On January 13, 2023 Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATRA), a leader in T-cell immunotherapy, leveraging its novel allogeneic Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) T-cell platform to develop transformative therapies for patients with cancer and autoimmune diseases, reported the grant of 66,800 restricted stock units of Atara’s common stock to six newly hired employees and stock options to purchase an aggregate of 40,000 shares of Atara’s common stock to one such newly hired employee (Press release, Atara Biotherapeutics, JAN 13, 2023, View Source [SID1234626217]). These awards were approved by the Compensation Committee of Atara’s Board of Directors and granted under the Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. 2018 Inducement Plan, with a grant date of January 3, 2022, as an inducement material to the new employee entering into employment with Atara, in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4).

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The restricted stock units vest over four years, with 25 percent vesting on the first quarterly vesting date after the first anniversary of the vesting commencement date and the remainder vesting in 12 approximately equal quarterly installments over the following three years, subject to the employee being continuously employed by Atara as of such vesting dates. The stock options vest over four years, with 25 percent vesting on the first anniversary of the vesting commencement date for such employee and the remainder vesting in 36 equal monthly installments over the following three years, subject to the employee being continuously employed by Atara as of such vesting dates. The stock options have a ten-year term and an exercise price of $3.28, equal to the per share closing price of Atara’s common stock as reported on January 3, 2022.

Atara is providing this information in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4).

On January 13, 2023 AnaptysBio, Inc. (Nasdaq: ANAB), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on delivering innovative immunology therapeutics, reported that its Board of Directors has authorized a Stock Repurchase Plan under which the Company may repurchase up to $50,000,000 of the Company’s outstanding common stock, par value $0.001 per share (Press release, AnaptysBio, JAN 13, 2023, View Source [SID1234626216]). With cash, cash equivalents and investments greater than $575 million as of December 31, 2022, notwithstanding the potential full execution of the Stock Repurchase Plan, the company reiterates its previous guidance that it anticipates having approximately 4 years of capital to execute against its non-risk adjusted research and development plan, excluding potential future royalties from its GSK immuno-oncology financial collaboration.

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The shares may be repurchased from time to time in open market transactions, or other means in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), and Rule 10b-18 of the Exchange Act. The timing, number of shares repurchased, and prices paid for the stock under this program will depend on general business and market conditions as well as corporate and regulatory limitations, prevailing stock prices, and other considerations. The Stock Repurchase Plan will expire on December 31, 2023, may be suspended or discontinued at any time, and does not obligate the company to acquire any amount of common stock.

On january 13, 2023 IntegraGen (FR0010908723 – ALINT), an OncoDNA Group company specializing in the decryption of the human genome which performs interpretable genomic analyzes for academic and private laboratories and develops diagnostic tools for oncology, reported its unaudited revenue figures for the year 2022 (Press release, Integragen, JAN 13, 2023, View Source [SID1234626205]).

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The 2022 unaudited revenue amount to €12,592k in 2022, representing an increase of 16% compared to 2021. This growth in all activities reflects the firmness of the company’s positioning, both in terms of its main sequencing activities for R&D customers and its expertise in operating platforms on behalf of third parties. This amount does not include the recharge of personnel costs to the parent company.

R&D sequencing activities continued to grow due to the strong order backlog built up since 2021, with orders’ growth resumed in H2 2022. In parallel, sequencing activities performed for external platforms operated by IntegraGen increased in volume for new clinical research projects in oncology also fueling revenue growth.

As of December 31st 2022, the company’s cash position was €4,514k compared to €4,781k end of 2021, a slight decrease due to bank loans reimbursement. The position includes a state guaranteed loan (Prêt Garanti par l’État, PGE) for an outstanding amount of €1,561k that the Company started to reimburse for €339k during 2022.

With a revitalized booking orders as of the end of December, the company confirms its growth perspectives based on the current sales dynamics and existing long-term contracts along with the synergies now in place within the OncoDNA Group.

Bernard Courtieu, IntegraGen CEO, said "2022 has been another year of very strong growth at IntegraGen, and it both confirms the trust of our customers and strength of our business model, combining sequencing services for the R&D community and long-term partnerships with leading health institutions. We will continue to deliver superior value to our customers and are targeting new areas of growth, in conjunction with the OncoDNA Group".

On January 12, 2023 The Swedish radioimmunotherapy company Akiram Therapeutics, developing targeted cancer therapy, reported that it has raised SEK 68 million in a share issue led by Sciety and the network Sciety Venture Partners. The investment company Linc AB participated in the share issue with SEK 20 million (Press release, Akiram Therapeutics, JAN 12, 2023, View Source [SID1234628976]). The proceeds from the financing will be used for GMP production of the drug candidate and for initiating a phase I clinical study.

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Akiram Therapeutics has developed a new type of targeted radioimmunotherapy for anaplastic thyroid cancer. There is no effective treatment for this disease today, and patients survive only a few months after the diagnosis for which there is no effective treatment today. The drug candidate consists of Akiram’s proprietary antibody, the result of many years of research, in combination with the radioactive compound, Lutetium 177.

Akiram has thus far run the project within academia with support from, among others, SciLifeLab, VINNOVA, and the Swedish Cancer Society. Robust preclinical data shows, among other things, that the drug candidate has a significant effect on human thyroid tumours in animals without signs of side effects or damage to the surrounding tissue.

