Clarity Pharmaceuticals Signs Copper-67 Supply Agreement with Idaho State University’s Idaho Accelerator Center

On March 13, 2020 Clarity Pharmaceuticals, a radiopharmaceutical company focused on the treatment of serious disease, is reported the signing of a Product Supply Agreement with the Idaho State University Idaho Accelerator Center (IAC) for the production and commercial supply of copper-67 (Cu-67) (Press release, Clarity Pharmaceuticals, MAR 13, 2020, View Source [SID1234555497]).

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Under the new agreement, IAC will supply Clarity with Cu-67 for planned clinical development, including the SARTATETM trial in children with neuroblastoma and SAR-bisPSMA trial in prostate cancer patients in the United States. IAC has been Clarity’s long-term partner, providing a reliable supply of high purity and high specific activity Cu-67 for some years. IAC’s proven experience in the production and supply of Cu-67 has already allowed Clarity to initiate and complete therapeutic studies in a range of cancer types both in the United States and in Australia.

Clarity’s Executive Chairman, Dr Alan Taylor, commented, "We are excited to bolster our relationship with IAC to further progress our pipeline of theranostic agents in the fight against cancer. IAC’s electron accelerator capability enables Clarity to eliminate the reliance on supply from the limited number of aging nuclear reactors which currently produce therapeutic radionuclides such as lutetium-177. This gives Clarity the opportunity to move swiftly through clinical trials with its three main products, SARTATETM, SAR-bisPSMA and SAR-BBN in such indications as neuroblastoma, neuroendocrine tumours, prostate cancer, breast cancer and brain cancers.

"We are pleased to have signed the Product Supply Agreement with Clarity and are looking forward to continuing our supply of this copper isotope using our increased capacity and our world leading e-linac process to produce a high purity product at very high specific activity," said Jon Stoner, director of the IAC. "Clarity’s proprietary chelator technology along with our patent protected commercially produced Cu-67 combine to showcase a future market leading medical isotope."

Dr Taylor further commented, "Clarity is a clinical stage radiopharmaceutical company that is uniquely placed to control its full supply chain within the United States. With IAC further planning on additional facilities to support the development of Cu-67 production and with Clarity having recently signed a Letter of Intent with NorthStar Medical to supply and industrialise the production of this therapeutic isotope, we are well underway towards building stable and reliable commercial-scale supply of Cu-67 for our late-phase trials and market entry of our products in a number of large cancer indications".

About Copper-67 (Cu-67)
Copper-67 (Cu-67) is a short-range, beta-emitting radioisotope which is attractive for medical purposes due to its ability to carry sufficient radiation energy to cause cell death in targeted cells while having a sufficiently short half-life to limit unwanted radioactivity in patients. Cu-67 is being investigated for therapeutic purposes across a wide range of adult and childhood cancers. Potential radiotherapeutic targets include prostate cancer, breast cancer, neuroendocrine tumours (NETs), neuroblastoma, glioma, lymphoma, ovarian cancer and bladder cancers. In order to develop safe and effective targeted therapies, a chelator, which strongly binds Cu-67 to the targeting agent, is required. Clarity Pharmaceuticals has successfully developed a highly specific and highly stable chelator for copper isotopes and is now progressing a range of radiopharmaceuticals based on its proprietary MeCOSar chelator. The IAC has developed a proprietary process for production of high purity and high specific activity Cu-67 to meet demand for clinical research and treatment.

Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement

On March 13, 2020, Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. (the "Company") reported tha it has entered into an Open Market Sale Agreement (the "Agreement") with Jefferies LLC ("Jefferies") under which the Company may offer and sell, from time to time at its sole discretion, shares of its common stock, par value $0.00001 per share (the "Common Stock"), having an aggregate offering price of up to $25,000,000 through Jefferies as its sales agent (Filing, 8-K, Aclaris Therapeutics, MAR 13, 2020, View Source [SID1234555548]). The issuance and sale, if any, of Common Stock by the Company under the Agreement is subject to the effectiveness of the Company’s registration statement on Form S-3, to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 13, 2020. The Company makes no assurances as to if or whether the registration statement will become effective or, if it does become effective, as to the continued effectiveness of the registration statement.

