On July 20, 2021 RemedyBio, an immunology focused discovery and development company, reported the final closing of an additional €8M ($9.4M) in equity financing from the EIC Fund, completing a €10.5M ($12.4M) funding award to the company by the EIC Accelerator (Press release, Remedy Biologics, JUL 20, 2021, View Source [SID1234644116]). This additional €8M financing complements the EIC grant funding of €2.5M ($3M) already awarded to RemedyBio in June 2020, to develop a Rapid Pandemic Response Platform based on its proprietary NanoreactorTM platform. This financing follows RemedyBio’s selection from almost 4,000 company proposals submitted to the EIC Accelerator in 2020.

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RemedyBio’s technology is designed to rapidly and simultaneously analyze millions of single immune cells from an individual sample. After succeeding in flagging powerful new antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 from the immune system of COVID-19 infected patients, the platform is now being tuned to respond to new variants and future diseases. The aim is to create a rapid passive therapy against new strains of COVID-19 and, primarily, to control future pandemics more rapidly, by making therapies for new viruses available in less than 90 days.

"This financing from the EIC Fund will enable us to advance our technology development and therapeutic discovery activities, and forge collaborations with leading pharma partners and key clinical and research groups," said Daniel Crowley, CEO of RemedyBio. "We are delighted to have the support of the EIC Fund. It fills an important financing gap, supporting European companies with innovative technologies to create deep scientific programs and commercial partnerships. In our case, this will drive transformative biological insights and new therapy discoveries."

This investment will fund the significant development of RemedyBio’s innovative, proprietary Nanoreactor platform as well as advancing its key therapeutic pipeline assets. The Nanoreactor platform has been developed by RemedyBio, originating from intellectual property exclusively licensed from Dublin City University (DCU), following a decade-long R&D programme led by Dr. Paul Leonard, the company’s chief scientist and co-founder. The platform has created a step-change in the speed, scale and quality of single cell analysis and discovery, paving the way for powerful new antibodies and cell therapies. Its high-throughput identification capabilities open fresh insights into immune system interactions – driving a new era in precision medicine against viral diseases, cancer and auto-immune disorders.

"At Enterprise Ireland, we welcome this substantial EIC Fund investment in an Irish high potential start-up," said Garrett Murray, national director for Horizon Europe at Enterprise Ireland. "RemedyBio is a great example of an Irish company that has succeeded in winning competitive funding through the EIC and, in Ireland, through the Disruptive Technology Innovation Fund (DTIF) for oncology cell therapy applications, to help fund its development

and advance its scaling strategy. Enterprise Ireland is here to support and advise ambitious and innovative Irish start-ups considering application for competitive EIC financing as part of their funding journey."
Heidi Kakko, member of the Investment Committee of the European Innovation Council Fund said, "This financing round will enable Remedy Biologics to develop a Rapid COVID- 19 Passive Therapy Response Platform. We are glad the EIC Fund is supporting this breakthrough company, which is playing a pioneering role in creating new solutions in immune therapeutics. This shows how the EU contribution is crucial in tackling the Covid19 response."
About the EIC Fund
Established in June 2020, the European Innovation Council Fund (EIC Fund) is a breakthrough initiative of the European Commission to make direct equity and quasi- equity investments (between €500.000 and €15 million) in European high impact and deep tech start-ups and scale ups. The EIC Fund provides patient capital and invests in companies from any sector, across all EU countries and countries associated to Horizon 2020.
The EIC Fund aims to fill a critical financing gap and its main purpose is to have a high impact by accompanying companies with disruptive technologies in their growth. Its objective is to crowd in market players, further sharing risks by building a large network of capital providers and strategic partners suitable for co-investments and follow-on funding. The Fund pays particular attention to empower and support female founders as well as contributing to reduce the innovation divide among EU countries. www.eic.ec.europa.eu/investment-opportunities
About Enterprise Ireland
Enterprise Ireland (EI) services are geared towards helping Irish companies win international sales. These services include funding support, export assistance, development of competitiveness in international markets, R&D and assistance with R&D collaboration. EI also provides access to its global network of contacts. www.enterprise-ireland.com

