On January 7, 2025 Alivexis, Inc. (Headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; CEO S. Roy Kimura, "Alivexis") a preclinical-stage computation-driven drug discovery firm, reported the first closing of its Series D round in the amount of 800M JPY (approximately $5.1M USD) (Press release, Alivexis, JAN 7, 2025, View Source [SID1234649452]). Investors participating in the first closing include funds managed by JIC Venture Growth Investments Co., Ltd., DBJ Capital Co., Ltd., and Fast Track Initiative, Inc. Alivexis has raised a total of 6.66B JPY (approximately $42.3M USD) to date.

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Alivexis will use the proceeds to further research and development programs utilizing its cutting-edge computational science-based drug discovery platform "ModBindTM", in addition to accelerating over 10 in-house R&D programs. Alivexis will expand key business strategies in early out-licensing and drug discovery collaboration, with the aim of further increasing its corporate value.

Comment from S. Roy Kimura, Ph.D., Co-founder and CEO:
"We are excited to announce the first closing of our latest funding round led by the JIC Venture Growth Investments Co., Ltd. with follow-on investments from existing shareholders. Since our last fund-raise, we have successfully licensed our cathepsin C inhibitor program and are currently working together with our partner toward IND submission. We also published a scientific article on the first version of our ModBindTM simulation platform, based on a unique theoretical approach that enables accurate absolute ligand efficacy predictions at ~2000x speeds relative to existing methods. In the next several months, we expect to sign additional licensing partnerships from our portfolio of immunology and oncology R&D programs, as well as additional ModBindTM-related alliances and collaborations. We look forward to continuing our mission with our shareholders and partners to accelerate discovery of new medicines for patients and their families in need."

Comment from Hanae Suzuki, JIC Venture Growth Investments Co., Ltd.:
"We are thrilled to announce our recent investment in Alivexis and are honored to collaborate with their exceptional team, renowned for its extensive expertise in the pharmaceutical a industries and its globally integrated operations. In this era of rapid innovation in AI and semiconductor technologies, we recognize the significant potential of Alivexis’s cutting-edge computational chemistry-based simulation platform.
Our firm is deeply committed to supporting Alivexis in driving its continued growth and innovation. We are confident that this investment will not only accelerate the development of groundbreaking medicines for patients and their families but also play a pivotal role in advancing Japan’s drug discovery ecosystem"

On January 7, 2025 Nerviano Medical Sciences S.r.l. (NMS), a clinical stage company discovering and developing innovative therapies for the treatment of cancer, reported that it has entered into a clinical trial supply agreement with Roche for provision of atezolizumab (Tecentriq)1 to be combined with the Monopolar Spindle 1 (MPS1) inhibitor NMS-153, and cGAS/STING pathway activator, for the treatment of hepatocellular cancer patients (Press release, Nerviano Medical Sciences, JAN 7, 2025, View Source [SID1234649469]).

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The new study, recently approved by health authorities, is a: "Phase II Combination Study of NMS-01940153E and Atezolizumab with or without a prior priming with low dose decitabine for the Treatment of Adult Patients with Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) Previously Treated with Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors" (EUCT Number: 2024-516737-12-00).

The trial is a Phase IIa, open-label, non-randomized, 2-part multicenter study to explore the safety, tolerability, and antitumor activity of NMS-153 administered with atezolizumab to adult patients with unresectable HCC previously treated with an approved immune checkpoint inhibitor and that have experienced clinical benefit to this treatment.

NMS has recently completed the monotherapy "Phase I/II Study on Safety and Efficacy of NMS-01940153E in Adult Patients with Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) Previously Treated with Systemic Therapy" (NCT05630937), identifying early signs of clinical activity, with an adequate safety profile.

"MPS1 inhibition has been shown to be a potent upstream re-activator of the cGAS/STING pathway in multiple cancer types, including hepatocellular carcinoma. Coupling this with decitabine to reverse tumor cell epigenetic silencing of STING, along PD-L1 blockade, is an exciting novel strategy to attempt to restore immunogenicity in treatment-refractory disease", David A. Barbie, MD, Director of the Lowe Center for Thoracic Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and NMS Scientific Advisory Board member commented.

"Our goal is to bring valid therapeutic options to liver cancer patients", said Hugues Dolgos, Pharm.D., Chief Executive Officer, NMS: "The combination of atezolizumab, a drug already approved for use in hepatocellular cancer, together with NMS-153, has strong potential since each has shown clinical activity in HCC2,3, bringing hope to improve outcomes for these patients. We sincerely thank Roche for their collaboration on the trial and for providing atezolizumab".

"Unmet medical need in hepatocellular cancer remains high and this novel combination with the MPS1 mechanism offers hope. NMS is committed to development of new therapies for cancer patients." according to Lisa Mahnke, MD, PhD, Chief Medical Officer, NMS.

On January 7, 2025 Asher Biotherapeutics, a biotechnology company developing precisely-targeted immunotherapies for cancer and infectious diseases, reported an agreement with AstraZeneca (LSE/STO/Nasdaq: AZN) to supply etakafusp alfa (formerly known as AB248), Asher Bio’s investigational CD8+ T cell targeted interleukin-2 (IL-2) immunotherapy, to be evaluated in combination with rilvegostomig, AstraZeneca’s investigational PD-1/TIGIT immuno-oncology bispecific antibody, in patients with advanced or metastatic NSCLC (Press release, Asher Biotherapeutics, JAN 7, 2025, View Source [SID1234649489]).

