On February 23, 2020 Spherix Incorporated (Nasdaq: SPEX) reported that on February 21, 2020, a special committee of the Board of Directors of Spherix Incorporated ("Spherix") approved a distribution to Spherix stockholders of 70,000 shares of Hoth Therapeutics, Inc. ("Hoth") held by Spherix (Press release, Spherix, FEB 23, 2020, View Source [SID1234554625]).

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Each Spherix stockholder will be entitled to receive one (1) share of Hoth common stock for every seventy (70) shares of Spherix common stock held as of 5 p.m. Eastern Time on March 4, 2020, the record date. Spherix will not distribute fractional shares of Hoth common stock, and any fractional shares will be rounded down to the nearest whole share.

Spherix stockholders do not need to take any action to receive the shares of Hoth common stock, other than be a shareholder of record on March 4, 2020. Spherix stockholders do not need to pay any consideration for, surrender or exchange shares of Spherix common stock.

Mr. Anthony Hayes, CEO of Spherix stated, "Returning capital to shareholders is an important part of our strategy, and the distribution of a portion of our holdings in Hoth is the first step in this endeavor. We continue to work towards becoming a diversified biopharmaceutical company with a compelling portfolio of potential compounds to develop and commercialize."

On February 23, 2020 WuXi Biologics ("WuXi Bio") (2269.HK), a leading global open-access biologics technology platform company offering end-to-end solutions for biologics discovery, development and manufacturing, reported that its strategic partner Immutep, a biotechnology company developing novel immunotherapy treatments for cancer and autoimmune diseases, on the positive interim data from the company’s ongoing Phase II TACTI-002 study (Press release, WuXi Biologics, FEB 23, 2020, View Source [SID1234554624]).

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The data relates to use of Immutep’s lead product candidate eftilagimod alpha ("efti" or "IMP321"), a soluble LAG-3 protein, as part of a combination treatment with pembrolizumab. The study shows encouraging results that the Overall Response Rate (ORR) of the combination treatment reaches 47% among first line non-small cell lung cancer patients, while that of pembrolizumab monotherapy is only about 20%. The activation of antigen presenting cells (APC) and subsequent T cell recruitment with efti may lead to stronger anti-tumor responses than observed with pembrolizumab alone.

"The results we are seeing are highly encouraging. WuXi Biologics is a key partner for this novel immune oncology approach. As our trials continue to advance, the expertise and quality the WuXi Biologics team delivers will become even more important to Immutep as they provide a robust and reliable manufacturing platform for efti’s global clinical development," commented Mr. Marc Voigt, CEO of Immutep.

"Congratulations to Immutep on making this exciting progress," said Dr. Chris Chen, CEO of WuXi Biologics, "We are honored to enable global innovative biotechnology companies such as Immutep to advance molecules from idea to commercialization, and will continue to deliver highest quality biologics through our robust and high quality global supply chain network to expedite clinical development of this program to benefit patients worldwide."

Empowered by WuXi Biologics’ proprietary technology platforms, Immutep, which had only four employees initially, has been expediting clinical trials of the innovative IMP321 in Europe and the United States since 2010. In November 2016, the two companies signed an MOU to form a strategic biologics development and manufacturing partnership for IMP321.

On February 22, 2020 The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) reported that it has awarded new grants totaling $1.8 million to two University of Texas at Dallas scientists for their research related to lung and kidney cancers (Press release, CPRIT, FEB 22, 2020, View Source [SID1234554605]).

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The Individual Investigator Awards are among 55 new grants totaling more than $78 million that the institute announced Feb. 19. To date, CPRIT has awarded $2.49 billion in grants to Texas research institutions and organizations through its academic research, prevention and product development research programs.

With the latest grants to the researchers in the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, UT Dallas has received nearly $18.5 million from CPRIT to support cancer studies.

"CPRIT continues to be an important source of funding for efforts aimed at the prevention and treatment of cancer," said Dr. Joseph Pancrazio, vice president for research and professor of bioengineering at UT Dallas. "The institute’s ongoing support of basic research allows UT Dallas scientists to make important contributions toward the fundamental understanding of disease and the improvement of outcomes for cancer patients."

Dr. Li Zhang, professor of biological sciences and the Cecil H. and Ida Green Distinguished Chair in Systems Biology Science, received $900,000 for lung cancer research. In previous studies, Zhang and her colleagues discovered that cells of the most common type of lung cancer — non-small cell lung cancer — consume substantially more oxygen than normal cells. The lung cancer cells also outpace their normal counterparts in synthesizing a critical chemical called heme, which helps transport and store oxygen. These elevated levels of oxygen and heme fuel tumor growth and progression.

With the new CPRIT grant, Zhang will use advanced imaging techniques in animal models to investigate whether drugs that target heme synthesis and uptake can be a successful strategy for suppressing lung tumors and improving the effectiveness of chemotherapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy.

