On November 24, 2020 Evotec SE (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: EVT, MDAX/TecDAX, ISIN: DE0005664809) reported a new multi-year drug development partnership with Rappta Therapeutics, a Finland-based biopharmaceutical company, focused on an innovative oncology target (Press release, Evotec, NOV 24, 2020, View Source;announcements/press-releases/p/evotec-and-rappta-therapeutics-enter-discovery-and-development-partnership-focused-on-oncology-target-6002 [SID1234571636]).

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Under the partnership, Evotec will support Rappta’s programme of developing small molecule activators of the enzyme Protein Phosphatase 2A ("PP2A"), which downregulates multiple oncogenic signalling pathways responsible for driving cancer progression. Although PP2A is a key tumour suppressor and has a critical function regulating protein de-phosphorylation and tumour growth, it has to-date been very difficult to target pharmaceutically.

Through its deep understanding of PP2A biology and the use of proprietary technology, Rappta has uniquely defined the PP2A target which has allowed them to come up with a series of first-in-class compounds which glue the three subunits of PP2A together, thus driving PP2A complex reformation and restoring its tumour suppressive function. Evotec and Rappta intend to develop the programme which is currently in the late lead optimisation stage towards IND-enabling studies over the course of their partnership.

The collaboration leverages Evotec’s industry-leading integrated platform for drug discovery and development including Evotec’s oncology expertise coupled with state-of-the-art technologies to maximise probability of success even in fields of cutting-edge and difficult science. Evotec receives undisclosed research funding and is eligible for success-based milestone payments.

Dr Craig Johnstone, Chief Operating Officer of Evotec, commented: "Evotec is pleased to initiate this first collaboration with Rappta Therapeutics supporting their novel and next generation platform targeting PP2A against cancer. Evotec has a long and successful track record in the oncology field, having achieved numerous milestones including multiple pre-clinical candidates and clinical-stage assets together with our partners. We have been thoroughly impressed with the progress that Rappta has made in mapping out the PP2A target and look forward to working with them to continue their success by delivering solutions for patients with unmet medical needs."

Mikko Mannerkoski, the CEO of Rappta Therapeutics, added: "We are excited to be working on building a new platform and a novel class of pharmaceuticals to treat cancer. Rappta has a unique team whose deep understanding of PP2A biochemistry, structural biology, biogenesis, medicinal chemistry, and drug development is further supported by Evotec’s capabilities. This is the perfect combination of expertise to translate these discoveries to the clinic."

On November 24, 2020 Genprex, Inc. ("Genprex" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: GNPX), a clinical-stage gene therapy company focused on developing life-changing therapies for patients with cancer and diabetes, reported that the Company will participate at the Diamond Equity Research Emerging Growth Invitational taking place virtually on December 1, 2020 (Press release, Genprex, NOV 24, 2020, View Source [SID1234571662]). Genprex’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Michael Redman, will virtually deliver a company overview to investors followed by a guided question and answer session.

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Event: Diamond Equity Research Emerging Growth Invitational

Date: Tuesday, December 1

Time: 11:40 a.m. EST

Registration Link: https://bit.ly/2UJS3Si

A live audio webcast and archive of the conference presentation will be available for a period of time using the registration link above. For more information on the Diamond Equity Research Emerging Growth Invitational, please contact your Diamond Equity Research representative.

On November 24, 2020 China Biologic Products Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBPO, "China Biologic" or the "Company"), a leading fully integrated plasma-based biopharmaceutical company in China, reported its unaudited financial results for the third quarter of 2020 (Press release, China Biologic Products, NOV 24, 2020, View Source [SID1234571686]).

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Third Quarter 2020 Financial Highlights

Total sales in the third quarter of 2020 increased by 0.8% in RMB terms and 1.8% in USD terms to $138.5 million from $136.1 million in the same quarter of 2019.
Gross profit increased by 4.4% to $92.5 million from $88.6 million in the same quarter of 2019. Gross margin increased to 66.8% from 65.1% in the same quarter of 2019.
Income from operations decreased by 1.9% to $52.0 million from $53.0 million in the same quarter of 2019. Operating margin decreased to 37.5% from 38.9% in the same quarter of 2019.
Non-GAAP adjusted income from operations increased by 11.7% in RMB terms and 12.8% in USD terms to $69.4 million from $61.5 million in the same quarter of 2019.
Net income attributable to the Company decreased by 16.0% to $39.5 million from $47.0 million in the same quarter of 2019. Diluted earnings per share decreased to $0.99 compared to $1.21 in the same quarter of 2019.
Non-GAAP adjusted net income attributable to the Company increased by 0.2% in RMB terms and 1.3% in USD terms to $55.1 million from $54.4 million in the same quarter of 2019. Non-GAAP adjusted earnings per diluted share was $1.39 compared to $1.40 in the same quarter of 2019.
NOTE: Detailed financial statements and information are available through this link: View Source

"This quarter China Biologic reported an encouraging rebound in revenue from the second quarter and a slight increase on a year-over-year basis, reflecting our efforts to regain sales momentum following the COVID-19 disruption," said Joseph Chow, Chairman and CEO of China Biologic. "Thanks to recent measures to improve sales and marketing efficiencies, we recorded non-GAAP operating income growth of nearly 12% over the same quarter last year. During the quarter we further optimized our commercial team structure, enhanced our medical marketing support function, implemented a multidimensional evaluation system for staff performance and established better incentive and compensation structures. These strategic initiatives position us to cope with ongoing pandemic-related macro-uncertainties as well as potentially intensifying market competition, in the face of a short-term decline in demand and supply surge as observed in our peer companies’ recent batch approval records."

