Valar Labs’ CHAI Biomarkers Validated in New Study in European Urology for Predicting Outcomes of High Grade Ta Bladder Cancer

On June 13, 2025 Valar Labs, a pioneer in AI-powered diagnostics for oncology, reported the publication of its latest research in European Urology, the highest-impact journal in the field of urology (Press release, Valar Labs, JUN 13, 2025, View Source [SID1234653892]). The peer-reviewed study highlights the performance and clinical impact of Valar Labs’ Vesta platform in prognosticating outcomes for patients with high grade Ta non muscle invasive bladder cancer, a population frequently on the borderline of guideline-based risk stratification who may receive different treatment depending on which guideline their provider uses.

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Bladder cancer treatment remains highly variable in its outcomes, with limited tools available to tailor therapies to individual patients. Valar Labs’ Vesta platform, built using advanced artificial intelligence, analyzes pathology to provide critical clinical insights. The newly published study demonstrates that Vesta Risk Stratify biomarkers accurately predicts recurrence and disease progression and outperforms existing guideline-based risk stratification, offering a transformative step forward in precision oncology for bladder cancer. Vesta allows for tailored management based on a patient’s individual risk.

"HGTa tumors carry differing risks as current guidelines attempt to address, and clinical factors such as tumor focality and size can help delineate the true nature of these tumors. These clinical factors, however, are somewhat crude and can be misleading at times. This study demonstrated that CHAI biomarkers can offer improved and additional risk stratification that can go beyond traditional risk factors to better prognosticate outcomes in this population." – Dr. Sam S. Chang, Chief Surgical Officer, Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center

"The ability to derive clinically meaningful predictive and prognostic information from routinely-collected pathology is a paradigm shift for the risk stratification of bladder cancer patients." – Dr. Siamak Daneshmand, Professor of Urology and Medicine (Oncology), and Director of Urologic Oncology, University of Southern California

The multi-center validation study was conducted in collaboration with leading academic centers and underscores both the reproducibility and robustness of the CHAI biomarkers. These findings further establish Vesta as a leading precision oncology platform in the management of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer.

"This publication is a testament to the clinical significance and scientific rigor of our work," said Anirudh Joshi, CEO of Valar Labs. "Vesta’s prognostic and predictive tests represent a leap forward in precision medicine for bladder cancer—providing physicians and patients with data-driven insights to guide treatment decisions more effectively."

"This impactful work continues to build on Vesta’s evidence base as the leading predictive and prognostic biomarker portfolio in bladder cancer. We are excited for patients and providers to benefit from this technology," said Viswesh Krishna, CTO of Valar Labs.

Valar Labs continues to expand its suite of AI-driven diagnostic tests under the Vesta portfolio and beyond, aiming to improve outcomes across a range of cancers. For more information or to access the full study, please visit View Source

INNATE PHARMA HIGHLIGHTS PRECLINICAL ANTITUMOR ACTIVITY OF IPH6501 IN DIFFUSE LARGE B-CELL LYMPHOMA AND FOLLICULAR LYMPHOMA AT THE 2025 EUROPEAN HEMATOLOGY ASSOCIATION (EHA) CONGRESS

On June 13, 2025 Innate Pharma SA (Euronext Paris: IPH; Nasdaq: IPHA) ("Innate" or the "Company") reported the presentation of preclinical data for IPH6501, its proprietary ANKET targeting CD20 currently under investigation in a Phase 1/2 study in relapsed and/or refractory (R/R) B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL) (NCT06088654), at the European Hematology Association (EHA) (Free EHA Whitepaper) Congress 2025, taking place June 12-15 in Milan, Italy (Press release, Innate Pharma, JUN 13, 2025, View Source [SID1234653877]).

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R-CHOP is an established standard of care for treatment-naïve patients with diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and follicular lymphoma (FL), two subtypes of B-NHL. The treatment landscape continues to evolve with novel approaches including T cell engagers, antibody-drug conjugates, their combination with standard of care therapies, and CAR-T cells. Yet, there remains an unmet medical need for patients ineligible, refractory to, or relapsing from these therapies.

In preclinical in vitro models, IPH6501 demonstrated potent NK cell proliferation and tumor cell killing activity in DLBCL and FL patient samples, supporting its therapeutic potential in these indications. In preclinical in vivo xenografted mouse tumor models, IPH6501 showed strong activity in a rituximab-resistant model — even in the presence of rituximab highlighting their combination potential. Additionally, when combined with R-CHOP, IPH6501 showed enhanced antitumor efficacy, leading to tumor eradication that was maintained after treatment discontinuation. These findings underscore the potential of IPH6501 in improving standard-of-care R-CHOP treatment in previously untreated DLBCL and FL patients and support further evaluation of additional combination strategies in B-NHL.

