On April 15, 2021 AltruBio Inc. ("AltruBio" or "the Company"), a clinical stage biotech company, reported the completion of a $63 million Series A financing round (Press release, AltruBio, APR 15, 2021, View Source [SID1234578066]). The round was led by aMoon with new investors including BVF Partners L.P. (BVF), CAM Capital, and other new and existing investors joining the syndicate.

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AltruBio’s President & CEO, Dr. Judy Chou stated: "We are honored to have this strong group of investors join us, marking our steady growth and transformation into a truly promising biotech company with great chances of creating value for patients and all our stakeholders. The investors’ experience and support will enable the Company to leverage our PSGL-1 immune checkpoint regulator program across multiple indications, realizing our ‘pipeline in a product’ vision, and accelerating our ability to bring solutions to patients in need. The strength of this financing validates the renewal and rebuilding of the Company and further validates our science within the biotech industry."

The Company has successfully executed on a strategic shift over the past year, recruiting a new Board of Directors comprised of internationally recognized biotech industry luminaries with experience across the board in drug development and transitioning the leadership to a new President & CEO, in industry veteran Dr. Judy Chou, who joined the company after leaving Bayer where she was the global head of biotech. Under her leadership, AltruBio has implemented a new focus on its novel PSGL-1 program for immunological diseases, and the Company has now secured the funds to continue advancing the program. Recently, the company has received Fast Track Designation from the FDA for the lead asset neihulizumab (AbGn-168H) in steroid refractory acute graft-versus-host disease (SR-aGVHD).

Dr. Gur Roshwalb, MD, MBA, aMoon’s partner leading the investment added, "We view this as a great opportunity to invest in experienced leadership and unique and proven science. With the backing of an all-star board of directors, Dr. Chou has been taking all the right steps to refocus and lead the company towards a new strategic direction. The PSGL-1 program has the potential to serve as a platform to treat many different T-cell mediated, immunological diseases, offering a new solution to patients without adequate options."

On April 15, 2021 Invitae Corporation (NYSE: NVTA), a leading medical genetics company, reported research showing one in six people with colorectal cancer harbor genetic changes that are known to substantially increase the risk for cancer, especially in patients who were younger when diagnosed (Press release, Invitae, APR 15, 2021, View Source [SID1234578085]). The findings are the latest from a landmark study of genetic testing across many solid tumor cancers and were presented at the 2021 American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) Annual Clinical Genetics Meeting.

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Invitae’s (NVTA) mission is to bring comprehensive genetic information into mainstream medical practice to improve the quality of healthcare for billions of people. www.invitae.com (PRNewsFoto/Invitae Corporation)

"Colorectal cancer is one of the most common types of cancer. Recently we’ve seen an unfortunate increase in incidence among people younger than 50 years old. Improving our understanding of who is at risk and implementing appropriate screening strategies is essential to ensuring these cancers are caught and treated earlier when outcomes are typically better," said Robert Nussbaum, M.D., chief medical officer of Invitae. "Access to information about inherited risk factors is also important after diagnosis, not only for the patients themselves in whom a change in treatment was made in more than 10 percent of patients based on genetic test results, but also in alerting other family members of the need to be tested to see if they are also at increased risk and need more intensive surveillance to catch cancer early and prevent more serious disease."

The study evaluated the utility of universal multigene panel testing and found the use of multigene panel testing in colorectal cancer was associated with an increased detection of heritable mutations over guideline-based testing. In the study, 361 colorectal cancer patients received germline genetic testing using a panel that included more than 80 genes linked to increased cancer risk. Cancer-linked genetic changes were found in 15.5% (n=56) of patients predominantly in moderate and high penetrance cancer susceptibility genes such as APC, BRCA2 and TP53. The median age of patients in the study was 57 years, 43.5% were female, 82% were white and 38.2% had stage IV disease.

Younger age at diagnosis was associated with a higher likelihood of finding genetic changes linked to increased cancer susceptibility. Research from the American Cancer Society has shown rates have been increasing since the mid-1980s in adults ages 20-39 years and since the mid-1990s in adults ages 40-54 years, with younger age groups experiencing the steepest increase.

On April 15, 2021 Sutro Biopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: STRO), a clinical-stage drug discovery, development and manufacturing company focused on the application of precise protein engineering and rational design to create next-generation cancer and autoimmune therapeutics, reported that Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, will make to Sutro a $15 million milestone payment for the initiation of an IND enabling toxicology study for the first program in its collaboration to develop novel cytokine derivative therapeutics for cancer and autoimmune disorders (Press release, Sutro Biopharma, APR 15, 2021, View Source [SID1234578102]). In July 2018, Sutro entered into a collaboration with Merck to jointly discover and develop best-in-class immune-modulating cytokine derivatives for both oncology and autoimmune indications.

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"The advancement of this first candidate into an IND enabling toxicology study represents an important preclinical milestone in our collaboration, led by Merck’s deep understanding and leadership within immuno-oncology and Sutro’s strength in precise protein design and optimization through its proprietary cell-free synthesis approaches," said Bill Newell, Chief Executive Officer of Sutro. "We are pleased with the continued progress in our collaboration with Merck and will continue our efforts towards developing novel therapeutics to improve outcomes and expand much-needed treatment options for cancer patients."

