Juniper Biologics In-Licenses Helsinn’s Oncology Portfolio For Aloxi®, Onicit®, Paloxi®, Akynzeo® and anamorelin (INN)

On December 22, 2021 Helsinn Healthcare SA ("Helsinn"), a fully integrated, global biopharma company with a diversified pipeline of innovative oncology assets and strong track-record of commercial execution, and Juniper Biologics Pte Ltd ("Juniper"), a science-led healthcare company focused on researching, developing and commercializing novel therapies, reported the signing of exclusive distribution, license and supply agreements for Aloxi, Onicit, Paloxi, Akynzeo (IV and oral formulations) and anamorelin (INN) (Press release, Juniper Biologics, DEC 22, 2021, View Source [SID1234615017]).

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Under the terms of the agreements, Helsinn has granted Juniper exclusive licenses to register, import, distribute, promote, market and sell these products in Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, and certain markets in Middle East and Africa.

Approved products:

Aloxi, Onicit and Paloxi (Palonosetron hydrochloride, IV, 25 mg as Palonosetron) for the prevention of chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting (CINV)
Aloxi and Onicit (Palonosetron hydrochloride, IV, 075 mg as Palonosetron) for the prevention of post-operative nausea and vomiting (PONV)
Aloxi (Palonosetron hydrochloride, oral, 5 mg as Palonosetron) for the prevention of CINV
Akynzeo (Netupitant and Palonosetron hydrochloride, oral and Fosnetupitant and Palonosetron hydrochloride, IV) for the prevention of CINV
Product[s] under development:

Anamorelin (INN), an investigational, is a selective, novel, orally active ghrelin receptor agonist being developed for the treatment of malignancy-associated weight loss and anorexia in non-small cell lung cancer patients. Ghrelin is an endogenous peptide primarily secreted by the stomach. Upon binding to its receptor, ghrelin stimulates multiple pathways in the positive regulation of body weight, muscle mass, appetite and metabolism.

Riccardo Braglia, Helsinn Group Vice Chairman and CEO, commented:

"This agreement with Juniper Biologics further secures access to Helsinn’s supportive care products for those patients in real need in these important markets. We are pleased to be partnering with Juniper Biologics and are happy to share the future growth based on their top management vast knowledge in commercialization of novel therapies in these markets. We would like to always make a difference in the lives of many patients living with cancer."

Raman Singh, CEO of Juniper Biologics, commented: "Juniper Biologics was founded on a vision to provide the next generation of life-changing therapies to address unmet patient needs. Our partnership with the Helsinn Group with their excellence in innovation and cancer supportive care, helps us further this goal and is an important extension of our commitment to increase access to break-through medicines and to offer relief to patients suffering with cancer."

About Aloxi, Onicit and Paloxi

The exact therapeutic indication may be different in each country. Please consult the official approved product information in your country.

About Akynzeo

The exact therapeutic indication may be different in each country. Please consult the official approved product information in your country.

Clinical Trials Update – December 2021

On December 22, 2021 The Life Raft Group reported that highlighted recent clinical trials that are still recruiting in the U.S. which investigate potential treatments for GIST patients (Press release, The Life Raft Group, DEC 22, 2021, View Source [SID1234597850]).

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Our database, gisttrials.org, lists over 70 trials that are GIST-related which are ongoing around the world. Currently there are 11 GIST-related trials recruiting in the United States. (Of these 11, two are no Phase (0), three are Phase 1, five are Phase 2, one is Phase 1/2.) This article gives a sampling of four trials currently recruiting for KIT/PDGFRa mutant GIST, SDH-deficient GIST (2), and a no Phase Surgery trial for all GIST Types. For further information about GIST trials including international trials, visit: The Life Raft Group Clinical Trials Website.

About Phase 1 trials
It is important to recognize that Phase I studies are held to find the highest dose of the new treatment that can be given safely without causing severe side effects.

• The first few people in the study get a very low dose of the treatment and are watched very closely. If there are only minor side effects, the next few participants get a higher dose. This process continues until doctors find a dose that’s most likely to be and effective treatment while having an acceptable level of side effects.

