On June 7, 2021 MSD Animal Health, a division of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA (NYSE:MRK), reported its intention to acquire the assets of LIC Automation Ltd. ("LICA"), from New Zealand-based, farmer-owned cooperative Livestock Improvement Corporation Ltd. ("LIC") (Press release, Merck & Co, JUN 7, 2021, View Source [SID1234583738]). LICA is a leader in automation and technology for the dairy industry. Specific terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

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LICA, a privately held company in New Zealand, manufactures and supplies specialised, integrated herd management systems and milk-testing sensors for the dairy industry. Farm productivity has become increasingly important on the dairy farm. LICA’s automated offerings including Protrack technology solutions, enables dairy farmers to gather precise information on the health and milking habits of dairy cows, which supports their efforts in herd management, real-time milk analysis, animal evaluation and reproductive health and wellness. LICA products are available in New Zealand and in selected European markets.

"We are pleased to take this step forward with the acquisition of LICA technology, as we continue to broaden our portfolio with complementary products and technologies to advance animal well-being and outcomes for our customers," said Rick DeLuca, president, MSD Animal Health. "Our portfolio of enhanced dairy farm management and livestock intelligence solutions for the dairy industry help address the evolving customer needs of dairy farmers and strengthen our leadership in shaping the future of animal health."

"We are excited to add LICA’s products to our existing veterinary medicines, vaccines and health management solutions and services, as well as Allflex Livestock Intelligence’s digitally connected identification, traceability and monitoring products to benefit farmers and veterinarians," said Pauline Calvert, Livestock Business Unit lead, MSD Animal Health, New Zealand. "MSD Animal Health has a substantial footprint in New Zealand as a leading partner in the agricultural community. The solutions we offer build upon our strong presence in New Zealand, which includes manufacturing facilities at Palmerston North (Allflex Livestock Intelligence, a business unit within MSD Animal Health), Upper Hutt (animal health vaccines) and now Hamilton (LICA milking intelligence and automation). We are exceptionally proud of our continuous commitment and investment to advance animal health and well-being for our unique pastoral-based farming systems in Aotearoa (New Zealand), that supports the efforts of our farmers’ in their day-to-day operations today and into the future. We look forward to continuing to expand our world-class animal health solutions both locally and globally."

LICA’s product portfolio joins Allflex Livestock Intelligence, the leading New Zealand livestock intelligence business. Allflex Livestock Intelligence is a complementary business that specialises in identification and monitoring technology that delivers real-time, actionable data and insights to help improve livestock management.

"We are pleased that MSD Animal Health has chosen to acquire this technology," said Wayne McNee, LIC chief executive. "MSD Animal Health has a reputation for investing heavily in research and development for animal health and welfare. The company has extensive scientific and technological capabilities that can take this technology to the next phase and deliver more value to farmers."

On June 7, 2021 Galapagos NV (Euronext & NASDAQ: GLPG) reported a share capital increase arising from subscription right exercises (Press release, Galapagos, JUN 7, 2021, View Source [SID1234583710]).

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Galapagos issued 10,940 new ordinary shares on 7 June 2021, for a total capital increase (including issuance premium) of €325,279.

Pursuant to the subscription right exercise program of Galapagos’ management board, members of the management board automatically are committed to exercise a minimum number of subscription rights, subject to certain conditions. In accordance with the rules of this program, one management board member exercised 5,000 subscription rights.

In accordance with Belgian transparency legislation1, Galapagos notes that its total share capital currently amounts to €354,418,623.11, the total number of securities conferring voting rights amounts to 65,522,521, which is also the total number of voting rights (the "denominator"), and all securities conferring voting rights and all voting rights are of the same category. The total number of rights (formerly known as warrants) to subscribe to not yet issued securities conferring voting rights is (i) 6,709,662 subscription rights under several outstanding employee subscription right plans, which equals 6,709,662 voting rights that may result from the exercise of those subscription rights, and (ii) one subscription right issued to Gilead Therapeutics to subscribe for a maximum number of shares that is sufficient to bring the shareholding of Gilead and its affiliates to 29.9% of the actually issued and outstanding shares after the exercise of the subscription right. This excludes the 2,736,250 subscription rights of Subscription Right Plan 2021 BE, Subscription Right Plan 2021 RMV and Subscription Right Plan 2021 ROW, which were created subject to acceptance. Galapagos does not have any convertible bonds or shares without voting rights outstanding.

