On March 3, 2026 TransCode Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: RNAZ), a clinical stage company pioneering immuno-oncology and RNA for the treatment of high risk and advanced cancer, reported that it has entered into an exclusive, worldwide, fully paid-up royalty-free license agreement with Unleash Immuno Oncolytics, Inc. ("Unleash"). TransCode obtained the rights to develop three Unleash drug candidates, UIO-524, UIO-525 and UIO-526, which includes a license of all in-licensed rights held by Unleash to the Unleash drug candidates together with the acquisition of all rights to the drug candidates owned by Unleash. Under the terms of the exclusive license agreement, Unleash will receive a one-time payment of 1,136,364 shares of a new series of non-voting convertible preferred stock of TransCode, convertible into an equal number of shares of common stock of TransCode (the "Preferred Stock"). The Preferred Stock represents 6.8% of TransCode’s common stock on a fully diluted basis assuming conversion of all TransCode preferred stock outstanding.

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The lead candidate UIO-524 complements and expands TransCode’s oncology pipeline by introducing a next-generation, biology-driven oncolytic immunotherapy platform designed to address solid tumor indications with high-unmet medical need, beginning with muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC).

MIBC is a significant unmet medical need indication with poor outcomes, limited durable treatment options, and a highly immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. Bladder cancer represents a multi-billion-dollar global market, with muscle-invasive disease accounting for a disproportionate share of treatment intensity and healthcare costs, creating what TransCode believes is a compelling opportunity for differentiated therapeutic approaches.

Dr. Philippe P. Calais, Pharm.D., Ph.D., Chairman and CEO of TransCode, stated that "As we are advancing our lead asset, TTX-MC138, into a clinical Phase 2a trial, expanding our pipeline with an innovative preclinical technology such as UIO-524 provides us with an additional shot on goal using a next generation oncolytic immunotherapy candidate intended to address a large and attractive market in more aggressive settings such as MIBC."

Tungsten Advisors acted as the exclusive financial advisor.

About Unleash and the Licensing Transaction

UIO-524 is a rationally designed oncolytic adenovirus engineered to selectively replicate within both malignant cells and cancer-associated stroma. The virus delivers a multi-cytokine immune-activating payload comprising CD40-L, 4-1BBL, and IL-21, intended to activate dendritic cells, T cells, and NK cells, and to drive a robust, systemic anti-tumor immune response. UIO-524 is regulated by a proprietary SPARC promoter that is highly active in malignant cells and cancer-associated stromal compartments and which enables biology-driven differentiation. This design enables selective viral replication and localized expression of immune-activating cytokines within the tumor microenvironment.

UIO-524 builds on CG Oncology’s CG0070, the most clinically advanced and successful oncolytic adenovirus to date, demonstrating meaningful activity in non–muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). UIO-524 contains a structurally related oncolytic adenovirus backbone, incorporates tumor- and stroma-targeted replication and contains a more comprehensive, multi-cytokine immune payload. This design positions UIO-524 as a next-generation oncolytic immunotherapy candidate intended to address more aggressive disease settings such as MIBC.

A more detailed description of the financing and licensing agreements can be found in TransCode’s Form 8-K filed with the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission.

About TTX-MC138

TTX-MC138 is a first-in-class therapeutic candidate designed to inhibit microRNA-10b, or miR-10b, a microRNA widely believed to be critical to the emergence and progression of many metastatic cancers. TransCode’s Phase 0 clinical trial produced evidence of delivery of a radiolabeled version of TTX-MC138 to metastatic lesions and pharmacodynamic activity, even at a microdose of the drug candidate, suggesting a broad therapeutic window for TTX-MC138.

(Press release, TransCode Therapeutics, MAR 3, 2026, View Source [SID1234663265])

On March 3, 2026 Hepion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTCQB:HEPA), a precision diagnostics company, reported that it has in-licensed from Cirna Diagnostics LLC, a novel biomarker assay that detects mutant circulating tumor RNA (ctRNA) to facilitate early diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in high-risk patients (cirrhosis). Most cases of liver cancer (75-90%) are HCC, and HCC is the sixth most common cancer worldwide, with a high mortality-to incidence ratio that makes it the third deadliest cancer globally.

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Driven by the leadership of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kaouthar Lbiati, MD, the in-licensing agreement advances Hepion’s strategic evolution and complements its recently acquired methylated DNA test for early detection of liver cancer, the mSEPT9 PCR-based assay. Hepion’s new strategic focus is advancing clinically proven liquid biopsy tests to aid in the early diagnosis and surveillance of HCC and potentially other solid tumor types in the near future, and to this end Hepion has also secured rights to potentially extend Cirna’s ctRNA platform for other indications as the technology matures. The ctRNA license for HCC, and extension rights, augment Hepion’s growing pipeline as the company prepares its mSEPT9 PCR-based assay for commercialization. The Company believes both assays will fulfill a major unmet need, as current HCC surveillance methods miss up to 75% of early-stage cancers.

