Investor webinar – Azer-cel trial update

On September 3, 2024 Imugene Limited (ASX:IMU), a clinical-stage immuno‐ oncology company, reported that it will hold an investor webinar on Wednesday 4 September 2024 at 10am AEST to discuss the new data from its azer-cel Phase 1b clinical trial in blood cancer Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (announced 2 September 2024) (Press release, Imugene, SEP 3, 2024, https://mcusercontent.com/e38c43331936a9627acb6427c/files/2d4fea36-e0fc-fc96-87d4-f6aa75112df8/Imugene_Webinar_Azer_cel_Trial_Update.pdf [SID1234646269]).

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Presenting as part of the webinar will be Imugene’s Managing Director and CEO Leslie Chong, alongside Chief Medical Officer Dr Paul Woodard.

Shareholders, investors and other interested parties are encouraged to register for the webinar at the following link:

View Source

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with details on how to join the webinar. A recording will be available at the same link shortly after the conclusion of the session.

Ascendis Pharma and Royalty Pharma Enter into $150 Million Royalty Funding Agreement

On September 3, 2024 Ascendis Pharma A/S (Nasdaq: ASND) and Royalty Pharma plc (Nasdaq: RPRX) reported that Ascendis Pharma Bone Diseases A/S, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ascendis Pharma A/S, has entered into a $150 million capped synthetic royalty funding agreement with Royalty Pharma based on U.S. net sales of YORVIPATH (Press release, Ascendis Pharma, SEP 3, 2024, View Source [SID1234646285]).

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"We are pleased to again partner with Royalty Pharma, a leading funder of innovation across the biopharma industry, as we launch YORVIPATH in the U.S. as the first and only FDA approved treatment of hypoparathyroidism in adults," said Jan Mikkelsen, Ascendis Pharma’s President and Chief Executive Officer. "This transaction reflects the significant value of YORVIPATH and our commitment to reduce our cost of capital while maintaining flexibility to support our global commercial capabilities."

"We are delighted to expand our partnership with Ascendis and provide funding to support the launch of YORVIPATH, an important advancement in treating the underlying cause of hypoparathyroidism in adults," said Pablo Legorreta, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Royalty Pharma. "This is now our second transaction with Ascendis, highlighting our partner centric approach and ability to structure creative, win-win funding solutions, which is a unique aspect of our business model."

Under the terms of the agreement, Ascendis receives an upfront payment of $150 million in exchange for a 3% royalty on U.S. net sales of YORVIPATH. The royalty payments to Royalty Pharma will cease upon reaching a multiple of 2.0x, or 1.65x if Royalty Pharma receives royalties in that amount by December 31, 2029.

Evercore acted as financial advisor and Latham & Watkins and Mazanti-Andersen acted as legal advisors to Ascendis on the transaction. Goodwin Procter and Fenwick & West acted as legal advisors to Royalty Pharma.

NKGen Biotech to Present at the H.C. Wainwright 26th Annual Global Investment Conference

On September 3, 2024 NKGen Biotech, Inc. (Nasdaq: NKGN) ("NKGen" or the "Company"), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative autologous, allogeneic and CAR-NK natural killer ("NK") cell therapeutics, reported that Paul Y. Song, MD, Chairman and CEO of NKGen, will participate in a virtual presentation and one-on-one meetings at the H.C. Wainwright 26th Annual Global Investment Conference, on September 9-11, 2024 (Press release, NKMax America, SEP 3, 2024, https://nkgenbiotech.com/nkgen-biotech-to-present-at-the-h-c-wainwright-26th-annual-global-investment-conference/ [SID1234646302]).

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The virtual presentation will be available on-demand for registered participants through the H.C. Wainwright conference portal starting at 7:00 AM Eastern Time on Monday, September 9, 2024. Registered participants can submit their questions to NKGen after the presentation has become available. Dr. Song will also be available for virtual one-on-one investor meetings during the conference.

