Novartis receives FDA Breakthrough Therapy designation for investigational 177Lu-PSMA-617 in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC)

Novartis reported that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Breakthrough Therapy designation (BTD) to 177Lu-PSMA-617, an investigational radioligand therapy for the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) (Press release, Novartis, JUN 16, 2021, View Source [SID1234584059]).Breakthrough Therapy designation is granted to medicines being evaluated for serious conditions where early clinical evidence indicates the potential for substantial improvement over available therapy1.

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Breakthrough therapy designation granted based on positive data from the pivotal, Phase III VISION study evaluating 177Lu-PSMA-617, a targeted radioligand therapy, plus standard of care (SOC), compared to SOC alone, in patients with progressive PSMA-positive mCRPC2
Phase III VISION study demonstrated that 177Lu-PSMA-617 significantly improved overall survival and radiographic progression-free survival for men with progressive PSMA-positive mCRPC2
The five-year survival rate for patients with metastatic prostate cancer is approximately 30%3
Novartis is a global leader in radioligand therapy, uniquely positioned with broad commercial experience, established manufacturing and supply chain capabilities, and extensive development expertise
Two additional studies with 177Lu-PSMA-617 radioligand therapy in earlier lines of treatment for metastatic prostate cancer are ongoing, investigating potential clinical utility in the mCRPC pre-taxane setting (PSMAfore) and in the metastatic hormone-sensitive setting (PSMAddition).

FDA Approves Blueprint Medicines’ AYVAKIT™ (avapritinib) for the Treatment of Adults with Advanced Systemic Mastocytosis

On June 16, 2021 Blueprint Medicines Corporation (NASDAQ: BPMC) reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved AYVAKIT (avapritinib) for the treatment of adult patients with advanced systemic mastocytosis (Advanced SM), including aggressive SM (ASM), SM with an associated hematological neoplasm (SM-AHN) and mast cell leukemia (MCL)(Press release, Blueprint Medicines, JUN 16, 2021, View Source [SID1234584058]). For the first time, advanced SM patients can now receive a targeted therapy designed to potently and selectively inhibit D816V mutant KIT, the central driver of the disease.

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"Today’s approval of AYVAKIT for advanced systemic mastocytosis – the fourth FDA approval across our portfolio in 18 months – culminates nearly a decade of hard work, from our scientists in the laboratory and clinical team conducting trials, to our commercial organization who will now bring AYVAKIT to patients," said Jeff Albers, Chief Executive Officer of Blueprint Medicines. "As shown in two clinical trials, AYVAKIT provides remarkable clinical efficacy to patients with advanced systemic mastocytosis, and this approval solidifies the therapy’s strong value proposition in this population. With a deep commitment to driving continued research innovation in collaboration with the mast cell disease community, we are now building on this progress with the goal of bringing the benefits of precision therapy to a broader range of patients through our ongoing and planned clinical trials for non-advanced systemic mastocytosis."

SM is a rare hematologic disorder caused by the KIT D816V mutation in nearly all cases. Across advanced SM subtypes, the median overall survival is approximately 3.5 years in ASM, approximately two years in SM-AHN and less than six months in MCL.1

"Advanced systemic mastocytosis is a debilitating disease characterized by extensive damage in multiple organ systems due to mast cell infiltration, and new treatment options are urgently needed to address these life-threatening complications," said Daniel DeAngelo, M.D., Ph.D., Chief of the Division of Leukemia at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. "Avapritinib will clearly establish a new standard of care for patients with advanced systemic mastocytosis. The FDA approval was based on data showing robust and durable responses, including complete remissions, and a favorable safety profile. For advanced SM patients, the approval of avapritinib shifts the treatment paradigm toward precision therapy that targets the primary driver of mastocytosis.

The FDA granted full approval to AYVAKIT for adults with advanced SM based on data from the Phase 1 EXPLORER trial and Phase 2 PATHFINDER trial.2 Treatment response was evaluated using modified IWG-MRT-ECNM criteria, with assessments based on at least 12 weeks of response duration, resolution of at least one finding of non-hematologic and hematologic organ damage, and 50 percent or greater reductions in biomarker response, mast cell burden and serum tryptase. The overall response rate (ORR) in the U.S. prescribing information is defined as complete remission with full or partial hematologic recovery (CR/CRh), or partial remission (PR).

