On June 24, 2021 EQRx, a company committed to developing and delivering important new medicines to patients at radically lower prices, and Exscientia, an AI-driven pharmatech company with a mission to radically improve how drugs are discovered, reported a strategic research and development collaboration agreement (Press release, EQRx, JUN 24, 2021, View Source [SID1234584312]). The collaboration will leverage the AI capabilities of Exscientia to accelerate the discovery of small molecule therapeutic drug candidates in multiple therapeutic areas, including oncology and immunology, further expanding the breadth of EQRx’s pipeline of novel therapies.

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This innovative collaboration is focused on creating significant improvements in the traditional drug discovery and development processes by improving the probability of success through each company’s unique capabilities to accelerate the delivery of innovative new medicines—from discovery to commercialization.

Under the terms of the agreement, the strengths of both companies will be leveraged throughout the drug development process. Exscientia will lead the discovery phase through to Investigational New Drug application (IND) filing, while EQRx will be responsible for clinical development, regulatory and commercialization efforts. EQRx and Exscientia will equally share in the discovery, development and commercialization costs.

"Exscientia is a leader in AI-driven drug discovery, and of particular note, has now brought multiple AI-engineered drug candidates to clinical trials. We believe that our aligned focus on efficiency and quality sets a truly unique course to bring the next generation of innovative medicines to patients faster and at a fraction of the cost," said Alexis Borisy, chairman and chief executive officer of EQRx. "This is a significant step in building EQRx’s robust, sustainable and industry-leading pipeline of important new medicines and substantially accelerates our early-stage research capabilities."

"We are impatient for patients. EQRx and Exscientia are partners who are equally focused on re-engineering the way we create and distribute drugs for better outcomes for more patients. This exciting new collaboration brings together technologies through a new model that has the potential to truly disrupt how we think about efficiently creating innovative new medicines for all patients," said Andrew Hopkins, chief executive officer of Exscientia. "Together with the team at EQRx we look forward to building a successful partnership, to enable more patients to access better drugs, faster."

On June 24, 2021 Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ: TECH) and Catamaran Bio reported an expansion of their collaboration for the development of cell engineering and cell process technologies for use by Catamaran in the manufacturing of CAR-NK cell therapy products (Press release, Bio-Techne, JUN 24, 2021, View Source [SID1234584311]).

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The companies have now broadened the scope of their collaboration to include the development of novel cell expansion technologies for use in the manufacturing of CAR-NK cell therapy products. In addition, Catamaran has secured a broad worldwide license to Bio‑Techne’s rights related to the TcBuster transposon system for use in the research, clinical and commercial manufacturing of next generation allogeneic cell therapy products. Catamaran has integrated the TcBuster transposon system, a non-viral cell engineering technology that enables multiple gene editing and efficient delivery of large genetic payloads, into its TAILWIND Platform for CAR-NK cell therapies.

The initial collaboration between Catamaran and Bio-Techne, which began in 2020, has been focused on optimizing the application of the TcBuster transposon system to CAR-NK cell engineering. The TcBuster transposon system was developed at B-MoGen Biotechnologies by a team that included Catamaran’s scientific co-founder, Branden Moriarty, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Hematology/Oncology at the University of Minnesota. Bio-Techne acquired B-MoGen Biotechnologies in 2019.

"Our agreements with Catamaran open the path for Bio-Techne’s cutting-edge cell engineering and process technologies to deliver gene-modified CAR-NK cell therapies for cancer," said Dave Eansor, President of Bio-Techne’s Protein Sciences Segment. "We are delighted to expand our relationship with Catamaran and increase our impact in the cell therapy space."

"We have established a successful track record of collaborating with Bio-Techne to optimize technologies for use in CAR-NK cell engineering and manufacturing. This collaboration and license exemplify our strategy to access technologies that provide important advantages in the cell therapy manufacturing process, as we position Catamaran as a leader in developing off-the-shelf CAR-NK cell therapies for solid tumors," said Alvin Shih, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer of Catamaran Bio.

Through the collaboration, the Catamaran and Bio-Techne teams are focused on developing and enhancing technologies for scalable and robust manufacturing of allogeneic CAR-NK cell therapies. Bio-Techne will contribute innovative cell expansion technologies and both companies will contribute know-how to enable large-scale production of functional CAR-NK cells.

"We are excited to be making advances with innovative technologies that enable Catamaran to achieve scalable and robust manufacturing processes for our CAR-NK cell therapies. We are committed to incorporating transformative technologies into our TAILWIND Platform as we advance our product candidates toward the clinic and enable allogeneic CAR-NK cell therapies to reach their therapeutic potential," said Vipin Suri, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer of Catamaran Bio.

On June 24, 2021 Aileron Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ALRN), a chemoprotection oncology company focused on fundamentally transforming the experience of chemotherapy for cancer patients, reported that it is set to join the Russell Microcap Index at the conclusion of the 2021 Russell indexes annual reconstitution, effective after the U.S. market opens on June 28, 2021 (Press release, Aileron Therapeutics, JUN 24, 2021, View Source [SID1234584309]).

