On June 9, 2022 Degron Therapeutics ("Degron"), a biotechnology company developing a new class of small-molecule medicines that target previously undruggable targets, reported it has closed a $22 million Series A financing round led by Med-Fine Capital (Press release, Shanghai Degron Therapeutics, JUN 9, 2022, View Source [SID1234615817]). Additional investors participating in the financing round included Dyee Capital, Baidu Venture, and NeuX Capital, along with Degron’s seed investors, CO-WIN Ventures and Yuanbio Venture Capital.

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Proceeds from the Series A financing will be used to advance the company’s GlueXplorer platform. GlueXplorer is a unique molecular glue-based targeted protein degradation platform to accelerate the development of novel drugs for previously undruggable targets in oncology, inflammation, metabolic disease, rare diseases, and other therapeutic areas. The company currently has three pipeline programs that have entered into the lead-optimization phase, including a first-in-class target with essential roles in a broad range of cancers and immune diseases.

"We are pleased to have such strong support from this syndicate of blue-chip investors who recognize the potential of our industry-leading platform to build a new type of biotechnology company," said Lily Zou, Ph.D., co-founder and CEO of Degron Therapeutics. "Small-molecule drugs have been the mainstay of disease treatments, but most disease targets remain undruggable. Our GlueXplorer platform has already yielded several preclinical candidates in disease areas including cancer, inflammatory diseases, and rare diseases. Our team of accomplished entrepreneurs, scientists, and clinicians, is poised to usher in a step-change in how we treat undruggable targets to realize our goal of significantly improving patients’ lives."

Founded in 2021, Degron Therapeutics builds on research and technologies developed in the laboratory of ShanghaiTech University professor and company co-founder Yong Cang, Ph.D. Using its proprietary GlueXplorer platform, Degron has created a unique and expanding library of molecular glue compounds that enables the targeting of previously undruggable targets. Degron’s platform uses a combination of phenotypic screening, proteomic screening, and artificial intelligence (AI) to predict novel targets and accelerate compound discovery. Beginning with a novel, patented scaffold, Degron has created more than 60 novel diverse cores and 6,000 compounds, of which almost all demonstrate binding to Cereblon (CBRN), an E3 ligase that promotes protein ubiquitination and degradation.

"Degron Therapeutics is building a platform that will unlock the future of small-molecule therapeutics. We are excited to partner with this world-class team as they pioneer the new frontier of molecular glue degraders and ultimately significantly improve how we treat diseases," said Daniel Hu, executive director of Med-Fine Capital.

As part of the financing, Jing Yu, Ph.D., partner of Med-Fine Capital, joins Degron’s board of directors. Dr. Yu has scientific and clinical research experience as well as an extensive track record of successful investments across multiple segments and companies at different lifecycle stages.

On June 9, 2022 Chemomab Therapeutics Ltd. (Nasdaq: CMMB), (Chemomab), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of innovative therapeutics for fibrotic and inflammatory diseases with high unmet need, reported that the company will participate in a number of investor and scientific conferences in June 2022 (Press release, Chemomab, JUN 9, 2022, View Source [SID1234615815]).

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JMP Securities Life Sciences Conference:

Date: Thursday, June 16, 2022
Venue: Lotte Palace Hotel, New York, NY USA
Format: In-person live and webcast presentation; One-on-one meetings on June 16
Time: 11:00 a.m. ET
Link: View Source
Information: View Source

A replay of the webcast will be available at the Investor section of Chemomab’s website for at least 30 days.

The Extracellular Matrix Pharmacology Congress

Date: June 23-25, 2022
Venue: Tivoli Congress Center, Copenhagen, Denmark
Format: Poster presentation: CCL24 Inhibition by CM-101 Attenuates Extracellular Matrix and Fibrotic Biomarkers in Both Patients and Experimental Murine Models, Abstract ID:155
Time: Poster Session 1, June 23 from 13:00 – 14:15 CET
Presenter: Udi Gluschnaider, PhD, Chemomab Project Lead
Information: ECM Congress (ecm-congress.org)

A copy of the poster will be available at the R&D section of Chemomab’s website starting on June 23, 2022.

