On August 11, 2025 Syntara Limited (ASX: SNT), a clinical-stage drug development company, reported that it has received feedback from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding the next stages of clinical development for amsulostat in myelofibrosis (MF) (Press release, Syntara, AUG 11, 2025, View Source [SID1234655047]).

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!

During a Type C meeting, the FDA reviewed a comprehensive data package that included interim data (as presented at the European Hematology Association (EHA) (Free EHA Whitepaper) congress in June 2025) from the ongoing open label trial (MF-101) of amsulostat in combination with ruxolitinib, as well as a proposal for a pivotal registrational study.

The FDA has provided guidance that a Phase 2 trial with a control arm be undertaken to acquire additional safety and efficacy data, focussing on improvements in symptoms and spleen volume reductions in order to optimise the design and efficiency of a subsequent pivotal Phase 3 trial.

Syntara CEO Gary Phillips said: "Over the coming period we will use the FDA guidance to refine our clinical development plan for amsulostat and continue discussions with partners based on the FDA recommended path forward. Syntara is in a strong position given the depth and quality of our pipeline and a cash runway that will take us into 2027. We look forward to sharing results from our ongoing clinical trials over the coming months."

Syntara’s updated clinical pipeline development plan is shown in the following table:

Investor Webinar

Syntara will hold an investor webinar following today’s announcement regarding the next stages of clinical development for amsulostat.

CEO Gary Phillips will provide an update and presentation as part of the webinar, to be held at 12 noon AEST Monday 11 August 2025.

Shareholders, investors and interested parties are encouraged to register to attend the presentation at the following link:

View Source

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar as well as dial-in details for those that wish to join by phone.

On August 10, 2025 Akeso, Inc. (9926.HK) ("Akeso" or the "Company") reported that the first patient has been dosed in its multicenter, randomized, double-blind Phase III study (AK112-311/HARMONi-9), evaluating ivonescimab, a first-in-class PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibody developed by Akeso, in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) (Press release, Akeso Biopharma, AUG 10, 2025, View Source [SID1234655048]). This study is designed to assess the efficacy and safety of ivonescimab as consolidation therapy in patients with limited-stage small cell lung cancer (LS-SCLC) who have not experienced progression following standard concurrent chemoradiotherapy (cCRT).

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!

AK112-311/HARMONi-9 study is the eighth registrational Phase III clinical trial for ivonescimab in lung cancer (including three international multicenter studies). The initiation of this trial further expands ivonescimab’s therapeutic coverage across key lung cancer indications and different lines of treatment. As the world’s first PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibody, ivonescimab is driving significant transformation in the overall lung cancer treatment landscape and holds the potential to fundamentally improve global lung cancer therapies.

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) represents approximately 15% of all lung cancers and is known for its aggressive nature, early metastasis, and poor prognosis. Around 30% of patients are diagnosed at the limited stage (LS-SCLC), with over 80% being ineligible for surgical intervention. The current standard of care involves concurrent or sequential chemoradiotherapy (cCRT/sCRT), where most patients face recurrence or develop drug resistance. To date, only one PD-L1 therapy has been approved for consolidation treatment for LS-SCLC, highlighting the significant unmet clinical need of this difficult to treat cancer.

In previous studies focused on extensive-stage SCLC (ES-SCLC), ivonescimab has demonstrated its ability to prolong progression-free survival (PFS), combining the synergistic benefits of PD-1/L1 inhibitors and anti-angiogenic agents. Ivonescimab is a cornerstone in Akeso’s "IO 2.0" strategy, and Akeso has already initiated a series of Phase III and Phase II clinical trials investigating ivonescimab as a first-line treatment across multiple cancer indications. The initiation of a Phase III study of ivonescimab for LS-SCLC is another key step in extending Akeso’s "IO 2.0" approach to earlier stages of lung cancer.

On August 8, 2025 Oncolys BioPharma reported Non-consolidated Financial Results for the Six Months Ended June 30, 2025.

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!

(Press release, Oncolys BioPharma, AUG 8, 2025, View Source [SID1234661741])

On August 8, 2025 Shanghai Junshi Biosciences Co., Ltd (Junshi Biosciences, HKEX: 1877; SSE: 688180), a leading innovation-driven biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development, and commercialization of novel therapies, reported that the supplemental new drug application ("sNDA") for toripalimab (trade name: TUOYI) in combination with disitamab vedotin, an antibody-drug conjugate ("ADC") developed by RemeGen Co., Ltd. as the treatment of HER2-expressing (HER2 expression is defined as a HER2 immunohistochemistry test result of 1+, 2+, or 3+) locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma ("UC") has been accepted by the National Medical Products Administration ("NMPA") (Press release, Shanghai Junshi Bioscience, AUG 8, 2025, View Source [SID1234656128]). This is toripalimab’s 13th application for marketing submitted in the Chinese mainland.