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Jefferies may sell the Common Stock by any method permitted by law deemed to be an "at the market offering" as defined in Rule 415 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Jefferies will use commercially reasonable efforts to sell the Common Stock from time to time, based upon instructions from the Company (including any price, time or size limits or other customary parameters or conditions the Company may impose). The Company will pay Jefferies a commission equal to three percent (3.0%) of the gross sales proceeds of any Common Stock sold through Jefferies under the Agreement. The Company has provided customary representations, warranties and covenants and the parties have agreed to customary indemnification rights.

The Company is not obligated to make any sales of Common Stock under the Agreement. The offering of shares of Common Stock pursuant to the Agreement will terminate upon the earlier of (i) the sale of all Common Stock subject to the Agreement or (ii) termination of the Agreement in accordance with its terms.

The foregoing description of the Agreement is not complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the Agreement, a copy of which is filed herewith as Exhibit 10.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference.

This Current Report on Form 8-K shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the securities discussed herein, nor shall there be any offer, solicitation, or sale of the securities in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state.

Investor Presentation dated March 2020

On March 13, 2020 Moleculin Biotech Presented the Corporate Presentation (Presentation, Moleculin, MAR 13, 2020, View Source [SID1234555607]).

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Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement

On March 13, 2020 X4 Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a Delaware corporation ("X4") and its qualified subsidiaries, including without limitation X4 Therapeutics, Inc. (together with X4, the "Borrower") entered into a First Amendment to the Amended and Restated Loan and Security Agreement dated June 27, 2019 (collectively the "Amended Loan Agreement") with Hercules Capital, Inc., and Hercules Capital Funding Trust 2019-1 (collectively the "Lender" or "Hercules"), which provides for aggregate maximum borrowings of up to $50.0 million (Filing, 8-K, X4 Pharmaceuticals, MAR 13, 2020, View Source [SID1234555647]).

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The Amended Loan Agreement consists of (i) a term loan of $25.0 million (including the $20.0 million previously outstanding under the Amended and Restated Loan and Security Agreement dated June 27, 2019) and an additional $5.0 million drawn at the closing of the first amendment on March 13, 2020 (the "Closing Date") (the "Tranche 1 Term Loan Advance"), (ii) subject to the achievement of certain performance milestones and other conditions, a right of the Borrower to request that the Lender make additional term loan advances in an aggregate amount of up to $7.5 million through June 30, 2021 the ("Tranche 2 Term Loan Advance"), (iii) subject to the achievement of certain performance milestones and conditions, a right of the Borrower to request that the Lender make additional term loan advances in an aggregate amount of up to $7.5 million through June 30, 2022 ( "Tranche 3 Term Loan Advance") and (iv) subject to the Lender’s investment committee’s sole discretion, a right of the Borrower to request that the Lender make additional term loan advances in an aggregate amount of up to $10.0 million through December 31, 2022 ("Tranche 4 Term Loan Advance").

Borrowings under the Amended Loan Agreement bear interest at a variable rate equal to a per annum rate of interest equal to the greater of either (i) 3.75% plus the prime rate as reported in The Wall Street Journal, and (ii) 8.75%. In an event of default, as defined in the Amended Loan Agreement, and until such event is no longer continuing, the interest rate applicable to borrowings under the Amended Loan Agreement would be increased by 4.0%.

Borrowings under the Amended Loan Agreement are repayable in monthly interest-only payments through January 1, 2022, and in equal monthly payments of principal and accrued interest from February 1, 2022 until the maturity date of the loan, which is July 1, 2023. X4 may prepay all, but not less than all, of the outstanding borrowings, subject to a prepayment premium of up to 2.0%, 1.0% or 0.5% of the principal amount outstanding as of the date of repayment, in each case depending on when such repayment is made. In addition, the Amended Loan Agreement provides for payments by the Borrower to Hercules of (i) $795,000 payable upon the earlier of November 1, 2021 or the repayment in full of all obligations under the Amended Loan Agreement, and (ii) 4.0% of the aggregate principal amount of all Term Loan Advances drawn under the Amended Loan Agreement (which payment amount would be $2.0 million if X4 borrowed the aggregate maximum principal amount of $50.0 million), payable upon the earlier of the maturity of the Amended Loan Agreement or the repayment in full of all obligations under the Amended Loan Agreement.

