On June 16, 2020 Pacira BioSciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: PCRX) reported that it will present at the 2020 BMO Prescriptions for Success Healthcare Conference at 10:00 AM ET on Tuesday, June 23, 2020 (Press release, Pacira Pharmaceuticals, JUN 16, 2020, View Source [SID1234561143]). Live audio of the virtual event can be accessed by visiting the "Events" page of the company’s website at investor.pacira.com. A replay of the webcast will also be available for two weeks following the event.

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On June 16, 2020 Affimed N.V. (Nasdaq: AFMD), a clinical stage immuno-oncology company committed to giving patients back their innate ability to fight cancer, reported that it will release first quarter 2020 results on Tuesday, June 23, 2020 and host a conference call at 8:30 a.m. EDT to discuss financial results and recent corporate developments (Press release, Affimed, JUN 16, 2020, View Source [SID1234561142]).

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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

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The conference call will be available via phone and webcast. To access the first quarter results call, please dial +1-646-741-3167 for U.S. callers, or +44 (0) 2071 928338 for international callers, and reference conference ID 8594214 approximately 15 minutes prior to the call.

To access the live audio webcast of the conference call please visit the "Investors" section of company’s website at View Source A replay of the call will be archived on the Affimed website for 30 days after the call.

BMO Conference Participation
Affimed also announced that its Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Adi Hoess, will participate in a fireside chat at the 2020 BMO Prescriptions for Success Healthcare Conference on Tuesday, June 23rd, at 1:30 p.m. EDT.
A live webcast of the fireside chat will be available on the "Investors" section of the company’s website at View Source A replay of the fireside chat will be archived on the Affimed website for 30 days following the event.

On June 16, 2020 eTheRNA immunotherapies NV (‘eTheRNA’ or ‘The Company’), a clinical-stage company developing immunotherapies from its proprietary mRNA TriMix platform for the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases, reported that it has successfully raised Euro 34 million in a Series B equity financing round (Press release, eTheRNA, JUN 16, 2020, View Source [SID1234561140]). All existing investors – LSP (the Netherlands), PMV (Belgium), Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund (Germany), Fund+ (Belgium) and Omega Funds (USA) – are participating in the round. They are joined by Grand Decade, a BVI subsidiary owned by China Grand Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Holdings Ltd (‘GP(HK)’; HKSE Stock code 00512), BNP Paribas Fortis Private Equity (Belgium), Yijing Capital (China) and Novalis LifeSciences LLC (USA). GP(HK) and eTheRNA have also agreed outline terms for a possible exclusive strategic partnership for mRNA manufacturing, independent research and development, production and commercialization in Greater China.

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Proceeds of the financing will fund continued development and commercialization of proprietary mRNA technologies and a range of therapeutic products. eTheRNA’s TriMix platform is a core differentiating component in the Company’s product programs and comprises three mRNAs encoding proteins that act together to significantly increase immune responses. TriMix has demonstrated broad application across major cancer types, both preclinically and clinically, offering the prospect of therapeutic vaccines and localised tumor treatments acting synergistically with standard of care treatments. To facilitate its product development activities eTheRNA has developed a proprietary lipid nanoparticle (LNP) platform to enable intravenous delivery of various (neo)antigens, which in combination with TriMix results in unprecedented immune responses. Not only will eTheRNA start clinical development of its internal programs for intravenous mRNA delivery, the Company will also explore partnering opportunities. In infectious diseases, eTheRNA’s technologies are being deployed in an eTheRNA-led international consortium which is developing a cross-strain protective SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine for high risk populations.

Dr Russell Greig, Chairman eTheRNA, commented: "The growing evidence of TriMix’s robustness and versatility as a differentiating immune stimulatory platform in a number of clinical indications was a key factor in the successful conclusion of this new funding round. We are excited that the current Series B financing provides eTheRNA with the opportunity to advance its oncology and infectious diseases pipeline further into the clinic, with the primary objective being to demonstrate clinical proof-of-concept in the near term, including for its proprietary LNP platform enabling intravenous delivery of (neo)antigens. We are delighted with the response from both existing and new investors. In addition, the strategic partnership with China Grand Pharma opens a wealth of opportunities in this potentially vast market and we are looking forward to concluding this partnership."

