On September 13, 2021 Cytovia Therapeutics, Inc. ("Cytovia"), a biopharmaceutical company developing allogeneic "off-the-shelf" gene-edited iNK and CAR (Chimeric Antigen Receptor)-iNK cells derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and NK cell engager multifunctional antibodies, and CytoLynx Therapeutics ("CytoLynx), its newly-formed China-focused joint venture, reported that they have closed $45 million from institutional investors to finance the IND enabling and initial clinical development of their pipeline (Press release, Cytovia Therapeutics, SEP 13, 2021, View Source [SID1234587918]).

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Cytovia and TF Capital, a leading China-based biotech institutional investor, have formed CytoLynx Therapeutics. TF Capital along with YF Capital, BioTrack Capital, Ruihua Capital, and TG Sino-Dragon Fund (backed by TigerMed) have invested $45 million to support the new venture, as well as Cytovia research and development projects. The collaboration agreements between CytoLynx and Cytovia will advance multiple NK therapeutics through product development in the Greater China region. Additionally, CytoLynx obtained a technology license from Cytovia based on its core technologies to allow in-China development of additional NK therapeutics for global commercialization. Cytovia is eligible to receive up to $400 million in upfront development and commercial milestones under the agreement.

Dr. Daniel Teper, Chairman and CEO of Cytovia commented: "We are excited to accelerate the global development of our lead GPC3 programs for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma, a condition with significant unmet medical needs and a very large patient population in Asia, particularly in China, and establish a path to provide these therapies to the Chinese market. CytoLynx will also serve as a development and commercialization platform for additional Cytovia products, as well as in-licensed immuno-oncology assets."

Dr. Wei Cheng, Managing Director at TF Capital added: "We are delighted to partner with Cytovia Therapeutics to bring novel therapeutic options to patients in China. Cytovia has a seasoned entrepreneurial leadership team and best-in-class NK technologies, including iPSC-derived NK cells, gene editing, and NK Engager multifunctional antibodies. We believe that by combining the strengths of the two parties, we can make CytoLynx and Cytovia global leaders in NK cancer therapeutics and benefit patients worldwide."

Dr. Albert Huang, Executive Director at Yunfeng Capital noted: "As the lead investor in this series of financing, Yunfeng Capital believes that Cytovia and CytoLynx are well positioned to become leading players in iPSC NK cell therapy."

On September 13, 2021 IBM Research and Arctoris reported are investigating the application of AI and automation to accelerate closed loop molecule discovery (Press release, Arctoris, SEP 13, 2021, View Source;utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=ibm-research-and-arctoris-accelerate-closed-loop-drug-discovery-with-ai-and-cloud [SID1234587869]). IBM Research has developed RXN for Chemistry, an online platform leveraging state-of-the-art Natural Language Processing (NLP) architectures to automate synthetic chemistry. Representing chemical reactions via SMILES (Simplified Molecular Input Line Entry System), the system is able to perform highly accurate reaction predictions using its powerful AI. Optimised synthetic routes are then used as input for RoboRXN, an automated platform for molecule synthesis.

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Arctoris has developed Ulysses, an end-to-end automated platform for drug discovery research. The platform ensures accuracy, precision, and reproducibility by leveraging robotic experiment execution and digital data capture technologies across cell and molecular biology and biochemistry/biophysics. Experiments conducted with Ulysses generate more than 100 times more datapoints per assay compared to industry standard, leading to deeper insights and accelerated progress compared to manual methods.

The two platforms are now being combined for the first time in a research collaboration that will see new small molecule inhibitors for undisclosed targets being designed, made, tested, and analysed (DMTA) in an autonomous, closed loop approach. Concretely, IBM Research will design and synthesize novel chemical matter (Design, Make), to be profiled and evaluated by Arctoris (Test, Analyze), with the resulting data informing the subsequent iteration of the DMTA cycle.

Thomas A. Fleming, Arctoris Co-Founder & COO, explained "The future of drug discovery is computational, with AI and robotics paving the way for better treatments to reach patients sooner. We are excited about partnering with IBM Research on a world-first closed loop drug discovery project bringing together two leaders in the field of AI and robotics-powered drug discovery. This collaboration will showcase how the combination of our unique technology platforms will lead to accelerated research based on better data enabling better decisions."

"This collaboration is a great example of the enablement that AI, Cloud and Automation can have in the space of material design. The integration between the two complementary technologies reveals how it is more and more important in R&D to turn great research into great viable products." said Dr Teodoro Laino, Distinguished Scientist at IBM Research Europe – Zurich.

Dr Matteo Manica, Research Scientist at IBM Research Europe – Zurich, coordinating the project, stated that: "This is a unique opportunity to quantify the impact of AI and automation technologies in accelerating scientific discovery. In our collaboration, we demonstrate a pipeline to perform iterative design cycles where generative models suggest candidates that are synthesized with RoboRXN and screened with Ulysses. The data produced by Ulysses will then be used to establish a feedback loop to retrain the generative AI and improve the proposed leads in a completely data-driven fashion."

The collaboration is currently on-going; financial terms were not disclosed.

On September 13, 2021 Immunocore Holdings Plc (Nasdaq: IMCR), a late-stage biotechnology company pioneering the development of a novel class of T cell receptor (TCR) bispecific immunotherapies designed to treat a broad range of diseases, including cancer, infectious and autoimmune disease, reported that new data and analysis from the Company’s lead program, tebentafusp, and its proprietary soluble TCR bispecific ImmTAC platform will be presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) (Free ESMO Whitepaper) Congress, which will be held virtually from September 16-21, 2021 (Press release, Immunocore, SEP 13, 2021, View Source [SID1234587701]).

