On August 16, 2019 Spherix Incorporated (Nasdaq: SPEX) ("Spherix" or the "Company") reported that the Company filed its Form-10Q for the period ended March 31, 2019, which showed total assets of $11,937,000.00 and liabilities of $982,000.00, with 2,010,074 shares of common stock outstanding (Press release, Spherix, AUG 16, 2019, View Source [SID1234538985]).

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In addition, the Company announced a restructuring of the terms of its proposed merger with CBM BioPharma, Inc. (CBM), a Delaware corporation. In lieu of the previously announced merger, the Company announced the terms of an Asset Purchase Agreement with CBM, whereby the Company purchased substantially all of CBM’s assets including, among other things, a license agreement, university contracts, and contracts with a Chief Scientific Officer, as well as a Scientific advisory board. The revised agreement is significantly less dilutive to Spherix shareholders, as Spherix is paying $8,000,000.00 to CBM in total compensation, as opposed to the previously announced $16,500,000.00, as more fully set forth in the Company’s filings. The acquisition of CBM’s assets is pending shareholder approval.

In addition, the Company announced that it purchased a 20% shareholder’s stake in CBM along with certain interests in DatChat, Inc. Spherix was successful in acquiring these interests in CBM at a substantial discount to CBM’s valuation. The 20% shareholder stake in CBM will give Spherix the ability to participate in any dividends declared by CBM in the future.

Mr. Anthony Hayes, CEO of Spherix stated, "The revised negotiated terms with CBM BioPharma in the Asset Purchase Agreement will introduce valuable assets into the Spherix family. The new agreement will be less dilutive to Spherix shareholders. I am also pleased to note that CBM has received some early, favorable correspondence from the Patent Office about its University of Texas patent applications. We will provide additional information as it comes available, but it is certainly a positive development for CBM."

"Post-closing, Spherix shareholders will still own a majority interest in the Company. Further, Spherix’s 20% ownership in CBM is an accretive benefit to Spherix shareholders and by having an ownership interest in CBM, Spherix will participate in any dividend distributions made by CBM in the future. This may include cash dividends that might result from the future sale of Spherix stock. We look forward to sharing additional information with our shareholders about the proposed asset purchase in the upcoming weeks through both investor outreach and our upcoming SEC filings."

In addition to the CBM announcement, the Company’s Board of Directors under authority granted by the Company’s stockholders at the Company’s 2019 Annual Meeting, approved a reverse stock split of its common shares at a ratio of 1-for-4.25. The reverse stock split became effective on May 10, 2019, when the shares began trading on the split-adjusted basis on the Nasdaq Capital Market, under the Company’s existing trading symbol "SPEX".

Further information about the proposed asset purchase agreement and reverse stock split are provided in the Company’s Form 10-Q which was filed on May 15, 2019, with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

On August 16, 2019 Merrimack Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: MACK) (the "Company" or "Merrimack") reported it is rescheduling its 2019 Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the "2019 Annual Meeting") for October 17, 2019 (Press release, Merrimack, AUG 16, 2019, View Source [SID1234538821]). As a result, the record date for the 2019 Annual Meeting will now be September 16, 2019.

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The decision to postpone the meeting was made by Merrimack’s Board of Directors based on ongoing recent discussions with significant shareholders and a desire to reach a constructive solution to avoid a potentially costly and distracting proxy contest with JFL Capital Management LLC, which has nominated four director candidates for the Company’s Board.

Preliminary proxy statement materials for the 2019 Annual Meeting are under review with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and have not yet been filed in definitive form nor been distributed to shareholders. It is expected that these materials will be filed with the SEC and sent to shareholders in the near-term.

On August 15, 2019 NOXXON Pharma N.V. (Paris:ALNOX) (Euronext Growth Paris: ALNOX), a biotechnology company focused on improving cancer treatments by targeting the tumor microenvironment (TME), reported that the previously announced capital increase of €1 million through a private placement of shares without warrants (see press release of August 6, 2019) has been completed and that further investment is already committed for a future investment round (Press release, NOXXON, AUG 15, 2019, View Source [SID1234538786]).

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"We are pleased to announce the completion of the capital increase, which has placed NOXXON in a solid position that will facilitate the advancement and initiation of the Phase 1/2 clinical trial in brain cancer. We are working at full speed to open the clinical trial sites in Germany where the trial has already been approved by the regulatory authorities and Ethics Committees. In parallel, we are in active discussions regarding additional financing, industry partnerships and M&A," said Aram Mangasarian, CEO of NOXXON.

On August 15, 2019 HonorHealth Scottsdale Osborn Medical Center is the first hospital in Arizona to begin offering GammaTile Therapy, a new approach to treating recurrent brain tumors (Press release, GT Medical Technologies, AUG 15, 2019, View Source [SID1234538788]). GammaTile Therapy is an FDA-cleared, surgically targeted radiation therapy (STaRT) that is designed to delay tumor regrowth for patients with all types of recurrent brain tumors. The first patient was treated by John Wanebo, M.D., a neurosurgeon and an independent member of the HonorHealth medical staff.

