On May 17, 2021 PDS Biotechnology Corporation (Nasdaq: PDSB), a clinical-stage immunotherapy company developing novel cancer therapies and infectious disease vaccines based on the Company’s proprietary Versamune T-cell activating technology, reported the receipt of $4.5 million from the net sale of tax benefits to an unrelated, profitable New Jersey corporation pursuant to the Company’s participation in the New Jersey Technology Business Tax Certificate Transfer Net Operating Loss (NOL) program for State Fiscal Year 2020 (Press release, PDS Biotechnology, MAY 17, 2021, View Source [SID1234580192]).

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"We are pleased to receive an allocation from the New Jersey NOL program," said Frank Bedu-Addo, Chief Executive Officer of PDS Biotech. "The funding will be beneficial to us as we continue to efficiently utilize our resources to advance our immuno-oncology pipeline through development."

The NOL program enables qualified, unprofitable NJ-based technology or biotechnology companies with fewer than 225 U.S. employees (including parent company and all subsidiaries) to sell a percentage of net operating losses and research and development (R&D) tax credits to unrelated profitable corporations. This allows qualifying technology and biotechnology companies with NOLs to turn their tax losses and credits into cash proceeds to fund growth and operations, including research and development or other allowable expenditures. PDS Biotech is one of 49 early-stage companies to share in approximately $54.5 million of tax credit transfers approved by NJEDA for the 2020 period.

On May 17, 2021 Milestone Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: MIST), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative cardiovascular medicines, reported an exclusive license and collaboration agreement with Ji Xing Pharmaceuticals (Ji Xing) to develop and, if approved, commercialize the investigational drug etripamil in patients with paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (PSVT) and additional cardiovascular conditions in Greater China (Press release, Milestone Pharmaceuticals, MAY 17, 2021, View Source [SID1234580243]). Ji Xing is a biotechnology company headquartered in Shanghai and backed by RTW Investments, LP (RTW) focused on advancing innovative medicines in China.

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"This agreement marks an important step toward realizing our vision for etripamil to benefit patients living with PSVT globally while strengthening our balance sheet and executional capabilities through partnership," said Joseph Oliveto, President and Chief Executive Officer of Milestone Pharmaceuticals. "We look forward to partnering with the talented team at Ji Xing to develop and commercialize this promising therapy in the licensed regions."

"Etripamil has the potential to change the treatment paradigm for PSVT and could serve as a meaningful new therapeutic option for patients," said Peter Fong, Chief Executive Officer of Ji Xing and Head of Company Creation at RTW. "We are delighted to expand Ji Xing’s cardiovascular focus by partnering with Milestone and look forward to unlocking the full therapeutic potential of etripamil for patients with PSVT in China."

Under the terms of the agreement, Milestone will grant Ji Xing an exclusive license to develop and, if regulatory approval is obtained, commercialize etripamil in patients with PSVT in Greater China. Milestone will receive an upfront cash payment consisting of $15 million and a $5 million equity investment by RTW. In addition, Milestone is eligible to receive up to $107.5 million in milestone payments and royalties on future sales of etripamil in Greater China. Milestone will supply etripamil and delivery devices to Ji Xing. Ji Xing will be responsible for development and commercialization costs in Greater China.

About Paroxysmal Supraventricular Tachycardia

Paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (PSVT) is a rapid heart rate condition characterized by intermittent episodes of supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) that start and stop suddenly and without warning that affects approximately two million Americans. Episodes of SVT are often associated with symptoms including palpitations, sweating, chest pressure or pain, shortness of breath, sudden onset of fatigue, lightheadedness or dizziness, fainting, and anxiety. Certain calcium channel blockers have long been approved for the treatment of PSVT as well as other cardiac conditions. However, calcium channel blockers approved for the termination of SVT episodes must be administered intravenously under medical supervision, usually in an emergency department or other acute care setting.

About Etripamil

Etripamil, Milestone’s lead investigational product, is a novel calcium channel blocker designed to be a rapid-response therapy for episodic cardiovascular conditions. As a nasal spray that is self-administered by the patient, etripamil has the potential to shift the current treatment experience for many patients from the emergency department to the at-home setting. Milestone is conducting a comprehensive development program for etripamil, with Phase 3 trials ongoing in paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (PSVT) and a Phase 2 proof-of-concept trial is now underway in patients with atrial fibrillation and rapid ventricular rate (AFib-RVR).