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!

UC is one of the ten most prevalent malignant tumors in the world, and in China, its incidence and mortality rates continue rising annually. According to the latest data from the National Cancer Center, in 2022, the number of new cases of UC in China reached 92,900, and the number of deaths reached over 40,000. UC is a serious threat to the life and health of patients, and there are huge unmet clinical needs.

In 2021, toripalimab was approved for the second-line and above treatment of advanced UC, becoming the first immunotherapy drug approved for non-selective, population-based indications of advanced UC in China. Over the past 5 years, the emergence of PD-(L)1 monoclonal antibodies and novel ADCs has been continuously reshaping the treatment landscape for advanced UC. Compared with conventional chemotherapy, novel therapies have demonstrated significant improvements in terms of survival benefit and tolerability, leading to more diverse and precise treatment options for patients.

The sNDA is based on results from the RC48-C016 study (NCT05302284), a multi-center, randomized, open-label and controlled phase 3 clinical trial, which evaluated the efficacy and safety of toripalimab in combination with disitamab vedotin versus gemcitabine in combination with cisplatin/carboplatin in systemic-treatment-naive patients with HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2)-expressing locally advanced or metastatic UC. The study was conducted in 74 clinical centers across China with Professor Jun GUO from Beijing Cancer Hospital and Professor Aiping ZHOU from the Cancer Hospital of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences as the principal investigators.

On August 8, 2025 Calidi Biotherapeutics Inc. (NYSE American: CLDI) ("Calidi"), a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering the development of targeted therapies with the potential to deliver genetic medicines to distal sites of disease, reported its second quarter 2025 operating and financial results and reviewed recent business highlights (Press release, Calidi Biotherapeutics, AUG 8, 2025, View Source [SID1234655129]).

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!

"We are extremely excited about the progress at Calidi," said Eric Poma, PhD, CEO of Calidi Biotherapeutics. "We believe our RedTail platform, with its ability to protect virus from immune clearance and induce tumor lysis and the delivery of potent therapeutic genetic medicines to metastatic sites through systemic administration, will be a substantial breakthrough in the field of oncolytic viruses and tumor-targeted gene therapies. We look forward to leveraging our scientific, operational and capital markets experience to continue building on Calidi’s strong platforms."

Second Quarter 2025 and Recent Corporate Developments

Presented new preclinical data surrounding CLD-401, the first lead compound from Calidi’s proprietary RedTail platform, at the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) on May 30th in Chicago, IL., demonstrating enhanced biological efficacy in syngeneic tumor models through the delivery of IL15 superagonist to metastatic tumors sites after systemic administration. Calidi also demonstrated the engineered expression of CD55 on the enveloped virus, allowing the virus to avoid immune clearance and enabling systemic administration. The systemic administration of the CD55-expressing enveloped virus allows Calidi to target metastatic disease patients with high unmet need.
Raised $4.6 million in gross proceeds from a warrant inducement offering with existing investors despite a challenging financing environment for the biotech industry, increasing the total gross proceeds raised in all offerings in 2025 to $15.7 million.
Granted Fast Track Designation to CLD-201 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of patients with soft tissue sarcoma. CLD-201 is a first-in-class stem cell loaded intratumoral oncolytic viral therapy that has demonstrated significant advantages over current intratumoral oncolytic viral approaches. An IND for a Phase 1 study was successfully opened for CLD-201 in Q1-2025.

Second Quarter 2025 Financial Results

The company reported a net loss attributable to common stockholders of $5.7 million, or $1.99 per share, for the three months ended June 30, 2025, compared to a net loss attributable to common stockholders of $7.4 million, or $16.75 per share, for the same period in 2024.

Research and development expenses were $2.6 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025, compared to $2.2 million for the comparable period in 2024.

General and administrative expenses were $3.1 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025, compared to $3.6 million for the comparable period in 2024.

The company had approximately $5.3 million in cash and $0.1 million in restricted cash as of June 30, 2025, compared to $9.6 million in cash and $0.2 million in restricted cash as of December 31, 2024.