"We would like to thank Sciety and all those who have participated in this successful issue for the great confidence in Akiram and our drug candidate. We now have the means to continue our work at full speed and take the next important steps on our exciting journey. We are very eager to continue the development of our drug candidate and to initiate phase I clinical studies," says Marika Nestor, CEO of Akiram.

We are delighted to see the great interest and trust in our work and to have a group of investors helping us to deliver hope to patients suffering from incurable cancer."

Sciety, Sciety Venture Partners, and Linc invested SEK 68 million in the share issue.

"Targeted radiation therapy is a rapidly growing field expected to become the next breakthrough in cancer treatment. The reasons for our decision to invest are, among others, the founding team’s long experience in the field, both from academia and industry, as well as their solid preclinical data. We now look forward to participating in the company’s continued journey," says Andreas Lindblom, CEO of Sciety.

"We are very impressed with the company’s preclinical work, including the outstanding study results. In addition, we have high confidence in the management’s ability to successfully run both the production development work and the clinical phase 1 trial. We look forward to being part of the company’s future development," says Karl Tobieson, CEO of Linc.

On January 12, 2023 LinusBio, a leader in precision exposome sequencing, reported that it raised over $16 million in Series A funding to deliver a novel platform that bridges genomics, the environment, and biological response (Press release, Linus Biotechnology, JAN 12, 2023, View Source [SID1234626233]).

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Historically, many health conditions, such as autism spectrum disorder, have lacked biological tests to aid in diagnosis, monitor progression, or serve as objective endpoints in clinical trials. LinusBio’s proprietary platform introduces precision exposome biomarkers that can facilitate discovery across these domains.

The technology has the potential to fundamentally transform how complex disorders are diagnosed and treated – from autism to gastrointestinal disorders to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) to renal disease and cancers.

Furthermore, the LinusBio platform can substantially improve clinical trials by providing data equal to over 500 liquid biopsies or blood samples, but all from a single strand of hair. It is the first technology platform that maps the molecular dynamics of human physiology in a time-dependent manner. The platform can help identify novel compounds for health conditions where genomic biomarkers have previously had limited success. The company is already using this platform in two pharma-sponsored trials and is in the process of partnering with several organizations within the healthcare and pharma ecosystem.

The company’s initial focus is on neurological disorders. One of the company’s early technologies, StrandDx-ASD, can assess the likelihood of autism at birth with 80% to 90% accuracy, and assist with personalized treatment decisions.

As a result, LinusBio’s early autism diagnostic aid has been granted an FDA Breakthrough Designation, reserved for innovations that "provide for more effective treatment or diagnosis of life-threatening or irreversibly debilitating diseases or conditions." The solution has received CE Mark designation in the European Union as a diagnostic aid.

Early detection is critical for those on the autism spectrum. In fact, the National Institutes of Health found that some children that are diagnosed and treated early make substantial progress.

"Our mission is simple: to deliver better outcomes for people and families affected by complex health conditions," said Manish Arora, PhD., Co-Founder and CEO of LinusBio. "We chose to focus on autism first for many considerations, an important one of them is the dramatically different trajectory in cases of an early detection and effective intervention. The impact on the patient and the patient’s family can be substantial. We’re proud to launch the LinusBio platform to meet the tremendous need for better, faster, and comprehensive diagnostics and treatments for a range of conditions and diseases."

The company’s program pipeline also comprises advanced biomarkers for ALS, oncology (including pediatric cancer), gastroenterology (inflammatory bowel disease) and mental disorders (psychosis & schizophrenia).

The round was led by GreatPoint Ventures and Bow Capital. Other investors included Divergent Investments, Nicole Shanahan (President, Bia-Echo Foundation), the David Bellet Family Office, Gillian Sandler, and Sanford Robertson (Co-Founder of Francisco Partners and former board member of Salesforce), among others.

"Every day, every week, every month that certain diseases fester undetected and untreated impacts a patient’s long-term outlook," said Ashok Krishnamurthi, Managing Partner, GreatPoint Ventures. "We’re looking forward to working with LinusBio to scale their solutions and bring them to market to meet vital needs."

"Our mission is to help shorten the path of innovation from science to society," said Rafi Syed, General Partner, Bow Capital. "We’re proud to collaborate with LinusBio, which has great potential to transform the implications of complex diseases."

LinusBio’s technology examines human physiology at the molecular level through a strand of hair. Leveraging proprietary laser and robotics technology, LinusBio analyzes these strands and collects thousands of data points to measure individuals’ biological response to their lifespan environmental exposures. LinusBio is the first technology platform that maps the molecular dynamics of human physiology in a time-dependent manner.

"This technology is very exciting for those impacted by autism and many other conditions, as well as their families," said Amol Deshpande, Founder of Divergent Investments, and the CEO and Co-Founder of Farmers Business Network. "LinusBio has the opportunity to fundamentally transform the healthcare industry."

Arora, the CEO of LinusBio, is an environmental epidemiologist and exposure biologist. He is a recipient of a Presidential PECASE award from the White House, the highest civilian award given to early career scientists. Drs. Christine Austin, PhD., and Paul Curtin, PhD., also co-founded the company and serve on the leadership team.

The funding will be used to grow the LinusBio team, deliver more positive outcomes across more health conditions, and develop a world-class platform that will serve as a central hub for diagnostics and treatment.