4D pharma Announces Completion of Merger With Longevity Acquisition Corporation

On March 22, 2021 4D pharma plc (Nasdaq: LBPS; AIM: DDDD) ("4D pharma" or the "Company"), a pharmaceutical company leading the development of Live Biotherapeutic products (LBPs) – a novel class of drug derived from the microbiome – reported completion of its merger ("the Merger") with Longevity Acquisition Corporation ("Longevity")(Nasdaq: LOAC) (Press release, 4d Pharma, MAR 22, 2021, View Source [SID1234576966]).

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4D pharma American Depositary Shares ("ADSs") are expected to begin trading today on the Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker symbol ‘LBPS.’

Warrants of Longevity assumed by 4D pharma in the Merger are currently expected to begin trading on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol ‘LBPSW’ tomorrow, Tuesday, March 23, 2021. Longevity units are expected to be separated and holders thereof are expected receive 4D pharma ADSs and warrants in exchange at the same time as the warrants begin trading.

As a result of the Merger, Longevity shares, warrants, rights and units ceased trading on Nasdaq on Friday, March 19, 2021.

4D pharma ordinary shares continue to be admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM market under the ticker symbol ‘DDDD.’

Xylonix Reveals New Drug Compound for Combating Cancer and Abnormal Macrophages

On March 22, 2021 Xylonix, a Singapore-based biotech company, reported that it has developed a new immunity drug (010DS-Zn) that demonstrates potential for treating a variety of solid cancers and COVID-19’s post-recovery complications, which include heart damage, diabetes and multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) (Press release, Xylonix, MAR 22, 2021, View Source [SID1234576984]). This research was recently submitted as a preprint publication on bioRxiv.org (View Source).

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Aggressive solid cancers have been known to manipulate immunity for its advancements in several ways. One way is the enrichment of an immunity subset called M2-like macrophages (M2), which is associated in cancer metastasis, relapse, and treatment resistance. Recent studies showed that COVID-19 infection resulted in similar immune pathologies to solid cancers – increased M2 activity and suppressed CD4 and CD8 T-cells[1] activity.

Xylonix demonstrated that its drug compound 010DS-Zn markedly reduced M2 population, while simultaneously boosting anti-cancer CD4 and CD8 T cells. This resulted in tumour suppression in animal studies. It also demonstrated consistent anti-cancer activity in 53 human patient-derived cancers tested ex vivo.

"Today’s cancer immunotherapy combinations can cost upwards of $200,000/year (1), but beneficial responses in patients happen at 15% chance-at-random (2). We developed 010DS-Zn as a widely applicable immunotherapy to significantly increase these odds. As of today, we are concerned about the 120 million and more people (3) with COVID-19 infection history who may suffer from long term recovery complications. We have manufactured sufficient quantity of 010DS-Zn to be used for multiple collaborations, and we are looking for capable partners to work with us on further studies on 010DS-Zn’s effect on human tumours and COVID-19 complications," said Dr Fred Chung, Chief Scientific Officer and Co-founder Xylonix.

Transactions in connection with share buy-back program

On March 22, 2021 Genmab A/S reported 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 (Press release, Genmab, MAR 22, 2021, View Source [SID1234576950]).

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

The following transactions were executed under the program from March 15, 2021 to March 19, 2021:

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

Following these transactions, Genmab holds 167,477 shares as treasury shares, corresponding to 0.26% of the total share capital and voting rights.

The share buy-back program is 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.

AVEO Oncology Announces U.S. Commercial Availability of FOTIVDA® (tivozanib) for the Treatment of Adult Patients With Relapsed or Refractory Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma Ahead of Previous Guidance

On March 22, 2021 AVEO Oncology (Nasdaq: AVEO) reported that FOTIVDA (tivozanib) is now commercially available in the United States (U.S.) ahead of the previous March 31, 2021 guidance. On March 10, 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved FOTIVDA for the treatment of adults with relapsed or refractory advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) following two or more prior systemic therapies (Press release, AVEO, MAR 22, 2021, View Source [SID1234576968]). FOTIVDA is an oral, next-generation vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI).