"Beyond sales and marketing, our long term growth initiatives, including construction of new plasma collection stations and R&D projects, are well on track. We are pleased to report that our newly built collection station in Chongqing city recently passed official inspection with commercial operations to commence soon, and two new collection stations in Shandong province are expected to commercially launch in early 2021. With the continuing expansion of our plasma collection capacity and progress in our product pipeline, CBPO is well positioned to meet the increasing market demands for plasma protein therapeutics in China in the coming years."

Recent Development

As previously announced, on November 19, 2020, the Company entered into a definitive Agreement and Plan of Merger (the "Merger Agreement") with CBPO Holdings Limited ("Parent") and CBPO Group Limited ("Merger Sub"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Parent, which contemplates that Merger Sub will merge with and into the Company, with the Company continuing as the surviving entity and becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent.

Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, at the effective time of the merger, each ordinary share of the Company issued and outstanding immediately prior to the effective time of the merger will be cancelled and cease to exist in exchange for the right to receive $120.00 in cash without interest, except for Excluded Shares and Dissenting Shares (each as defined in the Merger Agreement). If completed, the merger will result in the Company becoming a privately-held company and its shares will no longer be listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market.

The closing of the merger is currently expected to occur during the first half of 2021 and is subject to customary closing conditions, including, among others, (i) that the Merger Agreement shall be authorized and approved by an affirmative vote of shareholders representing at least two-thirds of the ordinary shares of the Company present and voting in person or by proxy at an extraordinary general meeting of the Company’s shareholders and (ii) that the aggregate amount of dissenting shares shall be less than 8% of the total outstanding ordinary shares of the Company immediately prior to the effective time of the merger.

The Company does not undertake any obligation to provide any update with respect to the merger or any other transaction, except as required under applicable law.

Conference Call

The Company’s management will hold a conference call at 7:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday, November 25, 2020, which is 8:30 p.m. Beijing Time on November 25, 2020, to discuss third quarter 2020 results. Listeners may access the call by dialing:

A telephone replay will be available one hour after the conclusion of the conference call through December 2, 2020. The dial-in details are:

A live and archived webcast of the conference call will be available through the Company’s investor relations website at View Source

On November 24, 2020 Targovax ASA (OSE: TRVX), a clinical stage immuno-oncology company developing oncolytic viruses to target hard-to-treat solid tumors, reported 18-month follow-up data from the randomized phase I/II trial of ONCOS-102 in combination with standard-of-care (SoC) chemotherapy in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) (Press release, Targovax, NOV 24, 2020, View Source [SID1234571637]).

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The study is an open-label, exploratory phase I/II trial adding ONCOS-102 to SoC chemotherapy (pemetrexed/cisplatin) in first- and second- (and later) line treatment of MPM to assess safety, immune activation and efficacy versus SoC only. In total, 31 patients have been included in the trial, with 20 patients in the experimental group receiving the ONCOS-102 and SoC combination (8 randomized in first-line), and 11 patients in the control group receiving SoC only (6 in first-line).

At the 18-month follow-up, more than half of the patients in the first-line ONCOS-102-treated group were still alive, and the mOS was not yet reached. Based on current survival data the mOS will be 18.2 months or longer. For the first-line SoC-only control group, less than half of the patients were alive, and mOS will be 14.2 months or less, which is similar to outcomes from previously reported trials where patients received the same chemotherapy treatment1. An analysis of all the first-line patients, including 3 experimental safety lead-in patients, shows similar results as the randomized first-line patients. The next survival analysis is planned in first half of 2021.

In June, it was reported that ONCOS-102 treatment induces broad and powerful immune activation in MPM, far beyond what is achieved with SoC alone. Importantly, this immune activation is associated with better survival outcomes at the 18-month analysis, indicating that the immunological activity of ONCOS-102 drives the observed clinical benefit.

The powerful immune activation generated by ONCOS-102 builds a strong rationale for combining ONCOS-102 with a checkpoint inhibitor in MPM. This combination could provide further clinical benefits in this indication. Targovax and Merck (known as MSD outside of the USA) are currently reviewing next steps for combining ONCOS-102 and pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in MPM. Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the combination of ipilimumab and nivolumab (Yervoy and Opdivo) for the first-line treatment of MPM based on mOS of 18.1 months (Baas 2020), and this is expected to serve as a benchmark for further approvals.

Magnus Jäderberg, Chief Medical Officer of Targovax, said: "We are very pleased that overall survival in first-line patients, is tracking well in the ONCOS-102 treated group. We have already established in the current study that ONCOS-102 drives favorable remodeling of the tumor microenvironment, and we are now starting to see this immune activation translating into the encouraging improved survival outcomes in these 18-month results. This is exactly what we had hoped to see and prepares the way for combining ONCOS-102 with checkpoint inhibition. The immune data suggest to us that survival outcomes in combination with Keytruda may be further improved from the results reported today."

The first results from the trial were announced in January 2020 (see press release here), while immunological data and 12-month survival rate were reported in June 2020 (see press release here) and presented at the SITC (Free SITC Whitepaper) annual meeting in November 2020 (see poster here).

On November 24, 2020 Kaleido Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: KLDO), reported that Dan Menichella, Chief Executive Officer, will participate in a fireside chat at the virtual Piper Sandler 32nd Annual Healthcare Conference taking place November 30-December 3, 2020 (Press release, Kaleido Biosciences, NOV 24, 2020, View Source [SID1234571663]).

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The presentation will be available for registered attendees via the Piper Sandler conference site during the conference until December 3, 2020, and will also be available November 30, 2020, on the Investors & Media section of the Kaleido website at View Source An archived replay will be accessible for 90 days following the event.