Personalis to Present Data Demonstrating Breadth of NeXT Platform for Oncology at AACR Annual Meeting 2022

On March 23, 2022 Personalis, Inc. (Nasdaq: PSNL), a leader in advanced genomics for precision oncology, reported it is presenting new data in scientific posters at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting 2022, which will be held in-person and online, April 8-13, 2022 (Press release, Personalis, MAR 23, 2022, View Source [SID1234610757]).

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"These abstracts demonstrate the full range of our capabilities in advancing the field of oncology, from a rich understanding of molecular-level interactions through clinical applications in multiple disease indications. The work also builds on the company’s strong foundation of genomic data generated with solid tumor tissue and expands into liquid biopsy with a unique, exome-wide approach," said Richard Chen, M.D., Chief Medical Officer and SVP of R&D of Personalis.

Personalis is presenting five posters, outlined below. Further details can be found at this link.

Title: Applying NeXT Liquid Biopsy, an exome-scale platform, to monitor and discover somatic variants in a broad set of cancer types
Overview: Circulating tumor cell-free DNA (ctDNA) has become a biomarker for prognosis and disease monitoring. However, studies typically utilize assays limited to a small set of genes that may miss biologically important and clinically actionable mutations. To address this limitation, we have developed a whole-exome scale cfDNA platform, NeXT Liquid Biopsy, that enables sensitive detection and tracking of somatic mutations in plasma samples across ~20,000 genes. The NeXT Liquid Biopsy platform monitors tumor variants and discovers novel mutations in the plasma, through analysis of tumor, normal and plasma samples from the same patient. The NeXT Liquid Biopsy platform enables the identification of somatic variants in liquid biopsy samples, following interventions such as surgery and treatment therapies. Here, we have applied NeXT Liquid Biopsy to profile the shedding of somatic mutations from more than 100 pan-cancer patients on an exome scale, detecting variants in well-characterized cancer driver genes and many events outside of traditional panel footprints.

Title: Accurate quantification of infiltrating B cell composition and clone diversity in tumor samples
Overview: The role of B cells as a prognostic biomarker remains elusive. For instance, infiltrating B cells in colorectal cancer have both positive and negative prognostic value. Thus, a scalable approach to quantify B cells and the B-cell receptor repertoire could yield novel insights into the role of B cells in tumor biology. To address this, we have developed immune cell quantification (InfiltrateIDTM) and immune receptor repertoire profiling (RepertoireIDTM) methods as part of the ImmunoID NeXT Platform, an augmented, immuno-oncology-optimized exome/transcriptome platform. We show that InfiltrateID and RepertoireID accurately capture the composition and clone diversity of infiltrating B cells in tumor samples. Furthermore, we apply the two methods to explore B cell infiltration and BCR repertoires across a set of more than 650 pan-cancer samples.

Title: Exome-scale longitudinal tracking of emerging therapeutic resistance in GIST via analysis of circulating tumor DNA
Overview: Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) are lethal tumors characterized by constitutively activating mutations to KIT or PDGFRA. Transient disease control in the first-line setting is achieved via inhibition of tyrosine kinase signaling using the KIT inhibitor imatinib. As patients progress through subsequent lines of therapy, a molecularly heterogeneous disease evolves, characterized by distinct subtypes and shifting repertoires of exon-specific KIT variants that directly impact treatment outcomes. This study uses tumor-informed exome-scale liquid biopsy to identify and track the evolution of multiple resistance mechanisms in patients receiving tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) to address the unmet need of comprehensive understanding of GIST evolution in response to therapy.

Title: A high sensitivity, tumor-informed liquid biopsy platform, designed to detect minimal residual disease at part per million resolution
Overview: Tumor-informed liquid biopsy approaches have proven promising for detecting minimal residual disease (MRD) and recurrence of cancer following surgical resection or other therapy. However, current liquid biopsy MRD assays typically detect ctDNA in a range above 30 to 300 parts per million (PPM), leaving a significant fraction of MRD cases undetected, particularly soon after surgery and in early-stage cancers where ctDNA can be at very low levels. To address this, Personalis has developed NeXT Personal, a tumor-informed liquid biopsy assay that achieves sensitivity down to 1 PPM, therefore enabling earlier detection of MRD and recurrence.

