On May 10, 2017 Progenra, Inc. reported that it has received the Official Notice of Allowance (dated March 30, 2017) of its patent application entitled "Methods of treating cancer through the inhibition of USP7 and immune system modulation (Press release, Progenra, MAY 10, 2017, View Source [SID1234519053])." The patent, based on work described in a recent publication, is related to a new immune oncology therapy based on the inhibition of the ubiquitin-deconjugating enzyme USP7 by a small molecule. USP7 is a master positive regulator of cancer as it both directly supports the growth and survival of cancer cells and prevents the patient’s immune cells from recognizing and eradicating the tumor. Progenra is developing small molecule inhibitors of USP7 for clinical trial and, according to its President, Dr. Tauseef Butt, hopes to initiate Phase I in early 2018. He stated that "we continue to obtain data showing that our USP7 inhibitors have the potential to eliminate cancer by both direct cytotoxic and indirect immunological mechanisms. This class of drug could become a powerful alternative to the biological immune checkpoint inhibitors currently on the market (such as Opdivo and Keytruda), as well as a component of combination therapy with these agents." In animal efficacy models, Progenra compounds have demonstrated anti-cancer activity that was superior to that of Yervoy, Opdivo, or Keytruda. These results point to a potentially radical development in cancer treatment — a small molecule single agent that works as well as or better than combination protocols.

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On May 10, 2017 InhibOx reported that it has relaunched as Oxford Drug Design to reflect its transition to a biotechnology company focused on internal drug discovery (Press release, Oxford Drug Design, MAY 10, 2017, View Source [SID1234533622]). Our lead antibacterial programme has identified compounds with the potential to be developed into therapies for Gram-negative bacterial infections, including against strains resistant to multiple current antibacterial drug classes. In the European Union alone, drug-resistant bacteria are estimated to cause 25,000 deaths and cost more than .5 billion every year in healthcare expenses and productivity losses. Compound design is supported by a proprietary technology platform in cheminformatics, 3D molecular similarity and computer-aided drug design that has been built up over 10 years of research and development.
The potential of our programme has been validated by the award of a prestigious Innovate UK Biomedical Catalyst grant to accelerate programme progression.

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On May 10, 2017 Onxeo S.A. (Euronext Paris, NASDAQ Copenhagen: ONXEO), a clinical-stage biotechnology company specializing in the development of innovative drugs for the treatment of orphan diseases, in particular in oncology, reported that it has received a Notice of Allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a patent application covering the specific route of administration for Livatag, which is currently in a phase III clinical trial (ReLive) for the second-line treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (primary liver cancer) (Press release, Onxeo, MAY 10, 2017, View Source [SID1234519054]).

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Livatag (doxorubicin Transdrug) is based on an innovative technology allowing the formulation of doxorubicin (a chemotherapeutic agent) within nanoparticles composed of polyalkylcyanoacrylate, cyclodextrin, and poloxamer. This nanoparticle formulation provides new and promising properties, including overcoming the mechanisms of chemoresistance developed by tumor cells that affect the efficacy of chemotherapy agents.

"The United States represents a significant target market for Livatag. This new U.S. patent significantly strengthens our Livatag intellectual property portfolio, and enhances the value of this late-stage product candidate. We look forward to the availability of data from our ReLive trial in mid-2017," said Judith Greciet, CEO of Onxeo.

The new patent provides protection of the associated claims in the U.S. until 2032, and is in addition to the previously issued patents for the same patent family in other major territories, such as Europe and Japan. An additional patent family has also been filed based on a specific composition of Livatag nanoparticles that, if granted, would extend the patent protection of Livatag to 2036.

On May 9, 2017 Kymab Group Limited ("Kymab"), a leading human monoclonal antibody biopharmaceutical group, reported the appointment of Dr Sonia Quaratino as its first Chief Medical Officer (Press release, Kymab, MAY 9, 2017, View Source [SID1234537009]). Dr Quaratino will manage the clinical development of the Group’s expanding therapeutic antibody portfolio.