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"This exciting agreement with AstraZeneca is a reflection of the emerging clinical data from our Phase 1 study of etakafusp alfa. Initial data demonstrate a highly differentiated clinical pharmacodynamic profile with unprecedented levels of selective CD8+ T cell activation as well as initial evidence of anti-tumor effect including confirmed objective responses," said Don O’Sullivan, Ph.D., Chief Business Officer of Asher Bio. "We look forward to collaborating with AstraZeneca to expand the potential impact of our lead cis-targeted immunotherapy in patients worldwide."

As part of this agreement, AstraZeneca will sponsor and operationalize a global study to evaluate the safety and early efficacy of etakafusp alfa as a first-line treatment in combination with rilvegostomig in patients with advanced or metastatic NSCLC. Asher Bio will retain full ownership of etakafusp alfa and will supply AstraZeneca with etakafusp alfa at no cost.

About NSCLC

NSCLC is the most common type of lung cancer, accounting for 80-85% of the ~235,000 new cases in the US this year1. NSCLC originates in cells that line the airways and can invade surrounding tissues or metastasize to other parts of the body. The condition is often diagnosed at an advanced stage when it is harder to treat and is associated with a poor prognosis. Treatment options for NSCLC are tailored to the stage, subtype, and biomarker status of the disease, and may include surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, targeted therapies, immunotherapy, or a combination of these. Lung cancer has a 5-year relative survival rate of only 26.7% 2, representing a significant unmet need for additional treatment options for people living with advanced or metastatic NSCLC.

About Etakafusp Alfa (AB248)

Etakafusp alfa (AB248) is a novel CD8+ T cell selective IL-2, generated by fusing a reduced potency IL-2 mutein to an anti-CD8β antibody. It was specifically engineered to selectively and potently activate CD8+ T-cells, while avoiding natural killer (NK) cells, which can act as a pharmacological sink and contribute to toxicity, and regulatory T (Treg) cells, which are immunosuppressive. Asher Bio is currently evaluating etakafusp alfa in a Phase 1a/1b clinical trial, AB248-101. The trial consists of a dose escalation and expansion phase to investigate the safety, pharmacokinetics (PK), pharmacodynamics (PD), and anti-tumor activity of etakafusp alfa alone and in combination with pembrolizumab in subjects with locally advanced/metastatic solid tumors who failed prior therapies. Initial pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic data from the ongoing Phase 1a/1b clinical trial support etakafusp alfa’s proof of mechanism and activity with a highly differentiated clinical profile. Early data shows potent and selective CD8+ T cell activation without substantial changes to Treg and NK cell numbers and initial evidence of anti-tumor activity, including confirmed objective responses, with a generally well-tolerated safety profile. Please refer to www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT05653882) for additional details related to this Phase 1a/1b clinical trial.

On January 6, 2025 ORIC Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ORIC), a clinical stage oncology company focused on developing treatments that address mechanisms of therapeutic resistance, reported that Jacob M. Chacko, M.D., chief executive officer, will present a company overview at the 43rd Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference on Tuesday, January 14, 2025, at 11:15 a.m. PT (Press release, ORIC Pharmaceuticals, JAN 6, 2025, View Source [SID1234649437]).

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A live webcast of the company presentation will be available through the investor section of the company’s website at www.oricpharma.com. A replay of the webcast will be available for 90 days following the event.

On January 6, 2025 Adcentrx Therapeutics ("Adcentrx"), a clinical-stage biotechnology company advancing innovative protein conjugates for cancer and other life-threatening diseases, reported the first patient dosed in the Phase 1a/b study of ADRX-0405 for the treatment of advanced solid tumors (Press release, Adcentrx Therapeutics, JAN 6, 2025, View Source [SID1234649421]).

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"Advancing our second program into clinical trials marks an important milestone for Adcentrx and further validates the potential of our ADC technology platform," said Hui Li, Ph.D., Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Adcentrx. "STEAP1 is an attractive ADC target, and we are excited about the first-in-class potential for ADRX-0405. We believe this novel ADC offers a unique approach to treating patients with STEAP1-expressing cancers, such as metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, where a significant unmet need remains for new targeted therapies."

The first-in-human Phase 1a/b clinical trial of ADRX-0405 is an open-label dose escalation and dose expansion study being conducted across sites in the U.S. The trial is enrolling patients with select advanced solid tumors, with the primary objectives of characterizing the safety and tolerability of ADRX-0405 and determining its optimal dose. The company anticipates an initial data readout in 4Q 2025.

About ADRX-0405

ADRX-0405 is a next-generation antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) composed of a humanized IgG1 antibody targeting six-transmembrane epithelial antigen of the prostate 1 (STEAP1), a cell surface protein that is upregulated in prostate cancer and certain other cancers, yet has limited expression in normal healthy tissue.

Adcentrx’s proprietary i-Conjugation technology platform is an important component in the design of ADRX-0405. The platform utilizes protease-cleavable linkers and stable conjugation chemistry to enhance payload delivery. This advanced technology ensures a highly stable ADC with a topoisomerase inhibitor payload conjugated at a drug-to-antibody ratio of eight (DAR 8). ADRX-0405 preclinical studies have demonstrated its favorable pharmacokinetics, safety profile, and significant efficacy across multiple tumor models.

For more information about the ADRX-0405 Phase 1a/b clinical trial, please refer to the Study ID NCT06710379 on ClinicalTrials.gov.