DiaMedica Therapeutics to Participate at 32nd Annual ROTH Conference on March 15-17, 2020

On March 9, 2020 DiaMedica Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: DMAC) reported that Rick Pauls, President & Chief Executive Officer, will participate at the 32nd Annual ROTH Conference The conference will be held from March 15-17, 2020 at The Ritz Carlton, Laguna Niguel, California (Press release, DiaMedica, MAR 9, 2020, View Source [SID1234555301]).

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Mr. Pauls will also participate in a panel titled "Great Oaks Come from Little Acorns in NASH, CVD and Chronic Kidney Disease." The panel will take place on Tuesday, March 17th at 10:00am Pacific Time.

Management will be available for one-on-one meetings on March 16th and 17th. To schedule a meeting, please contact your ROTH salesperson or DiaMedica investor relations at [email protected].

Zydus and XOMA Announce IL-2-Based Immuno-Oncology Therapy Licensing Agreement

On March 9, 2020 Zydus Cadila, an innovation-driven global pharmaceutical company, and XOMA Corporation (Nasdaq: XOMA) reported they have entered into a licensing agreement to advance an IL-2-based immuno-oncology (IO) drug candidate that combines Zydus’ IL-2 with XOMA’s novel anti-IL-2 monoclonal antibody (Press release, Zydus Cadila, MAR 9, 2020, View Source [SID1234555322]).

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As part of the agreement, Zydus will advance the new IO candidate through formal clinical trials. Zydus has been granted exclusive rights to develop and commercialize the therapy in India, Brazil, Mexico and other emerging markets, and XOMA has the potential to receive single-to double-digit royalties on commercial sales in those territories. XOMA retains rights in all other territories (i.e., XOMA territory). Through this collaboration, Zydus will develop the new IO drug candidate through human proof-of-concept and each company has the potential to receive pre-defined shares of future proceeds that may arise from licensing and commercialization activities.

Speaking about the development, Managing Director of the Zydus group, Dr. Sharvil Patel said, "IL-2 will be the backbone of IO-based therapies for cancer treatment in the future. In this win-win agreement, we see a great strategic fit between our IL-2 and XOMA’s anti-IL-2 monoclonal antibody as together they have the potential to provide a safe and efficacious medicine to address the unmet needs of patients living with cancer."

Jim Neal, Chief Executive Officer at XOMA commented, "IL-2 has long been recognized as an effective anti-tumor agent, but its utility has been limited by its toxicity. XOMA has developed unique, fully human antibodies that promote IL-2 action specifically to the cytotoxic effector immune cell populations relevant for anti-tumor activity while simultaneously limiting the unwanted stimulation of immunosuppressive T cells, thereby minimizing its undesired side effects. This IL-2 and monoclonal antibody combination has the potential to turn the immune system against the cancer cells, and Zydus is an ideal partner to advance this combination through clinical development."

AbbVie Announces Extension of Expiration Date for Exchange Offers for Allergan Notes

On March 9, 2020 AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) ("AbbVie") reported the extension of the expiration date of the offers to exchange (each, an "Exchange Offer" and, collectively, the "Exchange Offers") any and all outstanding notes of certain series issued by Allergan Finance, LLC ("Allergan Finance"), Allergan, Inc. ("Allergan Inc"), Allergan Sales, LLC ("Allergan Sales") and Allergan Funding SCS ("Allergan Funding" and, together with Allergan Finance, Allergan Inc and Allergan Sales, "Allergan") (the "Allergan Notes") for new notes to be issued by AbbVie (the "AbbVie Notes") and the related consent solicitations (each, a "Consent Solicitation" and, collectively, the "Consent Solicitations") being made by AbbVie on behalf of Allergan to adopt certain amendments to each of the indentures (each, an "Allergan Indenture") governing the Allergan Notes (Press release, AbbVie, MAR 9, 2020, View Source [SID1234555302]). AbbVie hereby extends such expiration date from 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on March 13, 2020 to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on March 27, 2020 (as the same may be further extended, the "Expiration Date").

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On the early participation date of November 7, 2019, requisite consents were received and supplemental indentures were executed eliminating substantially all of the covenants, restrictive provisions, events of default and any guarantees of the related Allergan Notes in each Allergan Indenture. Such supplemental indentures will become operative only upon settlement of the Exchange Offers.

