On February 17, 2023 Fusion Antibodies reported that it is delighted to be attending this year’s BIO-Europe Spring conference being held in Basel, Switzerland on 20-22nd March 2023 (Press release, Fusion Antibodies, FEB 17, 2023, View Source [SID1234627385]).

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BIO-Europe Spring 2023 will gather representatives from the biotech and pharma sectors, expecting over 1,000 companies and more than 2,000 visitors and key decision-makers from across the world.

Our CSO Dr Richard Buick will be attending this event along with Ryan Tough. If you would like to book an appointment to discuss partnering opportunities please get in touch or book an appointment through the partnering platform here.

Find out more about this event here.

On February 17, 2023 VerImmune, Inc. ("VerImmune"), a biotechnology company leading the way in developing virus-inspired particle modalities for cancer treatment, reported the issuance of its second U.S. Patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The newly issued patent, U.S. Patent No. 11,560,408 entitled "Conjugated virus-like particles and uses thereof as anti-tumor immune redirectors," provides further protection and support for VerImmune’s proprietary technology platform, including the composition of matter and methods of use in treating cancer. The patent is expected to offer protection until at least 2038.

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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

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VerImmune’s platform redirects the body’s pre-existing T-cell memory against pathogens to attack cancer and could potentially act against multiple types of cancer due to the near-universal nature of pre-existing responses to childhood vaccines and past infections. As such, this technology has potentially broad treatment applications.

"The issuance of this second patent is a testament to VerImmune’s growing global intellectual property estate, now boasting over 30 patent applications worldwide. This is a key factor in VerImmune’s mission to innovate and optimize the clinical and commercial potential of its assets." said Joshua Wang, Founder and CEO of VerImmune.

On February 17, 2023 Sutro Biopharma, Inc. (Sutro or the Company) (NASDAQ: STRO), a clinical-stage oncology company pioneering site-specific and novel-format antibody drug conjugates (ADCs), reported that on February 15, 2023, the Compensation Committee of Sutro’s Board of Directors granted 90,000 shares of Sutro Biopharma stock options and 130,000 restricted stock units (RSUs) of Sutro common stock (Press release, Sutro Biopharma, FEB 17, 2023, View Source [SID1234627379]). These grants were made as an inducement material to the employees’ acceptance of employment with Sutro and were approved by the Compensation Committee of Sutro’s Board of Directors in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4).

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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

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The RSUs and stock options are subject to the terms and conditions of Sutro’s 2021 Equity Inducement Plan. One-fourth of the total number of shares subject to the RSUs will vest on the one-year anniversary of the employee’s hire date and annually thereafter until fully vested on the fourth anniversary, subject to the employee’s continued service with Sutro on each such vesting date. One-fourth of the total number of shares underlying the stock options will vest on the one-year anniversary of the employee’s hire date and 1/48th of the total number of shares underlying the stock options will vest each month thereafter until fully vested on the fourth anniversary of the employee’s hire date, subject to the employee’s continued service with Sutro on each such vesting date. The stock options have a term of ten years and an exercise price equal to the closing price of Sutro’s common stock on the grant date as reported by The Nasdaq Stock Market.

On February 17, 2023 FibroGen, Inc. (NASDAQ: FGEN) reported its fourth quarter and full year 2022 financial results on Monday, February 27 after the market close. FibroGen will also conduct a conference call on that day at 5:00 PM Eastern Time with the investment community to further detail the company’s corporate and financial performance.

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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

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Conference Call and Audio Webcast
Interested parties may access a live audio webcast of the conference call via the "Investor Relations" page of the Company’s website at www.fibrogen.com. To access the call by phone, please go to this link (registration link), and you will be provided with dial in details. To avoid delays, we encourage participants to dial into the conference call fifteen minutes ahead of the scheduled start time. A replay of the webcast will also be available for a limited time at the following link (webcast replay).

On February 17, 2023 Cytovation ASA, a clinical stage immune-oncology company focused on the development of CyPep-1, its first-in-class targeted tumor membrane immunotherapy, reported that the first patient has been dosed in its Phase 2a study investigating CyPep-1 monotherapy in patients with advanced melanoma refractory to checkpoint inhibitors (CPIs) (Press release, Cytovation, FEB 17, 2023, View Source;utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=cytovation-announces-first-patient-dosed-in-phase-2a-study-investigating-cypep-1-monotherapy-in-advanced-melanoma-refractory-to-checkpoint-inhibitors [SID1234627377]).

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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

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The study is an expansion arm of its ongoing Phase 1/2 CICILIA trial in solid tumors, which is being conducted in The Netherlands, France, and Spain. The Phase 2a study builds on encouraging data from the first phase of the trial, which has demonstrated a favorable safety profile for CyPep-1 monotherapy along with strong early signals of efficacy in several tumor types.

CyPep-1 is a proprietary first-in-class targeted tumor membrane immunotherapy engineered to selectively target cancer cells. Administered by intratumoral injection, CyPep-1 eliminates cancer cells by forming pores in the plasma membrane, releasing cancer specific antigens to the immune system, promoting an inflammatory microenvironment, and inducing a systemic, tumor-specific immune response. A synthetic peptide, CyPep-1 has been designed for easy and scalable manufacturing and is highly stable – an uncommon feature in these molecules.

Melanoma is the first of several indications that will be explored in Phase 2 expansion studies, which will investigate CyPep-1 both as a monotherapy and in combination with the immune checkpoint inhibitor KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab). A number of these indications, including melanoma subgroups, are orphan indications with few currently available treatments, which could allow for accelerated approval.

Lars Prestegarden, MD, PhD, CEO of Cytovation, commented: "We continue to be very pleased with the clinical development progress of CyPep-1, and are excited to be launching this Phase 2a expansion arm, building upon our strong Phase 1 monotherapy data. Patients with metastatic melanoma that is refractory to checkpoint inhibitors are left with few treatment options and a high unmet need."

Preclinical data has also shown that CyPep-1’s mechanism of action is highly amenable to combination with other immunotherapies. Cytovation has an ongoing clinical research collaboration with MSD to explore CyPep-1 in combination with MSD’s anti-PD-1 therapy KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), and melanoma.

KEYTRUDA is a registered trademark of Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA.