On January 6, 2021 Bayer and Senti Biosciences, Inc., a leading gene circuit company, reported a USD 105 million Series B financing round (Press release, Bayer, JAN 6, 2021, View Source [SID1234573578]). The financing was led by Leaps by Bayer, the impact investment arm of Bayer AG. Additional investors included Matrix Partners China, Mirae Asset Capital, Ridgeback Capital and Intel Capital as well as existing investors, including New Enterprise Associates (NEA), 8VC, Amgen Ventures and Lux Capital.

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Senti Bio is at the forefront of using synthetic biology to engineer gene circuits that improve cell and gene therapy products. A gene circuit is an assembly of multi-component genetic constructs specifically designed to program cells to interact with the body’s complex environment using logic to perform desired therapeutic functions. Senti Bio uses these gene circuits to create "smarter" cell and gene therapies with enhanced therapeutic properties that aim to increase efficacy, precision and control.

Senti Bio is applying its gene circuit technology platform to develop an internal therapeutic pipeline of allogeneic chimeric antigen receptor natural killer (CAR-NK) cells. Senti Bio’s lead development candidates include next-generation allogeneic CAR-NK cell therapies: SENTI-202 for acute myeloid leukemia (AML), SENTI-301 for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and additional candidates for other undisclosed solid tumor targets.

"Leaps by Bayer’s mission is to invest in breakthrough technologies that may transform the lives of millions of patients for the better," said Juergen Eckhardt, MD, Head of Leaps by Bayer. "We believe that synthetic biology will become an important pillar in next-generation cell and gene therapy, and that Senti Bio’s leadership in designing and optimizing biological circuits fits precisely with our ambition to prevent and cure cancer and to regenerate lost tissue function."

In addition to potentially treating cancer with allogeneic CAR-NK cells, the Senti Bio gene circuit technology platform can be deployed into multiple other cell and gene therapy delivery modalities, across diverse therapeutic areas, such as immunology, neuroscience, cardiovascular disease, regenerative medicine and genetic diseases – with the potential to move from treatment to cure.

"We are grateful for the support of new and existing investors, including Leaps by Bayer, who believe in our mission of developing gene circuits to program smart cell and gene therapies to improve health outcomes for many people," said Tim Lu, MD, PhD, co-founder and chief executive officer of Senti Bio. "Over the past two years, our team has designed, built and tested thousands of sophisticated gene circuits to drive a robust product pipeline, focused initially on allogeneic CAR-NK cell therapies for difficult-to-treat liquid and solid tumor indications. I look forward to continued platform and pipeline advancements, including starting IND-enabling studies in 2021."

Proceeds from the Series B financing will support development of preclinical oncology programs and expansion of the Senti Bio gene circuit technology platform across additional delivery modalities and therapeutic areas. Senti Bio also plans to scale up clinical manufacturing, including process development and design of a cGMP-compliant manufacturing facility for off-the-shelf allogeneic CAR-NK cell product candidates.

The Series B syndicate included existing and new investors as follows: 8VC, Alexandria Ventures Investments, Amgen Ventures, Gaingels, Intel Capital, KB Investment, Leaps by Bayer, LifeForce Capital, LifeSci Venture Partners, Lux Capital, Matrix Partners China, Menlo Ventures, Mirae Asset Capital, NEA, Nest.Bio, Noveus Capital, Pear VC, Ridgeback Capital and Smilegate Investment.

On January 6, 2021 Bausch Health Companies Inc. (NYSE/TSX: BHC) reported that Joseph C. Papa, chairman and chief executive officer, is scheduled to participate at the 39th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference on Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. ET (Press release, Bausch Health, JAN 6, 2021, View Source [SID1234573595]).

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A live webcast and audio archive of the event will be available on the Investor Relations page of the Bausch Health Companies Inc. website at: View Source

On January 6, 2021 Harpoon Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: HARP), reported the pricing of an underwritten public offering of 5,882,352 shares of its common stock at a price to the public of $17.00 per share (Press release, Harpoon Therapeutics, JAN 6, 2021, View Source [SID1234573634]). Harpoon Therapeutics expects that the gross proceeds from the sale of the shares will be approximately $100.0 million, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses payable by Harpoon Therapeutics. In addition, Harpoon Therapeutics has granted the underwriters in the offering a 30-day option to purchase up to 882,352 additional shares of common stock at the public offering price. The offering is expected to close on January 11, 2021, subject to customary closing conditions.

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Harpoon Therapeutics plans to use the net proceeds of the offering, together with other available funds, to fund the continued clinical development of HPN424 in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, HPN536 in ovarian cancer and other solid tumors, HPN217 in multiple myeloma, and HPN328 for the treatment of small cell lung cancer and other neuroendocrine tumors expressing Delta-like canonical Notch ligand 3; to advance the development of other pipeline candidates, including HPN601; and for working capital and general corporate purposes.

SVB Leerink and Piper Sandler are acting as joint bookrunning managers for the offering. Baird and Truist Securities are acting as co-lead managers for the offering. Roth Capital Partners is acting as co-manager for the offering.

The shares of common stock are being offered pursuant to a "shelf" registration statement previously filed with and declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Harpoon Therapeutics has filed a preliminary prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus related to the offering with the SEC, which are available on the SEC’s website, located at www.sec.gov. Copies of the final prospectus supplement relating to this offering, when available, and the accompanying prospectus may be obtained from: SVB Leerink LLC, Attention: Syndicate Department, One Federal Street, 37th Floor, Boston, MA 02110, by telephone at (800) 808-7525, ext. 6132 or by email at [email protected] or Piper Sandler & Co., Attention: Prospectus Department, 800 Nicollet Mall, J12S03, Minneapolis, MN 55402, by telephone at (800) 747-3924 or by email at [email protected].

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, 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 any such state or jurisdiction. Any offer, if at all, will be made only by means of a prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus, which are a part of the effective registration statement.

On January 6, 2021 Akari Therapeutics, Plc (Nasdaq: AKTX), a late-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on innovative therapeutics to treat orphan autoimmune and inflammatory diseases where complement (C5) and/or leukotriene (LTB4) systems are implicated, reported that Clive Richardson, Chief Executive Officer, will participate in the following two upcoming virtual investor conferences (Press release, Akari Therapeutics, JAN 6, 2021, View Source [SID1234573545]).

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Conference: H.C. Wainwright BioConnect Conference

Date & Time: The Company’s presentation will be available on demand starting January 11, 2021 through the Company’s website.

Conference: ICR Conference 2021

Date & Time: Thursday, January 14, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Investors interested in arranging a virtual meeting with the Company’s management during the ICR Conference 2021 should contact the ICR conference coordinator or [email protected]. Webcasts of both presentations will be available by visiting ‘Events’ in the Investor Relations section on the Company’s website at www.akaritx.com.

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 [SID1234573579]).

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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.