On October 5, 2016 SYNCONA LLP and CANCER RESEARCH TECHNOLOGY (CRT) reported the formation of Achilles Therapeutics Ltd (Press release, Achilles Therapeutics, OCT 5, 2016, View Source [SID1234523124]).

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The new private company will bring together world-class research from UCL (University College London) and the Francis Crick Institute, funded by Cancer Research UK and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).

Achilles Therapeutics will design therapies to target truncal tumour neo-antigens – unique flags to the immune system present on the surface of every cancer cell*, which were first discovered by Cancer Research UK and the NIHR University College London Hospitals (UCLH) Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) funded scientists at the Francis Crick Institute and UCL Cancer Institute.

Truncal tumour neo-antigens are present on all cancer cells in an individual patient’s tumour but not on healthy cells, so could allow scientists to target and destroy tumours without harming healthy tissues.

Syncona and CRT, with the support of UCL Business (UCLB) and the Crick, formed Achilles Therapeutics with a successful financing round of £13.2 million ($17.5 million) led by Syncona with the CRT Pioneer Fund and the UCL Technology Fund.

The company founders bring together world-class capability from three prestigious institutions. They are:

Professor Charles Swanton, Group Leader and Royal Society Napier Professor at the Francis Crick and UCL Cancer Institute working on cancer evolution and genome instability and a consultant at UCLH
Professor Karl Peggs, Group Leader of the Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Immunotherapy Group at UCL Cancer Institute and a consultant at UCLH
Dr Sergio Quezada, Group Leader of the Immune Regulation and Tumour Immunotherapy Group at UCL Cancer Institute
Professor Mark Lowdell, Director of the Centre for Cell, Gene & Tissue Therapeutics at the Royal Free Hospital.

CRT will receive equity milestones and royalties from products developed and commercialised by Achilles Therapeutics. Any such financial reward from the company will be shared with UCLB and the Crick.

The company has exclusive rights to develop and commercialise neo-antigen technologies arising from Cancer Research UK’s £14million TRACERx study**. This clinical study, involving 850 people with non-small cell lung cancer, tracks the evolution of patients’ cancers over time, in different parts of their tumours and in response to treatment. It receives infrastructure support from the NIHR University College London Hospitals BRC and is being carried out at the Clinical Research Facility at UCLH.

Professor Charles Swanton, scientific founder of Achilles Therapeutics and a Group Leader at the Francis Crick Institute, said: "Our research could provide a truly personalised approach to lung cancer therapy by targeting cell surface markers that are specific to each patient and present on all cancer cells rather than just a subset of cells. We’re delighted to be able to bring this exciting science closer to the clinic. We hope to create a new and kinder treatment for this hard-to-treat disease that results in around 36,000 patient deaths each year in the UK ***."

Iraj Ali, Partner with Syncona LLP and Director of Achilles Therapeutics, said: "In founding Achilles we believe we are working with the world leaders capable of exploiting the confluence of two of the most exciting and innovative fields in healthcare today: cancer bioinformatics and immuno-therapy. Our ambition is to build a company to deliver personalised therapies with transformative potential for cancer patients with the greatest need."

Chris Ashton, CEO of Achilles Therapeutics, said: "This company is underpinned by world-leading science, committed investors and leading health institutes. Bringing all of these major players together holds great promise for non-small cell lung cancer patients and I hope that working alongside one another we will see great successes in the future."

On October 5, 2016 BioLineRx Ltd. (NASDAQ/TASE: BLRX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to identifying, in-licensing and developing promising therapeutic candidates, reported that data on BL-8040, the Company’s leading oncology platform, have been accepted for presentations at the 58th American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) Annual Meeting and Exhibition in San Diego, California, taking place December 3-6, 2016 (Filing, 6-K, BioLineRx, OCT 5, 2016, View Source [SID:SID1234515592]).

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Information on the BL-8040 abstracts presented at ASH (Free ASH Whitepaper) is included below:

· (Abstract #767) Oral Presentation: The High Affinity CXCR4 Inhibitor, BL-8040, Induces Apoptosis of AML Blasts and their Terminal Differentiation by Blocking AKT/ERK Survival Signals and Downregulating BCL-2, MCL-1 and Cyclin-D1 through Regulation of Mir-15a/16-1 Expression; Monday, December 5, 2016, 11:30 am PST; Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina Hotel, San Diego, Ballroom AB

· (Abstract #2745) Poster Presentation: The Selective Anti-Leukemic Effect of BL-8040, a Peptidic CXCR4 Antagonist, is Mediated by Induction of Leukemic Blast Mobilization, Differentiation and Apoptosis: Results of Correlative Studies from a Ph2a Trial in Acute Myeloid Leukemia; Sunday, December 4, 2016, 6:00-8:00 pm PST; San Diego Convention Center, Hall GH.