On June 7, 2021 Cerecor Inc. (NASDAQ: CERC), a biopharmaceutical company focused on becoming a leader in the development and commercialization of treatments for rare and orphan diseases, reported that it has entered into a debt financing agreement led by Horizon Technology Finance Corporation (NASDAQ: HRZN) ("Horizon") to provide up to $35.0 million in term loans (Press release, Cerecor, JUN 7, 2021, View Source [SID1234583693]).

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"We are pleased to partner with Horizon, a leading specialty finance company that has an extensive history of supporting innovative life science companies," said Michael Cola, Chief Executive Officer of Cerecor. "Over the course of 2021, we anticipate a number of important data readouts across our immunology, oncology, and rare genetic disorders product candidates. This transaction immediately strengthens and extends our financial resources to advance our clinical pipeline towards these key development milestones."

Gerald A. Michaud, President of Horizon stated, "We are delighted to provide this financing to Cerecor and have confidence in the Company’s business strategy. We look forward to watching the Company reach its critical development milestones for its orphan and rare disease therapies in the pipeline. This investment in Cerecor provides another example of our ability to finance life sciences companies through multiple stages of development and through various value inflection points."

$20 million of the $35 million loan was funded upon closing. The remaining $15 million may be funded upon Cerecor achieving certain predetermined milestones. Each advance of the loan will be repaid in 42 monthly payments consisting of 18 monthly payments of interest only, followed by 24 monthly payments of principal and accrued interest, and will be payable monthly in arrears. The interest-only period may be extended to 24 months contingent upon Cerecor achieving certain milestones. In connection with the financing, Cerecor issued Horizon warrants to purchase up to 403,844 of its common shares at an exercise price of $2.60 per share. Proceeds will be used to support the ongoing clinical development of key investigational product candidates within its pipeline and for general working capital purposes.

Jefferies acted as exclusive arranger and financial advisor to Cerecor in this transaction.

On June 7, 2021 Morphogenesis, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, reported that it has obtained funding to develop a new therapeutic drug to treat cervical cancer (Press release, Morphogenesis, JUN 7, 2021, View Source [SID1234583692]). Globally, more than half a million women are diagnosed and over 300,000 die from cervical cancer each year due to lack of access to lifesaving care. Cancer treatment regimens in low-resource settings require a fundamental transformation to overcome this horrific toll.

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A multi-discipline team that includes scientists from Morphogenesis, Medisca, a pharmaceutical compounding company specializing in customized medication, and Moffitt Cancer Center is developing an innovative therapy that would expand care to patients with limited access to lifesaving treatments. A Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) proposal entitled, "A low-cost topical immunotherapy formulation suitable for treating cervical cancer in low- and middle-income countries and low-resource settings in the U.S.", received excellent scores following a competitive review process, and was awarded $400,000 from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The proposed work will reformulate Morphogenesis’s immunomodulatory cancer drug, IFx-Hu2.0, to a preparation that is applicable to treat women in locations with limited healthcare infrastructure.

IFx-Hu2.0 functions by recruiting the enormous power of the immune system towards the destruction of tumor cells. IFx-Hu2.0 treatment delivers a bacterial gene to a patient’s tumor that leads to the expression of an antigenic bacterial protein on the surface of those tumor cells. The bacterial antigen primes and educates the immune system to destroy tumor cells without harming healthy tissues.

IFx-Hu2.0 is a liquid drug preparation that is delivered by intratumoral injection. To facilitate cancer treatment in limited-resource settings, the team will formulate IFx-Hu2.0 to a non-toxic, affordable, commercially viable immunotherapy that can be stored and shipped at room temperature and self-administered. The goal is for this product to enable treatment in a variety of settings without the need for surgery, specialized training, or facilities.

"We are extremely excited about the global implications of our technology," said Pat Lawman, PhD, CEO of Morphogenesis, Inc. "While some of the other immune-oncology products being tested have tremendous promise, they will be prohibitively expensive and logistically unfeasible for treating patients in low resource settings. This project is near and dear to my heart since it embodies the culture of Morphogenesis, which is to create products that are accessible to those who would otherwise be without hope."

