On March 26, 2020 Genmab A/S’ (Nasdaq: GMAB) reported that Annual General Meeting held on March 26, 2020, the Company’s Board of Directors met to constitute itself. Ms. Deirdre P. Connelly was appointed Chairman and Ms. Pernille Erenbjerg was appointed Deputy Chairman (Press release, Genmab, MAR 26, 2020, View Source [SID1234555895]). It was decided to grant 17,690 restricted stock units to the new member of the Board of Directors, the two new members of Management and employees of the Company and three of the Company’s subsidiaries and 33,678 warrants to one of the new members of Management and employees of the Company and three of the Company’s subsidiaries.

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Each restricted stock unit is awarded cost-free and provides the owner with a right and obligation to receive one share in Genmab A/S of nominally DKK 1. The vesting of the restricted stock units granted to the two new members of Management will be subject to forward looking performance criteria. The fair value of each restricted stock unit is equal to the closing market price on the date of grant of one Genmab A/S share, DKK 1,362.50.

The restricted stock units will vest on the first banking day of the month following a period of three years from the date of grant. Furthermore, the restricted stock units are subject to vesting conditions set out in the restricted stock unit program adopted by the Board of Directors and in accordance with the Remuneration Policy adopted by the shareholders at the annual general meeting. Information concerning Genmab’s restricted stock unit program can be found on www.genmab.com under Investors > Stock information > Restricted stock units.

The exercise price for each warrant is DKK 1,362.50. Each warrant is awarded cost-free and entitles the owner to subscribe one share of nominally DKK 1 subject to payment of the exercise price. By application of the Black-Scholes formula, the fair value of each warrant can be calculated as DKK 393.72.

The warrants vest three years after the grant date, and all warrants expire at the seventh anniversary of the grant date. The new warrants have been granted on the terms and conditions set out in the warrant program adopted by the Board of Directors on March 28, 2017. Information concerning Genmab’s warrant schemes can be found on www.genmab.com under Investors > Stock information > Warrants.

On March 26, 2020 Vivoryon Therapeutics AG (Euronext Amsterdam: VVY; ISIN: DE007921835), reported its financial results for the twelve month period ending December 31, 2019, prepared in accordance with German GAAP ("HGB") and on a voluntary basis, in accordance with IFRS as endorsed by the European Union (Press release, Vivoryon Therapeutics, MAR 26, 2020, View Source [SID1234555877]). The Financial Statements are available on the company website (www.vivoryon.com/investors-news/financial-information/).

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KEY HIGHLIGHTS – January – December 2019

USD 15 million grant from National Institutes for Health (NIH) for a US-based Phase 2b trial received, together with the Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study (ADCS)
EUR 8.2 million raised from investors in successful private placement of new shares in April 2019
Probiodrug AG became Vivoryon Therapeutics AG
Vivoryon entered into a collaboration with University of Kiel to select candidates from its QPCTL inhibitor portfolio
MorphoSys and Vivoryon entered an agreement on small molecule inhibitors of CD47-SIRP alpha signaling in immuno-oncology
Vivoryon successfully completed a EUR 43 million capital raise in October 2019
Vivoryon included in AScX index

POST PERIOD HIGHLIGHTS – January – March 2020

Vivoryon and Nordic Bioscience entered research and development collaboration
Vivoryon announced update on Phase 2b Alzheimer’s clinical trial, VIVIAD

Comment from, Dr. Ulrich Dauer, Chief Executive Officer of Vivoryon Therapeutics:

"2019 proved to be a pivotal year for Vivoryon during which the Company established itself with a new name and a re-energized corporate vision unified by the same goal: to discover and develop small molecule therapeutics to meet complex medical needs. During the past 12 months, Vivoryon has undergone a corporate transformation designed to build value for shareholders, patients and collaborators and that will ultimately steer the Company toward success. Equipped with a secure financial position, strong strategic partnerships and growing clinical knowledge, Vivoryon has entered 2020 with the momentum required to reach future milestones.