For more information about the conference and to register for a one-on-one meeting, please visit the conference website at View Source

A webcast of the pre-recorded presentation can be accessed under the Events and Presentations page in the Investors section of the Company’s website at www.nkgenbiotech.com. An archived replay of the webcast will be available for 90 days following the presentation.

IPAX-1 Study of TLX101 Investigational Glioblastoma Therapy Published in Neuro-Oncology Advances

On September 4, 2024 Telix Pharmaceuticals Limited (ASX: TLX, Telix, the Company) reported that the Company’s IPAX-1 Phase I study has been published in Neuro-Oncology Advances, confirming the safety and tolerability profile, and early efficacy of TLX101 therapy, in combination with external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) in recurrent glioblastoma (GBM), the most common and aggressive form of primary brain cancer (Press release, Telix Pharmaceuticals, SEP 3, 2024, View Source [SID1234646319]).

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TLX101 (4-L-[ 131I] iodo-phenylalanine, or 131I-IPA) is a systemically administered targeted radiation therapy that targets L-type amino acid transporter 1 (LAT1), which is typically over-expressed in GBM.

In the first peer-reviewed publication of the IPAX-1 study, Professor Josef Pichler and colleagues report that single or fractionated doses of TLX101 plus EBRT were associated with acceptable tolerability and specific tumour-targeting in patients with recurrent GBM. Authors explain that the study delivered encouraging preliminary efficacy data, demonstrating a median overall survival (OS) of 13 months from the initiation of treatment, or 23 months from initial diagnosis. Given that GBM has a median survival from initial diagnosis of 12-15 months, authors conclude that findings from the IPAX-1 study "support further investigation into the use of TLX101 plus EBRT, including its potential as a first line treatment".

Key findings of the IPAX-1 study, outlined in the paper, include:

All dosing regimens were well tolerated.
Organ-absorbed radiation doses in the red bone marrow (0.38 Gy) and kidney (1.28 Gy) confirmed no radiation-based toxicity.
Stable disease with MRI[1] assessment was observed in 4 of 9 patients at 3 months post-treatment (3-month follow-up, 1 patient did not reach protocol-mandated end of study), yielding a response rate of 44.4%.
At the 3-month follow-up, 6 patients demonstrated metabolic stable disease with 18F-FET PET imaging.
Median progression-free survival was 4.3 months (95% confidence interval, 3.3–4.5), while median OS was 13 months from the initiation of treatment (95% confidence interval, 7.1–27), or 23 months from initial diagnosis.
Metabolic tumour responses were determined using Telix’s investigational PET[2] agent for glioma imaging, TLX101-CDx (Pixclara[3], 18F-floretyrosine or 18F-FET).

Professor Josef Pichler, Kepler University Hospital, Austria, Principal Investigator in the IPAX-1, IPAX-2 and IPAX-Linz studies, and lead author, commented, "A significant unmet need exists for well-tolerated and efficacious treatments for patients with glioblastoma. The results from this Phase I study demonstrate the favourable safety and tolerability profile and preliminary efficacy of TLX101 in combination with second-line EBRT, in patients with recurrent glioblastoma. Following treatment with TLX101 plus EBRT, stable disease was observed in 44% of patients at 3 months post-treatment and median progression-free survival was 4.3 months, with no confirmed radiation toxicity. The overall survival improvement trend seen in this patient population clearly warrants further investigation into the use of TLX101 plus EBRT, including its potential as a first-line treatment. These studies are now well advanced."

Dr David N Cade, Chief Medical Officer at Telix said, "We believe that TLX101 has significant potential to improve outcomes for patients living with glioblastoma – a disease in urgent need of new treatment options. In the front-line setting, the standard of care has not advanced materially in almost two decades, and in recurrent disease, no standard treatment exists. We are encouraged by these data, which show that TLX101, in combination with EBRT, is well tolerated at the doses tested, with preliminary clinical evidence demonstrating an anti-tumour effect and disease stabilisation – outcomes that are very important for this advanced patient population. Telix is pleased to be at the forefront of developing a new therapy for glioblastoma, and we welcome the excellent work conducted by Professor Pichler and his colleagues to progress this."

