TLC to Present at 38th Annual JP Morgan Healthcare Conference

On January 2, 2020 TLC (Nasdaq: TLC, TWO: 4152), a clinical-stage specialty pharmaceutical company developing novel nanomedicines to target areas of unmet medical need in pain management, ophthalmology and oncology, reported that it has been invited to present at the 38th annual JP Morgan Healthcare Conference, which takes place in San FranciscoJanuary 13-16, 2020 (Press release, Taiwan Liposome Company, JAN 2, 2020, View Source [SID1234552661]). Details of the presentation are as follows:

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TLC Presentation at JP Morgan Healthcare Conference
Date: Wednesday, January 15, 2020
Time: 10:00am PST
Location: Mission Bay (32nd Floor)
Westin St. Francis Hotel
335 Powell Street, San Francisco, CA94102

2020 marks TLC’s sixth attendance in a row at the invitation-only event, which is the largest and most informative healthcare investment symposium in the industry, gathering more than 8,000 attendees. TLC will provide an update on the status of its innovative product candidates, including TLC599 for sustained release treatment of knee osteoarthritis pain and TLC590 for sustained release management of postsurgical pain, both of which are non-opioids that have the potential to become viable alternatives to highly addictive opioids.

A copy of the presentation will be available under News & Events of the Investors section on the company website at www.tlcbio.com.

Gamida Cell Announces Completion of Patient Enrollment in Ongoing Phase 3 Clinical Study of Omidubicel

On January 2, 2020 Gamida Cell Ltd. (Nasdaq: GMDA), an advanced cell therapy company committed to finding cures for blood cancers and serious blood diseases, reported that in December the company completed patient enrollment in its Phase 3 study of the company’s lead clinical program, omidubicel, an investigational advanced cell therapy being evaluated as a potential life-saving treatment option for patients with high-risk hematologic malignancies who are in need of a bone marrow transplant (Press release, Gamida Cell, JAN 2, 2020, View Source [SID1234552662]). Topline data from the study are expected in the first half of 2020.

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"Completing patient recruitment for the Phase 3 study of omidubicel is a very significant milestone for our company," stated Julian Adams, Ph.D., chief executive officer of Gamida Cell. "Positive data would enable us to file our first biologics license application in the second half of 2020 and would represent an important step toward becoming a fully integrated company that can bring breakthrough medicines to patients."

It is estimated that more than 40 percent of eligible patients in the U.S. do not receive a bone marrow transplant for various reasons, including inability to find a matched donor, despite its curative potential.1 Even for patients who do receive a transplant, the procedure is not always effective and can lead to serious complications that dramatically affect quality of life.2 Omidubicel is intended to address the current limitations of bone marrow transplant by providing a therapeutic dose of stem cells while preserving the cells’ functional therapeutic characteristics.

"For many patients with high-risk hematologic malignancies who are in remission, their only hope of remaining cancer-free is to undergo a bone marrow transplant. While the scientific community has made strides in improving bone marrow transplant, there is still a significant need to make this potentially curative treatment option available to more patients," said Ronit Simantov, M.D., chief medical officer of Gamida Cell. "We truly appreciate the participation of patients and the support we have received from investigators who believe this clinical trial is critical for moving the field forward."

The international, multi-center, randomized Phase 3 study (NCT02730299) is designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of omidubicel compared to standard umbilical cord blood in patients with high-risk hematologic malignancies who need a bone marrow transplant and do not have an available matched donor. The primary endpoint is time to neutrophil engraftment. The study includes approximately 120 patients aged 12-65 with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, acute myelogenous leukemia, chronic myelogenous leukemia, myelodysplastic syndrome or lymphoma. The study is taking place at over 50 clinical centers in the U.S., Latin America, Europe and Asia.

About Omidubicel
Omidubicel (formerly known as NiCord), the company’s lead clinical program, is an advanced cell therapy under development as a potential life-saving allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell (bone marrow) transplant solution for patients with hematologic malignancies (blood cancers). Omidubicel is the first bone marrow transplant product to receive Breakthrough Therapy Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and has also received Orphan Drug Designation in the U.S. and EU. In a Phase 1/2 clinical study, omidubicel demonstrated rapid and durable time to engraftment and was generally well tolerated.3 A Phase 3 study evaluating omidubicel in patients with leukemia and lymphoma is ongoing in the U.S., Latin America, Europe and Asia.4 Omidubicel is also being evaluated in a Phase 1/2 clinical study in patients with severe aplastic anemia.5 The aplastic anemia investigational new drug application is currently filed with the FDA under the brand name CordIn, which is the same investigational development candidate as omidubicel. For more information on clinical trials of omidubicel, please visit www.clinicaltrials.gov.

Omidubicel is an investigational therapy, and its safety and efficacy have not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or any other health authority.

Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement

On January 2, 2020, BeiGene, Ltd. (the "Company") reported that it has issued 206,635,013 ordinary shares in the form of 15,895,001 American Depositary Shares ("ADSs"), representing approximately 20.5% of the Company’s then outstanding share capital, to Amgen Inc. ("Amgen") for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $2.78 billion, or $13.45 per ordinary share, or $174.85 per ADS, pursuant to a Share Purchase Agreement dated October 31, 2019, as amended, by and between the Company and Amgen (the "Share Purchase Agreement") (Filing, 8-K, BeiGene, JAN 2, 2020, View Source [SID1234555637]).