Borrowings under the Amended Loan Agreement are collateralized by substantially all of the Borrower’s personal property and other assets except for their intellectual property (but including rights to payment and proceeds from the sale, licensing or disposition of the intellectual property). Under the Amended Loan Agreement, the Borrower has agreed to affirmative and negative covenants to which the Borrower will remain subject until maturity or repayment of the loan in full. The covenants include, without limitation:

(a) Effective immediately upon the date the outstanding principal amount of the advances under the Amended Loan Agreement exceeds $25.0 million, Borrower at all times thereafter shall maintain cash in an account or accounts of Borrower in which Hercules has a first priority security interest, in an aggregate amount greater than or equal to the greater of (i) $30.0 million or (ii) 6 multiplied by a metric based on prior months’ cash expenditures ("RML"); provided, however, that from and after Borrower’s achievement of certain performance milestones, the required level shall be reduced to the greater of (x) $20.0 million, or (y) 3 multiplied by the current RML; and provided further, that subject to the achievement of certain milestones, this covenant shall be extinguished.

(b) Restrictions on the Borrowers’ ability to incur additional indebtedness, pay dividends, encumber its intellectual property, or engage in certain fundamental business transactions, such as mergers or acquisitions of other businesses, with certain exceptions.

The Borrower’s obligations under the Amended Loan Agreement are subject to acceleration upon occurrence of specified events of default, including payment default, insolvency and a material adverse change in the Borrower’s business, operations or financial or other condition.

In addition, under the Amended Loan Agreement, Hercules has the right to participate, in a cumulative amount of up to $3.0 million in the aggregate, of which $1.0 million has already been exercised as of the Closing Date, and subject to exceptions as provided in the Amended Loan Agreement, in any future offering of X4’s equity securities for cash that is solely for financing purposes and is broadly marketed to multiple investors.

The foregoing description of the Amended Loan Agreement does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Amended Loan Agreement, which is attached hereto as Exhibit 10.1 and is incorporated herein by reference.

Stemline Therapeutics Reports Fourth Quarter 2019 Financial Results

On March 13, 2020 Stemline Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: STML), a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel oncology therapeutics, reported financial results and business highlights for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2019 (Press release, Stemline Therapeutics, MAR 13, 2020, View Source [SID1234555550]).

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Robert Francomano, Chief Commercial Officer of Stemline, stated, "Overall, we are very pleased with the solid demand we generated for ELZONRIS in the first year of launch and look to expand our reach in the market as we continue to build a strong commercial foundation. Importantly, new medical claims data align with our independent analyses which support our market size estimates of the BPDCN U.S. patient population. We believe there is significant growth potential ahead and are poised to capture greater market penetration. Based on market assessments, we have already started to implement a new host of tactics to better situate ELZONRIS in this dynamic and emerging market – all of which should benefit growth later this year."

Ivan Bergstein, CEO of Stemline, commented, "Our first year of launch has created a strong foundation for the future growth of the company. We are investing in multiple label expansion opportunities for ELZONRIS in such indications as CMML, MF, and AML, as well as advancing our other pipeline products including felezonexor, our XPO1 inhibitor and SL-1001, our RET kinase inhibitor, toward key inflection points over the coming year and beyond."

Fourth Quarter 2019 Financial Results Review
Net product revenue for ELZONRIS was $11.8 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2019. Stemline began commercial sales of ELZONRIS within the United States in January 2019.

Stemline ended the fourth quarter with $164.4 million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments. For the fourth quarter, Stemline reported a net loss of $17.7 million, with net cash expenditures of $10.1 million.

Research and development expenses were $10.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2019, which reflects decrease of $1.6 million compared with $12.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2018. The lower expenses are primarily attributable to higher costs incurred during 4Q18 related to the ELZONRIS BLA filing and manufacturing of ELZONRIS prior to FDA approval.

Selling, general and administrative expenses were $16.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2019, which reflects an increase of $1.6 million compared with $14.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2018. The increase in costs were primarily attributable to ongoing U.S. launch expenses for ELZONRIS and pre-launch ELZONRIS-related costs in support of a potential regulatory approval and launch in the EU.

