On June 3, 2020 Purdue University reported that Acute myeloid leukemia (AML), an aggressive blood cancer, is one of the most lethal cancers. More than 19,000 new cases are diagnosed a year, and more than 11,000 people a year die from it, according to the American Cancer Society (Press release, KinaRx, JUN 3, 2020, View Source,-which-aims-to-better-treat-relapse.html [SID1234560885]).

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A $1,999,998 SBIR Phase I/II grant from the National Cancer Institute to KinaRx LLC, a Purdue University-affiliated startup, will help fast-track to human trials a novel platform aimed at treating relapse for AML and other diseases.

"We are ready to take our technology to the next level and potentially help people who are dealing with aggressive and deadly diseases that offer few treatment options, particularly for relapse patients," said Herman O. Sintim, the Drug Discovery Professor of Chemistry in Purdue’s Department of Chemistry.

KinaRx was founded by Sintim, who is its chief scientific officer, along with M. Javad Aman, Rena Lapidus, Ashkan Emadi, Frederick Holtsberg and Joe O’Neill.

The compounds under development by KinaRx were developed using Sintim’s platform that makes complex drug molecules rapidly using bioinformatics, multi-component compound synthesis and the understanding of disease biology.

KinaRx has licensed drug compounds through the Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization, which is now housed in the Convergence Center for Innovation and Collaboration in Discovery Park District, adjacent to the Purdue campus.

"These compounds have shown promise in treating people who have a recurrence of AML and now we want to do further testing and move into clinical trials," said Sintim, who is a member of the Purdue University Center for Cancer Research and the Purdue Institute for Drug Discovery.

About 30 percent of AML patients have a mutation caused by a kinase called FLT3, which makes the leukemia more aggressive. Although a few FLT3 inhibitors have already been approved in the clinic, patients can relapse due to mutations in the FLT3 protein, which cause drug resistance. KinaRx is commercializing a series of new compounds that inhibit mutant FLT3 kinases, especially mutant versions that are resistant to current FDA-approved FLT3 inhibitors such as gilteritinib. These compounds were developed by researchers in Sintim’s lab at Purdue.

The researchers are looking for partners to continue testing and developing their technology. For more information on other opportunities related to the technology, contact Sintim at [email protected].

On June 3, 2020 argenx (Euronext & Nasdaq: ARGX), a global immunology company committed to improving the lives of people suffering from severe autoimmune diseases and cancer, reported that Tim Van Hauwermeiren, Chief Executive Officer, will participate in a fireside chat at the Goldman Sachs 41st Annual Global Healthcare Conference on Wednesday, June 10, 2020 at 8:00 a.m. ET (Press release, argenx, JUN 3, 2020, View Source [SID1234560839]).

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A live webcast of the fireside chat will be available on Investors section of the Company’s website at www.argenx.com. A replay of the webcast will be available for 90 days following the presentation.

On June 3, 2020 Portage Biotech Inc. (CSE:PBT.U, OTC Markets: PTGEF) ("Portage" or the "Corporation") reported that, further to its news release dated May 25, 2020, the Corporation’s common shares will commence trading on a one hundred (100) old for one (1) new share consolidated basis (the "Consolidation") (also known as a "reverse split") under a new CUSIP number G7185A128 and ISIN number VGG7185A1286. The corporate name and trading symbol for the Corporation will remain unchanged (Press release, Portage Biotech, JUN 3, 2020, View Source [SID1234560816]). The effective date that the post-consolidated common shares will begin trading on CSE is June 5, 2020.

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The Consolidation proposal was approved by shareholders at the Annual General and Special Meeting of Shareholders of the Corporation held on January 8, 2019, in which the Board of Directors was authorized, in its sole discretion and by means of a resolution, to proceed with the proposed consolidation of the common shares in the capital of the Corporation by a ratio of up to 120-for-1 basis, without further approval of shareholders. On May 19, 2020, the Board of Directors set the Consolidation ratio at 100-for-1.

There are currently 1,098,770,697 common shares issued and outstanding. Upon completion of the Consolidation, there will be approximately 10,987,707 common shares issued and outstanding. The exact number of post-consolidated shares will vary depending on the treatment of fractional shares, which will occur when each shareholder’s holdings in the Corporation are consolidated. The Corporation will not issue any fractional common shares as a result of the consolidation. Instead, all fractional shares will be rounded down to the nearest whole common share unless a shareholder will hold less than one share in which case the fractional share will be rounded up. Outstanding stock options will also be adjusted by the Consolidation ratio and their respective exercise prices adjusted accordingly.

