On December 16, 2020 Vivace Therapeutics, Inc., a small molecule discovery and development company developing first-in-class therapies targeting the Hippo pathway, reported the closing of a $30 million Series C financing (Press release, Vivace Therapeurtics, DEC 16, 2020, View Source [SID1234572937]). The company anticipates advancing its clinical candidate into first-in-human studies in early 2021, targeting tumors dependent on activated YAP. The Series C financing was led by Boxer Capital with participation from new investor RA Capital Management alongside existing investor Canaan Partners. With the financing, Dr. Norman Zhou of Boxer Capital has joined the board of directors at Vivace.

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"We are honored to welcome Boxer Capital and RA Capital Management to our team and to have their support. The Hippo pathway has generated much interest, and we are excited to have discovered a portfolio of diverse chemical classes of compounds with excellent in vitro and in vivo activities. To the best of our knowledge, we will be the first company to take a molecule into the clinic targeting this novel pathway," said Sofie Qiao, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Vivace Therapeutics.

"We see tremendous opportunity for the Hippo pathway and are excited to support the Vivace team as it progresses its development candidate through the clinic to address this unmet medical need." said Aaron Davis, Chief Executive Officer of Boxer Capital, LLC.

"For nearly a decade we have been tracking efforts to drug the YAP pathway, which we believe is a key driver of tumorigenesis and acquired drug resistance," commented Jake Simson, Principal, RA Capital Management. "We are excited to join this high-quality investor syndicate and partner with the Vivace management team, which has a deep track record of developing transformative precision oncology medicines, to bring the first TEAD inhibitor into the clinic."

Vivace Therapeutics’s compounds inhibit palmitoylation of members of the transcriptional enhanced associate domain (TEAD) protein family. Pre-clinical research and development activities show that the clinical candidate is active as a monotherapy and in combination with other anti-cancer therapies against tumors that rely upon dysfunction of the Hippo pathway.

On December 16, 2020 Luminex Corporation (Nasdaq: LMNX) reported that Nachum "Homi" Shamir, Chairman, CEO and President, and Harriss Currie, Senior Vice President and CFO, will present at the 39th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, to be held virtually, on January 13, 2021 at 3:30 p.m. Central Time (Press release, Luminex, DEC 16, 2020, View Source [SID1234572954]). A live webcast of the Luminex presentation may be accessed at the company’s website at View Source The presentation will be archived for six months on the website using the ‘replay’ link.

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On December 16, 2020 Jounce Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: JNCE), a clinical-stage company focused on the discovery and development of novel cancer immunotherapies and predictive biomarkers, reported that it has been selected for addition to the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index (Nasdaq: NBI), effective prior to market open on Monday, December 21, 2020 (Press release, Jounce Therapeutics, DEC 16, 2020, View Source [SID1234572938]).

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The NASDAQ Biotechnology Index is designed to track the performance of a set of securities listed on The Nasdaq Stock Market (NASDAQ) that are classified as either biotechnology or pharmaceutical according to the Industry Classification Benchmark. All securities in the index are listed on the NASDAQ Global Market or the NASDAQ Global Select Market and must meet eligibility requirements, including minimum market capitalization, average daily trading volume, seasoning as a public company, among other criteria.

The NASDAQ Biotechnology Index is re-ranked annually and forms the basis for a number of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), including the iShares NASDAQ Biotechnology ETF. More information about the Index can be found at View Source

On December 16, 2020 Amphivena Therapeutics, a clinical-stage oncology company focused on developing a platform of bivalent T-cell engagers that restore anti-cancer immunity in patients, reported the first patient has been dosed in the Phase 1 dose expansion study evaluating AMV564, an investigational, first-in-class agent that depletes myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSC) and activates T cells, in adult patients with selected solid tumor indications (Press release, Amphivena Therapeutics, DEC 16, 2020, View Source [SID1234572955]).

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The dose escalation phase of the first-in-human, multicenter, open-label study of AMV564 in solid tumors was initiated in October 2019 and established the safety, PK profile and clinical activity of AMV564 including a confirmed RECIST complete response.

The dose expansion study will explore AMV564 as a monotherapy in tumor-specific cohorts selected to enrich for patients with actionable antigens. The primary objectives of the study are to further characterize the safety and tolerability and to evaluate preliminary efficacy of AMV564 monotherapy administered subcutaneously.

"AMV564 has demonstrated an excellent safety profile and encouraging preliminary activity in heavily pretreated patients, and we look forward to seeing how this novel mechanism translates to clinical benefit in selected cancer patient populations including patients with inadequate benefit from checkpoint inhibitors, representing an area of high unmet need," said Curtis Ruegg, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Amphivena Therapeutics.

The trial is being conducted at a planned 15 sites in the United States. Additional information on this trial, including comprehensive inclusion and exclusion criteria, can be accessed at www.ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04128423).

About AMV564

AMV564 relieves immune suppression via targeted depletion of immunosuppressive MDSC and drives T cell activation and polarization to restore anti-cancer immunity. To date, over 95 patients have received AMV564 across three Phase 1 clinical trials for patients with solid tumors, acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS).

On December 16, 2020 Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: LXRX), reported that it has entered a collaboration enabling the use by AC Bioscience LTD of preclinical and clinical data for LX2931 without granting any right or license under any of Lexicon’s patent rights for the compound (Press release, Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, DEC 16, 2020, View Source [SID1234572939]). LX2931 is a small molecule sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) lyase inhibitor that is currently not in active development at Lexicon.

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"In line with our realignment around the rapid development of the LX9211 program, we continue to evaluate our pipeline and determine the most effective way to advance our broad library of compounds and targets," said Praveen Tyle, Ph.D., executive vice president of research and development. "We are pleased to collaborate with AC Bioscience to accelerate their efforts around S1P and look forward to learning additional information about this potentially interesting pathway."

Under the terms of the agreement, Lexicon will receive an upfront payment and is eligible to receive milestone payments totaling up to $5.3 million in the aggregate.