On May 17 2021 iBio, Inc. (NYSEA:IBIO) ("iBio" or the "Company"), a biotech innovator and biologics contract manufacturing organization, reported its financial results for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2021 (Press release, iBioPharma, MAY 17, 2021, View Source [SID1234585484]).

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"Our focus on strategy execution was reflected in our third quarter results as we advanced our second-generation COVID-19 vaccine candidate, defended our intellectual property rights, and achieved strong year-over-year revenue growth while adding new development services clients," said Tom Isett, Chairman & CEO of iBio. "Also, more recently, we saw continued progress on new product and pipeline additions, including line extensions to our Bioanalytical Services offering, and a planned investment in the establishment of a new Drug Discovery team. Importantly, we believe that when our new discovery capabilities are installed, we will be able to more fully leverage the many ‘speed-to-clinic’ advantages conveyed by our proprietary FastPharming System."

Fiscal Third Quarter and Recent Business Developments:

Vaccines

In May 2021, iBio reported on development of IBIO-202, a subunit vaccine candidate that targets the nucleocapsid protein ("N protein") of SARS-CoV-2. Using its FastPharming System, iBio has successfully expressed N protein antigens and has initiated both intramuscular and intranasal preclinical studies to evaluate antigen-adjuvant combinations that may provide strong T-cell memory and immune responses. Initial results are expected in early Q1 FY2022.
The Company also announced that IBIO-201, its COVID-19 vaccine candidate combining antigens derived from the spike protein ("S protein") fused with its patented LicKM Immunostimulator, had completed IND-enabling toxicology studies, with no adverse effects observed at low or high doses.
In support of approval for production of its lead animal health product candidate, IBIO-400, the Company submitted an "Outline of Production" and facility documentation to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for review.
Therapeutics

Today, iBio announced its plans to establish drug discovery capabilities in the San Diego, CA, area, with an initial focus upon monoclonal antibodies for use in oncology.
The Company continued pre-clinical development of IBIO-100, with initiation of IND-enabling studies expected in FY 2022.
Contract Development and Manufacturing ("CDMO") Services

In May 2021, iBio announced that it concluded its lawsuit with Fraunhofer USA, Inc. ("Fraunhofer USA") as described in full detail in the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on May 4, 2021.
Today, iBio announced an expanded menu of Bioanalytical Services, including intact protein analysis, new proteomic assays and middle-down characterization for monoclonal antibodies. The Company’s Bioanalytical Services were previously available only to FastPharming Development and Manufacturing Services clients, but are now available to biologics developers using alternative protein expression systems.
Research & Bioprocess Products

iBio continues to make progress towards launching certain cytokines and growth factors as part of a new catalog of products for research and further manufacturing uses.
"We are excited about the advancement of a differentiated second-generation COVID-19 vaccine candidate," said Mr. Isett. "Additionally, we are pleased with the protection of – and compensation for – our IP in plant-based biologics, as we further develop our FastPharming Technologies. Moreover, we continue to see increased demand from new and existing customers for our CDMO Services, even while we are in the midst of our transformation."

With reference to the Company’s planned establishment of in-house drug discovery capabilities, Mr. Isett commented, "We believe that our investment in fast, translatable drug discovery activities will enable us to optimally leverage our FastPharming System to create a robust pipeline of truly innovative molecules and fast-followers, particularly in the field of oncology."

Fiscal Third Quarter and Recent Corporate Developments:

Fiscal year to-date, iBio increased staffing by approximately 21% to 57 employees.
During the fiscal third quarter, iBio further strengthened its leadership team with the additions of Dr. Martin B. Brenner as Chief Scientific Officer and Mr. Robert M. Lutz as Chief Financial & Business Officer, effective January 18 and March 4, 2021, respectively.
"The key additions of Martin and Rob – along with the recruitment of many talented new employees to our R&D and Operations functions – reflect the ongoing rapid and successful transformation of iBio," said Mr. Isett. "By further expanding the capabilities of our team this quarter, we delivered new pipeline candidates, new service products and continued to advance other key initiatives. Clearly, our ability to execute and deliver value to shareholders has been further elevated this quarter, and we expect that the investment in the new Drug Discovery Team will yield significant returns as we seek to make the FastPharming System the bioprocess platform-of-choice."

Financial Results:

For the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2021, iBio reported revenues of approximately $0.8 million, an increase of $0.7 million from $0.1 million in the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2020.

