On April 7, 2020 Cancer Research UK has reported that it has taken the difficult decision to cut funding to its existing grants and institutes by up to 10% and its national network of Centres by around 20% (Press release, Cancer Research UK, APR 7, 2020, View Source [SID1234556252]). This works out as a £44 million cut to its research portfolio across the year, Iain Foulkes, Professor Karen Vousden, and Professor Charles Swanton wrote in an open letter to its researcher community.

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"Our mission is so important to people all over the UK and by helping the global effort of tackling COVID-19, we hope we can get back to beating cancer as soon as possible." – Iain Foulkes, executive director of research and innovation at Cancer Research UK
Iain Foulkes, executive director of research and innovation at Cancer Research UK, said: "COVID-19 has left the whole world in uncharted waters. And the unprecedented measures to control the global COVID-19 pandemic have had a huge impact on both our researchers’ ability to carry on in the lab, and on our ability to fundraise. Faced with a predicted loss of 20-25% of fundraising income, we are forced to look for savings across our current portfolio.

"Cancer Research UK funds nearly 50% of the cancer research in the UK and making cuts to research funding is the most difficult decision we have had to make. We don’t do so lightly. We have worked hard to ensure the cuts are limited and give our researchers flexibility in how to make them. Ultimately, it is our research that delivers benefit to people affected by cancer, and this remains our first priority. We are hopeful that limiting our spending now will enable us to continue funding life-saving research in the long run.

"Cancer doesn’t go away during or after COVID-19, but we’re incredibly proud of our community of researchers who have been very quick to respond to the crisis, using their kit, skills and talent to support the NHS and the COVID-19 response. Our mission is so important to people all over the UK and by helping the global effort of tackling COVID-19, we hope we can get back to beating cancer as soon as possible."

On April 7, 2020 SIRION Biotech GmbH reported that Beam Therapeutics licensed rights to use SIRION Biotech’s LentiBOOST for use in their CAR-T cell products (Press release, SIRION Biotech, APR 7, 2020, View Source [SID1234556183]).

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CAR-T cell therapy represents a promising and future-defining shift in cancer treatment. Beam Therapeutics is developing a new generation of CAR-T product candidates using its proprietary base editing technology.

Under the terms of this agreement, SIRION agreed to provide Beam with non-exclusive access to its proprietary lentiviral transduction enhancer LentiBOOST for clinical development and commercialization of Beam’s portfolio of CAR-T programs. SIRION will be entitled to undisclosed upfront and milestone payments and is eligible to receive royalties on future product net sales plus license fees tied to commercial success.

Dr. Christian Thirion, CEO and founder of SIRION Biotech GmbH explains: "LentiBOOST was engineered to improve lentiviral transduction of difficult cell types like T-cells and hematopoietic stem cells. This technology enables robust upscaling of the T-cell production process, and helps to reduce manufacturing costs by lowering the amount of lentiviral vectors needed for production of the cell product while at the same time improving clinical efficacy by increasing vector copy numbers (VCN) per cell. We are delighted that the LentiBOOST technology may help Beam further enhance the clinical success of its CAR-T pipeline."

"LentiBOOST is used in an increasing number of clinical trials in the US and in Europe and the technology is more and more considered as a gold standard in manufacturing of cell products. Our non-exclusive licensing strategy makes our technology available to a wide range of companies and research hospitals to boost the efficiency of their various clinical programs," says SVP of Business Development & Licensing, Dr. Sabine Ott.

On April 7, 2020 A new study published in Cancer Discovery shows a possible alternative to chemotherapy for infants with high-grade glioma tumors (Press release, The Institute of Cancer Research, APR 7, 2020, View Source [SID1234556253]). The study reveals that high-grade glioma brain tumors in babies are molecularly unique and could be candidates for targeted treatments.

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High-grade gliomas, tumors of the glial cells, are a rapidly growing type of brain tumor that 150-180 children in North America are diagnosed with each year. More than half of all brain tumors in children are gliomas. Children who are diagnosed as infants, less than 12 months, have a better chance at survival, with only 20% of older children living past five years.

"It’s especially cruel when cancer affects such small children, so it is encouraging that this study offers some hope for very young patients and their families," said Professor Paul Workman, Chief Executive of The Institute of Cancer Research, London. "The research offers a better understanding of the biology of brain tumors in infants and finds that they might potentially be treated with new targeted drugs. That’s vitally important because infants are particularly vulnerable to the side effects from standard treatments such as chemotherapy, and we need much better, kinder options."