On June 16, 2020 Exicure, Inc. (NASDAQ: XCUR), the pioneer in gene regulatory and immunotherapeutic drugs utilizing spherical nucleic acid (SNA) constructs, reported the dosing of the first patient enrolled in the Phase 2 dose expansion stage of the cavrotolimod (AST-008) Phase 1b/2 clinical trial (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03684785) (Press release, Exicure, JUN 16, 2020, View Source [SID1234561139]).

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"We believe this milestone marks an important step toward fulfilling an unmet treatment need for Merkel cell carcinoma patients who have been resistant to checkpoint inhibitor antibody therapy," said Dr. Douglas Feltner, Chief Medical Officer of Exicure.

The Phase 2 dose expansion stage includes two cohorts of patients with advanced or metastatic cancer: patients with Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) and patients with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC). MCC is a rare, aggressive skin cancer considered more deadly than melanoma. Risk factors for MCC include sun exposure and a weakened immune system. Advanced or metastatic CSCC is an uncommon form of skin cancer associated with significant morbidity and mortality.
The dose expansion stage is designed to assess the anti-tumor response rate of cavrotolimod plus checkpoint inhibitor treatment, the safety and tolerability of the combination, and drug pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics. Patients enrolled in the dose expansion cohorts must have recently documented tumor progression despite anti-PD-1 or anti-PD-L1 antibody monotherapy.

About Cavrotolimod (AST-008)
Cavrotolimod (AST-008) is an SNA consisting of toll-like receptor 9 agonists designed for immuno-oncology applications. In December 2019, Exicure announced preliminary results from the Phase 1b stage of the clinical trial including potential signs of anti-tumor activity with cavrotolimod in combination with pembrolizumab in patients with MCC. To date, 20 patients in the Phase 1b stage of the clinical trial have been dosed, and no cavrotolimod-related serious adverse event or dose-limiting toxicity has been reported. The most commonly reported adverse events were injection site reactions and flu-like

symptoms. In the second quarter of 2020, Exicure initiated Phase 2 dose expansion cohorts of intratumoral cavrotolimod in combination with approved checkpoint inhibitors to treat two cohorts of patients with advanced or metastatic MCC or CSCC. Each cohort is expected to enroll up to 29 patients whose tumors have progressed on anti-PD-1/PD-L1, or programmed cell death protein 1/programmed death-ligand 1, antibody monotherapy.

On June 16, 2020 Portage Biotech Inc. (CSE: PBT.U, OTC Markets: PTGEF) ("Portage" or the "Company") reported that, further to its news release dated May 25, 2020, it has closed a non-brokered private placement (the "Offering") for gross proceeds of US$6,788,600 through the issuance of 678,860 common shares (the "Common Shares") at a price of US$10.00 per Common Share (Press release, Portage Biotech, JUN 16, 2020, View Source [SID1234561138]).

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Two of the Company’s directors, Dr. Gregory Bailey and Mr. James Mellon, provided standby commitments in respect of the Offering by subscribing for an aggregate of 200,000 Common Shares (US$2,000,000). The issuance of the Common Shares to Messrs. Bailey and Mellon are considered related party transactions within the meaning of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). The Company is relying on appropriate exemptions from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 in respect of their purchases.

Dr. Walters, CEO of Portage commented, "the Company’s pipeline is progressing nicely and we are on target to have 3 products in clinical testing by the end of this year despite COVID interruptions. In addition, our early pipeline companies continue to achieve their development milestones, and this financing will allow us to accelerate our programs, as well as to be able to take advantage of new value creating opportunities."

In connection with the Offering, the Company has paid cash finder’s fees on the non-insider portion of the Offering of approximately US$193,000.

All Common Shares issued in connection with the Offering are subject to a minimum statutory hold period of four months plus a day from the date of issuance in accordance with applicable securities legislation. The Common Shares issued in connection with the Offering have not been registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Act"), and may not be offered or sold in the United States unless registered under the Act or unless an exemption from registration is available.

Portage will also like to advise that OTC Markets in the United States has assigned a temporary trading symbol, "PTGED", to the Company’s shares to reflect a recently completed share consolidation (reverse split) (see the Company’s news release dated June 3, 2020) and will automatically revert back to "PTGEF" after 20 trading days. Trading in Canada on CSE remains unchanged under the symbol "PBT.U".