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"The first patient I was able to treat with GammaTile Therapy had a very large, aggressive meningioma that has recurred several times," Dr. Wanebo said. "I am pleased to be able to offer this patient GammaTile Therapy – a treatment proven to delay brain tumor recurrence and improve quality of life. This therapy was developed with patients like this in mind, and I am hopeful that it will make a meaningful difference."

Data supporting the efficacy and safety profile of the therapy for patients with recurrent, previously treated meningiomas were published earlier this year in the Journal of Neurosurgery (JNS), the official journal of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. Clinical data from other types of tumors, including gliomas, glioblastomas and metastases, were presented at the AANS Annual Scientific Meeting in April.

Aggressive brain tumors tend to be resistant to current treatments and nearly always recur. Outcomes for patients with brain tumors have improved very little over the past 30 years. GammaTile consists of a bioresorbable, conformable 3D-collagen tile embedded with a Cesium radiation source. GammaTile is placed at the time of surgery so that it immediately begins to target residual tumor cells with radiation while limiting the impact on healthy brain tissue.

GammaTile Therapy offers some advantages over other treatments for patients undergoing surgery for recurrent brain tumors. A course of External Beam Radiation Therapy (EBRT), for example, requires daily treatments for up to six weeks; in contrast, patients treated with GammaTile Therapy require no additional trips to the hospital or clinic. Additionally, many patients may not be candidates for EBRT at the time of tumor recurrence because the risk of additional EBRT outweighs the potential benefits. Finally, those patients who may be candidates for EBRT typically have to wait several weeks for surgical wound healing before beginning treatment, allowing residual tumor cells to replicate during this waiting period.

"We are thrilled to see GammaTile Therapy offered in Arizona – our home state, and the place where our co-founders first developed this therapy," said Matt Likens, president and CEO of GT MedTech. "Many patients with recurrent brain tumors have run out of options. Through the elegantly simple approach of GammaTile Therapy, we hope to create a new standard of care for these patients. Our purpose is to improve the lives of patients with brain tumors, and we are excited to continue delivering on this purpose by expanding the availability of GammaTile Therapy across the U.S."

On August 15, 2019 City of Hope reported that the first-in-human, phase 1 T cell trial for patients who have human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated cancers that have relapsed, or are resistant to treatment, is now open at City of Hope (Press release, City of Hope, AUG 15, 2019, View Source [SID1234538789]). The institution is the first to open such a trial on the West Coast.

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The research trial, which is sponsored by Kite, a Gilead Company, targets HPV-associated cancers with the HPV type 16, a strain which causes about 70% of all cervical cancers worldwide, as well as oropharyngeal, anal, penile and vaginal cancers.

Nearly 88,000 HPV-associated cancers will be diagnosed this year in the United States, and the American Cancer Society estimates that more than 19,500 deaths will occur due to HPV-associated cancers.

"Early stage HPV-associated cancers are quite treatable, but the story is different when the cancer returns or is resistant to treatment," said Erminia Massarelli, M.D., Ph.D., M.S., City of Hope associate clinical professor in the Department of Medical Oncology & Therapeutics Research. "These patients currently have few treatment options so we are hopeful that T cell therapy will work."

T cells play a central role in the immune system by destroying diseased cells, including tumor cells, throughout the body. For the trial, a person’s own T cells will be collected and genetically engineered in a laboratory with KITE-439, an E7 T-cell receptor. The receptor is designed to target antigens expressed in the cancer cells that are infected by HPV, potentially inducing T cell activation against the cells. Patients will receive a single dose of KITE-439.

Patients who join the trial must be HLA-A*02:01 positive, relapsed or refractory after at least one line of therapy, and meet other inclusion criteria. Patients also receive high-dose chemotherapy prior to receiving the T cells; the chemotherapy makes "space" in a person’s immune system for the genetically engineered cells to engraft and mediate an anti-cancer effect. The T cell therapy is investigational, and the trial will test if it is safe and efficacious.

"City of Hope continues to lead the way in advancing CAR T and T cell therapies across a range of blood and solid tumor cancers," said Stephen J. Forman, M.D., City of Hope’s Francis & Kathleen McNamara Distinguished Chair in Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation and leader of the Hematologic Malignancies and Stem Cell Transplantation Institute. "City of Hope pursues its own CAR T and T cell technology in active preclinical and clinical programs, and also works with other academic researchers and biopharmaceutical companies to make innovative therapies available to more patients."

Patients interested in more trial information can click here. The trial is part of City of Hope’s T Cell Therapeutics Research Laboratory, which currently has 20 T cell and CAR T clinical trials.