On July 8, 2022 Herantis Pharma Plc reported that has appointed Antti Vuolanto (born 1975) as CEO as of 22July2022 (Press release, Herantis Pharma, JUL 8, 2022, View Source,c3598918 [SID1234616555]). Frans Wuite will continue as interim CEO of Herantis Pharma Plc until 21July2022 and as Member of the Board also thereafter.

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Antti Vuolanto has acted as the Chief Operating Officer of Herantis Pharma Plc since 2018. Vuolanto graduated as Doctor of Science in Technology at Aalto University, Finland in 2004 in biochemistry and bioprocess technology. He has vast experience in biological drug development, gene therapy products, in-vitro diagnostics, and bioinformatics.

"The Board of Directors commenced the CEO recruitment process in January this year. I am very pleased that, after careful evaluation, we found an internal successor within the company who is well equipped to take over the role of CEO. As a result of his management position in the company, Antti Vuolanto has strong experience and knowledge of Herantis’ business and strategic development, as well as due to his background, expertise in the company’s field of business, research, and product development. Antti has also demonstrated his commitment to the company and its development over the past few years. We thank Frans Wuite for his contribution as interim CEO of Herantis and wish Antti all the best in his new future role," says Timo Veromaa, Chairman of the Board of Herantis.

"It has been an honour to be closely involved in the development of Herantis and the company’s strategy over the last few years and to participate in the important work Herantis is doing in developing disease modifying therapies for Parkinson’s Disease. In my new role, I am able to utilize my knowledge of Herantis’ industry, business and strategic development, and I am excited about the opportunity to participate in Herantis’ next phases in a new role as CEO. I thank the Board of Directors of Herantis for the trust it has shown," says Antti Vuolanto.

On July 8, 2022 Exact Sciences Corp. (Nasdaq: EXAS), a leading provider of cancer screening and diagnostic tests, reported that the company plans to release its second quarter 2022 financial results after the close of the U.S. financial markets on August 2, 2022 (Press release, Exact Sciences, JUL 8, 2022, View Source [SID1234616553]). Following the release, company management will host a webcast and conference call at 5 p.m. ET to discuss financial results and business progress.

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Second quarter 2022 webcast & conference call details

An archive of the webcast will be available at www.exactsciences.com. A replay of the conference call will be available by calling 800-770-2030 domestically or +1 647-362-9199 internationally. The access code for the replay of the call is 4437608. The webcast, conference call, and replay are open to all interested parties.

On July 8, 2022 GlyTherix reported that it has commenced an exciting new collaboration with the GastroEsophageal Malignancies Investigator Network Initiative (GEMINI) to test its Miltuximab monoclonal antibody therapies in gastroesophageal cancers (Press release, Glytherix, JUL 8, 2022, View Source [SID1234616534]). GEMINI, backed by the Torrey Coast Foundation, is a multi-institution collaboration of 22 scientific and clinical investigators dedicated to developing innovative new strategies to treat gastroesophageal malignancies.

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Dr Sandra Ryeom, Associate Professor in the Division of Surgical Sciences in the Department of Surgery at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and the Scientific Director of GEMINI said, "GEMINI was created to accelerate the clinical trials of new therapies for gastroesophageal malignancies. We have established a network of preclinical and clinical investigators, with expertise in pre-clinical drug screening using in vitro and in vivo models, together with clinical investigators who have led Phase I clinical trials using targeted therapies in combination with immunotherapy and chemotherapy. We have exciting early data about GPC-1 expression in gastroesophageal malignancies and we look forward to testing GlyTherix’s therapies in our models".

Dr Brad Walsh said "GEMINI is an outstanding example of scientific and clinical collaboration to accelerate novel treatments into the clinic. Our Miltuximab therapy has proven safe in our First-in-Human clinical trial and we are looking forward to establishing its efficacy in the treatment of solid tumors. Gastroesophageal cancer is a significant unmet need and we hope that the preclinical data we obtain from this collaboration will provide the data to progress Miltuximab into clinical trials for these patients".