To further clarify the results of its operations for investors, from this quarter forward, iBio will include Cost of Goods Sold ("COGS") and Gross Profit line items in its financial statements. For the three-months ended March 31, 2021, iBio reported COGS of approximately $0.5 million and gross profit of $0.3 million, compared to COGS of $0.1 million and gross profit that was not significant for the three months ended March 31, 2020. Since iBio’s revenue is currently derived from a small number of contracts, and revenue recognition from development and manufacturing services is generally subject to volatility due to timing, the Company expects that gross profit and gross profit percentage may fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter.

R&D expenses for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2021 were approximately $2.2 million, compared with approximately $1.1 million in the same period of 2020. The increase in R&D expense of approximately $1.1 million was primarily related to increases in personnel and other expenses to support the Company’s development of a portfolio of proprietary therapeutics and vaccines.

G&A expenses for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2021 were approximately $5.3 million, compared with approximately $3.0 million in the same period of 2020. The increase of approximately $2.3 million resulted primarily from increased headcount and increased operations to support the growth of the business.

Net loss attributable to iBio stockholders for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2021 was approximately $7.7 million, or $0.04 per share. This compared with a net loss of approximately $4.7 million, or $0.06 per share, in the same period of 2020.

iBio had $103.9 million in cash, cash equivalents and debt investments as of March 31, 2021. The Company further strengthened its financial position through the aforementioned settlement of litigation with Fraunhofer USA. The Company believes it will have sufficient resources to fund its planned operations at least through March 31, 2023, inclusive of its planned investment in the FastPharming Discovery Platform and potential in-licensing activities.

Webcast and Conference Call

iBio management will host a webcast and conference call at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time today, May 17, 2021, to discuss these results and provide a corporate update.

The live and archived webcast may be accessed on the Company’s website at www.ibioinc.com under "News and Events" in the Investors section. The live call can be accessed by dialing (833) 672-0651 (domestic) or (929) 517-0227 (international) and referencing conference code: 3085726.

On May 17, 2021 Calithera Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: CALA), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing novel small molecule drugs for the treatment of cancer and other life-threatening diseases, and Antengene Corporation, Ltd. (SEHK: 6996.HK), a leading clinical-stage R&D driven biopharmaceutical company focused on innovative medicines for oncology and other life-threatening diseases, reported an exclusive, worldwide license agreement for the development and commercialization of CB-708, Calithera’s small molecule inhibitor of CD73 (Press release, Calithera Biosciences, MAY 17, 2021, View Source [SID1234580113]).

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"This agreement validates the capabilities of our drug discovery engine and represents a significant milestone for our CD73 program," said Susan Molineaux, PhD, president and chief executive officer of Calithera. "Antengene brings significant enthusiasm and proven global capabilities to the development and future commercialization of CB-708, a potential best-in-class oral small molecule CD73 inhibitor. This licensing agreement enables the continued advancement of this promising program, while allowing Calithera to focus our resources on our more advanced clinical programs evaluating telaglenastat in non-small cell lung cancer and CB-280 in cystic fibrosis."

CB-708 is a highly potent, selective, orally-bioavailable small molecule inhibitor of CD73. Preclinical data presented at the 2019 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting and the 2019 Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) (Free SITC Whitepaper) Annual Meeting demonstrated that CB-708 has immune-mediated, single agent activity in syngeneic mouse tumor models. In preclinical studies, CB-708 was well-tolerated and showed enhanced anti-tumor activity when combined with either an anti-PD-L1 immunotherapy or with chemotherapeutic agents, such as oxaliplatin or doxorubicin. CB-708 has completed GLP toxicology studies and is poised to advance into clinical development.

"We are excited to continue the advancement of CB-708 through our deep experience in global clinical development and extensive track record in commercialization in major markets around the world," said Dr. Jay Mei, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Antengene. "CB-708 is a highly differentiated oral small molecule CD73 inhibitor with best-in-class potential. Antengene will continue to complete the GMP manufacturing of CB-708 and advance it into clinical trials for the treatment of multiple cancers including solid tumors and hematologic malignancies. This agreement brings a great addition to our synergistic portfolio of 12 assets with combinatory potential, is a testament to our abilities in accelerating global development, and represents another step in realizing our mission of treating patients beyond borders."

Under the terms of the license agreement, Calithera will receive an upfront payment and potential development, regulatory and sales milestones of up to $255.0 million. Additionally, Calithera is eligible to receive tiered royalties on sales of the licensed product up to low double-digits. Antengene Investment Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Antengene Corporation, will receive exclusive, worldwide rights to develop and commercialize CB-708.

