On October 21, 2021 AskGene, a biotechnology company developing next-generation cytokine therapeutics, and novel bi-specific antibodies to treat cancer and other diseases, and ATUM, a California-based bioengineering company, reported the successful Investigational New Drug (IND) filing in China for AskGene’s new antibody drug (Press release, AskGene Pharmaceuticals, OCT 21, 2021, View Source [SID1234591727]). The antibody was produced using the Leap-In Transposase technology pioneered by ATUM and represents the tenth successful IND clearance globally using this platform.

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"We are encouraged to see how fast the Leap-In Transposase technology has been broadly accepted in the marketplace. We started licensing the platform four years ago and already see the approval of ten successful IND filings," said Oren Beske, Ph.D., Vice President of Business and Strategy at ATUM. "AskGene Pharma was one of the earliest adopters of the Leap-In Transposase technology and we are excited to see how fast they have reached IND filing status."

The Leap-In Transposase technology enables rapid, stable, and robust manufacturing of mammalian cell lines for the production of commercial-grade protein pharmaceuticals. The technology has been evaluated and accepted by multiple independent IND authorizing entities, including the Chinese National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), the European Medicines Agency (EMA), and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

"AskGene is committed to rapidly bringing safe and effective medicines to patients through the use of innovative technologies. We are very pleased to cooperate with ATUM to support us in developing the promising antibodies and next-generation cytokine therapeutics to benefit patients," said AskGene’s CEO, Jeff Lu, Ph.D. "The exceptional genetic stability of the cell lines developed using ATUM’s Leap-in Transposase technology was an important aspect of our successful IND filing and provided an incredibly efficient solution for cell line design and manufacturing."

For more information about the Leap-In Transposase technology, please visit www.atum.bio/pipeline/cld.

On October 21, 2021 Cannabics reported that develops cannabinoid-based, tumour reducing therapies (Press release, Cannabics Pharmaceuticals, OCT 21, 2021, View Source [SID1234593956]). Its bioinformatics platform evaluates the efficacy of thousands of cannabinoid compounds on various cancers. In addition, it has recently launched a psychedelic inspired research programme focused on neuropsychiatric disorders. Its most advanced therapies target the $18bn colorectal cancer market, with human clinical trials planned to commence in 2022. Earlierstage therapies target breast cancer, prostate cancer and melanomas. Cannabics has five granted patents and 20 patents pending.

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Preparing pre-IND packages
Cannabics is currently preparing a pre-IND meeting package for its colorectal cancer treatment RCC-33. In June 2021, Cannabics announced RCC-33 in-vivo interim results that showed a 30% reduction in tumour volume versus a control group. The company expects Phase I/IIa to commence in the second half of 2022 and be complete by the end of 2024 at an estimated cost of $5m. Also targeting colorectal pre-cancerous polyps, PLP-33 is in preparation for a pre-IND meeting package and synopsis for a Phase I.

Beefing up the board
In combination with Cannabics’s recent initiation of research into a new melanoma treatment, Professor Caroline Robert (MD PhD), a melanoma expert, has recently (August 2021) joined the company’s clinical advisory board. Also joining in August was Dr Sigal Tavor (MD), a haemato-oncology expert. In September 2021, Neuropsychiatrist Dr Ilya Reznik (MD) joined the company management as head of psychedelic inspired medicine as part of the strategy to develop new psychedelic inspired medicines and therapies to address severe mental health related conditions.

Addressing major markets
Cannabics therapies addressing melanoma (MLN-33), breast cancer (BRST-33) and prostate cancer (PRST-33) are in preclinical in-vitro trials. All three are expected to move to in-vivo studies in 2022. Neuropsychiatry therapies targeting mental health conditions are in the discovery phase.

Financials
For the most recent quarter ending May 2021, Cannabics had cash and cash equivalents of $2m. During the quarter, the company reported a net loss of $1.3m including a non-recurring expense of $0.6m

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On October 21, 2021 Artiva Biotherapeutics, Inc., ("Artiva") an oncology company focused on developing and commercializing off-the-shelf, allogeneic natural killer (NK) cell-based therapies to treat cancer, reported an upcoming presentation describing AB-201, an anti-HER2 CAR-NK cell therapy candidate, at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) (Free SITC Whitepaper) 36th Annual Meeting and Pre-Conference Programs to be held November 10-14, 2021, virtually and in-person at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C (Press release, Artiva Biotherapeutics, OCT 21, 2021, View Source [SID1234591680]).

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The full abstract is scheduled to be available on the SITC (Free SITC Whitepaper) website on November 9, 2021.

Poster Presentation Info:

Title: Development of AB-201, a novel allogeneic anti-HER2-specific CAR-NK cell therapy for the treatment of HER2+ tumors
Abstract Number: #129
Date: November 12 – 13, 2021
Time: 7:00 am – 8:30 pm ET
Location: Hall E
About HER2+ Solid Tumors

HER2 is a receptor tyrosine kinase that is overexpressed on many solid tumors, including breast, gastric, and bladder cancers. It is estimated that there are over 50,000 patients diagnosed annually in U.S. with tumors having high HER2 expression, with overexpression found in approximately 20% of breast cancer cases and in over 10% of bladder and gastric cancers. Currently, there are eight approved HER2-directed therapies including monoclonal antibodies, antibody-drug conjugates, and small molecule kinase inhibitors. While many patients with advanced HER2+ cancers derive meaningful benefit from HER2-targeted therapies, they typically progress beyond approved therapies, and treatment of these patients remains a large unmet medical need.

About AB-201

AB-201 is an allogeneic anti-HER2 CAR-NK cell therapy candidate manufactured from cord blood, containing a proprietary HER2 antigen recognition domain. Artiva is developing AB-201 for the treatment of HER2-overexpressing tumors, such as breast, gastric, and bladder cancers. The company is currently manufacturing AB-201 in large scale bioreactors, resulting in potentially thousands of doses of product from a single donor cord blood unit.

On October 21, 2021 Checkmate Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: CMPI) ("Checkmate"), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing its proprietary technology to harness the power of the immune system to combat cancer, reported a live webcast on innate immune modulators and vidutolimod (CMP-001) hosted by Jefferies on Tuesday, October 26 from 11:00am – 12:00pm ET (Press release, Checkmate Pharmaceuticals, OCT 21, 2021, View Source [SID1234591699]).

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The webcast will be moderated by Maury Raycroft, Ph.D. and feature Jason Luke, M.D., FACP and Art Krieg, M.D. in a scientific discussion of the role of innate immune modulators in cancer treatment. Dr. Luke will review the various approaches to modulate innate immunity for the treatment of cancer and the challenges experienced by the field. Dr. Krieg will discuss the unique modality and mechanism of action of vidutolimod, a biologic, advanced generation Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) agonist, which is in late-stage clinical trials for patients with melanoma and proof-of-concept clinical trials for patients with head and neck cancer, cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, and Merkel cell carcinoma.

Dr. Luke is an internationally recognized clinical and translational investigator in melanoma and early drug development, particularly immuno-oncology. Dr Krieg is the Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Checkmate Pharmaceuticals, Inc. He has published more than 250 scientific papers and is an inventor on more than 50 issued U.S. patents covering oligonucleotide technologies.

The webcast can be accessed under "Events & Presentations" in the Investors section of the Checkmate website. An archived copy of the webcast will be available on the Checkmate website for approximately 90 days after the event.