Immupharma at JP MORGAN CONFERENCE and BIOTECH SHOWCASE 11-16 January 2025, San Francisco

On January 8, 2025 ImmuPharma PLC (LSE:IMM), the specialist drug discovery and development company, reported that Tim McCarthy, CEO, Dr Tim Franklin, COO, and Dr Sebastien Goudreau, CEO of the R&D subsidiary ImmuPharma Biotech will be attending both the JP Morgan Conference and the Biotech Showcase from 11-16 January 2025, in San Francisco (Press release, ImmuPharma, JAN 8, 2025, View Source [SID1234649505]).

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The JP Morgan conference and Biotech Showcase are annual premier partnering events, designed to provide biotechnology companies with the opportunity to present to and connect with global Biopharma companies and investors.

The advances made by ImmuPharma with the P140 program, particularly in the latter part of 2024, have led to significant interest from leading Biopharmaceutical companies and we are progressing discussions as we move to establish global licensing agreements.

There have been eleven $1bn+ licensing deals for immunology assets across the BioPharma industry from 2023 to late September 2024. The current trend suggests that Immunology and Autoimmune drug assets are becoming very highly sought by the leading BioPharma companies.

Commenting on this announcement, Tim McCarthy, CEO of ImmuPharma said: "Attending and taking meetings at both the JP Morgan conference and the Biotech Showcase offers the opportunity to continue discussions across our whole unique portfolio and specifically with global BioPharma companies that have an interest in autoimmune diseases demonstrated within our P140 technology platform. Our focus remains on track to establish global partnering opportunities across all of our programs."

Myeloid Therapeutics to Present at 43rd Annual JP Morgan Healthcare Conference

On January 8, 2025 Myeloid Therapeutics, Inc. ("Myeloid"), a clinical-stage immunology company advancing RNA therapeutics to conquer cancer, reported its participation at the 43rd Annual JP Morgan Healthcare Conference, taking place January 13-16, 2025 (Press release, Myeloid Therapeutics, JAN 8, 2025, View Source [SID1234649521]).

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Daniel Getts, Ph.D., CEO of Myeloid, will present on Wednesday, January 15, 2025, at 8:30 am PT. Company management will also participate in one-on-one meetings with investors during the conference.

Araris Biotech AG Announces Research Collaboration and Option to License Agreement with Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. to Develop Next-Generation ADCs Using Araris’ AraLinQTM technology

On January 8, 2025 Araris Biotech AG ("Araris"), a Swiss oncology biotech company developing next-generation antibody drug conjugates (ADCs), reported they have entered a Research Collaboration and Option to License Agreement ("RCO") under which Araris will use its proprietary linker-conjugation platform, AraLinQTM, to generate novel ADCs using antibodies against undisclosed targets provided by Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. ("Chugai") (Press release, Araris Biotech, JAN 8, 2025, View Source [SID1234651283]).

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"We are excited to enter a collaboration with Chugai Pharmaceutical and look forward to working closely with the Chugai team and apply our ADC technology to develop next-generation ADCs with improved efficacy and tolerability," said Dr. Dragan Grabulovski, CEO and co-founder of Araris.

Dr. Philipp Spycher, CSO and co-founder of Araris added: "This second collaboration with a large pharmaceutical company is a testimony of the attractiveness of our highly differentiated ADC platform and its potential to generate innovative ADCs with excellent pharmacokinetic properties and wide therapeutic index, incorporating dual- or triple-warheads into one step on native antibodies, without any requirement of prior antibody engineering."

Under the terms of the RCO Agreement, Chugai will pay an upfront fee, fund all research activities and after exercising the option be solely responsible for the development, manufacturing and global commercialization activities. Upon achievement of certain development, regulatory and commercial milestones by Chugai after exercising the option, Araris will be eligible for potential milestone payments of approximately USD 780 million, plus royalties on net sales of products.

Pluristyx Announces Immediate Availability of GMP-Compliant PSXi013 iPSC Line for Advanced Therapy Development

On January 7, 2025 Pluristyx, a leading provider of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), cutting-edge, induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technologies, reported the immediate availability of the PSXi013 iPSC line made under GMP (Press release, panCELLa, JAN 7, 2025, View Source [SID1234649470]). This off-the-shelf, readily available cell line will revolutionize the cell and gene therapy landscape, breaking the mold of how cells are supplied, and offering an unprecedented solution for researchers and developers seeking to accelerate clinical translation of their iPSC-based therapies.

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Avoiding many of the pitfalls associated with conventional iPSC reprogramming methods that can introduce genetic instability, PSXi013 has been reprogrammed using our state-of-the-art, footprint-free natural-nucleotide, mRNA technology. This innovative approach eliminates the risk of insertional mutagenesis and incorporation of synthetic nucleotides into the genome, ensuring the highest quality and safety for therapeutic applications. As the lowest passage iPSC bank available on the market (delivered at Passage 10), PSXi013 effectively minimizes the risk of genetic drift, allows the customer to select a clone on their schedule, and provides a more stable and clinically relevant starting material versus higher passage cell banks. PLSXi013 is available for immediate licensing with a simplified structure directly through Pluristyx.

