Labcorp Enhances Cell and Gene Therapy Development Support Through Collaboration With Xcell Biosciences

On April 19, 2022 Labcorp (NYSE: LH), a leading global life sciences company, reported that collaborating with Xcell Biosciences, Inc. (Xcellbio), a leading developer of cell and gene therapy technologies, to advance critical work that helps clients effectively bring innovative cell and gene therapies to market (Press release, LabCorp, APR 19, 2022, View Source [SID1234612487]).

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Through their collaboration, Labcorp and Xcellbio will work on a series of projects focused on improving the safety and efficacy of cell and gene therapies (CGTs). This strengthens Labcorp’s commitment to growing its global, comprehensive suite of CGT capabilities, and it supports pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies’ efforts to expedite therapeutic development.

"Labcorp is firmly committed to helping our clients bring new treatment options to patients in need while revolutionizing the future of medicine with cell and gene therapies," said Dr. Maryland Franklin, vice president and enterprise head of cell and gene therapy at Labcorp. "By pairing the scale and breadth of our enterprise-wide CGT solutions with Xcellbio’s powerful technology, we have an opportunity to enhance and accelerate the CGT development experience. It’s another way Labcorp is carrying out its mission to improve health and improve lives."

CGTs modify a person’s genes to treat disease by inactivating or replacing a disease-causing gene, or introducing a new or modified cell or gene. CGTs are being tested for use in the treatment of many diseases, including Parkinson’s disease, an array of rare diseases, and both solid tumors and blood-based cancers. The projects included in the collaboration will use Xcellbio’s AVATAR incubator system to grow and expand research-grade CAR-T cell material used to attack cancer cells. This work helps demonstrate the power of understanding the parameters of the tumor microenvironment in the creation of CAR-T cells with improved performance. In addition, the technology will be used to acclimate cancer cells to more physiologic conditions and expand 3D modeling for in vitro CAR-T testing.

"We’re continuously striving to advance cell and gene therapy development through technology innovations that enable the precise control of cell populations to enhance the potency and persistence needed for optimal patient outcomes," said Brian Feth, CEO of Xcellbio. "The exciting projects we’re undertaking with Labcorp allow our shared clients to harness the institutional knowledge and resources of a global organization to craft innovative approaches to develop potentially curative treatments."

The collaboration—the latest in Labcorp’s string of recent CGT-focused relationships—follows the company’s strategic investment in Xcellbio in November 2021. It also underscores Labcorp’s efforts to address the unique needs of complex CGT development through industry connectivity. Labcorp is committed to enhancing its CGT solutions across the entire development continuum through investments in its people, operations and technology, and through external collaborations.

Labcorp is offering clients access to a dedicated team of CGT leaders with deep expertise in all aspects of the development process. Clients are further supported by a multi-disciplinary group of operational, medical and regulatory members from across the enterprise, providing comprehensive and strategic insights that enable increased efficiency and reduced risk through critical development milestones.

With more than 20 years of experience in delivering development solutions for advanced therapies such as CGT products, Labcorp employs a personalized approach to bring clients customized solutions on a global scale. These range from preclinical discovery and development to comprehensive clinical trials and commercialization services. The company has helped support the development of all six U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved CAR-T cell therapies, as well as both FDA-approved gene replacement therapies.

Learn more about Labcorp’s CGT capabilities and the collaboration with Xcellbio during an upcoming thought leadership workshop, "Strategies and Approaches to Optimize Your Non-clinical and Clinical Development for Cell and Gene Therapies," to be held on Monday, May 16, 2022, during the annual meeting of the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy. More information is available here.

Johnson & Johnson Reports Q1 2022 Results

On April 19, 2022 Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) reported results for first-quarter 2022 (Press release, Johnson & Johnson, APR 19, 2022, View Source [SID1234612486]). "Our first quarter results demonstrate strong performance across the enterprise, despite macro-economic headwinds. I am incredibly proud of Johnson & Johnson’s 144,000 employees for their relentless passion and Credo-based commitment to delivering transformative healthcare solutions to patients and customers around the world," said Joaquin Duato, Chief Executive Officer. "Looking ahead, I remain confident in the future of Johnson & Johnson as we continue advancing our portfolio and innovative pipeline."

