On December 19, 2023 ImpriMed, a leading precision medicine startup focused on leveraging artificial intelligence to improve cancer treatment, reported the close of a $23 million Series A funding round, led by SBVA. HRZ Han River Partners, SK Telecom, KDB Silicon Valley, Ignite Innovation Fund, Samyang Chemical Group, Murex Partners, and Byucksan also participated in this round (Press release, ImpriMed, DEC 19, 2023, View Source [SID1234638700]). The funding will enable ImpriMed to expand its revolutionary drug response prediction technology beyond veterinary medicine into human oncology, increase headcount, and broaden its business development and research and development pipeline.

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The only precision medicine company using AI and comprehensive analysis of canine and feline cancer cells to make personalized drug response predictions, ImpriMed is delivering real-world results at scale. To date, 250+ veterinary hospitals in more than 40 states have deployed ImpriMed’s technology, with more than 15,000 canine and feline blood cancer tests completed. The company is challenging the status quo for treatment in animal cancer patients, building and validating its AI models for clinical outcomes, and enabling veterinary professionals to deliver more successful results. Moving forward, ImpriMed aims to address the overall cancer precision medicine space, which is estimated to reach $100.5 billion by the end of 2028 (source: Research and Markets). Its work will arm hospitals with drug treatment response predictions, ensure stronger prognosis evaluations, and more effectively stratify treatment risks.

"As the importance of precision medicine in conquering cancer continues to grow, ImpriMed has been producing significant results in the treatment of canine cancer, based on an abundance of clinical data," remarked Jay Choi, Principal at SBVA, which led this investment round. "We highly value ImpriMed’s potential to commercialize customized medical services for a variety of cancer diseases."

According to Sungwon Lim, CEO of ImpriMed, "This significant funding, secured in a challenging global investment landscape, is a strong endorsement of our technological innovation and growth trajectory. We are eager to transfer our expertise from veterinary to human cancer care, aspiring to become a pioneer in the precision medicine arena." Additionally, ImpriMed intends to broaden its CRO services to assist pharmaceutical companies in clinical trial designs and drug combination strategies, leveraging its unique technology that evaluates drug sensitivity in patients’ live cancer cells.

ImpriMed, which was co-founded in 2017 by Sungwon Lim, CEO, and Jamin Koo, CTO—both distinguished alumni of Stanford University and KAIST (The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology)—specialized in utilizing artificial intelligence to enhance the efficacy of personalized cancer treatments. Its AI algorithms are used in combination with a patient’s live cancer cell analytics, the results of which are far more accurate predictions of how a specific patient will respond to a particular cancer therapy before administration. The company’s multiple myeloma prognosis and drug response prediction software is an innovative medical device already recognized by the Korea Food and Drug Administration and is targeted for commercialization in the United States in 2025.

On December 19, 2023 NETRIS Pharma, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing next generation molecules targeting cancer resistance, reported that it has expanded its ongoing Series A reaching €24.4 million with the closing of a €7.5 million extension (Press release, Netris Pharma, DEC 19, 2023, View Source [SID1234638684]). This closing mainly consists of new investors, including EIC Fund, following selection for the EIC accelerator program.

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The proceeds will be used to reach all endpoints of its clinical development plan and for corporate development purposes. NETRIS Pharma is evaluating its lead asset NP137, a monoclonal antibody targeting NETRIN-1, in five clinical trials in combination with chemotherapies or immunotherapies as a new path to alleviate resistance to these therapies.

Christophe Guichard, NETRIS Pharma Chief Financial Officer, commented: "NETRIS Pharma continues to deliver on its overall development plan despite challenging times for biotech fundraising. This funding extension reflects the strong impact of the recent back-to-back publications in Nature highlighting the promising mode of action of our lead product NP137 and will take us to significant value inflexion points in the next 12 months from our five ongoing proof-of-concept clinical trials."

Along with this funding, the executive team has been strengthened with the appointment of Fabien Sebille as Chief Business Officer. Fabien will lead the business development activities for NETRIS Pharma, leveraging his experience in executive positions within private and public oncology biotech companies as well as his track record in both sell-side and buy-side transactions.

"The recruitment of Fabien is a further step in NETRIS Pharma’s growth in advance of the multiple clinical readouts expected in the coming months. We look forward to working together in raising the profile of company and strengthening our relationships with pharmaceutical companies and other strategic partners," indicated Patrick Mehlen, Chief Executive Officer of NETRIS Pharma.

To help prepare for the next steps of NETRIS Pharma’s clinical development strategy, Gabriela Gruia has been nominated to its Board of Directors. Gabriela has held many leadership positions within pharmaceutical companies, and more recently was Senior Vice President and Head of Regulatory Affairs Oncology at Novartis, based in the US. During her tenure, Gabriela was responsible for leading a world class oncology regulatory affairs organization of approximately 120 associates.

