On May 12, 2022 ERYTECH Pharma (Nasdaq & Euronext: ERYP), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative therapies by encapsulating therapeutic drug substances inside red blood cells, reported a business and financial update at the end of March 2022 (Press release, ERYtech Pharma, MAY 12, 2022, View Source [SID1234614514]).

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"With the sale of our U.S. manufacturing facility to Catalent and the planned long-term supply agreement with Catalent, we managed to secure our potential long-term manufacturing needs in the United States while significantly extending our cash runway," said Gil Beyen, Chief Executive Officer of ERYTECH. "This brings us in a good position for the ongoing review of strategic options for the company, while we continue to focus on seeking an approval in the United States for our lead product candidate eryaspase (GRASPA) for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients who experienced hypersensitivities to pegylated asparaginase."

Business Highlights of the first quarter and April 2022

▪U.S. cell therapy manufacturing facility sold to Catalent for a total consideration of USD 44.5 million

Under the terms of an asset purchase agreement between ERYTECH and Catalent (the "APA"), Catalent acquired ERYTECH’s state-of-the-art commercial-scale cell therapy manufacturing facility in Princeton, New Jersey, for a total consideration of $44.5 million. ERYTECH’s staff at the site of approximately 40 people have been offered Catalent’s employment.

The parties also agreed on the terms of a long-term supply agreement, under which Catalent will manufacture ERYTECH’s lead product candidate eryaspase (GRASPA) for clinical and commercial supply in the United States.

The Princeton facility is a 30,900 square foot modern manufacturing facility, designed with the flexibility to expand to support various cell therapy production requirements and capacities. Catalent intends to expand the Princeton site and leverage the experienced staff previously employed by ERYTECH to manufacture a broader portfolio of cell therapies. ERYTECH retained its manufacturing site in Lyon, France and its expertise and capabilities in manufacturing process science to continue innovating in cell therapy manufacturing.

▪Path to BLA in hypersensitive ALL, based on results of NOPHO-sponsored Phase 2 trial

The NOPHO trial evaluated the safety and pharmacological profile of eryaspase in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients who had previously experienced hypersensitivity reactions to pegylated asparaginase therapy. In December 2020, positive trial results were presented at the 2020 American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) annual meeting.

◦The Company pursues its interactions with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding a potential regulatory approval in this indication based on the NOPHO-sponsored trial. A pre-BLA meeting to discuss the submission of a Biologics License Application (BLA) took place in June 2021 after which the Company confirmed its intention to submit a BLA, subject to successful completion of remaining activities.

The BLA application is now almost completed, and the Company is planning for submission once the FDA has finalized its review of the remaining information requests.

▪rESPECT, Phase 1 investigator-sponsored trial (IST) in first-line pancreatic cancer

rESPECT is a Phase 1 trial, sponsored by the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, evaluating the safety of eryaspase in combination with mFOLFIRINOX as a first-line treatment for locally advanced and metastatic pancreatic cancer in approximately 18 patients.

◦Interim data, presented at ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) GI in January 2022, confirmed the acceptable safety profile in the trial and showed encouraging clinical activity. Out of the twelve patients enrolled, ten patients have been evaluated for response. They all achieved disease control; five patients had an objective response and five achieved stable disease.

The trial will continue enrolling up to approximately 18 patients. Reporting of data is expected in the third quarter of 2022.

▪ERYCEVTM, novel red blood cell vesiculation technology

ERYTECH presented its red blood cell vesiculation technology at the 24th Meeting of the European Red Cell Society (ERCS) in April 2022.

◦RBC-derived extracellular vesicles are formed naturally during senescence and storage of mature RBCs and are a potentially attractive drug delivery system. Vesiculation of RBCs that have already been loaded with active therapeutic compounds utilizing the ERYCAPS process, entails the potential of producing cargo-loaded RBC-derived extracellular vesicles for the development of novel therapeutic approaches.

▪Process to review strategic options and partnering alternatives

As announced on October 25th 2021, the Company has appointed a specialized advisor to evaluate its strategic and partnering options. After the transaction with Catalent, the Company continues to evaluate further strategic options to leverage its ERYCAPS platform with complementary assets and/or a broader corporate transaction.

