On July 15, 2020 Gland Pharma, an Indian generic drug maker majority owned by Shanghai Fosun Pharma, reported that it has filed to raise at least $650 million in an IPO on the Bombay and India National Stock Exchanges (Press release, GLAND PHARMA LTD, JUL 15, 2020, View Source [SID1234562022]). In 2017, Fosun acquired a 74% stake in Gland for $1.1 billion. Gland makes complex generic injectible drugs that are sold largely in the US and EU. For India, Gland will be the first China controlled company listed on their domestic markets.

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On July 15, 2020 BeiGene, Ltd. (NASDAQ: BGNE; HKEX: 06160), a commercial-stage biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing innovative molecularly-targeted and immuno-oncology drugs for the treatment of cancer, reported the closing of a registered direct offering of 145,838,979 ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share (the "Ordinary Shares"), to certain existing investors (Press release, BeiGene, JUL 15, 2020, View Source [SID1234561967]).

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Each Ordinary Share was sold for a purchase price of $14.2308 per share ($185 per American Depositary Share ("ADS")), resulting in gross proceeds of approximately $2.08 billion and net proceeds, after estimated offering expenses, of $2.07 billion. The offering was made without an underwriter or a placement agent and as a result the Company did not pay any underwriting discounts in connection with this offering.

The Ordinary Shares were offered pursuant to an automatically effective shelf registration statement that was previously filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on May 11, 2020. The final prospectus supplement relating to the offering was filed with the SEC on July 13, 2020 and is available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

Credit Suisse acted as corporate finance advisor to the pricing committee of the Board of Directors of BeiGene in connection with this offering. Goodwin Procter LLP acted as legal counsel to BeiGene in connection with this offering.

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

On July 15, 2020 Cytokinetics, Incorporated (Nasdaq:CYTK) reported plans to offer, subject to market and other conditions, $150,000,000 of shares of its common stock in an underwritten public offering (Press release, Cytokinetics, JUL 15, 2020, View Source [SID1234561965]). There can be no assurance as to whether or when the offering may be completed, or the actual size or terms of the offering. Cytokinetics expects to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 15% of the number of shares of common stock sold in connection with the offering. All of the shares of common stock in the offering will be sold by Cytokinetics.

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Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Piper Sandler & Co. and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering. Barclays Capital Inc. is acting as an additional book-running manager for the offering.

The securities described above are being offered by Cytokinetics pursuant to a shelf registration statement (including a prospectus) filed on November 6, 2019 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which has become automatically effective. A preliminary prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus relating to the offering 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 accompanying prospectus relating to the offering, when available, may be obtained from: Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Attention: Prospectus Department, 200 West Street, New York, New York 10282, by phone at (866) 471‐2526 or by email at [email protected]; Piper Sandler & Co., Attn: Prospectus Department, 800 Nicollet Mall, J12S03, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55402, by telephone at (800) 747-3924 or by email at [email protected]; Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., Attention: Capital Markets, 499 Park Avenue, 6th Floor, New York, New York 10022, or by email: [email protected]; or Barclays Capital Inc., c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, New York 11717, via telephone: 1-888-603-5847.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the 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.

On July 15, 2020 Innate Pharma SA (Euronext Paris: IPH – ISIN: FR0010331421; Nasdaq: IPHA) ("Innate" or the "Company") reported the appointment of Dr. Joyson Karakunnel as Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer (CMO) (Press release, Innate Pharma, JUL 15, 2020, View Source [SID1234561930]). Dr. Pierre Dodion, CMO since 2014, is retiring from this position.

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Dr. Karakunnel comes to the Company with deep experience in immuno-oncology, and a proven track record in drug development. As CMO, he will be responsible for advancing Innate’s clinical pipeline and will lead a global team focused on clinical strategy, patient safety, regulatory and medical affairs.

Most recently, Dr. Karakunnel served as CMO and Senior Vice President at Tizona Therapeutics, where he led the development of the company’s biotherapeutics pipeline. Prior to Tizona, he held positions with Arcus Biosciences and AstraZeneca/MedImmune; his collective responsibilities included leading clinical development activities, drug safety and regulatory affairs. In addition, he serves as a medical advisor at the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy.

"We are pleased to welcome Dr. Joyson Karakunnel as our new Chief Medical Officer. As an experienced medical oncologist, Joyson brings in-depth immunology, oncology and hematology expertise, which will help further strengthen and accelerate the delivery of new medicines to patients," said Mondher Mahjoubi, Chief Executive Officer of Innate Pharma. "We are also grateful for Pierre’s invaluable contributions. During his six years at Innate, he drove the advancement of several key assets to late-stage clinical development, which will have a lasting impact on the Company."

Dr. Dodion joined Innate in 2014 and has been instrumental in the Company’s clinical strategy, successfully advancing key oncology programs to late-stage status. He has led the clinical development of several therapeutic programs, including monalizumab, a potentially first-in-class immune checkpoint inhibitor, and lacutamab, a first-in-class antibody designed for the treatment of advanced T-cell lymphomas. Dr. Dodion will transition to a consulting role with Innate following his retirement.

Dr. Joyson Karakunnel
Adding to his track record in oncology and hematology drug development, Dr. Karakunnel also served as a clinical trial investigator at the National Cancer Institute and a team leader for the hematologic group at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. In addition, he was an associate professor at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and a medical reviewer at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

"I’m proud to join Innate at this exciting juncture with several molecules moving into late-stage development, new molecules moving into the clinic and novel indications being pursued in oncology as well as for COVID-19," said Joyson Karakunnel, Chief Medical Officer of Innate Pharma. "This is clearly a company with a robust pipeline and unique focus on the innate immune system, which complements the work I’ve done in both the academic and industry settings. I look forward to further advancing the innovative science with the talented scientists and clinicians at the Company."

Dr. Karakunnel completed fellowships in hematology and oncology at the National Cancer Institute and completed his internal medicine residency at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, where he was chief resident. He obtained his MD from Annamalai University in India, and also holds a MSc in pharmacology from the University of Maryland.

Dr. Karakunnel will be based in Innate’s Rockville, Maryland office.

On July 15, 2020 ESSA Pharma Inc. (Nasdaq: EPIX) (TSXV: EPI), a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on developing novel therapies for the treatment of prostate cancer, reported the first patient dosed in a Phase 1 clinical trial designed to demonstrate the safety and tolerability of EPI-7386 in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer ("mCRPC") patients who failed standard of care treatments, including second generation anti-androgens (Press release, ESSA, JUL 15, 2020, View Source [SID1234561892]). EPI-7386 is a small molecule inhibitor of the N-terminal domain of the androgen receptor (AR) which has shown preclinical activity in both anti-androgen sensitive and anti-androgen resistant prostate cancer models.

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"The initiation of this study represents a significant milestone for ESSA as it brings us a step closer to offering a potentially meaningful new therapeutic option to prostate cancer patients," said Dr. David Parkinson MD, Chief Executive Officer of ESSA. "The fact that EPI-7386 was first synthesized less than two years ago and yesterday began dosing in patients is a testament to the efficiency of our team and our collaborators". Dr. Parkinson continued, "The results from this trial will guide our future development plans and confirm the potential contribution of N-terminal domain AR inhibition to the treatment of prostate cancer".

The Phase 1 clinical trial (NCT04421222) expects to enroll approximately 18 mCRPC patients in the dose escalation part of the study at selected clinical sites in the United States and Canada, with an additional ten patients planned to be enrolled in a dose expansion cohort involving additional clinical sites. The study will evaluate the safety and tolerability of EPI-7386 while additionally characterizing the pharmacokinetic, biological and anti-tumor effects of therapy.