Taiho Pharmaceutical and Cullinan Oncology Establish Collaboration to Develop TAS6417, Novel EGFR Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor

On February 5, 2019 Taiho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and Cullinan Oncology, LLC reported on February 5 an agreement to develop TAS6417, a novel EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) tyrosine kinase inhibitor discovered by Taiho Pharmaceutical (Press release, Taiho, FEB 5, 2019, View Source [SID1234533083]).

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

Under the terms of the agreement, Taiho Pharmaceutical will grant an exclusive, global license ex-Japan for the development and commercialization of TAS6417 to Cullinan Pearl, a newly formed USbased company under the Cullinan Oncology umbrella. Taiho Pharmaceutical will receive an upfront payment, regulatory and sales milestones, as well as royalties based on net sales. Taiho Ventures, LLC, a strategic corporate venture arm of Taiho Pharmaceutical, alongside Cullinan Oncology, will provide funding for Cullinan Pearl’s Series A.

"The Taiho’s drug research team created a unique molecule targeting EGFR Exon 20 insertion mutation using proprietary drug discovery platform technology. This alliance, one of the first of its kind at Taiho Pharmaceutical, allows our organization to optimize its R&D resource allocation and accelerate global development by accessing external talent and resources. We are pleased to partner with Cullinan Oncology and its experienced management team in bringing this novel treatment to NSCLC patients," said Teruhiro Utsugi, Managing Director of Taiho Pharmaceutical.

Cullinan Pearl will utilize Cullinan Oncology’s shared service platform to develop TAS6417, which relies on a central management team and a network of integrated collaborators to help drive the development of preclinical and clinical assets.

"We are excited to partner with Taiho Pharmaceutical and Taiho Ventures in exploring the utility of this novel drug in a patient population with limited options to date. We are thankful for Taiho’s trust in our team’s ability to execute the clinical development of this exciting asset," stated Owen Hughes, CEO of Cullinan Oncology.

About TAS6417

TAS6417 is an orally available tyrosine kinase inhibitor designed to target activating mutations in EGFR. The molecule was engineered to inhibit EGFR variants with exon 20 insertion mutations, while sparing wild-type EGFR. TAS6417 is a clinical candidate for NSCLC driven by EGFR exon 20 insertion mutations and is expected to be a novel therapeutic option for the patients with highly unmet medical needs

Personalis to Present at the 2019 Immuno-Oncology 360 Conference in New York

On February 5, 2019 Personalis, Inc., a leader in advanced genomics for precision oncology, reported that they are scheduled to present at the upcoming Immuno-Oncology 360° Conference in New York on Thursday, February 7, 2019 at 3:50 PM, EST (Press release, Personalis, FEB 5, 2019, View Source [SID1234534800]).

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

The presentation, entitled "A Universal Cancer Immunogenomics Solution for Biomarker Discovery," will discuss the current challenges facing investigators in immuno-oncology translational research and explore how the Personalis Platform overcomes the limitations associated with conventional NGS approaches that are used in translational research and the clinical development of new oncology therapeutics. The presentation will also introduce Personalis’ new ImmunoID NeXT Platform.

ImmunoID NeXT is the first and only platform to provide comprehensive analysis of both a tumor and its microenvironment from a single sample. The platform can be used to investigate the key tumor- and immune-related areas of cancer biology; consolidating multiple oncology biomarker assays into one. This maximizes the biological information that can be generated from a precious tumor specimen.

The presentation will be delivered by Kedar Hastak, PhD, Field Applications Scientist for Personalis.

Myriad Genetics Reports Fiscal Second-Quarter 2019 Financial Results

On February 5, 2019 Myriad Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: MYGN, "Myriad" or the "Company"), a global leader in molecular diagnostics and personalized medicine, reported financial results for its fiscal second-quarter 2019, provided an update on recent business highlights, maintained its fiscal year 2019 financial guidance and provided fiscal third-quarter 2019 financial guidance (Press release, Myriad Genetics, FEB 5, 2019, View Source [SID1234533067]).

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

"This quarter we saw a return to revenue growth for our hereditary cancer business, an acceleration in our prenatal testing and continued profitability improvements driven by the Elevate 2020 program," said Mark C. Capone, president and CEO, Myriad Genetics. "Importantly, in the last month, we announced two pivotal events with the publication of the GeneSight GUIDED study and the launch of our expanded Women’s Health sales team, which have the potential to drive transformational growth and long-term shareholder value."