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FIRST QUARTER 2022 SEGMENT COMMENTARY:

Consumer Health
Consumer Health worldwide adjusted operational sales, which exclude the net impact of acquisitions and divestitures and translational currency, increased 1.6%* primarily driven by over-the-counter (OTC) products. Major contributors to growth in OTC were upper respiratory products, TYLENOL and MOTRIN analgesics, and IMODIUM in digestive health products. Growth was partially offset by external supply constraints mainly impacting Skin Health / Beauty.

Pharmaceutical
Pharmaceutical worldwide adjusted operational sales, which exclude the net impact of acquisitions and divestitures and translational currency, grew 9.3%* driven by DARZALEX (daratumumab), a biologic for the treatment of multiple myeloma, STELARA (ustekinumab), a biologic for the treatment of a number of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases, TREMFYA (guselkumab), a biologic for the treatment of adults living with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, and for adults with active psoriatic arthritis, ERLEADA (apalutamide), a next-generation androgen receptor inhibitor for the treatment of patients with prostate cancer, and INVEGA SUSTENNA/XEPLION and INVEGA TRINZA/TREVICTA (paliperidone palmitate), long-acting, injectable atypical antipsychotics for the treatment of schizophrenia in adults. Also contributing to growth were sales of the Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine (Ad26.COV2.S) for the prevention of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This growth was partially offset by declines in sales of REMICADE (infliximab), a biologic approved for the treatment of a number of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases, XARELTO (rivaroxaban), a direct oral anticoagulant, and ZYTIGA (abiratone acetate), an oral, once-daily medication for use in combination with prednisone for the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.

MedTech
MedTech worldwide adjusted operational sales, which exclude the net impact of acquisitions and divestitures and translational currency, grew 8.6%*, driven by electrophysiology products in Interventional Solutions, contact lenses and surgical vision products in Vision, wound closure products in General Surgery, biosurgery in Advanced Surgery, and hips, trauma, and knees in Orthopaedics.

NOTABLE NEW ANNOUCEMENTS IN THE QUARTER:
The information contained in this section should be read in conjunction with Johnson & Johnson’s other disclosures filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Current Reports on Form 8-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Annual Reports on Form 10-K. Copies of these filings are available online at www.sec.gov, www.jnj.com or on request from Johnson & Johnson. The reader is also encouraged to review all other news releases and information available in the Investors section of the company’s website at news releases, as well as www.factsabouttalc.com, www.factsaboutourprescriptionopioids.com, and www.LTLManagementInformation.com.

FULL-YEAR 2022 GUIDANCE:
Johnson & Johnson does not provide GAAP financial measures on a forward-looking basis because the company is unable to predict with reasonable certainty the ultimate outcome of legal proceedings, unusual gains and losses, acquisition-related expenses and purchase accounting fair value adjustments without unreasonable effort. These items are uncertain, depend on various factors, and could be material to Johnson & Johnson’s results computed in accordance with GAAP.

Please note that the Company has suspended guidance on its COVID-19 Vaccine sales. The table below excludes COVID-19 Vaccine sales from Adjusted Operational Sales, Operational Sales, and Estimated Reported Sales.

Other modeling considerations will be provided on the webcast.

WEBCAST INFORMATION:
Johnson & Johnson will conduct a conference call with investors to discuss this earnings release today at 8:30 a.m., Eastern Time. A simultaneous webcast of the call for investors and other interested parties may be accessed by visiting the Johnson & Johnson website. A replay and podcast will be available approximately two hours after the live webcast in the Investors section of the company’s website at events-and-presentations.

Heat Biologics Announces Planned Name Change to NightHawk Biosciences, Reflecting Company’s Evolution, Therapeutic Pipeline Expansion, Vertical Integration and New Biodefense Capabilities

On April 19, 2022 Heat Biologics, Inc. ("Heat") (NYSE American: HTBX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel biodefense assets and first-in-class therapies to modulate the immune system, reported that it is changing the name of the Company to NightHawk Biosciences, Inc., effective May 3, 2022, to better reflect the Company’s evolution, including expansion of its therapeutic pipeline, the vertical integration of capabilities from drug discovery to manufacturing and commercialization, as well as the Company’s new biodefense capabilities (Press release, Heat Biologics, APR 19, 2022, View Source [SID1234612484]). In connection with the name change, the Company’s ticker will change to "NHWK," effective May 3, 2022. The livestream event, held at the Purple Masque Theatre at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas and other locations, is available on the Company’s new website at: NightHawkBio.com.