"Patients with R/R DLBCL and FL continue to face significant unmet medical needs. The encouraging activity observed in preclinical models with IPH6501, including in rituximab-resistant settings, suggests its potential to offer new treatment options for B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The enhanced antitumor activity in combination with R-CHOP could support further investigation in untreated patients. These findings support further clinical development aimed at improving outcomes in this challenging patient population," commented Dr Sonia Quaratino, Chief Medical Officer of Innate Pharma.

The poster will be available in the publication section of Innate Pharma’s website.

Abstract details
Antitumor characterization of IPH6501, a novel il2v-armed tetraspecific NK cell engager targeting CD20 B cells, in DLBCL and FL patient samples, and in preclinical combination with R-CHOP
Abstract Code: PS2004
Session: Poster session 2
Session Date/Time: Saturday, June 14, 2025, 18:30 – 19:30 CEST

About ANKET

ANKET (Antibody-based NK cell Engager Therapeutics) is Innate’s proprietary platform for developing next-generation, multi-specific natural killer (NK) cell engagers to treat certain types of cancer. This versatile, fit-for-purpose technology is creating an entirely new class of molecules to induce synthetic immunity against cancer.

About IPH6501

IPH6501 is the first Antibody-based NK cell Engager Therapeutic to co-engage activating receptors on NK cells (NKp46 and CD16), IL-2R (but not the alpha subunit) through a variant of human IL-2, and a tumor antigen (CD20) via a single molecule. This unique multispecific design provides targeted proliferation and activation signals to NK cells, promoting their cytotoxic activity against CD20 expressing malignant cells.

IPH6501 has shown better antitumor efficacy compared to approved benchmark antibodies in preclinical tumor models (Demaria, EHA (Free EHA Whitepaper) 2023, Carrette, SITC (Free SITC Whitepaper) 2024, Demaria et al, Science Immunology 2024).

IPH6501 is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1/2 multicenter trial (NCT06088654), investigating the safety and tolerability of IPH6501 in patients with relapsed and/or refractory CD20-expressing B-cell Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

Nurix Therapeutics Presents Updated Positive Data Demonstrating Durable, Deepening Responses in Ongoing Clinical Trial of Bexobrutideg (NX-5948) Monotherapy in Patients with Relapsed/Refractory Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) and Waldenström Macroglobulinemia (WM)

On June 12, 2025 Nurix Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: NRIX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of targeted protein degradation medicines, reported positive clinical data from the Company’s ongoing NX-5948-301 study, a Phase 1a/b clinical trial of bexobrutideg (NX-5948) in patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell malignancies (Press release, Nurix Therapeutics, JUN 12, 2025, View Source [SID1234653846]).

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The data include findings from the fully enrolled Phase 1a dose escalation study in patients with relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and the ongoing Phase 1a/1b cohorts of patients with Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM). Talha Munir, M.B. Ch.B, Ph.D., consultant hematologist at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, deputy chair of the United Kingdom National Cancer Research Institute CLL Study Group, and Dima El-Sharkawi, M.B., B.S., M.A., Ph.D., MRCP FRCPath, Consultant Haematologist, Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Sutton, U.K., will present these data at the 30th European Hematology Association (EHA) (Free EHA Whitepaper) Congress (EHA2025), taking place June 12–15, 2025, in Milan, Italy.

"These data demonstrate an impressive safety and efficacy profile for bexobrutideg with improvement in responses in patients over time, including the notable achievement of a complete response in a patient with CLL and a history of two lines of prior therapy who has been on bexobrutideg treatment for over two years," said Dr. Munir. "Patients with relapsed or refractory CLL and WM who have failed treatments with commonly prescribed BTK inhibitors and other agents due to intolerance or acquired resistance have few therapeutic options. Nurix’s bexobrutideg has the potential to address this unmet need and provide a life-changing treatment for patients with CLL and WM."

"With longer time on treatment, we are encouraged by the continued favorable safety profile and high ORR with deepening responses in CLL and WM, including those with clinical and genomic high risk features including CNS involvement," said Paula G. O’Connor, M.D., chief medical officer of Nurix. "We have further expanded our Phase 1b cohorts in select CLL populations and remain on track to initiate pivotal studies in 2025."

"Bexobrutideg offers a next-generation approach to BTK targeting with exquisite selectivity, superior preclinical potency, broad coverage of mutations and demonstrated clinical activity in areas of high unmet medical need," said Arthur T. Sands, M.D., Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Nurix. "We are not only preparing to initiate pivotal studies in the coming months but are also laying the foundation for the commercialization of bexobrutideg as a differentiated treatment option for patients with B-cell malignancies."