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"We are thrilled to begin bringing FOTIVDA to patients battling relapsed or refractory kidney cancer," said Michael Bailey, president and chief executive officer of AVEO. "With its differentiated tolerability and efficacy profile, FOTIVDA has the potential to serve as a meaningful, evidence-based treatment option for the population of patients who have previously received two prior lines of systemic therapy."

"We are keenly focused on ensuring that FOTIVDA is available to as many appropriate patients as possible," said Mike Ferraresso, chief commercial officer of AVEO. "As part of this effort and our commitment to the RCC community, we have put in place an assistance program, AVEO ACE, which we believe will optimize patient access and help patients navigate their treatment journey. With the early FDA approval, the team has worked hard to make FOTIVDA available to patients as quickly as possible through our distribution partners and we believe we are well positioned for the successful launch of FOTIVDA."

The AVEO ACE Patient Support program is designed to offer a comprehensive suite of services dedicated to providing access and personalized support to patients and their loved ones throughout the FOTIVDA treatment journey. Regardless of a patient’s insurance or financial circumstances, AVEO ACE is available to connect them to resources they may need, with the goal of making access to FOTIVDA simple and streamlined. The program is committed to helping identify payor-specific prior authorizations and appeals to address patient needs, offering programs for insurance related delays, and connecting patients, regardless of insurance type, to resources that can address common access and reimbursement challenges. For more information, please call AVEO ACE at 1-833-FOTIVDA (1-833-368-4832) Monday-Friday from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM Eastern Time.

FOTIVDA is available through a limited distribution network comprised of specialty pharmacies (Biologics & Onco360) and specialty distributors: Amerisource Specialty Distribution, Oncology Supply, McKesson Plasma and Biologics, McKesson Specialty and Cardinal Specialty.

About FOTIVDA (tivozanib)

FOTIVDA (tivozanib) is an oral, next-generation vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI). It is a potent, selective inhibitor of VEGFRs 1, 2, and 3 with a long half-life designed to improve efficacy and tolerability. AVEO received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for FOTIVDA on March 10, 2021 for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) following two or more prior systemic therapies. FOTIVDA was approved in August 2017 in the European Union and other countries in the territory of its partner EUSA Pharma (UK) Limited for the treatment of adult patients with advanced RCC. FOTIVDA has been shown to significantly reduce regulatory T-cell production in preclinical models1. FOTIVDA was discovered by Kyowa Kirin.

INDICATIONS

FOTIVDA is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) following two or more prior systemic therapies.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS

Hypertension and Hypertensive Crisis: Control blood pressure prior to initiating FOTIVDA. Monitor for hypertension and treat as needed. For persistent hypertension despite use of anti-hypertensive medications, reduce the FOTIVDA dose.

Cardiac Failure: Monitor for signs or symptoms of cardiac failure throughout treatment with FOTIVDA.

Cardiac Ischemia and Arterial Thromboembolic Events: Closely monitor patients who are at increased risk for these events. Permanently discontinue FOTIVDA for severe arterial thromboembolic events, such as myocardial infarction and stroke.

Venous Thromboembolic Events: Closely monitor patients who are at increased risk for these events. Permanently discontinue FOTIVDA for severe venous thromboembolic events.

Hemorrhagic Events: Closely monitor patients who are at risk for or who have a history of bleeding.

Proteinuria: Monitor throughout treatment with FOTIVDA. For moderate to severe proteinuria, reduce the dose or temporarily interrupt treatment with FOTIVDA.

Thyroid Dysfunction: Monitor before initiation and throughout treatment with FOTIVDA.

