On October 6, 2021, XOMA (US) LLC ("XOMA"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of XOMA Corporation (the "Company"), reported that entered into a commercial payment purchase agreement (the "Agreement") with Affitech Research AS, a Norwegian biotech company ("Affitech") (Filing, 8-K, Xoma, OCT 6, 2021, View Source [SID1234591012]). Pursuant to the Agreement, XOMA has purchased a future stream of commercial payment rights to Roche’s faricimab from Affitech for $6 million. XOMA is eligible to receive an economic interest of 0.50% of net sales of faricimab for a ten-year period following first commercial sales in each applicable jurisdiction. XOMA may pay up to an additional $20 million to Affitech based upon the achievement of certain regulatory and sales milestones.

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The Agreement contains certain covenants, representations and warranties regarding Affitech’s rights and obligations with respect to the existing licenses and customary covenants and representations for a transaction of this nature.

On October 6, 2021 Defence Therapeutics, a biotechnology company working on cancer therapeutics and infectious disease vaccines is finalizing all required steps in preparation to a pre-IND meeting to initiate a phase I trial against melanoma using its DC cancer vaccine candidate AccuVAC-D002 (Press release, Defence Therapeutics, OCT 6, 2021, View Source [SID1234626237]).

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Defence has successfully exploited the use of its AccumTM technology platform to develop a large pipeline of products in immune-oncology and infectious diseases. Amongst its lead products is AccuVAC-D002, a DC-based cancer vaccine engineered to treat melanoma. The AccumTM technology platform is very efficient at enhancing intracellular delivery of proteins of pharmacological interests such as ADCs or vaccine antigens. Defence’s scientific team recently identified a novel function for the use of "free" AccumTM and its recently developed variants as anti-cancer molecules.

"We have successfully moved our product pipeline forward and developed various cancer vaccines including AccuVAC-D002. With the synopsis in hand, we are actively working with a large established CRO in the USA to identify and set-up the site for our Phase I against melanoma in the first half of 2022", says Mr. Plouffe, CEO of Defence Therapeutics.

Defence Therapeutics has antibody-drug conjugates and vaccines in late-stage pre-clinical development and/or undergoing GLP studies. With two DC cancer vaccines (AccuVAC-D001 and D002) undergoing manufacturing in clean rooms, Defence is most likely to initiate its Phase I trials in Q1/Q2 of 2022.

Skin Cancer Treatment Market to reach USD 14.55 Billion with a 7.5% CAGR by 2027, according to a report by Fortune Business InsightsTM.

On October 6, 2021 PerkinElmer Inc., a global leader committed to innovating for a healthier world, reported that its Horizon Discovery CHOSOURCE platform is expanding to include a new expression cell line, CHO-K1 ADCC+ (Press release, PerkinElmer, OCT 6, 2021, View Source [SID1234590882]). This new expression host was built from Horizon’s established biomanufacturing cell line, CHO-K1 GS KO, by knocking out the fucose gene to increase antibody-dependant cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) activity. This approach may improve potency and efficacy of therapeutic antibodies and fusion protein biotherapeutics, as well as reduce dosage requirements and side effects for patients.

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The use of afucosylated antibodies and fusion proteins is expanding from oncology applications to infectious diseases like flu, Ebola, SARS and Covid-19, and most recently, autoimmune conditions. The availability of production tools, like the CHO-K1 ADCC+ cell line, is key to helping companies develop innovative and critical treatments across broader indications.

"Horizon has a long track-record in gene editing technologies that enable us to expand our CHOSOURCE platform to offer global scientists new and improved expression cell lines and service offerings to meet their evolving biotherapeutic development needs," said Jesus Zurdo, head of cell and gene therapy and bioproduction for Horizon, a PerkinElmer company. "We are extremely excited about this new addition to the CHOSOURCE family which we will continue to add to in the future."

The CHOSOURCE platform, now with CHO GS-KO and ADCC+ expression cell lines, is easily adaptable for implementation in proprietary biomanufacturing processes in the early stages of discovery and development of therapeutic programs. In addition, the CHOSOURCE platform continues to offer beneficial licensing solutions that enable technology access to any business, from virtual start-ups to established pharmaceutical companies and contract-manufacturing organizations.

For further information on Horizon’s CHOSOURCE platform, please visit: View Source

Horizon’s gene editing and gene modulation products and services are part of PerkinElmer’s comprehensive portfolio of solutions, software and services for life science and cell and gene therapy customers. Learn more here: Life Sciences Research Solutions.

On October 6, 2021 Theratechnologies Inc. (Theratechnologies) (TSX: TH) (NASDAQ: THTX), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative therapies, reported that Christian Marsolais, Ph.D., Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, will participate at the H.C. Wainwright 5th Annual NASH Investor Conference on Tuesday, October 6, 2021 at 4:30 p.m. ET (Press release, Theratechnologies, OCT 6, 2021, View Source [SID1234596232]).

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A live webcast of Dr. Marsolais’ presentation will be available through the ‘Events’ section of the Company’s investor relations website and will be archived for 90 days.

On October 6, 2021 Servier reported the launch in Argentina of a new treatment for patients suffering from pancreatic cancer (Press release, Servier, OCT 6, 2021, View Source;utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=pancreatic-cancer-a-new-treatment-available-for-argentine-patients [SID1234590866]).

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Argentina is the first Latin American country in which Servier has launched a treatment for this type of cancer. This is the third medicine launched by Servier in Argentina in oncology.

Pancreatic cancer in Argentina has an incidence of 4,900 new cases per year, with high mortality rates. It is the 4th cause of death by cancer and accounts for 6.9% of all deaths from cancer in Argentina.1

"The arrival of this new treatment in Argentina is excellent news for patients," said Nelson Da Conceicao, General Manager of Servier Argentina. "The medical need for the treatment to fight pancreatic cancer is particularly strong, with limited therapeutic alternatives."

To meet the growing need for therapeutic solutions, Servier has made oncology one of its top priorities, investing 50% of its annual R&D budget in this field starting in 2020/2021.2 These investments in R&D are complemented by major acquisitions, in order to increase the Group’s arsenal in oncology. In the past four years, Servier has acquired Shire’s oncology business (2018), Symphogen (2020), a Danish company specialized in monoclonal antibodies, and the oncology division of Agios Pharmaceuticals (2021).

"The availability of this medicine in Argentina marks an important step forward in Servier’s ambition to become a renowned player in oncology. The Group’s major involvement in the fight against cancer is now reflected in seven treatments available to patients worldwide,″ said Emmanuel Pradère, Director of the Oncology Franchise at Servier.