Business Highlights

Hereditary Cancer

Revenue returned to growth for the first time since fiscal year 2014.

Achieved eighth consecutive quarter of year-over-year hereditary cancer testing volume growth and fifth consecutive quarter with stable hereditary cancer pricing.

Presented validation study on riskScore for women of Hispanic descent at the 2018 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, consisting of almost 9,000 women analyzed with a proprietary test that was highly predictive of breast cancer risk (p= 7.1 x 10-19).

Submitted our application to the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare, for BRACAnalysis in hereditary cancer patients. There are approximately 3 million women in Japan who will be candidates for this test if approved.

GeneSight

GeneSight test volume increased 22 percent year over year.

GeneSight revenue was negatively impacted by changes in Medicare documentation requirements and the impact on cash collections from recently implemented industry-wide laboratory benefit manager programs.

A record 16,000 physicians ordered a GeneSight test in the fiscal second quarter.

Published the landmark GUIDED study in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, which is the largest prospective pharmacogenomics study ever conducted in depression. The key finding of the study was that patients were 50 percent more likely to achieve remission and 30 percent more likely to respond to treatment when their medication selection was guided by the GeneSight test.

Prenatal Testing

Prenatal testing volume increased at a double-digit rate year-over-year with total revenue increasing 12 percent sequentially.

Completed sales force expansion in early January, tripling the number of sales representatives selling prenatal tests.

Launched Myriad Complete application which includes patient education, cost estimators, test results, electronic reporting, and counseling tools for physician and patient customers, covering all Myriad Women’s Health products including myRisk Hereditary Cancer.

Published a large clinical utility study for ForeSight in Genetics in Medicine. The study found that the ForeSight test led to significant changes in pregnancy management with 77 percent of at-risk couples taking steps to avoid having an affected offspring such as prenatal

diagnostic testing and in-vitro fertilization.

Vectra

Fiscal second-quarter revenue increased six percent year over year to $11.8 million.

Published study in Rheumatology demonstrating that Vectra was five times more predictive of radiographic progression compared to historical measures of disease activity.

Prolaris

Fiscal second-quarter revenue increased 45 percent year-over-year to $6.1 million.

EndoPredict

Fiscal second-quarter revenue increased 10 percent year-over-year to $2.2 million.

Received favorable National Comprehensive Cancer Network Guidelines.

Received a favorable recommendation from NICE in the United Kingdom providing reimbursement coverage for the test.

Presented data at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS) from a retrospective study with 3,746 women that evaluated the benefit of chemotherapy on 10-year distant recurrence in women with estrogen receptor positive, HER2 negative breast cancer. The study found that women with a high EndoPredict score who received chemotherapy saw a statistically significant benefit with lower rates of 10-year distant recurrence compared to high risk women who did not receive chemotherapy.

A second study presented at SABCS evaluated the distant recurrence rates in 1,702 women who received five years of endocrine therapy alone and were followed for 15 years. This study showed a four-fold risk of recurrence in the 5 to 15 year timeframe for women with a high EndoPredict score and demonstrates EndoPredict can identify women who will benefit from extended endocrine therapy.

A third, 373 patient study was presented at SABCS that is positioned to corroborate the ability of EndoPredict to predict chemotherapy benefit. This is the first prospective study to ever evaluate chemoprediction in a high-risk cohort for any breast cancer recurrence test. In a 3-year interim evaluation of the data, high-risk patients who received chemotherapy had a disease free recurrence rate of 96.3 percent compared to 91.5 percent in the high-risk patients who did not receive chemotherapy (p=0.06).

Companion Diagnostics

Received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for BRACAnalysis CDx for use in conjunction with olaparib for maintenance in first-line ovarian cancer.

Completed our submission in Japan for BRACAnalysis CDx as a companion diagnostic in first line ovarian cancer with olaparib.

Fiscal Year 2019 and Fiscal Third-Quarter 2019 Financial Guidance

Myriad’s fiscal year 2019 and third-quarter 2019 adjusted earnings per share guidance excludes the impact of stock based compensation expense, non-cash amortization associated with acquisitions and certain non-recurring expenses. These projections are forward-looking statements and are subject to the risks summarized in the safe harbor statement at the end of this press release. The Company will provide further details on its business outlook during the conference call today and discuss the fiscal second-quarter financial results and fiscal year 2019 financial guidance.

