, DEC 9, 2020, View Source [SID1234572555]). The poster will be presented today, Wednesday, Dec. 9, at 8:00 a.m. CT/9:00 a.m. ET.

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The in-progress clinical trial poster titled, "Phase 1/2 study of a novel HER2 targeting TLR7/8 immune-stimulating antibody conjugate (ISAC), BDC-1001, as a single agent and in combination with an immune checkpoint inhibitor in patients with advanced HER2-expressing solid tumors," discusses the framework of Bolt’s Phase 1/2 clinical trial. The actively enrolling global clinical study is for patients with refractory HER2-expressing solid tumors and its primary objectives are to evaluate safety, tolerability and to determine the recommended Phase 2 dose for both monotherapy and combination with a checkpoint inhibitor. BDC-1001 is a novel treatment which combines the targeting and antitumor effect of trastuzumab with stimulation of the immune system via TLR 7/8 agonism. Based on initial clinical observations to date, there have been no dose-limiting toxicities and no drug-related severe adverse events.

Edith Perez, M.D., Chief Medical Officer at Bolt, commented, "Preclinical data support that BDC-1001 may enable a patient to recruit their own immune system to fight their cancer with intravenous administration of BDC-1001. We continue to see strong interest in participation in our trial from both investigators and potential patients based on our compelling preclinical data and ongoing clinical observations."

About Bolt Biotherapeutics’ Immune-Stimulating Antibody Conjugate (ISAC) Platform Technology
The Boltbody ISAC platform technology harnesses the ability of innate immune agonists to convert cold tumors into immunologically hot tumors, thereby illuminating tumors to the immune system and allowing them to be invaded by tumor killing cells. Boltbody ISACs have demonstrated the ability to eliminate tumors following systemic administration as monotherapy in preclinical models and have also led to the development of immunological memory, which is predicted to translate into more durable clinical responses for patients.

About the Ongoing BDC-1001 Phase 1/2 Study in Patients with HER2-Expressing Solid Tumors
The Phase 1/2, multi-center, open-label study is evaluating the safety, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and proof of mechanism of BDC-1001 in patients with HER2-expressing solid tumors. The first portion of the study includes a monotherapy dose-escalation phase in which cohorts of patients will receive ascending intravenous doses of BDC-1001 to determine the maximum tolerated dose and/or the recommended dose to advance into expansion cohorts and Phase 2 based on safety and tolerability. The second portion of the study is a dose expansion phase in which patients will receive BDC-1001 monotherapy to further evaluate the safety, tolerability and clinical antitumor activity of the recommended Phase 2 dose. Please refer to www.clinicaltrials.gov NCT04278144 for additional clinical trial information.