On January 7, 2021 Scorpion Therapeutics, Inc., a next-generation precision oncology company, reported the closing of an oversubscribed Series B financing, which raised $162 million (Press release, Scorpion Therapeutics, JAN 7, 2021, View Source [SID1234573602]). The financing was led by Boxer Capital of Tavistock Group, EcoR1 Capital, LLC, Omega Funds and Vida Ventures, with participation from new investors Surveyor Capital (a Citadel company), Invus, Wellington Management Company, Nextech Invest, OrbiMed, Casdin Capital, LLC, Woodline Partners LP, Logos Capital, Janus Henderson Investors and other undisclosed institutional investors, as well as existing investors Atlas Venture and Abingworth. With this financing, Scorpion has raised approximately $270 million since the company was founded in the first quarter of 2020.

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"We are grateful to our new and existing investors for their commitment to our bold vision of advancing precision medicine as an option for many more people diagnosed with cancer," said Gary D. Glick, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Scorpion Therapeutics. "This financing will enable us to increase our investment in our platform technologies and programs, as we execute with equal parts urgency and rigor to transform the standard-of-care in cancer. We aim to advance new therapies that provide deeper and more durable responses, are less toxic to healthy tissues and have the potential to overcome key mechanisms of resistance. We look forward to naming our first development candidate in 2021, initiating clinical trials in 2022 and, ultimately, to delivering a pipeline of next-generation targeted cancer therapies to patients who need them."

Proceeds from the financing will be used to support the continued development of Scorpion’s drug hunting engine, which integrates state-of-the-art capabilities across multiple fields of translational medicine, chemical biology, medicinal chemistry, and data science, as well as the advancement of Scorpion’s growing portfolio, which includes several therapeutic candidates across a range of biological approaches for tumor targeting. Scorpion Therapeutics is building its pipeline in three distinct tracks: the first is focused on designing best- or first-in-class therapeutic candidates against known, high-impact oncogenes that leverage optimal therapeutic design to more exquisitely target tumor tissue across all metastatic sites; the second track moves beyond oncogenes and is aimed at developing therapeutic candidates against a set of non-enzymatic targets that have historically been classified as "undruggable;" and the third is focused on a new wave of protein targets, discovered by Scorpion Therapeutics, which have the potential to transform cancer treatment paradigms for large patient populations.

"In less than a year since its founding, Scorpion Therapeutics has grown with remarkable speed and efficiency, articulating a clear strategy for transforming standards of care in oncology, attracting an experienced and accomplished team of scientists and biotech executives and building a robust research-stage portfolio," said Otello Stampacchia, Founder and Managing Director, Omega Funds.

"Scorpion’s novel therapeutic approach represents an important advance with the potential to shift the treatment paradigm for some of the most elusive cancers and make a meaningful impact for patients. With this financing, the company is well-positioned to accelerate its platform technologies and programs into the next stage of development," said Arjun Goyal, M.D., MPhil, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Vida Ventures.

"We believe Scorpion Therapeutics’ multidimensional platform and thoughtful, data-driven approach to clinical development will enable the company to move rapidly and efficiently to deliver Precision Oncology 2.0 and we are proud to support the team in their efforts," added Oleg Nodelman, Founder and Portfolio Manager of EcoR1 Capital LLC.

"Scorpion is at a pivotal stage of its development, as it prepares to name its first development candidate and advance into clinical trials. We look forward to partnering with the management team to build out a robust pipeline, with the goal of addressing current limitations of precision oncology and transforming cancer care for patients," commented Aaron Davis, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Boxer Capital.

Presentation at the 39th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference

Gary Glick, Ph.D., Scorpion’s President and Chief Executive Officer, will provide an overview of the company at the 39th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference on Wednesday, January 13 at 10:25 a.m. ET.

The live webcast can be accessed under "News" on the Scorpion website at www.scorpiontx.com. Please connect to the company’s website at least 15 minutes prior to the start of the presentation to ensure adequate time for any software download that may be required to listen to the webcast. The replay will be available for 30 days following the presentation.

On January 7, 2021 ImaginAb Inc., a leading global provider of immuno-oncology imaging agents, reported it has signed a new multi-year, non-exclusive license with Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) to supply 89Zr CD8 Immuno-PET agent, which can be used to image CD8 T cells in cancer patients (Press release, ImaginAb, JAN 7, 2021, View Source;utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=imaginab-announces-license-and-supply-agreement-with-pfizer-for-cd8-immunopet-technology [SID1234573559]).

