On January 24, 2018 Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRNE) ("Sorrento"), reported the expansion of its Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) CAR-T manufacturing capacity, with an exclusive agreement to operate the "Cellular Immunotherapy and Gene Therapy Facility" at Roger Williams Medical Center (Providence, RI) under Sorrento management (Press release, Sorrento Therapeutics, DEC 24, 2018, View Source [SID1234532248]).

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Sorrento estimates that the combination of its East and West Coast manufacturing capacity will allow the company to process CAR-T treatments for over 300 patients a year without the use of a third-party contract manufacturer. Sorrento believes that the current capacity should be sufficient to meet its lead candidate CD38 CAR-T multiple myeloma development needs through and up to FDA approval, and support other upcoming CAR-T development programs.

This latest facility addition brings the total GMP manufacturing sites of Sorrento and its subsidiaries to 5 separate facilities: Judicial Facilities (San Diego, CA) for CAR-T therapies and antibody production, Providence Facilities (RI) for CAR-T therapies, Camino Santa Fe Facilities (San Diego, CA) for oncolytic virus production, Suzhou Facilities (China) for antibody-drug conjugate (linker toxin synthesis and bio conjugation) production and Bioserv Corporation (San Diego, CA) for small molecule and biologics fill and finish, medical devices and high potency compound fill and finish (expected completion later in the year).

"We decided a long time ago that internal manufacturing capability would be a strategic asset for Sorrento," stated Henry Ji, Chairman and CEO. He also noted, "Many biotech companies learned the hard way the risks of entering into a new therapeutic area without internal manufacturing capabilities and having to compete with other companies for limited numbers of third party manufacturers. With all the recent activity in the CAR-T space we are extremely pleased to be in control of our own GMP manufacturing and not have to rely on outside parties for our supply needs for our current and future development work."

As Sorrento moves towards non-viral CAR manufacturing, it also expects both the Judicial and Providence Facilities to be able to increase their capacity throughput and handle multiple CAR-T development programs in parallel.

On January 24, 2018 pSivida Corp. (NASDAQ:PSDV) (ASX:PVA), a leader in the development of sustained release drug delivery products primarily for treating eye diseases, will report results for its second quarter of fiscal year 2018 on Wednesday, February 7, 2018 (Press release, pSivida, JAN 24, 2018, View Source [SID1234523568]). Management will host a conference call to review the results at 4:30 p.m. ET on the same day.

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The conference call may be accessed by dialing (877) 312-7507 from the U.S. and Canada, or (631) 813-4828 from international locations. The conference ID is 8399835. A live webcast will be available on the Investor Relations section of the corporate website at View Source

A replay of the call will be available beginning February 7, 2018, at approximately 7:30 p.m. ET and ending on February 14, 2018, at 11:59 p.m. ET. The replay may be accessed by dialing (855) 859-2056 within the U.S. and Canada or (404) 537-3406 from international locations, Conference ID Number: 8399835. A replay of the webcast will also be available on the corporate website during that time.

On January 24, 2018 Varian (NYSE: VAR) reported its first-quarter fiscal year 2018 results. All comparisons in this announcement are year-over-year unless noted otherwise (Press release, Varian Medical Systems, JAN 24, 2018, View Source [SID1234523571]). As a reminder, Varian adopted revenue Accounting Standard Codification 606 at the beginning of fiscal year 2018. First quarter fiscal year 2018 also reflects the impact from the new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. As such the GAAP effective tax rate for the first quarter is 191.5 percent; Non-GAAP effective tax rate is 22.5 percent, which excludes the tax expense due to the mandatory deemed repatriation of foreign earnings and lower corporate tax rate’s impact on our deferred tax assets. The results that we disclose today, and any forward-looking statements, including guidance, reflect the new accounting standard and tax legislation.

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"We are very pleased with the strong start to the new fiscal year," said Dow Wilson, Chief Executive Officer of Varian. "We generated healthy orders, revenues and operating earnings growth in our Oncology business, and added two more proton therapy orders."

The company ended the quarter with $823 million in cash and cash equivalents and $340 million of debt. Net cash provided by operating activities was $179 million. During the quarter, the company invested $57 million to repurchase 525,000 shares of common stock.

"I’m delighted with our operational focus and execution in delivering these strong financial results during the quarter" added Gary E. Bischoping Jr., Chief Financial Officer of Varian.

