Aptevo Therapeutics $2.0 Million Registered Direct Offering Priced At-The-Market Under Nasdaq Rules

On April 21, 2025 Aptevo Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq:APVO) ("Aptevo" or the "Company"), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing novel immune-oncology therapeutics based on its proprietary ADAPTIR and ADAPTIR-FLEX platform technologies, reported that it has entered into definitive securities purchase agreements for the purchase and sale of 2,324,000 shares of the Company’s common stock in a registered direct offering (the "offering") at a purchase price of $0.862 per share (Press release, Aptevo Therapeutics, APR 21, 2025, View Source [SID1234651998]). The offering is expected to close on or about April 22, 2025 subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

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Roth Capital Partners is acting as the exclusive placement agent for the offering.

Aptevo expects the gross proceeds from the offering to be approximately $2.0 million, before deducting the placement agent’s fees and other estimated offering expenses payable by the Company. Aptevo intends to use the net proceeds from the proposed offering for the continued clinical development of its product candidates, working capital, and other general corporate purposes.

A shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-284969) relating to the shares of common stock to be issued in the registered direct offering was previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and is currently effective. The registered direct offering is being made only by means of a prospectus, including a prospectus supplement, forming a part of the effective registration statement, relating to the registered direct offering that will be filed with the SEC. Electronic copies of the final prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus may be obtained, when available, on the SEC’s website at View Source or by contacting Roth Capital Partners, LLC at 888 San Clemente Drive, Newport Beach CA 92660, by phone at (800) 678-9147 or by email at [email protected].

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, the shares of common stock, nor will there be any sale of the shares of common stock in any state or other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale is not permitted.

Johnson & Johnson unveils highly anticipated and potential practice-changing data in bladder cancer treatment at AUA

On April 21, 2025 Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) reported that new data from its leading oncology pipeline will be presented at the American Urological Association (AUA) 2025 Annual Meeting, taking place April 26-29 in Las Vegas (Press release, Johnson & Johnson, APR 21, 2025, View Source;johnson-unveils-highly-anticipated-and-potential-practice-changing-data-in-bladder-cancer-treatment-at-aua-302433399.html [SID1234651999]). Among the highlights are the 12-month duration of response (DOR) data from the Phase 2b Cohort 2 SunRISe-1 study, evaluating TAR-200—an intravesical gemcitabine releasing system—for patients with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG)—unresponsive, high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (HR-NMIBC) with carcinoma in situ (CIS) with or without papillary disease. These findings will be featured in the Practice-changing, Paradigm-shifting Clinical Trials in Urology plenary session on Saturday, April 26.

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Bladder cancer ranks among the top ten most common cancers worldwide, affecting nearly a million people each year.1 Despite advancements, standard treatment has remained largely unchanged for over 40 years, leaving patients with limited treatment options if initial BCG therapy does not work.2 TAR-200 delivers sustained medication directly into the bladder and, in a pre-clinical setting, has been shown to allow for depth of penetration across bladder tissue layers.3

"Patients with bladder cancer need more effective treatment options that are both tolerable and easily incorporated into everyday practice, especially for those with HR-NMIBC, a highly recurrent disease that often necessitates difficult, life-altering decisions like bladder removal," said Yusri Elsayed, M.D., M.H.Sc., Ph.D., Global Therapeutic Area Head, Oncology, Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine. "TAR-200 provides a new approach, with clinical data showing an impressive complete response rate, meaning the cancer was undetectable following treatment. The highly anticipated 12-month duration of response findings from our Cohort 2, SunRISe-1 study further support the potential for patients to remain cancer-free for a clinically meaningful period."

A second plenary presentation will feature first results from Cohort 4 of the Phase 2b SunRISe-1 study evaluating TAR-200 monotherapy in patients with BCG–unresponsive, papillary-only HR-NMIBC. In this patient population, bladder removal remains a standard treatment, but many patients are elderly, have significant comorbidities, or are unwilling to undergo radical surgery, making treatment challenging.4

"Patients deserve more than the currently available treatment options. TAR-200 is a groundbreaking therapy for early-stage bladder cancer, designed to deliver a sustained local release of medication directly into the bladder—right where it is needed," said Biljana Naumovic, U.S. President, Oncology, Solid Tumor, Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine. "This innovation provides a bladder-sparing treatment option that can meaningfully improve outcomes while integrating seamlessly into any urology practice."

TAR-200 is inserted directly into the bladder by a healthcare professional in a brief outpatient, in-office procedure, without the need for anesthesia. Designed to remain in the bladder, it does not interfere with daily activities and provides sustained release of medication throughout the day. To date, TAR-200 has been placed more than 10,000 times as part of the SunRISe clinical program.

