Ad hoc: MorphoSys AG reports non-cash impairment charge of approx. € 231 million on goodwill after consolidation of research and discovery functions; corresponding increase of Group operating expenses in 2021

On March 10, 2022 MorphoSys AG (FSE: MOR; NASDAQ: MOR) reported that it will account for a non-cash impairment charge on goodwill in the amount of approximately € 231 million (Press release, MorphoSys, MAR 10, 2022, View Source [SID1234609873]). This write-down results from the consolidation of the Company’s research and discovery activities after the acquisition of Constellation Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ("Constellation"). MorphoSys decided to focus its research activities on the most advanced programs and to centralize all laboratory activities at its German research hub in Planegg, Germany. Consequently, all US-based activities relating to discovery biology and drug discovery departments were discontinued. Therefore, early pipeline projects cannot be realized anymore and the expected cash flows from these projects will not materialize accordingly. Since the early pipeline was part of the goodwill resulting from the acquisition of Constellation, an impairment test was performed based on the latest cash flow projections, which triggered an impairment charge on the goodwill in the amount of € 231 million.

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The write-down has no cash effect and will impact Group operating expenses for the fourth quarter of the year 2021. The write-down of € 231 million will be additive to the Group operating expenses which will be published on March 16, 2022 along with the full results for the fourth quarter and full year 2021.

Panbela to Participate in the 34th Annual Roth Conference

On March 10, 2022 Panbela Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: PBLA), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing disruptive therapeutics for the treatment of patients with cancer, reported that management will participate in a fireside chat at the 34th Annual Roth Conference on March 14, 2022, at 11:30AM PT (Press release, Panbela Therapeutics, MAR 10, 2022, View Source [SID1234609872]). The webcast will be available at: View Source

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To learn more or to schedule a one-on-one meeting with management, please contact your conference representative or [email protected].

About SBP-101

SBP-101 is a proprietary polyamine analogue designed to induce polyamine metabolic inhibition (PMI) by exploiting an observed high affinity of the compound for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and other tumors. The molecule has shown signals of tumor growth inhibition in clinical studies of US and Australian metastatic pancreatic cancer patients, demonstrating a median overall survival (OS) of 12.0 months which is not yet final, and an objective response rate (ORR) of 48%, both exceeding what is seen typically with the standard of care of gemcitabine + nab-paclitaxel suggesting potential complementary activity with the existing FDA-approved standard chemotherapy regimen. In data evaluated from clinical studies to date, SBP-101 has not shown exacerbation of bone marrow suppression and peripheral neuropathy, which can be chemotherapy-related adverse events. Serious visual adverse events have been evaluated and patients with a history of retinopathy or at risk of retinal detachment will be excluded from future SBP-101 studies. The safety data and PMI profile observed in the current Panbela sponsored clinical trial provides support for continued evaluation of SBP-101 in a randomized clinical trial. For more information, please visit
View Source .

Novartis signs initial agreement with Carisma Therapeutics for the manufacturing of HER 2 targeted CAR-M cell therapy

On March 10, 2022 Novartis reported that it has signed an initial agreement with Carisma Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical pioneer in engineered macrophage-based therapeutics, to manufacture the HER 2 targeted CAR-M cell therapy, which is tested in initial trials for the treatment of solid tumors (Press release, Novartis, MAR 10, 2022, View Source [SID1234609871]).

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Under the terms of the initial agreement, the Carisma Therapeutics manufacturing process will be transferred to the Novartis Cell Therapy Site in Morris Plains, U.S, starting in the coming days. Clinical manufacturing is planned to begin in 2023.

"The Global Biotech Cooperations unit of Novartis is fully committed to collaborate with Carisma Therapeutics to bring their CAR-M cell therapy to patients by offering its proven state-of-the art cell and gene production capabilities," said Anton Gerdenitsch, Head of the Contract Manufacturing Organization at Novartis Technical Operations. "As one of the world’s largest producers of medicines, Novartis can mobilize its manufacturing capacity in an efficient way on multiple fronts."

This new agreement follows contract manufacturing agreements signed last year such as the agreements with BioNTech, for the filling of the Covid vaccine at the Novartis Technical Operations’ sites in Stein, Switzerland, and in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Novartis continues to offer its world-class capabilities to other companies to take over manufacturing activities including a variety of technologies such as mRNA production and others. Further specifics will be disclosed when agreements are concluded.

Delcath Systems to Present at the 34th Annual Roth Conference

On March 10, 2022 Delcath Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: DCTH), an interventional oncology company focused on the treatment of primary and metastatic cancers of the liver, reported that it will present at the 34th annual Roth Conference on Monday, March 14, 2022, at 3:30 PM PT (Press release, Delcath Systems, MAR 10, 2022, View Source [SID1234609870]). A webcast of the presentation will be available at: View Source

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To learn more or to schedule a one-on-one meeting with management, please contact your conference representative or [email protected].