AYVAKIT showed durable clinical efficacy in advanced SM patients across disease subtypes and regardless of prior therapy. In 53 evaluable patients who had a median follow-up of 11.6 months, the ORR was 57 percent (95% CI: 42%, 70%), and the proportion of patients with CR/CRh (28 percent), PR (28 percent) and clinical improvement (15 percent) is in line with previously reported results. The median duration of response was 38.3 months (95% CI: 19 months, not estimable). Warnings and precautions include intracranial hemorrhage, cognitive effects and embryo-fetal toxicity. AYVAKIT is not recommended for the treatment of patients with advanced SM with low platelet counts (less than 50,000/µL), which is consistent with current patient eligibility criteria in the EXPLORER and PATHFINDER trials. The most common adverse reactions were edema, diarrhea, nausea and fatigue/asthenia.

"People with advanced systemic mastocytosis face a scary, uncertain future due to life-threatening complications of the disease, as well as debilitating symptoms that often profoundly alter their ability to perform daily activities, and the FDA approval of a new therapy, AYVAKIT, brings much needed hope to these patients," said Valerie Slee, Board Chair of The Mast Cell Disease Society.

"This milestone is also the culmination of many years of work across the systemic mastocytosis community, and we’re proud of the contributions The Mast Cell Disease Society has made to improve the understanding of this disease, pioneer new approaches to measuring the impact of therapeutic interventions, and support the development of important medicines like AYVAKIT," said Lauren Denton, Executive Director of The Mast Cell Disease Society. "We look forward to continuing our collaboration with Blueprint Medicines, scientific and clinical experts, and other stakeholders across our community to improve diagnosis, treatment and care for all patients living with systemic mastocytosis."

Blueprint Medicines is committed to advancing precision therapies for the benefit of SM patients. The company is developing AYVAKIT for the treatment of non-advanced SM patients, and BLU-263, a next-generation KIT D816V inhibitor, to further address the range of medical needs in this patient population.

For advanced SM patients receiving AYVAKIT, Blueprint Medicines provides access and affordability programs through YourBlueprint. For more information, visit YourBlueprint.com or call 1-888-BLUPRNT (1-888-258-7768), Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET. Healthcare providers who prescribe AYVAKIT can fill out an enrollment form at YourBlueprint.com/HCP to help patients access Blueprint Medicines’ support programs.

The recommended dose of AYVAKIT in advanced SM is 200 mg once daily. AYVAKIT is available in 200 mg, 100 mg, 50 mg and 25 mg dose strengths for advanced SM patients.

Conference Call Information

Blueprint Medicines will host a live webcast beginning at 4:30 p.m. ET today to discuss the FDA approval of AYVAKIT in advanced SM. To access the live call, please dial (833) 921-1639 (domestic) or (236) 389-2650 (international) and refer to conference ID 4328214. A webcast of the conference call will be available under "Events and Presentations" in the Investors & Media section of Blueprint Medicines’ website at View Source The archived webcast will be available on Blueprint Medicines’ website approximately two hours after the conference call and will be available for 90 days following the call.

About AYVAKIT (avapritinib)

AYVAKIT (avapritinib) is a kinase inhibitor approved by the FDA for the treatment of two indications: adults with Advanced SM, including ASM, SM-AHN and MCL, and adults with unresectable or metastatic gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) harboring a PDGFRA exon 18 mutation, including PDGFRA D842V mutations. For more information, visit AYVAKIT.com. This medicine is approved in Europe (AYVAKYT) for the treatment of adults with unresectable or metastatic GIST harboring the PDGFRA D842V mutation, and in Mainland China (AYVAKIT) for the treatment of adults with unresectable or metastatic PDGFRA exon 18 mutant GIST.

AYVAKIT/AYVAKYT is not approved for the treatment of any other indication in the U.S., Europe or Greater China, or for any indication in any other jurisdiction by any other health authority.

