On November 23, 2021 Dragonfly Therapeutics, Inc. ("Dragonfly"), reported that Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, reported that it has licensed its second TriNKET immunotherapy candidate from Dragonfly (Press release, Dragonfly Therapeutics, NOV 23, 2021, View Source [SID1234596004]). Merck licensed its first TriNKET immunotherapy candidate from Dragonfly in November 2020. Merck and Dragonfly’s collaboration, initially focused on a number of solid tumor targets, began in October 2018. The companies expanded their collaboration last year with a multi-target agreement to develop and commercialize additional natural killer ("NK") cell engager immunotherapies in oncology, infectious disease and immune disorders.

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"Merck is a powerful world leader in drug development across a wide number of therapeutic areas and continues to be a strong scientific collaborator," said Bill Haney, co-founder and CEO of Dragonfly Therapeutics. "We are delighted that Merck has now exercised its option for this second immunotherapy candidate from our initial collaboration, and excited by the progress we are making together on bringing Dragonfly’s TriNKET technology to targets across a broader set of diseases."

Under the agreement Merck has exercised its option to license exclusive worldwide intellectual property rights on its second immunotherapy candidate developed using the TriNKET technology platform and Dragonfly has received an undisclosed payment associated with this milestone.

On November 23, 2021-Defence Therapeutics Inc., reported the establishment of an agreement with the Lady Davis Institute cell processing center (CPC) to initiate manufacturing of its AccumTM DC cancer vaccine candidate AccuVAC-D001 (Press release, Defence Therapeutics, NOV 23, 2021, View Source [SID1234626240]). This agreement immediately positions Defence’s vaccine to be manufactured with the focus on melanoma and breast cancer.

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The mandate of the Jewish General Hospital CPC located at the Lady Davis Institute is to support early phase clinical trials of cell-based therapies where processing of human cell and tissue is required to treat human catastrophic illnesses such as cancer. The close proximity of this facility to hospital patients further simplifies the logistics of the trial.

The facility comprises of the Clean Room area where cell processing takes place, as well as the Laboratory Annex supporting the Clean Room. The Clean Room is a clinical-grade, high sterility isolation facility certified ISO Class 7. It is operated by highly qualified personnel led by Dr. Nicoletta Eliopoulos, a pioneer in cell therapy with a track record of successful implementation and prosecution of custom autologous cellular pharmaceuticals.

"We are a step closer to initiate our Phase I trial using our proprietary AccumTM DC technology with the establishment of such agreement. These studies will not only establish the "blueprints" of our manufacturing process, but they will implement import quality control steps required by regulatory agencies prior to treating melanoma and breast cancer patients in 2022", says Mr. Plouffe, CEO of Defence Therapeutics.

On November 23, 2021 Nykode Therapeutics (formerly Vaccibody*)) (Euronext Growth (Oslo): VACC (ticker will soon be changed)), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of vaccines and novel immunotherapies, reported that the Company is changing its name to reflect its exciting development and mark a milestone in our journey of growth and transformation (Press release, Vaccibody, NOV 23, 2021, View Source [SID1234595970]). It acts as a visible symbol of a new phase of opportunity based on collaborations, internationalization, and future ambitions. And it conveys how we are truly starting to realize our vision of being a leading immunotherapy platform company, breaking down the boundaries of conventional drug design to unlock the future of medicine.

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The Company’s new name is inspired by its Norwegian roots and links to our platform’s modularity. Nykode translates as ‘new code’, playing on the potential of our technology to generate novel codes and create innovative patient therapies. Michael Engsig, CEO of Nykode Therapeutics: "Over the last few years, the Company has made significant steps forward. We have reported promising clinical data, continued to grow our pipeline and forged significant partnerships."

Michael Engsig added, "We continue our exciting transformation from a two-asset focused company to a fully-fledged platform biotech company. During the past year, we have increased the number of talented colleagues, made important additions to our senior management team, invested strategically, and expanded internationally. This positive evolution, combined with our future ambitions, inspired the need to revisit our brand."

Agnete B. Fredriksen, Chief Innovation & Strategy Officer of Nykode Therapeutics, continued, "The challenge of changing our name was to consolidate everything we have achieved to date with our future plans to expand, and combine this into a powerful new brand." Agnete B. Fredriksen added, "We have shown that we can generate novel molecules by combining multiple different genes or codes to generate new medicines with unique properties. We will build further on this know-how, driven by our guiding purpose to push the boundaries of human advancement by rethinking conventional drug design. We want to express how our platform’s intelligent modular design and tailored hyper targeting may deliver game-changing medicines for patients. This vision aims to create innovative therapies and continues to broaden our reach into multiple therapeutic areas, both with and without our partners. In essence, we believe that our new name, Nykode, uniquely captures our progress and possibilities."

Read more about the journey and inspiration regarding our new name, logo, and visual identity on our new website, nykode.com. *)

Vaccibody AS, which is changing its company name to Nykode Therapeutics AS, has called for an EGM on November 30, 2021, to vote for the approval of the change of its company name from Vaccibody AS to Nykode Therapeutics AS.

On November 23, 2021 Novocure (NASDAQ: NVCR) reported it will participate in two upcoming investor conferences (Press release, NovoCure, NOV 23, 2021, View Source [SID1234595988]).

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William Doyle, Novocure’s Executive Chairman, and Ashley Cordova, Novocure’s Chief Financial Officer, will participate in the 33rd Annual 2021 Piper Sandler Healthcare Conference on November 30, 2021. Mr. Doyle and Ms. Cordova will take part in a fireside chat at 1 p.m. EST, as well as one-on-one meetings with investors throughout the event. A live audio webcast of the presentation can be accessed from the Investor Relations page of Novocure’s website, www.novocure.com/investor-relations, and will be available for replay for at least 14 days following the event.

Ms. Cordova will be joined by Pritesh Shah, Novocure’s Chief Commercial Officer, for additional one-on-one meetings with investors as part of the 4th Annual 2021 Evercore ISI HealthCONx Conference on December 2, 2021.

Novocure’s corporate presentation is updated periodically, and the current presentation can be accessed from the Investor Relations page of Novocure’s website, www.novocure.com/investor-relations. Novocure has used, and intends to continue to use, its Investor Relations website as a means of disclosing material non-public information and for complying with its disclosure obligations under Regulation FD.

On November 23, 2021 Bionomics Limited (ASX:BNO,OTCQB:BNOEF) (Bionomics or Company), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, reported the public filing of a registration statement on Form F-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") in relation to a proposed public offering (the "Offering") of American Depositary Shares (ADSs), each of which will represent one or a number of the Company’s ordinary shares in the United States (Press release, Bionomics, NOV 23, 2021, View Source [SID1234596005]). Concurrent with the proposed public offering, Bionomics also intends to list the ADSs on the Nasdaq Stock Market (Nasdaq).

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All securities to be sold in the Offering will be offered by Bionomics. The number of securities to be sold and the price per ADS under any proposed Offering have not yet been determined.

Bionomics has applied to list its ADSs on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "BNOX". The ordinary shares are listed, and upon the completion of the Offering, will continue to trade on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) under the symbol "BNO".

A registration statement relating to the securities referred to herein has been filed with the SEC but has not yet become effective. These securities may not be sold, nor may offers to buy be accepted, prior to the time the registration statement becomes effective. This announcement does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities in any jurisdiction, and shall not constitute an offer, solicitation or sale in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of that jurisdiction.