Under the terms of the 2018 Merck collaboration agreement, Sutro has been primarily responsible for preclinical research and development of cytokine derivatives utilizing Sutro’s proprietary cell-free protein synthesis and site-specific conjugation platforms, XpressCF and Xpress CF+. Merck has exclusive worldwide rights to therapeutic candidates derived from the collaboration. In March 2020, Merck exercised its option to extend the first research term of the program by one year, which generated a payment of $5.0 million to Sutro.

On April 15, 2021 Tectonic Therapeutic, a pre-clinical stage biotechnology company transforming the discovery of novel G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCR)-targeted therapies, reported that it has raised $80 million in a Series A financing (Press release, Tectonic Therapeutic, APR 15, 2021, View Source;Targeted-Therapies [SID1234578067]). The financing was co-led by Vida Ventures, T.A. Springer, and Polaris Partners, with participation from EcoR1 Capital .

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Tectonic was co-founded in 2019 by Andrew Kruse, PhD, Professor of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at Harvard Medical School and Timothy A. Springer, PhD, Latham Family Professor and Professor of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, world-renowned scientists in the field of membrane protein biochemistry and immunology. Tectonic’s mission is to unlock the full potential of GPCR-targeted therapies with biologics. Dr. Springer, an internationally recognized immunologist and significant investor in the Series A, has founded multiple biotech companies including LeukoSite, Scholar Rock and Morphic Therapeutic, and was a founding investor of Moderna and Editas Medicine. His research enabled the discovery of several important medicines including Campath, Velcade, and Entyvio. Based on the pioneering work from Dr. Kruse’s lab, Tectonic’s proprietary GEODe platform overcomes the challenges encountered to date in the discovery of biologics that modulate GPCR signaling, enabling the advancement of novel GPCR-targeted therapies.

"GPCRs are central to human biology and are the target of approximately 30% of all currently approved drugs," said Dr. Springer. "However, many GPCRs still remain unexplored or are considered ‘undruggable’. The Tectonic platform makes it possible to develop a broad pipeline of biologics against the most challenging receptors in the class. Despite the rich pipeline of approved drugs, these target less than 15% of the GPCR class."

To harness the full potential of their platform, Tectonic has assembled an accomplished management team of industry veterans who have successfully led the development of more than 10 novel drugs across multiple therapeutic areas, including Merck’s blockbuster anti-PD-1 therapy, Keytruda. Alise Reicin, MD, former President of Clinical Development at Celgene, has been appointed as the company’s President and Chief Executive Officer, and a member of the Board of Directors.

"Founded on compelling science, Tectonic is committed to blazing a new trail for GPCR therapy," said Dr. Reicin. "We are pursuing an efficient path to proof of concept in indications of high unmet need supported by strong biology. The team’s expertise and experience offer the potential for expansion to other challenging, and previously undruggable, cell-surface targets. We are excited that our vision is shared by a world-class syndicate of investors who have a deep understanding of the industry and shared passion for delivering an innovative solution to a longstanding problem in drug discovery."

Joining Dr. Reicin are Christian Cortis, PhD, as Chief Operating Officer, Anthony Muslin, MD, as Chief Development Officer, and Marc Schwabish, PhD, as Chief Business Officer.

In addition to Dr. Reicin, the Tectonic Board of Directors includes Terry McGuire, Polaris Partners, who will serve as the company’s Chairman; Stefan Vitorovic, Vida Ventures; Praveen Tipirneni, MD, Morphic Therapeutic, Inc.; Timothy A. Springer, PhD, Harvard; and Andrew Kruse, PhD, Harvard. Tectonic’s experienced, collaborative, and dedicated team is committed to building a leading company that can deliver breakthrough therapeutics.

"Our visionary founders and management team have the ability not only to build on this transforming platform but also to fully capitalize on its potential in a wide array of therapeutic areas," said Terry McGuire, Polaris Partners. "With the expansion of our investor syndicate, and leadership from this exceptional leadership team, Tectonic will be in a position of strength to advance a broad pipeline of first-in-class treatments."

"We believe that Tectonic’s proprietary technology platform has the potential to deliver game-changing results for the treatment of a broad range of indications," said Stefan Vitorovic, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Vida Ventures. "We are impressed by the bold vision of the scientific founders and management team and are thrilled to support Tectonic as they accelerate this science from translational research to patients in need of innovative treatment options."

On April 15, 2021 Kaleido Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: KLDO), a clinical-stage healthcare company with a differentiated, chemistry-driven approach to targeting the microbiome to treat disease and improve human health, reported that CEO Dan Menichella will participate in an analyst-led fireside chat on Thursday, April 22 at the Jefferies Microbiome-Based Therapeutics Summit (Press release, Kaleido Biosciences, APR 15, 2021, View Source [SID1234578086]).

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The webcast of the fireside chat will be made available that morning as of 8am EDT on the Investors & Media section of Kaleido’s website at View Source An archived replay will be available for 90 days following the event.