Blueprint Medicines is developing AYVAKIT globally for the treatment of advanced and non-advanced SM. The FDA granted breakthrough therapy designation to AYVAKIT for the treatment of advanced SM, including the subtypes of ASM, SM-AHN and MCL, and for the treatment of moderate to severe indolent SM.

To learn about ongoing or planned clinical trials, contact Blueprint Medicines at [email protected] or 1-888-BLU-PRNT (1-888-258-7768). Additional information is available at pioneertrial.com or clinicaltrials.gov.

Blueprint Medicines has an exclusive collaboration and license agreement with CStone Pharmaceuticals for the development and commercialization of AYVAKIT in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. Blueprint Medicines retains development and commercial rights for AYVAKIT in the rest of the world.

About SM

SM is a rare disease driven by the KIT D816V mutation. Uncontrolled proliferation and activation of mast cells result in chronic, severe and often unpredictable symptoms for patients across the spectrum of SM. The vast majority of those affected have non-advanced (indolent or smoldering) SM, with debilitating symptoms that lead to a profound, negative impact on quality of life. A minority of patients have advanced SM, which encompasses a group of high-risk SM subtypes including ASM, SM-AHN and MCL. In addition to mast cell activation symptoms, advanced SM is associated with organ damage due to mast cell infiltration and poor survival.

Debilitating symptoms, including anaphylaxis, maculopapular rash, pruritis, diarrhea, brain fog, fatigue and bone pain, often persist across all forms of SM despite treatment with a number of symptomatic therapies. Patients often live in fear of severe, unexpected symptoms, have limited ability to work or perform daily activities, and isolate themselves to protect against unpredictable triggers. Historically, there had been no approved therapies for the treatment of SM that selectively inhibit D816V mutant KIT.

Important Safety Information

Serious intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) may occur with AYVAKIT treatment; fatal events occurred in <1% of patients. Overall, ICH (eg, subdural hematoma, ICH, and cerebral hemorrhage) occurred in 2.9% of 749 patients who received AYVAKIT. In Advanced SM patients who received AYVAKIT at 200 mg daily, ICH occurred in 2 of 75 patients (2.7%) who had platelet counts ≥50 x 109/L prior to initiation of therapy and in 3 of 80 patients (3.8%) regardless of platelet counts. Monitor patients closely for risk of ICH including those with thrombocytopenia, vascular aneurysm or a history of ICH or cerebrovascular accident within the prior year. Permanently discontinue AYVAKIT if ICH of any grade occurs. A platelet count must be performed prior to initiating therapy. AYVAKIT is not recommended in Advanced SM patients with platelet counts <50 x 109/L. Following treatment initiation, platelet counts must be performed every 2 weeks for the first 8 weeks. After 8 weeks of treatment, monitor platelet counts every 2 weeks or as clinically indicated based on platelet counts. Manage platelet counts of <50 x 109/L by treatment interruption or dose reduction.

Cognitive adverse reactions can occur in patients receiving AYVAKIT. Cognitive adverse reactions occurred in 39% of 749 patients and in 28% of 148 SM patients (3% were Grade >3). Memory impairment occurred in 16% of patients; all events were Grade 1 or 2. Cognitive disorder occurred in 10% of patients; <1% of these events were Grade 3. Confusional state occurred in 6% of patients; <1% of these events were Grade 3. Other events occurred in <2% of patients. Depending on the severity, withhold AYVAKIT and then resume at same dose or at a reduced dose upon improvement, or permanently discontinue.

AYVAKIT can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman. Advise pregnant women of the potential risk to a fetus. Advise females and males of reproductive potential to use an effective method of contraception during treatment with AYVAKIT and for 6 weeks after the final dose of AYVAKIT. Advise women not to breastfeed during treatment with AYVAKIT and for 2 weeks after the final dose.

The most common adverse reactions (≥20%) at all doses were edema, diarrhea, nausea, and fatigue/asthenia.

Avoid coadministration of AYVAKIT with strong and moderate CYP3A inhibitors. If coadministration with a moderate CYP3A inhibitor cannot be avoided, reduce dose of AYVAKIT. Avoid coadministration of AYVAKIT with strong and moderate CYP3A inducers.