Shari Pilon-Thomas, Ph.D., Associate Member of Moffitt’s Department of Immunology, will direct studies designed to measure the efficacy of the reformulated drug in pre-clinical models. "This grant strengthens the ongoing collaboration between Moffitt and Morphogenesis. Results from this study will raise the potential for this incredible product to reach cervical cancer patients that are most in need of novel therapies," said Dr. Pilon-Thomas.

"The immuno-oncology products that we are developing will be instrumental in our company’s mission to end needless suffering. The lack of side-effects from our treatment means that there will be no added expense for supportive care needed with other therapies to treat chemotoxic or immunotoxic reactions," added Morphogenesis’ President, Michael Lawman, FRSB, Ph.D.

About Morphogenesis, Inc.: Morphogenesis is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company based in Tampa, Florida developing novel "off-the-shelf" personalized immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer. Their IFx-based treatments induce personalized, tumor agnostic, multivalent, systemic, and sustained immune responses and have the potential to treat a broad range of cancers through enhanced tumor recognition, immune activation, and epitope spreading. IFx-based drugs have an established safety profile in multiple animal models. The IFx-Hu2.0 drug has just completed a Phase 1 clinical trial (safety) for Stage III/IV unresectable cutaneous melanomas and is currently in an expanded Phase 1 trial that includes cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) and Merkel cell carcinoma.

The Company’s patented immunotherapy is based on a single bacterial gene that when expressed on the surface of a patient’s tumor cells, educates the immune system to target the patient’s unique set of tumor antigens (neoantigens) without the toxic side effects that are common to most other cancer treatment regimens. Morphogenesis continues to innovate and reach major milestones towards its goal of bringing their gene therapy to treat a wide range of human cancer patients. Last year, Morphogenesis augmented its portfolio with three US patent awards and made multiple applications for worldwide patent protection. These patents are an important component of Morphogenesis’s exclusive intellectual property portfolio that includes some 55 issued patents and patent applications.

On June 7, 2021 Texas Original Compassionate Cultivation (TOCC), Texas’ leading medical cannabis provider, reported it has secured $21 million in Series B funding led by AFI Capital Partners, a growth equity fund investing exclusively in the cannabis industry (Press release, Texas Original Compassionate Cultivation, JUN 7, 2021, View Source [SID1234583691]). The funding will bolster the company’s production and support its statewide delivery strategy

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TOCC’s latest funding follows the close of Texas’ 87th legislative session, where House Bill 1535—a bill that expands the medical marijuana program in the state—passed in both chambers. Under the expanded Texas Compassionate Use Program (CUP), all cancer patients and people suffering from PTSD will qualify for medical marijuana prescriptions. The passage of HB 1535 also increases the amount of allowable THC to 1% by weight.

"This raise demonstrates our ongoing commitment to the Texas cannabis industry and to our current and future patients throughout the state," said Morris Denton, CEO of TOCC. "We believe in the power and truth of this plant. AFI Capital Partners’ investment underscores their confidence in TOCC’s operational capabilities. With the latest progress in the legislature, our team is focused on meeting the needs of our existing patients and serving the thousands of newly qualified patients with the highest quality cannabis medicine."

At the helm of TOCC’s Series B funding is AFI Capital Partners. This cannabis-focused growth equity fund invests in ancillary and state-licensed businesses across the cannabis value chain. AFI pursues targets with a history of operational excellence, companies that address a defined consumer need, and those with a proven ability to win share in competitive markets.

"AFI Capital Partners brings strong operational, strategic and transactional cannabis experience to its more than 20 portfolio companies," said Nico Richardson, managing director for AFI. "We are very excited to invest in and support the leader in the burgeoning Texas cannabis market. The TOCC team has done a phenomenal job serving Texas’ medical patients under the CUP program. We’re eager to partner closely with Morris and the TOCC team to continue to serve the state’s rapidly growing patient base."

Mr. Richardson has also joined TOCC’s board of directors. For more information about TOCC, visit www.texasoriginal.com.