Title: Mono-allelic immunopeptidomics data from 109 MHC-I alleles reveals variability in binding preferences and improves neoantigen prediction algorithm
Overview: This study extends the previously published MHC-I, pan-allelic neoantigen prediction algorithm, SHERPA, with immunopeptidomics from 84 additional mono-allelic transfected cell lines, totaling data from 109 unique alleles. SHERPA achieves model generalizability and 98% population allelic coverage by integrating nearly 500 additional public immunopeptidomics samples. As a result, SHERPA identifies 1.38-fold more immunogenic epitopes than either NetMHCPan-4.1 and MHCFlurry-2.0 and reveals strong correlations between evolutionary divergence and influential binding pocket positions in the MHC allele.

Cyclica and Arctoris to Expand Partnership to Advance Drug Discovery Programs for Alzheimer’s Disease

On March 23, 2022 Cyclica Inc. ("Cyclica"), a neo-biotech with the vision to advance the most robust and sustainable drug discovery pipeline, and Arctoris Ltd. ("Arctoris"), a tech-enabled biopharma company that combines its unique automation with computational approaches to progress drug discovery, reported that they have agreed to expand their partnership to progress drug discovery programs for novel neurodegenerative targets with a focus on Alzheimer’s disease (Press release, Cyclica, MAR 23, 2022, View Source [SID1234610756]). This planned expansion of the partnership follows the results from an initial engagement that yielded positive results for targets related to both oncology and neurodegenerative disease.

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"Cyclica’s platform and capabilities in combination with the biological assay development of Arctoris will enable us to yield meaningful results and advance research development for patients suffering from Alzheimers and other neurodegenerative diseases. The potential of combining our two specialties is very promising and we are extremely optimistic about the impact this partnership is expected to have on patients," shares Naheed Kurji, Co-Founder, President and CEO of Cyclica.

Dr. Martin-Immanuel Bittner, MD DPhil FRSA, CEO of Arctoris, comments by sharing, "Our joint drug discovery program focuses on dual specificity inhibitors – a very promising yet also challenging modality. Cyclica is one of the leaders in this space, leveraging their structure-based and AI-directed molecule design for polypharmacology, while at Arctoris we have built a particular expertise in complex mechanistic enzymology and advanced cell-based models in neurodegeneration. This is a highly synergistic partnership, and I am excited about what we can achieve together for patients around the world in an indication area in dire need of new and better treatment options."

Cyclica and Arctoris have long-term plans for their partnership as discussions are already underway about tackling additional therapeutic targets.

Applied DNA to Participate in the 2022 Virtual Growth Conference Presented by Maxim Group LLC and Hosted by M-Vest on March 28th – 30th from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. EDT

On March 23, 2022 Applied DNA Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: APDN), a leader in cell-free, enzymatic DNA production, reported that CEO Dr. James A. Hayward is invited to present at the 2022 Virtual Growth Conference presented by Maxim Group LLC and hosted by M-Vest, on March 28th – 30th from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. EDT (Press release, Applied DNA Sciences, MAR 23, 2022, View Source [SID1234610755]). Dr. Hayward’s presentation will be available on-demand for the duration of the conference via the sign-up link: Sign up here to access the presentation

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During the virtual conference, investors will hear from executives from a wide range of sectors, including Biotech, Clean Energy, Electric Vehicles, Financial Services, Fintech & REITs, Gaming & Entertainment, Healthcare, Healthcare IT, Infrastructure, Shipping and Technology/Media/Telecom. The conference will feature company presentations, fireside chats, roundtable discussions, and live Q&A with CEOs moderated by Maxim Research Analysts.

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Navidea Biopharmaceuticals Reports Fourth Quarter 2021 Financial Results

On March 23, 2022 Navidea Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE American: NAVB) ("Navidea" or the "Company"), a company focused on the development of precision immunodiagnostic agents and immunotherapeutics, reported its financial results for the fourth quarter and year-to-date for the period ended December 31, 2021 (Press release, Navidea Biopharmaceuticals, MAR 23, 2022, View Source [SID1234610753]).

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Alexander L. Cappello, Chair of Navidea’s Board of Directors, said, "We remain focused on our mission of developing precision immunodiagnostic agents and immunotherapeutics to enhance patient care. We are confident that our strong management team, supported by our experienced and active Board of Directors, can continue to execute on our business plan and fulfill the vision we have for Navidea."

