On May 3, 2023 Jounce Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: JNCE) ("Jounce" or the "Company"), a clinical-stage company focused on the discovery and development of novel cancer immunotherapies and predictive biomarkers, reported that Concentra Biosciences, LLC ("Concentra"), through its wholly owned subsidiary Concentra Merger Sub, Inc. ("Concentra Merger Sub"), has successfully completed the previously announced tender offer to acquire all outstanding shares of the common stock of Jounce for $1.85 per share in cash plus a non-tradeable contingent value right (a "CVR") per share (Press release, Jounce Therapeutics, MAY 4, 2023, View Source [SID1234630927]). The $1.85 per share upfront consideration represents a premium of approximately 75% to Jounce’s closing share price immediately prior to the public disclosure of Concentra’s acquisition proposal on March 14, 2023.

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 tender offer expired at 6:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on May 3, 2023. As of the expiration of the offer, 36,367,727 shares of Jounce common stock had been validly tendered and not validly withdrawn from the tender offer, representing approximately 69.09% of the outstanding shares of Jounce common stock. All conditions of the offer were satisfied or waived, and Concentra completed its acquisition of all outstanding shares of Jounce that were validly tendered and not validly withdrawn for the offer price.

Following the closing of the tender offer, Concentra Merger Sub merged with and into Jounce and all shares of Jounce common stock that had not been validly tendered were converted into the right to receive the same $1.85 per share in cash plus one CVR per share (the "Merger"). As a result of the Merger, Jounce became a wholly owned subsidiary of Concentra. Shares of Jounce common stock ceased trading on Nasdaq and Concentra intends promptly to cause such shares to be delisted. Payment will be made promptly to all former Jounce common stockholders regardless of whether they tendered their shares.

On May 3, 2023 iOnctura, a clinical-stage biotech developing selective cancer therapies against targets that play critical roles in multiple tumor survival pathways, reported it has exercised an exclusive option with Clavius Pharmaceuticals, adding the novel oral TGF-β pathway inhibitor, IOA-359, to its pipeline (Poster, iOnctura, MAY 3, 2023, View Source [SID1234640233]). The Company also announces it has, in collaboration with the University of Twente (UT), been awarded a grant from Health Holland and KWF (Dutch Cancer Society), reflecting the potential of IOA-359.

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!

Under the terms of the licence agreement, iOnctura is solely responsible for the global development and commercialisation of the small molecule inhibitor. The TGF-β pathway plays a critical role in promoting tumor aggressiveness, immune escape and resistance to therapy, making it an attractive target for cancer therapy. Previous attempts to interrupt TGF-β pathway signaling in cancer have been thwarted by drug-associated toxicities and activation of resistance pathways by the tumor. By developing a safe TGF-β pathway inhibitor and characterising the resistance mechanisms that typically arise when targeting the TGF-β pathway alone, iOnctura’s data-driven precision oncology methods are being used to design novel, safe combination treatments that promise to override tumor survival resistance pathways.

Supplementing iOnctura’s internal preclinical investigations, the KWF grant led by Dr Ruchi Bansal, Assistant Professor of Medical Cell BioPhysics, will utilise UT’s unique model system to provide iOnctura with a valuable preclinical pharmacology package for IOA-359.

Catherine Pickering, Chief Executive Officer of iOnctura, said: "IOA-359 is an exciting addition to our preclinical pipeline. TGF-β is an established target in oncology yet we are the first company applying precision methods to intelligently combine targeting this pathway alongside other tumor survival and resistance pathways. We recently demonstrated that the autotaxin/LPA pathway has a role in mediating TGF-β resistance in pancreatic cancer and are excited to further explore combining IOA-359 with our autotaxin inhibitor, IOA-289, preclinically."

United Therapeutics has filed a 10-Q – Quarterly report [Sections 13 or 15(d)] with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission .

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!

Deciphera Pharmaceuticals has filed a 10-Q – Quarterly report [Sections 13 or 15(d)] with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission .

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!

G1 Therapeutics has filed a 10-Q – Quarterly report [Sections 13 or 15(d)] with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission .

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!