On October 6, 2021 SAB Biotherapeutics (SAB), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with a novel immunotherapy platform that produces specifically targeted, high-potency, fully-human polyclonal antibodies without the need for human donors, reported that it will host a virtual R&D Day on Wednesday, October 13, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. ET to showcase its versatile DiversitAb platform and pipeline of clinical and preclinical programs (Press release, SAB Biotherapeutics, OCT 6, 2021, View Source [SID1234590878]).

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The event will feature SAB management and key opinion leaders, including:

Arturo Casadevall, MD, PhD – The Alfred and Jill Sommer Professor and Chair, W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology & Immunology, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
Michael Haller, MD, MS-CI – Professor and Chief, Silverstein Family Eminent Scholar, Pediatric Endocrinology in the College of Medicine, University of Florida
A live webcast of the event will be accessible through the "News" section of the company’s website at www.sabbiotherapeutics.com. A replay of the webcast will be available on the SAB website following the event.

On June 22, 2021, SAB announced a planned merger with Big Cypress Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: BCYP). The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021.

On October 6, 2021 EQRx, a new type of pharmaceutical company committed to developing and delivering important new medicines to patients at radically lower prices, and Absci Corporation (Nasdaq: ABSI), the drug and target discovery company harnessing deep learning AI and synthetic biology to expand the therapeutic potential of proteins, reported a discovery collaboration (Press release, EQRx, OCT 6, 2021, View Source [SID1234590862]).

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Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

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The partnership will leverage Absci’s Drug Creation technology for discovery and development activities, along with EQRx’s clinical development expertise and commercial capabilities, to advance next-generation, protein-based therapeutics at more affordable costs for patients. EQRx and Absci will collaborate to jointly engineer and develop several clinical candidates across multiple therapeutic areas, including oncology and immunology. At Absci’s option, it may make additional investments at progressive stages of development in exchange for an increased share of product sales.

"Absci’s technology platform enables rapid discovery and production of well-differentiated protein-based drugs that are elusive to other discovery approaches," said Carlos Garcia-Echeverria, Ph.D., chief of Rx creation at EQRx. "We are excited to work with Absci towards our goal of providing innovative, cost-effective treatment options for patients."

"This collaboration with EQRx expands the reach of our AI-powered target discovery, drug design and development technology," said Sean McClain, founder and CEO of Absci. "Together, we look forward to discovering differentiated next-generation biologics, driving efficiencies, and accelerating timelines so that our future medicines can have the biggest possible impact for patients in need."

On October 6, 2021 PanTher Therapeutics (PanTher), a clinical-stage oncology company developing next-generation targeted therapies for solid tumors, reported the dosing of the first two patients in its Phase 1 first-in-human clinical trial of PTM-101 for the treatment of pancreatic cancer (Press release, PanTher Therapeutics, OCT 6, 2021, View Source [SID1234590879]).

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PanTher’s proprietary treatment platform focuses on direct, localized, and sustained delivery of proven and novel therapeutic agents, attacking cancer at the source. Pancreatic cancer has one of the poorest prognoses of all malignancies, and responses to currently available systemic therapies are inadequate. PTM-101 is PanTher’s lead clinical candidate and is designed to intensively target pancreatic tumors and enhance therapeutic effect with minimal systemic toxicity.

This first-in-human trial will evaluate feasibility, safety, and pharmacokinetics of PTM-101 when used as part of a standard procedure for treatment of patients with locally advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

"Launching the PTM-101 Phase 1 trial signals a major step toward our goal of improving therapeutic options for patients with difficult-to-treat solid tumors," said Laura Indolfi, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of PanTher Therapeutics. "We are thrilled to partner with Dr. Charles Pilgrim and his team at The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne as we incorporate PTM-101 into the treatment for patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer."

