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ucsf and bridgebio pharma collaborate to accelerate the development of therapies for genetic diseases

On December 23, 2020 UC San Francisco (UCSF) and BridgeBio Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: BBIO) reported a partnership to drive the advancement of academic innovations in genetically driven diseases into potential therapeutics for patients (Press release, BridgeBio, DEC 23, 2020, View Source [SID1234576218]).

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"The BridgeBio team is developing close relationships with our investigators at UCSF with the mission of bringing potential therapies into the clinic quickly, where they have the opportunity to help patients in need," said Barry Selick, Ph.D., UCSF vice chancellor for business development, innovation and partnerships and director of the Office of Innovation Ventures. "We are excited about this partnership and the opportunities it may create for the development of new medicines."

"UCSF is a global leader in scientific innovation and genetic disease research, and we are proud to establish a formal, long-term relationship with the university as we work to help patients as quickly and safely as possible," said BridgeBio CEO and founder Neil Kumar, Ph.D.

Following a six-month pilot collaboration, the new agreement establishes a three-year alliance with BridgeBio with the goal of identifying early translational research to accelerate into clinical development and potential commercialization. The partnership is designed to foster close collaboration between the two entities that build on their respective strengths, and it will initially be structured to enable Sponsored Research Agreements for certain labs working between UCSF Innovation Ventures and BridgeBio. These collaborations may lead to the creation of BridgeBio affiliate companies to support clinical development.

"Collaborative relationships between academia–which has a wealth of scientific knowledge in a range of overlooked diseases–and industry, with its robust development infrastructure, are truly valuable and can help leapfrog traditional R&D timelines," said Frank McCormick, Ph.D., F.R.S., a professor in the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center at UCSF and co-founder and chairman of oncology at BridgeBio. "I hope this partnership will allow people living with genetically driven disorders to access therapeutic options much more quickly and effectively."

Vincera Pharma Announces Completion of Business Combination and Listing on Nasdaq

On December 23, 2020 Vincera Pharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: VINC), a biopharmaceutical company aspiring to address the unmet medical needs of patients with cancer through paradigm-shifting therapeutics, reported the completion of its business combination with LifeSci Acquisition Corp. (Nasdaq: LSAC; LSACU; LSACW; or "LSAC"), a blank check company targeting the biopharma, medical technology, digital health and healthcare services sectors (Press release, Vincerx Pharma, DEC 23, 2020, View Source [SID1234575174]). Vincera Pharma, Inc., the resulting combined company, will commence trading shares of its common stock under the ticker symbol "VINC" on December 24, 2020 on the Nasdaq Capital Market. Proceeds from this transaction net of transaction expenses totaled approximately $62 million. The stockholders of LSAC approved the transaction on December 22, 2020. The transaction was previously approved by Vincera Pharma stockholders. Vincera Pharma’s management team, led by Chief Executive Officer Ahmed Hamdy M.D., will continue to lead the combined company.

Dr. Hamdy commented, "Today marks an important milestone for Vincera Pharma as we become a publicly listed biopharmaceutical company poised to execute on our goal of developing and commercializing transformative oncology therapeutics. The proceeds from this transaction are expected to enable the rapid clinical advancement of our differentiated, highly selective PTEFb inhibitor and in parallel, the development of our next-generation bioconjugation platform. I would like to thank the entire Vincera Pharma team, our partners at LSAC, our stockholders, and our advisors for their efforts in making this transaction a success and look forward to a milestone-rich 2021 and 2022, which we expect will include the initiation of our clinical programs and early data readouts."

"We believe Vincera Pharma’s seasoned, cohesive management team and compelling pipeline of oncology assets make the company an ideal partner for LSAC," said Andrew I. McDonald, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of LSAC and Founding Partner of LifeSci Partners. "We look forward to continuing to work with the Vincera Pharma team to advance their programs and achieve clinical and regulatory success."

Summary of Transaction

On September 25, 2020, Vincera Pharma, a privately held biopharmaceutical company, entered into a definitive business combination agreement with LifeSci Acquisition Corp., a blank check company targeting the biopharma, medical technology, digital health and healthcare services sectors, that was created for the purpose of entering into a business combination with a selected company and bringing the combined entity to the Nasdaq Capital Market.

As a result of the business combination, Vincera Pharma received proceeds net of transaction expenses of approximately $62 million from LSAC’s trust account.

The description of the business combination contained herein is only a summary and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). A more detailed description of the terms of the transaction has been provided in a definitive proxy statement on Schedule 14A filed with the SEC by LSAC.

Advisors

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP serves as counsel to Vincera Pharma, Inc.

Conference Call

The company will host a conference call and webcast to discuss the transaction and business updates on Tuesday, January 5, 2021 at 8:30 AM ET.