Q1 2022 Financial Results

▪Key financial figures for the first quarter of 2022 compared with the same period of the previous year are summarized below:

▪Net loss for the first quarter of 2022 was €11.9 million, stable year-over-year, with a €0.7 million improvement (-5.5%) in operating loss and a €0.7 million decline in net financial income. The €0.7 million improvement in operating loss was attributable to the €2.4 million decrease in preclinical and clinical development expenses, offset in part by the €0.9 million decrease in other income from R&D tax credits, both reflecting the decrease in the Company’s clinical development activities, while general and administrative expenses increased by €0.8 million, mostly related to legal and due diligence expenses for partnering activities.

▪As of March 31, 2022, ERYTECH had cash and cash equivalents totaling €25.1 million (approximately $27.9 million), compared with €33.7 million as of December 31, 2021. The €8.6 million decrease in cash position during the first three months of 2022 was the result of a €10.7 million net cash utilization in operating activities and investing activities and €1.8 million generated in financing activities, including €2.3 million in pre-payment of a portion of the expected 2021 R&D tax credit, while the variation of the U.S. dollar against the euro led to a €0.3 million positive currency exchange impact.

▪The Company has not drawn any new tranche on the convertible note facility (OCABSA) since August 2021 and as of September 2021, there were no outstanding and unconverted notes. The company does not plan to draw any further OCABSA tranche until the expiration of the financing facility in June 2022.

▪The Company believes that its current cash position, including the $44.5 million gross proceeds received upon closing of the transaction with Catalent in April 2022, can fund its current development programs and planned operating expenses to mid-2024.

Key News Flow and Milestones Expected Over the Next 12 Months

▪Targeted BLA submission of eryaspase in hypersensitive ALL (Q3 2022)
▪Results from the Phase 1 rESPECT trial of eryaspase in combination with mFOLFIRINOX in first-line pancreatic cancer (Q3 2022)
▪Data from the randomized Phase 2 TRYbeCA-2 trial of eryaspase in TNBC (Q3 2022)

First Quarter 2022 Conference Call Details

ERYTECH management will hold a conference call and webcast on Friday, May 13, 2022, at 8:30am ET / 2:30 pm CEST on the business highlights and financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2022. Gil Beyen, CEO, Eric Soyer, CFO/COO, and Iman El-Hariry, CMO, will deliver a brief presentation, followed by a Q&A session.

The audio call is accessible via the below registering link: View Source (Conference ID: 9535729)

Once registered, participants will receive a unique access code and the call number details to join the teleconference.

The webcast can be followed live online via the link:
View Source

An archived replay of the call will be available for 7 days by dialing + 1 855 859 2056, Conference ID: 9535729#.

An archive of the webcast will be available on ERYTECH’s website, under the "Investors" section at investors.erytech.com

ERYTECH plans on attending the following upcoming investor conferences:
▪H.C. Wainwright Global Investment Conference (Miami, USA) – May 23-26, 2022
▪Jefferies Global Healthcare Conference (New York, USA) – June 8-10, 2022
▪Spring Midcap Event (Paris, France) – June 23-24, 2022

On May 12, 2022, Propanc Biopharma, Inc. (the "Company") reported that entered into a securities purchase agreement (the "Purchase Agreement") with 1800 DIAGONAL LENDING LLC ("Diagonal"), pursuant to which Diagonal purchased a convertible promissory note (the "Note") from the Company in the aggregate principal amount of $63,750, such principal and the interest thereon convertible into shares of the Company’s common stock at the option of Diagonal (Filing, 8-K, Propanc, MAY 12, 2022, View Source [SID1234614806]). The transaction contemplated by the Purchase Agreement closed on May 16, 2022. The Company intends to use the net proceeds ($60,000) from the Note for general working capital purposes.