This new research has found that when cancer is looked at in infants, the tumors are biologically different than those in older children. Scientists discovered that infant tumors could be targeted with precision medicines because of the genetic make-up of the tumors, which can have devastating side effects and be harmful while their brain is still developing.

"Our study offers the biological evidence to pick out those infants who are likely to have a better outcome from their disease, so these very small children and their families can be spared the harmful effects of chemotherapy," said Professor Chris Jones, Professor of Pediatric Brain Tumour Biology at The Institute of Cancer Research, London.

Scientists at The Institute of Cancer Research in London, working with colleagues at the Hopp Children’s Cancer Center Heidelberg in Germany, the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in the U.S., looked at 241 infants diagnosed with glioma brain tumors. This was the largest and most comprehensive study of infant gliomas to date. Research showed a genetic difference from the samples of infant and children’s tumor samples, though they look similar under a microscope. Of the 241 samples, 130 of them had entirely different genetic make-up from other forms of childhood brain tumors. Around 65 of the 130 unique types of tumors had specific molecular weaknesses like ALK and NTRK gene fusions that can be targeted with non-chemo medicines.

In research with mice, they found mice treated with Lorlatinib had a significant shrink in tumor size, compared to those treated with chemotherapy, who’s tumors kept growing, although at a slower rate.

In ‘mini tumors’ grown from patient samples, tumors with NTRK and other genes were sensitive to targeted treatments.

A small number of patients from the study were able to be successfully treated with ALK or NTRK targeted drugs.

These results could mean new hope for families affected and are set to change the World Health Organization’s diagnostic guidelines with brain tumors in infants to be classed separately from other childhood brain tumors.

"Chemotherapy is currently a good treatment option for babies with brain tumors – but our study has found that some children could be spared this treatment," said Dr. Matthew Clarke, Clinical Research Fellow in the Glioma Team at The Institute of Cancer Research, London. "With further testing, I’m hopeful that existing targeted drugs could expand our arsenal of options to treat these smallest of patients."

On April 7, 2020 Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: IART), a leading global medical technology company, reported certain unaudited preliminary first quarter financial results (Press release, Integra LifeSciences, APR 7, 2020, View Source [SID1234556168]). The company also announced that it will release full first quarter 2020 financial results on Thursday, May 7, 2020, prior to market open. Given the existing uncertainty related to COVID-19, the company is withdrawing its guidance for the first quarter and full-year 2020 previously issued on February 19, 2020.

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Preliminary First Quarter Revenue Results and Second Quarter Outlook

First quarter 2020 reported revenue is expected to be in the range of $352 million to $354 million, representing a decline of approximately -1.9% on a reported basis and approximately -0.5% on an organic basis compared to the first quarter of 2019. While the first two months of the quarter were in line with management expectations, surgical procedures declined significantly in March as healthcare providers reallocated resources to address the increasing demands caused by COVID-19. The preliminary results set forth above are unaudited and remain subject to completion of the Company’s financial closing procedures.

The Company expects the ongoing impact from restrictions on surgical procedures and shelter-in-place policies to have a more substantial negative impact on second quarter performance. Though we currently are unable to determine the magnitude of the impact, we are continuing to monitor, assess and respond to the situation, and we will provide an update on May 7, 2020.

Response to COVID-19 (Coronavirus)

Integra’s primary focus during this global crisis remains on supporting patients, providing customers with life-saving products, and protecting the well-being of its employees.

In February, the Company implemented contingency plans to address the operational impact of COVID-19 and ensure ongoing operations, focusing primarily on the Asia Pacific region. During March, the rapid and evolving spread of the virus resulted in an unprecedented challenge to the global healthcare industry. In response to the challenge, the Company has expanded its contingency plans to enable its manufacturing and distribution sites around the world to continue operating at levels required to meet demand and to provide for the safety of its employees. In addition, the Company has initiated significant cost-savings measures. Those measures include freezing hiring, eliminating overtime, ending third-party services and temporary contractor relationships, and rapidly reducing capital expenditures and discretionary spending including travel, events, and marketing programs. The Company will provide more details on these cost-savings measures on May 7, 2020. Given the ongoing uncertainty to revenues and operating costs surrounding COVID-19, the first quarter 2020 and the full-year 2020 financial guidance provided by the Company on February 19, 2020 should no longer be relied upon.

