On October 5, 2020 The Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Research Alliance (PSSCRA) reported the opening of applications for its 2021 Prize for Young Investigators in Cancer Research (Press release, The Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Research Alliance, OCT 5, 2020, View Source [SID1234568114]). The prize of $200,000 per year for up to three years is awarded annually to at least six New York City area-based scientists. The prize empowers researchers to pursue innovative, high-risk/high-reward cancer research at a stage when traditional funding is lacking.

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"Science, social justice and the collective environmental conscience have never been as intertwined. Symbolizing the notion of infinity, our eighth year promises to reveal new insights and innovation in cancer research at a scale that is as broad as it is entangled: spanning the micro and the macro, the individual and the societal; the biologic and the synthetic," said Pershing Square Foundation Trustee Neri Oxman. "We look forward to reviewing radically innovative applications as we continue to grow our PSSCRA community."

Applicants must have between two and eight years of experience running their own laboratories by the award start date (July 2021), hold a PhD, MD or MD-PhD (or degree equivalent), and be affiliated with a research institution in the greater New York City area. The greater New York City area includes New York City’s five boroughs, Long Island, Westchester County, New Jersey, and Western Connecticut (Fairfield and New Haven Counties). The deadline to submit a Letter of Intent is November 9, 2020. For more details on PSSCRA and the application process, including the full eligibility criteria, please visit: View Source

Now providing funding and support for 46 investigators at eleven academic research institutions, the highly competitive Prize underwrites the bold research of cancer scientists at a formative stage in their careers. In order to facilitate collaboration and innovation, each Prize winner is given access to leaders in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries and the opportunity to present his or her work to scientific, business, and philanthropic audiences.

"As we embark on the eighth year of the Prize, we remain extremely impressed by the remarkable scientific talent in the NYC area. It is our goal to build a community of innovative and skilled individuals and to support their exploration of the most exciting and revolutionary ideas, especially during a time when scientific research is more pressing and vital than ever," said Olivia Tournay Flatto, PhD, President of The Pershing Square Foundation and Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Research Alliance. "The future of the New York area’s life science research and industry relies on our ability to discover and support such new talent."

"The Pershing Square Sohn Prize is an immense honor for me and my team," said Britta Will, PhD, a 2020 Prize winner who is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. "It provides us with a truly unique opportunity to comprehensively explore a wholly new research direction which would have otherwise taken years to realize."

"The Pershing Square Sohn Prize will open the gateway for my laboratory to tackle high-risk and bold questions. This award will also provide the means to establish communication and collaboration with other outstanding scientists by virtue of participation in networking events. It will, therefore, undoubtedly support the development of my scientific career," said Camila dos Santos, PhD, a recipient of the 2018 Prize and Assistant Professor at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. "I am incredibly honored to be a recipient of this prestigious award and become a part of such an extraordinary effort and community."

"This is a highly impactful and prestigious award which has made a major impact on my career," remarked 2014 Prize winner Ross Levine, MD, the Laurence Joseph Dineen Chair in Leukemia Research and Director of the MSK Center for Hematologic Malignancies at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Dr. Levine concluded his project in 2017 and has participated in PSSCRA’s application process as a guest reviewer for the past three years.

On October 5, 2020 Medivir AB (Nasdaq Stockholm: MVIR) reported it has appointed Dr. Tom Morris as interim Chief Medical Officer effective October 5, 2020 (Press release, Medivir, OCT 5, 2020, View Source [SID1234568130]). Dr. Morris will report to CEO Yilmaz Mahshid and join the Medivir Executive Team.

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Tom Morris has more than 20 years of experience within drug development, mostly in oncology. Previously employed at Medeval Ltd and more recently at AstraZeneca. He has overseen the clinical development of several global drug programs, interacting with regulatory agencies, external clinical experts and academic groups worldwide.

Dr. Morris holds a BSc in Physiology from the University of Wales, medical degrees from the University of Wales College of Medicine and Master of Laws degree from Cardiff Law School. Currently a fellow and Board member of The Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine, a former chair of its Ethical Issues committee and a member of its Professional Standards Committee.

On October 5, 2020 Diaceutics PLC, (AIM: DXRX) reported new research which predicts that the Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) testing market will expand to $3.6 billion in the United States by 2025 – up considerably from just $125 million today (Press release, Diaceutics, OCT 5, 2020, View Source [SID1234568115]). The findings are published in the 2020 Diaceutics PM Readiness Report.

