On June 15, 2021 RayzeBio which is discovering and developing a broad pipeline of innovative targeted radiopharmaceutical drugs for cancer, reported a $108 million Series C financing led by Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners alongside new investors Perceptive Advisors, Vivo Capital, Acuta Capital Partners, Deerfield Management, and TCG X (Press release, RayzeBio, JUN 15, 2021, View Source [SID1234584085]). Also participating were all of Rayze’s existing investors: venBio Partners, Versant Ventures, Samsara BioCapital, Redmile Group, Viking Global Investors, Cormorant Asset Management, OrbiMed, LifeSci Venture Partners, Logos Capital, Alexandria Venture Investments, and others.
"The targeted radiopharmaceuticals field represents a highly clinically validated modality that, until recently, has been underappreciated," said Ken Song, M.D., president and CEO of RayzeBio. "The interest and confidence from our exceptional group of investors that has funded the company enables us to fully invest in our plans to be the leader in targeted radiopharmaceuticals for a multitude of cancer types."
With over $258 million of capital raised since the company first debuted in the second half of 2020, RayzeBio has rapidly expanded its team, infrastructure, capabilities, and pipeline.

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On June 15, 2021 Jounce Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: JNCE), a clinical-stage company focused on the discovery and development of novel cancer immunotherapies and predictive biomarkers, reported the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) clearance of its Investigational New Drug (IND) application for JTX-1811, an anti-CCR8 antibody, for which Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: GILD) has exclusive rights to develop and commercialize (Press release, Jounce Therapeutics, JUN 15, 2021, View Source [SID1234584014]). The IND clearance triggers a $25.0 million milestone payment to Jounce.

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JTX-1811, which will be referred to as GS-1811 in Gilead’s pipeline, is a monoclonal antibody created by Jounce and designed to selectively deplete immunosuppressive tumor-infiltrating T regulatory (TITR) cells. The target of JTX-1811 is CCR8, a chemokine receptor enriched on TITR cells. When JTX-1811 binds to CCR8, it targets TITR cells for depletion by enhancing an antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity mechanism.

"The clearance of the JTX-1811 IND marks an important and validating milestone for Jounce in our approach to cancer immunotherapy treatment. We have now been able to bring multiple novel and diversified immunotherapy development candidates into clinical development, further enhancing our opportunity to bring benefit to cancer patients who have few options. Specifically, this is our fourth internally-developed antibody in five years and is testament to the power of our discovery to early development engine" said Richard Murray, PhD, Chief Executive Officer and President of Jounce Therapeutics. "We look forward to JTX-1811’s continued advancement as Gilead progresses this program into the clinic."

Under the terms of the September 2020 agreement, Gilead invested $35.0 million in Jounce’s common stock and made an $85.0 million upfront payment to Jounce. Jounce has led the development of JTX-1811 through IND clearance, after which Gilead now has the sole right to develop and commercialize the program. After receiving this $25.0 million milestone payment, Jounce may receive up to an additional $660.0 million in future clinical, regulatory and commercial milestone payments and will also be eligible to receive royalties ranging from high single digit to mid-teens based upon worldwide sales. Any milestone or royalty paid to Jounce is subject to certain reductions as described in the license agreement

On June 15, 2021 Oncorus, Inc. (Nasdaq: ONCR), a viral immunotherapies company focused on driving innovation to transform outcomes for cancer patients, reported that it will host an upcoming investor day featuring its intravenous (IV)-administered Synthetic viral RNA (vRNA) Immunotherapy Platform, and its recently nominated lead Synthetic vRNA Immunotherapy product candidates, ONCR-021 and ONCR-788(Filing, 8-K, Oncorus, JUN 15, 2021, View Source [SID1234584034]). The virtual event will take place on June 21, 2021 from 1:00 – 2:30 p.m. ET.

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Oncorus Synthetic vRNA Immunotherapies Day Agenda

Leena Ghandi, M.D., Ph.D., Director, Center for Cancer Therapeutic Innovation at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, will be a featured speaker at the event. Dr. Ghandi will review current clinical practice and the potential for IV-administered viral immunotherapies to address significant unmet needs.

Oncorus leadership will discuss the company’s pioneering IV-administered approach, which involves encapsulating the genomes of RNA viruses known to kill cancer cells (i.e., oncolytic viruses, or OVs) within a lipid nanoparticle (or LNP), creating a Synthetic vRNA immunotherapy. Oncorus’ novel Synthetic vRNA approach holds the potential for repeat IV administration and avoids the challenge of neutralizing antibodies seen in previous approaches with IV-administered, naturally-occurring OVs.

Oncorus will review preclinical data supporting the ONCR-021 and ONCR-788 candidate nominations and discuss current clinical development plans for each program. ONCR-021 encodes an optimized strain of Coxsackievirus A21 (CVA21), and ONCR-788 encodes a modified version of the Seneca Valley Virus (SVV).