Fourth Quarter 2021 Highlights and Subsequent Events

Continued to work on financing for the Company. We have engaged with an investment bank and options are being pursued.
Initiated and enrolled into the Company’s NAV3-33 Phase 3 trial in rheumatoid arthritis ("RA") titled "Evaluation of Tc 99m Tilmanocept Imaging for the Early Prediction of Anti-TNFα Therapy Response in Patients with Moderate to Severe Active Rheumatoid Arthritis."
Continued enrollment into the Company’s NAV3-32 Phase 2b trial comparing Tc99m tilmanocept imaging to histopathology of joints of patients with active RA. Eleven patients out of an originally estimated maximum of 24 based on subject pathotype are now enrolled with both imaging and biopsy performed.
Completed enrollment in the Company’s NAV3-35 Phase 2b study, "Development of a Normative Database for Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) Imaging with Tc99m Tilmanocept."
Completed the investigator-initiated Phase 2 trial being run at the Massachusetts General Hospital evaluating Tc99m tilmanocept uptake in atherosclerotic plaques of HIV-infected individuals. An abstract was presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in February 2022.
Signed research agreement with the University of Pennsylvania evaluating Tc99m tilmanocept as a prognostic marker for glioblastoma.
Signed a Letter of Intent with the image analysis company MIM Software, Inc., to be the Company’s commercial partner for image quantification of Tc99m tilmanocept imaging in RA.
Filed two new provisional patent applications. The first is related to new methods of attaching chemotherapeutics to the Manocept platform, and the second relates to maximizing target-tissue uptake and off-target competitive blocking. These have important implications for pipeline applications.
Michael Rosol, Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer for Navidea, said, "The clinical research team continues to work diligently to advance the technology in key disease areas, with an emphasis on our RA program. The NAV3-33 Phase 3 trial is enrolling, we continue to enroll into the NAV3-32 Phase 2b trial comparing tilmanocept imaging to synovial tissue biopsy samples of RA patients, and we have completed our normative database trial enrollment. Concurrent with all of this, we continue to make progress in our therapeutics pipeline, and we expect to keep advancing these towards the clinic."

Financial Results

Total net revenues for the fourth quarter of 2021 were $50,000, compared to $219,000 for the same period in 2020. Total net revenues for the full year of 2021 were $532,000, compared to $914,000 in 2020. The decrease was primarily due to decreased grant revenue related to Small Business Innovation Research grants from the National Institutes of Health supporting Manocept development and decreased royalty and license revenue from sales of Tc99m tilmanocept in Europe, offset by the partial recovery of debts previously written off in 2015 and receipt of reimbursement from Cardinal Health 414, LLC of certain R&D costs.
Research and development ("R&D") expenses for the fourth quarter of 2021 were $1.4 million, compared to $1.3 million in the same period in 2020. R&D expenses for the full year of 2021 were $5.1 million, compared to $4.9 million in 2020. The net increase during the year to date was primarily due to increased regulatory consulting, employee compensation, travel, recruiting and general office expenses, coupled with net increases in drug project expenses, including increased Manocept therapeutic and Tc99m tilmanocept development costs, offset by decreased Manocept diagnostic development costs.
Selling, general and administrative ("SG&A") expenses for the fourth quarter of 2021 were $2.3 million, compared to $1.7 million in the same period in 2020. SG&A expenses for the full year of 2021 were $7.5 million, compared to $6.7 million in 2020. The net increase during the year to date was primarily due to termination of our former Chief Executive Officer, coupled with increased consulting services related to European distribution of Tc99m tilmanocept, director compensation related to additional board members and increased board compensation rates, insurance costs, losses on the abandonment of certain intellectual property, recruiting fees, travel and general office expenses, offset by decreases in legal and professional services, employee compensation, investor relations costs, European annual registration fees, facilities costs and franchise taxes.
Navidea’s net loss attributable to common stockholders for the fourth quarter of 2021 was $3.7 million, or $0.12 per share, compared to $3.0 million, or $0.11 per share, for the same period in 2020. Navidea’s net loss attributable to common stockholders for the full year of 2021 was $11.7 million, or $0.40 per share, compared to $11.4 million, or $0.48 per share, in 2020.
Navidea ended the fourth quarter of 2021 with $4.2 million in cash and cash equivalents.
Conference Call Details

Investors and the public are invited to dial into the earnings call through the information listed below, or participate via the audio webcast on the company website. Dr. Michael Rosol, Chief Medical Officer, and Erika Eves, Vice President of Finance and Administration, will host the call and webcast to discuss the financial results and provide an update on recent developments and clinical progress. Management will be available to answer questions live immediately following the earnings announcement and prepared remarks portion of the call.