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Driven by the increased utility of NSCLC testing and testing services, as well as new single and combination treatments – Diaceutics’ research found that currently, there are 714 new precision medicine treatments focused on NSCLC in late-stage clinical trials – this exponential growth represents 40% of the total value for the NSCLC treatment market. The growing market demonstrates the mounting dependence on precision medicine therapies for cancer treatment; and the pharmaceutical sector’s increasing investment in testing to ensure that their new treatments reach the eligible patient population. In doing so, they are closing the gap on the $2-3 billion in potential NSCLC revenues that is currently lost every year due to inefficient testing.

Currently, only half of patients with advanced NSCLC are receiving the right drug
As pharma revenues continue to be lost due to hurdles inherent with current NSCLC testing pathways, analysis in Diaceutics’ PM Readiness Report shows that this has a significant impact on patient treatment. Currently, only half of NSCLC patients who are eligible for precision medicine therapies receive them, with not enough emphasis being placed on the economic value of diagnostic testing. Pharma investment therefore often does not reflect the true value of efficient testing, or the investment is spread too thinly across multiple players. This disincentivises stakeholders within the testing ecosystem from addressing the entire patient journey from cough to precision treatment, leading to a fragmented approach to testing.

Diaceutics’ research found that by investing heavily in the PD-L1 22C3 antibody, Merck has shown how education and investment drives biomarker adoption, with 83% of all PD-L1 testing today using Merck’s associated antibody.

Furthermore, 10% of patients receive NSCLC treatment without relevant testing
Diaceutics’ research shows that even when patients do receive a precision medicine drug, one-in-10 will receive the wrong one. The PM Readiness Report found that 10% of NSCLC patients are receiving precision medicine treatments without having had the relevant biomarker tests, signifying a knowledge gap amongst oncologists around biomarkers and their associated treatments.

Progress is being made with PD-L1
Recent guidance from the FDA states that it is continually approving multiple drugs that are dependent on the same biomarkers, and pharmaceutical companies should therefore focus on promoting multiple tests that lead patients to their specific therapies, rather than focusing on one proprietary test.

Diaceutics analysed the value in multiple pharma competitors simultaneously promoting companion diagnostic tests for specific groups of therapies and found significant revenue benefits for pharma. In the case of PD-L1 testing, this approach has reduced the post-launch time it takes for a new biomarker test to reach 80% of the eligible patient population from seven years to three. In the case of EGFR and ALK, however, the average delay remains high at six years due to poor pre-launch preparation.

The impact of COVID-19
The fragility of the testing ecosystem has been highlighted by the emergence of COVID-19 and Diaceutics has observed the pandemic’s highly disruptive impact on cancer testing. It found that cancer testing in China decreased by as much as 50% in Q2 2020 versus the Q2 2019. The company’s tracker in the US also revealed that there was a 31% drop in newly diagnosed cases of lung cancer between February and March 2020. The research revealed that while patients already diagnosed with cancer and receiving treatment were continuing to be supported, the decrease in testing over this period will result in a backlog of undiagnosed patients. The ramifications of this backlog will be felt in 2021 and beyond. Furthermore, the increased pressure on testing laboratories caused by the demand for COVID testing has seen a decentralisation of cancer testing observed across China with regional laboratories having to manage the fallout. As a result, Diaceutics observed that enhanced planning and investment will be critical to absorb what will be a significant increase in testing needs following COVID-19.

Speaking about the findings of the report, Peter Keeling, CEO and Founder of Diaceutics, said: "Patients simply cannot get the right treatment without efficient testing – COVID-19 has unequivocally proven that model to be true and has presented us with an opportunity to get out in front of a global testing crisis which has this year, been put in the spotlight.

"The era of launching a therapy with a single companion diagnostic partner is definitely behind us. We need to consider the global needs of our patients and the regional restrictions which have been further exacerbated by the pandemic. This calls for pharma to think beyond a one-size-fits-all approach and to embrace the democratisation of testing.

"The time has come to eradicate the hurdles that stand in the way of getting patients the treatment they deserve. Our evidence, our partners and our experience tell us that there is a better way and that the time for that better way is now. We believe that a global platform will enable the collaboration required between stakeholders to overcome the hurdles in today’s testing ecosystem.

"Research from the Report shows that a platform like DXRX has the potential to reduce the time to achieve 50% test adoption in NSCLC from the current average of 4.5 years to just months. That would be transformative for patients and could make the promise of precision medicine a reality for more people."