EASL: The International Liver Congress 2022

Date: June 22-26, 2022
Venue: ExCeL London, London, UK, and virtual
Format: Oral poster presentation: Combination of whole liver single cell RNA sequencing and spatial transcriptomics reveals specific cell sub-populations and pathways regulated by CCL24, Abstract Identifier: OS02
Presenter: Raanan Greenman, PhD, Chemomab Project Lead
Time: June 23, 2022, 16:45 CET
Session: Immune-mediated and cholestatic: Experimental and pathophysiology
Information: View Source

The presentation will be available at the R&D section of Chemomab’s website starting on June 24, 2022

In addition, Chemomab’s business development team members will be in San Diego, California June 13-16, 2022, participating in the BIO International Convention’s One-on-One Partnering event. Registered attendees can click here to log in and schedule a meeting with Chemomab.

On June 9, 2022 Can-Fite BioPharma Ltd. (NYSE American: CANF) (TASE: CFBI), a biotechnology company advancing a pipeline of proprietary small molecule drugs that address inflammatory, cancer and liver diseases, reported an article titled "Drugs Targeting the A3 Adenosine Receptor: Human Clinical Study Data" was published in MDPI’s open access scholarly journal Molecules (Press release, Can-Fite BioPharma, JUN 9, 2022, View Source [SID1234615814]). The complete article can be accessed here: LINK

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Can-Fite is a global leader in the development of small molecule A3 adenosine receptor (A3AR) technology with 15 patent families, extensive efficacy and safety data in over 1,500 patients, and three indications in Phase II and III studies.

In the scientific community, A3AR is well established as a target for combatting inflammation and cancer. The target, Gi protein-coupled A3AR, is highly expressed in inflammatory and cancer cells, but not in normal cells. High A3AR expression is also found in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of patients with inflammatory diseases and cancer, reflecting A3AR expression in pathological remote sites. Solid tumor cells including breast, colon, small cell lung, pancreatic carcinoma, and melanoma, highly express A3AR compared to normal adjacent tissue cells. A3AR is also expressed in inflammatory cells such as synoviocytes derived from patients with rheumatoid arthritis, skin biopsies, and PBMCs from psoriasis and Crohn’s disease patients.

Targeting this receptor with synthetic and highly selective A3AR agonists induces anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer effects. Can-Fite’s patent estate provides broad coverage for its A3AR platform technology across numerous indications.

"As a leader in the development of A3AR targeting drugs, we are pleased to have this comprehensive article published in an open-source scientific journal. We believe providing data on our platform’s mechanism of action and its performance in several clinical studies supports the advancement of knowledge and discovery specific to A3AR and increases its potential to become a widely used mechanism to treat chronic and acute disease," stated Can-Fite CEO Dr. Pnina Fishman.

On June 9, 2022 Forbion, a leading European life sciences venture capital firm, reported the first €470 million (USD 500 million) close of its Forbion Growth Opportunities Fund II ("Forbion Growth"), focused on investing in late-stage European life sciences companies, exceeding its €450 million target size (Press release, Forbion Capital Partners, JUN 9, 2022, View Source [SID1234615813]).

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This new Growth Opportunities Fund has attracted several new institutional investors, including pension funds PME and PMT, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and Reggeborgh, who join returning investors Pantheon, Wealth Management Partners and Eli Lilly and Company.

The second Forbion Growth Opportunities Fund will continue to invest in mostly European, later-stage biopharma companies, developing novel therapies for areas of high medical need. The Fund will target this market segment with three proven strategies: providing private growth capital for mature clinical development-stage assets, furnishing pre-IPO funding to companies pursuing a public listing in the near-term, and injecting capital and hands-on capabilities to under-valued public companies. In these financings, Forbion Growth Opportunities II aims to take leading positions with investment sizes of up to €70 million per deal. The team’s goal is to build a portfolio of 15 such investments in the most promising late-stage European life sciences companies.

Forbion expects to reach its €600 million hard cap, completing the raising of Forbion Growth Opportunities Fund II over the summer.

Sander Slootweg, Managing Partner and co-founder of Forbion said: "The European market for late stage, private life sciences investments is large and remains significantly underserved. The increase in the number of institutional investors committing to the Forbion Growth Opportunities Fund II is a testament to our successful track record in investing in late clinical stage life sciences companies. A recent example is the sale of Gyroscope Therapeutics to Novartis for a total consideration of $ 1.5 billion earlier this year, after a mere nine month hold period."