"We are thrilled to launch PSXi013, a true game-changer in the field of regenerative medicine," said Dr. Benjamin Fryer, Chief Executive Officer of Pluristyx. "We have already licensed this line to several leading therapeutic developers and are excited to now share this new line with the wider industry. PSXi013 embodies our commitment to the most advanced, reliable, and clinically relevant iPSC solutions. We are empowering researchers to dramatically accelerate the development of their life-changing cell therapy with our unmatched quality, low passage number, potential for genetic modification, and robust regulatory support. "

PSXi013 is manufactured from a healthy adult donor consented under IRB approved protocols, and has been rigorously tested to meet or exceed regulatory guidelines for clinical use in all major global regulatory jurisdictions and indications.

Key features of the stem cell line that set it apart:

Prospectively designed for genetic editing and process optimization: PSXi013 is available in polyclonal format unlike all other current lines where a clone is automatically preselected by the supplier. Polyclonal iPSC pools eliminate genetic bottlenecks and enable end users to edit and/or select their cells for desired phenotype and process functionality.

Unmatched Quality and Genomic Integrity: Extensive testing, including extended serial passaging, confirms the exceptional genomic stability of PSXi013, making it an ideal foundation for large-scale, consistent clinical manufacturing.

Streamlined Regulatory Pathway: The GMP PSXi013 iPSC line will be supported by a Drug Master File (DMF) submission to the US FDA to simplify the Investigational New Drug (IND) application process and accelerate clinical trial initiation.

Proven Differentiation Potential: PSXi013 demonstrates robust differentiation potential across a wide array of therapeutically relevant cell types, including but not limited to beta islets, hepatocytes, cardiomyocytes, Natural Killer (NK) cells, mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs), and neuronal progenitors. This versatility makes it a powerful tool for developing treatments for a broad spectrum of diseases.

Addressing key safety concerns surrounding iPSC-based therapies, such as immunogenicity and uncontrolled proliferation, Pluristyx also offers custom manufacturing of genetically modified variants of PSXi013. These variants can incorporate hypoimmune technology to evade immune rejection, and Pluristyx’s proprietary FailSafe suicide switch technology to selectively eliminate proliferating cells, enhancing the manufacturability, safety, and efficacy of the final cell therapy product. Hypoimmune and FailSafe edits are currently available in iPSC lines for preclinical research and development and can be performed under GMP conditions upon request.

The launch of the GMP PSXi013 iPSC Master Cell Bank marks a pivotal moment in Pluristyx’s ongoing mission to accelerate the development of stem cell therapies. By providing a high-quality, low-passage iPSC line backed by comprehensive testing and regulatory support, Pluristyx is empowering researchers and developers to bring tomorrow’s cell therapies to patients today.

Pluristyx CEO Benjamin Fryer will be presenting the company and hosting one-on-one meetings during the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco next week.

Verismo Therapeutics Announces Strategic Partnership with IFLI to Support SynKIR™-310 Development in Follicular Lymphoma

On January 7, 2025 Verismo Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing the novel KIR-CAR platform for solid tumors and blood cancers, reported a strategic investment from the Institute for Follicular Lymphoma Innovation (IFLI), a global non-profit foundation dedicated to advancing treatment options for follicular lymphoma (FL) (Press release, Verismo Therapeutics, JAN 7, 2025, View Source [SID1234649487]). This partnership aims to enhance Verismo’s SynKIR-310 pipeline and provide catalytic investment for the pipeline’s FL arm, accelerating the development of next-generation cell therapies that address high unmet medical needs.

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The investment from IFLI will help advance Verismo’s SynKIR-310 pipeline, which aims to treat FL along with other non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) subtypes. IFLI’s deep expertise in FL will be crucial in guiding Verismo through FL-specific clinical considerations and aiding in patient recruitment.

"We are thrilled to receive this strategic investment from IFLI, which shares our vision for developing transformative therapies for patients suffering from aggressive tumors and lymphomas," said Bryan Kim, CEO of Verismo Therapeutics. "This funding will enable us to expedite the clinical development of our SynKIR-310 program, which is currently in Phase 1 clinical trial. IFLI’s support will enable us to bring our novel therapies to FL patients more quickly and efficiently."

Verismo Therapeutics is currently running a multicenter, open-label study of a single infusion of SynKIR-310 in participants with post-CAR T and CAR-naive relapsed/refractory B-NHL (NCT06544265), including FL. This clinical study is a basket trial in B-NHL subtypes. The design includes two dose levels and an expansion cohort at the Recommended Phase 2 Dose (RP2D), with a total enrollment of up to 18 patients. With IFLI’s investment totaling up to $4,050,000 over 3 years, Verismo aims to expand the number of FL-focused clinical sites to enroll more FL patients.

"IFLI is excited to support the next wave of transformative cell therapies with Verismo lead SynKIR-310 targeting CD19," said Michel Azoulay, MD, MBA, Chief Medical Officer of IFLI. "We expect that positive Phase 1safety and preliminary efficacy data will support accelerated clinical development in FL for patients not responding to first line immunotherapy as well as exploration in additional NHL."

IFLI has a proven track record of advancing lymphoma treatments through strategic funding and collaborative partnerships, including its support for groundbreaking research at Washington University in St. Louis, which leverages ctDNA sequencing to improve the understanding and treatment of FL.