TG Therapeutics Announces Scheduling of Planned Oncologic Drug Advisory Committee Meeting

On March 10, 2022 TG Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: TGTX), reported the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has set a date of April 22, 2022 for the previously announced meeting of the Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) in connection with its review of the Biologics License Application (BLA)/supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for the combination of ublituximab and UKONIQ (umbralisib) (combination referred to as U2) for the treatment of adult patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL) (Press release, TG Therapeutics, MAR 10, 2022, View Source [SID1234609869]). Background material and the link to the online teleconference meeting room will be available at View Source

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The Company previously announced that the FDA extended the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) goal date to June 25, 2022 for the BLA/sNDA for U2 to treat CLL and SLL.

Michael S. Weiss, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of TG Therapeutics stated, "As noted on our recent year-end call, the team, as well as our external consultants, have been working hard to prepare and we look forward to sharing the data with everyone during the ODAC meeting."

ABOUT THE ODAC MEETING
In general, the Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) reviews and evaluates data concerning the safety and effectiveness of marketed and investigational human drug products for use in the treatment of cancer and makes appropriate recommendations to the Commissioner of Food and Drugs. Although the FDA will consider the recommendation of the ODAC Committee, the final decision regarding the approval of a product is made solely by the FDA.

The FDA has notified the Company that potential questions and discussion topics for the ODAC include: the benefit-risk of the U2 combination in the treatment of CLL or SLL, and the benefit-risk of UKONIQ in relapsed/refractory marginal zone lymphoma (MZL) or follicular lymphoma (FL). In addition, as part of the benefit-risk analysis, the overall safety profile of the U2 regimen, including adverse events (serious and Grade 3-4), discontinuations due to adverse events, and dose modifications, is expected to be reviewed. The FDA’s concern giving rise to the ODAC meeting appears to stem from an early analysis of overall survival from the UNITY-CLL trial.

Overall survival was designated as a secondary efficacy outcome in the UNITY-CLL protocol but was not part of the primary analysis in accordance with the study’s statistical analysis plan agreed upon via a Special Protocol Assessment (SPA), and therefore, was not analyzed or included in the BLA/sNDA. Additionally, the study was not powered for overall survival. As part of the ongoing review of the BLA/sNDA, the FDA requested an early analysis of overall survival from the UNITY-CLL trial. As of September 2021, the cut-off date for the overall survival analysis requested by the FDA during their review, there was an imbalance in favor of the control arm (HR: 1.23) though this result was not statistically significant. However, when excluding deaths related to COVID-19, the two arms were approximately balanced (HR: 1.04) with again no statistically significant difference between the treatment groups with regard to overall survival. In February 2022, the Company submitted updated overall survival data with the same September 2021 cut-off date. FDA considered the updated OS data a substantial amendment and extended the PDUFA date for the BLA/sNDA to June 25, 2022. The Company will continue to evaluate this endpoint over time as more events are available and will continue to analyze how COVID-19 may be impacting the analysis.

The ODAC meeting is scheduled to take place on April 22, 2022.

ABOUT UNITY-CLL PHASE 3 TRIAL AND THE BLA/sNDA SUBMISSION
UNITY-CLL is a global, Phase 3, randomized, controlled clinical trial comparing the combination of ublituximab plus UKONIQ (umbralisib), or U2, to an active control arm of obinutuzumab plus chlorambucil in patients with both treatment-naïve and relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The trial randomized patients into four treatment arms: ublituximab single agent, UKONIQ single agent, ublituximab plus UKONIQ, and an active control arm of obinutuzumab plus chlorambucil. A prespecified interim analysis was conducted to assess the contribution of ublituximab and UKONIQ in the U2 combination arm and allowed for the termination of the single agent arms. Accordingly, the UNITY-CLL Phase 3 trial continued enrollment in a 1:1 ratio into the two combination arms: the investigational arm of U2 and the control arm of obinutuzumab plus chlorambucil. Approximately 420 subjects enrolled to the two combination arms and approximately 60% of patients were treatment-naïve and 40% were relapsed or refractory. The primary endpoint for this study was superior progression-free survival (PFS) for the U2 combination compared to the control arm. The trial met its primary endpoint, with U2 significantly prolonging independent review committee (IRC) assessed PFS vs. control (median 31.9 months vs 17.9 months; hazard ratio 0.546 (p<0.0001)) at a median follow-up of 36.7 months, and results were presented at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) Annual Meeting in December 2020. The UNITY-CLL Phase 3 trial is being conducted under a Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) agreement with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The BLA/sNDA submissions of U2 to treat CLL were based on the results of the UNITY-CLL trial. The FDA previously granted Fast Track designation to the U2 combination for the treatment of adult patients with CLL and orphan drug designation for ublituximab in combination with UKONIQ for the treatment of CLL.

ABOUT CHRONIC LYMPHOCYTIC LEUKEMIA
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most common type of adult leukemia. It is estimated there will be more than 20,000 new cases of CLL diagnosed in the United States in 2020 and approximately 45,000 new cases globally in 2020.1,2 Although signs and symptoms of CLL may disappear for a period of time after initial treatment, the disease is considered incurable and many people will require additional treatment due to the return of malignant cells.