Landos Biopharma and LianBio Announce Exclusive Collaboration and License Agreement to Develop and Commercialize Omilancor and NX-13 in Greater China and Select Asian Markets

On May 17, 2021 Landos Biopharma, Inc (NASDAQ: LABP), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of therapeutics for patients with autoimmune diseases, and LianBio, a biotechnology company dedicated to bringing paradigm-shifting medicines to patients in China and other major Asian markets, reported an exclusive collaboration and license agreement for the development and commercialization of omilancor and NX-13 in Greater China (mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau) and select Asian markets (Press release, LianBio, MAY 17, 2021, View Source [SID1234580242]). Omilancor is a novel, oral, gut-restricted LANCL2 agonist in development for the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC), Crohn’s disease (CD) and Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE). NX-13 is a novel, oral, gut-restricted NLRX1 targeting compound in development for the treatment of UC and CD.

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

"We are excited to collaborate with LianBio to strategically integrate their clinical and operational expertise in major Asian markets as we expand into global development programs with our innovative autoimmune disease pipeline," said Josep Bassaganya-Riera, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Landos. "Our lead product candidates, omilancor and NX-13, are designed to have critical advantages over current therapies, including the capacity to target key and novel pathways specifically linked to immune function. The opportunity to capitalize upon LianBio’s resources in Asian markets will enable us to leverage the full value of our assets globally and bring our potentially more effective and better tolerated first-in-class oral therapeutics to patients with UC and CD in Greater China and select Asian markets."

Under the terms of the collaboration, LianBio will receive exclusive rights to develop and commercialize omilancor and NX-13 in Greater China, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Landos will receive an upfront cash payment of $18 million and is eligible to receive development and commercial milestone payments of up to $200 million. Landos is also eligible to receive tiered low double-digit royalties based on net sales of omilancor and NX-13 in the licensed territories. LianBio will participate in future global Phase 3 trials of omilancor and NX-13 by enrolling a meaningful number of patients in these studies. LianBio will fund development and commercialization expenses in the collaboration territory, and Landos will continue to fund all development and commercialization expenses in all other geographies.

"We believe Landos’ differentiated approach to the discovery and development of first-in-class oral therapeutics to target novel immunometabolic pathways has the potential to transform the treatment paradigm for CD, UC and other autoimmune diseases," said Konstantin Poukalov, Managing Director, Perceptive Advisors and Executive Chairman, LianBio. "With inflammatory bowel disease incidence projected to significantly increase throughout Asia over the coming decade, we look forward to partnering with Landos to address the current and future needs of IBD patients."

Orion Biotech Opportunities Corp. Announces Closing of $200 Million Initial Public Offering of Securities

On May 17, 2021 Orion Biotech Opportunities Corp. (the "Company") reported the closing of its initial public offering ("IPO") of 20,000,000 units at a price of $10.00 per unit, resulting in total gross proceeds of $200,000,000 (Press release, Orion Biotechnology, MAY 17, 2021, View Source [SID1234580232]). The Company’s units began trading on The Nasdaq Capital Market (the "Nasdaq") under the symbol "ORIAU" on May 13, 2021.

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

Each unit consists of one of the Company’s Class A ordinary shares and one-fifth of one redeemable warrant, with each whole warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, the Class A ordinary shares and warrants are expected to be listed on the Nasdaq under the symbols "ORIA" and "ORIAW," respectively.

Orion Biotech Opportunities Corp. is a newly incorporated special purpose acquisition company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization, or similar business combination with a target in a growth-oriented sector, including technology and media.

Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. acted as the sole book-running manager for the offering. The Company has granted the underwriter a 45-day option to purchase up to 3,000,000 additional units to cover over-allotments, if any.

The offering was made by means of a prospectus, copies of which may be obtained, when available, from Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., Attention: Capital Markets, 499 Park Avenue, 5th Floor New York, New York 10022; Email: [email protected].

A registration statement relating to these securities has been declared effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on May 12, 2021. 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 an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

A registration statement relating to these securities has been declared effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on March 24, 2021. 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 an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

Adamis Pharmaceuticals Provides Update on First Quarter 2021 Financial Results Conference Call

On May 17, 2021 Adamis Pharmaceuticals Corporation (NASDAQ: ADMP) reported that it is postponing its previously announced investor conference call scheduled to be held on Monday, May 17, 2021, at 2 p.m. Pacific Time (Press release, Adamis Pharmaceuticals, MAY 17, 2021, View Source [SID1234580214]). The company filed a Form 12b-25 with the Securities and Exchange Commission today in order to extend the due date of its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended March 31, 2021, by five calendar days as permitted by Rule 12b-25 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and is postponing the investor call in light of that filing delay. The company will announce a new date and time for a rescheduled investor call.

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!


Sonnet BioTherapeutics Provides Fiscal Year 2021 Second Quarter Business and Earnings Update

On May 17, 2021 Sonnet BioTherapeutics Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:SONN) ("Sonnet" or the "Company"), a biopharmaceutical company developing innovative targeted biologic drugs, reported its financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and provided a business update (Press release, Sonnet BioTherapeutics, MAY 17, 2021, View Source [SID1234580194]).