Dirk Kersten, General Partner, added: "In the past two years, we have successfully deployed Forbion Growth Opportunities Fund I, providing growth capital to a selected number of high-quality European life sciences companies. Forbion Growth has built the most experienced and sizeable team in Europe focusing on the late-stage segment, and is ready to continue investing in ambitious life sciences companies looking to accelerate their growth. We are therefore very excited to announce this substantial first close of Forbion Growth Opportunities Fund II, and look forward to the final close of the fund later this year."

On June 9, 2022 BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: BCRX) reported the company has entered into an exclusive collaboration with Pint Pharma GmbH to register and promote ORLADEYO (berotralstat) in the pan-Latin America (LATAM) region (Press release, BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, JUN 9, 2022, View Source [SID1234615812]).

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"We are pleased to join forces with Pint Pharma to bring our oral, once-daily therapy to hereditary angioedema patients in LATAM who are in need of a new treatment option. Pint Pharma is the ideal partner for BioCryst based on the team’s deep experience in rare diseases that spans multiple aspects of commercialization and their established network across this important region," said Charlie Gayer, chief commercial officer of BioCryst.

"Our partnership with BioCryst is significant for Pint Pharma given the critical unmet need among HAE patients in LATAM who are seeking an innovative treatment option for this serious disease. ORLADEYO has successfully launched in multiple markets across the globe, and we are privileged to leverage our expertise to support BioCryst in introducing this prophylactic therapy to the region," said David Munoz, chief executive officer and co-founder of Pint Pharma.

Under the terms of the agreement, Pint Pharma will be responsible for obtaining and maintaining all marketing authorizations and for commercializing ORLADEYO in the pan-LATAM region.

Pint Pharma is an Austria-based pharmaceutical company that has extensive experience developing, registering and commercializing rare disease and specialty treatments throughout Latin America and Europe.

About ORLADEYO (berotralstat)
ORLADEYO (berotralstat) is the first and only oral therapy designed specifically to prevent attacks of hereditary angioedema (HAE) in adult and pediatric patients 12 years and older. One capsule of ORLADEYO per day works to prevent HAE attacks by decreasing the activity of plasma kallikrein.

U.S. Indication and Important Safety Information

INDICATION
ORLADEYO (berotralstat) is a plasma kallikrein inhibitor indicated for prophylaxis to prevent attacks of hereditary angioedema (HAE) in adults and pediatric patients 12 years and older.

Limitations of use
The safety and effectiveness of ORLADEYO for the treatment of acute HAE attacks have not been established. ORLADEYO should not be used for the treatment of acute HAE attacks. Additional doses or dosages of ORLADEYO higher than 150 mg once daily are not recommended due to the potential for QT prolongation.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

An increase in QT prolongation was observed at dosages higher than the recommended 150 mg once-daily dosage and was concentration dependent.

The most common adverse reactions (≥10% and higher than placebo) in patients receiving ORLADEYO were abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, back pain, and gastroesophageal reflux disease.

A reduced dosage of 110 mg taken orally once daily with food is recommended in patients with moderate or severe hepatic impairment (Child-Pugh B or C) and in patients taking chronically administered P-glycoprotein (P-gp) or breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP) inhibitors (eg, cyclosporine).

Berotralstat is a substrate of P-gp and BCRP. P-gp inducers (eg, rifampin, St. John’s wort) may decrease berotralstat plasma concentration, leading to reduced efficacy of ORLADEYO. The use of P-gp inducers is not recommended with ORLADEYO.

ORLADEYO at a dose of 150 mg is a moderate inhibitor of CYP2D6 and CYP3A4. For concomitant medications with a narrow therapeutic index that are predominantly metabolized by CYP2D6 or CYP3A4, appropriate monitoring and dose titration is recommended. ORLADEYO at a dose of 300 mg is a P-gp inhibitor. Appropriate monitoring and dose titration is recommended for P-gp substrates (eg, digoxin) when coadministering with ORLADEYO.

The safety and effectiveness of ORLADEYO in pediatric patients <12 years of age have not been established.

There are insufficient data available to inform drug-related risks with ORLADEYO use in pregnancy. There are no data on the presence of berotralstat in human milk, its effects on the breastfed infant, or its effects on milk production.