On February 19, 2021 Oasmia reported Year-end report financial year May 1, 2020 – December 31, 2020
(Press release, Oasmia, FEB 19, 2021, View Source [SID1234575308])

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SIGNIFICANT EVENTS DURING THE THIRD QUARTER
In November Robert Maiorana joined Oasmia as acting CFO, with effect from December 1, 2020 until Fredrik Järrsten commenced in the role. Thereafter, Robert will work as Finance Manager and support Fredrik.
In December Oasmia shared an update from its partner Elevar Therapeutics on the development plan for Apealea (paclitaxel micellar) in ovarian cancer.
In December Oasmia’s partner Elevar Therapeutics entered a licensing agreement with Inceptua Group for the commercialization of Apealea (paclitaxel micellar) in Europe.
In December Oasmia announced it has secured valuable IP rights in Australia and Brazil.
SIGNIFICANT EVENTS AFTER THE REPORTING PERIOD
In February Oasmia appointed Dr. Heidi B. Ramstad as Chief Medical Officer.
THIRD QUARTER[2]: NOVEMBER 1, 2020 – DECEMBER 31, 2020
Consolidated net sales amounted to TSEK 120 (132)
Operating profit/loss was TSEK -28,580 (-34,056)
Net profit/loss after tax amounted to TSEK –33,627 (-35,171)
Earnings per share was SEK -0.07 (-0.15)
FINANCIAL YEAR[2]: MAY 1, 2020 – DECEMBER 31, 2020
Consolidated net sales amounted to TSEK 482 (565)
Operating profit/loss was TSEK -131,493 (-117,256)
Net profit/loss after tax amounted to TSEK –140,270 (-93,263)
Earnings per share was SEK -0.31 (-0.36)
CEO REVIEW – PUSHING FORWARD
Since I joined Oasmia in March last year, after undertaking an in-depth strategic review I implemented a growth plan based on four key pillars and focused on ensuring that the company is able to deliver it successfully:

Execute on Apealea global partnership with Elevar Therapeutics
Enhancement & Partnering of technology platforms
Clinical development of Docetaxel micellar & new API
In & out-licensing, partnering & M&A in oncology
I am pleased to report that we have made good progress on all of these during the year, initiating the transformation of Oasmia, and laying down a strong foundation on which to support our future growth.

As part of the strategic review, we undertook a comprehensive cost control program designed to focus our resources, including a reduction of headcount bringing the total number of staff at Oasmia to under 30 employees at the end of the year, making Oasmia a truly lean, research and development focused biotechnology company. In addition, we have served notice for our current offices in Uppsala and we will move Oasmia’s head quarter to a new more cost-efficient building in Stockholm over coming months, while we will keep our R&D laboratory facility in Uppsala. We are now realizing annualized costs saving of more than SEK 100 million and have reduced cash burn rate to around SEK 12 million per month. These cost savings have enabled us to invest in areas which can deliver the greatest return, including pipeline development which is critical for our success and future growth.

The most significant event in 2020 was the signing of a global strategic partnership with Elevar Therapeutics, Inc. (‘Elevar’) for our lead program Apealea (paclitaxel micellar) for advanced ovarian cancer. This agreement delivered an immediate upfront payment of USD 20 million, with the potential of milestone payments of up to USD 678 million and double-digit royalties in the future.

Our partnership with Elevar continues to go from strength to strength, with several positive developments during the year that underscore the commercial potential of new therapeutic options for ovarian cancer patients. These include Elevar signing a licensing agreement with Inceptua Group for the commercialization of Apealea in Europe, and with Taiba Middle East FZ LLC in the Middle East and North Africa region. In addition, Elevar announced the signing and subsequent launch of a global named patient program with Tanner Pharma, enabling access to Apealea outside the US for eligible patients at the request of a treating physician.

In December, following a series of interactions with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), we shared an update from Elevar providing clarity on the US commercialization pathway for Apealea. This includes two additional studies which will be initiated in 2021, before filing a new drug application (NDA) according to Elevar. These two new studies of Apealea may help to secure a successful registration in the U.S. and may provide new data to support a strong product label – critical for commercial success.

As part of our four pillar strategy, we have continued to progress in a number of areas of strategic focus, including exploring additional opportunities to apply our proprietary XR-17 solubility-enhancing technology in oncology and other therapeutic areas, and out-licensing non-core applications. Specialized investment firms are now helping us to identify appropriate partners for our Animal Health division as well as the XR-17 platform. We are also actively exploring a number of potential M&A and in-licensing opportunities that we believe will fit with our strategic goals. We aim to update you shortly as we make progress.

We have also initiated further research into XR-18, a next-generation solubility-enhancing technology platform which we expect to have even greater versatility and potential than XR-17. With combination therapies becoming ever more prominent in modern medicine, we are also in the process of establishing proof of-concept to demonstrate the feasibility of XR-19, a dual encapsulation solubilization platform, which could have the potential to enable combination therapies to be delivered in a single intravenous administration.