Oncology Systems Segment

In the fiscal first quarter, Oncology revenues for the segment totaled $649 million, up 14 percent in dollars and 12 percent in constant currency. Gross orders were $620 million, up 7 percent in dollars and 6 percent in constant currency. Gross orders in the Americas increased 2 percent in dollars and in constant currency. In EMEA, gross orders rose 19 percent in dollars and 13 percent in constant currency, to $190 million; in APAC gross orders increased 6 percent in dollars and in constant currency with strong orders growth in Greater China and Japan. Operating earnings for the segment increased 19 percent.

Particle Therapy Segment

Revenues in the first quarter were $29 million, down 4 percent. In the quarter, the company booked ProBeam Compact orders from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami totaling $46 million.

FY18 Annual Guidance Updated
Considering the financial and operational performance in the first quarter, and the impact of the new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, fiscal year 2018 guidance is updated and increased to the following:

Revenue growth range of 4 percent to 7 percent
Non-GAAP Operating earnings as a percentage of revenues range of 18 percent to 19 percent
Non-GAAP effective tax rate of 21 percent
Weighted average diluted shares of 93 million
Non-GAAP Earnings per diluted share range of $4.24 to $4.36
Cash flow from operations range of $475 million to $550 million

Please refer to "Discussion of Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below for a description of items excluded from expected non-GAAP earnings.

Investor Conference Call

Varian Medical Systems is scheduled to conduct its first quarter fiscal year 2018 conference call at 2 p.m. PT today. To hear a live webcast or replay of the call, visit the investor relations page on our web site at www.varian.com/investor where it will be archived for a year. To access the call via telephone, dial 1-877-869-3847 from inside the U.S. or 1-201-689-8261 from outside the U.S. The replay can be accessed by dialing 1-877-660-6853 from inside the U.S. or 1-201-612-7415 from outside the U.S. and entering confirmation code 13674372. The telephone replay will be available through 5 p.m. PT, Friday, January 26, 2018.

(Filing, Annual, Novartis, 2017, JAN 24, 2018, View Source [SID1234523540])

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On January 24, 2018 Apexian Pharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, has reported the opening of a clinical trial for patients with advanced solid tumors (Press release, Apexian Pharmaceuticals, JAN 24, 2018, View Source [SID1234523543]). The study involves APX3330, an orally administered inhibitor of APE1/Ref-1, a dual-function protein that plays a critical role in promoting and maintaining a broad variety of cancers. Details of the study, including eligibility criteria, the location of participating clinical centers and referral contact information can be found at www.ClinicalTrials.gov, a website maintained by the National Institutes of Health.

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"The initiation of the APX3330 study is a significant step forward in Apexian’s mission to develop safe and effective treatments for cancer patients" said Steve Carchedi, President and CEO of Apexian Pharmaceuticals. "Despite recent advancements in cancer treatments, there continues to be a need for treatments that improve the survival of cancer patients. Apexian is committed to "moving mountains" to help these patients."

The APE1/Ref-1 protein regulates the activity of other cancer-associated proteins, including transcription factors HIF-1-alpha, AP-1, NF-kappa B, and STAT3, proteins that control the aggressiveness of many cancers. Data indicate that Apexian’s drug APX3330 inhibits the cancer-promoting activity of APE1/Ref-1 without causing the side effects normally associated with many types of chemotherapy. Additionally, in a variety of pre-clinical studies, APX3330 has been shown to not only have an anti-cancer effect, but to also prevent, and reverse the nerve damage caused by certain forms of chemotherapy.

The clinical study is the first to explore APX3330 use in patients with advanced cancer, and is the culmination of extensive research on APE1/Ref-1 and APX3330 conducted by Dr. Mark Kelley, Professor and Associate Director of Basic Science Research at Indiana University’s Simon Cancer Center as well as other scientists worldwide. Dr. Kelley’s work on APE1/Ref-1 and APX3330 has previously resulted in significant research grants provided through the National Cancer Institute in order to explore the potential benefit to cancer patients receiving APX3330.

According to Dr. Richard Messmann, Apexian’s Chief Medical Officer, "Apexian’s research, led by Dr. Kelley, has provided us with a clear path to understanding, and an ability to measure, the clinical benefit that may be obtained when cancer patients are treated with APX3330. It also lays the foundation for determining whether patients with chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) may benefit when receiving APX3330. The clinicians involved in the study, including those at the Simon Cancer Center and at START SA (San Antonio, TX) and START Midwest (Grand Rapids, MI) have uniformly expressed excitement regarding their participation in the study."