The Company remains confident that the markets in which it competes remain attractive over the long term, and that growth will return as the impact of COVID-19 diminishes.

Integra’s financial position and liquidity remain strong. In early February, the Company renegotiated the terms of its $2.2 billion bank facility, extended the maturity of its credit agreement by two years to 2025, and issued a $575 million convertible note with a 0.5% fixed interest rate. Inclusive of these 2020 transactions, the 2019 year-end balances would have been a cash balance of $321 million, net debt of $1.3 billion and a bank leverage ratio of about 3.0 times.

First Quarter 2020 Financial Results Conference Call
The Company will release full first quarter 2020 financial results on Thursday, May 7, prior to market open. In conjunction with the earnings release, Integra’s management team will host a conference call at 8:30 a.m. ET.
The live call is accessible by dialing (800) 263-0877 and using the passcode 5089204. A simultaneous webcast of the call will be available via the Company’s website at www.integralife.com.
A webcast replay of the call can be accessed through the Investor Relations homepage of Integra’s website at www.integralife.com. A replay of the call will be available until May 12, 2020 by dialing (888) 203-1112 and using the passcode 5089204.

On April 7, 2020 Alpha Tau Medical – the developer of breakthrough alpha-radiation cancer therapy Alpha DaRT, and Medison Canada – a fully owned subsidiary of Medison Pharma, reported that they have entered into an exclusive distribution arrangement (Press release, Alpha Tau Medical, APR 7, 2020, View Source [SID1234556185]). Medison is a specialized pharmaceutical and biotech company purely focused on licensing highly innovative, cutting edge therapeutics for patients in need of life-saving therapies in rest-of-the-world markets. Medison has exclusive commercial distribution rights in Israel, and according to the new arrangement, Medison shall also have the exclusive rights to commercialize and distribute the Alpha DaRT in Canada. The arrangement for Canada is for a 15-year period from Marketing Approval of the product in Canada. The parties have agreed on a split of revenues between both sides, and Alpha Tau will be entitled to receive upfront, regulatory and milestone sales-based fees of up to US$9 million.

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Alpha Tau CEO, Uzi Sofer, commented, "This arrangement meaningfully furthers our important mission to bring our live-saving cancer therapy to thousands of cancer patients in Canada who may not have other treatment options remaining. We are confident that with Medison’s capabilities, their outstanding team on the ground, and their track record of commercial success around the world, we will build together a successful commercial launch for Alpha DaRT in Canada. Even in these challenging times, we continue to push forward our mission to help cancer patients around the world, with active ongoing patient recruitment and treatment, and we appreciate Medison’s vote of confidence in uncertain times."

Raphi Levy, CFO of Alpha Tau, added, "We are very excited to have allied ourselves with such a leading partner in the Canadian therapeutics market. Canada is assuming increased importance for Alpha Tau as a nexus for our pre-clinical and clinical research. We are excited to work with Medison on bringing our therapy to Canadian clinicians, who are already learning about the Alpha DaRT and are eager to deploy it."

Meir Jakobsohn, Founder and CEO of Medison Pharma, commented, "Alpha DaRT is a great addition to our Canadian portfolio, and we believe that Alpha Tau’s breakthrough technology together with Medison’s on-the-ground extensive commercial capabilities can make a real change in patients’ lives in Canada."

Joe O’Neill, General Manager Medison Canada, added: "We are very excited to partner with Alpha Tau to bring this important treatment option to Canadian patients and their healthcare providers. Canada continues to be a leader in providing clinical trial support to innovative R&D companies in the oncology field and Medison Canada is proud that Alpha Tau is working with one of our leading hospitals, CHUM in Montreal, to develop this important treatment."

As part of its extensive global clinical trial plan, Alpha Tau has recently launched a clinical trial for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer in Montreal, conducted at CHUM (Montreal University Hospital Center). The company is also engaged in a research projects on alpha radiation dosing with leading universities and institutions in Montreal and Israel.

About Alpha DaRT
Alpha DaRT(Diffusing Alpha-emitters Radiation Therapy) enables highly potent and conformal alpha-irradiation of solid tumors. The treatment is delivered by intratumoral insertion of radium-224 impregnated seeds. When the radium decays, its short-lived daughters are released from the seed, and disperse while emitting high-energy alpha particles that destroy the tumor. Since the alpha-emitting atoms diffuse only a short distance, Alpha DaRT mainly affects the tumor, sparing the healthy tissue around it.