Risk of Impaired Wound Healing: Withhold FOTIVDA for at least 24 days before elective surgery. Do not administer for at least 2 weeks following major surgery and adequate wound healing. The safety of resumption of FOTIVDA after resolution of wound healing complications has not been established.

Reversible Posterior Leukoencephalopathy Syndrome (RPLS): Discontinue FOTIVDA if signs or symptoms of RPLS occur.

Embryo-Fetal Toxicity: Can cause fetal harm. Advise patients of the potential risk to a fetus and to use effective contraception.

Allergic Reactions to Tartrazine: The 0.89 mg capsule of FOTIVDA contains FD&C Yellow No.5 (tartrazine) which may cause allergic-type reactions (including bronchial asthma) in certain susceptible patients.

ADVERSE REACTIONS

The most common (≥20%) adverse reactions were fatigue, hypertension, diarrhea, decreased appetite, nausea, dysphonia, hypothyroidism, cough, and stomatitis, and the most common Grade 3 or 4 laboratory abnormalities (≥5%) were sodium decreased, lipase increased, and phosphate decreased.

DRUG INTERACTIONS

Strong CYP3A4 Inducers: Avoid coadministration of FOTIVDA with strong CYP3A4 inducers.

USE IN SPECIFIC POPULATIONS

Lactation: Advise not to breastfeed.
Females and Males of Reproductive Potential: Can impair fertility.
Hepatic Impairment: Adjust dosage in patients with moderate hepatic impairment. Avoid use in patients with severe hepatic impairment.

To report SUSPECTED ADVERSE REACTIONS, contact AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc. at 1-833-FOTIVDA (1-833-368-4832) or FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch.

Please see FOTIVDA Full Prescribing Information which is available at www.FOTIVDA.com.

About Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma

According to the American Cancer Society’s 2021 statistics, renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the most common type of kidney cancer, which is among the ten most common cancers in both men and women. Approximately 73,750 new cases of kidney cancer will be diagnosed annually and about 14,830 people will die from this disease. In patients with late-stage disease, the five-year survival rate is 13%. Agents that target the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) pathway have shown significant antitumor activity in RCC.2 According to a 2019 publication, 50% of the approximately 10,000 patients who progress following two or more lines of therapy choose not to receive further treatment,3 which may be attributable to tolerability concerns and a lack of data to support evidence-based treatment decisions in this highly relapsed or refractory patient population.

Verrica Announces Proposed Public Offering of Common Stock

On March 22, 2021 Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: VRCA), a dermatology therapeutics company developing medications for skin diseases requiring medical interventions, reported that it intends to offer and sell, subject to market conditions, shares of its common stock in an underwritten public offering (Press release, Verrica Pharmaceuticals, MAR 22, 2021, View Source [SID1234577030]). All of the shares of common stock to be sold in the offering will be offered by Verrica. Verrica also intends to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 15% of the shares of its common stock offered in the public offering on the same terms and conditions. The offering is subject to market conditions, and there can be no assurance as to whether or when the offering may be completed, or the actual size or terms of the offering.

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Jefferies LLC, Cowen and Company, LLC and RBC Capital Markets, LLC are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering.

A shelf registration statement relating to the shares of common stock offered in the public offering described above was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 13, 2020 and declared effective by the SEC on March 25, 2020. The offering will be made only by means of a written prospectus and prospectus supplement that form a part of the registration statement. A preliminary prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus relating to the offering will be filed with the SEC and will be available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Copies of the preliminary prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, when available, may also be obtained by contacting Jefferies LLC, Attention: Equity Syndicate Prospectus Department, 520 Madison Avenue, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10022, by telephone at 877-547-6340 or by email at [email protected]; or Cowen and Company, LLC, c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, New York 11717, Attn: Prospectus Department, by telephone at (833) 297-2926, or by email at [email protected]; or RBC Capital Markets, LLC, Attention: Equity Syndicate, 200 Vesey Street, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10281, or by telephone at (877) 822-4089 or by email at [email protected].

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