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NightHawk will focus on rapid and efficient drug development through its integrated ecosystem of subsidiary companies, which includes Skunkworx Bio (Skunkworx), Heat Biologics (Heat), Pelican Therapeutics (Pelican), Scorpion Biological Services (Scorpion) and Elusys Therapeutics (Elusys). The Company believes this fully-integrated ecosystem enables a more rapid delivery of medical innovations with increased quality and efficiency.

During the event, the Company announced several key corporate developments, including:

Discovery subsidiary Skunkworx continues to make progress across a variety of infectious disease, biodefense and oncology-related indications, with an intended public announcement of these programs set to occur later this year.
Scorpion is expected to host the grand opening of its San Antonio facility following completion of construction in Q3, 2022.
PTX-35 is nearing final enrollment in its last cohort of its Phase 1 solid tumor trial, and just recently announced a presentation of new data at the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper).
A planned research collaboration with Kansas State University’s Biosecurity Research Institute on its RapidVax biodefense program.
Expanded efforts by biodefense Elusys Therapeutics to support international sales of ANTHIM (obiltoxaximab). ANTHIM is indicated in adult and pediatric patients for the treatment of inhalational anthrax due to Bacillus anthracis in combination with appropriate antibacterial drugs, and for prophylaxis of inhalational anthrax when alternative therapies are not available or are not appropriate. ANTHIM should only be used for prophylaxis when its benefit for prevention of inhalational anthrax outweighs the risk of hypersensitivity and anaphylaxis. Additional details are available at View Source
Richard Myers, who previously served as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff before serving as President of Kansas State University, will become Chairman of NightHawk’s BioThreat Advisory Board.
Jeff Wolf, Chief Executive Officer of NightHawk, commented, "Over the past 18 months, we’ve built a powerful drug discovery engine in our SkunkWorx subsidiary. We’ve been building our Scorpion subsidiary to deliver world-class biomanufacturing. And we announced the acquisition of Elusys Therapeutics, a biodefense company, which we intend to grow into a biodefense powerhouse."

Mr. Wolf added, "The pandemic highlighted the fact that the development of new drugs is tremendously slow, encumbered, and expensive. These are enormous barriers to American progress. We believe the solution is full integration of discovery, preclinical testing and manufacturing, optimized to quickly and efficiently deliver drugs to the people who need them."

Mr. Wolf continued, "The NightHawk model represents a new way of thinking and is designed to combine speed and agility with the full-integration of discovery, development and manufacturing. We are excited to continue to build and enhance this ecosystem under the NightHawk banner."

Greenwich LifeSciences Presents Phase IIb Data, Published at AACR 2022, Further Supporting the Role of GP2 in Preventing Metastatic Breast Cancer

On April 19, 2022 Greenwich LifeSciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: GLSI) (the "Company"), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of GLSI-100, an immunotherapy to prevent breast cancer recurrences in patients who have previously undergone surgery, reported the following (Press release, Greenwich LifeSciences, APR 19, 2022, View Source [SID1234612483]):

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Company management presented 2 Phase IIb clinical trial posters at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting 2022, which was held from April 8-13, 2022 in New Orleans, Louisiana
Both abstracts can be viewed below, and both posters, CT166 and CT161, can be accessed or downloaded from the Clinical Trials tab of the Company website at: View Source
Abstract and poster CT166 demonstrated that GLSI-100 safely elicited a potent immune response, as evidenced by injection site reactions that correlate to and may serve as a complement to other immune response tests. The trastuzumab treated HER2 positive breast cancer patients appeared to be in a reduced immune state that was reversed with the addition of GP2, resulting in a significantly increased immune response that may protect against future metastatic breast cancer recurrence.
Abstract and poster CT161 demonstrated that GP2 may be a natural antigen that is present before any GP2 treatment, suggesting that GP2 is a relevant target for T cell immunotherapy. In addition, a GP2 immune response prior to any GP2 treatment may help in predicting the probability and timing of breast cancer recurrence.
AACR Abstract CT166:

Title: Injection site reactions correlate to delayed type hypersensitivity tests and suggest that GP2 reverses immune suppression of trastuzumab-treated HER2 positive patients in a phase IIb study evaluating HER2/neu peptide GP2 (GLSI-100) vs. GM-CSF after adjuvant trastuzumab in HER2 positive women with breast cancer

Snehal S Patel, David B McWilliams, Mira S Patel, Jaye Thompson and F Joseph Daugherty.