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ORAL PRESENTATION
Title: Early reduction in ctDNA, regardless of best RECIST response, is associated with overall survival (OS) on tebentafusp in previously treated metastatic uveal melanoma (mUM) patients

Abstract ID: 17570
Presenter: Alexander Shoushtari
Abstract & full data set available: Friday, 17 September 2021, 18:00 CEST

POSTER PRESENTATIONS
Title: Similar overall survival in tebentafusp-treated 2L+ metastatic uveal melanoma regardless of prior immunotherapy

Abstract ID: 1013P
Presenter: Joseph M. Piulats
Title: Demonstration of T cell redirection and immune activation in skin rash following tebentafusp treatment

Abstract ID: 1772P
Presenter: Ramon Stäger
Title: Characterization of cytokine release syndrome (CRS) following treatment with tebentafusp in previously untreated patients with metastatic uveal melanoma

Abstract ID: 1014P
Presenter: April Salama
Title: Characterization of liver function tests following tebentafusp in phase 3 randomized trial comparing tebentafusp with investigator’s choice in first line metastatic uveal melanoma (mUM)

Abstract ID: 1018P
Presenter: Bartosz Chmielowski
Title: Genomic correlates of clinical outcomes in patients with metastatic uveal melanoma (mUM) treated with tebentafusp (tebe)

Abstract ID: 1770P
Presenter: Luis de la Cruz Merino
Title: ImmTAC redirect exhausted tumor infiltrating T cells, an effect enhanced by pembrolizumab against PD-L1+ tumors

Poster #: 1016P
Presenter: Kristina Petrovic
Title: PRAME expression and ImmTAC TCR bispecific sensitivity in acute myeloid leukaemia in the presence and absence of the hypomethylating agent decitabine

Abstract ID: 853P
Presenter: Camille Britton-Rivet
The abstracts referenced above our available on the ESMO (Free ESMO Whitepaper) website.

On September 13, 2021 South Australian Scientist of the Year, UniSA Professor Sharad Kumar, reported that i has been awarded $2.9 million to help improve the lives of approximately six million Australians (Press release, University of South Australia, SEP 13, 2021, View Source [SID1234587677]).

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That’s the number of people collectively diagnosed with heart disease, cancer, and chronic kidney disease each year, 100,000 of whom will lose their health battle by year’s end.

Prof Kumar AO will use the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Federal Government funding to lead a five-year project to help prevent and develop new treatments for these diseases and others.

His team at UniSA and SA Pathology’s Centre for Cancer Biology has made significant progress in recent years to understand the role that specific cells play in serious health conditions, and this grant will continue that work.

The project will focus on the biochemical processes of a protein called ubiquitin to regulate the body and why it breaks down sometimes, leading to a range of diseases.

Prof Kumar’s project is one of 254 NHMRC Investigator Grants announced today, totalling $400 million, to support hundreds of research leaders and teams around the country.

On September 13, 2021 ITM AG, a leading radiopharmaceutical biotech company, reported that it has signed a strategic long-term agreement to create a Joint Venture with Chengdu Gaotong Isotope Co. Ltd., the leading provider of radiopharmaceuticals and nuclear services in China and a subsidiary of ITM’s collaboration partner China Isotope and Radiation Corporation (CIRC) (Press release, ITM Isotopen Technologien Munchen, SEP 13, 2021, View Source [SID1234587673]). The newly formed company is planned to start operations in Q4 2021 and will be located in Chengdu, China. It will focus its operations on the supply of ITM’s EndolucinBeta (n.c.a. 177Lu) and Gallium Generators to the rapidly emerging Chinese radiopharmaceutical industry. ITM hereby also increases its footprint in China with a second in country location after having established its first subsidiary in Shanghai earlier this year. The Joint Venture will be led by both companies with the goal of scaling and securing access to ITM’s state-of-the-art medical radioisotopes in China.

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"China is an important market for us and this Joint Venture represents our commitment to the region as well as our global efforts to bring a new generation of targeted radiopharmaceuticals to patients with hard-to-treat cancers worldwide," said Steffen Schuster, CEO of ITM. "We are committed to further expanding our successful, long-term partnership with CIRC and are looking forward to increasing our global footprint in China. Next to our own clinical development of targeted radiotherapeutics and diagnostics through our Chinese subsidiary, the new Joint Venture with Gaotong will also help facilitate market access and build new partnerships for our therapeutic radioisotope EndolucinBeta and our Gallium generators for precision oncology treatments with the growing Chinese radiopharmaceutical industry as a whole."

"The demand for innovative, precise and high-quality treatment options for cancer patients in China continues to increase. Together with ITM, we are working toward addressing this need," said Mr. Wang Suohui, the General Manager of CIRC. "We established a collaboration with ITM over ten years ago and strengthened our partnership in 2019 to locally manufacture and distribute ITM’s EndolucinBeta and Gallium Generators. We are excited to establish this Joint Venture as the next step in our common development and look forward to working with ITM in providing increasing quantities of high-quality medical radioisotopes to Chinese hospitals and industry and to further improving access for precise cancer radiotherapeutics and diagnostics for patients."

The Joint Venture follows the existing strategic partnership between ITM and CIRC which was initially formed in 2010 and further extended in November 2019. As part of the newly-formed Joint Venture, ITM and CIRC will also work on securing and scaling the supply of diagnostic and therapeutic radioisotopes as a robust basis for the clinical development and commercialization of targeted radiotherapeutics and diagnostics in China both independently and together with local pharmaceutical partners. Further details of the agreement were not disclosed.