On November 25, 2019 INHIBITOR Therapeutics, Inc. (OTCQB: INTI), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of innovative therapeutics to inhibit progression of cancerous and non-cancerous proliferation disorders, reported that the company has submitted an Investigational New Drug (IND) Application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to seek clearance to initiate an IND-opening clinical study as a two-part, multi-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, Phase 2b clinical trial that will evaluate the efficacy and safety of SUBA-Itraconazole capsules dosed in combination with docetaxel and prednisone in patients with metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) (Press release, Inhibitor Therapeutics, NOV 25, 2019, View Source [SID1234551673]). The proposed trial will be named PREDICT (Prostate Response Evaluating Docetaxel Itraconazole Combination Therapy).

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Nicholas Virca, INHIBITOR’s President and CEO, said: "Following a pre-IND meeting with FDA in the first half of this year, FDA granted us a face-to-face End-of-Phase-2 (EoP2) meeting, which I am pleased to announce occurred last month. During that meeting, we gained FDA guidance and agreement on our protocol and statistical analysis plan for our proposed PREDICT trial. FDA indicated that we can follow the 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway given previous FDA approval of itraconazole. Assuming positive results demonstrating an improvement in radiographic progression-free survival (rPFS) as our primary endpoint, FDA indicated that the general design and planned analysis of our study would adequately address the objectives necessary to support a New Drug Application (NDA) submission. Further, FDA indicated that the final analysis of the key secondary endpoint of overall survival (OS) can occur following submission of the NDA for approval in the United States."

Mr. Virca continued: "I would like to acknowledge the stellar efforts of our regulatory and clinical team members over the last nine months to achieve this level of progress for our SUBA-Itraconazole Prostate program. Approximately 23,000 men in the U.S. are diagnosed each year with late-stage mCRPC that no longer responds well to androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) or previous treatment with chemotherapy or newer stand-alone anti-androgen therapies such as abiraterone, enzalutamide or apalutamide. We believe that SUBA-Itraconazole Prostate has the potential to address an unmet need in these patients, who exhibit disease progression or who have discontinued the other therapies due to toxicity or other reasons."

About Itraconazole in Prostate Cancer

In late-stage prostate cancer, up-regulation of the Hedgehog pathway in cells results in oncogene expression, which can interfere with the binding of ADT drugs to the androgen receptor (AR), causing biochemical resistance leading to mCRPC. Itraconazole acts on the essential Hedgehog signaling pathway component called smoothened (SMO) in human cells in a different manner than the FDA-approved drug vismodegib by preventing the ciliary accumulation of SMO normally caused by the Hedgehog pathway. Itraconazole also has a much shorter half-life than vismodegib, which may be the reason it appears to have fewer side effects than what has been reported for vismodegib in recent publications regarding its use in treating basal cell carcinoma. Thus, itraconazole may be more suitable than vismodegib for use in combination with chemotherapy due to its lower toxicity profile. Itraconazole has been tested as a treatment for mCRPC in a multi-institutional Phase 2 trial led by a prominent U.S. university and published in 2013.This trial showed that 90% of men with prostate specific antigen (PSA)-doubling times of less than 6 months, who achieved therapeutic levels of itraconazole, showed promising PSA reductions that correlated significantly with rPFS. The improved bioavailability of SUBA-Itraconazole may provide additional benefits to prostate cancer patients in two ways: 1) by achieving higher therapeutic levels of itraconazole at lower doses than those reported in the Phase 2 study, which used the generic formulation of the drug, and 2) by reducing the dose of chemotherapy based on enhanced uptake of docetaxel in the presence of itraconazole.

On November 25, 2019 Hutchison China MediTech Limited ("Chi-Med") (AIM/Nasdaq: HCM) reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") has granted Orphan Drug designation to surufatinib for the treatment of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors ("NET") (Press release, Hutchison China MediTech, NOV 25, 2019, View Source [SID1234551638]).

