On October 5, 2022 Aptamer Science reported on the 5th that it decided to issue convertible bonds (CB) worth 16.5 billion won to secure clinical costs for developing innovative new drugs (Press release, Aptamer Sciences, OCT 5, 2022, View Source;idx=229 [SID1234641612]).

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

The day before, Aptamer Science decided to issue the first bearer-type unsecured private convertible bond with interest. Both the coupon interest rate and the maturity interest rate are 0.0%, and the refixing (conversion price adjustment) condition is not included.

The company commented, "Despite the continuation of the high interest rate era, including the recent increase in the base interest rate, the market’s evaluation of the growth strategy appears to be positive, considering the fact that the interest rate is 0% and there is no refixing clause."

The company said, "Generally, in the case of convertible bonds (CB) issued in the KOSDAQ market, conditions for adjusting the conversion price according to the decline in the stock price are included," adding, "The exclusion of the refixing condition means that

"It can be interpreted that the possibility of stock conversion gains due to the rise in stock prices was highly evaluated," he emphasized.

Aptamer Science plans to use the funds raised this time to develop innovative new drugs, such as clinical trials for an anticancer drug (AST-201) for solid tumors and a follow-up pipeline immunotherapy drug (CD-25).

With the existing public offering funds, we plan to conduct large-scale prospective confirmatory clinical trials of a lung cancer early diagnosis kit based on blood protein biomarkers and target Asian markets such as Singapore through LDT (Laboratory Developed Test).

An Aptamer Science official explained, "Regarding the development of an innovative new drug, the anticancer drug (AST-201) was significantly delayed from the originally planned schedule due to problems such as securing raw materials due to the spread of COVID-19."

He continued, "Currently, a CDMO company is producing clinical samples, and as we aim to apply for an clinical trial (IND) in the second quarter of 2023, we plan to secure funds preemptively to accelerate the process."

Go to article: Aptamer Science attracts investment of 16.5 billion won… "We will speed up the development of new drugs"

On October 5, 2022 Aesther Healthcare Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ: AEHA) ("Aesther"), a special purpose acquisition company ("SPAC") and Ocean Biomedical, Inc. ("Ocean"), a next-generation biopharma company reported that Aesther has entered into two separate Backstop Agreements for a total of up to $80 million, with the addition of up to $40 million from Meteora Special Opportunity Fund I, LP, Meteora Select Trading Opportunities Master, LP, and Meteora Capital Partners, LP (collectively, "Meteora") in connection with its proposed business combination (the "Business Combination" or the "Transaction") with Ocean (Press release, Ocean Biomedical, OCT 5, 2022, View Source [SID1234622465]). Previously, Aesther had executed and announced an up to $40 million Backstop Agreement with Vellar Opportunity Fund SPV LLC-Series 3.

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

Upon the closing of the Business Combination, Ocean will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Aesther, Aesther will change its name to Ocean Biomedical, Inc., and its common stock and warrants are expected to be listed on Nasdaq, under the symbols "OCEA" and "OCEAW," respectively.

The combined company will work to accelerate the development of Ocean’s core assets in oncology, fibrosis, and infectious diseases, all based on new target discoveries enabling first-in-class drug and vaccine candidates and developed through past and ongoing grants totaling $123.9 million.

Suren Ajjarapu, Chairman and CEO of Aesther, commented, "We are pleased to announce the execution of an up to $40 million Backstop Agreement with Meteora."

"Non-small cell lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death and second most diagnosed cancer in the United States. Glioblastoma multiforme is a lethal type of brain tumor that affects approximately 28,000 people in the US, with a median survival time of about 15 months. The execution of up to $80 million in Backstop Agreements will help advance our cancer, fibrosis, and malaria discoveries into their Phase 1 trials, and has the potential to alleviate suffering and save thousands of lives," said Dr. Chirinjeev Kathuria, co-founder and Executive Chairman.

On October 5, 2022 EpiAxis Therapeutics reported at BioPharm America 2022, part of Biotech Week Boston, giving investors an update on the company’s progress in the epigenetic space (Press release, EpiAxis Therapeutics, OCT 5, 2022, View Source;utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=epiaxis-presents-at-biopharm-america [SID1234621847]).

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

BioPharm America is a conference where the new wave of life science innovators partner to fuel the future of drug development. Now in its 15th year, the event was held in-person on 28-29 September 2022 and across two digital days from 4-5 October 2022.

BioPharm America Digital created a robust exchange among executives from major pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies of every size and stage, investors and academic institutions. It brought dealmakers from the life science ecosystem together, with half the virtual audience from the United States and the rest from around the globe.

