On February 17, 2026 ViroMissile, Inc., a cancer immunotherapy company pioneering the IDOV (Intravenously Deliverable Oncolytic Virus) platform, reported the expansion of its ongoing Phase I clinical trial of IDOV-Immune into the United States.

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!

IDOV-Immune is ViroMissile’s leading oncolytic virus therapy candidate built on the company’s proprietary IDOV platform, the first technology designed to reliably deliver oncolytic viruses systemically and reach tumors throughout the body. The expansion follows clearance of the company’s Investigational New Drug (IND) application by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), building on the study’s initial launch in Australia and allowing leading U.S. cancer centers to begin enrolling patients with advanced solid tumors.

"Expanding our Phase I program into U.S. clinical sites marks an important step in the development of IDOV-Immune and reflects the growing momentum of our systemically deliverable oncolytic virus platform," said Nanhai George Chen, PhD, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of ViroMissile. "As we advance, our focus remains on translating years of scientific innovation into a therapeutic approach with the potential to expand what is possible for patients with advanced cancers."

The Phase I clinical trial (NCT06910657) is evaluating IDOV-Immune in adults with advanced solid tumors. The first patient was dosed at The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, marking the initiation of clinical evaluation. With U.S. IND acceptance, the trial will soon enroll participants at U.S. sites, including MD Anderson Cancer Center (Houston, TX), START (San Antonio, TX), and Washington University School of Medicine (St. Louis, MO).

Shah Rahimian, MD, Chief Medical Officer of ViroMissile, added, "As the Phase I study expands into U.S. sites, our priority is to generate high-quality clinical data on the safety and immune activity of IDOV-Immune as a systemically administered oncolytic therapy in patients with advanced cancers. By carefully evaluating how this therapy engages the immune system throughout the body, we aim to better understand its potential to reach metastatic disease and ultimately expand treatment options for patients with significant unmet need. These early findings will be critical in shaping the program’s future development."

(Press release, ViroMissile, FEB 17, 2026, View Source [SID1234662692])

On February 16, 2026 Celloram Inc., a U.S.-based clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing innovative therapies for cancer and immune-mediated diseases, reported that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued a Notice of Allowance for a key patent application covering a novel class of small-molecule inhibitors of fatty acid binding proteins (FABPs), including their pharmaceutically acceptable salts, methods of use, and methods of manufacture.

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 allowed claims provide strong composition-of-matter protection for a novel family of FABP inhibitor compounds, including specific example molecules, their salts, and related chemical variants, significantly strengthening the intellectual property position of the program.

The disclosed inventions relate to FABP inhibitor compounds and their use in pharmaceutical compositions for the treatment of diseases characterized by elevated FABP expression. These include hard-to-treat metastatic cancers, as well as inflammatory, autoimmune, and metabolic disorders. The patent also includes methods for preparing the disclosed compounds, supporting downstream development and manufacturing activities.

Fatty acid binding proteins (FABPs) play a key role in cellular lipid transport and energy metabolism. In pathological states, diseased cells often exhibit increased energy demands and rely heavily on fatty acid utilization; FABP inhibitors are designed to disrupt this metabolic dependency, thereby reducing pathological cell activity and helping to alleviate disease symptoms.

"This allowance represents an important milestone for Celloram’s intellectual property portfolio," said Tej Pareek, Ph.D., CEO of Celloram Inc. "Strong composition-of-matter protection around our FABP inhibitor program provides a critical foundation for continued translational development, value creation, and potential strategic partnerships."
Dr. John Letterio, M.D., Co-Founder of Celloram, added, "Targeting metabolic dependencies in cancer and immune-mediated diseases represents a powerful and emerging therapeutic strategy. Securing strong composition-of-matter protection at this stage provides critical momentum as we translate this science toward meaningful clinical impact for patients with limited treatment options."

Dr. Seong Jin Kim, Ph.D., Co-Founder of Celloram, and MedPacto CEO said, "Celloram’s FABP inhibitor platform is built on years of mechanistic research into lipid metabolism and disease biology. This patent allowance validates the novelty of our chemistry and strengthens the foundation for advancing these compounds into clinical development and global partnerships."

Upon issuance, the patent is expected to provide robust exclusivity in the United States, supporting Celloram’s ongoing preclinical and clinical development efforts and reinforcing the company’s broader strategy of building a defensible global intellectual property estate around differentiated therapeutic platforms.

(Press release, Celloram, FEB 16, 2026, View Source [SID1234663975])

On February 16, 2026 Delphi reported that new data presented at the 2025 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS) from the NRG/NSABP B-42 trial demonstrated that the Endocrine Activity Index (EAI) identifies postmenopausal women with hormone receptor–positive (HR+), HER2-negative breast cancer who may derive meaningful benefit from extended endocrine therapy. The findings were presented by Eleftherios P. Mamounas, MD, AdventHealth Cancer Institute, Orlando, FL, in a general session on behalf of the NRG Oncology/NSABP investigators, under the title: "Evaluation of the Sensitivity to Endocrine Therapy (SETER/PR) assay to predict benefit from extended endocrine therapy in the NRG/NSABP B-42 trial."