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

"Over the course of the quarter, we have made several advancements across our pipeline products, most notably of which are the completion of non-human primate (NHP) toxicology study of SON-080 and the completion of a repeat dose study of SON-1010 in NHPs," commented Pankaj Mohan, Ph.D., Founder and CEO. "Additionally, we were thrilled to have our abstract detailing data from our NHP study of SON-1010 accepted for presentation at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting."

FY 2021 Second Quarter and Recent Corporate Updates

Sonnet provided the following updates on its lead pipeline assets:

The Company successfully completed multiple NHP GLP toxicology studies with SON-1010 (FHAB-IL12) and is generating data to prepare an IND submission to initiate clinical studies in the second half of 2021.

Regarding SON-080, the Company intends to file a US IND to initiate a Phase 1b/2a pilot-scale efficacy study in the Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy (CIPN) indication during the second half of 2021. Additionally, as part of the recently announced partnership with New Life Therapeutics, the companies intend to file an ex-US IND equivalent for a Phase 1b/2a pilot-scale efficacy study in Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy (DPN) during the second half of 2021. Going forward, Sonnet will exclusively refer to the low-dose IL-6 programs, namely CIPN and DPN, using the SON-080 designation, the latter of which had previously been known as the SON-081 program.

The Company’s first bispecific candidate, SON-1210 (IL-FHAB-IL15), is undergoing cell line and process development activities. Sonnet expects completion of NHP studies in the second half of this year with an IND submission during the first half of 2022.

Sonnet has manufactured bi-specific preclinical constructs of SON-2014 (GMcSF-FHAB-IL18), as well as IL18-FHAB-IL12 and IL12-FHAB-GMcSF that are being evaluated for in vivo efficacy, biomarker profiles and fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) assessment in single dose and multi-dose preclinical studies. The Company intends to initiate commercial cell line development necessary for future clinical studies, with an IND submission for SON-2014 targeted for the second half of 2022.

Sonnet has added key senior management hires of Richard Kenney, M.D. as Chief Medical Officer and Manuel Dafonseca as Head of Clinical Operations, as the Company prepares to advance its FHAB platform into its first clinical study.

"During the quarter, we were able to successfully draw from our at-the-market sales agreement with BTIG and bring in over $10 million of capital to the Company", commented Jay Cross, CFO. "This additional funding will enable us to continue driving our R&D activities forward and furthers our goal of bringing much need therapeutic advancements to patients."

FY 2021 Second Quarter Ended March 31, 2021 Financial Results

●As of March 31, 2021, Sonnet had $6.7 million cash on hand.
●As previously announced, on February 5, 2021, Sonnet entered into an at-the-market sales agreement with BTIG, LLC, for an aggregate offering of up to $15.9 million. Through March 31, 2021, the Company sold an aggregate of 4,021,561 shares for net proceeds of $10.2 million to Sonnet. The company has not sold shares though this facility since March 12, 2021.
●Research and development expenses were $3.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021, compared to $1.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020. The increase of $2.5 million was primarily due to increased expenditures for the development of the cell line for IL12-FHAB and IL12-FHAB-IL15

General and administrative expenses were $2.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021, compared to $1.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020. The increase of $1.0 million was primarily due to an increase in insurance expense of related to directors and officer’s insurance, and in increase in payroll and share-based compensation expense to support our expanded operations.

PDS Biotech Receives $4.5M After Selling Its Net Operating Loss Tax Benefits Through The New Jersey Economic Development Program

On May 17, 2021 PDS Biotechnology Corporation (Nasdaq: PDSB), a clinical-stage immunotherapy company developing novel cancer therapies and infectious disease vaccines based on the Company’s proprietary Versamune T-cell activating technology, reported the receipt of $4.5 million from the net sale of tax benefits to an unrelated, profitable New Jersey corporation pursuant to the Company’s participation in the New Jersey Technology Business Tax Certificate Transfer Net Operating Loss (NOL) program for State Fiscal Year 2020 (Press release, PDS Biotechnology, MAY 17, 2021, View Source [SID1234580192]).

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

"We are pleased to receive an allocation from the New Jersey NOL program," said Frank Bedu-Addo, Chief Executive Officer of PDS Biotech. "The funding will be beneficial to us as we continue to efficiently utilize our resources to advance our immuno-oncology pipeline through development."

The NOL program enables qualified, unprofitable NJ-based technology or biotechnology companies with fewer than 225 U.S. employees (including parent company and all subsidiaries) to sell a percentage of net operating losses and research and development (R&D) tax credits to unrelated profitable corporations. This allows qualifying technology and biotechnology companies with NOLs to turn their tax losses and credits into cash proceeds to fund growth and operations, including research and development or other allowable expenditures. PDS Biotech is one of 49 early-stage companies to share in approximately $54.5 million of tax credit transfers approved by NJEDA for the 2020 period.