The Exchange Offers and Consent Solicitations were commenced in connection with AbbVie’s previously announced proposed acquisition of Allergan plc (the "Acquisition") and are being made pursuant to the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the confidential offering memorandum and consent solicitation statement, dated October 25, 2019, and the related letter of transmittal, each as amended by the press releases dated November 18, 2019, December 20, 2019, January 27, 2020 and February 24, 2020 and as amended hereby (collectively, the "Offering Documents"), and are conditioned upon the closing of the Acquisition, which condition may not be waived by AbbVie, and certain other conditions that may be waived by AbbVie.

The settlement date for the Exchange Offers is expected to occur promptly after the Expiration Date and the Expiration Date of each of the Exchange Offers is expected to be extended to occur on or about the closing date of the Acquisition. As a result, the Expiration Date may be further extended one or more times. AbbVie currently anticipates providing notice of any such extension in advance of the Expiration Date.

Except as described in this press release, all other terms of the Exchange Offers and Consent Solicitations remain unchanged.

As of 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on March 6, 2020, the principal amounts of Allergan Notes set forth in the table below were validly tendered and not validly withdrawn:

Documents relating to the Exchange Offers and Consent Solicitations will only be distributed to eligible holders of Allergan Notes who complete and return an eligibility form confirming that they are either a "qualified institutional buyer" as defined in Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), or not a "U.S. person" and outside the United States within the meaning of Regulation S under the Securities Act. Except as amended by the press releases dated November 18, 2019, December 20, 2019, January 27, 2020 and February 24, 2020 and as amended hereby, the complete terms and conditions of the Exchange Offers and Consent Solicitations are described in the Offering Documents, copies of which may be obtained by contacting Global Bondholder Services Corporation, the exchange agent and information agent in connection with the Exchange Offers and Consent Solicitations, at (866) 470-3900 (U.S. toll-free) or (212) 430-3774 (banks and brokers). The eligibility form is available electronically at: View Source

Pacira BioSciences to Present at the 2020 Barclays Global Healthcare Conference

On March 9, 2020 Pacira BioSciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: PCRX) today reported that it will present at the 2020 Barclays Global Healthcare Conference at 9:00 AM ET on Thursday, March 12, 2020 (Press release, Pacira Pharmaceuticals, MAR 9, 2020, View Source [SID1234555323]). Live audio of the event can be accessed by visiting the "Events" page of the company’s website at investor.pacira.com. A replay of the webcast will also be available for two weeks following the event.

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Refuge Biotechnologies Promotes Francesco M. Marincola, M.D., to President

On March 9, 2020 Refuge Biotechnologies, Inc. ("Refuge"), a synthetic biology company developing intelligent cell therapeutics for cancer immunotherapy, reported the promotion of Francesco M. Marincola, M.D., to president (Press release, Refuge Biotechnologies, MAR 9, 2020, View Source [SID1234555324]). He will retain his role as chief scientific officer.

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"Since Franco joined Refuge as our chief scientific officer in 2018, he has transformed our immune cell therapy research program into one that can compete with the best in the world. His knowledge, insight and relationships in both academia and industry have paved a clear path for us as we continue to advance our pipeline of intelligent cell therapies to fight cancer," said Bing C. Wang, Ph.D., co-founder and chief executive officer of Refuge. "In parallel, he has demonstrated a strength in mentorship by training internal scientists to grow into their potential and has set the standard for our company’s culture and expectation of leadership in scientific pursuits. We are proud to recognize his leadership across the organization with the promotion to president."

"One key motivation behind pioneering the CRISPR interference and activation technology was to find new ways to innovate treatments of cancers in a precise way without making permanent cuts to the DNA. With this approach, the technology can deliver multiplex treatments to T cells all at once – making the process inexpensive and efficient," said Stanley Qi, Ph.D., scientific founder. "It’s been remarkable to witness the progress that Refuge has made with translating this technology into next-generation cell immunotherapies that could have meaningful impacts. Much of that success is in part to Franco’s profound scientific vision, leadership, and clinical mindset as Refuge matures into a clinical-stage program. This promotion is well-deserved."

Dr. Marincola joined Refuge as chief scientific officer in May 2018, focused on the development of the intelligent cell therapy platform and lead therapeutic programs. In his career, he served as a distinguished research fellow and strategist for immune oncology discovery at AbbVie, developed and led a genetic research institute at Sidra Medical and Research Center in Qatar, and served as president of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) (Free SITC Whitepaper). Dr. Marincola has spent his career studying tumor immunology and was a pioneer in the development of technologies for studying the dynamics of the tumor microenvironment adaptations during immune therapy in real-time.