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The maturity date of the Note is May 12, 2023 (the "Maturity Date"). The Note shall bear interest at a rate of 8% per annum, which interest may be paid by the Company to Diagonal in shares of common stock, but shall not be payable until the Note becomes payable, whether at the Maturity Date or upon acceleration or by prepayment, as described below. Diagonal has the option to convert all or any amount of the principal face amount of the Note, beginning on the date which is one hundred eighty (180) days following the date of this Note and ending on the later of: (i) the Maturity Date and (ii) the date of payment of the Default Amount (as defined below), each in respect of the remaining outstanding amount of this Note, to convert all or any part of the outstanding and unpaid amount of this Note into common stock at the then-applicable conversion price. The conversion price for the Note shall be equal to the Variable Conversion Price (as defined herein) (subject to equitable adjustments for stock splits, stock dividends or rights offerings by the Company relating to the Company’s securities or the securities of any subsidiary of the Company, combinations, recapitalization, reclassifications, extraordinary distributions and similar events). The "Variable Conversion Price" shall mean 65% multiplied by the Market Price (as defined herein) (representing a discount rate of 35%). "Market Price" means the average of the lowest three (3) Trading Prices (as defined below) for the common stock during the ten (10) Trading Day period ending on the latest complete Trading Day (as defined below) prior to the conversion date. "Trading Price" means, for any security as of any date, the closing bid price on the OTCQB, OTCQX, Pink Sheets electronic quotation system or applicable trading market (the "OTC") as reported by a reliable reporting service designated by Diagonal (i.e. Bloomberg) or, if the OTC is not the principal trading market for such security, the closing bid price of such security on the principal securities exchange or trading market where such security is listed or traded or, if no closing bid price of such security is available in any of the foregoing manners, the average of the closing bid prices of any market makers for such security that are listed in the "pink sheets". "Trading Day" shall mean any day on which the common stock is tradable for any period on the OTC, or on the principal securities exchange or other securities market on which the common stock is then being traded. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Diagonal shall be restricted from effecting a conversion if such conversion, along with other shares of the Company’s common stock beneficially owned by Diagonal and its affiliates, exceeds 4.99% of the outstanding shares of the Company’s common stock.

The Note may be prepaid until 180 days from the issuance date. If the Note is prepaid within 60 days of the issuance date, then the prepayment premium shall be 110% of the face amount plus any accrued interest, if prepaid after 60 days from the issuance date, but less than 91 days from the issuance date, then the prepayment premium shall be 115% of the face amount plus any accrued interest, if prepaid after 90 days from the issuance date, but less than 121 days from the issuance date, then the prepayment premium shall be 120% of the face amount plus any accrued interest, if prepaid after 120 days from the issuance date, but less than 151 days from the issuance date, then the prepayment premium shall be 125% of the face amount plus any accrued interest, and if prepaid after 150 days from the issuance date, but less than 181 days from the issuance date, then the prepayment premium shall be 129% of the face amount plus any accrued interest. So long as the Note is outstanding, the Company covenants not to, without prior written consent from Diagonal, sell, lease or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of its assets outside the ordinary course of business which would render the Company a "shell company" as such term is defined in Rule 144. Pursuant to the terms of the Purchase Agreement, the Company paid Diagonal’s legal fees and due diligence expenses in the aggregate amount of $3,750.

Other than as described above, the Note contains certain events of default, including failure to timely issue shares upon receipt of a notice of conversion, as well as certain customary events of default, including, among others, breach of covenants, representations or warranties, insolvency, bankruptcy, liquidation and failure by the Company to pay the principal and interest due under the Note. Additional events of default shall include, among others: (i) failure to reserve at least five times the number of shares issuable upon full conversion of the Note; (ii) bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization or liquidation proceedings or other proceedings, voluntary or involuntary, for relief under any bankruptcy law or any law for the relief of debtors shall be instituted by or against the Company or any subsidiary of the Company; provided, that in the event such event is triggered without the Company’s consent, the Company shall have sixty (60) days after such event is triggered to discharge such event, (iii) the Company’s failure to maintain the listing of the common stock on at least one of the OTC markets (which specifically includes the quotation platforms maintained by the OTC Markets Group) or an equivalent replacement exchange, the Nasdaq National Market, the Nasdaq Small Cap Market, the New York Stock Exchange, or the American Stock Exchange, (iv) The restatement of any financial statements filed by the Company with the SEC at any time after 180 days after the issuance date for any date or period until this note is no longer outstanding, if the result of such restatement would, by comparison to the un-restated financial statement, have reasonably constituted a material adverse effect on the rights of Diagonal with respect to this note or the Purchase Agreement, and (v) the Company’s failure to comply with its reporting requirements of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act"), and/or the Company ceases to be subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act.

In the event that the Company fails to deliver to Diagonal shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of principal or interest under the Note within three business days of a notice of conversion by Diagonal, the Company shall incur a penalty of $1,000 per day, provided, however, that such fee shall not be due if the failure to deliver the shares is a result of a third party such as the transfer agent.