"Our diagnostic tests are designed to catch tumors early in high-risk patients and minimize later-stage diagnoses where prognosis is grim, thereby significantly improving the probability of survival in high-risk patients," said Dr. Lbiati, Hepion CEO. "Our pathway toward regulatory submission and commercialization of the ctRNA platform will present numerous opportunities for CLIA lab partnerships initially, pharma companion diagnostics collaborations in the midterm, and co-development/co-commercialization agreements through the platform’s lifecycle. We believe these opportunities will enhance the value of our ctRNA asset and the broader portfolio of biomarkers, benefiting both patients and shareholders."

"As with many cancers, early detection of hepatocellular carcinoma is key to improving patient outcomes, and there is a clear need for non-invasive biomarkers that detect HCC," commented Louis P. Kassa III, MPA, Chief Executive Officer of the Hepatitis B Foundation, the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center (PABC), the Baruch S. Blumberg Institute (BSBI) – which created the assay – and Cirna Diagnostics. "We view Hepion Pharmaceuticals, under the leadership of Dr. Kaouthar Lbiati, as the ideal licensing partner to advance our innovative ctRNA liquid biopsy test."

The ctRNA biomarker assay is a blood-based test that reads the RNA signals shed by tumors into circulation. It detects cancer-specific mutant RNA variants in blood, offering a next-generation approach to liquid biopsy. Unlike DNA-based approaches, ctRNA captures actively expressed tumor signatures, providing earlier detection and improved specificity across both surveillance and early detection use cases. The platform has been validated for HCC across several independent cohorts, with standardized RNA extraction and a repertoire of HCC-specific variants being integrated into a single multiparametric blood test.

The ctRNA platform was co-invented by Timothy Block, PhD, a member of Hepion’s Board of Directors and co-founder of the Hepatitis B Foundation, Baruch S. Blumberg Institute (BSBI), and Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center, and Aejaz Sayeed, PhD, associate professor at the BSBI and chief scientific officer at Cirna Diagnostics.

"Circulating tumor RNA liquid biopsy offers a more abundant signal and detects mutations and splicing variants that are invisible to DNA-based tests," explained Dr. Sayeed. "Our ctRNA platform also sheds light on the ‘dark’ or regulatory genome and highlights novel noncoding elements associated with cancer. It is a confidence-boosting tool for clinicians seeking diagnostic clarity for their at-risk patients. The platform is also disease-agnostic; it has direct applications in lung, breast, pancreatic, and fusion-driven cancers, and potential utility across the full arc of clinical management, encompassing surveillance, treatment monitoring, prognosis, and therapy selection."

With its ctRNA and mSEPT9 diagnostic assays, Hepion takes the next steps toward a theranostics-enabling approach that presents a tremendous commercial opportunity. The global liquid biopsy market is currently valued at $10 billion and growing, and in the U.S. alone is projected to reach nearly $9 billion by 2035.

(Press release, Hepion Pharmaceuticals, MAR 3, 2026, View Source [SID1234663226])

On March 3, 2026 Immix Biopharma, Inc. ("ImmixBio", "Company", "We" or "Us" or "IMMX"), the global leader in relapsed/refractory AL Amyloidosis, reported that it will present and host investor meetings at the following upcoming institutional investor conferences:

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Leerink Partners 2026 Global Healthcare Conference being held March 8-11, 2026 in Miami Beach, FL.
The Citizens Life Sciences Conference being held March 10-11, 2026 in Miami Beach, FL.

Company management will host one-on-one meetings during the conferences. Interested investors should contact their Leerink or Citizens representative to request meetings. A link to access replays, when available, will be posted to the Immix website on the Presentation & Events page under the Investors section.

(Press release, Immix Biopharma, MAR 3, 2026, View Source [SID1234663227])

On March 3, 2026 Immunocore Holdings plc (Nasdaq: IMCR) ("Immunocore" or the "Company"), a commercial-stage biotechnology company pioneering and delivering transformative immunomodulating medicines to radically improve outcomes for patients with cancer, infectious diseases and autoimmune diseases, reported management will participate at the following conferences in March.

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TD Cowen 46th Annual Healthcare Conference
Presentation: Tuesday, March 3, 2026, at 2:30 p.m. EST

Leerink 2026 Global Healthcare Conference
Fireside Chat: Monday, March 9, 2026, at 3:40 p.m. EST

Barclays 28th Annual Global Healthcare Conference
1x1s and small group meetings: Tuesday, March 10, 2026

UBS Biotech Summit Miami, Catalyst for Change
1x1s and small group meetings: Tuesday, March 10, 2026

Jefferies 2026 Biotech on the Beach Summit
1x1s and small group meetings: Wednesday, March 11, 2026

Where relevant, the presentations will be webcast live and can be accessed by visiting ‘Events & Presentations’, under ‘Events’, via the ‘Investors’ section of Immunocore’s website at www.immunocore.com. Following the event, a replay of the presentations will be made available for a limited time.

