On February 18, 2022 Cellectis (Euronext Growth: ALCLS – Nasdaq: CLLS), a clinical-stage biotechnology company using its pioneering gene-editing platform to develop life-saving cell and gene therapies, and Calyxt, Inc. ("Calyxt"), a majority-owned (61.8% as of December 31, 2021) subsidiary of Cellectis S.A., reported the placement to an institutional investor in an underwritten offering of (i) 3,880,000 shares of Calyxt common stock, (ii) pre-funded warrants to purchase up to 3,880,000 shares of its common stock, and (iii) common warrants to purchase up to 7,760,000 shares of its common stock (the "Offering") (Press release, Cellectis, FEB 18, 2022, View Source [SID1234608315]).

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The shares of common stock and the pre-funded warrants were each sold in combination with corresponding common warrants, with one common warrant to purchase one share of common stock for each share of common stock or each pre-funded warrant sold. The pre-funded warrants will have an exercise price of $0.0001 per share of Calyxt common stock and the common warrants will have an exercise price of $1.41 per share of Calyxt common stock. The pre-funded warrants will be immediately exercisable and remain exercisable until exercised, while the common warrants will be exercisable six months after the date of issuance and will have a term of five years from the date of exercisability. The aggregate public offering price for each share of common stock or each pre-funded warrant and, in each case, an accompanying common warrant was $1.41. All securities sold in the Offering were sold by Calyxt.

In connection with the Offering, Calyxt disclosed certain preliminary estimated financial information as of December 31, 2021: Calyxt’s cash and cash equivalents was $13.7 million, restricted cash was $0.6 million, total current liabilities were $4.1 million, and financing lease obligations, including current portion, were $17.9 million.

This preliminary financial information, which has not been audited, is based on information currently available to Calyxt and is subject to the completion of Calyxt’s year-end financial closing procedures. It is possible that Calyxt’s independent registered public accounting firm may identify items that require Calyxt to make adjustments to the preliminary estimates set forth above and those changes could be material.

In connection with the Offering, Calyxt also provided an updated description of certain aspects of its business (the "Updated Calyxt Business Disclosure") and updated the risk factor disclosure (the "Updated Calyxt Risk Factor Disclosure") from Calyxt’s prior filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

On February 18, 2022 Dizal Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (SHEX:688192) ("Dizal"), reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") has granted Fast Track Designation to DZD4205 (Golidocitinib) for the treatment of patients with Refractory or Relapsed Peripheral T-Cell Lymphoma (r/r PTCL) (Press release, Dizal Pharma, FEB 18, 2022, View Source [SID1234608331]).

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"Relapsed or refractory peripheral T-cell lymphoma is an aggressive and rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Patients with r/r PTCL are often associated with poor prognosis. Couple years ago, our translational science team first identified JAK1 as a potential target for PTCL treatment. Based on the finding, we launched clinical studies to test the hypothesis. Now, we have patient data which validated our translational science finding. This is a great example of translational science-driven drug development." said Dr. Xiaolin Zhang, Chief Executive Officer at Dizal. "The FDA Fast Track Designation for DZD4205 is an important milestone and we look forward to working closely with the U.S. FDA to potentially bring this treatment to our patients."

Fast track is a process designed by U.S. FDA to facilitate the development and expedite the review of drugs to treat serious conditions and fill an unmet medical need. The purpose is to get important new drugs to the patient earlier [1].

About DZD4205 (Golidocitinib)

DZD4205 (Golidocitinib) is an orally available, potent, and JAK1-specific inhibitor. The preliminary data from an ongoing phase I/II study in r/r PTCL shows that 21 (42.9%) out of the 49 patients have achieved tumor response.

Dizal is conducting Phase II pivotal clinical trials in the U.S., China, Australia, South Korea and other countries and regions.

On February 18, 2022 TransThera Sciences (Nanjing), Inc. ("TransThera") reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") approved the Investigational New Drug ("IND") application of TT-01488, a non-covalent reversible Bruton’s Tyrosine Kinase ("BTK") inhibitor, for the treatment of B-cell lymphomas on January 24, 2022, and TransThera will initiate the Phase I clinical trials in the U.S. soon (Press release, TransThera Biosciences, FEB 18, 2022, View Source [SID1234608317]). TransThera also announced that China National Medical Products Administration ("NMPA") officially accepted the IND application of TT-01488 for the treatment of B-cell lymphomas on February 14, 2022.

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According to Frost & Sullivan, the global and China BTK inhibitor market reached USD7.2 billion and RMB1.3 billion in 2020 respectively. The market is expected to continue to expand in the next 5 years, with the CAGR of 22.7% globally and 58.6% in China from 2020 to 2025. As of 2021, there were 5 BTK inhibitors approved in different markets, all being covalent irreversible BTK inhibitors. The mechanism of action for covalent irreversible BTK inhibitors is to form covalent bond with the C481 site of BTK. However, when C481S mutation occurs, they will not be able to maintain the covalent bond, which eventually leads to drug resistance. Long-term follow-up results for the use of irreversible BTK inhibitors, according to Frost & Sullivan, demonstrate cumulative discontinuation rates as high as 40%, which show the large unmet medical needs.