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!

Extended endocrine therapy beyond five years can reduce the risk of late breast cancer recurrence, but benefits must be weighed against cumulative side effects. Clinicians have limited options to identify which patients are most likely to benefit from prolonged treatment.

The NRG/NSABP B-42 trial evaluated extended letrozole therapy (ELT) versus placebo in postmenopausal women with HR+ breast cancer who had already completed five years of adjuvant endocrine therapy and demonstrated a small (3.3%) but significant benefit of ELT in this patient population. This new analysis examined whether the EAI test, a genomic signature that measures endocrine activity, could predict benefit from ELT.

Patients with high endocrine activity (EAI ≥ 1.50) experienced a statistically significant and clinically meaningful benefit from ELT, with a 10-year absolute BCFI benefit of 7.1%. Patients with lower EAI values (<1.50) did not experience a statistically significant benefit from extended therapy. This benefit was observed across nodal subgroups and was most pronounced in node-positive patients with high EAI scores, demonstrating a 10.5% absolute reduction in BCFI events compared to placebo. Treated as a continuous variable, higher EAI values were associated with a progressively greater relative benefit from ELT.

"EAI is the only test that can provide insight into how active the estrogen/progesterone pathway of a breast cancer tumor is," said Delphi Diagnostics Chief Medical Officer, Federico A. Monzon. "Data from the B-42 study supports the hypothesis that longer durations of endocrine therapy are most effective for patients whose cancers are highly endocrine-sensitive. This data continues to establish EAI as an important signature that can provide patient-specific insights to support treatment decisions for breast cancer patients."

About EAI
Delphi Diagnostics’ Endocrine Activity Index (EAI) test can provide actionable information for prognosis and prediction of dose-intense taxane-based chemotherapy benefit in stage II-III, HR+ HER2- breast cancer. The EAI measures endocrine activity in a breast tumor and for prognostic use, the Index Score is adjusted for baseline prognosis using molecular subtype genes (RNA4) and clinical factors such as tumor size and regional lymph node involvement. The EAI test has been shown in various studies to be a consistent prognostic indicator for long-term outcomes in stage II-III breast cancer patients, to be independent of other prognostic tests, as well as to be predictive for response to dose-dense chemotherapy.

(Press release, Delphi, FEB 16, 2026, View Source [SID1234662690])

On February 16, 2026 Prokarium, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering bacterial immunotherapy for the treatment of solid tumours, reported that it will present interim clinical data at the 2026 European Association of Urology (EAU) Annual Congress, taking place in London, UK, 13th – 16th March, and the 2026 American Urological Association (AUA) Annual Meeting, taking place in Washington, DC, US, 15th – 18th May. Both conferences have accepted Prokarium’s work for oral presentation, which reflects the growing recognition of the high potential of its bacterial immunotherapy platform.

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!

At EAU and AUA, Prokarium will share important emerging findings from the company’s ongoing Phase 1/1b clinical trial, PARADIGM-1 (NCT06181266), assessing the safety, pharmacology, and preliminary clinical efficacy of ZH9 treatment in patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC).

"We are delighted that our work has been selected for oral presentations at two of the most prestigious global urology meetings, in particular a podium presentation at the AUA" said Ibs Mahmood, CEO. "These invitations underscore the growing interest in our transformational treatment aiming to shift the standard of care for patients with bladder cancer, and I think the community is going to be very excited when they hear the results"

The 41st European Association of Urology Annual Congress Information:

Presentation Title: PARADIGM 1 – A multi-center Phase 1 study evaluating the safety and clinical effect of a novel microbial immunotherapeutic (ZH9) in patients with relapsed NMIBC – A first interim review (Abstract ID: A0089)
Session Title: High-risk NMIBC: Evolving BCG–immunotherapy strategies and technical advances in TURB (Abstract Session 05)
Session Date and Time: Friday 13th March, 16:20 – 16:56
The American Urology Association Annual Meeting information:

Presentation title: PARADIGM 1 – A multi-center Phase 1 study evaluating the safety and clinical effect of a novel microbial immunotherapeutic (ZH9) in patients with relapsed NMIBC – A first interim review (Abstract ID: 26-1116)
Session Title: Podium Presentation PD09, Bladder Cancer: Non-Invasive III
Session Date and Time: Saturday 16th May, 07:00 – 09:00

(Press release, Prokarium, FEB 16, 2026, View Source [SID1234662689])

On February 16, 2026 Jecho Laboratories, Inc. reported that the company has been selected for a podium presentation at the upcoming BIO Investment & Growth Summit 2026, a leading international forum for biotechnology and life science emerging companies. Hosted by the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), the Summit brings together biotechnology companies, investors, bankers, and strategic partners to highlight investment trends, dealmaking and commercialization, regulatory policies, and capital formation opportunities across the industry.

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 BIO Investment & Growth Summit will be held March 2-3, 2026 in Miami Beach, FL.

Jecho will be presenting recent company breakthroughs on Monday, March 2, 2026 at 4:30 p.m. in the ERC Ballroom of the Eden Roc Miami.

(Press release, Jecho Laboratories, FEB 16, 2026, View Source [SID1234662688])