On August 2, 2019 Exicure, Inc. (Nasdaq: XCUR), a pioneer in gene regulatory and immunotherapeutic drugs utilizing spherical nucleic acid (SNA) constructs, reported the closing of its previously announced underwritten public offering of 31,625,000 shares of its common stock to the public at $2.00 per share, which included the exercise in full by the underwriters of their option to purchase 4,125,000 additional shares of common stock (Press release, Exicure, AUG 2, 2019, View Source [SID1234538101]).

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In connection with the offering, Exicure’s common stock began trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol "XCUR" at the opening of trading on July 31, 2019. Exicure expects to appoint to its board of directors an individual designated by Abingworth LLP and an individual designated by another investor in connection with their participation in the offering.

Exicure received gross proceeds of $63.25 million from the sale of common stock in the offering, prior to deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by it. Exicure intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to advance AST-008 through a Phase 1b/2 clinical trial; to develop an SNA therapeutic candidate for a neurology condition and advance it into Phase 1 clinical trials; and for general corporate purposes.

Guggenheim Securities acted as sole book-running manager for the offering. Chardan acted as lead manager for the offering. H.C. Wainwright & Co. and Ladenburg Thalmann acted as co-managers for the offering.

The securities described above were offered by Exicure pursuant to a shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (No. 333-230175) that was declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on July 24, 2019. A final prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus describing the terms of the offering was filed with the SEC on August 1, 2019 and is available on the SEC’s website located at www.sec.gov. Copies of the final prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus may also be obtained from: Guggenheim Securities, LLC Attention: Equity Syndicate Department, 330 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10017 or by telephone at (212) 518-5548, or by email at [email protected].

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of that state or jurisdiction.

On August 2, 2019 Transgene (Paris:TNG), a biotech company designing and developing virus-based immunotherapies for the treatment of solid tumors, reported that the independent Data Monitoring Committee ("IDMC") of the PHOCUS study of Pexa-Vec in Liver Cancer has completed a planned interim futility analysis. Sillajen has informed Transgene of the IDMC’s recommendation to stop enrolment in the study, as the study is unlikely to meet its primary objective by the time of the final analysis (Press release, Transgene, AUG 2, 2019, View Source [SID1234538100]). SillaJen has not reported safety concerns. Transgene will provide an update in an upcoming conference call.

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The PHOCUS trial is a Phase 3 clinical trial evaluating the oncolytic immunotherapy Pexa-Vec for advanced liver cancer patients who have not received prior systemic treatment for their cancer. The study is being conducted by Transgene’s partner, SillaJen.

In the PHOCUS study, patients were randomized to one of two treatment groups: one receiving Pexa-Vec followed by sorafenib and one receiving sorafenib alone. The primary objective of the study was to determine the overall survival of patients treated with Pexa-Vec, followed by sorafenib versus sorafenib alone. Secondary objectives included safety as well as assessments for tumor responses between the two groups as measured by the following endpoints: time to progression, progression-free survival, overall response rate and disease control rate.

-Ends-

About Pexa-Vec
Pexa-Vec (JX-594) is an oncolytic immunotherapeutic based on an oncolytic vaccinia virus armed with a GM-CSF gene that promotes an anti-tumor immune response. Pexa-Vec is designed to selectively target and destroy cancer cells through three different mechanisms of action: selectively destroy cancer cells through the direct lysis (breakdown) of cancer cells through viral replication, reduce the blood supply to tumors through vascular disruption, and stimulate the body’s immune response against cancer cells.
In a Phase 2 study, results of patients with advanced liver cancer showed that patients receiving the high dose had a statistically significant clinical improvement in terms of overall survival compared to the group receiving the low dose. Median overall survival was respectively 14.1 months in the high-dose group and 6.7 months in the low-dose group, which compares favorably with current approved treatments. (Heo J. et al., Nature Medicine, March 2013, doi: 10.1038/nm.3089)
Transgene has exclusive rights to develop and commercialize Pexa-Vec for the treatment of solid tumors in Europe. Its partner SillaJen, Inc. is focused on developing Pexa-Vec for the North American market and has also granted exclusive development and commercial rights to Pexa-Vec in Hong Kong and The People’s Republic of China to Lee’s Pharmaceutical.