To report suspected adverse reactions, contact Blueprint Medicines Corporation at 1-888-258-7768 or FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch.

Please click here to see the full Prescribing Information for AYVAKIT.

Betting Early on an AI Niche, RA Capital Seeds a Young Founder’s Quest to Unlock ‘Holy Grail’ Targets

On June 16, 2021 New Equilibrium Biosciences reported Endpoints News that intelligence, with its grandiose claims and sweeping promises to revolutionize drug discovery, may seem omnipresent in biopharma now (Press release, New Equilibrium Biosciences, JUN 16, 2021, View Source [SID1234584057]). But Virginia Burger and RA Capital believe there are niches it has yet to touch.

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After taking up residency at the star-studded Boston accelerator Petri, Burger’s startup — named New Equilibrium Biosciences — has scored $10 million in seed cash from the VC firm to prove that by reaching into those corners, they could uncover drugs against "Holy Grail" targets in everything from cancer to neurodegenerative diseases.

Specifically, the biotech is interested in a class of proteins called intrinsically disordered proteins that doesn’t have a single folded structure. MYC, for instance, is a cancer-causing IDP.

"They break this paradigm of sequence to structure to function because it’s really sequence to multiple of different conformations which have many different functions," she told Endpoints News.

They can also range from fully unstructured to partially structured ones containing a disordered region, something condensate players like Dewpoint are focused on.

Cracking this special class, RA Capital principal Nathaniel Brooks Horwitz said, required a new breed of company that integrates AI in physics modeeling for drug discovery, beyond what the pioneers — he counts Schrödinger, Relay, Silicon Atomwise, Recursion and Exscientia among others — are doing.

"What we’re really excited about is when a company like New Equilibrium can enable a target about which we can say the following — ‘If only we could develop a drug for this target’ — we’re confident it will be successful," he said.

As a PhD in Pittsburgh and later postdoc at MIT, Burger would read papers highlighting their importance as drug targets. But they were so hard to target that until midway through her postdoc, scientists weren’t even sure if ligands could bind to them — they wiggle around too quickly to be even seen in experiments. Even when they did find molecules that bound weakly to the proteins, there was no real way to optimize them into drug candidates.

Immersed in the entrepreneurial environment at MIT, it seemed natural to build a startup around the computational methods she had been developing to identify the set of conformations the proteins would switch between. First, though, she took a job at XtalPi, the US-China AI biotech startup backed by Tencent and later SoftBank and Morningside.

It was during that two-year stint that she met Peter Tompa, a professor at Flanders Institute for Biotechnology who’s devoted his career to studying IDP structure and function. He was interested in starting a company together.

Two weeks later, she was out.

The first thing she did after receiving funding from Petri — an accelerator set up to tailor to the needs of young founders — was to buy quantum chemical software and start generating their own training data for a new kind of physics model.

Existing computational models, Burger said, were built on what’s already known about folded structures, which renders them the wrong fit for intrinsically disordered proteins. By using AI to learn quantum chemistry — the energies and forces on each atom that give rise to a shape at any given moment — New Equilibrium’s algorithms can "see," in silico, thousands or even millions of possible structures over time.

"We’re redoing how simulations have been done in the past by rebuilding the underlying simulation architecture to use AI for each step instead of introducing a single — the standard calculation for each step," she said.

The next step is to zero in on the structures that are more stable or appear more frequently, screen ligands against them in a wet lab, and then fuse the fragments binding to different structures in the same molecule. Burger can’t yet reveal how many fragments they’d need for each drug made this way, but noted that the seed funding will get them closer to preclinical candidates.

For RA Capital, the deal marks another move in their shift toward earlier stages of venture financing.

Quantum computing, Horwitz noted, is looming on the horizon with hardware starting to take shape. And the technology will ultimately make it possible to "fully model the true biophysical state of even the most complex molecular interactions."

"Which will be the companies that are the first to use quantum computing and all the power that brings to rationally design medicines for meaningful targets?" he said. "I think New Equilibrium can be that company."

