On April 28, 2021 Boundless Bio, a next-generation precision oncology company developing innovative therapeutics directed against extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA) in aggressive cancers, reported the closing of an oversubscribed $105 Million Series B financing (Press release, Boundless Bio, APR 28, 2021, View Source [SID1234578623]). With the proceeds of the financing, the company will advance into the clinic multiple ecDNA-directed therapeutic programs and the accompanying ecDNA Harboring Oncogenes (ECHO) companion diagnostic and expand its pipeline of novel cancer therapies targeting ecDNA.

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RA Capital Management and Nextech Invest co-led the financing, with participation from a top-tier syndicate of funds, including Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC, Redmile Group, Wellington Management, Surveyor Capital (a Citadel company), PFM Health Sciences, and Logos Capital. Current investors ARCH Venture Partners, City Hill Ventures, Vertex Ventures HC, GT Healthcare Capital Partners, Boxer Capital of Tavistock Group, and Alexandria Venture Investments also participated in the Series B. In conjunction with the financing, Jakob Loven, Ph.D., Partner at Nextech Invest, will join the Boundless Bio Board of Directors.

"Boundless Bio has made tremendous progress since launching in 2019," said Zachary Hornby, President and Chief Executive Officer of Boundless Bio. "Over the past two years our team has custom built a platform, called Spyglass, that enables us to interrogate ecDNA in cancer and reveal key therapeutically targetable liabilities in ecDNA-driven, gene amplified tumors. From these efforts, we have discovered and validated three ecDNA-essential targets and have initiated drug discovery against each. In addition, we are developing the ECHO companion diagnostic assay to identify patients with ecDNA-driven tumors. This financing round and stellar investor syndicate reflects the investment community’s appreciation for the high unmet clinical need of patients with oncogene amplified cancers and the promise of our innovative approach to targeting ecDNA to improve and prolong the lives of these patients."

ecDNA are circular units of DNA that contain functional genes and are highly transcriptionally active. ecDNA constitute a primary driver of gene amplification and copy number heterogeneity in cancer. ecDNA are present in many solid tumor cancers but generally not in healthy cells. Boundless Bio’s Spyglass platform combines proprietary ecDNA model systems with bespoke analytical tools to enable Boundless Bio scientists to interrogate ecDNA cancer biology to discover new cancer targets that are synthetically lethal in ecDNA-driven cancers. Boundless Bio is leveraging these insights to discover and develop innovative new precision medicines targeting the underlying cellular machinery that enables ecDNA to function in cancer.

"We invest in oncology companies with compelling science," said Jakob Loven, Ph.D., Partner at Nextech Invest. "ecDNA is a transformative new area of cancer biology, and Boundless Bio is the clear leader in the rapidly emerging field. The Boundless team has made remarkable progress since the company formation, demonstrating that ecDNA biology is tractable as a therapeutic approach and advancing a powerful platform, exciting early drug programs and a promising companion diagnostic approach. We are eager to work with the experienced Boundless team to transform cancer care for underserved patients with gene amplified cancers."

"RA Capital has been following the Boundless Bio story for some time now and believes that the team has developed industry-leading expertise in the biology that underlies high unmet need, gene amplified tumors," said Zach Scheiner, Ph.D., Principal at RA Capital Management. "Boundless Bio has shown ecDNA to be a driver of both tumor growth and resistance to targeted therapies, and the team is poised to make significant therapeutic advances in this exciting new field. We are pleased to support their efforts to help bring these potentially transformative therapies to patients in need."

On April 28, 2021 Advaxis, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADXS), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of immunotherapy products, reported that will present data from Part B of the Phase 1 study of ADXS-503 in combination with pembrolizumab at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting being held virtually, on June 4-8, 2021 (Press release, Advaxis, APR 28, 2021, View Source [SID1234578641]).

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Presentation Details:

Title: A phase 1 study of an off-the-shelf, multi-neoantigen vector (ADXS-503) in subjects with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) progressing on pembrolizumab as last therapy.
Session Type: Poster Session
Abstract Number: 2616
Date and Time: June 4, 2021, 9:00 AM (EDT)

On April 28, 2021 Arbutus Biopharma Corporation (Nasdaq: ABUS), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company primarily focused on developing a cure for people with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, as well as therapies to treat coronaviruses (including COVID-19), reported that it has scheduled its first quarter 2021 financial results and corporate update for Wednesday, May 5, 2021 (Press release, Arbutus Biopharma, APR 28, 2021, View Source [SID1234578661]). The schedule for the press release and conference call/webcast are as follows:

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•1Q/2021 Press Release: Wednesday, May 5, 2021 at 7:30 a.m. ET
•1Q/2021 Conference Call/Webcast: Wednesday, May 5, 2021 at 8:45 a.m. ET
•Domestic Dial-In Number: (866) 393-1607
•International Dial-In Number: (914) 495-8556
•Conference ID Number: 4445858
A live webcast of the conference call can be accessed through the Investors section of Arbutus’ website at www.arbutusbio.com or directly at Live Webcast.