Jean-Pierre Bizzari, Chairman of the Board of Directors, commented: "This successful fundraising is a further demonstration of the progress NETRIS Pharma has achieved and the promise of its clinical development pipeline. On behalf of the Board, I’d like to welcome Gabriela to the Company. Gabriela brings a wealth of regulatory experience with an outstanding track record of overseeing the regulatory approval process for 12 NMEs in oncology. I look forward to further complementing our Board of Directors with additional leading individuals from the pharma industry to help guide NETRIS as we continue our rapid progress."

About NP137

NP137 is a humanized monoclonal antibody of isotype IgG1 directed against netrin-1, the ligand binding to UNC5B Receptor. Most types of tumors produce an abnormal amount of Netrin-1, which prevents cells from entering apoptosis. Netrin-1 is also upregulated in the first phases of tumor Epithelial-to-mesenchymal Transition. After confirmation of an excellent safety profile in humans, NETRIS Pharma is currently actively recruiting in five clinical trials testing NP137 in specific cancer indications in combination with chemotherapy or immune checkpoint inhibitors. The anti-cancer promise of NP137 was validated in two back-to back Nature papers published in August 2023.

On December 19, 2023 RenovoRx, Inc. (Nasdaq: RNXT), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel precision oncology therapies based on a local drug-delivery platform, reported the acceptance of a clinical data abstract for the 2024 Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) Annual Scientific Meeting, held March 23-28 in Salt Lake City, Utah (Press release, Renovorx, DEC 19, 2023, View Source [SID1234638701]). The abstract will highlight the Company’s lead product candidate, RenovoGem, and proprietary Trans-Arterial Micro-Perfusion (TAMP) therapy platform for the treatment of Locally Advanced Pancreatic Cancer (LAPC), a difficult-to-access, solid tumor cancer.

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"We are pleased to present research supporting our TAMP therapy platform at the upcoming SIR 2024 conference, the largest professional gathering of interventional radiologists in North America," said Shaun Bagai, CEO of RenovoRx. "This research adds to the continued progress of our pivotal Phase III TIGeR-PaC study in LAPC. We remain steadfast in our commitment to deliver transformative therapies to potentially extend and improve the quality of life of cancer patients."

Presentation Details:
Title: Mesenteric Venous Thrombosis as a Predictor of Target Artery Thrombosis and Tran-Arterial Micro Perfusion Treatment Completion Among Patients with Locally Advanced Pancreatic Cancer
Authors: Michel Accad, MD, et al.
Abstract ID: 1632169

For more information about the conference, visit View Source

On December 19, 2023 Nykode Therapeutics ASA (OSE: NYKD), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of novel immunotherapies, reported that that its Chief Executive Officer, Michael Engsig will present at the 42nd Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference and is available for 1:1 investor meetings (Press release, Nykode Therapeutics, DEC 19, 2023, View Source [SID1234638685]).

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Date: Wednesday, January 10, 2024
Time: 3:45 pm PST
Webcast: View Source;kiosk=true

The presentation, as well as a live audio and archived webcast of the presentation can be accessed in the Investors section of the Company’s website: View Source

On December 19, 2023 Infinimmune, a biotechnology company pioneering new methods for antibody drug discovery and development, reported a partnership with Grid Therapeutics ("Grid"), a clinical stage biotechnology company that focuses on human-derived antibodies, to collaborate in identifying new antibody drug candidates for non-small cell lung cancer (Press release, Infinimmune, DEC 19, 2023, View Source [SID1234638703]).

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The partnership will use Infinimmune’s Anthrobody drug discovery platform. Infinimmune’s therapeutic pipeline is built on antibodies that are complete, encompassing the full binding and effector regions of both chains. These are produced by human immune systems, distinct from those derived from model organisms, display libraries, or computational algorithms.

During the course of the collaboration, the two companies will jointly study the antibody repertoire from a large cohort of non-small cell lung cancer patients and control patients, who were selected on the basis of their clinical status and response to standard of care chemotherapies and immunotherapies. This will enable Grid and Infinimmune to prioritize their discovery approach using clinical information to understand differences and similarities between the antibody responses of individuals in response to lung cancer progression.

"We are delighted to partner with Grid Therapeutics to study the antibody response in a carefully curated and longitudinal cohort of non-small cell lung cancer patients," said Wyatt McDonnell, PhD, Chief Executive Officer, Infinimmune. "By leveraging our Anthrobody platform and Complete Human immunosequencing technology to identify truly human therapeutics, our collaboration with Grid Therapeutics will identify features of the antibody repertoire in non-small cell lung cancer in the pursuit of novel antibody therapeutics against existing and new targets. We are grateful to the patients who generously agreed to participate in this research."

"We are thrilled to partner with the Infinimmune team in the ongoing and transformative effort to develop novel therapeutic antibodies for cancer patients," said Edward (Ned) F. Patz,. Jr., MD, Chief Executive Officer, Grid Therapeutics. "We aim to take full advantage of Infinimmune’s truly human antibody data, to efficiently identify better and safer therapeutics. Like Infinimmune, Grid has a platform that probes the human immune response, which we believe will be pivotal in driving the next generation of immunotherapies."