First, from a financial perspective, 2019 was an important year for the Company in which securing adequate funding was particularly critical for the advancement of PQ912 in Alzheimer’s Disease. At the start of the year, we received a USD 15 million grant from the NIH. After that, the Company raised EUR 8.2 million from investors in a successful private placement of new shares in April, followed by a EUR 43 million capital raise in October. These monetary developments fortify our fiscal well-being and place us in an optimal position to continue to advance our pipeline.

Based on our clinical development efforts in 2019, we are now reaching the final stages of preparation for the European Phase 2b clinical trial, VIVIAD, testing PQ912 in patients with early-stage Alzheimer’s Disease. In parallel, the funding from the NIH will be allocated to our US Phase 2b trial in Alzheimer’s which we aim to initiate as soon as the required financial resources have been secured. Our lead candidate, PQ912 is a first-in-class inhibitor of the QPCT enzyme that addresses a very distinct disease pathway and provides a mode of action affecting multiple pathology hallmarks in contrast to many other Alzheimer’s Disease drug candidates in development. Building on positive Phase 2a data, we aim to continue to validate our approach in this complex neurodegenerative disease and look forward to initiating VIVAD in Europe within the second quarter of 2020. We expect to announce the topline results of this important trial towards the end of 2022.

The preparation for the VIVIAD trial also involved two strategic relationships that add significant value to the trial design. We kicked-off the new year by announcing our research and development collaboration with Nordic Bioscience for the clinical development of PQ912 for Alzheimer’s Disease as well as for the development of blood-based biomarkers for the identification of specific patients that may benefit most from treatment with PQ912. We also entered into a collaboration with Winterlight Labs, a company that has developed a proprietary, tablet-based technology that assesses cognitive health (including memory, thinking, and reasoning) by analyzing hundreds of language markers from short snippets of speech. This collaboration will enable Vivoryon to perform an additional non-invasive, cognitive test on patients that will further enhance the full data package from the Phase 2b European VIVIAD clinical trial. Prof. Dr. Scheltens, VU Amsterdam will act as coordinating investigator for VIVIAD.

During last year, we also made rapid progress in the immuno-oncology space as illustrated by both the collaboration with the University of Kiel as well as our option-agreement with MorphoSys. The MorphoSys relationship combines our portfolio of proprietary small molecule QPCTL inhibitors with their leading antibody technology. Both collaborations underscore the potential of our therapeutic agents as well as our ability to forge meaningful and strategic partnerships to advance our pipeline.

In closing, 2019 was a defining year for Vivoryon. I therefore want to extend our thanks to our shareholders for all the support throughout our transformation as well as to the team at Vivoryon. 2020 will bring both new opportunities and challenges and together, we have the resources and the clear objective to positively change the lives of patients battling difficult-to-treat diseases."

Details of the Financial Results (according to IFRS)

Net loss

The operating loss slightly rose in 2019 to EUR 7,715 (2018: EUR 7,698k). Research and development expenses slightly decreased to EUR 4,751k (2018: EUR 4,836). General and administrative expenses increased to EUR 3,023k (2018: EUR 2,891k). The net loss is slightly higher than last year at EUR 7,823k (2018: EUR 7,737k).

All expenditures are in line with the projections of Vivoryon Therapeutics.

Equity

The equity as of December 31, 2019 amounts to EUR 42,665k (December 31, 2018: EUR 1,230k), corresponding to an equity ratio of 93,0 %. In 2019, the share capital increased at EUR 19,975k.

Cash

The cash flow used in investing activities amounted to EUR -47k (2018: EUR 460k) consisting of costs in intangible assets and equipment. Cash and cash equivalents at year end 2018 were EUR 41,524k (2018: EUR 3,783k).

Noncurrent/ current liabilities

As of December 31, 2019, non-current liabilities amounted to EUR 2,266k (December 31, 2018: EUR 1,854k) and consist of pension obligations of EUR 1,951k (2018: EUR 1,854k ) and long-term lease liabilities in accordance with IFRS 16, which was applicable for the first time in 2019 of EUR 315k. Short-term liabilities as of December 31, 2019 of EUR 930k remained almost the same as in the previous year (December 31, 2018 EUR 964k). Trade payables of EUR 539k (2018: EUR 772k) result from the normal course of business. They have a remaining term of up to one year. The short-term lease liabilities of EUR 91k reported for the first time on December 31 also result from the first-time application of the new IFRS 16.