BeyondSpring Announces First Quarter 2021 Financial Results and Provides a Corporate Update

On June 16, 2021 BeyondSpring Inc. (the "Company" or "BeyondSpring") (NASDAQ: BYSI), a global biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of innovative cancer therapies, reported its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021 and provided an update on recent corporate events(Press release, BeyondSpring Pharmaceuticals, JUN 16, 2021, View Source [SID1234584056]).

"This quarter was marked by meaningful progress on the road toward building our lead first-in-class asset, plinabulin, as a pipeline in a drug, from treating chemotherapy side effects to treating cancer directly," said Dr. Lan Huang, co-founder, chairwoman and chief executive officer of BeyondSpring. "We are grateful that our NDA for chemotherapy-induced neutropenia (CIN) prevention was filed by the U.S. FDA with priority review. Our plinabulin and G-CSF combination has the potential to elevate the standard of care in CIN for the first time in 30 years. In addition, in the coming months, we plan to announce topline anti-cancer overall survival data from the Phase 3 DUBLIN-3 trial in NSCLC. We are building clinical evidence to demonstrate that plinabulin is a potent antigen presenting cell (APC) inducer with potential to be a ‘game changer’ in cancer treatment for severely unmet medical needs."

Recent Corporate Highlights

Lead Asset Plinabulin, a "Pipeline in a Drug"

Clinical Update

June 2021: Announced Food and Drug Administration (FDA) filing of New Drug Application with Priority Review for plinabulin and G-CSF combination for the prevention of CIN. The FDA set a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) target action date for November 30, 2021.

June 2021: Presented three poster presentations at the 2021 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) highlighting the Company’s PROTECTIVE-2 Phase 3 data demonstrating combination plinabulin + pegfilgrastim offers superior benefit in reducing the incidence and severity of febrile neutropenia (FN) and hospitalization, with better quality-of-life (QoL), compared to pegfilgrastim alone.


June 2021: Announced late-breaking poster presentation at the Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies (FOCIS) Annual Meeting highlighting data from Phase 3 PROTECTIVE-2 CIN Study showing plinabulin in combination with pegfilgrastim improves CIN prevention and reverses key aspects of the immune suppressive profile of monotherapy pegfilgrastim.


June 2021: Presented data at ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) 2021 of plinabulin in combination with nivolumab and ipilimumab, showing a 46% objective response rate (ORR) in 13 evaluable patients with PD-1/PD-L1 naïve or resistant tumors in 2nd line and beyond in small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Additionally, data demonstrated the plinabulin combination was able to re-sensitize tumors to I/O therapy, that had progressed on prior PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors, with a 43% ORR.

June 2021: Dosed first patient in a triple combination study with plinabulin, PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor and radiotherapy at MD Anderson for the reversal of resistance to PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors in patients with seven advanced solid tumors.

Upcoming Clinical Milestones

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Mid-2021 (DUBLIN-3): Topline overall survival (OS) data expected in pivotal Phase 3 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) study.


2022: (Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium, Investigator Initiated study): Phase 2 Data expected in plinabulin + nivolumab + ipilimumab in checkpoint inhibitor-resistant SCLC.

2022: (MD Anderson investigator led study): Phase 1 Data expected in plinabulin + PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors + radiation in PD-1/PD-L1-failed patients in seven cancers, including bladder cancer, melanoma, Merkel cell cancer, MSI-H Cancers (of any histology), NSCLC, renal cell cancer, and SCLC.

First Quarter 2021 Financial Results

Research and development ("R&D") expenses were $11.3 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, compared to $13.7 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2020. The decrease of $2.4 million was primarily due to a decrease in clinical trial expenses and non-cash stock-based compensation expense, partially offset by an increase in manufacturing costs and the cost of the plinabulin regulatory filings.

General and administrative ("G&A") expenses were $6.4 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, compared to $2.9 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2020. The $3.5 million increase was primarily due to higher personnel costs, non-cash stock-based compensation expense, as well as costs associated with plinabulin pre-commercialization activities.

Net loss attributable to the Company was $17.0 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, compared to $16.1 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2020.