On July 20, 2021 Genprex, Inc. ("Genprex" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: GNPX), a clinical-stage gene therapy company focused on developing life-changing therapies for patients with cancer and diabetes, reported that its President and Chief Executive Officer, Rodney Varner, will be participating in a webinar series with CEO Roadshow to provide a company overview to investors on a monthly basis from July through September 2021 (Press release, Genprex, JUL 20, 2021, View Source [SID1234584969]).

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Details for the monthly CEO Roadshow webinar series:

Host: CEO Roadshow

Dates and Times:

Wednesday, July 21 at 12 p.m. EDT
Wednesday, August 18 at 11 a.m. EDT
Wednesday, September 22 at 11 a.m. EDT
Webinar Link: https://bit.ly/3eoHeie

Mr. Varner will be available for questions following each company presentation. The webinars will be recorded and available for replay on Genprex’s website for a period of time. Replays will also be available on CEORoadshow.com following each webinar.

The CEO Roadshow webinar series features small and mid-cap stocks that are on the verge of a breakout or have other near-term developments making them an attractive long-term investment opportunity.

On July 20, 2021 Immunicom, Inc., a clinical stage biotech, reported that shared preliminary data from its metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (mTNBC) clinical trial with its novel breakthrough Immunopheresis therapy at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting 2021 (Press release, Immunicom, JUL 20, 2021, View Source [SID1234584987]). Immunicom’s subtractive immunotherapies are designed to remove immune inhibitors and enhance patients natural immune response without compromising quality-of-life as is typically seen after treatment with chemo-/immuno-oncology agents. ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper)’s Annual Meeting is one of the world’s premier scientific gatherings of cancer specialists and researchers.

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Immunicom is investigating its FDA-designated breakthrough Immunopheresis therapy, which is a filtration-based subtractive treatment designed to capture sTNF-R proteins that are shed by cancer cells and inhibit a patient’s natural anti-tumor immune activity. Immunicom presented data for the second cohort of mTNBC patients treated with Immunopheresis in combination with weekly chemotherapy procedures (paclitaxel [60 mg/m2] plus carboplatin [AUC2] combination), which were found to be generally safe and provided early, promising signs of antitumor activity.

Immunicom previously presented data for the initial cohort of patients treated with Immunopheresis alone at AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper)’s Annual Meeting 2021, revealing an 80% decrease of the inhibitory sTNF-R proteins and observation of sustained quality-of-life while on therapy with minimal side effects (details here).

"The ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) data expand on our breakthrough Immunopheresis therapy, specifically in combination with low-dose chemotherapy to demonstrate potential for synergistic and enhanced activity of sTNFR pulldown in late-stage patients who have failed multiple prior lines of therapy," said Dr. Robert Segal, Immunicom Chief Medical Officer. "The goal of halting disease progression and the potential of going into disease remission with this approach, where side-effects are minimal, has significant implications for the health and well-being of these patients with terminal disease. To be able to continue with normal daily activities, is in stark contrast to what these patients might normally experience if they choose to undergo a last-ditch treatment effort with yet another round of standard chemotherapy."

Immunicom’s abstract, "Extracorporeal pulldown of soluble TNFRs to unleash the activity of endogenous TNFα in chemorefractory triple-negative breast cancer patients – first-in-human experience" was published in ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper)’s June 2021 Journal of Clinical Oncology. The study’s principal investigator and lead author is Piotr Wysocki, MD, PhD, Department Head of Oncology at the Jagiellonian University – Medical College Hospital in Krakow, and President of the Polish Society of Clinical Oncology.

On July 20, 2021 Alexion reported with the exciting news that we have been acquired by AstraZeneca, a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company (Press release, Alexion, JUL 20, 2021, View Source [SID1234585003]). This development also marks the creation of Alexion, AstraZeneca Rare Disease.