On May 17, 2021 Soligenix, Inc. (Nasdaq: SNGX) (Soligenix or the Company), a late-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing products to treat rare diseases where there is an unmet medical need, reported its recent accomplishments and financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2021 (Press release, Soligenix, MAY 17, 2021, View Source [SID1234580153]).

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"This year continues to be an exciting year of progress for Soligenix," stated Christopher J. Schaber, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of Soligenix. "We recently announced presentation of clinical data from our successful pivotal Phase 3 FLASH (Fluorescent Light Activated Synthetic Hypericin) clinical trial for HyBryte (SGX301) in the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) at both the American Academy of Dermatology, where HyBryte was designated "Top 12 late-breaking research," and the Society for Investigative Dermatology. We also received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) conditional acceptance of HyBryte as the proposed brand name for SGX301 (synthetic hypericin), as we continue to prepare for a new drug application (NDA) submission and U.S. commercialization for this novel first-in-class photodynamic therapy for treatment of early stage CTCL. Under our Public Health Solutions business segment, supported by non-dilutive government funding, we continue to advance multiple therapeutic and vaccine candidates. CiVax, our heat stable COVID-19 vaccine, recently demonstrated that the proprietary subunit protein antigen, locked into its receptor-binding configuration, was immunogenic in both mice and non-human primates, which is an important step in advancing CiVax towards human clinical trials."

Dr. Schaber continued, "With approximately $30 million in cash, not including our non-dilutive government funding, we anticipate having sufficient capital to achieve multiple inflection points as we advance our rare disease pipeline, including NDA filing and U.S. commercialization of HyBryte in CTCL, where we estimate peak U.S. annual net sales to exceed $90 million and the total U.S. revenues during the 10-year forecast period to be greater than $700 million."

Soligenix Recent Accomplishments

On May 10, 2021, the Company announced that HyBryte (hypericin) was awarded an "Innovation Passport" for the treatment of early stage CTCL in adults under the United Kingdom’s (UK’s) Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway (ILAP). To view this press release, please click here.
On April 28, 2021, the Company announced that its Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer, Oreola Donini, PhD, delivered a presentation demonstrating the potency of the CiVax (COVID-19 vaccine) development program in mice and non-human primates (NHPs), at the Annual Conference on Vaccinology Research, held April 26-27, 2021. To view this press release, please click here.
On April 26, 2021, the Company announced that Ellen Kim, MD, Medical Director, Dermatology Clinic, Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine, Professor of Dermatology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, and the Lead Principal Investigator for the Phase 3 FLASH study, delivered a presentation at the American Academy of Dermatology Association Virtual Meeting Experience, held April 23-25, 2021, expanding on data related to the efficacy and safety of HyBryte in the treatment of CTCL. To view this press release, please click here.
On April 7, 2021, the Company announced that the FDA had conditionally accepted HyBryte as the proposed brand name for SGX301 (synthetic hypericin), the Company’s novel first-in-class photodynamic therapy for first-line treatment of early stage CTCL. To view this press release, please click here.
On March 30, 2021, the Company announced its recent accomplishments and financial results for the year ended December 31, 2020. To view this press release, please click here.
Financial Results – Quarter Ended March 31, 2021

Soligenix’s revenues for the quarter ended March 31, 2021 were $0.1 million as compared to $0.9 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2020. Revenues included payments on a contract in support of RiVax, our ricin toxin vaccine candidate, and grants received to support the development of: SGX943 for treatment of emerging and/or antibiotic-resistant infectious diseases; ThermoVax, our thermostabilization technology; and CiVax, our vaccine candidate for the prevention of COVID-19.

Soligenix’s basic net loss was $2.4 million, or ($0.06) per share, for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, as compared to $7.6 million, or ($0.32) per share, for the quarter ended March 31, 2020. This decrease in net loss was primarily due to a $5.0 million success milestone due to Hy Biopharma that was paid in common stock (based upon an effective per share price of $2.56) as a result of SGX301 demonstrating statistically significant treatment response in the pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial Inc. during the three months ended March 31, 2020.

Research and development expenses were $1.4 million as compared to $2.7 million for the quarters ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The decrease in research and development spending for the quarter ended March 31, 2021 was primarily attributable to the reduction in expense due to the completion of the HyBryte and SGX942 clinical trials.

General and administrative expenses were $0.9 million for both the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020.

As of March 31, 2021, the Company’s cash position was approximately $30.5 million.