On January 21, 2026 Autolus Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Autolus Therapeutics plc (the "registrant", and together with Autolus Limited, the "Company"), reported to have entered into a Master Service Agreement with AGC Biologics S.p.A ("AGC") for the manufacture and supply of lentiviral vector (the "Agreement"), a raw material which is critical for the Company’s manufacture of CAR-T products for clinical and commercial use. The Agreement replaces and supersedes the prior arrangement between the Company and AGC, pursuant to which AGC has provided similar products and services.

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

The Agreement sets forth the general terms and conditions applicable to AGC’s provision of products and services to the Company; specific projects will be set forth in individual work orders executed separately by the parties. The Agreement contains customary provisions regarding order placement and fulfillment, governance, regulatory support, change management, risk allocation, intellectual property, and confidentiality. The Agreement runs for a fixed term of ten years, and may be terminated by either party for default, or by the Company upon written notice (subject, in the latter case, to the payment of certain fees by the Company). The Agreement is non-exclusive with respect to each party. However, under the Agreement and the initial statement of work thereunder, the Company has committed to purchase a minimum of 14 batches of lentiviral vector during the first two calendar years of the term, and to purchase a minimum value of EUR 25 million of products and services during the subsequent five-year period. The Agreement also provides AGC with the first right to negotiate with the Company regarding the provision of new manufacturing activities in relation to the Company’s obecabtagene autoleucel, or obe-cel, product.

The foregoing summary of the material terms of the Master Service Agreement does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to such Master Service Agreement, which will be filed as an exhibit to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ending March 31, 2026. Portions of the Agreement may be omitted pursuant to Item 601(b)(10)(iv) or Item 601(a)(5) of Regulation S-K under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

(Filing, 8-K, Autolus, JAN 21, 2026, View Source [SID1234662203])

On January 21, 2026 BioNTech SE (Nasdaq: BNTX, "BioNTech" or "the Company") reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") has granted Fast Track designation to BNT113, an investigational mRNA cancer immunotherapy, for the treatment of patients with human papillomavirus type 16 positive ("HPV16+") head and neck squamous cell carcinoma ("HNSCC") expressing PD-L1, a distinct cancer type associated by infection with high-risk human papillomavirus.

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

The FDA Fast Track process is designed to facilitate the development and expedite the review of new drugs and vaccines that are intended to treat or prevent serious conditions and have the potential to address an unmet medical need. The designation has been granted based on preliminary safety and efficacy data from the ongoing pivotal Phase 2/3 AHEAD-MERIT clinical trial (NCT04534205) evaluating BNT113 in combination with pembrolizumab versus pembrolizumab monotherapy as a first-line treatment in patients with unresectable recurrent or metastatic HPV16+ HNSCC expressing PD-L1.

HNSCC is the seventh most common cancer type worldwide with increasing global incidence, mainly driven by a rise in HPV16-related oropharyngeal tumors, the most common subtype of HNSCC.2,4 About one third of HNSCC cases are HPV-positive following a HPV infection, with a rising trend, of which about 90% of oropharyngeal cancers are driven by the subtype HPV16.1,5 Despite the distinct characteristics of HPV-positive tumors, there are currently no HPV-targeted treatments approved.3 Many patients with HPV16+ HNSCC experience disease progression under current standard of care treatments with a median overall survival of 20.7 months6, underlining the unmet medical need for novel HPV-targeted chemotherapy-free treatment options that improve long-term survival. HNSCC is among BioNTech’s key tumor areas.

BNT113 is an investigational mRNA cancer immunotherapy encoding the E6 and E7 proteins of HPV16, that are frequently found in HPV16+ solid tumors. This mRNA cancer immunotherapy approach is designed to induce HPV16-specific anti-tumor immune responses, thereby aiming to enhance clinical responses in patients being treated with checkpoint inhibitor standard of care treatment.

(Press release, BioNTech, JAN 21, 2026, View Source [SID1234662126])

On January 21, 2026 Infinitopes, a clinical-stage cancer vaccine biotechnology company, reported the successful completion of the second close of its seed financing round, securing an additional $15.4 million and bringing the total raised to $35.1 million. This latest investment was co-led by Octopus Ventures and new investor Amplify Bio, with further participation from new investor Macmillan Cancer Support alongside existing investors Cancer Research Horizons and Manta Ray Ventures.

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

This funding comes as the company launches its first-in-human, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled clinical trial of ITOP1, its leading precision therapeutic vaccine aimed at preventing recurrence in oesophageal cancer, an area where clinical need remains largely unmet. The Phase I/IIa VISTA trial is to be conducted across multiple UK NHS university cancer centres and firmly positions Infinitopes at the cutting edge of the sector.