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Alexion and AstraZeneca share a dedication to science, to innovation, and to delivering life-changing medicines to the patients who need them most. Together, we have the opportunity to add more value for more patients worldwide across a full-spectrum of care.

Alexion’s innovative complement-biology platforms and robust pipeline place AstraZeneca in a strong position for enhancing its scientific presence in the immunology sector. Most importantly, together we will be better positioned to ensure the ongoing discovery and development of medicines for rare diseases and devastating conditions.

Pascal Soriot, Chief Executive Officer of AstraZeneca, said: "Today we welcome our new colleagues from Alexion to AstraZeneca and begin a new chapter that will augment our growth for years to come. Our sustained R&D investment in oncology, cardiovascular and renal, as well as respiratory and immunology, has powered AstraZeneca’s transformation and now we add rare diseases, where fewer approved treatment options exist."

Marc Dunoyer, incoming Chief Executive Officer of Alexion and Chief Financial Officer, AstraZeneca said: "I am delighted to be working alongside my new colleagues at Alexion where we will continue to discover, develop and deliver medicines that change the lives of people suffering from rare diseases. We look forward to also applying Alexion’s complement-biology platform across areas of AstraZeneca’s broader early stage pipeline and, significantly, to the extraordinary opportunity to extend existing and future rare disease medicines to patients in many countries where AstraZeneca already has a strong presence."

On July 20, 2021 Junshi Biosciences (HKEX: 1877; SSE: 688180), a leading innovation-driven biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development and commercialization of novel therapies, reported that the company has established a joint venture with Immorna, a fast-growing biotechnology company focusing on the process development and optimization of mRNA and delivery vehicles and the research and development of new nucleic acid drugs, to develop and commercialize new drugs for the global market in the fields of cancer, infectious diseases, rare diseases, and other diseases, based on the mRNA technology and other technology platforms (Press release, Shanghai Junshi Bioscience, JUL 20, 2021, View Source [SID1234585313]).

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Immorna’s unique mRNA construction and established versatile process platform are suitable for the development of self-replicating mRNA as well as conventional non-replicating mRNA products, enabling the construction of a customized form of mRNA molecule for a specific disease. In terms of delivery vehicles, Immorna has developed several nanoliposome particles (LNP) suitable for different administration methods and has technical capabilities in the field of research and development of new non-LNP delivery vehicles.

Under the terms of the agreement, Junshi Biosciences will inject at most 799 million RMB in cash into the joint venture. The initial investment is 200 million RMB, of which 50 million RMB will be used to subscribe to 50% of the registered capital of the joint venture. Immorna will invest in the joint venture company with intellectual property rights involved in the mRNA technology platform. The 50 million RMB in the estimated asset value of the platform will be used to subscribe to other 50% of the registered capital of the joint venture company.

"As the mRNA Technology Platform gradually matures, its potential in a variety of fields—including infectious diseases, cancer, rare diseases, and other diseases—has become increasingly evident," says Dr. Ning Li, Chief Executive Officer of Junshi Biosciences. "This is highly consistent with the therapeutic areas covered by Junshi Biosciences’ R&D pipeline and our desire to explore the next generation of innovative therapeutics. Immorna has a wealth of experience and expertise in mRNA industrialization. We look forward to working together to develop more revolutionary therapeutics for patients worldwide through our mRNA Technology Platform with domestic intellectual property rights and promote public health on a global scale."

"Immorna is very pleased to reach a strategic collaboration agreement with Junshi Biosciences, under which a joint venture company has been created," says Dr. Zihao Wang, Chief Executive Officer of Immorna Therapeutics. "We are very confident that this new entity will allow us to take advantage of each other’s core competency, quickly and efficiently utilize the versatile mRNA platform technology in immunotherapy and infectious disease prevention, and continue our search for new directions of the application."