On July 7 , 2022 , Shenzhen Aixindawei Pharmaceutical Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Aixindawei" or "the Company") reported that the Phase I clinical study of its independently developed AKR1C3 enzyme – activated prodrug platform targeted anti-cancer new drug AST-001 injection successfully completed the first subject enrollment and the first dose at Jilin Provincial Cancer Hospital (Press release, Ascentawits Pharmaceuticals, JUL 7, 2022, View Source [SID1234650303]).

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This study is a Phase I/II clinical study of AST-001 injection in patients with advanced malignant solid tumors conducted in China (registration numbers: CTR20220934 , CTR20220935 ). The purpose is to evaluate the safety and tolerability of AST-001 monotherapy in patients with advanced malignant solid tumors and to evaluate the pharmacokinetic characteristics and preliminary efficacy of AST-001 and its metabolites in the subjects.

Dr. Jianxin Duan, founder and chairman of Aixindawei, said: " AST-001 injection is of great significance in the company’s R&D pipeline. Multiple preclinical in vitro and in vivo studies have demonstrated that AST-001 has good safety and broad-spectrum anti-tumor activity. In addition, AST-001 has shown significant efficacy in multiple in vivo animal tumor models with high expression of AKR1C3 and KRASG12D mutations. AST-001 obtained implicit clinical trial approval from NMPA in January 2022. With the joint efforts of the company, clinical principal investigators, research centers and other parties, we overcame the impact of the epidemic and successfully completed the enrollment of the first patient of AST-001 and the smooth administration of the drug, an important milestone. In the future, we will rapidly advance clinical research and strive to provide more treatment options for cancer patients as soon as possible to meet clinical urgent needs."

About AST-001

AST-001 is an innovative small molecule conjugate drug independently developed by the company through the AKR1C3 enzyme activation platform. It has the characteristics of First-In-Class and has global patents. After entering the tumor cells overexpressing the AKR1C3 enzyme, it is activated by the AKR1C3 enzyme to release effective drugs, achieving precise killing of tumor cells. Preclinical studies have shown that AST-001 has a broad spectrum of anti-tumor effects, significant effects and good safety.

About the AST-001-001 Clinical Study

The AST-001-001 study is a Phase I/II clinical study of AST-001 injection in patients with advanced malignant solid tumors conducted in China . The purpose of the study is to evaluate the safety and tolerability of solid tumor subjects receiving intravenous infusion of AST-001 , to evaluate the pharmacokinetic characteristics of AST-001 and its main metabolites in solid tumor subjects, and to preliminarily evaluate the efficacy and safety of AST-001 monotherapy in the treatment of malignant solid tumors. Professor Cheng Ying served as the principal investigator of the study, and the research was also conducted in multiple clinical research centers such as Jilin Cancer Hospital, Zhejiang Cancer Hospital, and the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine.

On July 7, 2022 Zhiyi Biotech reported that it has raised $15 million in its B++ funding round (Press release, Guangzhou Zhiyi Biotech, JUL 7, 2022, View Source [SID1234616554]). The funds will be used to boost the clinical development of the company’s live biotherapeutic products (LBPs) pipelines. It’s worth mentioning that Zhiyi has successfully completed a total of $45 Million in B, B+ and B++ funding , with investors including Qingkong SinoKing Capital, SDIC Venture Capital, KIP etc.

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Zhiyi is a clinical-stage biotech leading in LBPs in China. It has built up a complete technical and industrial platform, covering from the isolation and identification of new functional strains to the development of innovative LBPs. Notably, the lead drug candidate in Zhiyi’s pipelines, SK08, is the first LBP developed on a unique bacterial strain Bacteroides Fragilis, and whose clinical progress is ahead of other LBPs in China. Phase II clinical trial of SK08 carried out in China to treat IBS-D is expected to be completed this year, and phase Ib/II trial of SK08 combined with PD-1 inhibitor for advance solid tumor has been initiated already. Meanwhile, several products are undergoing IND filing to both FDA and NMPA. More programs are expected to enter clinical stage in the foreseeing year.

"We are grateful to have the support and trust from our investors," said Dr. Ye Wang, CEO of Zhiyi Biotech. " The progress in our pipeline is attributed to our team’s continuous effort and persistence in R&D. Zhiyi has been always focusing on the unmet medical needs and dedicating to develop accessible drugs to benefit more patients. We are looking forward to strengthening our international collaboration with peer companies, to promote development of the whole LBPs industry.