To participate in the call and webcast, please refer to the information below:

A live audio webcast of the conference call will also be available on the investor relations page of Navidea’s corporate website at www.navidea.com. In addition, the recorded conference call can be replayed and will be available for 90 days following the call on Navidea’s website.

Merck Announces Retirement of Dr. Roy D. Baynes; Dr. Eliav Barr Appointed Head of Global Clinical Development and Chief Medical Officer

On March 23, 2022 Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, reported that Dr. Roy D. Baynes, head of Global Clinical Development (GCD) and Chief Medical Officer, Merck Research Laboratories (MRL), will be retiring from Merck in July (Press release, Merck & Co, MAR 23, 2022, View Source [SID1234610752]). Dr. Baynes will be succeeded by Dr. Eliav Barr, effective April 1, 2022. Dr. Baynes will continue to report to Dr. Dean Y. Li, president, Merck Research Laboratories, until his retirement.

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"Roy is one of the world’s pre-eminent oncologists and clinical development experts, and his masterful spearheading of the development of KEYTRUDA leaves an indelible mark on Merck, on oncology and on the lives of patients and their families. As textbooks are updated to reflect the era of immuno-oncology, Roy’s contributions cannot be overstated, and will persist far beyond his eight years with Merck," said Dr. Li. "I know there are many who join me in thanking Roy for his efforts and wishing him well in his next chapter."

Dr. Baynes joined Merck in 2013. Under his leadership, Merck has become a leading oncology company and achieved more than 140 medicine and vaccine approvals globally across numerous therapeutic areas. This includes the development of KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab), WELIREG (belzutifan), VAXNEUVANCE (Pneumococcal 15-valent Conjugate Vaccine), ZEPATIER (elbasvir and grazoprevir), LAGEVRIO (molnupiravir), ZERBAXA (ceftolozane and tazobactam), RECARBRIO (relebactam), PREVYMIS (letermovir), BRIDION (sugammadex) among others and, in collaboration with AstraZeneca, Eisai and Bayer, the development of Lynparza (olaparib), Lenvima (lenvatinib) and VERQUVO (vericiguat), respectively. He also led the expansion of Merck’s research and development in China and Japan.

"It has been a privilege to have led the global clinical development organization during my tenure at Merck," said Dr. Baynes. "I am immensely proud of the team’s accomplishments and the difference we are making in the lives of patients worldwide. I look forward to continuing to work with Eliav in the coming months to ensure a smooth transition."

Dr. Baynes will be succeeded by Dr. Eliav Barr, senior vice president, Global Clinical Development. During his more than two decades at Merck, Dr. Barr has held positions of increasing responsibility including leadership roles in oncology and infectious diseases clinical development. Dr. Barr oversaw the company’s Vaccines/Infectious Disease area during a period of high productivity, including the development of novel therapies for chronic hepatitis C and HIV-1 infections. Most recently he led MRL’s Global Medical Affairs organization from 2018 to January 2022, significantly expanding Merck’s scientific engagement and implementation efforts in oncology, vaccines and more. In his new role Dr. Barr will lead all late-stage clinical development for Merck’s expansive human health portfolio and pipeline and will report to Dr. Li.

"Eliav’s career at Merck has been marked by roles spanning infectious diseases, oncology and vaccines involving the development of several first-of-their-kind medicines and vaccines that have since been used by millions of people around the world. Most notably, he led the development of Merck’s human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines, which have become key tools in the global effort to reduce the burden of certain cancers and diseases caused by HPV," said Dr. Li. "Eliav’s expertise in global clinical development combined with his unwavering commitment to patients and Merck’s purpose to save and improve lives make him well qualified to be the next Chief Medical Officer for Merck and the ideal leader for our industry-leading global clinical development team."

Dr. Barr is a cardiologist by training. He received his undergraduate degree from Penn State University and his medical degree from Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University. He completed his Internal Medicine residency and Cardiology Fellowship at Johns Hopkins University, and subsequently pursued post-doctoral training at the University of Michigan. Prior to joining Merck in 1995, he held a faculty position at the University of Chicago. In 2019, he was a proud recipient of a Penn State Alumni Fellow Award for his dedication to the development of medicines and vaccines that treat and prevent infectious diseases.

"I am honored to assume the role as head of Merck’s industry-leading clinical development organization," said Dr. Barr. "I am grateful to Roy for his mentorship and excited by the opportunity to build on Merck’s proud legacy of delivering breakthrough medicines and vaccines for the patients we serve."