The IPAX-2 and IPAX-Linz studies in the front-line and recurrent settings continue to progress well in combination with standard of care, and using Telix’s Pixclara3 investigational PET agent as companion diagnostic. Data from IPAX-1, together with these studies, will inform the design of Telix’s future registration-enabling trial for TLX101.

The Neuro-Oncology Advances publication is available online at: View Source

About TLX101

TLX101 is Telix’s LAT1-targeting investigational therapy for patients with brain cancer. TLX101 therapy utilises a small molecule approach due to the need to cross the blood brain barrier, the normal protective barrier that prevents many potential drug candidates entering the brain. TLX101 has received orphan drug designation in the U.S. and Europe for the treatment of glioma.

About the IPAX series of studies

IPAX-1 was a multicenter, open-label, single-arm Phase I study to evaluate TLX101 plus EBRT in patients with recurrent GBM. The primary objective of the IPAX-1 study was to evaluate the safety and tolerability profile of intravenous TLX101 administered concurrently with second line EBRT. Secondary objectives were to determine optimal dosing, biodistribution and radiation absorption into the tumour, as well as assess preliminary efficacy through clinical and imaging-based assessment of tumour response. ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT03849105.
IPAX-2 is a Phase I study of TLX101 in combination with post-surgical standard of care treatment in patients with newly diagnosed GBM. Active, dosing patients. ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT05450744.
IPAX-Linz is a Phase II investigator-initiated trial of TLX101 in combination with EBRT in patients with recurrent high-grade gliomas (HGG), including GBM. Active, dosing patients.

Cellectis Presents Pre-Clinical Evidence of MUC1 CAR T-cells Reducing Triple-Negative Breast Cancer While Preserving Safety

On September 3, 2024 Cellectis (the "Company") (Euronext Growth: ALCLS – NASDAQ: CLLS), a clinical-stage biotechnology company using its pioneering gene-editing platform to develop life-saving cell and gene therapies, reported a scientific article in Science Advances suggesting that TALEN-edited MUC1 CAR T-cells could be a potential treatment option for advance-stage triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients with limited therapeutic options (Press release, Cellectis, SEP 3, 2024, View Source [SID1234646286]).

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Globally, breast cancer continues to be the most prevalent malignancy in women. Among all subtypes, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) stands out as the most aggressive form with high metastatic potential and poor survival rates.

Despite a few emerging targeted therapies under investigation, surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy continue to be the standard of care, and their success remains limited. As an alternative, Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies could hold promise for advance-stage TNBC patients as tumor-associated MUC1 antigen is overexpressed in a large number of patients thus offering a distinct target for treatment.

In this article, Cellectis described its multi-layered CAR T-cell engineering strategy using TALEN and synthetic biology to multi-armor CAR T-cells with synergistic functionalities to overcome the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) of solid tumors. With this strategy, Cellectis demonstrates enhanced cytotoxic activity of MUC1 CAR T-cells armored with PD1KO, tumor-specific IL12 release and TGFBR2KO attributes, all of them catered towards the TNBC TME, in intravenous and intratumoral mouse models.

"Complexity of solid tumors decreases the efficacy of CAR T-cell therapies. With this pre-clinical study, we showed that TALEN-mediated multiplex editing can support CAR T-cells in effectively mounting an anti-tumor response to clear breast tumors, and that we can further decrease the dose of the treatment by injecting the CAR T cells intratumorally while still treating distant tumors. This innovative approach also allowed us to discover an unexpected cooperation between the edits in increasing safety, highlighting the potential capabilities of multiplex editing" said Piril Erler, PhD, Scientist II at Cellectis.

Importantly, intratumoral treatment effectively reduced local and distant tumors of large size using low doses of multi-armored MUC1 CAR T-cells. This pre-clinical data suggests that the benefits of antigen recognition are maintained at distant sites and highlights the potential to address metastasis with local administration.