On September 6, 2023 Repare Therapeutics Inc. ("Repare" or the "Company") (Nasdaq: RPTX), a leading clinical-stage precision oncology company, reported that members of its senior management team will participate in a fireside chat at the Morgan Stanley 21st Annual Global Healthcare Conference on Wednesday, September 13, 2023, at 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time in New York, NY (Press release, Repare Therapeutics, SEP 6, 2023, View Source [SID1234634970]).

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A live webcast of the fireside chat can be accessed in the Investor section of the Company’s website at View Source A replay of the webcast will be archived on the Company’s website for 90 days.

On September 6, 2023 KSQ Therapeutics, Inc. ("KSQ"), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing cancer therapies using its proprietary CRISPRomics discovery platform, and CTMC, a joint venture between National Resilience, Inc. and MD Anderson Cancer Center, reported a strategic collaboration to expedite the development of KSQ’s two lead engineered tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (eTIL) programs, KSQ-001EX and KSQ-004EX, both of which are advancing toward clinical studies for the treatment of solid tumors (Press release, KSQ Therapeutics, SEP 6, 2023, View Source [SID1234634969]).

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"Our eTIL programs – which edit the SOCS1 and Regnase-1 genes – have the potential to be first- and best-in-class cell therapies for cancer treatment. As our eTIL programs move through IND-enabling studies, our partnership with CTMC will have us ready to manufacture KSQ-001EX and KSQ-004EX for clinical studies," said Qasim Rizvi, Chief Executive Officer of KSQ. "We believe our eTIL programs have the potential to address the significant unmet need in the solid tumor space."

"TIL therapies have tremendous potential for the treatment of solid tumors as they are naturally selected to target a host of tumor antigens specific to the patient. However, repeated antigen exposure in an immunosuppressive tumor environment has driven T-cells to a dysfunctional status. We believe the key to unlocking their full potential resides in the engineering of TIL therapies to enable maximal function within the tumor microenvironment," said Jason Bock, CEO of CTMC. "This is where KSQ’s approach of identifying the optimal gene targets to boost TIL function fits nicely. We’re thrilled to collaborate with them to bring these valuable therapies to patients."

KSQ-001EX and KSQ-004EX

KSQ-001EX, a single-edit eTIL that deletes the SOCS1 gene, and KSQ-004EX, a dual-edit eTIL that deletes both the SOCS1 and Regnase-1 genes, are KSQ’s lead eTIL cell therapy programs, which have the potential to revolutionize the treatment of solid tumors. These potential first-in-class cell therapy programs were identified through our CRISPRomics platform as the optimal gene targets that drive T cell function, and we believe we can supercharge TIL therapies for potency and persistence by genetically modifying and optimizing them. In preclinical models, these eTIL therapies have demonstrated: enhanced potency and anti-tumor function, including in PD-1 refractory solid tumors; enhanced persistence and memory formation of T cells; and the opportunity to reduce or eliminate the need for lymphodepletion and IL-2 conditioning.

On September 6, 2023 Apollo Therapeutics ("Apollo" or "the Company"), a portfolio biopharmaceutical company focused on translating fundamental medical research into medicines through a hub-and-spoke approach, reported the close of $226.5 million in a Series C financing led by lead investor Patient Square Capital (Press release, Apollo Therapeutics, SEP 6, 2023, View Source [SID1234634968]).

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$226.5m million raised.
Financing led by Patient Square Capital.
Participation by multiple new investors including M&G plc and two of the largest US public pension plans, along with existing investor Rock Springs Capital.
Financing significantly adds to the $195 million previously raised by the Company.
Apollo’s broad and diversified pipeline currently consists of over 20 programs with multiple near and medium-term value catalysts and uncorrelated risk.
Proceeds will be used to (i) advance pipeline programs through clinical development and further fund Apollo’s drug discovery and development activities based on breakthroughs in basic medical research made at its partner institutions, (ii) licence or acquire additional clinical stage programs that meet strict selection criteria.
Apollo has a scalable R&D platform for the evergreen discovery and development of new medicines. Program selection is agnostic to indication and primarily driven by quality of science and the potential to transform the standard of care in major commercial markets. This is enabled by an unprecedented level of access to world-class research institutions through unique partnership agreements.
Current partner institutions are: The University of Cambridge, Imperial College London, University College London, King’s College London, and The Institute of Cancer Research.
"We are delighted to announce the close of our latest fundraise and wish to thank our existing investors for their continued support, as well as warmly welcoming all the new investors." said Dr. Richard Mason, Chief Executive Officer of Apollo Therapeutics. "Apollo has built a broad and diversified pipeline focused on major commercial markets and this latest fund-raising enables us to take our most advanced programs to key clinical value inflection points."

"I have long believed in a business model for drug development characterized by extremely talented management, sufficient capital to pursue multiple programs and world-class science focused on unmet medical need. We are proud to support Apollo Therapeutics as it develops a number of promising medicines that we anticipate will eventually transform patient care." commented Jim Momtazee, Managing Partner of Patient Square Capital, and member of Apollo Therapeutic’s Board of Directors.

