On April 15, 2020 AIkido Pharma Inc. (AIKI) ("AIkido" or the "Company"), a technology development company committed to the fostering of innovative ideas, reported the closing of its previously announced registered direct offering with several institutional and accredited investors of 14,000,000 shares of its common stock at a purchase price of $1.00 per share, priced at-the-market under Nasdaq rules (Press release, Spherix, APR 15, 2020, View Source [SID1234556350]). The gross proceeds to the Company from the offering totaled $14.0 million, before deducting placement agent fees and other offering expenses.

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H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC acted as the exclusive placement agent for the offering.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for working capital and general corporate purposes.

The shares of common stock described above were offered by AIkido pursuant to a shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (No. 333-220632), which was previously declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). A final prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relating to the common shares was filed by AIkido with the SEC and can be obtained at the SEC’s website at View Source Electronic copies of the final prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relating to the registered direct offering may also be obtained by contacting H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC, 430 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022, by email at [email protected] or by phone at (646) 975-6996.

This press release does not constitute an offer to buy nor will there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

On April 14, 2020 Case Western Reserve University reported a new $6 million, five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health extends funding for the Silvio O. Conte Cleveland Digestive Diseases Research Core Center (DDRCC), a cross-institutional collaboration of digestive disease investigators (Press release, Case Western Reserve University, APR 14, 2020, View Source [SID1234556299]).

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In 2015, an initial $6 million, five-year NIH grant established the DDRCC as one of only 17 in the country. (There are now 18.)

The Cleveland collaborative, which includes the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center (UH) and the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center (LSCVAMC), works to develop and advance research on digestive inflammation, gastrointestinal cancer and liver and metabolic diseases.

"The overall objective of the Cleveland DDRCC," said Fabio Cominelli, professor of medicine and pathology and associate dean for program development at the School of Medicine and the center’s director, "is to increase the availability of resources for center members and foster research, collaborations and new directions in digestive disease research, leading to important scientific discoveries."

Cominelli, the Herman Menges, MD Professor in Internal Medicine at the School of Medicine and chief scientific officer of the Digestive Health Institute at UH, is an internationally recognized expert in such conditions as inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn’s disease, gastrointestinal cancer and ulcerative colitis.

The Cleveland DDRCC’s mission is to:

Enhance the research capabilities of its investigators;
Develop and implement programs to support young investigators;
Attract established investigators not currently involved in digestive disease research;
Facilitate the translation of basic research discoveries to the clinical arena.
The center currently includes 47 full members and 35 associate members from 25 academic departments across Case Western Reserve, Cleveland Clinic, UH and LSCVAMC, representing a steady expansion during the previous funding cycle.

Together, these investigators comprise the center’s research base, which consists of $17.3 million in peer-reviewed federal and foundation grants for two specific focus research areas—digestive inflammation and tumorigenesis, and liver disease and metabolism.

On April 14, 2020 Grid Therapeutics, LLC, a biotechnology company developing a first-in-class, novel human-derived targeted immunotherapy for cancer, reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved its investigational new drug (IND) application for GT103, Grid’s lead therapeutic candidate for the treatment of solid tumors (Press release, Grid Therapeutics, APR 14, 2020, View Source [SID1234556315]).

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Under this IND, the Company is now poised to initiate a Phase 1 clinical trial in patients with refractory non-small cell lung cancer. Expected to begin in the second quarter of 2020, the clinical trial is designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and preliminary anti-tumor activity of GT103. The study shall begin at Duke University Health System, where startup activities are currently underway. Additional sites will be added once the initial site is up and recruiting patients.

"The FDA’s IND clearance for GT103 marks a critical milestone for Grid Therapeutics as we evaluate this first in class therapeutic in the clinic," said Dr. Edward Patz, Jr., CEO of Grid. "We believe GT103 has the potential to improve clinical responses in lung cancer patients, including those who are refractory to currently approved immunotherapies. As the only company developing human-derived antibodies from single B cells against novel targets, we hold a differentiated and important position in the immuno-oncology space."

On April 14, 2020 Cyclica reported a multi-year and multi-project collaboration with the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS), a research institute under the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) (Press release, Cyclica, APR 14, 2020, View Source [SID1234556316]). Cyclica and GIS will carry out research efforts spanning from polypharmacology profiling to novel compound design for diverse drug discovery programs in oncology and related diseases . The collaboration will leverage GIS’ deep expertise in functional genomics, drug target discovery, and data analytics, and Cyclica’s AI-augmented and proprietary, Ligand Design and Ligand Express platform.

