On July 25, 2023 Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) reported the extension of the expiration of the tender offer to acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares ("Shares") of common stock of DICE Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: DICE), for a purchase price of $48 per share in cash, without interest and less any applicable tax withholding (Press release, Eli Lilly, JUL 25, 2023, View Source [SID1234633406]).

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The tender offer, which was previously scheduled to expire one minute past 11:59 p.m., Eastern time, on July 28, 2023, has been extended until one minute past 11:59 p.m., Eastern time, on Aug. 8, 2023, unless the tender offer is further extended or earlier terminated. The proposed acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of 2023, subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of required antitrust clearance and the tender of at least a majority of the outstanding Shares as of the expiration of the tender offer.

Computershare Trust Company, N.A., the depositary and paying agent for the tender offer, has advised Lilly that, as of 4:30 p.m., Eastern time, on July 24, 2023, approximately 9,581,902 Shares have been validly tendered and not properly withdrawn in the tender offer, representing approximately 20.05% of the issued and outstanding Shares, as of such date and time. Holders that have previously tendered their Shares do not need to re-tender their Shares or take any other action in response to the extension of the tender offer.

On July 25, 2023 Curium, a world leader in nuclear medicine, reported a ‘License and Development’ agreement with EXINI Diagnostics AB, a Lantheus company (EXINI), to customize EXINI’s artificial intelligence (AI) platform for use in Europe (Press release, Curium, JUL 25, 2023, View Source [SID1234633405]). The agreement builds on the existing prostate cancer PSMA-targeted PET imaging collaboration between Curium and Lantheus with an exclusive licensing and development agreement for AI-powered quantitative analysis and standardized reporting of PSMA PET/CT image assessments.

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Today’s announcement follows the May 2023 decision by the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency that recommended granting a marketing authorization for PYLCLARI (piflufolastat (18F)), intended for the diagnosis of prostate cancer.

Under the terms of the agreement, EXINI’s deep learning platform will be tailored to meet the specific needs of the European market. The clinical value proposition of the platform is to increase the efficiency and reproducibility of PSMA PET/CT image assessments in prostate cancer and establish the standard for comprehensive reporting across the US and Europe. The deep learning algorithm will be trained on anonymized data from Curium’s European Phase III PYTHON (NCT04734184) clinical trial, in addition to the existing dataset from the two U.S. registrational studies (OSPREY – NCT02981368 and CONDOR – NCT03739684) of piflufolastat F18.

The AI-enabled assessment will assist in bringing increased consistency, reliability, and efficiency in reporting PSMA-avid total disease burden and in monitoring its change with treatments.

Benoit Woessmer, CEO PET Europe at Curium commented: "By leveraging artificial intelligence and the extensive anonymized data from our European PYTHON clinical trial, this is an important milestone in enhancing prostate cancer diagnosis, and indeed for the patients themselves. We are excited about using deep learning to help us redefine the experience of cancer through our trusted legacy in nuclear medicine."

Etienne Montagut, Chief Business Officer at Lantheus commented: "PSMA PET has had an important impact on prostate cancer management. With the expanding treatment options in prostate cancer, including PSMA RLT, there is increasing demand for efficient, standardized quantitative assessment of PSMA disease burden. Our partnership with Curium expands the pool of patient data informing our AI algorithm and enables more widespread access to our software."

On July 25, 2023 bluebird bio, Inc. (Nasdaq: BLUE) reported that it will hold a conference call to discuss second quarter 2023 financial results and provide a commercial update on Tuesday, August 8 at 8:00 a.m. ET (Press release, bluebird bio, JUL 25, 2023, View Source [SID1234633404]). In addition to providing an overview of the business, the conference call will highlight the Company’s ongoing commercial launches of SKYSONA and ZYNTEGLO and the market opportunity for lovo-cel.

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To access the call via telephone, please register at this link https://register.vevent.com/register/BI4fa1d86317c74333813f6827624e43ae to receive a dial in number and unique PIN to access the live conference call.