OUTLOOK

The mid-term focus of Vivoryon’s business activities can be summarized as follows:

Initiate Phase 2b clinical study program for PQ912 in Europe
Continue the development of PQ912 in oncology
Conclude one or more industrial partnerships
Further scientific analysis of potential indications for the use of QC inhibitors

ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT 2019

Vivoryon Therapeutics has finalized its financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2019 according to German GAAP ("HGB") and IFRS. The auditor KPMG has issued an unqualified auditors report for both statements. The reports are available on the company website (View Source).

FINANCIAL CALENDAR

May 14, 2020 Interim Management Statement Q1 2020
June 24, 2020 Annual General Meeting 2020
August 27, 2020 Interim Report, Half Year Results 2020
November 26, 2020 Interim Management Statement Q3 2020

CONFERENCE CALL AND WEBCAST

Vivoryon Therapeutics will host a conference call and webcast open to the public today, March 26, 2020, at 3:00 pm CET (10:00 am EDT); the presentation will also be available on the company website. The conference will be held in English. A Question & Answer session will follow the presentation of results.

To participate in the conference call, please call one of the following numbers listed below 10 minutes prior to the commencement of the webcast.

A live webcast and slides will be made available at: View Source

On March 26, 2020 Asieris Pharma, located in Taizhou’s China Medical City, reported that it has raised $14 million in a C round to advance its genito-urinary tumor treatments (Press release, Asieris Pharmaceuticals, MAR 26, 2020, View Source [SID1234555896]). Its lead candidate, a novel treatment for non-muscular invasive bladder cancer, has completed China Phase III trials and a US Phase I trial. Unlike other treatments for the condition, usually bladder resection, APL-1202 is convenient, painless and does not cause damage to the urethra. A repurposed oral inhibitor of MetAP2, APL-1202 is a 50-year-old wide spectrum antibiotic that had been shown to have an anti-angiogenesis effect.

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On March 26, 2020 Innovent Biologics, Inc. ("Innovent" or the "Company") (HKEX: 01801), a world-class biopharmaceutical company that develops and commercializes high quality medicines for the treatment of oncology, autoimmune, metabolic and other major diseases, and Alector, Inc. ("Alector", Nasdaq ticker symbol: ALEC), a clinical stage biotechnology company and leader in the discovery and development of immune system focused therapeutics, jointly reported that they have entered into a licensing agreement to develop and commercialize an anti-SIRP-alpha antibody (Alector’s project code: AL008) for the treatment of oncology indications in China (Press release, Innovent Biologics, MAR 26, 2020, View Source [SID1234555834]).

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AL008 is Alector’s novel antibody targeting the CD47-SIRP-alpha pathway, a potent survival pathway co-opted by tumors to evade the innate immune system. AL008 is a first-in-class SIRP-alpha inhibitor with a unique dual mechanism of action that non-competitively antagonizes the CD47-SIRP-alpha pathway by inducing the internalization and degradation of the inhibitory receptor on macrophages to relieve immune suppression (a "don’t eat me signal") while also engaging Fc gamma to promote immuno-stimulatory pathways that drive anti-tumor immunity.

"Alector has been a pioneer in discovering and developing first-in-class therapeutics modulating the innate immune system since their founding and AL008 represents another successful program from their pipeline," said Dr. Michael Yu, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Innovent Biologics. "Currently, we have a successfully commercialized PD-1 inhibiting antibody, Tyvyt (sintilimab injection), targeting the adaptive immune system and we believe in the importance of modulating innate immune system in oncology as well, especially the SIRP-alpha-CD47 pathway. We believe that AL008 will complement perfectly with our current pipeline, further solidifying our position in this promising space while providing more options to patients in need."