About BL-8040
BL-8040 is a short peptide for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia, solid tumors, and certain hematological indications. It functions as a high-affinity antagonist for CXCR4, a chemokine receptor that is directly involved in tumor progression, angiogenesis, metastasis and cell survival. CXCR4 is over-expressed in more than 70% of human cancers and its expression often correlates with disease severity. In a number of clinical and pre-clinical studies, BL-8040 has shown robust mobilization of cancer cells from the bone marrow, thereby sensitizing these cells to chemo- and bio-based anti-cancer therapy, as well as a direct anti-cancer effect by inducing apoptosis. In addition, BL-8040 has also demonstrated robust stem-cell mobilization, including the mobilization of colony-forming cells, and T, B and NK cells. BL-8040 was licensed by BioLineRx from Biokine Therapeutics and was previously developed under the name BKT-140.

On October 5, 2016 SYNCONA LLP and CANCER RESEARCH TECHNOLOGY (CRT) reported the formation of Achilles Therapeutics Ltd today (Press release, Cancer Research Technology, MAY 5, 2016, View Source [SID1234523180]).

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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

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The new private company will bring together world-class research from UCL (University College London) and the Francis Crick Institute, funded by Cancer Research UK and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).

Achilles Therapeutics will design therapies to target truncal tumour neo-antigens – unique flags to the immune system present on the surface of every cancer cell*, which were first discovered by Cancer Research UK and the NIHR University College London Hospitals (UCLH) Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) funded scientists at the Francis Crick Institute and UCL Cancer Institute.

Truncal tumour neo-antigens are present on all cancer cells in an individual patient’s tumour but not on healthy cells, so could allow scientists to target and destroy tumours without harming healthy tissues.

Syncona and CRT, with the support of UCL Business (UCLB) and the Crick, formed Achilles Therapeutics with a successful financing round of £13.2 million ($17.5 million) led by Syncona with the CRT Pioneer Fund and the UCL Technology Fund.

The company founders bring together world-class capability from three prestigious institutions. They are:

Professor Charles Swanton, Group Leader and Royal Society Napier Professor at the Francis Crick and UCL Cancer Institute working on cancer evolution and genome instability and a consultant at UCLH
Professor Karl Peggs, Group Leader of the Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Immunotherapy Group at UCL Cancer Institute and a consultant at UCLH
Dr Sergio Quezada, Group Leader of the Immune Regulation and Tumour Immunotherapy Group at UCL Cancer Institute
Professor Mark Lowdell, Director of the Centre for Cell, Gene & Tissue Therapeutics at the Royal Free Hospital.
CRT will receive equity milestones and royalties from products developed and commercialised by Achilles Therapeutics. Any such financial reward from the company will be shared with UCLB and the Crick.

The company has exclusive rights to develop and commercialise neo-antigen technologies arising from Cancer Research UK’s £14million TRACERx study**. This clinical study, involving 850 people with non-small cell lung cancer, tracks the evolution of patients’ cancers over time, in different parts of their tumours and in response to treatment. It receives infrastructure support from the NIHR University College London Hospitals BRC and is being carried out at the Clinical Research Facility at UCLH.

Professor Charles Swanton, scientific founder of Achilles Therapeutics and a Group Leader at the Francis Crick Institute, said: "Our research could provide a truly personalised approach to lung cancer therapy by targeting cell surface markers that are specific to each patient and present on all cancer cells rather than just a subset of cells. We’re delighted to be able to bring this exciting science closer to the clinic. We hope to create a new and kinder treatment for this hard-to-treat disease that results in around 36,000 patient deaths each year in the UK ***."

Iraj Ali, Partner with Syncona LLP and Director of Achilles Therapeutics, said: "In founding Achilles we believe we are working with the world leaders capable of exploiting the confluence of two of the most exciting and innovative fields in healthcare today: cancer bioinformatics and immuno-therapy. Our ambition is to build a company to deliver personalised therapies with transformative potential for cancer patients with the greatest need."

Chris Ashton, CEO of Achilles Therapeutics, said: "This company is underpinned by world-leading science, committed investors and leading health institutes. Bringing all of these major players together holds great promise for non-small cell lung cancer patients and I hope that working alongside one another we will see great successes in the future."