Appearing at BioPharm American follows an exciting Q1 FY23 for EpiAxis, which has included collaborations with University Health Network (UHN) and Peptilogics.

EpiAxis and UHN – Canada’s largest and leading research hospital – have entered into a collaboration to study a new approach to prostate cancer treatment; while Peptilogics, a biotech company engineering peptide therapeutics by combining computation and biology to improve the treatment landscape for patients with life-threatening diseases, has joined with EpiAxis to leverage AI for drug discovery to inhibit epigenetic oncology targets, aiming to reprogram cancer cells and drive immune reinvigoration.

On October 5, 2022 Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX), the world’s leading provider of diagnostic information services, and Summa Health, a large integrated healthcare delivery system in Ohio, reported a definitive agreement for Quest to acquire select assets of Summa Health’s outreach laboratory services business, referred to as LabCare Plus, in an all-cash transaction (Press release, Quest Diagnostics, OCT 5, 2022, View Source [SID1234621764]).

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

The aim of the transaction is to broaden access to innovative, quality and cost-effective laboratory services powering affordable care for communities in Ohio. Under the agreement, Quest’s laboratories in Twinsburg, Ohio, and Pittsburgh will provide testing for physicians and patients serviced by LabCare Plus. Summa Health will continue to wholly own and operate its hospital labs providing laboratory services for inpatient and hospital-based outpatient care, along with its anatomic pathology services.

Assuming the transaction’s completion, physicians and patients throughout Ohio will benefit from access to Quest’s industry-leading and highly innovative test menu, broad health plan coverage, network of patient access sites throughout the state, and lower out-of-pocket costs for many services.

"Laboratory services are a critical and fast-evolving area of healthcare. As the nation’s leader, Quest has the expertise, agility and breadth of innovation to deliver the enhanced capabilities that physicians and patients increasingly expect," said Ben Sutton, Chief Strategy Officer and President of Ambulatory Care and Clinical Service Lines for Summa Health. "With this relationship, patients and providers in Ohio will benefit from access to advanced laboratory capabilities supporting better health outcomes."

"Diagnostics provide the insights to deliver healthcare that is both high quality and high value. By helping top health systems like Summa Health optimize their lab strategies, Quest empowers better health and affordable care for more patients," said Steve Rusckowski, Quest Diagnostics Chairman, CEO and President. "We look forward to extending our reach to more communities in Ohio as we strive to build a healthier world."

Summa Health selected Quest Diagnostics following a competitive bid. The parties expect to complete the transaction in the fourth quarter of 2022, subject to customary regulatory approvals. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

On October 5, 2022 Cellectis (the "Company") (Euronext Growth: ALCLS – NASDAQ: CLLS), a clinical-stage biotechnology company using its pioneering gene-editing platform to develop life-saving cell and gene therapies, reported that pre-clinical data on TALEN-edited smart CAR T-cells to overcome key challenges of targeting solid tumors, will be presented at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) (Free SITC Whitepaper)’s 37th Annual Meeting (SITC 2022), to be held in Boston, M.A. and virtually on November 8-12, 2022 (Press release, Cellectis, OCT 5, 2022, View Source [SID1234621757]).

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

Presentations include:

Poster presentation:

Cellectis will present a poster on TALEN-edited smart CAR T-cells targeting MUC1- expressing solid tumors. MUC1 is a tumor-associated antigen that is overexpressed in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and other solid tumor malignancies.

Title: Multi-armored allogeneic MUC-1 CAR T-cells efficiently control triple negative breast cancer tumor growth
Poster Number: 217
Presenter: Piril, Erler Ph.D., Scientist II, Immuno-Oncology, Cellectis
Date/Time: Thursday, November 10th, posters will be on display from 9:00 AM- 9:00 PM, Hall C

Poster presentation:

Cellectis will present a poster on innovative T-cell engineering strategies designed to increase the activity of CAR T-cells for solid tumors while mitigating toxicity risk.

Title: TALEN-edited smart CAR T-cells leverage solid tumor microenvironment for specific and effective immunotherapy
Poster Number: 325
Presenter: Shipra Das Ph.D., Senior Scientist & Team Leader Immuno-Oncology, Cellectis
Date/Time: Thursday, November 10th, posters will be on display from 9:00 AM- 9:00 PM, Hall C

Full text of the abstracts will be released on the SITC (Free SITC Whitepaper) website at 8:00 a.m. EST on November 7, 2022.