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"NET is an area of significant unmet medical need. The current treatment options are very limited," said Christian Hogg, CEO of Chi-Med. "The FDA granting Orphan designation is a positive step and continues to reinforce the importance of our research and development in bringing surufatinib to more patients in need."

If approved by the FDA as an orphan treatment, surufatinib will be entitled to seven years of market exclusivity for the approved indication. Orphan Drug designation also affords certain development cost benefits in the U.S.

Surufatinib is under investigation in multiple solid tumors in China and the U.S., both as a monotherapy and in combination with immunotherapies.

Surufatinib is the second novel oncology drug discovered by Chi-Med to successfully complete a Phase III trial in China. A New Drug Application ("NDA") for surufatinib for the treatment of patients with advanced non-pancreatic NET was accepted for review by the China National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) on November 11, 2019.

About FDA Orphan Drug Designation

The FDA Orphan Drug Designation Program provides orphan status to drugs and biologics which are defined as those intended for the safe and effective treatment, diagnosis or prevention of rarer diseases/disorders that affect fewer than 200,000 people in the U.S., or that affect more than 200,000 persons but are not expected to recover the costs of developing and marketing a treatment drug.

About Surufatinib

Surufatinib (previously known as HMPL-012 or sulfatinib) is a novel, oral angio-immuno kinase inhibitor that selectively inhibits the tyrosine kinase activity associated with vascular endothelial growth factor receptor ("VEGFR") and fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR), which both inhibit angiogenesis, and colony stimulating factor-1 receptor (CSF-1R), which regulates tumor-associated macrophages, promoting the body’s immune response against tumor cells. Its unique dual mechanism of action may be very suitable for possible combinations with other immunotherapies. Surufatinib is in several late-stage and proof-of-concept clinical trials in China and proof-of-concept clinical trials in the U.S.

According to Frost & Sullivan, the market for anti-angiogenesis VEGF/VEGFR inhibitors in China has grown from US$500 million in 2015 to over US$1.5 billion in 2019 and is expected to reach US$5 billion by 2026.

Chi-Med currently retains all rights to surufatinib worldwide.

Non-Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors in China: In 2015, we initiated the SANET-ep study, a Phase III study of surufatinib in advanced neuroendocrine tumors – extra-pancreatic patients in China for whom there is no effective therapy. In June 2019, a 198 patient interim analysis was conducted, leading the independent data monitoring committee to determine that the study met the pre-defined primary endpoint of progression-free survival ("PFS") and should be stopped early.

Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors in China: In 2016, we initiated the SANET-p study, which is a pivotal Phase III study in patients with low- or intermediate-grade, advanced pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors in China. The primary endpoint is PFS. We expect an interim analysis in the first half of 2020 and enrollment to complete in 2020 (clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT02589821).

Neuroendocrine tumors in the U.S. and Europe: We are planning a U.S. registration study in neuroendocrine tumors patients based on the encouraging data from the Phase II and Phase III studies of surufatinib in neuroendocrine tumors in China (clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT02267967), and the ongoing Phase Ib study in the U.S. (clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT02549937).

Biliary tract cancer in China: In March 2019, we initiated a Phase IIb/III study comparing surufatinib with capecitabine in patients with advanced biliary tract cancer whose disease progressed on first-line chemotherapy. The primary endpoint is overall survival (OS) (clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT03873532).

Immunotherapy combinations: In November 2018 and September 2019, we entered into collaboration agreements to evaluate the safety, tolerability and efficacy of surufatinib in combination with anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) monoclonal antibodies. This included global collaborations to evaluate the combination of surufatinib with Tuoyi, approved in China by Shanghai Junshi Biosciences Co. Ltd, and with Tyvyt, approved in China by Innovent Biologics, Inc.

About Neuroendocrine Tumors (NET)

Neuroendocrine tumors form in cells that interact with the nervous system or in glands that produce hormones. They can originate in various parts of the body, most often in the gut or the lungs and can be benign or malignant. Neuroendocrine tumors are typically classified as pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors or non-pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. Approved targeted therapies include Sutent and Afinitor for pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, or well-differentiated, non-functional gastrointestinal or lung neuroendocrine tumors.