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Dr Quaratino is an immunologist and joins Kymab from Novartis, where she has served as Global Clinical Program Leader – Transitional Clinical Oncology, responsible for the clinical development of proprietary therapeutic antibody programmes in immuno-oncology.

Prior to her role with Novartis, Dr Quaratino was Senior Medical Director and Immunology Advisor at Merck Serono, where she was responsible for the clinical development of various immunomodulators. Dr Quaratino also has over 20 years of professional experience in biomedical research in UK academic institutions including Imperial College London and the University of Southampton.

"I am delighted to welcome Sonia to Kymab," says Dr David Chiswell, CEO of Kymab, on the appointment. "With her demonstrated track record in clinical development and medical affairs, Sonia is a superb addition to Kymab‘s management team as we prepare for our first clinical trials. Sonia’s deep understanding of the global environment in clinical research complement those of Dr Arndt Schottelius, our new Executive VP of R&D who recently joined us from Morphosys.

"These two key appointments add a high calibre of depth and provide further validation to our burgeoning and advancing R&D pipeline."

Dr Sonia Quaratino, newly appointed Chief Medical Officer of Kymab added: "Kymab’s emerging human antibody pipeline provides great potential to improve patient treatment options in our four main therapeutic areas of focus: immuno-oncology; auto-immunity; haematology and infectious disease. The Kymouse technology that underpins the company contains a full set of human immunoglobulin light and heavy chain genes that can produce 10 trillion different antibodies, thus significantly increasing the chances of finding new best-in-class antibodies. I am pleased and proud to be joining the Kymab team."

Dr Quaratino has an extensive professional background which includes a Medical Degree and a Doctorate in Hematology-Oncology from the University of Palermo, Italy and a Ph.D. in Immunology from Imperial College London, UK. For a number of years Sonia was a Professor of Immunology at the University of Southampton, a leading institution for innovative research. During her time in Southampton her focus was on the pathogenic mechanisms underlying chronic inflammatory diseases and the interface between autoimmunity and cancer.

Notes to Editors
Issued 9 May, 2017

Kymab
David Chiswell, Chief Executive Officer

Anne Hyland, Chief Financial Officer

Tel: +44 (0)1223 833 301

Email: [email protected]

Don Powell
Email: [email protected]

Tel: +44 (0)1223 515436

Mob: +44 (0)778 6858220

Consilium Strategic Communications
Mary-Jane Elliott/Jessica Hodgson/Suki Virji/Laura Thornton

Tel: +44 (0) 20 3709 5700

Email: [email protected]

On May 9, 2017 Elasmogen Ltd, focused on the development of next generation biologics, and Feldan Therapeutics, focused on intracellular delivery of proteins, reported a research collaboration with Amgen, to develop and deliver novel intracellular biologics (Press release, Elasmogen, MAY 9, 2017, View Source [SID1234637762]). The collaboration combines the unique capabilities of Feldan’s Shuttle platform and Elasmogen’s soloMER technology to develop the delivery system and binding domains to two undisclosed intracellular targets for Amgen.

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The Feldan Shuttle technology is a novel peptide-based delivery method that enables the highly efficient introduction of foreign proteins into cells. Elasmogen’s soloMER’s are the smallest naturally occurring binding domains. Their small size and robust nature, particularly the resistance to changes in pH and ability to bind in intracellular conditions makes them the perfect complement to Feldan’s technology.

"Currently all approved biologic antibody therapeutics act on extracellular targets but intracellular delivery enables access to a much greater number of targets," said François-Thomas Michaud, CEO, Feldan Therapeutics. "Intracellular delivery and binding of biologics can bridge the gap between small molecules and biologics."

"This is an exciting opportunity to demonstrate the performance and capabilities of the combined Shuttle-soloMER technology. The expertise provided by Amgen will significantly accelerate the development of this potential new class of therapeutics," said Caroline Barelle, CEO, Elasmogen.

In 2016, Feldan and Elasmogen established an exclusive partnership for the development of intracellular biologics. Working together, their research teams have demonstrated both intracellular and intranuclear delivery of soloMER binding domains.