On the effective date of Consolidation, registered shareholders may surrender their physical share certificates evidencing their common shares to the Corporation’s transfer agent, TSX Trust Company ("TSX Trust"), at 301-100 Adelaide Street West, Toronto, Ontario, M5H 4H1, for replacement certificates representing the number of post-consolidation shares to which they are entitled. All inquiries regarding the Consolidation or your shareholder account should be directed to TSX Trust at tel.: 1-866-600-5859 or by email to: [email protected]. No Letter of Transmittal needs to be executed in relation to the Consolidation. Until surrendered, each certificate representing the pre-Consolidation common shares will be deemed for all purposes to represent the number of shares to which the holder thereof is entitled as a result of the Consolidation. Shareholders who hold their shares in brokerage accounts or "street name" are not required to take any action to effect the exchange of their shares.

On June 3, 2020 AlivaMab Discovery Services, LLC, a leader in comprehensive, integrated solutions for antibody drug discovery, reported a discovery partnership with Tanabe Research Laboratories USA, Inc. (TRL, San Diego, California), an independent subsidiary of Japan-based Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation. ADS will provide its expertise and capabilities to generate and deliver therapeutic antibody candidates to TRL using the AlivaMab Mouse, a best-in-class antibody discovery platform (Press release, AlivaMab Discovery Services, JUN 3, 2020, View Source [SID1234560815]).

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"The proven expertise of ADS combined with the speed and efficiency with which AlivaMab Mouse can produce drug-quality antibodies is foundational for this collaboration" said John "Lippy" Lippincott, PhD, Vice-President of Research. "ADS has developed a track record of successfully delivering antibody drug candidates against challenging projects in a greater number and in shorter timelines than other organizations. We are pleased that TRL has entrusted ADS as a partner in using precision science to create breakthrough biological therapies."

On June 3, 2020 Epigenetics company Base Genomics reported that it has launched with a team of leading scientists and clinicians to set a new gold standard in DNA methylation detection (Press release, Base Genomics, JUN 3, 2020, View Source [SID1234560814]). The company has closed an oversubscribed seed funding round of $11 million USD (£9 million GBP) to progress development of its TAPS technology, initially focusing on developing a blood test for early-stage cancer and minimal residual disease. The funding round was led by Oxford Sciences Innovation and also included investors with industry expertise in genomics and oncology.

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DNA methylation is an epigenetic mechanism involved in gene regulation and has been shown to be one of the most promising biomarkers for detecting cancer through liquid biopsy. The existing industry standard for mapping DNA methylation degrades DNA and reduces sequence complexity, however, limiting scientific discovery and clinical sensitivity. Base Genomics’ new technology, TAPS, overcomes these issues and generates significantly more information from a given sample, creating new opportunities in research and the clinic.

"In order to realize the potential of liquid biopsies for clinically meaningful diagnosis and monitoring, sensitive detection and precise quantification of circulating tumour DNA is paramount," said Base Genomics CMO Anna Schuh. "Current approaches are not fit for purpose to achieve this, but Base Genomics has developed a game-changing technology which has the potential to make the sensitivity of liquid biopsies a problem of the past."

First developed at Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research Branch at the University of Oxford, TAPS is a novel chemical reaction that converts methylated cytosine to thymine under mild conditions. Unlike the industry standard technology, bisulfite sequencing, TAPS does not degrade DNA, meaning that significantly more DNA is available for sequencing. TAPS also better retains sequence complexity, cutting sequencing costs in half and enabling simultaneous epigenetic and genetic analysis.

"Genomic technologies with the power, simplicity and broad applicability of TAPS come along very infrequently," said Base Genomics CTO Vincent Smith. "It has the potential to have an impact on epigenetics similar to that which Illumina’s SBS chemistry had on Next Generation Sequencing."

Base Genomics is led by a highly experienced team of scientists and clinicians, including Dr Vincent Smith, a world-leader in genomic product development and former Illumina VP; Dr Anna Schuh, Head of Molecular Diagnostics at the University of Oxford and Principal Investigator on over 30 clinical trials; Drs Chunxiao Song and Yibin Liu, co-inventors of TAPS at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Oxford; and Oliver Waterhouse, previously an Entrepreneur in Residence at Oxford Sciences Innovation and founding team member at Zinc VC.

"The ability to sequence a large amount of high-quality epigenetic information from a simple blood test could unlock a new era of preventative medicine," said Base Genomics founder and CEO Oliver Waterhouse. "In the future, individuals will not just be sequenced once to determine their largely static genetic code, but will be sequenced repeatedly over time to track dynamic epigenetic changes caused by age, lifestyle, and disease."