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Quantitative imaging of CD8 T cells enables quicker identification of drug efficacy, therefore potentially reducing the length of clinical trials, reducing costs and helping new therapies to advance to market faster, which ultimately will improve treatment and care of cancer patients.

Under the terms of the agreement, ImaginAb will supply clinical doses of 89Zr CD8 Immuno-PET agent to Pfizer for use in select oncology clinical trials. In addition, ImaginAb will provide technical, clinical, and regulatory support to Pfizer. ImaginAb will receive license fees and payments for manufacturing and other support. No other terms were disclosed.

This agreement expands upon the relationship between the companies following the pre-competitive alliance between ImaginAb, Pfizer and other global pharmaceutical companies which focused on the development of 89Zr CD8 ImmunoPET technology. The alliance, announced on October 14, 2019, has assisted in advancing the 89Zr CD8 Immuno-PET technology.

Commenting on the announcement, Ian Wilson, Chief Executive Officer of ImaginAb said: "Pfizer continues to be a great partner and supporter of our efforts to develop this innovative PET imaging technology, and we are delighted to expand our relationship further.

Wilson continued "Imaginab is actively investing in the clinical and global supply chain development of 89Zr CD8 Immuno-PET agent to provide simple turnkey access to this novel technology. Our goal is to enable the widespread use and adoption of 89Zr CD8 Immuno-PET technology, which will help our partners to predict therapeutic efficacy and treatment outcomes in cancer patients more precisely and earlier in a clinical trial. Working with leading pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer, will help us achieve our goal."

"CD8 T cells play such a pivotal role in immunotherapy of many cancers and our 89Zr CD8 Immuno-PET is one of the most widely used imaging technology used by pharmaceutical and biotech companies to track CD8 T cells in patients."

On January 7, 2021 Axial Therapeutics Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to building a unique class of gut-restricted therapeutics for central nervous system (CNS) disorders and conditions, reported that management will participate in a fireside chat at the virtual H.C. Wainwright BioConnect Conference 2021 (Press release, Axial Biotherapeutics, JAN 7, 2021, https://axialtx.com/2021/01/axial-therapeutics-to-present-at-the-inaugural-virtual-h-c-wainwright-bioconnect-conference/ [SID1234573558]). The session will become available for on-demand viewing at 6:00 a.m. ET on Monday, Jan. 11, 2021.

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On January 6, 2021 Galapagos NV (Euronext & NASDAQ: GLPG) reported that it will participate in the 39th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference on January 11-14, 2021 (Press release, Galapagos, JAN 6, 2021, View Source [SID1234577410]).

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Onno van de Stolpe, CEO, will present on Thursday, January 14 at 15.10 CET (09:10 am EST). The presentation will be a live audio webcast and can be accessed via the following link. A replay of the webcast will be available on the Galapagos’ website at www.glpg.com.

On January 6, 2021 Myeloid Therapeutics, Inc., a company harnessing and reprogramming myeloid cells for treating cancers, reported with over $50 million in financing to initiate multiple clinical trials in 2021 (Press release, Myeloid Therapeutics, JAN 6, 2021, View Source [SID1234575243]). The Company combines advanced gene and cell engineering capabilities with substantial biologics knowledge to elucidate and redirect the power of myeloid cells to treat cancers, particularly solid tumors and those that are poorly served by existing therapies. Myeloid has advanced its lead development candidates through preclinical studies, implemented its manufacturing platform and plans to dose patients in the first half of this year.

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The Company’s scientific founders include Ronald Vale, Ph.D., a world-renowned biochemist and cell biologist, and executive director of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Janelia Research campus; and hematologist, oncologist and Pulitzer-Prize winning author Siddhartha Mukherjee, M.D., D.Phil. Newpath Partners led the financing round with participation from 8VC, Hatteras Venture Partners and Alexandria Venture Investments.

With this funding, Myeloid will initiate clinical trials for the Company’s programs, which target T cell lymphoma, glioblastoma and other solid tumors. The team will also continue to design and advance a broad pipeline of targeted myeloid cell therapies, including primed myeloid cells, myeloid multi-specific engagers and other development candidates created with Myeloid’s novel mRNA delivery technologies. The Company expects to enter the clinic with its two lead programs in glioblastoma and T cell lymphoma in 2021.