• Safety is the main concern. The research team monitors participants and watches for severe side effects. Due to the small numbers of people in Phase I studies, rare side effects may not be seen until later phases of the trial when more people are receiving the treatment.

• While some people may benefit from being on one, disease response is not the main purpose of a Phase I trial. Phase I trials carry the most potential risk, but these studies do help some patients. For those with life-threatening illnesses, weighing the potential risks and benefits carefully is key. Sometimes people choose
to join Phase I trials when all other treatment options have already been tried.

Phase I trials carry the most potential risk, but these studies do help some patients. For those with life-threatening illnesses, weighing the potential risks and benefits carefully is key. Sometimes people choose
to join Phase I trials when all other treatment options have already been tried.

For patients with advanced KIT/PDGFRa mutant GIST:

NB003 Phase 1 – "A Study of NB003 in Patients With Advanced Malignancies"
Site is Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center NY, NY.
Principal Investigator: Dr. Ping Chi. The trial started 8/6/2021. Dose escalation phase will be followed by
an expansion phase. Plans are to recruit 36 over a period of 20 months. NB003 oral tablets are administered twice daily for repeated 28-day cycles.

Primary objectives are incidence of dose limiting toxicity and incidence of adverse events. Tumor sample collection is required. Includes GIST and other solid tumors with either KIT or PDGFRa mutations. Includes patients with advanced GIST who have progressed on or had an intolerability to imatinib and other standard of care (SoCs) or refused other SoCs.

Sponsor is Ningbo Newbay Technology Development Co., Ltd in China. Obtained development rights from AstraZeneca in 2020. NB003 was previously called AZD3229. AstraZeneca employee authors described AZD3229 translational relevance in a 2019 paper: "AZD3229 has potential as a best-in-class treatment for patients with GIST with mutations in KIT and PDGFRα, and this compound may overcome the limitations experienced with existing treatment options in the clinic which are limited by off-target effects leading to drug holidays and dose reductions leading to lack of optimum efficacy." Contact at MSKCC, 646-888-3915
or email [email protected] NCT04936178

For patients with SDH-deficient GIST

Temozolomide Phase 2 – "Temozolomide (TMZ) In Advanced Succinate Dehydrogenase (SDH) Mutant/Deficient Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor (GIST)".

Trial sites include University of California San Diego, University of Miami, Oregon Health Science University, Portland, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia. Principal Investigators include Adam Burgoyne, Jon Trent, Mike Heinrich, Margaret von Mehren. Started 9/12/2018.

Recruiting 23 participants over 48 months. Temozolomide (Temodar) tablets taken orally once a day for 21 days followed by seven days off drug for each 28-day drug cycle.

Primary objective is overall response rate. Patients will continue treatment until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Includes patients who have pathologically confirmed SDH-mutant/deficient GIST and tumors measurable on CT scans.

Information concerning the rationale for use of Temozolomide in SDH-deficient GIST can be found in the following reports:

• 1/7/2019 – "Preferential MGMT methylation could predispose a subset of KIT/PDGFRA-WT GISTs, including SDH-deficient ones, to respond to alkylating agents"

• 10/12/2020 – "Abnormal MGMT Promoter Methylation in Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors: Genetic Susceptibility and Association with Clinical Outcome"

Information concerning side effects of TMZ in GIST patients can be found in the following report:

• 12/4/2003 – "A two-arm phase II study of temozolomide in patients with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumors and other soft tissue sarcomas".

Sponsor is Dr. Adam Burgoyne. Contact at UCSD at 858-822-3092 or email [email protected] NCT03556384

Rogaratinib Phase 2 – "Testing the Anti-cancer Drug, Rogaratinib (BAY 1163877), for Treatment of Advanced Sarcoma With Alteration in Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor (FGFR 1-4), and in Patients With SDH-deficient Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor (GIST)"

Trial sites include: Dana-Farber Boston, Boston, The National Cancer Institute Bethesda, City of Hope Duarte, CA, Memorial Sloan Kettering New York, NY, Washington University School of Medicine St. Louis, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute.