Another key part of our growth strategy is to advance and build our pipeline. Following on from Apealea, two other promising development candidates are already in or poised for clinical development. Docetaxel micellar is being prepared to progress into a Phase Ib clinical study for advanced prostate cancer with the Swiss Group for Clinical Cancer Research (SAKK). Like Apealea, Docetaxel micellar uses our proprietary XR-17 platform to enable intravenous administration of docetaxel without solubility enhancers and therefore has the potential to offer similar benefits to advanced prostate cancer patients in terms of side effect profile and removing the need to take additional drugs. Prostate cancer will affect one in every seven men in their lifetime, so if successful Docetaxel micellar could benefit many patients.

We are also aiming to add a new product candidate in pre-clinical development, using our XR-17 technology in partnership with a leading academic research institute in Sweden to evaluate potential candidates for progression. I hope to be able to disclose further details soon.

Securing Oasmia’s long-term success depends on building a senior team and network of trusted advisors with the expertise and capabilities to deliver our strategic growth plans. I am pleased to report that over the last year we have appointed a few high caliber individuals with significant pharma and biotech experience. These include Fredrik Järrsten joining as Chief Financial Officer, Dr. Heidi Ramstad joining as Chief Medical Officer, and Peter Selin joining as Chief Business Officer. We have also appointed two senior scientists to our technical operations team. Investing in this crucial area of the business will enable us to further develop and upgrade our proprietary technology platforms.

With our growing pipeline and a new and experienced leadership team in place, I look forward to 2021 and beyond with renewed confidence, and to updating you on our progress. Thank you for continuing to support the ongoing transformation of Oasmia as we strive to build a sustainable, profitable, high growth pharmaceutical business.

Conference call
The company will hold a conference call and an online presentation on on February 19, 2021 at 10.00 am CET. The call will be hosted by CEO Francois Martelet, CEO and Acting CFO Robert Maiorana. The presentation will be in English.

On February 19, 2021 Immunocore (Nasdaq: IMCR), a late-stage biotechnology company pioneering the development of a novel class of T cell receptor (TCR) bispecific immunotherapies designed to treat a broad range of diseases, including cancer, infectious and autoimmune disease, reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation (BTD) to tebentafusp (IMCgp100) for the treatment of HLA-A*02:01-positive adult patients with unresectable or metastatic uveal melanoma (mUM) (Press release, Immunocore, FEB 19, 2021, View Source [SID1234575332]).

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Bahija Jallal, Chief Executive Officer of Immunocore, said: "We are delighted that the FDA has granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation for tebentafusp based on the survival benefit from our Phase 3 clinical trial announced in November 2020. There is an urgent need for an approved treatment for this rare and aggressive form of melanoma and we look forward to continuing to work with regulators to bring tebentafusp to patients as quickly as possible."

In an initial pre-planned interim analysis of a randomized Phase 3 clinical trial (IMCgp100-202) in previously untreated metastatic uveal melanoma, a cancer that has historically proven to be insensitive to other immunotherapies, tebentafusp demonstrated superior overall survival (OS) benefit as a monotherapy. The primary endpoint was achieved when the OS Hazard Ratio (HR) in the intent-to-treat population favored tebentafusp, HR=0.51 (95% CI: 0.36, 0.71); p< 0.0001, over investigator’s choice (82% pembrolizumab; 12% ipilimumab; 6% dacarbazine).

The Breakthrough Therapy Designation is a process designed to expedite the development and review of drugs that are intended to treat a serious condition and preliminary clinical evidence indicates that the drug may demonstrate substantial improvement over available therapy on a clinically significant endpoint(s).

Tebentafusp has also been granted Fast Track Designation and orphan drug designation from the FDA for uveal melanoma and Promising Innovative Medicine designation under the UK Early Access to Medicines Scheme. Immunocore will be working with the FDA to facilitate submission of a BLA for tebentafusp. If approved, Immunocore believes tebentafusp would be the first new therapy for the treatment of metastatic uveal melanoma in 40 years.

On February 19, 2021 ChromaDex Corp. (NASDAQ:CDXC) reported that it will hold a conference call on Wed., March 10, 2021 at 4:30 p.m. ET to discuss its financial results for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2020 (Press release, ChromaDex, FEB 19, 2021, View Source [SID1234575309]). The financial results will be reported in a press release after the close of regular stock market trading hours on the same day as the conference call.

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Investor Conference Call:

ChromaDex management will host an investor conference call to discuss the fourth quarter results and provide a general business update on Wed., March 10, at 4:30 p.m. ET.

Participants should call in at least 10 minutes prior to the call. The dial-in information is as follows:

The conference call will be broadcast live and available for replay here and via the investor relations section of the Company’s website at www.chromadex.com.

On February 19, 2021 Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: CYCC, NASDAQ: CYCCP; "Cyclacel" or the "Company"), a biopharmaceutical company developing innovative medicines based on cancer cell biology, reported that it will announce fourth quarter and full year 2020 financial results on Thursday, February 25, 2021 (Press release, Cyclacel, FEB 19, 2021, View Source [SID1234575333]). The company will host a conference call and live webcast at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on the same day.

