Discussion of Results of CEL-SCI’s Phase 3 Trial Is Now Available

On July 2, 2021 CEL-SCI Corporation (NYSE American: CVM) reported that the discussion at the Annual Shareholder Meeting, on July 1, 2021 at 10:00 am EDT, regarding its Phase 3 head and neck cancer trial results is available at View Source (Press release, Cel-Sci, JUL 2, 2021, View Source [SID1234584576]).

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The discussion on the Phase 3 results was presented by Geert Kersten the Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Eyal Talor the Chief Scientific Officer and John Cipriano the Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs. In the landmark Phase 3 study, Multikine produced a significant 14.1% 5-year survival benefit (62.7% vs 48.6%) in the group of advanced primary head and neck cancer patients who received surgery plus radiotherapy. The Company plans to file for FDA approval in this patient population.

About Multikine

Multikine (Leukocyte Interleukin, Injection) is an investigational cancer immunotherapy that is known to contain 14 natural human cytokines, the body’s immune system regulators including interleukins, interferons, chemokines, and colony stimulating factors which are elements of the body’s natural mix of defenses against cancer and other diseases. A patented, mass-produced, off the shelf and ready to use non-autologous biological product, Multikine is manufactured using a proprietary process following Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) requirements from Source Leukocytes, an FDA licensed product, at CEL-SCI’s manufacturing facility near Baltimore, Maryland.

Aptamer Science liver cancer treatment global clinical preparation, Han Dong-il technology export Onhim

On July 2, 2021 Aptamer Science reported that the company preparing to apply for a phase 1 clinical trial plan for ‘AST-201’, a liver cancer treatment candidate, in Korea and China in the second half of 2021 (Press release, Aptamer Sciences, JUL 2, 2021, View Source;idx=132 [SID1234641529]).

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Aptamer Science has been implementing a business strategy of promoting technology export of candidate substances after completing preclinical (animal testing) testing or conducting phase 1 clinical trials and then exporting technology.

Aptamer Science plans to complete preclinical trials of AST-201 within this year and begin global phase 1 clinical trials in Korea and China.

Aptamer Science explained that AST-201 is an aptamer anticancer treatment that binds gemcitabine, a cytotoxic substance, to liver cancer cells.

Currently, Aptamer Science is known to have signed a confidentiality agreement (CDA) regarding AST-201 with a Chinese pharmaceutical company and is discussing technology export.

In the securities industry, there is a view that Aptamer Science is planning to enter phase 1 clinical trials within 2021 and achieve results in order to speed up discussions on technology export.

Aptamer Science is the only company in Asia that possesses aptamer discovery technology. It was founded in 2011 by CEO Dong-il Han and professors at Pohang University of Science and Technology.

An aptamer is an oligonucleotide that forms a three-dimensional shape and binds to a target substance. It is known to have high material stability because it recognizes its three-dimensional shape and is produced through chemical synthesis.

In general, antibodies bind only to a single site and have immunogenic side effects, but aptamers can bind to multiple sites and there is no case of immune rejection in humans. Low manufacturing costs and the ability to expand to various application fields are also considered strengths.

The liver cancer treatment candidate is also the only one in Asia made with aptamer technology.

In an interview with a media outlet, CEO Han said, "Aptamer technology binds as if surrounding the target with a three-dimensional structure, showing even better binding power," and added, "We will widely promote aptamer technology, which is easier to chemically synthesize and has superior efficacy than existing antibodies." "He said.

In the pharmaceutical bio industry, the aptamer anti-cancer treatment AST-201 is evaluated as a substance that can overcome the limitations of existing targeted anti-cancer treatments as it shows high tissue permeability (the degree to which the drug is absorbed into the tissue) and the characteristics of overcoming anti-cancer drug resistance.

In 2005, the global pharmaceutical company Pfizer developed Macugen, a macular degeneration treatment, the first new drug made with aptamer technology, and the possibility of developing new drugs was already proven.