The live webcast of the call may be accessed by visiting the "Events & Presentations" page within the Investors & Media section of the bluebird website at View Source A replay of the webcast will be available on the bluebird website for 90 days following the event.

On July 25, 2023 Akari Therapeutics presented its corporate presentation (Presentation, Akari Therapeutics, JUL 25, 2023, View Source [SID1234633403]).

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On July 24, 2023 Upthera Co., Ltd. (CEO Si-Woo Choi), a company specializing in the development of innovative new drugs based on Targeted Protein Degradation (TPD) technology, reported that it has secured a Series B bridge investment worth 10 billion won from YuanBio Venture Capital, a renowned bio-specialized VC based in China.

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Since its establishment in 2018 with the vision of "connecting hope to out-of-reach patients, synthesizing possibilities, and breaking down despair" using TPD technology, Uptera has raised a total of 53 billion won in investment. This follows investments of approximately 2.6 billion won in Pre-Series in 2019, 12.7 billion won in Series A in 2020, and 28 billion won in Series B in 2022, with an additional 10 billion won raised in a Series B bridge round approximately one year later. Furthermore, the company has signed a lead underwriter agreement with Daishin Securities and is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO).

YuanBio Venture Capital, the sole participant in this bridge investment, is a specialized bio and healthcare investment firm established in 2013 that has grown into one of the top 10 venture capital firms in China, focusing on early-stage and growth-stage companies. Notably, it has invested in approximately 170 companies to date, and 19 of its portfolio firms have listed on the NASDAQ and Hong Kong stock exchanges, generating significant investment returns and earning recognition as the leading bio-specialized VC in China. Currently, YuanBio is a large venture capital firm with assets under management amounting to approximately $1.3 billion (approximately 1.7 trillion KRW).

YuanBio is known to have invested with expectations regarding the global technology transfer potential of the TPD-based PLK1 degradation anticancer drug being developed by Upthera, the originality of subsequent Degrader drug pipelines, and the scalability of the novel E3 ligase platform technology.

Uptera’s anticancer drug pipeline that degrades PLK1 was selected for the National New Drug Development Project in September 2022, and is currently conducting preclinical studies for regulatory approval to enter clinical trials with the U.S. FDA. In addition, a follow-up anticancer drug pipeline that degrades AURKA protein was selected for the National New Drug Development Project in 2023. As both projects are anticancer drugs targeting proteins related to the cell division cycle, Uptera expects to be able to enter material optimization and preclinical studies for the AURKA Degrader more quickly than before, based on its experience in researching and developing PLK1 Degraders.

In addition, for subsequent new drug pipelines, joint research and development is being conducted with Yuhan Corporation and Boryung Corporation, and furthermore, based on the company’s independently established UPPGRADER (selection of novel E3 ligases promising for TPD access) and UPPBEAT (discovery of novel binders functional to selected E3 ligases), research is being conducted on the discovery of platform binders functional to novel E3 ligases.

Jacky Chen, CEO of YuanBio Venture Capital, stated, "Upthera holds a leading position in the global TPD field, and we highly value its innovative and differentiated R&D capabilities. The PLK1 Degrader is expected to overcome the inherent disadvantages of PLK1 small molecule inhibitors through the strengths of TPD, and the platform technology established by the company has the ability to discover new E3 ligases, which provides a clear advantage for future pipeline expansion."

Uptera CEO Choi Si-woo stated, "We plan to invest the raised funds in clinical studies of the PLK1 Degrader pipeline, optimization studies of subsequent new drug pipelines, and research on the Novel E3 ligase platform pipeline." He added, "In the short term, we aim to achieve commercialization results through the global technology transfer of the PLK1 Degrader pipeline, and in the long term, we plan to grow into a global TPD specialized drug development company by proactively investing in the Novel E3 ligase platform binder, which is set to become a core growth engine for the TPD industry."

(Press release, Uppthera, JUL 24, 2023, View Source [SID1234664780])