Zhang previously received a CPRIT grant of $900,000 in 2015.

"CPRIT continues to be an important source of funding for efforts aimed at the prevention and treatment of cancer. The institute’s ongoing support of basic research allows UT Dallas scientists to make important contributions toward the fundamental understanding of disease and the improvement of outcomes for cancer patients."

Dr. Joseph Pancrazio, vice president for research at UT Dallas

Dr. Jie Zheng, professor of chemistry and biochemistry and the Cecil H. and Ida Green Professor in Systems Biology Science, also received $900,000 for his research, which is aimed at improving the accuracy of computerized tomography (CT)- and fluorescence-guided kidney cancer surgery.

Dr. Jie Zheng
With more kidney cancers being diagnosed in the early stage, partial kidney removal is becoming an increasingly important treatment, in particular for those patients who have poor kidney function or cancer in both kidneys. In current clinical settings, CT is used first to noninvasively localize and stage kidney cancers, followed by fluorescence imaging of normal renal tissue to guide surgery. However, due to the limitations of current contrast agents, no significant improvement in reducing positive margin rates in kidney cancer surgery has been achieved, Zheng said.

Zheng’s project will focus on developing a single material, based on gold nanoparticles, that can achieve high contrast in both CT and fluorescence imaging of kidney cancers. His approach takes advantage of the unique physiological microenvironment associated with kidney cancer in a way that allows the tumor margins to be more accurately differentiated during surgical removal. His nanoparticles also have the potential to effectively and selectively deliver anti-cancer drugs to tumors that cannot be treated surgically.

Zheng received three previous CPRIT grants in 2011, 2014 and 2016 totaling nearly $2.4 million.

On February 21, 2020 BridgeBio Pharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: BBIO), together with affiliate company Eidos Therapeutics (Nasdaq: EIDX) reported that they are presenting at two upcoming investor conferences (Press release, BridgeBio, FEB 21, 2020, View Source [SID1234576231]):

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The SVB Leerink Annual Global Healthcare Conference on Tuesday, February 25, 2020 at 1PM (EST) in New York.
The Cowen and Company Annual Health Care Conference on Wednesday, March 4, 2020 at 9:20AM (EST) in Boston.
The presentations will be webcast live and can be accessed at www.bridgebio.com on the For Investors page under News & Events. The webcast will be available for replay for 30 days.

On February 21, 2020 Affibody Medical AB (publ) ("Affibody" or "the Company"), a Swedish biotechcompany focused on developing next generation biopharmaceuticals based on its unique proprietary technology platforms: Affibody molecules and Albumod, reported its Full Year Report for 2019 (Press release, Affibody, FEB 21, 2020, View Source [SID1234575699]).

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Financial Highlights

Revenue for the 4th Quarter 2019 amounted to SEK 17.2 (29.5) m, and to 311.8 (114.6) m for the full year
Operating result for the quarter amounted to SEK -66.1 (-23.6) m, and to 44.8 (-127.4) m for the full year
Net result for the quarter amounted to SEK -72.9 (-23.8) m, and to 43.9 (-127.2) for the full year
Cash flow for the quarter amounted to SEK -14.4 (-65.1) m, and to 283.8 (-150.4) m for the full year
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period amounted to SEK 374.8 (91.0) m.
Significant Events during the rest of the Year

In September Affibody announced its relocation to Campus Solna
In September a strategic collaboration with GE Healthcare to develop and commercialize Affibody-based PET imaging tracers, with initial focus on HER2 and PD-L1, was announced
In July, 2019 the completion of the planned 12 week interim analysis in the Company’s Phase 2 proof-of-concept study of its bispecific molecule ABY-035 for moderate-to-severe psoriasis ("AFFIRM-35") was announced.
The share issue was completed and fully subscribed in May and brought gross proceeds of SEK 147.4 m to the company
In March, a partnership with Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to co-develop ABY-039, was announced. Under the terms of the agreement, Alexion has provided Affibody with an upfront payment of $25 million, with the potential for additional development- and sales-based milestones of up to $625 million and tiered low double-digit royalty payments. Alexion will lead joint clinical development of ABY-039 and commercialization activities. Affibody has the option to co-promote ABY-039 in the U.S. and will lead clinical development for an undisclosed indication
In February, the Phase 2 proof-of-concept study of ABY-035 for moderate-to-severe psoriasis completed enrollment of patients.
Significant Events after the close of the Reporting Period

An EGM on February 17, 2020 elected José Suarez as Board member.
Affibody is a clinical stage Swedish biotech company with a broad product pipeline focused on developing innovative bi- and multi-specific next generation biopharmaceuticals based on its unique proprietary technology platforms: Affibody molecules and Albumod.

The company operates a focused experimental medicine model and currently has three clinical stage programs. The first two are therapeutic programs that targets psoriasis, and B-cell driven autoimmune diseases respectively. The third program is a diagnostic imaging program that is directed primarily towards metastatic breast cancer.