Aptamer Science also developed the world’s first lung cancer early diagnosis kit based on Aptamer technology. It received Class 3 medical device certification from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in 2017 and European CE (European Standards and Standards System) certification in 2018, and is preparing for commercialization in the second half of 2021.

At the ‘Bio Korea 2021’ event held in June, Aptamer Science conducted joint research discussions with global pharmaceutical companies to develop blood-brain barrier (BBB)-penetrating shuttle aptamer technology, which expanded the application areas of aptamer technology.

It is reported that global pharmaceutical companies have shown particular interest because the blood-brain barrier penetration technology can be used for all brain disease drugs.

An Aptamer Science official said, "We cannot disclose the current discussions on AST-201 and blood-brain barrier penetration technology as they are business secrets."

According to U.S. market research firm Transparency Market Research, the global aptamer market is expected to grow from $1.3 billion in 2017 to $5.9 billion in 2025. It grows by 20.9% every year.

Kiromic BioPharma, Inc. Announces Closing of Public Offering

On July 2, 2021 Kiromic BioPharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: KRBP) (the "Company"), an immuno-oncology target discovery and gene-editing company with a proprietary artificial intelligence neural network platform (Diamond AI) that is used to develop novel oncology therapeutics, reported the closing of its previously announced underwritten public offering of 8,000,000 shares of its common stock at a public offering price of $5.00 per share, resulting in gross proceeds to the Company of $40 million (Press release, Kiromic, JUL 2, 2021, View Source [SID1234584577]). In addition, the Company has granted the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase up to an additional 1,200,000 shares of common stock, solely to cover over-allotments.

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ThinkEquity, a division of Fordham Financial Management, Inc. acted as sole book-running manager for the offering.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering primarily for clinical trials for its ALEXIS-ISO-1 and ALEXIS-PRO-1 product candidates, GMP facility expansion, intellectual property protection and reinforcement, IND applications and IND enabling trials and working capital and the remainder for general corporate purposes.

A registration statement relating to the shares of common stock being sold in this offering was declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on June 29, 2021. The offering is being made only by means of a prospectus. Copies of the final prospectus may be obtained on the SEC’s website, www.sec.gov, or by contacting ThinkEquity, a division of Fordham Financial Management, Inc., 17 State Street, 22nd Floor, New York, New York 10004, by telephone at (877) 436-3673 or by email at [email protected].

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of, these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

New Results From the Landmark Prospective CIRCULATE Trial Expand Clinical Utility of the Signatera® MRD Test in Colorectal Cancer

On July 2, 2021 Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTRA), a pioneer and global leader in cell-free DNA testing, reported it will present new data on its personalized and tumor-informed molecular residual disease (MRD) assay, Signatera, at the 2021 European Society for Medical Oncology World Congress on Gastrointestinal Cancer (ESMO GI), taking place June 30 – July 3, 2021. Data will be presented in colorectal cancer (CRC) and pancreatic cancer (Press release, Natera, JUL 2, 2021, View Source [SID1234584578]).

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Natera will present updated results from the prospective, multi-center, randomized CIRCULATE-Japan trial, the largest MRD-guided study to date in CRC, designed to investigate ctDNA-guided treatment strategies for patients with stage I-IV resected CRC. With follow-up information now available in the first 808 patients in this trial, this readout is multiple times larger than any previous Natera MRD study in CRC, and as such, creates a new benchmark for evaluating test performance.

"We are very encouraged by how quickly we have been able to generate this large, high-quality dataset, and look forward to growing it even further through our collaboration with Natera," said the CIRCULATE-Japan study’s Principal Investigator, Dr. Takayuki Yoshino of the National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa-shi, Chiba, Japan. "We believe that personalized MRD testing is the future and will improve treatment decisions for tens of thousands of colorectal cancer patients in Japan and around the world."

"CIRCULATE-Japan is a landmark prospective trial, and based on these strong interim results, we are highly optimistic they will lead to changes in practice guidelines in early-stage colorectal cancer," said Alexey Aleshin, M.D., Natera’s vice president of medical affairs, oncology. "At our core, we are a data-driven company, and these data very clearly demonstrate that Signatera can be an important and accurate tool for helping patients avoid unnecessary treatment."