(Press release, Immunocore, MAR 3, 2026, View Source [SID1234663228])

On March 3, 2026 AN2 Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ANTX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel small molecule therapeutics derived from its boron chemistry platform, reported its plans to expand the development of oral epetraborole into a Phase 2 proof-of-concept clinical study in adults with phlebotomy-dependent polycythemia vera (PV). PV is a blood cancer characterized by overproduction of red blood cells in the bone marrow. This overproduction increases hematocrit which can lead to serious medical complications, including arterial and venous thromboembolic events.

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The Company’s decision to pursue PV is supported by data from multiple clinical trials of oral epetraborole in healthy volunteers and non-PV patients in which the drug consistently demonstrated early, controlled, sustained, and dose-dependent reductions in hematocrit at potentially clinically meaningful levels for PV.

Epetraborole’s effects were characterized by the following pharmacodynamic and clinical observations:

Consistent hematocrit reductions across multiple clinical populations, including healthy volunteers and nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) lung disease patients, with effects sustained over a six-month treatment period
Early onset of hematocrit reduction after dose initiation with durable, stable control and reversibility at treatment cessation
No clinically relevant change in white blood cell counts and minimal change in platelet counts
Demonstrated durable hematocrit reduction in 9-month chronic non-human primate studies
A potentially differentiated mechanism of action, likely acting on globin synthesis rather than directly on heme synthesis
Epetraborole has been generally well tolerated in clinical trials to date at doses anticipated for the treatment of PV.

"We believe epetraborole may offer a differentiated hematological profile that combines hematocrit control via red-cell selectivity, early onset, titratability and oral delivery, attributes that could address key treatment objectives in polycythemia vera and offer patients a new therapeutic option where current approaches fall short," said Eric Easom, Co-Founder, Chairman, President and CEO of AN2 Therapeutics. "This program creates additional, near-term value inflection points within our current runway and broadens our pipeline, which now includes three Phase 2 studies initiating in 2026, and two preclinical oncology compounds that are expected to move into development this year."

"While current therapies are effective for some patients, many continue to have inadequately controlled hematocrit levels and rely on repeated phlebotomy or injectable treatments," said Stan Gerson, M.D., Hematologist and Oncologist at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center and Dean and Professor of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. "As a chronic illness with no cure, PV carries a persistent risk of thrombosis and a substantial symptom burden. There remains a clear need for additional oral treatment options, including those with novel mechanisms of action, that can help manage hematocrit while minimizing treatment burden and long-term tolerability concerns."

The Company is currently proceeding through the regulatory clearance process and anticipates initiating the Phase 2 trial in the third quarter of 2026. The Company expects to provide periodic public data updates as early as the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory clearance and enrollment progress.

About Polycythemia Vera (PV)

PV is a blood cancer characterized by overproduction of red blood cells in the bone marrow. This overproduction increases hematocrit which can lead to serious medical complications, including arterial and venous thromboembolic events. If untreated, PV can be life-threatening. Despite available therapies, many patients experience uncontrolled hematocrit levels and persistent symptom burden, requiring long term management to maintain adequate disease control. PV is estimated to affect approximately 155,000 people in the U.S.

Webcast Information

AN2 will host a live webcast presentation on Wednesday, March 4, 2026 at 9:30am ET to provide an overview of the PV program. The event will feature Dr. Aaron Gerds, alongside members of the AN2 team. Dr. Gerds is the Associate Professor of Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University and serves as Deputy Director for Clinical Research at the Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Institute. He is also Deputy Associate Director for Clinical Research at the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The live webcast of the presentation can be accessed by registering under "Events" in the investors section of the Company’s website at View Source or View Source Upon registration, all participants will receive an email confirmation with a link that will log you in automatically and the option to add it to your calendar. It is recommended that participants log into the webcast approximately 10 minutes prior to the webcast. An archived replay will be available for 30 days following the presentation. The replay will be available on this same link beginning approximately two hours after the event.

About the Phase 2 Study of Epetraborole in PV

This planned Phase 2 study consists of an open-label epetraborole sentinel cohort, an open-label dose optimization cohort for dose selection (Part 1), followed by a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled cohort (Part 2), and an optional open-label extension cohort (Part 3). The study is designed to assess the efficacy of oral epetraborole in phlebotomy-dependent adults with PV and its effect on key hematological variables, to optimize a dose regimen on a by-patient level, to assess safety and tolerability, to assess patient-reported outcomes (PROs) using validated PRO instruments, and to assess other key hematological parameters.

About Epetraborole

Epetraborole is a boron-containing, orally available, small molecule that has shown dose and exposure-dependent decreases in hematocrit. Evidence suggests that it operates by reducing production of early-stage erythrocytes (red blood cells) while sparing other cell lineages in the marrow, including white blood cells and platelets. Epetraborole’s clinical data package supporting evaluation in PV is comprehensive, including 10 Phase 1 studies, two Phase 2 studies, and a Phase 2/3 study in NTM lung disease. The drug has been generally well tolerated in prior trials at doses anticipated for PV and, to date, no tolerability barriers to long-term use have been identified. Epetraborole, if approved, would represent a distinct chemical class in both PV and anti-infectives.

(Press release, AN2 Therapeutics, MAR 3, 2026, View Source [SID1234663268])