On August 2, 2019 Biotechnology company Antikor Biopharma Ltd is reported that it has entered into an Investment Agreement for up to US$3,100,000 with Essex Bio-Investment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Essex Bio-Technology Ltd ("EssexBio"), which will enable Antikor to consolidate and expand its position as a leading innovator in smaller-format conjugate therapies for solid tumours (Press release, Antikor Biopharma, AUG 2, 2019, View Source [SID1234538099]).

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Mahendra Deonarain, Antikor’s CEO and visiting Reader in Antibody Technology at Imperial College London where Antikor has its roots, commented: "We believe we have a platform that is tailored to make an impact in an area of major unmet medical need, and with EssexBio’s considerable commercial and clinical expertise, we now have the opportunity for translating the promised advantages of Antikor’s proprietary products into clinical benefit."

"We are excited to have established a strong alliance with Antikor", said Malcolm Ngiam, President of Essex Bio-Investment, "Fragment-Drug Conjugate is an innovative approach with the potential to overcome many of the challenges faced by current treatment methods. The research and commercial partnership with Antikor is an important step towards developing first-in-class treatment for cancer."

Antikor’s novel technology platform will enrich Essex’s research pipeline and is aligned with EssexBio’s long-term research and commercial strategy.

Antibody Fragment-Drug Conjugates (FDCs)

Antibody Fragment-Drug Conjugates (FDCs, also called immuno-conjugates) combine the pharmacological potency of highly cytotoxic drugs with the high specificity of an antibody against tumour-associated targets. FDCs comprise much smaller antibody fragments (single-chain scFvs) than ‘whole’ antibody drug conjugates (ADCs). FDCs are relatively easy to discover and can be bioengineered for multiple drug-molecule conjugation, leading to higher loadings than has so far been achieved with whole mAbs. FDCs demonstrate superior tumour penetration and rapid elimination from normal tissues, without running the risk of problems with product manufacturing or stability.1 As a next-generation cancer therapy that can overcome the many limitations of existing treatment options, FDCs have exciting market potential, with predicted sales of drug-conjugates of over $18 billion by 2022.2

On August 2, 2019 Allergan plc (NYSE: AGN) reported it will release second quarter 2019 financial results on Tuesday, August 6, 2019, prior to the open of U.S. financial markets (Press release, Allergan, AUG 2, 2019, View Source [SID1234538096]).

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For additional materials related to Allergan’s second quarter results, please visit Allergan’s Investor Relations website at View Source;.

On August 2, 2019 Unum Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: UMRX), a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing potentially curative cellular immunotherapies through its ACTR and BOXR platforms, reported that the company will host a conference call and live audio webcast on Monday, August 12, 2019 at 4:30 p.m. ET to discuss financial results for the second quarter of 2019 (Press release, Unum Therapeutics, AUG 2, 2019, View Sourcenews-releases/news-release-details/unum-therapeutics-review-second-quarter-2019-financial-results" target="_blank" title="View Sourcenews-releases/news-release-details/unum-therapeutics-review-second-quarter-2019-financial-results" rel="nofollow">View Source [SID1234538093]). Unum management will also provide an update on the Company’s recent progress and upcoming milestones.

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Participants may access the conference call by dialing 866-300-3411 (domestic) or 636-812-6658 (international) and refer to conference ID number 5658375. To join the live webcast, please visit the investor relations section of the Unum Therapeutics website at View Source at least 10 minutes before the event begins.

A webcast replay will be available at the same location on the Unum Therapeutics website beginning approximately two hours after the event and will be archived for 90 days.