Details about the abstracts are as follows:

Abstract # O-11 | Oral Presentation | Presenter: Hiromichi Shirasu

Monitoring molecular residual disease by circulating tumor DNA in resectable colorectal cancer: Molecular subgroup analyses of a prospective observational study GALAXY in CIRCULATE-Japan

This oral presentation describes an updated interim analysis of the first 808 patients from CIRCULATE-Japan, the largest prospective MRD study to date in CRC. Personalized Signatera assays were performed preoperatively and then serially after surgery. Preoperative MRD was detected in 95% of patients with stage II–III CRC. Longitudinal MRD-positivity was significantly associated with inferior disease-free survival (hazard ratio = 46.8) and Signatera demonstrated a relapse sensitivity of 93.1%. MRD-positivity at 4 weeks after surgery was significantly associated with nodal positivity and MRD-negative patients had remarkably good prognosis, with recurrence-free survival >99% at six months of follow-up, across all stages and regardless of whether adjuvant treatment was administered.

Abstract # 271 | Poster Presentation | Presenter: Maen Abdelrahim, M.D.

Circulating tumor DNA for early relapse detection and monitoring disease status in patients with early-stage pancreatic adenocarcinoma

A prospective study of seven pancreatic adenocarcinoma patients and one ampullary adenocarcinoma patient who were monitored after surgery using Signatera, in addition to blood biomarkers carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and cancer antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9) and radiological imaging. MRD-positivity was found to be associated with poorer recurrence-free survival (HR 10.14, p=0.03). MRD findings correlated with, and preceded, imaging results in 100% of patients who relapsed. MRD was found to be a more specific prognostic biomarker compared to CEA and CA 19-9.

About Signatera

Signatera is a custom-built circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) test for treatment monitoring and molecular residual disease (MRD) assessment in patients previously diagnosed with cancer. The test is available for both clinical and research use, and has been granted three Breakthrough Device Designations by the FDA for multiple cancer types and indications. The Signatera test is personalized and tumor-informed, providing each individual with a customized blood test tailored to fit the unique signature of clonal mutations found in that individual’s tumor. This maximizes Signatera’s accuracy for detecting the presence or absence of residual disease in a blood sample, even at levels down to a single tumor molecule in a tube of blood. Signatera is intended to detect and quantify how much cancer is left in the body, to detect recurrence earlier and to help optimize treatment decisions.

Signatera test performance has been clinically validated in multiple cancer types including colorectal, non-small cell lung, breast, and bladder cancers. Signatera has been developed and its performance characteristics determined by Natera, the CLIA-certified laboratory performing the test. The test has not been cleared or approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). CAP accredited, ISO 13485 certified, and CLIA certified.

Completion of share buy-back program

On July 1, 2021 Genmab A/S (Nasdaq: GMAB) reported that its share buy-back program has been completed on June 30, 2021.

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On February 23, 2021 Genmab announced the initiation of a share buy-back program to mitigate dilution from warrant exercises and to honor our commitments under our Restricted Stock Units program.

The share buy-back program was expected to be completed no later than June 30, 2021 and comprised up to 200,000 shares.

The following transactions were executed under the program from June 28, 2021, to June 30, 2021:

Details of each transaction are included as an appendix to this announcement.

Genmab’s accumulated share buy-back from 24 February 2021 to 30 June, 2021 amounts to 200,000 shares at a total cost of DKK 446.23 million. The announced share buy-back program has thus been completed.

Following these transactions, Genmab holds 299,206 shares as treasury shares, corresponding to 0.46% of the total share capital and voting rights.

The share buy-back program was undertaken in accordance with Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 (‘MAR’) and the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1052, also referred to as the "Safe Harbour Regulation." Further details on the terms of the share buy-back program can be found in our company announcement no. 11 dated February 23, 2021.