As of March 31, 2021, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $90.6 million on hand. The Company believes it has sufficient cash to support its ongoing clinical programs over the next year, including its immuno-oncology pipeline, and to prepare for a potential launch of plinabulin in CIN in early 2022.

First Quarter 2021 Results Conference Call and Webcast Details
The management of BeyondSpring will host a conference call and webcast for the investment community today, June 16, 2021, at 8:30 am ET. The conference call can be accessed by dialing 855-327-6837 (U.S. and Canada) or +1-631-891-4304 (International). The passcode for the conference call is 10014535 To access the live webcast or subsequent archived recording, click here or visit the "investors" section of the BeyondSpring website at www.beyondspringpharma.com. The webcast will be recorded and available for replay on the company’s website for 90 days.

Molecular Partners Announces Pricing of Initial Public Offering of American Depositary Shares in the United States

Molecular Partners AG, a clinical-stage biotech company developing a new class of custom-built protein drugs known as DARPin therapeutics, reported the pricing of its initial public offering in the United States of 3,000,000 American Depositary Shares ("ADSs") at a public offering price of $21.25 per ADS, for total gross proceeds of approximately $63.8 million (Press release, Molecular Partners, JUN 16, 2021, View Source [SID1234584054]). All ADSs sold in the offering were offered by Molecular Partners. Each ADS will represent one Molecular Partners ordinary share. The new ordinary shares underlying the ADSs will be issued from Molecular Partners’ authorized capital under exclusion of the existing shareholders’ pre-emptive rights. In addition, Molecular Partners has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 450,000 ADSs at the initial public offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions.

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Trading of the ADSs is expected to commence on The Nasdaq Global Select Market on Wednesday, June 16, 2021 under the ticker symbol "MOLN." SIX Swiss Exchange ("SIX") approved the listing of the new ordinary shares underlying the ADSs as of June 17, 2021.

On June 16, 2021, trading of the existing shares of Molecular Partners on SIX will be halted. If trading of the ADS on the Nasdaq will commence at 4 p.m. CEST on June 16, 2021 or any time before, trading of the shares of Molecular Partners on SIX will reopen on the same day. If trading on the Nasdaq starts later, trading of the shares in Molecular Partners on SIX will reopen on June 17, 2021 only.

The offering is expected to close on or about June 18, 2021, subject to customary closing conditions.

J.P. Morgan, SVB Leerink and Cowen are acting as joint book-running managers for the proposed offering. RBC Capital Markets is acting as the bookrunner for the proposed offering. Kempen & Co is acting as the lead manager for the proposed offering.

A registration statement on Form F-1 relating to these securities became effective on June 15, 2021. The securities referred to in this release are to be offered only by means of a prospectus. Copies of the final prospectus relating to the offering may be obtained, when available, for free by visiting EDGAR on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, a written copy may be obtained for free from J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, New York 11717, telephone: 1-866-803-9204; SVB Leerink LLC, Attention: Syndicate Department, One Federal Street, 37th Floor, Boston, MA 02110, by telephone at 1-800-808-7525, ext. 6105, or by e-mailing [email protected]; Cowen and Company, LLC (c/o Broadridge Financial Services), 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY, 11717, Attn: Prospectus Department, by telephone at (833) 297-2926 or by email at [email protected]. The securities may not be sold, nor may offers to buy be accepted, prior to the time the registration statement becomes effective. In connection with the listing of the ordinary shares on the SIX, the registration statement on Form F-1 constitutes a foreign prospectus within the meaning of article 54 paras. 2 and 3 of the Swiss Financial Services Act of June 15, 2018 ("FinSA") and article 70 paras. 2-4 of the Swiss Financial Services Ordinance of November 6, 2019 ("FinSO"). The registration statement on Form F-1, including the preliminary prospectus, as well as the final prospectus, once available, will be deposited with the Prospectus Office of SIX Exchange Regulation. Further, the inclusion of the foreign prospectus in the prospectus list published by the Prospectus Office of SIX Exchange Regulation will be requested.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction. There is no intention or permission to publicly offer, solicit, sell or advertise, directly or indirectly, any securities of Molecular Partners in or into Switzerland within the meaning of FinSA.