On October 5, 2020 Cancer Research UK reported that Earlier detection of cancer offers arguably the single biggest opportunity to save lives from the disease, but there are many challenges of seeing this a reality for patients in the NHS, according to Cancer Research UK’s Roadmap for the Early Detection and Diagnosis of Cancer report, and highlighted in a commentary in the Lancet Oncology (Press release, Cancer Research UK, OCT 5, 2020, View Source [SID1234568131]).

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Cancer Research UK’s consultation of over 100 experts highlights the siloed early detection research and development ecosystem, from academia and industry to the health services and policy makers, which is hampering progress. It proposes a series of tangible recommendations to unite these sectors, address these challenges and deliver a future where early detection of cancer is a routine reality.

Critically, it calls for the significant investment in diagnostic equipment and technologies, along with NHS staff, to support new ways of working and drive the paradigm shift to diagnose more cancers at an earlier stage, and ultimately save lives. The Roadmap also calls to attention a market failure in early detection of cancer, with too few innovative technologies making into the health system.

By having the right investments and policies in place, the UK has the potential to become a world leader in early detection and diagnosis of cancer, unlocking a major economic growth opportunity for the UK.

The authors hope that the prioritisation of early detection and diagnosis of cancer by scientists, companies, health services and government will create a thriving multidisciplinary ecosystem, focussed on proactively managing patients’ health and wellbeing before symptoms arise.

Dr David Crosby, head of prevention and early detection research at Cancer Research UK and co-author of the Roadmap said: "All too often, patients are being diagnosed at a late stage, where their cancer is deeply rooted and requires significant intervention, often with poor outcomes.

"This is a human tragedy, not just in terms of lives lost, but it also means more expensive treatments, hospital stays and monitoring. If we can turn this on its head and find cancer at its earliest stages when it’s easier to treat, not only will we be able to save lives on a vast scale, but we will be saving our NHS millions of pounds that would otherwise be needed for costly late stage treatments.

"For the first time, the Roadmap shows us how we can bring together the entire research, commercial and health ecosystem to create a future where lives are not needlessly lost due to late diagnosis."

Terry Kavanagh, who was diagnosed with lung cancer and took part in the consultation said: "I still remember the surgeon’s words after waking from surgery to remove half of my left lung, "Well Terry, I’m satisfied we caught it early". It’s why I’m still here. Taking part in the roadmap really opened my eyes to the number of disciplines that have to come together in a bigger plan to help other cancer patients. Hopefully one day, early detection will be a reality for every cancer."

On October 5, 2020 Oasmia Pharmaceutical AB, an innovation-focused specialty pharmaceutical company, reported that Elevar Therapeutics, Inc. and Taiba Middle East FZ LLC have entered into an exclusive agreement under which Taiba will commercialize and distribute Apealea (micellar paclitaxel) in certain countries throughout the Middle East and North African (MENA) region (Press release, Oasmia, OCT 5, 2020, View Source [SID1234568100]). Under the terms of the agreement, Taiba will also be responsible for managing named-patient requests through which physicians can legally and ethically prescribe Apealea for patients prior to commercial availability.

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Apealea is a patented formulation of paclitaxel in combination with Oasmia’s proprietary XR-17 technology which encapsulates individual active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in a layer of micelles, making the API and micelle formulation water soluble and therefore usable in water based intravenous injections.

Apealea has been approved by the European regulatory authorities for use in combination with carboplatin for the treatment of adult patients with first relapse of platinum-sensitive epithelial ovarian cancer, primary peritoneal cancer and fallopian tube cancer.

In March 2020, Oasmia signed a global strategic partnership with Elevar Therapeutics for the commercialization of Apealea, making Oasmia eligible for potential milestone payments of up to USD 678 million- and double-digit royalties on sales.

François Martelet, M.D., CEO of Oasmia, commented: "It is great to see Elevar secure a quality regional partner for the MENA region which will initiate the process of obtaining regulatory approvals and commercialization. If regulatory approval is obtained, Apealea will be the first Cremophor-free formulation of paclitaxel approved for use in ovarian cancer in the Middle East and North Africa region and offer many cancer patients a therapeutic option with far less side effects."

Alex Kim, CEO of Elevar Therapeutics, added: "Partnering with Taiba in the Middle East and North Africa is an important milestone in our global registration and commercialization strategy for Apealea. This is the first regional partnership deal for Apealea, we are in active discussions with a number of other potential partners for other regions around the world and look forward to updating the public as these deals are executed."