"Non-covalent BTK inhibitors are not affected by the C481S mutation and are expected to overcome acquired resistance developed from marketed covalent BTK inhibitors. In a head-to-head kinase panel screening, TT-01488 demonstrated higher potency and better kinase selectivity on EGFR and TEC than peer non-covalent reversible BTK inhibitor under clinical investigation, indicating a potentially better safety profile. Moreover, in the DLBCL CDX model, TT-01488 showed a superior antitumor effect compared to peer non-covalent reversible BTK inhibitor." Said Dr. Peng Peng, vice president of project management and head of oncology portfolio at TransThera, "The approval by FDA and the acceptance from NMPA for its IND applications are two important milestones in the development of TT-01488. We will actively cooperate with the regulatory authorities to initiate the clinical trials of TT-01488 globally as soon as possible. "

About TT-01488：

TT-01488 is a non-covalent, reversible BTK inhibitor for overcoming acquired resistance mutation developed from marketed covalent BTK inhibitors in various types of B-Cell lymphomas. In preclinical trials, TT-01488 showed potential advantages such as overcoming drug resistance, improved target selectivity, antitumor efficacy and favorable safety.

On February 18, 2022 Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. (Nasdaq: KNSA) reported that it will host a conference call and live webcast on Tuesday, February 22, 2022, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time to report its fourth quarter and full-year 2021 financial results and corporate update (Press release, Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals, FEB 18, 2022, View Source [SID1234608337]).

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A live webcast will be accessible through the Investors & Media section of the company’s website at www.kiniksa.com. A replay of the webcast will also be available on Kiniksa’s website within approximately 48 hours of the event. The conference call can be accessed by dialing (866) 614-0636 (U.S. and Canada) or (409) 231-2053 (international) using conference ID number 8145539.

On February 17, 2022 Alkermes plc (Nasdaq: ALKS) reported that new data from the ongoing phase 1/2 ARTISTRY-1 clinical trial for nemvaleukin alfa (nemvaleukin), the company’s novel, investigational, engineered interleukin-2 (IL-2) variant immunotherapy (Press release, Alkermes, FEB 17, 2022, View Source [SID1234608217]). The data were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Genitourinary (GU) Cancers Symposium, taking place Feb. 17-19, 2022.

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The presentation includes updated efficacy and safety data from the monotherapy arm of ARTISTRY-1, in which single-agent, anti-tumor activity of intravenous (IV) nemvaleukin was observed in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC), including patients who were checkpoint inhibitor (CPI)-pretreated.

"Nemvaleukin’s single-agent activity is an important differentiating feature in the IL-2 space and suggests that nemvaleukin may contribute clinical benefit when used in combination regimens with other cancer treatments like checkpoint inhibitors," said Craig Hopkinson, M.D., Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President of Research & Development at Alkermes. "Together with the objective responses previously reported in the melanoma cohort of this study, these data in renal cell carcinoma show nemvaleukin’s monotherapy activity in two tumor types where high-dose IL-2 is approved, thus validating its novel molecular design."

Data highlights from the ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) GU poster presentation include:

ARTISTRY-1, IV Nemvaleukin (6 μg/kg) Monotherapy Arm, RCC Patients
The ARTISTRY-1 monotherapy RCC cohort included 27 patients with advanced RCC, 56% of whom were CPI-pretreated. As of the Oct. 29, 2021 data cutoff:

Nemvaleukin monotherapy induced robust expansion of CD8+ T and natural killer (NK) cells, with minimal effect on regulatory T cells (Tregs).
Among 23 evaluable patients (with at least one post-baseline scan):
Four patients, all of whom were CPI-pretreated, achieved a partial response (one unconfirmed) and three of these patients continued on monotherapy.
Decreases in target lesions of up to 60% were observed.
Stable disease was observed in 10 patients.
Safety among these patients with advanced RCC was consistent with that which was previously reported for the IV nemvaleukin monotherapy-treated population in the ARTISTRY-1 study. Fever, chills, nausea and anemia were the most frequently reported adverse events (AEs), regardless of causality. Chills and anemia were the most commonly reported treatment-related AEs of grade ≥3. There were no deaths due to treatment-related AEs.

Details of the presentation are available on the ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) GU website at View Source

Abstract: 330
Title: Nemvaleukin Alfa in Patients With Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma: ARTISTRY-1
Presenter: Emiliano Calvo, M.D., Ph.D., Medical Oncologist and Director of Clinical Research at the START Madrid-Centro Integral Oncológico Clara Campal Hospital, Madrid, Spain
Presentation Date: The poster, along with a pre-recorded presentation, will be available on the ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) GU virtual meeting platform beginning Feb. 17, 2022.

About Nemvaleukin Alfa ("nemvaleukin")
Nemvaleukin is an investigational, novel, engineered fusion protein comprised of modified interleukin-2 (IL-2) and the high affinity IL-2 alpha receptor chain, designed to preferentially expand tumor-killing immune cells while avoiding the activation of immunosuppressive cells by selectively binding to the intermediate-affinity IL-2 receptor complex. The selectivity of nemvaleukin is designed to leverage the proven anti-tumor effects of existing IL-2 therapy while mitigating certain limitations.

About the Nemvaleukin Clinical Development Program
ARTISTRY is an Alkermes-sponsored clinical development program evaluating nemvaleukin as a potential immunotherapy for cancer. The ARTISTRY program is comprised of multiple clinical trials evaluating intravenous and subcutaneous dosing of nemvaleukin, both as a monotherapy and in combination with the anti-PD-1 therapy KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) in patients with advanced solid tumors. Ongoing trials in the ARTISTRY program include: ARTISTRY-1, ARTISTRY-2, ARTISTRY-3, ARTISTRY-6 and ARTISTRY-7.