Conference Call and Webcast

A conference call will be held today, Tuesday, February 5, 2019, at 4:30 p.m. EDT to discuss Myriad’s financial results for the fiscal second-quarter, business developments and financial guidance. The dial-in number for domestic callers is 1-888-222-6159. International callers may dial 1-303-223-4369. All callers will be asked to reference reservation number 21914704. An archived replay of the call will be available for seven days by dialing (800) 633-8284 and entering the reservation number above. The conference call along with a slide presentation will also will be available through a live webcast at www.myriad.com.

MorphoSys Announces Appointment of David Trexler as President and Member of the Board of Directors of MorphoSys US Inc.

On February 5, 2019 MorphoSys AG (FSE: MOR; Prime Standard Segment, TecDAX & MDAX; NASDAQ: MOR) reported the appointment of David R. Trexler as President and member of the Board of Directors of MorphoSys US Inc., effective February 6, 2019 (Press release, MorphoSys, FEB 5, 2019, View Source [SID1234533085]). Mr. Trexler will lead the ongoing build-up of MorphoSys’s U.S. subsidiary with a focus on establishing the company’s commercial capabilities in preparation for the planned commercialization of MOR208 in the U.S.

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

"I am delighted to welcome David Trexler to MorphoSys. With his experience and proven track record in establishing commercial organizations for international pharmaceutical companies as well as successfully executing oncology product launches in the U.S., he is ideally qualified to lead MorphoSys US Inc. We very much look forward to working with him," said Dr. Simon Moroney, Chief Executive Officer of MorphoSys AG and Chairman of the Board of Directors of MorphoSys US Inc. "I would like to thank Jim Hussey for his outstanding contribution as interim president of our U.S. subsidiary over the last five months. Jim will now resume his position as special advisor to me in my role as Chairman of MorphoSys US Inc."

Mr. Trexler has built his career in leadership positions for branded pharmaceuticals in marketing, sales, business development and general management. He joins MorphoSys from EMD Serono, a business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, where he held positions of increasing seniority including most recently positions as Global Brand Lead, Bavencio and Senior Vice President US Oncology Commercial. At EMD Serono, he was responsible for building Merck KGaA’s first commercial oncology footprint in the U.S. and for the successful launch of Bavencio (avelumab) for metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma (mMCC). Prior to EMD Serono, Mr. Trexler worked for 10 years in various marketing roles in oncology for Eisai Inc., in particular as Senior Vice President Americas Oncology, where he was responsible for sales and marketing of Eisai’s oncology portfolio across the U.S. and supported efforts in Canada, Mexico and Brazil. Mr. Trexler previously held leadership roles at Mylan Bertek Pharmaceuticals (2004-2005) and Sanofi-Aventis Pharmaceuticals (1986-2004).

"I am enthused to join MorphoSys US Inc. at this exciting time in the Company’s development," commented David Trexler. "I look forward to working closely with the entire MorphoSys team to build our U.S. organization to enable a successful launch of MOR208 in this country, subject of course to prior FDA approval."

PRESS RELEASE Bolt Biotherapeutics Completes $54 Million Series B Financing

On February 5, 2019 Bolt Biotherapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on unleashing the power of the immune system to achieve anti-tumor immunity in patients, reported the completion of a $54M Series B financing led by Pivotal bioVenture Partners with additional participation from Nan Fung Life Sciences (Press release, Bolt Biotherapeutics, FEB 5, 2019, View Source [SID1234533829]). Existing investors Novo Holdings and Vivo Capital also participated in the financing. The funds will be used to advance the company’s lead Boltbody Immune-Stimulating Antibody Conjugate (ISAC) into the clinic as well as to build the company’s pipeline and further develop its technology platform.

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

"We have made significant progress with our Boltbody ISAC platform that harnesses the ability of toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists to convert cold tumors into immunologically hot tumors following systemic administration. We are well positioned to bring this novel technology into clinical development and look forward to sharing more about our lead program, pipeline and platform in the months ahead," stated Peter Moldt, Ph.D., of Novo Ventures and executive chairman of the board of Bolt Biotherapeutics. "We are pleased that this group of world-class biotech investors has chosen to join us on this important mission of developing a unique class of cancer immunotherapies."

"The rapid development of Bolt’s promising targeted therapeutic platform has been very impressive," noted Ash Khanna, Ph.D., venture partner at Pivotal bioVenture Partners. "Bolt’s proprietary ISAC technology is differentiated from other immuno-oncology approaches as evidenced by the strength of the preclinical safety and efficacy data, including durable systemic anti-tumor immunity and I look forward to working with the experienced team and investors to advance the company’s programs into the clinic."