Abeona Announces Pricing of Public Offering of Common Stock and Pre-Funded Warrants

On December 20, 2019 Abeona Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: ABEO), a fully-integrated leader in gene and cell therapy, reported the pricing of its public offering of 26,982,945 shares of its common stock at a public offering price of $2.50 per share and in lieu of common stock, pre-funded warrants to purchase 9,017,055 shares of its common stock at a purchase price of $2.4999 per pre-funded warrant, which equals the public offering price per share of the common stock less the $0.0001 per share exercise price of each pre-funded warrant (Press release, Abeona Therapeutics, DEC 20, 2019, View Source [SID1234552576]). The aggregate gross proceeds from the offering are expected to be $90 million, before deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses payable by Abeona. All of the shares of common stock and pre-funded warrants are being offered by Abeona. In addition, Abeona has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 5,400,000 shares of its common stock from Abeona at the public offering price, less the underwriting discounts and commissions. The offering is expected to close on December 24, 2019, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

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An existing holder of the Company’s common stock, Great Point Partners ("GPP"), has agreed to purchase approximately $31 million in the offering, including pre-funded warrants in lieu of common stock, subject to allocation by the underwriters and market and other conditions. The Company has granted GPP the right to nominate two directors, including a new Executive Chairman, to Abeona’s Board of Directors. GPP has indicated that it expects such director nominees would be industry professionals not affiliated with GPP. As a result, Steven H. Rouhandeh will step down as Executive Chairman and will retain a seat on the Board, while Mark J. Alvino and Richard Van Duyne will exit the Board. These changes will be effective upon the Board’s qualification and election of GPP’s nominees.

Jefferies LLC and SVB Leerink LLC are acting as book-running managers and underwriters for the offering.

Abeona intends to use the net proceeds of the offering to fund continued clinical development of pipeline products, as well as for working capital and corporate purposes.

The securities described above are being offered pursuant to a shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-224867) that was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on May 11, 2018 and amended on June 1, 2018, and that was declared effective by the SEC on June 7, 2018. The offering will be made only by means of the written prospectus and prospectus supplement that form a part of the registration statement. The preliminary prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus that form a part of the registration statement has been filed with the SEC and is available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Copies of the preliminary prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus may also be obtained by contacting Jefferies LLC, Attention: Equity Syndicate Prospectus Department, 520 Madison Avenue, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10022, via telephone at (877) 821-7388, or email at: [email protected]; or SVB Leerink LLC, Attention: Syndicate Department, One Federal Street, 37th Floor, Boston, MA 02110, by telephone at (800) 808-7525, ext. 6132, or by e-mail at [email protected].

XOMA Announces Closing of Rights Offering

On December 20, 2019 XOMA Corporation (Nasdaq: XOMA) ("XOMA" or the "Company") reported the closing of its previously announced rights offering (the "Rights Offering") (Press release, Xoma, DEC 20, 2019, View Source [SID1234552564]). At the closing, XOMA sold and issued an aggregate of 626,805 shares of its common stock (the "Common Stock") pursuant to the exercise of subscriptions in the Rights Offering from its existing stockholders. In addition, BVF Partners L.P., a stockholder of the Company, purchased an additional 373,195 shares of Common Stock pursuant to the exercise of its oversubscription rights. Combined, the Company sold and issued an aggregate of 1,000,000 shares of Common Stock for aggregate gross proceeds of $22 million.

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The Rights Offering was made pursuant to the Company’s effective shelf registration statement on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and a prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus filed with the SEC on December 2, 2019.

Regeneron Announces Presentation at the 38th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference

On December 20, 2019 Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) reported will webcast its presentation at the 38th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference on Monday, January 13, 2020 (Press release, Regeneron, DEC 20, 2019, View Source [SID1234552562]). The presentation is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Pacific Time (1:30 p.m. Eastern Time) and may be accessed from the "Investors & Media" page of Regeneron’s website at View Source A breakout session will immediately follow the formal presentation and can also be accessed from our website. An archived version of the presentation and the breakout session will be available for at least 30 days.