On October 4, 2016 Cellectar Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: CLRB) (the "company"), an oncology-focused clinical stage biotechnology company, reported that the United States Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") has issued a formal patent allowance for CLR 1603, which covers method of use for the treatment of a variety of solid tumors and associated cancer stem cells using the company’s phospholipid drug conjugate ("PDC") delivery platform technology with paclitaxel (Filing, 8-K, Cellectar Biosciences, OCT 5, 2016, View Source [SID:SID1234515593]). This patent allowance follows the May 2016 issuance of the composition of matter patent for the same compound.

CLR 1603 is a form of paclitaxel conjugated to the company’s patented phospholipid drug conjugate delivery platform using a simple compound linker. The USPTO patent allowance covers method of use for breast, pancreatic, lung, colorectal and prostate cancers. The company expects the full patent to be granted by the end of 2016.

"The receipt of this formal patent allowance represents the fourth time Cellectar has secured a positive USPTO action since May 2016. These actions have expanded and strengthened our intellectual property portfolio for PDC delivery platform assets, including our lead therapeutic product candidate CLR 131 and our chemotherapeutic conjugate program assets," said Jim Caruso, president and CEO of Cellectar. "While we continue to aggressively protect our products through strategic intellectual property achievements, we remain committed to advancing an intelligent research and development program to further optimize asset valuation."

About Phospholipid Drug Conjugates (PDCs)
Cellectar’s product candidates are built upon its patented cancer cell-targeting delivery and retention platform of optimized phospholipid ether-drug conjugates (PDCs). Its phospholipid ether (PLE) carrier platform was deliberately designed to be coupled with a variety of payloads to facilitate both therapeutic and diagnostic applications. The basis for selective tumor targeting of our PDC compounds lies in the differences between the plasma membranes of cancer cells compared to those of normal cells. Cancer cell membranes are highly enriched in lipid rafts, which are glycolipoprotein microdomains of the plasma membrane of cells that contain high concentrations of cholesterol and sphingolipids, and serve to organize cell surface and intracellular signaling molecules. PDCs have been tested in over 70 different xenograft models of cancer.

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On October 4, 2016 EUSA Pharma (EUSA), a specialty pharmaceutical company with a focus on oncology and oncology supportive care, reported the acquisition of exclusive global commercialization rights to the oncology product dinutuximab beta from Apeiron Biologics (Press release, EUSA Pharma, OCT 4, 2016, View Source [SID1234527664]). Dinutuximab beta is currently used as part of the regimen for the treatment of high risk neuroblastoma in Europe and is available under a managed access program. The immunotherapy has orphan drug designation in the US and EU and is currently under review for marketing authorization by the EMA. EUSA expects to file the product for registration in the US and Japan in 2017.

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Under the terms of the agreement, EUSA Pharma will pay Apeiron an upfront fee, with a portion contingent on EU approval. EUSA will also pay regulatory milestone payments in other key territories and royalties on future product sales.

Neuroblastoma is an orphan oncology indication with significant unmet medical need. It accounts for up to 10% of childhood tumors and affects approximately 1,200 children in the EU5 and US each year. Consequently, EUSA Pharma intends to continue dinutuximab beta’s managed access program, and once approved in Europe will promote the immunotherapy to oncologists through its specialty sales team. In the United States, the company plans to submit a regulatory filing in 2017, and once approved will commercialize the product directly through its established US infrastructure. In other territories, including Japan, EUSA plans to bring the product to market through its international network of partners.

"We are delighted to acquire the global rights to dinutuximab beta, which is a perfect fit with our strategic focus in the specialty oncology field and will allow us to leverage our commercial infrastructure in the EU and expand our presence in the US," said Lee Morley, EUSA Pharma’s Chief Executive Officer. "Dinutuximab beta is already used extensively across Europe, where it is included in a number of treatment protocols, and we look forward to bringing this life saving therapy to patients around the world. As a rapidly growing specialty pharma company we have made great progress since our launch 18 months ago, and we plan to continue this through further product acquisition and in- licensing."

"EUSA Pharma is the ideal partner to bring dinutuximab beta to market, with its strong focus on oncology and specialty commercial expertise in Europe, the US and further afield," said Dr. Hans Loibner, Apeiron Biologic’s Chief Executive Officer. "Dinutuximab beta is an important treatment in an area of significant unmet need, which we have developed together with our academic partners, in particular with the cooperative group SIOPEN, and we look forward to working with EUSA to make this product available around the world."