"We are excited to enter into a collaboration with Innovent, one of the premier Chinese biologics companies, which has a fully-integrated multi-functional platform. We have been impressed with the diligence and speed that the Innovent team brings to bear to advance their development programs through clinical trials and beyond. We believe AL008 has great potential and look forward to demonstrating this in the clinic," said Dr. Arnon Rosenthal, Co-Founder and CEO of Alector. "We will be collaborating closely with Innovent to rapidly advance AL008 through clinical trials in order to get this program to benefit more patients both in China and globally."

Under the agreement, Innovent will lead the development and commercialization of the molecule in China, including the manufacturing of the product. Alector will lead development of AL008 outside of China. Financial terms are not disclosed.

About AL008

AL008 is an anti-SIRP-alpha antibody that non-competitively antagonizes the CD47-SIRP-alpha pathway by inducing the internalization and degradation of the inhibitory receptor on macrophages to relieve immune suppression (a "don’t eat me signal) while also engaging Fc gamma to promote immuno-stimulatory pathways that drive anti-tumor immunity. Tumor associated macrophages are associated with poor prognosis in many cancer types and are believed to inhibit the anti-tumor immune response. Targeting the CD47-SIRP-alpha pathway has shown activity in myeloid and lymphoid cancers, but additional agents targeting this pathway are needed to enhance activity and improve safety in solid tumors. AL008 monotherapy reduces tumor growth and enhances M1 macrophage activation in a humanized pre-clinical model. In comparison with other SIRP-alpha targeting antibodies, AL008 binds to all common alleles of SIRP-alpha and has best-in-class potency in tumor cell phagocytosis. AL008 promotes T cell function and in preclinical studies is not associated with depletion of red blood cells or platelets. These data highlight the potential potency of this differentiated mechanism of simultaneously providing immune-activating signals while removing immune-checkpoint signals and demonstrate the potential activity for AL008.

On March 26, 2020 Celsion Corporation (NASDAQ: CLSN), a leading oncology drug development company, reported with Medidata, a Dassault Systèmes company, that examining matched patient data provided by Medidata in a synthetic control arm (SCA) with results from the Company’s completed Phase Ib dose-escalating OVATION I Study with GEN-1 in Stage III/IV ovarian cancer patients showed positive results in progression-free survival (PFS) (Press release, Celsion, MAR 26, 2020, View Source [SID1234555879]). The hazard ratio (HR) was 0.53 in the intent-to-treat (ITT) group, showing strong signals of efficacy. GEN-1, designed using Celsion’s proprietary TheraPlas platform technology, is an interleukin-12 (IL-12) DNA plasmid vector encased in a non-viral nanoparticle delivery system, which enables cell transfection followed by persistent, local secretion of the IL-12 protein.

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Celsion believes these data may warrant consideration of strategies to accelerate the clinical development program for GEN-1 in newly diagnosed, advanced ovarian cancer patients by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In its March 2019 discussion with Celsion, the FDA noted that preliminary findings from the Phase Ib OVATION I Study were exciting but lacked a control group to evaluate GEN-1’s independent impact on impressive tumor response, surgical results and PFS. The Agency encouraged the Company to continue its GEN-1 development program and consult with FDA with new findings that may have a bearing on designations such as Fast Track and Breakthrough Therapy.

GEN-1’s strong and encouraging treatment effect, evidenced by the synthetic control arm, suggests a potentially remarkable improvement in PFS, an FDA recognized surrogate for Overall Survival, and appears to confirm the science behind IL-12’s ability to recruit the innate and adaptive elements of the immune system to fight malignancies. The strong PFS trend is supported with previously published translational data that clearly demonstrates the pro-immune changes in the tumor micro-environment associated with loco-regional GEN-1 therapy.

Celsion’s current randomized Phase II OVATION 2 Study in advanced ovarian cancer patients will commence in the 2nd half of 2020 and is designed to demonstrate a 33% improvement in PFS (HR=0.75) over current standard of care. PFS is the primary endpoint for this study.

Synthetic Control Arms have the potential to revolutionize clinical trials in certain oncology indications and some other diseases where a randomized control is not ethical or practical. SCAs are formed by carefully selecting control patients from historical clinical trials to match the demographic and disease characteristics of the patients treated with the new investigational product.