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Following the announcement regarding the Intent to Restructure the Antibody Collaboration for Kevzara (sarilumab) and Praluent (alirocumab) with Sanofi, Regeneron will provide financial guidance for 2020 at a date subsequent to the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference.

Heska Corporation to Present at the 38th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference

On December 20, 2019 Heska Corporation (NASDAQ: HSKA – News; "Heska" or the "Company"), a provider of advanced veterinary diagnostic and specialty products, reported that Kevin Wilson, Heska’s President & Chief Executive Officer, will present at the 38th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference on Wednesday, January 15, 2020 at 3 p.m. PT in San Francisco, CA (Press release, Heska, DEC 20, 2019, View Source [SID1234552561]).

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Management will be available for one-on-one meetings on January 15th and 16th. To schedule a meeting, please contact J.P. Morgan at 1×[email protected] or Heska Investor Relations at [email protected].

A live webcast of the company’s presentation can be accessed at View Source and a live webcast of the subsequent question and answer session can be accessed at View Source.

The webcast will be archived shortly after the event, and a replay will be available on the company’s website for 90 days following the conference. A copy of the presentation will be available on Heska’s website at View Source

Johnson & Johnson Acquires TARIS Biomedical with Focus on Transforming the Treatment of Bladder Cancer

On December 20, 2019 Johnson & Johnson reported the acquisition of TARIS Biomedical LLC (TARIS), a privately-owned biotechnology company specializing in the development of a novel drug delivery technology for the treatment of bladder diseases including cancer (Press release, Johnson & Johnson, DEC 20, 2019, View Source;johnson-acquires-taris-biomedical-with-focus-on-transforming-the-treatment-of-bladder-cancer-300978469.html [SID1234552560]). The company’s lead clinical-stage product, TAR-200, uses the proprietary TARIS System, which features a silicone-based drug delivery device that allows for the continuous release of medication into the bladder. Financial terms of the transaction are not being disclosed.

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"The TARIS technology provides a first-in-class clinical stage platform to evaluate novel, locally-delivered therapeutics for patients with localized bladder cancer," said Peter Lebowitz, M.D., Ph.D., Global Therapeutic Area Head, Oncology, Janssen Research & Development, LLC. "Together with the TARIS team, we look forward to advancing complete regimens to push towards early interception of bladder cancer with the goal of improving outcomes for patients and, ultimately, delivering cures."

Localized bladder cancer is a global unmet need as reflected by high morbidity and limited improvements in treatment over the past two decades. Globally, bladder cancer is the sixth most commonly occurring cancer in men and the 17th most commonly occurring cancer in women.1 There were almost 550,000 new cases of bladder cancer diagnosed worldwide in 2018.1 The majority of bladder cancers are diagnosed in the early stages with approximately 70 to 75 percent as non-muscle invasive bladder cancer and 25 to 30 percent as muscle invasive bladder cancer.2,3 Progression of the disease is a devastating life-changing event that can result in removal of the bladder in patients fit for surgery.4 Following surgery, and for a large proportion of patients who are unfit for such a procedure, the cancer often progresses into metastatic disease where the five-year survival rate is approximately five percent.5 Considering the global impact and need for new, targeted therapies, Janssen is building upon its innovative efforts and disease expertise to advance novel, locally-delivered therapeutic approaches with a strategy to intercept bladder cancer.

"The TARIS technology and scientific team create an unparalleled convergence opportunity with real potential to deliver differentiated, targeted therapeutics for the treatment of patients with localized bladder cancer," said Mathai Mammen, M.D., Ph.D., Global Head, Janssen R&D, Johnson & Johnson. "We are eager to build upon the proof-of-concept data that the TARIS team has generated and advance clinical development of this drug delivery approach for patients who face a bladder cancer diagnosis, and potentially for other types of cancer in the future."

TARIS will maintain a research presence in Lexington, Massachusetts and become part of Janssen R&D’s Oncology Therapeutic Area. The team will remain focused on the optimization of drug candidates working together with Janssen R&D scientists to advance and deliver future clinical programs applying the TARIS technology, which arose from research conducted at MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research.