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In order to account for periodic dilution from the issuance of shares under the Company’s equity incentive plans, on March 17, 2020, the Company and Amgen entered into an Amendment No. 2 (the "Second Amendment") to the Share Purchase Agreement. Pursuant to the Second Amendment, Amgen will have an option (the "Direct Purchase Option") to subscribe for additional shares (the "Additional Shares") in an amount necessary to enable it to increase (and subsequently maintain) its ownership at approximately 20.6% of the Company’s outstanding share capital. The Direct Purchase Option is exercisable on a monthly basis, but only if Amgen’s interest in the outstanding share capital of the Company at the monthly reference date is less than 20.4%. The aggregate number of Additional Shares shall not exceed 75,000,000 ordinary shares during the term of the Direct Purchase Option, as described further below. The purchase price for the Additional Shares will be the volume-weighted average price of the Company’s ADSs for the 90 days preceding the last trading day of the prior month.

The Second Amendment and the issuance of Additional Shares thereunder are subject to approval by a majority vote of the Company’s shareholders, excluding Amgen, pursuant to the listing rules of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

The exercise period of the Direct Purchase Option will commence on the first day of the month following shareholder approval and will terminate on the earliest of: (a) the date on which Amgen owns less than 20% of the outstanding share capital of the Company as a result of Amgen’s sale of shares; (b) at least 60-day advance written notice from either Amgen or the Company that such party wishes to terminate the Direct Purchase Option; or (c) the third anniversary of the date on which the exercise period of the Direct Purchase Option commences. The Direct Purchase Option has no vesting period.

The Additional Shares will be issued in a private placement in reliance upon the exemption from registration provided by Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), for transactions by an issuer not involving a public offering, and/or Regulation D under the Securities Act. All certificates evidencing the shares will bear a standard restrictive legend under the Securities Act.

Fountain Medical Appoints Mr. Ling Zhen as the Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

On January 1, 2020 Fountain Medical Development Limited ("Fountain Medical" or "Company"), a clinical stage CRO dedicated to offering high-quality one-stop services to pharmaceutical and medical device clients, reported that Mr. Ling Zhen, J.D., M.B.A., is appointed as the Co-Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer (Press release, Fountain BioPharma, JAN 1, 2020, View Source [SID1234552646]).

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Mr. Zhen has over 25 years of professional experience in the CRO and life science industries, both in China and the US. Most recently, Mr. Zhen served as a Partner at Draper Dragon Venture Group, where he focused on biopharmaceutical and medical technology investments. Prior to that, Mr. Zhen spent over 12 years at IQVIA (previously known as Quintiles) where he served as a global Senior Vice President and the General Manager of Greater China. During this period, he helped to drive expansion and transform IQVIA China into the market leader, through innovative solutions and strategic growth in the region.

Prior to IQVIA and Quintiles, Mr. Zhen also worked in business development, portfolio management, and strategic consulting at world-leading companies such as Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline and Ernst &Young in the US. Mr. Zhen holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the Kelley School of Business in Indiana University and a Juris Doctor (JD) degree from the Law School of North Carolina Central University, and is a licensed attorney in the US.

"With the appointment of Mr. Ling Zhen as the Co-Chairman and CEO, Fountain Medical will be able to speed up its global expansion and strategic buildup, allowing us to better serve our existing and future clientele. His hands-on experience and strategic insight related to the CRO sector makes him the ideal leader to transform Fountain Medical into a China-centered, global full-service leading CRO," said Dr. Dan Zhang, Co-Chairman and Co-Founder of the Company.

"I feel very privileged to join Fountain Medical during this exciting time, where drug development and clinical research are undergoing transformational changes across China and rest of the world," said Mr. Zhen himself. "I look forward to working closely with Fountain Medical’s management team and shareholders, and developing a high-caliber team that delivers high-quality services, to help our customers accelerate the development of truly innovative therapies around the world."

WuXi Biologics Congratulates OncoImmune on FDA Clearance of IND Application for Next Generation anti-CTLA-4 Antibody ONC-392

On January 1, 2020 WuXi Biologics ("WuXi Bio") (2269.HK), a leading global open-access biologics technology platform company offering end-to-end solutions for biologics discovery, development and manufacturing, reported its partner OncoImmune on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance of Investigational New Drug (IND) for ONC-392, a novel, next generation anti-CTLA-4 antibody (Press release, WuXi Biologics, JAN 1, 2020, View Source [SID1234552645]).

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As part of the collaboration, WuXi Biologics provided comprehensive and integrated services for the ONC-392 program, including CMC development and GMP manufacturing of the drug substance and drug product, through its world-class development and manufacturing capacities and capabilities.

"It has been our great pleasure working with WuXi Biologics on our ONC-392 program. The clearance of ONC-392 IND by the FDA is an important milestone for OncoImmune," said Yang Liu, PhD, Founder and CEO of OncoImmune. "WuXi Biologics’ state-of-the-art and full-service biologics platform enabled us to complete a solid CMC package in support of our IND submission and clearance. We are excited about the potential of this next generation anti-CTLA-4 antibody with its novel and differentiated mechanism of action to improve therapeutic outcomes while significantly reducing toxicity."

"Congratulations to OncoImmune on reaching this milestone for the ONC-392 program. We are glad to enable OncoImmune to accelerate the development of biologics from DNA to IND," said Dr. Chris Chen, CEO of WuXi Biologics. "We wish the program a great success to benefit more patients suffering from cancers. WuXi Biologics will continue empowering global partners to provide more life-saving treatments to meet health challenges."