Greenwich LifeSciences, Stafford, TX

Background: Injection site reactions and Delayed Type Hypersensitivity (DTH) tests in the randomized, active-controlled, single-blinded, multicenter Phase IIb trial of GLSI-100 (GP2+GM-CSF) administered in the adjuvant setting to node-positive and high-risk node-negative breast cancer patients with tumors expressing HER2 have been analyzed. The trial enrolled HLA-A*02 patients randomized to receive GLSI-100 versus GM-CSF alone.

Methods: Patients were randomized and received GLSI-100 (500 mcg GP2+ 125 mcg GM-CSF) or control (GM-CSF) via 6 intradermal injections every 3-4 weeks for the first 6 months and 4 booster injections every 6 months. The magnitude of injection site reactions, which occurred in almost all patients, were assessed for the 10 doses administered by measuring the largest perpendicular diameters and the resulting orthogonal mean. DTH reactions were assessed in a similar manner at baseline and 6 months and have been previously reported.

Results: The study enrolled 180 patients who were HER2 3+ positive and low HER2 expressors (1-2+). After 5 years of follow-up, the Kaplan-Meier estimated 5-year DFS rate in the 46 HER2 3+ patients treated with GLSI-100, if completing the PIS, was 100% versus 89.4% (95% CI:76.2, 95.5%) in the 50 patients treated with GM-CSF (p = 0.0338). DTH reactions at baseline and 6 months were consistently correlated with injection site reactions suggesting that injection site reactions may be interchangeable with immune response data (baseline ρ=0.6, p<0.001; 6mo ρ=0.4, p=0.009). After a single dose, the median orthogonal mean induration was 7.8mm for GM-CSF patients and 34.0mm for GLSI-100 patients (p = 0.0036). Injection site reactions increased to 78mm after the 4th injection but remained over 50mm for the duration of the injection series for those treated with GLSI-100. The magnitude of injection site reactions for patients treated with GLSI-100 was similar across HER2 status. However, HER2 3+ control patients had significantly smaller reactions to GM-CSF than HER2 1-2+ control patients with an average of 43.1mm difference over all 10 doses. Trastuzumab treated HER2 3+ control patients appeared to be in a suppressed immune state that reversed by adding GP2 treatment, increasing injection site reactions by an average of 39.2mm over all 10 doses (treatment and the interaction of HER2 status and treatment were statistically significant).

Conclusions: This study demonstrated that GLSI-100 safely elicited a potent immune response, as evidenced by injection site reactions that correlate to and may serve as a complement to immune response data such as DTH. The lower immune response of the trastuzumab treated HER2 positive control population, not evidenced in the low HER2 expressors who did not receive trastuzumab, suggests a reduced immune state potentially related to prior trastuzumab exposure which is reversed with the addition of GP2 and warrants further research.

AACR Abstract CT161:

Title: GP2 immune response a predictor of recurrence in a phase IIb study evaluating HER2/neu peptide GP2 (GLSI-100) vs. GM-CSF alone after adjuvant trastuzumab in HER2 positive women with breast cancer

Snehal S Patel, David B McWilliams, Mira S Patel, Jaye Thompson and F Joseph Daugherty.

Greenwich LifeSciences, Stafford, TX

Background: Delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) skin tests to GP2 in the randomized, active-controlled, single-blinded, multicenter Phase IIb trial investigating GLSI-100 (GP2+GM-CSF) administered in the adjuvant setting to node-positive and high-risk node-negative breast cancer patients with tumors expressing HER2 have been analyzed. The trial enrolled HLA-A*02 patients randomized to receive GLSI-100 versus GM-CSF alone.

Methods: Patients were randomized and received GLSI-100 (500 mcg GP2: 125 mcg GM-CSF) or control (GM-CSF only) via 6 intradermal injections every 3-4 weeks as part of the Primary Immunization Series (PIS) for 6 months and 4 booster injections every 6 months thereafter. GP2 DTH skin tests were placed at baseline and after the 6th dose. After 48-72 hours, the largest perpendicular diameters of induration were measured and the orthogonal mean was calculated. Induration of over 5mm was considered a positive response.