AUA 2025 Presentation Highlights:

One-year duration of response data from the Phase 2b SunRISe-1 study evaluating TAR-200 monotherapy in patients with BCG–unresponsive, HR-NMIBC plus carcinoma in situ with or without papillary disease (P2 Plenary Presentation).
First results from Cohort 4 of the Phase 2b SunRISe-1 study evaluating TAR-200 monotherapy in patients with BCG–unresponsive papillary-only HR-NMIBC (P2 Plenary Presentation).
Trial-in-progress mini-oral presentation from the Phase 3 MoonRISe-1 study evaluating TAR-210, an erdafitinib intravesical drug-releasing system, versus intravesical chemotherapy in patients with fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFR)-altered intermediate-risk NMIBC (Clinical Trials in Progress Presentation).
Trial-in-progress presentation from the Phase 3 SunRISe-5 study evaluating TAR-200 compared to intravesical chemotherapy after treatment with BCG in patients with recurrent HR-NMIBC (Clinical Trials in Progress Presentation).
Real-world time-to-next-treatment and time-to-castration-resistance among patients with metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer using androgen-receptor pathway inhibitors with and without homologous recombination repair alterations (Oral Presentation #25-3830).
A complete list of Johnson & Johnson’s sponsored abstracts is available on JNJ.com.

About TAR-200
TAR-200 is an investigational intravesical gemcitabine releasing system. In January 2025, Johnson & Johnson announced the initiation of a new drug application with the FDA for TAR-200 under the real-time oncology review (RTOR) program. In December 2023, the FDA granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation (BTD) to TAR-200 for the treatment of adult patients with BCG—unresponsive HR-NMIBC with CIS who are ineligible for or have elected not to undergo radical cystectomy. The safety and efficacy of TAR-200 are being evaluated in Phase 2 and Phase 3 studies in patients with MIBC in SunRISe-4, and NMIBC in SunRISe-1, SunRISe-3 and SunRISe-5.

About TAR-210
TAR-210 is an investigational intravesical erdafitinib releasing system. The safety and efficacy of TAR-210 is being evaluated in a Phase 1 study (NCT05316155) in patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) and NMIBC.

About High-Risk Non-Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer
High-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer is a type of non-invasive bladder cancer that is more likely to recur or spread beyond the lining of the bladder, called the urothelium, and progress to invasive bladder cancer compared to low-risk NMIBC.5,6 HR-NMIBC makes up 15-44 percent of patients with NMIBC and is characterized by a high-grade, large tumor size, presence of multiple tumors, with or without CIS.7 Radical cystectomy is currently recommended for NMIBC patients who fail BCG therapy, with over 90 percent cancer-specific survival if performed before muscle-invasive progression.8,9 Given that NMIBC typically affects older patients, many may be unwilling or unfit to undergo radical cystectomy.10 The high rates of recurrence and progression can pose significant morbidity and distress for these patients.

About Prostate Cancer
Approximately 300,000 people are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year in the U.S.11 Up to 40 percent of patients will be classified as high-risk.12 Despite advancements in treatment, disease recurrence remains substantial; up to 50 percent of patients within ten years of surgery experience recurrence and carry a significant risk of disease progression and death.

K-679: A Novel Antibody Drug-loaded Unimicelle Conjugate with Ultra-High Drug Loading Capacity Demonstrates Superior Efficacy in EGFR-Expressing Solid Tumors

On April 21, 2025 Kowa Company, Ltd. (Headquarters: Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan), reported an upcoming presentation of non-clinical data for K-679, its novel antibody drug-loaded unimicelle conjugate (ADUC) with unprecedented drug loading capacity (Press release, Kowa, APR 21, 2025, View Source [SID1234652000]). The compound, developed using Kowa’s proprietary micelle technology, has demonstrated superior efficacy in EGFR-expressing solid tumors compared to conventional antibody drug conjugates (ADCs). The data will be presented at The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting 2025, taking place April 25th-30th, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois.

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Presentation Details
Presentation Title: K-679: A novel, ultra-high-DAR antibody drug-loaded unimicelle conjugate (ADUC) enabling more effective treatment in EGFR-expressing solid tumors compared to general ADCs.
Session Title: Novel Drug Delivery Technologies
Presentation Date and Time: April 28, 2025, 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. CST (10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. ET)
Published Abstract Number: 1798
Presenter: Hideo Yoshida

The abstract of the presentation is available at
View Source!/20273/presentation/3006.