Corporate Highlights and Key Commercial and Clinical Milestones

BPDCN

·$43.2 million in net revenues for ELZONRIS in 2019

·IQVIA medical claims data identified approximately 534 unique patients in the U.S. in 2018 with at least one claim of Blastic NK-Cell Lymphoma, a former name of BPDCN

·Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) under review by European Medicines Agency (EMA) for potential approval in the EU

·Phase 1/2 trial of ELZONRIS in patients with BPDCN in the maintenance setting, post-stem cell transplant (SCT), open for enrollment

Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia (CMML)

·The CMML expansion cohort, Stage 3a, is open for enrollment of two patient populations: relapsed/refractory patients, and first-line, poor prognosis patients not expected to benefit from first line cytoreductive treatment

·Results from Stage 3a are expected to inform the design of the subsequent Stage 3b confirmatory cohort for potential registration

·We expect to provide updates from this trial in ~4Q20/1Q21

Myelofibrosis (MF)

·At ASH (Free ASH Whitepaper) 2019, ELZONRIS data in patients with relapsed/refractory MF was the subject of an oral presentation.

·In the MF clinical trial, ELZONRIS demonstrated efficacy (spleen size reductions and total symptom score [TSS] reductions) with a predictable and manageable safety profile, including in patients with poor prognostic factors, such as thrombocytopenia, CMML-type features/monocytosis, and clonal evolution

·The MF cohort of the ongoing trial has been expanded to include 20-25 additional patients

·We are evaluating relapsed/refractory patients and specific subsets of patients, including patients with monocytosis, thrombocytopenia, and CD123 positivity.

·We expect to provide updates from this trial in ~4Q20/1Q21

Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)

·A Phase 1/2 trial of ELZONRIS in combination with other agents in patients with relapsed/refractory AML, treatment-naive AML unfit for chemotherapy, and high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is currently enrolling patients. CD123 expression levels are also being evaluated. We expect to provide updates later this year.

Conference Call Information

The company will host a conference call and webcast on Monday, March 16, 2020 at 8:00 a.m. ET. The conference call can be accessed by dialing 1-800-367-2403 (domestic) or 1-334-777-6978 (international) and referring to conference ID 7728185.

The webcast can be accessed via the company’s website (www.stemline.com), at the bottom of the "Investors & Media" section in the "News & Events" page, and will be available live and for replay shortly after the event.

About ELZONRISÒ

ELZONRISÒ (tagraxofusp), a targeted therapy directed to CD123, is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and commercially available in the U.S. for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients, two years or older, with blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN). For full prescribing information in the U.S., visit www.ELZONRIS.com. In Europe, a marketing authorization application (MAA) is under review by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

ELZONRIS is also being evaluated in additional clinical trials in other CD123+ indications, including chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML), myelofibrosis (MF), acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and others are planned, including a CD123+ all-comers trial.

About BPDCN

BPDCN, formerly blastic NK-cell lymphoma, is an aggressive hematologic malignancy, often with cutaneous manifestations, with historically poor outcomes. BPDCN typically presents in the bone marrow and/or skin and may also involve lymph nodes and viscera. The BPDCN cell of origin is the plasmacytoid dendritic cell (pDC) precursor. The diagnosis of BPDCN is based on the immunophenotypic diagnostic triad of CD123, CD4, and CD56, as well as other markers. The World Health Organization (WHO) termed this disease "BPDCN" in 2008; previous names included blastic NK cell lymphoma and agranular CD4+/CD56+ hematodermic neoplasm. For more information, please visit the BPDCN disease awareness website at www.bpdcninfo.com.

About CD123

CD123 is a cell surface target expressed on a wide range of malignancies including blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN), certain myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) including chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) and myelofibrosis (MF), acute myeloid leukemia (AML) (and potentially enriched in certain AML subsets), myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), and chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). CD123 has also been reported on multiple myeloma (MM), acute lymphoid leukemia (ALL), hairy cell leukemia (HCL), Hodgkin’s lymphoma (HL), and certain Non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas (NHL). In addition, CD123+ cells have been detected in the tumor microenvironment of several solid tumors as well as in certain autoimmune disorders including cutaneous lupus and scleroderma.