Results: The study enrolled 180 patients with both HER2 3+ positive and low HER2 expressors (1-2+). After 5 years of follow-up, the Kaplan-Meier estimated 5-year DFS rate in the 46 HER2 3+ patients treated with GLSI-100, if the patient completed the PIS, was 100% versus 89.4% (95% CI:76.2, 95.5%) in the 50 placebo patients treated with GM-CSF (p = 0.0338). Previous publications have reported the increase in GP2 DTH response reported among patients after treatment with GLSI-100 and the positive DTH responses to GP2 at baseline, where 22.8% (33/145) of patients reacted to GP2 at baseline with induration larger than 5mm. It was also previously reported that in the subgroup of subjects with recurrence, 36.4% (8/22) had a positive baseline DTH. Further analysis of all HER2 positive and HER2 low patients has shown that a KM log-rank test found a borderline effect (p = 0.0956) of baseline DTH status. At year 4, 88% of all patients without a positive baseline GP2 DTH remained disease-free. The patients with a positive baseline GP2 DTH recurred 3.5 years earlier reaching a similar survival probability of 88% at 6 months. In addition, the proportion of subjects recurring at any time amongst those with a positive baseline GP2 DTH response was 24.2% (8/33) compared to 12.5% (14/112) recurring with a negative baseline response (p = 0.0984) suggesting a positive baseline GP2 DTH is associated with recurrence.

Conclusions: The probability of recurrence is increased in subjects with a positive baseline GP2 DTH and recurrence is likely to occur years sooner than those without a positive GP2 DTH at baseline. Further studies assessing the prognostic value of GP2 immune response at baseline are planned, which may include additional measures of GP2 immune response and sequencing and identification of T cell profiles associated with residual disease, impending recurrence, or prior treatments.

About the AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting 2022

The AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) is the first and largest cancer research organization dedicated to accelerating the conquest of cancer and has more than 48,000 members residing in 127 countries and territories. The AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting program covers the latest discoveries across the spectrum of cancer research — from population science and prevention; to cancer biology, translational, and clinical studies; to survivorship and advocacy — and highlights the work of the best minds in research and medicine from institutions all over the world.

About FLAMINGO-01 and GLSI-100

FLAMINGO-01 (NCT05232916) is a Phase III clinical trial designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of GLSI-100 (GP2 + GM-CSF) in HER2/neu positive breast cancer patients who had residual disease or high-risk pathologic complete response at surgery and who have completed both neoadjuvant and postoperative adjuvant trastuzumab based treatment. The trial will be led by Baylor College of Medicine and will include US and international clinical sites from university-based hospitals and cooperative networks. In the double-blinded arms of the Phase III trial, approximately 500 HLA-A*02 patients will be randomized to GLSI-100 or placebo, and up to 100 patients of other HLA types will be treated with GLSI-100 in a third arm. The trial has been designed to detect a hazard ratio of 0.3 in invasive breast cancer-free survival, where 28 events will be required. An interim analysis for superiority and futility will be conducted when at least half of those events, 14, have occurred. This sample size provides 80% power if the annual rate of events in placebo-treated subjects is 2.4% or greater. The trial is currently registered on clinicaltrials.gov and can be seen here. For future updates about FLAMINGO-01 please visit the Company’s clinical trial tab at View Source.

About Breast Cancer and HER2/neu Positivity

One in eight U.S. women will develop invasive breast cancer over her lifetime, with approximately 282,000 new breast cancer patients and 3.8 million breast cancer survivors in 2021. HER2/neu (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2) protein is a cell surface receptor protein that is expressed in a variety of common cancers, including in 75% of breast cancers at low (1+), intermediate (2+), and high (3+ or over-expressor) levels.

Reminder: Invitation to Roche’s First Quarter Sales 2022 Webinar

On April 19, 2022 Roche reported that it will publish its Sales Results for the 1st Quarter of 2022 prior to the opening of the Swiss Stock Exchange on Monday, 25 April 2022 (Press release, Hoffmann-La Roche, APR 19, 2022, View Source [SID1234612482]).

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