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.

On July 15, 2020 Terumo Corporation (TSE: 4543) reported it has completed the acquisition of Quirem Medical B.V., a Netherlands-based healthcare startup specializing in the development of next-generation microspheres for Selective Internal Radiation Therapy (SIRT), a treatment for liver tumors (Press release, Terumo, JUL 15, 2020, View Source [SID1234561890]). Under the terms of the agreement, Terumo acquired 80.1% of the shares of Quirem Medical. This is over and above its current share position of 19.9%, making Quirem Medical now a wholly owned subsidiary of Terumo.

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Terumo will make a one-time, up-front payment of USD 20 million with up to USD 25 million additional payments based on the achievement of future milestones by 2030. It will be funded through cash on hand and will not significantly impact the company’s financial projections for the current fiscal year ending March 31, 2021.

Quirem Medical has developed and manufactures QuiremSpheres, the only commercially available microspheres containing the radioactive isotope Holmium-166. Recent trials have shown the safety and efficacy of holmium microspheres for the treatment of unresectable liver cancer. To improve patient selection, therapy planning and treatment verification, QuiremSpheres can be visualized and quantified even in low concentrations by means of Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). This is unique and cannot be done with currently available Yttrium-90 based microspheres.

Furthermore, Quirem Medical also produces QuiremScout, a low dose holmium microsphere that helps evaluate the biodistribution of microspheres prior to therapy, and a dosimetry software package, Q-Suite, which is used to plan QuiremSpheres treatments based on QuiremScout dose imaging. Q-Suite is also able to determine SIRT success immediately after the procedure by converting SPECT and MR imaging into absorbed dose distributions. Together, these three integrated products (QuiremSpheres, QuiremScout and Q-Suite) make up the full Holmium SIRT Platform. The Holmium Platform equips physicians with the necessary tools to optimize SIRT outcomes through more personalized treatment, addressing the individual needs of each patient.

QuiremSpheres, QuiremScout and Q-Suite are CE-Marked and currently available in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). In the coming years, Terumo intends to launch the Holmium Platform globally as part of the ongoing expansion of its interventional oncology (IO) portfolio.

"The acquisition of Quirem Medical further strengthens our business, expands on our manufacturing and clinical development activities, and complements our comprehensive suite of offerings to support our customers," said Jim Rushworth, Chief Commercial Officer of the Interventional Systems Division of Terumo.

Using Quirem’s innovative Holmium-166 platform technology, physicians are further empowered to drive treatment outcomes after SIRT. "By adding the Holmium-166 platform to our existing IO portfolio, we will further contribute to giving liver cancer patients a better future," said Laurent Domas, Vice President, Global Interventional Oncology Strategy & Therapy Development, Terumo Europe. "This acquisition reflects Terumo’s commitment to build a broad platform of loco-regional treatment options for liver cancer and is another step forward as we aim to develop and provide treatment solutions for other organs as well."

"We are very excited with the acquisition of Quirem Medical by Terumo as it will further drive the adoption of our unique product offerings worldwide and accelerate our pace of innovation, reaching more patients that will benefit from our technology," said Jan Sigger, CEO of Quirem Medical.

The global interventional oncology market value is more than USD 1 billion, which is a rapidly growing field with a CAGR of 7%. Within this field, SIRT is one of the main treatments that is expected to help to drive this growth year on year.

Terumo has been building its presence in the interventional oncology field, with product offerings such as the micro catheter system (Progreat), compressible microspheres for embolization (HydroPearl), drug-eluting microspheres (LifePearl), and biodegradable drug eluting microspheres (BioPearl). In 2015, Terumo invested in Quirem Medical and became the exclusive global distributor of their technology.