On January 6, 2021 Aileron Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALRN), reported that it has entered into definitive agreements with fundamental healthcare investors for the purchase and sale of 32,630,983 of its shares of common stock at a purchase price of $1.10 per share in a registered direct offering priced at-the-market under Nasdaq rules (Press release, Aileron Therapeutics, JAN 6, 2021, View Source [SID1234573571]). The closing of the offering is expected to occur on or about January 8, 2021, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

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JonesTrading Institutional Services LLC ("JonesTrading") is acting as the placement agent for the offering.

The gross proceeds to Aileron from the offering are expected to be $35.9 million, before deducting the placement agent’s fees and other offering expenses payable by Aileron.

Aileron intends to use the net proceeds from the public offering, together with its existing cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, to fund clinical development of ALRN-6924 as a chemoprotective agent and for working capital and other general corporate purposes.

The shares are being offered pursuant to a shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-226650) that was filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on August 7, 2018, and declared effective by the SEC on July 15, 2019. A prospectus supplement relating to and describing the terms of the offering will be filed with the SEC and will be available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. The offering is being made only by means of a prospectus and related prospectus supplement. When available, electronic copies of the prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus may also be obtained from JonesTrading Institutional Services LLC by calling (212) 907-5332, or by e-mailing [email protected].

This press release shall 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 other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or other jurisdiction.

On January 6, 2021 Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) reported that it will present at the 39th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference at 11:50 a.m. PT on Monday, Jan. 11, 2021 (Press release, Amgen, JAN 6, 2021, View Source [SID1234573588]). Robert A. Bradway, chairman and chief executive officer at Amgen, will present at the conference. Live audio of the presentation can be accessed from the Events Calendar on Amgen’s website, www.amgen.com, under Investors. A replay of the webcast will also be available on Amgen’s website for at least 90 days following the event.

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On January 6, 2021 Pacylex Pharmaceuticals, an oncology company unlocking a new approach to cancer therapy, reported the publication in the journal Breast Cancer Research and Treatment data showing treatment with an N-myristoyltransferase (NMT) inhibitor reduces viability of cultured breast cancer cells and inhibits tumor growth in a mouse xenograft mouse model of human breast cancer (Press release, Pacylex Pharmaceuticals, JAN 6, 2021, View Source [SID1234645065]). Pacylex is developing this NMT inhibitor, PCLX-001, as a first in class therapy for various leukemias and lymphomas and also plans to study its effects on various solid tumors.

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"Despite the critical role myristoylation plays in cell survival, NMT1 and NMT2 protein levels have never been systematically studied in a large series of human cancers," said John Mackey, MD, Co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of Pacylex and first author on the paper. "Not only did we find a relationship between NMT2 levels and patient survival, but an NMT inhibitor was generally effective against breast cancer cell lines and inhibited human breast cancers grown in mice."

Dr. Mackey and colleagues studied the abundance and distribution of NMT1 and NMT2 proteins in normal breast tissue and a large cohort of primary breast adenocarcinomas from a prospective phase III clinical trial (n=706). NMT1 protein was observed in normal and most transformed breast epithelial tissue and was associated with better overall histologic grade, higher Ki67, and lower hormone expression. Though NMT2 protein was readily detected in normal breast epithelial tissue, it was undetectable in the majority of breast cancers. Detectable NMT2 protein correlated with significantly worse overall survival.

This extends the proof-of-concept for NMT inhibitors as potential cancer therapeutics for blood cancers, recently published in Nature Communications, to solid tumors as well, and supports the continued preparation for the first human clinical trial set to begin in early 2021. Both lymphoma and solid tumor patients including breast cancer will be enrolled in this initial study.

A link to the publication "N-myristoyltransferase proteins in breast cancer: prognostic relevance and validation as a new drug target" can be accessed here. The Alberta Cancer Foundation and the Cure Cancer Foundation both provided support for this research.

PCLX-001

PCLX-001 is a small molecule, first-in-class myristoylation inhibitor, originally developed by the University of Dundee Drug Discovery Unit as part of a program to treat African sleeping sickness funded by Wellcome Trust. Pacylex is developing PCLX-001, which has very good oral bioavailabilty, to treat cancers low in N-myristoyltransferase 2 (NMT2), a myristoylation enzyme whose deficiency is associated with higher mortality in leukemia and lymphoma. PCLX-001 selectively kills cancer cells and completely regresses (eliminates) tumors in animal models of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and Burkitt’s lymphoma (BL). PCLX-001 has also been shown to inhibit the growth of lung and breast cancer tumors in animal models. In tests using cultured cancer cells in vitro, PCLX-001 is at least ten times as potent as Ibrutinib (Imbruvica) and Dasatinib (Sprycel), two clinically approved drugs currently used to treat hematologic malignancies.

On January 6, 2021 IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD. ("IPA") (Nasdaq: IPA) (TSXV: IPA) a leader in full-service, therapeutic antibody discovery, reported that Dr. Jennifer Bath, ImmunoPrecise’s Chief Executive Officer, will participate in a pre-recorded presentation through the H.C. Wainwright BioConnect 2021 Conference, and management will host one-on-one meetings with investors through the Stern IR Virtual Corporate Access Event, both taking place January 11-14, 2021 (Press release, ImmunoPrecise Antibodies, JAN 6, 2021, View Source [SID1234573536]).

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The H.C. Wainwright presentation will be available for on-demand viewing beginning Monday, January 11, 2021 at 6:00 a.m. ET. The recording can be accessed via H.C. Wainwright Bioconnect website at and will be available for approximately 30 days.

On January 6, 2021 BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: BCRX) reported that the company will present at the 39th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, which is being conducted as a virtual event, on Wednesday, January 13, 2021 at 11:40 a.m. ET (Press release, BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, JAN 6, 2021, View Source [SID1234573555]).

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Links to a live audio webcast and replay of the presentation may be accessed in the Investors section of BioCryst’s website at http://www.biocryst.com.