SCAs have been shown to mimic the results of traditional randomized controls so that the treatment effects of an investigational product can be visible by comparison to the SCA. SCAs can help advance the scientific validity of single arm trials, and in certain indications, reduce time and cost, and expose fewer patients to placebos or existing standard-of-care treatments that might not be effective for them. Medidata is in a unique position to create fit-for-purpose synthetic controls because of access to a pool of more than six million anonymized patients from nearly 20,000 previous clinical trials.

"Acorn AI, by Medidata, is proud to partner with Celsion to create a Synthetic Control Arm for this important clinical trial in advanced ovarian cancer patients with unmet medical needs," said Ruthie Davi, Ph.D., vice president, Data Science at Acorn AI, by Medidata. "This could have game-changing implications for patients, the medical community, and the industry. As demonstrated with the SCA for the OVATION I Study, we now have the opportunity to gain early scientific clarity to expedite the development of potentially life-saving treatments."

PFS data generated from this analysis comparing GEN-1 with SCA showed the following:

GEN-1 Population PFS Hazard Ratio (Confidence Interval)
Intent-to-treat, n=15 0.53 (95% CI 0.16, 1.73); log-rank p=0.29
Per-protocol, n=14 0.33 (95% CI 0.08, 1.37); log-rank p=0.11
"The patients in the GEN-1 arm of the OVATION I Study virtually demonstrated a doubling of control of their cancer than the Synthetic Control Arm. Although these findings are not statistically significant due to the small numbers, they are impressive nonetheless," said Dr. Nicolas Borys, Celsion’s chief medical officer. "This preliminary evidence of a strong treatment effect trend supports our commitment to the GEN-1 program, and we will aggressively explore means of accelerating its development with regulatory agencies and our investigators."

The Phase Ib OVATION I Study evaluated escalating doses of GEN-1 (36 mg/m2, 47 mg/m2, 61 mg/m2 and 79 mg/m2) administered intraperitoneally in combination with three cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) prior to interval debulking surgery, followed by three cycles of NACT in the treatment of newly diagnosed patients with Stage III/IV ovarian cancer. Previously reported data demonstrated median PFS of 21 months in the per-protocol population and 17.1 months in the intent-to-treat population for all dose cohorts, comparing favorably to historically reported median PFS of 12 months.

In the OVATION I Study, complete tumor resections (R0s) were achieved for all patients receiving the highest (79 mg/m2) dose of GEN-1, and approximately 86% of patients in OVATION I had a complete or partial response. All patients experienced a clinically significant decrease in their CA-125 protein levels as of their latest study visit. CA-125 is used to monitor certain cancers during and after treatment. CA-125 is present in greater concentrations in ovarian cancer cells than in other cells. GEN-1 was well tolerated and no dose-limiting toxicities were detected. Intraperitoneal administration of GEN-1 was feasible with broad patient acceptance.

"We are extremely impressed with the high quality of the matched data from the Medidata SCA," said Michael H. Tardugno, Celsion’s chairman, president and chief executive officer. "They were able to provide near-perfect matches for patient characteristics in our Phase Ib OVATION I Study. Based on this capability and the remarkable potential demonstrated by GEN-1, we plan to move forward with a partial synthetic control arm for the Phase II portion of our Phase I/II OVATION 2 Study with GEN-1 in advanced ovarian cancer. Using a SCA for a portion of the study will reduce costs and should improve the rate of enrollment as patients will be more likely to receive GEN-1 rather than placebo."

About Medidata

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About Acorn AI

Acorn AI, by Medidata, a Dassault Systèmes company, combines data, technology, and deep expertise to help life sciences companies deliver actionable insights across the entire continuum of clinical development. Acorn AI’s advanced analytics answers the most important questions in R&D and commercialization including accelerating breakthrough innovation, optimizing study execution and commercial success, and demonstrating the value of therapies. Built upon the Medidata platform comprising nearly 20,000 trials and more than six million patients, Acorn AI products feature the industry’s largest structured, standardized clinical trial data repository connected with real world, translational, and other datasets. For more information, please visit www.medidata.com/acornai.

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