Finally, the company will also provide an overview of its 88,000 square foot state-of-the-art process development and Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) manufacturing facility in Andover, Mass., which it anticipates will be operational for GMP manufacturing in the first half of 2023.

A live webcast of the event will be available to registered attendees under the Investors and Media section of Oncorus’ website at View Source A replay of the presentation will be archived on Oncorus’ site for 60 days following the event.

For more information or to RSVP, please contact Josh Rauch at [email protected].

Click here to read a white paper published by Oncorus’ leadership on it Synthetic vRNA Immunotherapy Platform and lead candidates.

On June 15, 2021 NanoString Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: NSTG), a leading provider of life science tools for discovery and translational research, and the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy (PICI) reported that they are collaborating on an expansive molecular characterization project for cellular therapies(Press release, NanoString Technologies, JUN 15, 2021, View Source [SID1234584086]). The collaboration will define the characteristics that make a cell therapy effective, providing a standardized approach to developing CAR-T regimens that may improve patient outcomes across all cancer types, especially solid tumors.

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The collaboration will leverage the cell therapy expertise of PICI’s network, including world-class academic research centers, and empower research teams with NanoString’s widely recognized nCounter Analysis System and CAR-T Characterization Panel. The technology utilizes a standardized gene expression panel of 780 genes, which the team will use to profile eight different biological characteristics of existing cell therapies. By analyzing the factors that correlate with optimal cellular therapies, the team will define the characteristics that make a therapy more likely to be effective. The team will also make the findings publicly available to the scientific community through PICI’s Cancer Data and Evidence Library (CANDEL) analysis platform.

CAR-T cell therapy has produced significant advancements in the treatment of hematological malignancies, which has led to an explosion of research aimed at adapting these therapies for solid tumors. Despite this activity, several significant challenges remain. There is a particular need in the field to define key aspects of CAR-T activity, including molecular pathways that regulate effectiveness, toxicity, and persistence. This challenge is compounded by varying strategies used during the design and manufacturing process, and the variability associated with these patient-derived treatments. Overcoming these barriers can help unlock the benefits of cellular therapies for cancer patients currently in need of more effective treatments.

"By working together, NanoString and PICI will generate meaningful information from our scientific community to develop a standardized approach to cell therapy development, allowing us to better understand the attributes that make treatments effective and to ultimately improve patient outcomes," said Joseph Beechem, Ph.D., NanoString’s chief scientific officer and senior vice president of Research and Development.

"PICI’s approach is based on bringing together the brightest minds to solve cancer’s toughest problems," said Lisa Butterfield, Ph.D., PICI’s vice president of Research and Development. "This collaboration provides an important opportunity to deeply examine cell therapies and layout a road map for future development and manufacturing that can overcome the challenges of treating solid tumors."

NanoString and PICI are working together on other collaborative projects in parallel, including a multi-site validation of the GeoMx Digital Spatial Profiler and the GeoMx as a tool to characterize patient response to immunotherapy. Work is underway for both projects, which includes processing nearly 1,000 cell therapy samples from across PICI’s network with nCounter.

The team aims to provide updates on its work to the community through conferences and round table discussions.

On June 15, 2021 Moleculin Biotech, Inc., (Nasdaq: MBRX) ("Moleculin" or the "Company"), a clinical stage pharmaceutical company with a broad portfolio of drug candidates targeting highly resistant tumors and viruses, reported that as part of the annual reconstitution of the Russell stock indexes, Moleculin has been selected to be added to the Russell 2000 Index effective after the close of the U.S. equity markets on June 25, 2021 (Press release, Moleculin, JUN 15, 2021, View Source [SID1234584015]).

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Moleculin Biotech, Inc. is a clinical stage pharmaceutical company focused on the development of a broad portfolio of oncology drug candidates for the treatment of highly resistant tumors. (PRNewsfoto/Moleculin Biotech, Inc.)

"We are pleased to have been included in this year’s reconstitution of the Russell 2000 Index. Our team has worked tirelessly to advance the Company on multiple fronts and we believe this inclusion is further evidence of those efforts. We are grateful for the opportunity to access increased market exposure to help drive awareness of our development programs seeking to solve the toughest challenges in highly resistant cancers and viruses," commented Walter Klemp, Chairman and CEO of Moleculin.

The Russell 2000 Index measures the performance of the small-cap segment of the US equity market. The Russell 2000 Index is a subset of the Russell 3000 Index representing approximately 10% of the total market capitalization of that index. It includes approximately 2,000 of the smallest securities based on a combination of their market cap and current index membership.

Russell indexes are widely used by investment managers and institutional investors for index funds and as benchmarks for active investment strategies. Approximately $9 trillion in assets are benchmarked against Russell’s U.S. indexes which are part of FTSE Russell, a global index leader that provides innovative benchmarking, analytics and data solutions for investors worldwide.