Principal Investigators include: Suzanne George, A. P. Chen, Mark Agulnik, Katherine Thornton, Brian Van Tine, Melissa Burgess. Started 2/1/2021.

Recruiting 48 participants over 24 months. Patients take Rogaratinib pills twice daily on days 1-28. Treatment repeats every 28 days for up to 24 cycles in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

Primary objective is to estimate the objective radiographic response rate. Serial biopsies may be required. Confirmed SDH-deficient patients must have measurable disease on scans. The sponsor is the National Cancer Institute.

The rationale for targeting FGFR in SDH-deficient GIST is provided in the following paper:

• 10/16/2019 – "Altered chromosomal topology drives oncogenic programs in SDH-deficient GISTs"
Information about the safety and side effects of Rogaratenib is provided in the following paper reporting results of a Phase 1 dose escalation study:

• 8/9/2019 – "Rogaratinib in patients with advanced cancers selected by FGFR mRNA expression: a phase 1 dose-escalation and
dose-expansion study."

Contact information is available for each site at clinicaltrials.gov NCT04595747

For all GIST patients:

Surgery, No Phase – "Surgery in Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors (GISTs)
for Treatment, Tumor Modeling, and Genomic Analysis"

National Institute of Health Clinical Center in Bethesda, MD.

Principal Investigator is Dr. Andrew M Blakely. Started 12/18/2020. Recruiting 400 participants over 20 years. Participants will be monitored every 6-12 months at the NIH Clinical Center, for up to 10 years before having surgery. If they need surgery, it will be performed at the NIH. Then, they will be monitored every 6-12 months, for up to five years after surgery.

If a participant has surgery, tumor tissue samples will be taken. If a participant does not need surgery, their participation will end after 10 years. If they have surgery, the five-year monitoring period will restart after each surgery.

The overall objective is to follow people with GISTs and collect tumor tissue so that it can be studied in the lab. The Primary objective is to evaluate and follow patients with GISTs, particularly WT or treatment-refractory non-WT, to support translational research for this rare disease Time Frame: on-going. People aged six and older who have GIST are eligible.

Inclusion criteria include: Histological confirmation or clinical presentation suspicious of GIST; histological confirmation will be preferably by review of archival tissue if available, fresh biopsy will not be required if inadequate tissue sample.

Advaxis Announces Acceptance for Trading on the OTCQX

On December 22, 2021 Advaxis, Inc. (OTCQX: ADXS), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of immunotherapy products, reported that the Company has satisfied the requirements for trading of the Company’s common stock on the OTCQX Best Market ("OTCQX") and will begin trading on OTCQX at the open of the market on December 23, 2021 under the symbol ADXS (Press release, Advaxis, DEC 22, 2021, View Source [SID1234597669]). The Company previously traded on Nasdaq .

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OTCQX is the top tier of three markets organized by OTC Markets Group Inc. for trading over-the-counter securities, and is designed for established, investor-focused U.S. and international companies. To qualify for the OTCQX market, companies must meet high financial standards, follow best practice corporate governance, demonstrate compliance with U.S. securities laws, and be current with their disclosure. Investors can find current market information and real-time quotes for the Company on www.otcmarkets.com.

Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement

On December 22, 2021, Syndax Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (the "Company") reported that it entered into Amendment No. 1 to the Company’s Loan and Security Agreement (the "First Amendment") with the several banks and financial institutions or entities from time-to-time party thereto (collectively, the "Lender") and Hercules Capital, Inc., in its capacity as administrative agent for itself and the Lender (in such capacity, the "Agent") (Filing, 8-K, Syndax, DEC 22, 2021, View Source [SID1234597660]). The First Amendment amended that certain Loan and Security Agreement dated as of February 7, 2020 (the "Existing Loan Agreement," as amended by the First Amendment, the "Loan Agreement") among the Borrower, the Lender and the Agent.

