On February 4, 2019 In conjunction with World Cancer Day, the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) and Pfizer Inc. reported the third round of the Seeding Progress And Resources for the Cancer Community (SPARC): Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC) Challenge: their pioneering grants initiative designed to support the implementation of projects worldwide that address the specific needs of women with metastatic breast cancer in local communities – many of which extend beyond treatment (Press release, Pfizer, FEB 4, 2019, View Source [SID1234533050]).

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A total of US$275,000 in funding will be awarded to 10 new organizations, bringing the SPARC awardees network to 50 cancer organizations from all across the globe with a total funding of US$1,565,000. As part of this new round, five grantees from Round 2 of the SPARC MBC Challenge will receive additional funding to continue their projects.

In addition to receiving the seed grant to support their projects, the new awardees will benefit from trainings, best-practice sharing workshops, and mentoring. They will also have the opportunity to participate in key global convening cancer events to network, share knowledge, and showcase their work.

Dr Cary Adams, Chief Executive Officer of the Union for International Cancer Control, said: "We are proud that, together with Pfizer, we will continue to improve the lives of people living with metastatic breast cancer cross the world through this unique programme that combines seed grants, mentoring and peer-to-peer
learning."

The impact of the SPARC MBC Challenge has been significant. Since the initiative launched in 2015, over 8,000 patients from 30 countries have been reached directly through SPARC projects, and more than 125,000 people have benefitted from SPARC advocacy campaigns and information materials. Organizations such as Project Pink Blue and Run for a Cure Africa have reached the next level receiving international awards and additional funds after receiving the SPARC grant. In particular, SPARC contributed to:
Supporting metastatic breast cancer patients through projects such as the creation of an online app to guide patients in finding financial resources to cover some of the expenses of the disease in Canada; a project for young women to better cope with MBC through integrative oncology techniques (occupational therapy, expressive creative techniques, mind body intervention, and acupuncture) in Mexico and training for patients on the importance of treatment adherence in Bulgaria
Strengthening advocates and supporting the development of a positive national policy environment for MBC. SPARC projects have delivered training on advocacy for metastatic breast cancer for individuals from 47 European countries, supported the recent inclusion of medicines for MBC in the National Essential Medicines list in Kyrgyzstan and contributed to the development of supportive national legislation on cancer in Brazil and Nigeria.
Reducing the information gap for patients, with information materials and advocacy campaigns created in 26 local languages. SPARC enabled the creation of the first navigational programs in Nigeria and Trinidad & Tobago.
Building local capacity. Nearly 2,000 health professionals were trained on how to manage the specific needs of MBC patients across all SPARC projects. In Australia, an e-learning training was deployed across the country to help nurses better attend to the needs of MBC patients.
"We’re proud of the far-reaching impact that the SPARC MBC Challenge has had over the past four years on metastatic breast cancer patients around the world, ranging from educational resources to tailored programming," said Andy Schmeltz, Global President, Pfizer Oncology, "With our ongoing partnership with UICC and this year’s renewal, we look forward to continuing to make a difference for breast cancer patients around the globe."

Applications to the new round of the SPARC grants will open at the end of February and new SPARC awardees will be announced in October 2019.

About the Seeding Progress and Resources for the Cancer Community (SPARC): Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC) Challenge

The SPARC MBC Challenge aims to address critical issues for those at risk of, or living with metastatic breast cancer. The SPARC grants consist of seed-funding, capacity building and convening opportunities to launch and strengthen new projects addressing the needs of MBC patients. Awardees are integrated into the SPARC network where they can share best practices, learn from others and share resources between themselves. The awardees are selected by an independent, external steering committee, consisting of leading experts in the fields of cancer care and chaired by globally renowned oncologist and leading breast cancer advocate, Dr Fatima Cardoso.

On February 4, 2019 Curis, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRIS), a biotechnology company focused on the development of innovative therapeutics for the treatment of cancer, reported that James Dentzer, President and Chief Executive Officer, will present at the 2019 BIO CEO & Investor Conference on Tuesday, February 12th, at 10:30 a.m. EST in the Hudson/Empire Room at the Marriott Marquis in New York City (Press release, Curis, FEB 4, 2019, View Source;investor-conference-300787029.html [SID1234533034]).

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A live webcast of the presentation will be available on the Company’s website: www.curis.com. The webcast will be archived for 90 days.

On February 4, 2019 Actinium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE AMERICAN: ATNM) ("Actinium" or the "Company") reported that the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) has started dosing patients in the second cohort of its novel trial of Actimab-A in combination with CLAG-M in patients with relapsed or refractory AML or Acute Myeloid Leukemia (Press release, Actinium Pharmaceuticals, FEB 4, 2019, View Source [SID1234533052]). This trial is evaluating the impact that the addition of targeted internalized radiation via Actimab-A to the salvage chemotherapy regimen CLAG-M will have on safety and tolerability, response rates, rates of BMT or bone marrow transplant, PFS or progression-free survival, and OS or overall survival.