On September 6, 2023 Nimbus Therapeutics, LLC ("Nimbus Therapeutics" or "Nimbus"), a clinical-stage company that designs and develops breakthrough medicines through its powerful computational drug discovery engine, reported the closing of a $210 million private financing to advance its next wave of tech-enabled small molecule medicines (Press release, Nimbus Therapeutics, SEP 6, 2023, View Source [SID1234634967]). The round was co-led by new investor GV (Google Ventures) and existing investors SR One and Atlas Venture, with participation from another new investor that is a U.S.-based life sciences-focused fund as well as existing investors Bain Capital Life Sciences, BVF Partners L.P., Gates Frontier, Lightstone Ventures, Pfizer Ventures, RA Capital Management, and SV Health Investors.

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"We’re proud to have built an R&D organization that is a paradigm of excellence in small molecule drug discovery and development. We embark on this next chapter of our history with the backing of a first-rate investor base, a strong pipeline and an unmatched team, which sets us up for lasting success," said Jeb Keiper, M.S., MBA, Chief Executive Officer of Nimbus.

Nimbus will continue the ongoing clinical development of NDI-101150, a hematopoietic progenitor kinase 1 (HPK1) inhibitor, in patients with solid tumors. The new capital will enable the advancement of multiple preclinical programs into and through early clinical development, including programs targeting Werner syndrome helicase (WRN) and an undisclosed autoimmune disease target. Nimbus is also pursuing the development of novel targeted therapies that activate AMPK to treat a potentially broad range of metabolic disorders via a collaboration with Eli Lilly and Company.

"Nimbus is a leader in integrating cutting-edge computational chemistry, high-tech structural biology tools and other industry-shaping technologies and approaches. We’re thrilled to support Jeb Keiper and the team as they bring difficult-to-drug, high-impact targets within reach across a wide range of therapeutic areas," said Krishna Yeshwant, M.D., MBA, General Partner at GV.

"Nimbus has demonstrated its ability to advance early science through to successful product development multiple times. We eagerly anticipate what lies ahead, and we look forward to being part of the company’s next chapter," said Rajeev Dadoo, Ph.D., Managing Partner at SR One.

"Nimbus’ ability to reproducibly design and develop differentiated, clinically proven small molecules is a testament to the strength of its expert team and its unmatched structure-based drug design platform. We’re gratified to see that sentiment reflected in the strong investor interest we received for this financing, the proceeds of which will advance the next breakthrough medicines from Nimbus’ portfolio," said Bruce Booth, D.Phil., Partner at Atlas Venture, Chairman and co-founder of Nimbus.

On September 6, 2023 Imvax, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing personalized, whole tumor-derived immunotherapies, reported the initial closing of a $23 million financing round led by the company’s significant existing investors (Press release, Imvax, SEP 6, 2023, View Source [SID1234634966]). The proceeds from the initial closing will be used to support the company’s ongoing randomized, multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2b clinical trial of IGV-001 in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma (GBM). The trial is enrolling as expected, and the company will continue additional fundraising over the next several months.

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The company also announced the appointment of Stephen Webster to the Imvax Board of Directors. In connection with Mr. Webster’s appointment, David W. Andrews, M.D., has stepped down from the Board but remains as the company’s Chief Medical Officer.

"The support of our existing investors in this fundraising reflects their belief in the promise of IGV-001 and their commitment to patients facing a GBM diagnosis," said John P. Furey, Chief Executive Officer. "We are making tremendous progress in the Phase 2b trial, and our expectation is that the study will be fully enrolled in the first half of 2024."

"I am also pleased to welcome Stephen Webster to the Imvax Board of Directors," Mr. Furey continued. "Stephen brings over 30 years of biotechnology industry experience in raising capital, business development transactions and operations and will be instrumental as we move forward the development of IGV-001 and our pipeline. I want to thank Dr. Andrews, a co-founder of Imvax, for his service on the Board over many years and am grateful for his continued leadership as our Chief Medical Officer."

Mr. Webster served as the Chief Financial Officer of Spark Therapeutics, a publicly traded gene therapy biotechnology company, from July 2014 until its acquisition by Roche for $4.3 billion in December 2019. He was previously Senior Vice President (SVP) and Chief Financial Officer of Optimer Pharmaceuticals, a publicly traded biotechnology company, from July 2012 until its acquisition by Cubist Pharmaceuticals in October 2013. Prior to joining Optimer, Mr. Webster served as SVP and Chief Financial Officer of Adolor Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company, from 2008 until its acquisition by Cubist Pharmaceuticals in 2011. Mr. Webster also served in leadership positions in the investment banking healthcare groups of Broadpoint Capital and PaineWebber Incorporated. Mr. Webster currently serves as a director of two publicly traded biopharmaceutical companies: Cullinan Oncology, Inc., and NextCure, Inc. Mr. Webster received an A.B. in Economics from Dartmouth College and an M.B.A. in Finance from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

"I am excited to join the Imvax Board of Directors at a time of tremendous opportunity for the company," said Mr. Webster. "IGV-001 for GBM and the Goldspire platform reflect a unique and potentially transformative approach to personalized, whole tumor-derived immunotherapy. I look forward to working with the Imvax management team and Board to help realize the company’s mission to deliver transformative therapies for patients."