Data presented at EHA (Free EHA Whitepaper)2025 include efficacy and safety findings for patients with CLL/SLL in the fully enrolled Phase 1a dose escalation study (n=48). This cohort of CLL patients was a heavily pretreated population that had received a median of four prior lines of therapy (range = 2–12) including prior covalent BTK inhibitors (97.9%), prior BCL2 inhibitors (83.3%), and prior non-covalent BTK inhibitors (27.1%). At baseline, many patients had mutations associated with BTK inhibitor resistance, including mutations in BTK (38.3%) and PLC2G (14.9%). Poor prognostic features were common, including TP53 mutations (44.7%), and five patients (10.4%) had central nervous system (CNS) involvement.

Patients were treated with bexobrutideg at doses ranging from 50 mg to 600 mg once daily by oral administration in the Phase 1a dose escalation study. As of the March 12, 2025 data cut, the median follow up was 9.0 months with most patients still on treatment. Bexobrutideg was well tolerated across all doses evaluated with the most common treatment emergent adverse events of purpura/contusion (45.8%), neutropenia (29.2%) and thrombocytopenia (22.9%), primarily low grade. No new onset atrial fibrillation was observed. Among the efficacy evaluable patients with CLL (n = 47), bexobrutideg treatment resulted in a robust objective response rate (ORR) of 80.9% across all doses tested with a median time to first response of 1.9 months. Many patients experienced deepening of their response with longer time, with multiple conversions from stable disease to partial responses and one patient, who has been on treatment for over two years, experienced a complete response. The median duration of response has not been reached, with 18 patients on treatment for more than a year. Responses were observed across all populations regardless of prior treatment, baseline mutations, or CNS involvement.

The data presented at EHA (Free EHA Whitepaper) included patients with WM (n=22) treated with bexobrutideg at doses ranging from 50 mg to 600 mg once daily by oral administration from both the Phase 1a dose escalation and Phase 1b cohort expansion. Among the 22 WM patients, the median age was 72.5 years (range 58-86 years) and the median number of prior lines of therapy was 3 (range 2-5). All 22 patients previously had been treated with a covalent BTK inhibitor (100%), 21 had received prior chemotherapy/chemo-immunotherapy (95.5%), four had received prior non-covalent BTK inhibitor (18.2%), and one patient (4.5%) had received prior treatment with a BCL2 inhibitor. Baseline mutation status in MYD88 and CXCR4 was captured from patient records. 15 patients (68.2%) had mutations in MYD88, and five patients (22.7%) had mutations in CXCR4. Bexobrutideg was well tolerated in patients with WM with a profile that was consistent with the overall study population and previous disclosures. Adverse events (AEs) were predominantly low grade; with the most common being petechiae (27.3%), diarrhea (22.7%), purpura/contusion (18.2%), neutropenia (18.2%), and thrombocytopenia (18.2%). There were no dose limiting toxicities observed and no grade 5 AEs. Two treatment emergent AEs led to drug discontinuation. No new onset atrial fibrillation was observed.​ As of the March 12, 2025 data cut, 19 patients were evaluable for responses. Objective response was observed in 16 patients (84.2%), including two patients (10.5%) with very good partial response (VGPR), 11 patients (57.9%) with partial response (PR), and three patients (15.8%) with minor response (MR). Three patients (15.9%) had a best response of stable disease (SD). Responses were observed in patients regardless of their baseline mutations in MYD88 and CXCR4. Steady reductions in IgM levels were observed starting from the first assessment at four weeks, which continued to deepen, and three patients achieved IgM reductions of greater than 90%.

Conference Call Details
On June 12, 2025, at 8:00 a.m., ET (2:00 p.m., CEST), Nurix will host a conference call and webcast to discuss data from the bexobrutideg clinical trial. The live webcast, with an accompanying presentation, will be accessible under the Events and Presentations page in the Investors section of the company’s website here. To participate in the live conference call, the dial-in number in the United States is 877-346-6112. For participants outside the United States, the dial-in number is 1-848-280-6350. A replay of the webcast and call will be archived on the Nurix website for approximately 30 days after the event.

About Bexobrutideg (NX-5948)
Bexobrutideg is an investigational, orally bioavailable, brain penetrant, small molecule degrader of BTK. Bexobrutideg is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1 clinical trial in patients with relapsed or refractory B cell malignancies. Additional information on the ongoing clinical trial can be accessed at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT05131022).