Jonathan Kwok, Chief Executive Officer of Infinitopes, said: "I’m honoured to welcome leading US West Coast biofund Amplify Bio and ecosystem champions for better patient care, Macmillan, onto our cap table. This new funding unlocks our potentially groundbreaking Phase I/IIa trial, enabling proof-of-concept evaluation of Infinitopes’ AI/ML-precision targeted, off-the-shelf vaccine platform to prevent recurrence after surgical resection. We aim to lead the development of innovative medicines that bring hope to patients suffering from cancers with unmet medical needs. We anticipate sharing our early findings at major conferences later this year."

Elliot Hershberg, Partner at Amplify Bio, remarked: "Recent clinical evidence has made it abundantly clear that the time for cancer vaccines is now. After years of searching, Infinitopes has clearly distinguished itself as the company positioned to drive this progress forward. The combination of rigorous AI-powered immunomics profiling, a highly scalable off-the-shelf vector, and a defined clinical strategy is exactly what this field needs. Infinitopes has the potential to redefine immunotherapy and precision oncology in the years to come."

(Press release, Infinitopes, JAN 21, 2026, View Source [SID1234662143])

On January 20, 2026 Propanc Biopharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: PPCB) ("Propanc" or the "Company"), a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel treatments for chronic diseases, including recurrent and metastatic cancer, reported that a new provisional patent application has been filed for methods of producing trypinsogen and chymotrypsinogen with IP Australia. The patent application describes an optimized expression system to produce a world-first fully synthetic recombinant version of PRP, a long-term therapy for the treatment and prevention of metastatic cancer from solid tumors. According to Emergen Research, the global metastatic cancer market is projected to be worth $111 Billion by 2027.

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

A fully synthetic version of trypsinogen and chymotrypsinogen, called Rec-PRP, could have additional benefits to a global healthcare system that further capitalizes on a new therapeutic approach to treating cancer. For example, both proenzymes are synthesized by an in vivo (living organism) expression system, such as yeast cells, to produce proteins that could be maintained for long periods of time without suffering degradation in the absence of refrigeration. This is useful for a longer self-life as well as global distribution, particularly in warmer climates and developing regions where refrigeration is not available. Further, the program could produce large quantities of trypsinogen and chymotrypsinogen for commercial use that exhibits minimal variation between lots and without sourcing from animals. Therefore, management believes a fully synthetic recombinant version of PRP would have tremendous implications from a regulatory perspective, but also a practical, commercial benefit for global distribution.

"This provisional patent application is the third one filed over the past two months and will enhance our IP portfolio significantly as we enter national phase in countries worldwide for each of these patent applications," said Mr. James Nathanielsz, Propanc’s Chief Executive Officer. "We continue to execute our strategic plan building a platform technology that could be a world-first therapeutic approach to metastatic cancer from solid tumors, but without severe or serious side effects associated with standard treatments. Further, we are expanding our research into other therapeutic indications where there is a significant unmet medical need. We are building a strong and stable future for our Company and shareholders over the long term."

(Press release, Propanc, JAN 20, 2026, View Source [SID1234662098])

On January 20, 2026 Think Bioscience ("Think Bio"), a biotechnology company focused on unlocking elusive drug targets, reported it has raised $55M in an oversubscribed Series A. The round was led by Regeneron Ventures, Innovation Endeavors, and Janus Henderson Investors with participation from T.A. Springer, CE-Ventures, MBX Capital, and YK Bioventures. Returning investors include AV8 Ventures, CU Innovations, and Buff Gold Ventures.

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

Think Bioscience develops small molecule drugs for historically challenging drug targets by using synthetic biology to uncover novel footholds for medicinal chemistry (e.g., protein pockets). Their lead program targets mutants that cause Noonan syndrome, a genetic condition that affects approximately 1 in 2,500 births. Noonan patients experience life-threatening cardiac and lymphatic issues, short stature, cognitive impairment, and pain, among other chronic symptoms. There are no approved therapies that address the underlying biology of this disease.

"Our lead program has the potential to give a broad set of Noonan patients a better life," said Dr. Jerome Fox, co-founder and CEO at Think Bioscience. "We are grateful to our investors for supporting our vision to develop life-changing therapies."

Despite recent advances in computational chemistry, drug design remains exceedingly difficult. Most proteins in the human proteome are still considered undruggable—that is, they lack an obvious pocket for a drug to bind. Think Bio’s synthetic biology platform uses high-throughput functional surveys to find pockets that others miss and uses them to advance small molecules with biochemical activities previously deemed difficult, if not impossible, to achieve. They have extended their platform to a striking variety of targets, including transcription factors, protein phosphatases, kinases, proteases, and GTPases, while advancing a robust internal pipeline.

"This team is succeeding where others have failed. The lead program is the best example, but just one of many that the company is prosecuting. We are enthusiastic to double down." said Nick Olsen, Partner at Innovation Endeavors.

(Press release, Think Bioscience, JAN 20, 2026, View Source [SID1234662099])