More information about the AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting 2025 can be found on the event website at the following link: AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting 2025 | Meetings | AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper)

About K-679
K-679 is an Antibody Drug-loaded Unimicelle Conjugate (ADUC), a novel type of ADC using Kowa’s proprietary micelle technology, currently at non-clinical stage. The conjugate combines an anti-EGFR antibody with drug (DM1)-loaded unimicelles, which incorporate substantial quantities of payloads into a single-chain polymer. This innovative approach achieves an ultra-high DAR (Drug-to-Antibody Ratio) of approximately 40 DM1 molecules per antibody, significantly higher than conventional ADCs.

In non-clinical studies, K-679 has demonstrated potent anti-tumor effects in xenograft models, outperforming conventional ADCs. Notably, K-679 has shown remarkable efficacy in EGFR‑positive and -negative heterogeneous tumors, exhibiting significant bystander killing effects.

Acepodia Presents Preclinical Data on Antibody-Dual-Drugs Conjugation (AD2C) technology at AACR Annual Meeting 2025

On April 21, 2025 Acepodia (6976: TT) reported the presentation of new preclinical data highlighting its proprietary dual-payload antibody-drug conjugate (AD2C) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) (Press release, Acepodia, APR 21, 2025, View Source [SID1234652001]). The data will be featured at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting 2025, which will take place from April 25 to April 30, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois.

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The poster presentation, titled "Development of dual-payload anti-GPC3 antibody-drug conjugate by dual-payload antibody conjugation (AD2C) platform for hepatocellular carcinoma treatment," showcases the company’s next-generation ADC generated using Acepodia’s AD2C platform. This platform allows for the conjugation of two distinct payloads to a single antibody without the need of antibody engineering or enzymatic conjugation. AD2C, carrying payloads with different mechanisms of action, offer enhanced therapeutic potency by targeting diverse cell populations in heterogeneous tumors or overcoming resistance to single-payload therapy.

Presentation Details:

Session Title: Novel Drug Delivery Technologies
Session Category: Experimental and Molecular Therapeutics
Date and Time: April 28, 2025 | 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM CDT
Location: McCormick Place Convention Center, Chicago, IL
Poster Board Number: 4 | Poster Section: 23
Abstract Number: 1785

"Acepodia’s dual-payload ADC approach is designed to address key limitations of current single-payload therapies," said Dr. Sonny Hsiao, Chairman and CEO of Acepodia. "By combining targeted delivery with enhanced cytotoxicity, this platform holds promise for more effective treatment of liver cancer and other solid tumors." AD2C platform provides a novel, antibody-engineering-free approach to generate dual-payload ADCs, offering a potential solution to tumor heterogeneity and drug resistance in cancer treatment.

The company’s AD2C pipeline is part of its broader portfolio of conjugation technologies derived from the laboratory of Nobel Laureate Dr. Carolyn Bertozzi, enabling the site-specific delivery of therapeutic payloads using bioorthogonal click chemistry.

DAAN Biotherapeutics and GC Cell Sign Exclusive Technology Transfer Agreement for Tumor Antigen-Specific Antibody Sequence to Advance CAR-T and CAR-NK Cell Therapies

On April 21, 2025 DAAN Biotherapeutics, a leading innovative drug development company specializing in T-Cell receptor (TCR)-based therapies, reported that it has signed an exclusive licensing agreement with GC Cell, a gene and cell therapy firm, for the tumor antigen-specific antibody sequence (Press release, DAAN Bio Therapeutics, APR 21, 2025, View Source [SID1234652002]). The agreement grants GC Cell exclusive rights to utilize DAAN Biotherapeutics’ antibody sequence in the research and development of CAR-T (chimeric antigen receptor T cell) and CAR-NK (chimeric antigen receptor natural killer cell) therapies.

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The antibody at the center of the agreement targets a tumor antigen that is highly overexpressed in major solid cancers, including lung and colorectal cancers, and this antigen has continually been used by several pharmaceutical companies in the development of next-generation cancer therapies. The antibody provided by DAAN Biotherapeutics offers enhanced specificity compared to existing antibodies, allowing itself to be positioned as a promising candidate for cell therapies. This increased precision is expected to significantly reduce side effects while improving therapeutic outcomes, making it a more effective option than existing treatments. The combination of GC Cell’s advanced CAR cell-therapy technology and DAAN Biotherapeutics’ antibody technology is expected to significantly enhance the effectiveness of CAR cell therapies.

The licensing deal includes an upfront payment, milestone payments tied to development and commercialization stages, and royalties based on future sales. Specific financial and contractual details remain confidential to safeguard proprietary technologies and business strategies. Both companies view this collaboration as a pivotal step toward the commercialization of cell therapies for the treatment of solid tumors.

Byoung-Chul Cho, MD, the CEO of DAAN Biotherapeutics, stated, "We will continue to innovate our technologies to develop cancer treatments that will change the lives of patients."