Fapon Biopharma to Showcase Differentiated Pipeline, Including Phase 1 Immunocytokine FP008, and Innovative Technology Platforms at BIO 2025

On June 12, 2025 Fapon Biopharma, a clinical-stage biotech company innovating therapeutic antibodies and fusion proteins, reported its participation in the BIO International Convention 2025 (BIO 2025), taking place June 16-19 in Boston Convention & Exhibition Center (Press release, Fapon Biopharma, JUN 12, 2025, View Source [SID1234653862]). The company will exhibit at Booth #1851, presenting its differentiated pipeline, including the flagship Phase 1 immunocytokine FP008, a portfolio of promising early-stage candidates for oncology and autoimmune diseases, and its suite of proprietary technology platforms, while actively seeking global partnerships.

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FP008, Fapon Biopharma’s lead asset, is a first-in-class immunocytokine currently in Phase 1 clinical trials, designed to address significant unmet needs in solid tumor patient refractory to anti-PD-1 therapy. The company will also feature promising preclinical candidates targeting oncology (FP010, FP011, FPE021) and autoimmune diseases (FPE022, FPE024), highlighting its expanding research capabilities.

Fapon Biopharma will feature its proprietary and innovative technology platforms, engineered to overcome complex drug development challenges:

Bi/Tri-TCE Platform: Human-monkey cross-reactive TCR/CD3 nanobody, enabling the design of potent multi-specific antibodies for targeted cancer immunotherapy.
FILTEN (IL-10M Fusion Protein Platform): Overcoming IL-10 limitations for broad applications in cancer and autoimmune diseases
PROTiNb (Proteolysis Targeting Intra-Nanobody): A pioneering platform targeting previously "undruggable" intracellular targets, demonstrating a strong competitive edge.
FIND Mammalian Cell Display Platform: Accelerating antibody discovery by combining mammalian cell expression with high-throughput screening.
"We are excited to connect with the global biopharma community at BIO 2025," said Vincent Huo, President of Fapon Biopharma. "We look forward to demonstrating the exciting progress of our internal pipeline and how our technology platforms can empower external partners to bring transformative therapy to patients faster."

Engagement Opportunities:
Exhibition Booth: #1851
Company Presentation:
Time: 11:30 a.m., Tuesday, June 17, 2025
Location: Room 153A, Boston Convention & Exhibition Center

Quince Therapeutics Announces Pricing of Up to $22 Million Private Placement of Securities

On June 12, 2025 Quince Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: QNCX) ("Quince" or the "Company"), a late-stage biotechnology company dedicated to unlocking the power of a patient’s own biology for the treatment of rare diseases, reported that it has entered into a securities purchase agreement with certain institutional and accredited investors to purchase shares of its common stock (or pre-funded warrants in lieu thereof), and accompanying common warrants ("Warrants") that is expected to result in approximately $11.5 million in upfront proceeds and potential additional proceeds of up to $10.4 million if the accompanying common warrants are exercised in full for cash, before deducting placement agent fees and other private placement expenses (Press release, Quince Therapeutics, JUN 12, 2025, View Source [SID1234653847]).

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The private placement is being led by healthcare-focused institutional investor Nantahala Capital with participation from existing Quince stockholders including ADAR1 Capital Management, along with members of Quince’s senior management.

Quince intends to use the net proceeds of this offering for working capital and general corporate purposes, including funding the ongoing enrollment of the Company’s pivotal Phase 3 NEAT (Neurological Effects of eDSP on Subjects with A-T; NCT06193200/IEDAT-04-2022) clinical trial in Ataxia-Telangiectasia (A-T), research and development expenses, general and administrative expenses and capital expenditures. The net upfront proceeds from the private placement, combined with Quince’s current cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments are expected to fund the Company’s operations into the second quarter of 2026, or the second half of 2026 if the Warrants are exercised in full for cash.

At the closing, the Company will issue to the investors an aggregate of 8,671,928 shares of common stock (or pre-funded warrants in lieu thereof), along with accompanying Warrants to purchase an aggregate of 8,671,928 shares of common stock (or pre-funded warrants in lieu thereof), at a combined purchase price of $1.325 per share (or $1.324 per pre-funded warrant) and accompanying Warrant (representing a 10% premium over the $1.20 closing price per share of the Company’s common stock). The accompanying Warrants have an exercise price of $1.20 per share and will become exercisable immediately. The Warrants will expire five years from the date of issuance. The private placement is expected to close during the week of June 16, 2025, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

Citizens Capital Markets is acting as the lead placement agent for the private placement. Maxim Group LLC and Brookline Capital Markets, a division of Arcadia Securities, LLC, are acting as co-placement agents for the private placement.

The securities to be issued in connection with the private placement described above are being offered in a private placement and have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), or any state or other applicable jurisdictions’ securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act and applicable state or other jurisdictions’ securities laws.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the securities described herein, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or other jurisdiction.