An archived webcast will be available on the Arbutus website after the event. Alternatively, you may access a replay of the conference call by calling (855) 859-2056 or (404) 537-3406, and reference conference ID: 4445858.

On April 28, 2021 Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN) reported that it has committed US $60 million in sequencing capabilities to a global pathogen genomics initiative, in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other public and private entities (Press release, Illumina, APR 28, 2021, View Source [SID1234578684]). The initiative expands on the Africa Pathogen Genomics Initiative (Africa PGI) announced in October 2020, and will help create a comprehensive pathogen genomic network around the world, building critical public health capabilities in areas of need.

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Illumina will donate next-generation sequencing (NGS) platforms, reagents, and training support worth approximately US $60 million over five years. The expanded scope will begin with a focus on South Asia, equipping national public health institutions with better public health tools, bringing us closer to the vision of an early warning system for global pathogens.

"Rapidly identifying outbreaks and tracking their spread and evolution will save lives around the world and is essential to strengthening health care systems," said Francis deSouza, Chief Executive Officer of Illumina. "Genomics has the power to revolutionize the way public health entities manage biological threats, and this global initiative will help make NGS technology and expertise accessible in areas of need."

"Expanding access to pathogen sequencing will accelerate efforts to detect new epidemics before they spread widely and to monitor their transmission in real time for more targeted and precise response. Pathogen sequencing will also contribute to research and development efforts for new vaccines, diagnostics and treatments for current and emerging infectious diseases," said Trevor Mundel, President of Global Health, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. "It’s critical to empower scientists in South Asia, like we’re doing in Africa, with the tools they need to stay one step ahead of pathogens."

The model for the global initiative builds upon the framework of Africa PGI by bringing together key partners from public health institutions, government, private industry, and local labs to create a comprehensive ecosystem of support for successful genomics adoption, which extends beyond simply dropping in new technology. The initiative will consider issues such as logistics, training, and sustainability, and will expand by country depending on maturity and needs. Prioritized pathogens will be unique to each country or region, as the initiative empowers individual countries to drive the program according to their specific needs and priorities.

Genomics can enable early detection of novel viruses by rapidly characterizing new pathogens directly from specimens. Building pathogen genomics capabilities globally protects the health of everyone, since a threat in one place can quickly become a threat everywhere. In the future, genomics has the potential to concurrently provide comprehensive diagnosis of infections, antimicrobial resistance information, and pathogen surveillance for known and emerging threats.

On April 28, 2021 Silence Therapeutics plc, AIM: SLN and Nasdaq: SLN ("Silence" or "the Company"), a leader in the discovery, development and delivery of novel short interfering ribonucleic acid (siRNA) therapeutics for the treatment of diseases with significant unmet medical need, reported that it has achieved another research milestone as part of its ongoing RNAi collaboration with Mallinckrodt plc ("Mallinckrodt") for complement-mediated diseases, triggering a further $2.0 million payment to Silence (Filing, 6-K, Silence Therapeutics, APR 28, 2021, View Source [SID1234578772]).

The milestone relates to pre-clinical development work on the SLN500 C3 targeting program, highlighting the successful ongoing collaboration between the two companies. Silence continues to work with Mallinckrodt to progress Investigational New Drug (IND) enabling studies for SLN501, the first nominated product candidate in the SLN500 program, this year.

The collaboration with Mallinckrodt is focused on the development and commercialization of RNAi therapeutics designed to inhibit or ‘silence’ the complement cascade, a group of proteins involved in the immune system and which play a role in the development of inflammation. Using Silence’s proprietary mRNAi GOLD platform, siRNAs engineered to inhibit each target in the collaboration will be optimized and investigated before progressing into clinical development.

In July 2019, Silence received an upfront payment of $20 million from Mallinckrodt for an exclusive worldwide license to siRNAs against one complement target, C3, and options to license siRNAs against up to two additional targets, each of which Mallinckrodt has exercised at $2 million per target. Under the terms of the agreement, Silence is responsible for preclinical activities and for executing development of each target through Phase 1, after which Mallinckrodt will assume responsibility for clinical development and global commercialization. Silence is also eligible to receive tiered double-digit royalties on net sales for each product candidate and up to $2 billion in total milestone payments across all three targets.

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