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The world-class team of scientists at GIS will conduct new compound design and off-target profiling to discover hits and subsequently develop the lead compounds. GIS will perform functional analyses and testing of compounds derived from Cyclica’s drug discovery platform against gene targets of interest to GIS. This cross-border collaboration provides a unique opportunity to tailor drug identification and development efforts in a holistic way that will enable the advancement of precision medicine. By empowering researchers and healthcare institutes who are at the forefront of innovation, Cyclica and GIS will pave the way to decentralize the drug discovery process and develop the next generation of improved treatments for patients based on the individual’s disease features.

Dr. Tam Wai Leong, Group Leader of Precision Oncology at GIS, said, "Applying AI-augmented approaches towards drug design is innovative and forward-looking. It has the potential to rapidly grow the arsenal of new drugs in our fight against diseases like cancer, especially in an era of genomic medicine where physicians and scientists can better define the underlying genetic and molecular drivers of cancers."

Professor Liu Jianjun, Deputy Executive Director at GIS, added, "Our ability to harness advanced genomic technologies has enhanced our discovery of genetic contributions to a spectrum of diseases, including cancer. Many of these important cancer drivers currently do not have drugs that target them. We believe that machine learning and deep learning models will shorten the time and cost for the development of new therapeutics, and are pleased to collaborate with Cyclica to further our efforts in developing therapeutics that can have a positive impact on patients."

"The calibre of genomic research at GIS is world-class. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to work with many leading scientists at GIS to innovate novel therapeutics, based on genomic discoveries, for a wide range of diseases. This opportunity to make a meaningful contribution and impact to patients are common values we share with our partners at GIS," said Dr. Verner De Biasi, VP, Global Head of Strategic Partnerships at Cyclica.

On April 14, 2020 Clovis Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLVS) reported that on April 14, 2020 it entered into a privately negotiated exchange agreement with a holder of its 2.50% Convertible Senior Notes due 2021 (the "2021 Notes") (Press release, Clovis Oncology, APR 14, 2020, View Source [SID1234556301]). Pursuant to the exchange agreement, Clovis Oncology will issue to such holder of the 2021 Notes approximately $36.05 million in aggregate principal amount of its currently outstanding series of 4.50% Convertible Senior Notes due 2024 (the "2024 Notes") in exchange for approximately $32.77 million in aggregate principal of 2021 Notes held by such holder. Clovis Oncology will not receive any cash proceeds from the issuance of these 2024 Notes. J.P. Morgan and BofA Securities acted as the exclusive agents to Clovis Oncology in connection with the exchange transaction.

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Clovis Oncology anticipates that the settlement of the exchange transaction will occur on or about April 20, 2020, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions. Upon completion of the exchange transaction, the aggregate principal amount of the 2021 Notes outstanding will be approximately $64.42 million, and the aggregate principal amount of 2024 Notes outstanding will be approximately $174.91 million.

About the 2024 Notes

The 2024 Notes issued in the exchange transaction will have substantially identical terms to the Clovis Oncology’s currently outstanding 2024 Notes and will be treated as a single series of securities with the currently outstanding 2024 Notes.

The 2024 Notes bear interest at a rate of 4.50% per annum, payable semi-annually in arrears on February 1st and August 1st of each year. The 2024 Notes will mature on August 1, 2024 unless earlier converted or repurchased. The holders of the 2024 Notes may convert their notes at their option at any time prior to the close of business on the business day immediately preceding the maturity date at an initial conversion rate of 137.2213 shares of Clovis Oncology’s common stock per $1,000 principal amount of notes.

Clovis Oncology does not have the right to redeem the 2024 Notes prior to their maturity. Holders of the 2024 Notes may require Clovis Oncology to repurchase for cash all or part of their notes upon certain fundamental changes at a repurchase price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the 2024 Notes to be repurchased, plus accrued and unpaid interest to, but excluding, the fundamental change repurchase date. In addition, following certain corporate events that occur prior to the maturity date, Clovis Oncology will, in certain circumstances, increase the conversion rate for a holder who elects to convert its 2024 Notes in connection with such corporate event.

The above summary of the terms of the 2024 Notes is qualified in its entirety by and should be read with the Indenture governing the 2024 Notes, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission as Exhibit 4.5 to Clovis Oncology’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019.

The 2024 Notes issuable in the exchange transaction and any shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of such 2024 Notes have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), or any state securities law. Clovis Oncology does not intend to file a registration statement for resale of such 2024 Notes or the shares of common stock, if any, issuable upon conversion thereof. Accordingly, Clovis Oncology is offering the 2024 Notes only to persons who are both accredited investors (within the meaning of Rule 501 promulgated under the Securities Act) and qualified institutional buyers (as defined in Rule 144A under the Securities Act) in reliance on a private placement exemption from registration under the Securities Act. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any security and shall not constitute an offer, solicitation or sale in any jurisdiction in which such offering would be unlawful.