Upon the occurrence and during the continuation of certain events of default, the Note will become immediately due and payable and the Company will pay Diagonal in full satisfaction of its obligations in the Note an amount equal to 150% of an amount equal to the then outstanding principal amount of the Note plus any interest accrued upon such event of default or prior events of default (the "Default Amount").

The Note was issued, and any shares to be issued pursuant to any conversion of the Note shall be issued in a private placement in reliance upon an exemption from registration provided by Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act and/or Regulation D promulgated thereunder.

The foregoing description of the Note and the Purchase Agreement does not purport to be complete and is qualified in their entirety by reference to the full text of the Note and the Purchase Agreement, which are filed as Exhibits 4.1 and 10.1, respectively, to this Current Report on Form 8-K and are incorporated herein by reference.

On May 12, 2022 Volastra Therapeutics, an oncology company focused on exploiting chromosomal instability (CIN) as a vulnerability for cancer cells, reported that members of its management team are scheduled to participate in a fireside chat at the 2022 Guggenheim Synthetic Lethality Day on May 16th at 11:30 a.m. ET (Press release, Volastra Therapeutics, MAY 12, 2022, View Source;utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=volastra-therapeutics-announces-participation-in-2022-guggenheim-synthetic-lethality-day [SID1234614279]).

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A live webcast of the fireside chat can be accessed in the News and Views section of the company’s website at View Source A replay of the webcast will be archived on the company’s website for 90 days.

On May 12, 2022 CRISPR Therapeutics (Nasdaq: CRSP), a biopharmaceutical company focused on creating transformative gene-based medicines for serious diseases, reported that an abstract providing safety and efficacy data from the ongoing CTX130 clinical trial for patients with T-cell lymphoma has been accepted for oral presentation at the Annual European Hematology Association (EHA) (Free EHA Whitepaper) 2022 Hybrid Congress, taking place June 9 – 12, 2022, at the Messe Wien Exhibition and Congress Center in Vienna, Austria, and online (Press release, CRISPR Therapeutics, MAY 12, 2022, View Source [SID1234614324]). This will be the first clinical data presented from the CTX130 program.

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Abstract #S262 entitled, "The COBALT-LYM Study of CTX130: A Phase 1 Dose Escalation Study of CD70-Targeted Allogeneic CRISPR-Cas9–Engineered CAR-T Cells in Patients with Relapsed/Refractory (R/R) T-cell Malignancies," will be presented by Swaminathan P. Iyer, M.D., Professor, Department of Lymphoma/Myeloma, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, during the Gene Therapy and Cellular Immunotherapy – Clinical 2 session on Saturday, June 11, 2022, from 16:30 – 17:45 CEST/ 10:30 – 11:45 AM EST, in session room Hall Strauss 1-2.

The accepted abstract is now available online on the EHA (Free EHA Whitepaper) website.

CTX130 is currently being investigated in two ongoing Phase 1 clinical trials for the treatment of relapsed or refractory renal cell carcinoma and various subtypes of lymphoma, respectively.

About CTX130
CTX130, a wholly-owned program of CRISPR Therapeutics, is a healthy donor-derived gene-edited allogeneic CAR-T investigational therapy targeting cluster of differentiation 70, or CD70, an antigen expressed on various solid tumors and hematologic malignancies. CTX130 is being developed for the treatment of both solid tumors, such as renal cell carcinoma, and T-cell and B-cell hematologic malignancies. CTX130 is being investigated in two ongoing independent Phase 1, single-arm, multi-center, open-label clinical trials that are designed to assess the safety and efficacy of several dose levels of CTX130 for the treatment of relapsed or refractory renal cell carcinoma and various subtypes of lymphoma, respectively.

On May 12, 2022 Vincerx Pharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: VINC), a biopharmaceutical company aspiring to address the unmet medical needs of patients with cancer through paradigm-shifting therapeutics, reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2022 and provided a corporate update (Press release, Vincerx Pharma, MAY 12, 2022, View Source [SID1234614341]).

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"In April, we presented positive preclinical and preliminary clinical data on PTEFb/CDK9 inhibitor VIP152 at AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper). These data, coupled with our findings presented at ASH (Free ASH Whitepaper) last year, suggest that VIP152 has the potential to provide new treatment options for patients across various MYC and MCL-1-driven tumor types," said Ahmed Hamdy M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Vincerx.