According to Frost and Sullivan, there were 19,000 newly diagnosed cases of neuroendocrine tumors in the U.S. in 2018. Importantly, neuroendocrine tumors are associated with a relatively long duration of survival compared to other tumors. As a result, there were approximately 141,000 estimated patients living with neuroendocrine tumors in the U.S. in 2018 of which over 90%, or approximately 132,000, were non-pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor patients.

In China, there were approximately 67,600 newly diagnosed neuroendocrine tumor patients in 2018 and, considering the current incidence to prevalence ratio in China, potentially as many as 300,000 patients living with the disease in the country1. It is estimated that approximately 80% of the patients living with neuroendocrine tumors in China are non-pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor patients.

1 According to Frost & Sullivan, in 2018, there were 19,000 newly diagnosed cases of NETs in the U.S and an estimated 141,000 patients living with NETs. The current incidence to prevalence ratio in China is estimated at 4.4, lower than the 7.4 ratio in the U.S. due to lower access to treatment options.

On November 25, 2019 Genetron, a Beijing-North Carolina genomics company, reported that closed a $71 million Series D Round to develop cancer molecular diagnostics products and services (Press release, ChinaBio, NOV 25, 2019, View Source [SID1234551655]). The company’s offerings include risk assessment, early screening, molecular pathology diagnosis, medication guidance and prognosis monitoring. Its products address the needs of cancer patients and high-risk groups as well as people who show no signs of disease. The company also works with biopharmas to discover biomarkers for precision medicine drugs. The funding was led by Vivo Capital, CICC Healthcare Investment Fund and Alexandria Venture Investments

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On November 25, 2019 Marker Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq:MRKR), a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company specializing in the development of next-generation T cell-based immunotherapies for the treatment of hematological malignancies and solid tumor indications, reported that its President and Chief Executive Officer, Peter L. Hoang, will present at two upcoming investor conferences (Press release, Marker Therapeutics, NOV 25, 2019, View Source [SID1234551675]).

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Conference Details

Piper Jaffray 31st Annual Healthcare Conference
Date: Tuesday, December 3, 2019
Time: 1:00 p.m. EST
Location: New York, NY

Evercore ISI 2nd Annual HealthCONx Conference
Date: Wednesday, December 4, 2019
Time: 11:45 a.m. EST
Location: Boston, MA

Live webcasts of the presentations will be accessible from the investors section of the company’s website at www.markertherapeutics.com and will be available for replay following the event.

On November 25, 2019 X4 Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: XFOR), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the research, development and commercialization of novel therapeutics for the treatment of rare diseases, reported that it has commenced an underwritten public offering of shares of its common stock (or pre-funded warrants to purchase its common stock in lieu thereof) and Class B warrants to purchase its common stock (Press release, X4 Pharmaceuticals, NOV 25, 2019, View Source [SID1234551753]). All of the securities in the offering will be sold by X4. The offering is subject to market and other conditions, and there can be no assurance as to whether or when the offering may be completed or as to the actual size or terms of the offering.

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Cowen and Stifel are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering. Canaccord Genuity and Oppenheimer & Co. are acting as lead managers, and H.C. Wainwright & Co. and Roth Capital Partners are acting as managers for the offering.

The offering will be made only by means of a written prospectus and related prospectus supplement forming part of a shelf registration statement on Form S-3 that was originally filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on August 9, 2019 and declared effective by the SEC on August 29, 2019. A preliminary prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus relating to and describing the terms of the offering will be filed with the SEC and will be available at the SEC’s website located at www.sec.gov, copies of which may be obtained, when available, from Cowen and Company, LLC, c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, Attn: Prospectus Department, by email at [email protected] or by telephone at (833) 297-2926, and from Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, Attention: Syndicate, One Montgomery Street, Suite 3700, San Francisco, California 94104, or by telephone at 415-364-2720 or by email at [email protected].

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