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For the live and archived webcast, please visit the Corporate Presentations page on the Cyclacel website at www.cyclacel.com. The webcast will be archived for 90 days and the audio replay for 7 days.

On February 19, 2021 Octapharma reported that New expert consensus guidelines on the use of immunoglobulin replacement therapy (IgRT) in patients with haematological malignancy and secondary antibody deficiencies (SAD) were recently published in the European Journal of Haematology (Press release, Octapharma, FEB 19, 2021, View Source [SID1234575392]).

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The publication, sponsored by Octapharma, marks the first pan-European consensus guidance on the use of IgRT in patients with hypogammaglobulinaemia secondary to haematological malignancies and aims to support harmonisation of clinical practice across Europe.

Octapharma has a longstanding commitment to improving the management of patients with secondary immunodeficiencies (SID) and in 2020 launched PRO-SID, a phase III clinical trial investigating primary infection prophylaxis with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL). These efforts address the need for both robust clinical data and unified guidance on managing infection risk in patients with SID.

Absence of guidance leaves patients at risk

SAD is a common complication in patients with haematological malignancies such as CLL and multiple myeloma (MM). Up to 85% of CLL patients and up to 83% of patients with smouldering MM have low immunoglobulin levels, which leaves patients more susceptible to infections1,2. Infections are the likely cause of death in 22% of patients with MM and up to 50% of patients with CLL3,4. IgRT is effective at reducing the risk of infections in patients with haematological malignancies5.

In 2019, the EMA approved an expanded use of IVIg in patients with SID6. However, detailed European guidelines on the use of IgRT in patients with haematological malignancies and SAD were lacking. Differences in treatment approaches to reduce the infection burden remain significant across Europe, including different strategies for initiation, dosing and discontinuation of IgRT.

Stephen Jolles, lead author of the publication and Professor at the Immunodeficiency Centre for Wales in Cardiff, UK, commented: "Developing consensus guidelines for the use of IgRT in secondary antibody deficiency (SAD) aims to address a major need for treatment recommendations for patients with haematological malignancies and SAD. IgRT can reduce morbidity and mortality in a selected group of these patients and it is important that physicians have consistent guidance on defining this group and managing infection risk."

A Task Force of eight experts in immunology and haemato-oncology developed statements on key aspects of IgRT, which were reviewed by a panel of 32 European experts. This Delphi consensus exercise developed clear recommendations for SAD due to haematological malignancies such as: measurement of IgG levels at the beginning of anti-cancer treatment; initiation of IgRT in patients who have received appropriate anti-infective therapy during or after a single severe infection or during recurrent or persistent infections when IgG levels are <4 g/l or if test immunization has failed; initiation of IgRT with a minimum IgG dose of 0.4 g/kg bodyweight every 3-4 weeks or stopping IgRT after at least 6 months without infections and concomitant evidence of immunological recovery. The 21 consensus statements emphasise the importance of IgRT for patients with SAD who experience severe, recurrent or persistent infections and provide guidance on initiation, dosing and discontinuation of IgRT, as well as measurement of IgG levels and the use of subcutaneous immunoglobulin (SCIg) therapy. The publication is available through open access at "Treating Secondary Antibody Deficiency in Patients with Haematological Malignancy: European Expert Consensus".

More information on SID in patients with haematological malignancies, including detailed information on the recent consensus guidelines, can be found at View Source

Patient recruitment continues for the PRO-SID study

Recruitment for the phase III PRO-SID study (NCT04502030) of IVIg in patients with CLL and SID is underway, in 22 sites across 7 countries. The PRO-SID study is investigating the efficacy and safety of IVIg (Panzyga) as primary prophylaxis in patients with CLL and SID. Secondary prophylaxis with IVIg is an established approach to reduce the rate of infections in patients with haematological malignancies and SAD, but there is a need for robust data on IVIg as primary infection prophylaxis, i.e. before a major infection occurs7.

Commenting on Octapharma’s involvement in the field of SID, Olaf Walter, Board Member at Octapharma, said that: "Infections remain a serious concern for patients with haematological malignancies and SID, and at Octapharma we continue to strive for a better understanding of how to minimise the risk of such potentially life-threatening complications."

About the PRO-SID study

The PRO-SID study (NCT04502030) is a prospective, double-blind, randomised, multi-centre, placebo-controlled, interventional, phase III study investigating the efficacy and safety of Panzyga in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) and hypogammaglobulinaemia (IgG < 5 g/L) who are receiving antineoplastic treatment. The study is conducted at multiple sites across Europe (Italy, Poland, Denmark, Hungary, Germany and Russia) and the USA and plans to recruit at least 240 patients.

About Panzyga

Panzyga is a 10% human normal immunoglobulin solution ready for intravenous administration. Panzyga is approved for use in treatment of primary immunodeficiency and idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura in the USA, Europe and Canada. It is also approved for secondary immunodeficiencies and Guillain Barré syndrome in Europe and Canada and for Kawasaki disease, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP) and multifocal motor neuropathy (MMN) in Europe.