The principal investigator of the PTM-101 clinical trial is Charles Pilgrim, MBBS, FRACS, PhD, FACS, who is an Associate Professor of Surgery at The Alfred, Central Clinical School, Monash University and a Senior trauma instructor and examiner for the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. Dr. Pilgrim is a surgeon-scientist with a clinical and research focus on pancreas and hepatobiliary cancers, a PhD through the University of Melbourne at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, and a second fellowship in Surgical Oncology/HPB surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

"Based upon the encouraging data in animal models of pancreatic cancer, we are optimistic about the clinical potential of PTM-101 to treat patients with this devastating disease," said J. Marc Pipas, MD, Chief Medical Officer of PanTher Therapeutics. "Our hope is that this technology will provide physicians a novel therapeutic modality without disrupting the current standard of care. The initiation of this first-in-human study could represent an important advance in the treatment of pancreatic cancer."

About PTM-101

PanTher’s lead clinical candidate, PTM-101, is a proprietary flexible biodegradable polymeric system for the sustained release of paclitaxel to the tumor site. It allows easy integration with standard procedures to specifically target the peritumoral area.

On October 6, 2021 Gerben Zondag, Founder & COO of Immunetune, reported that it will be attending the World Vaccine Congress Europe, taking place October 19-21, 2021, in Barcelona, Spain (Press release, ImmuneTune, OCT 6, 2021, View Source [SID1234590863]). Feel free to reach out to us to set up a meeting and explore collaboration opportunities.

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On October 6, 2021 MPM Capital ("MPM"), one of the world’s leading biotech investment firms, reported that it has raised $850 million for its second Oncology Impact Fund ("OIF 2" or "the Fund"), making it the world’s largest biotech impact investment fund (Press release, MPM Capital, OCT 6, 2021, View Source [SID1234590880]). OIF 2’s investment efforts are managed through BioImpact Capital, an affiliate of MPM that has been formed to broaden MPM’s investment offerings beyond venture capital into dedicated impact and public equities funds.

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OIF 2 will create and invest in companies that develop innovative treatments for cancer and other areas of highest unmet medical need. The Fund’s goals are to generate a compelling financial return and a long-term impact on patients’ lives. OIF 2 will invest in private and public companies to identify the most compelling drug development programs.

OIF 2 exceeded its fundraising target of $650 million, and far outpaced the $471 million raised in 2016 for MPM’s first Oncology Impact Fund ("OIF 1"), which at the time was also the largest biotech impact investment fund ever.

MPM and its BioImpact Capital team raised $650 million for OIF 2 through their unique partnership with UBS, the world’s leading global wealth manager. UBS clients invested from around the world including the US, the UK, Switzerland, Hong Kong, and Singapore. The remaining $200 million was raised by MPM and the BioImpact Capital team directly.

"Beyond oncology, OIF 2 will also expand its focus to additional cutting-edge technologies including cell, gene, and RNA therapies," said Ansbert Gadicke, M.D., Managing Partner of BioImpact Capital and MPM Managing Director. "Companies created by MPM remain at the vanguard of innovation, having received FDA approvals for over 50 drugs. Their continued success now stands to benefit an even greater range of investors and patients."

MPM and its BioImpact Capital team are equally committed to generating significant social and human impact through OIF 2 and doing so without affecting investor returns. A portion of its success fees from OIF 2, as well as a royalty from treatments created by its start-up companies, will be donated to the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper), to help fund grants for next-generation cancer research, and to the UBS Optimus Foundation, to improve access to cancer care in the developing world.

"Through OIF 2, our mission is twofold: providing strong financial returns for our investors, while creating broader impact for patients even beyond the life-saving drugs we create," said Christiana Bardon, M.D., M.B.A., Co-Managing Partner of BioImpact Capital. "The companies that we invest in are all motivated to transform the lives of patients. Our novel investment model in partnership with philanthropic organizations can amplify the benefit to patients by supporting expanded patient access and the next generation of scientific insights."

"We are proud to connect our clients with brilliant scientists around the world who are working hard to alleviate the pain and suffering caused by cancer," said Mark Haefele, Chief Investment Officer at UBS Global Wealth Management. "With more than $1 billion raised so far, this is what reimagining the power of investing and connecting people for a better world can look like."

MPM’s BioImpact Capital team leverages its extensive company creation and clinical development experience along with its deep research and intellectual property expertise to successfully create and invest in companies through clinical proof of concept. In total, MPM has shepherded more than 100 companies through