"I believe Myeloid is best positioned to leverage the unique power of myeloid cells to help patients fighting cancers that until now, have been very difficult to treat," said Dr. Mukherjee. "Despite the promise of current cell therapies, many challenges remain when it comes to targeting specific types of cancers, including solid tumors, and in efficiently manufacturing treatments. I’m thrilled to help develop Myeloid’s transformative treatment modality, which has the potential to overcome many of these challenges."

"Myeloid cells play a critical role in orchestrating the body’s immune responses, including by directly killing cells, bacteria and viruses through a number of disease-fighting mechanisms," said Michael Dee Gunn, M.D., Professor of Medicine and Immunology at Duke University, and a pioneer in the research of molecular mechanisms of innate immunity and inflammation and a member of Myeloid’s Scientific Advisory Board. "This novel class of cell therapies has strong potential to benefit patients with the highest unmet medical needs."

ATAKTM Cell Platform

The Company’s ATAK platform was inspired by Drs. Vale and Mukherjee, who envisioned the disease-fighting power of myeloid cells – versatile cells with effector functions capable of targeting and eliminating cancerous cells, along with other harmful cells in the body. Within the oncolytic setting, the ATAK platform is being applied to harness the innate abilities of myeloid cells, to specifically recognize and engulf cancer cells, to produce anti-tumor agents, promote anti-tumor adaptive immunity, alter the tumor microenvironment – and ultimately to kill cancer. In addition to reprogramming monocytes to target difficult-to-treat cancers, the platform offers Myeloid and its partners many additional advantages, including novel mRNA-based protein and gene delivery, a library of intermixed cell receptors, and chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) that may be applied to enhance treatment effects or to engineer novel tri- and bi-specific cell engagers.

Myeloid is currently focused on advancing two categories of novel ATAK therapies: ATAK CAR monocytes and ATAK primed monocytes. ATAK CAR monocytes are myeloid cells with innate immune receptor-inspired CARs to recognize and kill cancer. ATAK primed monocytes function like cell vaccines, programmed to trigger T cells to kill cancer cells.

Manufacturing candidates from the ATAK platform benefit from speed and scalability in manufacturing process development. The Myeloid team can scale manufacturing rapidly, from product concept to clinical use. In addition, current products derived from the ATAK platform have a single-day cell manufacturing process. Given the observed strengths of the manufacturing process, Myeloid reasonably envisions same-day ATAK platform treatment, especially relevant upon clinical presentation of aggressive tumors.

The Company is also in the process of developing "off the shelf" approaches in order to advance the full range of clinical delivery options.

Myeloid Leadership and Scientific Advisory Board

As co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Myeloid, Daniel Getts, Ph.D., MBA, oversees the Company’s portfolio and growth strategies. Dr. Getts is a repeat biotech entrepreneur, having led research at TCR2 through its IPO and the development of the first cell therapy to show clinical responses in ovarian cancer. Before that, he co-founded Cour Pharmaceuticals Development Company.

The Company’s Scientific Advisory Board includes world-renowned scientists whose expertise span oncology, immunology, cell therapy, synthetic biology and genetic engineering:

"Our mission is to apply our energy and significant research capabilities to design and develop truly transformative treatments," said Dr. Getts. "We built Myeloid’s ATAKTM platform to overcome many limitations of existing cell therapies, in part by embracing the natural tendencies of monocytes to penetrate solid tumors and catalyze immune reactions. By harnessing the power of monocytes, which are the cells that comprise the largest population of immune cells in the tumor microenvironment, we are working to bring new therapies to patients. We have also designed and successfully implemented an efficient, flexible manufacturing process that sets a new threshold for cell therapies. We are very pleased to have the support of this strong group of investors, who enable us to further develop the ATAK platform, to advance multiple solid tumor programs into the clinic, and to bring forward new transformative programs as we broaden Myeloid’s pipeline."

"Myeloid cells are the body’s front-line-disease-fighting tools, and they are critical in the orchestration of adaptive immune responses. These myeloid cells are overrepresented in solid cancers and I have been fascinated with their therapeutic potential since researching them during my medical training," said Thomas Cahill, M.D., Ph.D., Myeloid co-founder and Managing Partner of Newpath Partners. "Most other cell therapies focus on reprogramming the adaptive immune system and they have truly improved patient outcomes, especially with respect to liquid tumors. To expand on this promise, the next logical step was to empower the cells at the front lines of solid tumors. By engineering myeloid cells, the Company is developing an extremely versatile and potent class of new therapeutic agents. I look forward to continuing to support this team through their first wave of clinical trials and beyond."