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The First Amendment increases the amount that the Company may borrow by $50.0 million, from up to $30.0 million to up to $80.0 million, in multiple tranches. The First Amendment increases the second tranche ("Tranche 2") from $10.0 million to $30.0 million with $15.0 million being available at the Company’s option through April 30, 2022 and another $15.0 million being available at the Company’s option through November 30, 2022, which availability period will be extended to April 30, 2023 if the first $15.0 million is drawn prior to April 30, 2022. The First Amendment also provides for a third tranche of $30.0 million ("Tranche 3"), which is available, subject to the Agent’s investment committee approval, through the Interest-Only Period (as defined below). The Company’s only borrowings to date under the Loan Agreement are the first tranche of $20.0 million, which the Company drew upon the closing of the Loan Agreement on February 7, 2020.

Additionally, the First Amendment, among other things, (i) extended the expiration of the period in which interest-only payments on borrowings under the Loan Agreement are required from October 1, 2021 to January 1, 2023, which is further extendable to December 31, 2023 upon the partial or full draw of Tranche 2 (the "Interest-Only Period"), (ii) extended the maturity date of Loan Agreement from September 1, 2023 to April 1, 2024, (iii) decreased the annual interest rate from the greater of (w) 9.85% or (x) 5.10% plus the Wall Street Journal prime rate to the greater of (y) 9.25% or (z) 6.00% plus the Wall Street Journal prime rate, (iv) applies a facility charge equal to 0.50% of any future draws, (v) applies a 4.99% end of term charge to any future draws payable on the maturity date, (vi) permits the entry into the Collaboration and License Agreement as previously disclosed with Incyte Corporation, and (vii) adds a minimum cash covenant applicable on the occurrence of certain events. The First Amendment also resets the prepayment premium requirements as of the date of the First Amendment so that any prepayments are subject to a prepayment premium equal to (i) 2.0% of the principal amount outstanding if the prepayment occurs during the first year following the Loan Amendment, (ii) 1.5% of the principal amount outstanding if the prepayment occurs during the second year following the Loan Amendment, and (iii) 1.0% of the principal amount outstanding at any time thereafter but prior to the Maturity Date.

Chromatin Remodeler Offers New and Promising Target Against Prostate Cancer

On December 22, 2021 Dovetail Genomics, the industry leader in advanced proximity ligation genomic solutions, reported details of a new study, led by University of Michigan researchers and published in Nature, which showed for the first time that inhibiting the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex prevents several oncogenes from being expressed and slows prostate cancer growth in cell and animal models (Press release, Dovetail Genomics, DEC 22, 2021, View Source [SID1234597627]). These findings were made possible, in part, by Hi-C technology developed by Dovetail Genomics, with the company’s proximity ligation HiChIP MNase Kit providing essential information about 3D chromatin architecture, illuminating the effect the PROTAC had on chromatin remodeling. In addition, Dovetail scientists Mital Bhakta and Jay Ghurye contributed to the paper.

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"This is a revolutionary finding," said Arul Chinnaiyan, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Michigan Center for Translational Pathology and senior author on the paper. "By controlling chromatin structure in prostate cancer cells, we shut down several oncogenic pathways at once. This could offer new hope for patients, particularly those with resistant disease."

Chromatin is the combination of DNA, RNA and proteins that tightly package genetic material in the nucleus. Cells have evolved complex mechanisms, including the SWI/SNF complex, to open up chromatin and allow gene expression.

In the study, the research team designed a proteolysis targeting chimera (PROTAC), a small molecule compound, that degrades SMARCA2 and SMARCA4, essential SWI/SNF components. This degradation had a ripple effect. Inhibiting SWI/SNF kept chromatin closed to cancer-driving transcription factors, which could not reach gene enhancers, muting well-known oncogenes, such as AR (androgen receptor), FOXA1, ERG and MYC.

This work highlights potential therapeutic targets to defeat enhancer-addicted prostate and possibly other cancers. Equally important, PROTAC synergized with the androgen receptor antagonists, which are often used to treat prostate cancer, making them more effective.

"Dovetail has always put an acute focus on cancer research, understanding that proximity ligation takes oncology studies to the next level," said Todd Dickinson, CEO of Dovetail Genomics. "We were thrilled to partner with Dr. Chinnaiyan on this study, helping to identify a critical advance in cancer data and research."

The full article can be found here: View Source