"We continue dosing patients in our VIP152 clinical program and are seeing improvements in trial enrollment following a challenging pandemic year," added Dr. Hamdy. "This June, we are excited for our poster presentation at the annual European Hematology Association (EHA) (Free EHA Whitepaper) meeting, which will show data from patients with lymphoma treated with VIP152. We remain on track to initiate Phase 2 studies of VIP152 in the second half of this year."

"Looking to the second half of this year and into 2023, we look forward to continuing to advance our preclinical bioconjugation platform – a diverse, modular platform of linkers and payloads that can be conjugated with antibodies and small molecules to create novel targeted therapeutics for a broad range of solid tumors and hematologic malignancies. We remain on track to file an IND in the second half of this year for VIP236, a small molecule drug conjugate (SMDC) engineered to bind an αvß3 integrin adhesion molecule that is abundantly expressed in advanced metastatic solid tumors. αvß3 is a hallmark of aggressive cancers and poor prognosis. We also remain on-target to file INDs in the second half of 2023 for our two initial antibody drug conjugates (ADCs), VIP943, an anti-IL3RA-KSPi, and VIP924, an anti-CXCR5-KSPi, both with a CellTrapper moiety. From a financial perspective, our current cash resources position us to continue to pursue our upcoming regulatory and clinical milestones," concluded Dr. Hamdy.

RECENT CORPORATE HIGHLIGHTS
VIP152

Abstract accepted for poster presentation at the upcoming European Hematology Association (EHA) (Free EHA Whitepaper) Annual Meeting, titled "VIP152 is a novel CDK9 inhibitor with improved selectivity, target modulation, and cardiac safety in patients with lymphoma."
Presenting author: Melanie Frigault, PhD
Abstract number: P1269
Session date and time: Friday, June 10, 2022; 16:30-17:45 CEST
Presented poster, "VIP152, a selective CDK9 inhibitor, demonstrates sensitivity in gynecologic cell lines that are cisplatin sensitive or resistant and delivers in vivo antitumor efficacy," at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting in April 2022.
Bioconjugation Platform

Invited talk on the Company’s modular assets that can build innovative and high-potency ADCs titled, "ADCs with KSP-Inhibitor Payloads and a Tailored Design of Linker and Metabolite Profile," at the Festival of Biologics meeting March 2022.

Continue to advance our next generation modular bioconjugation platform, comprised of a first-in-class SMDC for solid tumors (VIP236) and two best-in-class preclinical-stage assets for hematologic malignancies (VIP943 and VIP924).
VIP236 consists of an avß3 integrin binder and a linker that is cleavable by neutrophil elastase. The payload is an optimized camptothecin derivative designed for high cellular permeability and low efflux. IND filing in solid tumors expected in 2H 2022.
VIP943 (anti-IL3RA) and VIP924 (anti-CXCR5) are two antibodies linked to a KSP inhibitor – a novel payload class in ADCs. These ADCs also have a stable linker specifically cleaved by legumain, a tumor associated protease. The payload (i.e., KSP inhibitor) is modified to be trapped in the cell by the CellTrapper moiety. Manufacturing is underway and IND filings expected in 2H 2023.
FIRST QUARTER FINANCIAL RESULTS

Vincerx Pharma had $96.5 million in cash as of March 31, 2022, as compared to $111.5 million as of December 31, 2021. Based on its current business plans and assumptions, Vincerx believes its available cash will be sufficient to meet its operating requirements through 2023.
Research and development (R&D) expenses for the quarter ended March 31, 2022 were $16.0 million, as compared to $4.8 million for the same period in 2021. The increase was primarily related to increases in manufacturing services of approximately $4.0 million, including the initiation of manufacturing associated with our ADC program, new employee salaries of approximately $2.5 million, third party research and preclinical work of approximately $2.0 million, clinical services of approximately $1.4 million and stock-based compensation of approximately $0.8 million.
General and administrative (G&A) expenses for the quarter ended March 31, 2022 were $5.6 million, as compared to $4.8 million for the same period in 2021. The increase was primarily related to new employee salaries and increases in legal (patent protection and filings), accounting and other professional services in support of our operations as a public company.
For the quarter ended March 31, 2022, Vincerx reported a net loss of $16.4 million, or $0.79 per share. For the quarter ended March 31, 2021, Vincerx reported a net loss of $6.3 million, or $0.46 per share.