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Membership in the Russell Microcap Index, which remains in place for one year, means automatic inclusion in the appropriate growth and value style indexes. FTSE Russell determines membership for its Russell indexes primarily by objective, market-capitalization rankings and style attributes.

"Protection against chemotherapy-induced toxicities represents a significant, largely unaddressed need in the oncology space, and one for which there is now increasing progress and momentum," said Manuel Aivado, M.D., Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer at Aileron. "Precision medicine has truly revolutionized cancer treatment. In line with that transformation, our use of the p53 biomarker gives us the potential to selectively chemoprotect healthy cells in a very large number of patients given that nearly one million cancer patients are annually diagnosed with a p53-mutated cancer in the United States alone. Our inclusion in the Russell Microcap Index will expand our investor base as we work to transform the experience of cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy."

Russell indexes are widely used by investment managers and institutional investors for index funds and as benchmarks for active investment strategies. Approximately $10.6 trillion in assets are benchmarked against Russell’s US indexes. Russell indexes are part of FTSE Russell, a leading global index provider. For more information on the Russell Microcap Index and the Russell indexes reconstitution, go to the "Russell Reconstitution" section on the FTSE Russell website.

On June 24, 2021 AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) and Teneobio, Inc. reported that AbbVie exercised its exclusive right to acquire TeneoOne, an affiliate of Teneobio, Inc., and TNB-383B, a BCMA-targeting immunotherapeutic for the potential treatment of relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (R/R MM) (Press release, AbbVie, JUN 24, 2021, View Source [SID1234584308]). In February 2019, AbbVie and TeneoOne entered a strategic transaction to develop and commercialize TNB-383B, a bispecific antibody that simultaneously targets BCMA and CD3 and is designed to direct the body’s own immune system to target and kill BCMA-expressing tumor cells. AbbVie exercised its exclusive right to acquire TeneoOne and TNB-383B based on an interim analysis of an ongoing Phase 1 study.

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Interim results from the ongoing Phase 1 study demonstrated an objective response rate (ORR) of 79 percent, very good partial response (VGPR) or better of 63 percent, and complete response (CR) of 29 percent at doses ≥40 mg in the dose escalation cohorts with a median follow-up time of 6.1 months (n=24). The median duration of response (DOR) has not been reached.

"Since the beginning of this partnership, we have been encouraged by the potential of TNB-383B as a promising new therapy for multiple myeloma, and our analysis of the Phase 1 data to date has allowed us to make this decision with confidence," said Michael Severino, M.D., vice chairman and president, AbbVie. "While other BCMA and CD3 bispecific therapies require weekly administration, the recommended Phase 2 dose of TNB-383B will investigate infrequent dosing of every 3 weeks for intravenous administration, which is an important treatment factor for people living with multiple myeloma."

In this interim analysis, the most frequent treatment emergent adverse events observed across all grades were cytokine release syndrome (CRS) (52 percent), fatigue (25 percent), and neutropenia (24 percent). At the recommended Phase 2 dose of 60 mg administered intravenously every three weeks (Q3W), the CRS rate was 67 percent (all grades) with a grade ≥3 CRS rate of 3 percent (1/39 subjects). No CRS of grade 4 or higher was observed. Onset of CRS generally occurred on the same or next day following the first dose.

"Our aim in developing TNB-383B and our T-cell redirecting anti-CD3 platform is to maximize the therapeutic window of a class of therapeutic molecules that have been clinically challenged by dose-limiting toxicities," said Roland Buelow, CEO of Teneobio, Inc. "AbbVie recognized the potential of Teneobio’s platform and shared our vision to assess its clinical validation. The clinical data support the unique features of TNB-383B and our T-cell redirecting CD3 platform. We are confident that AbbVie is the right partner to rapidly develop TNB-383B with the ultimate goal to bring this potential new therapy to myeloma patients in need."

This first-in-human, ongoing Phase 1 monotherapy dose escalation and expansion study evaluates the safety, clinical pharmacology, and clinical activity of TNB-383B in patients with R/R MM who have received at least three prior lines of therapy. The study consists of two portions, a monotherapy dose escalation arm and a monotherapy dose expansion arm. At the interim analysis, 103 subjects have been treated with TNB-383B.

The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including clearance by the U.S. antitrust authorities under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act.

On June 24, 2021 Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) reported that its board of directors declared a 39-cent third-quarter 2021 dividend on the company’s common stock, payable September 7, 2021, to holders of the Common Stock of record at the close of business on July 30, 2021 (Press release, Pfizer, JUN 24, 2021, View Source [SID1234584307]). The third-quarter 2021 cash dividend will be the 331st consecutive quarterly dividend paid by Pfizer.

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