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Dr. Mark Berger, Chief Medical Officer of Actinium, said, "This trial represents an exciting advancement of our CD33 program that is aligned with our clinical strategy to pursue combinations utilizing our ARC drug candidates. We are pleased to be moving ahead with MCW to the second cohort of this trial and we are optimistic that our ARC combination strategy will have a positive impact on patient outcomes by improving response rates, duration of responses and/or increasing the rate of patients receiving a bone marrow transplant. Chemotherapy and external radiation are routinely used in combination in several cancers but despite being radiation sensitive, AML is not treated with external radiation given its diffuse nature. Therefore, the ability to deliver radiation internally in a targeted fashion to AML cells with potency and tolerability gives us great confidence in our ARC approach. In addition, this trial is particularly important as AML patients with relapsed or refractory disease face a poor prognosis with limited treatment options."

In this Phase 1 combination trial patients are administered the salvage chemotherapy regimen CLAG-M, which consists of cladribine, cytarabine, filgrastim, and mitoxantrone, followed by a single dose of Actimab-A. Actimab-A is an ARC or Antibody Radiation-Conjugate that consists or the CD33 targeting monoclonal antibody lintuzumab labelled with the alpha-particle emitting isotope Ac-225 or Actinium-225. In the first dose cohort, patients received 0.25 uCi/kg of Actimab-A. This combination trial is designed as a 3+3 dose escalation study. No dose limiting toxicities (DLTs) were reported in the first patient cohort. As a result, and per the study protocol, the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at MCW has authorized the initiation of the second dosing cohort, in which patients will receive 0.50 uCi/kg of Actimab-A. Assuming no DLTs are observed in the second cohort, three patients will be treated and the study will progress to the third and final cohort will study Actimab-A at a dose of 0.75 uCi/kg.

Sandesh Seth, Actinium’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Actinium, said, "In recent months, Actinium’s R&D and clinical teams have worked together to identify opportunities to further utilize our ARCs in combination with other therapeutic modalities. As a result, we are exploring multiple R&D and clinical initiatives with ARC based combination therapies. With the ARC combination strategy solidified as a corporate focus, we are delighted to see this positive progress from our first Actimab-A combination trial with CLAG-M. We are confident that the use of targeted radiation will prove synergistic with multiple modalities and open several therapeutic opportunities that are not possible with any other technology. We look forward to making continued progress on this front including the planned clinical trials with Actimab-A and venetoclax."

On February 4, 2019 Oncolytics Biotech Inc. (NASDAQ: ONCY) (TSX: ONC), currently developing pelareorep, an intravenously delivered immuno-oncolytic virus, reported that it would present at the 21st Annual BIO CEO & Investor Conference (Press release, Oncolytics Biotech, FEB 4, 2019, View Source [SID1234533035]). The presentation, by Dr. Matt Coffey, President & CEO of Oncolytics, will take place at 2:30 pm ET, on Monday, February 11, 2019, in the Herald/Soho Room at the New York Marriott Marquis.

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A live audio link to the webcast session will be available on the Company’s website at View Source It is recommended that listeners log on 10 minutes in advance of the live session to register and download any necessary software. An audio replay will be accessible approximately two hours following the presentation on the Oncolytics website.

On February 3, 2019 GeneQuantum Healthcare of Suzhou and MITRO Biotech of Nanjing reported that signed the "Strategic Cooperation Agreement on Next Generation Radionuclide Conjugates Development" in Nanjing. Dr. Gang Qin, President of GeneQuantum and Dr. Xinping Li, CEO of MITRO, attended the signing ceremony with their teams (Press release, GeneQuantum Healthcare, FEB 3, 2019, View Source [SID1234553991]).

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In pursuit of achieving mutually beneficial win-win cooperation, the two parties intend to integrate the leading bioconjugation platform of GeneQuantum and the unique advantages of MITRO in radiolabeling and molecular imaging technique to jointly develop next generation radionuclide conjugates for rapid and efficient companion diagnosis and precision target therapy on tumors.

"Since its establishment, GeneQuantum has been committed to building a differentiated innovation platform to solve the key challenges of the biopharmaceutical industry. Based on our proprietary ligase dependent conjugation technology (LDC), GeneQuantum has gradually established intelligent automatic conjugation system (iLDC) with concurrent fully integrated manufacturing process; combined with our comprehensive quality system which meets global standard, GeneQuantum can provide a holistic solution for the efficient development and manufacturing of any kinds of site-specific bioconjugates. MITRO, on the other hand, has a unique radionuclide production and labeling technology platform," said Dr. Gang Qin. "We are pleased to work with a distinctive and leading technology partner such as MITRO to develop next generation radionuclide conjugates for both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes, meeting the unmet clinical needs of cancer patients worldwide."

"MITRO focuses on the development and application of isotope labeling and molecular imaging technology, and is committed to establishing a biomedical innovation and transformation research platform, using the advanced isotope labeling and molecular imaging technology to develop new drugs," said Dr. Xinping Li. "We are glad to work with GeneQuantum Healthcare based on our mutual interest of advanced medicine. This cooperation will fully integrate the technical and resource advantages of GeneQuantum in site-specific bioconjugation and MITRO in isotope labeling and non-invasive molecular imaging technology. The collaboration will create an internationally competitive platform of radionuclide bioconjugates for medical use. This will contribute to the most efficient non-invasive diagnosis of cancer and precise targeted therapy, as well as a systemic solution of novel biomedical drug development."