Gritstone Oncology Announces $110 Million Private Placement

On December 23, 2020 Gritstone Oncology, Inc. (Nasdaq: GRTS), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing the next generation of cancer immunotherapies to fight multiple cancer types, reported that it has executed a securities purchase agreement to raise gross proceeds of $110 million resulting from the sale of shares of its common stock and/or pre-funded warrants through a private investment in public equity (PIPE) financing at a price per share of $3.34 (Press release, Gritstone Oncology, DEC 23, 2020, View Source [SID1234573685]). The financing was led by certain existing and new investors, Redmile Group, Avidity Partners and EcoR1 Capital.

The PIPE financing is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close on December 28, 2020. The PIPE financing was done in compliance with applicable Nasdaq rules and priced at the "Minimum Price" (as defined in the Nasdaq rules). Cowen served as the sole placement agent for the financing. The company expects to use net proceeds from this private placement to fund research and development expenses, including the clinical development of its lead cancer immunotherapies, GRANITE and SLATE, and advancement of opportunities from its core technologies including Gritstone EDGE and vaccine platforms, as well as for working capital and other general corporate purposes.

"We believe these additional resources position us well to accelerate the advancement of our two lead cancer immunotherapies, GRANITE and SLATE," said Andrew Allen, M.D., Ph.D., co-founder, president and chief executive officer of Gritstone Oncology. "Additionally, we are exploring the broader potential of our first-in-class technology platforms – EDGE as a leading T cell antigen identification technology complementing our highly immunogenic vaccine platforms, now well established in human clinical studies."

The securities sold in this private placement have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the U.S. except pursuant to an effective registration statement or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements. Gritstone has agreed to file a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission registering the resale of the shares of common stock issued in this private placement.

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 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.

NETRIS Pharma successfully completes a €16.1m Series A

On December 23, 2020 NETRIS Pharma, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing next generation molecules targeting cancer, reported the closing of a €16.1m Series A financing and the reinforcement of its Board of Directors (Press release, Netris Pharma, DEC 23, 2020, View Source [SID1234573284]). The round was subscribed by historical investors converting their outstanding loans, and joined by New Investors collectively investing €7.5m.

Patrick Mehlen, NETRIS Pharma Founder and CEO, commented "NETRIS Pharma is proud to have achieved major milestones in these highly turbulent times and thank BPDG for its active role in this fundraising process. Further to the signature of a collaboration Agreement with MSD for the coming Phase 1B/2 trial in combination with Pembrolizumab,such funding creates opportunities to accelerate the clinical development plan of NETRIS Pharma in other indications of interest."

Banque Profil de Gestion (BPDG) acted as the sole advisor for the fundraising process led by Gianpaolo Chiriano, Managing Director and Head of Healthcare & Life Sciences at BPDG, who added: "we are glad to have contributed to the achievement of this milestone for NETRIS Pharma with the hope to impact lives of cancer patients."

Netris Pharma was founded as a spin-off of Centre Léon Bérard to develop a complete novel approach in oncology based on the biology of dependence receptors. The company, driven by scientific excellence and strong clinical insights, successfully develop NP137 targeting Netrin-1, which exhibited encouraging signs of clinical activity in its Phase 1A trial and extensions.

Netris Pharma will primarily use the proceeds of the Series A to conduct the planned Phase1B /2 clinical trial to investigate the safety and efficacy of NP137 in combination with KEYTRUDA in patients with advanced/metastatic uterine tumors and for general corporate purposes.

Cellectar Biosciences Announces Pricing of $24.5 Million Underwritten Public Offering and $20.5 Million Concurrent Private Placement

On December 23, 2020 Cellectar Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLRB), a late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of drugs for the treatment of cancer, reported the pricing of its previously announced underwritten public offering of its common stock for gross proceeds of approximately $24.5 million at a public offering price of $1.35 per share of common stock, prior to deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses (Press release, Cellectar Biosciences, DEC 23, 2020, View Source [SID1234573281]).

The shares of common stock in the public offering were offered pursuant to a registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-244362), which was declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on August 20, 2020. The public offering was made only by means of a written prospectus and prospectus supplement that form a part of the registration statement. A final prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relating to the public offering will be filed by the Company with the SEC. Copies of the prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relating to the public offering may also be obtained from Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., Attention: Syndicate Prospectus Department, 85 Broad Street, 26th Floor, New York, NY, 10004, by telephone at (212) 667-8055, or by email at [email protected].

In a separate concurrent private placement transaction led by healthcare-focused institutional investors, Cellectar offered and sold 1,518.5180 shares of Series D convertible preferred stock convertible into a number of shares of common stock equal to $13,500 divided by $1.35 (the "Conversion Price") (or 10,000 shares of common stock for each share of Series D Preferred Stock converted), at a price of $13,500 per share of Series D Preferred Stock. The gross proceeds from the private placement are expected to be approximately $20.5 million, prior to deducting placement agent fees and estimated expenses. The Series D Preferred Stock will only be convertible into common stock upon receipt of stockholder approval of the issuance of the shares of common stock as required by Nasdaq Marketplace Rule 5635(d) at a special stockholder meeting to be called for that purpose. The Series D Preferred Stock and the shares of our common stock issuable upon the exercise of the Series D Preferred Stock are being offered pursuant to the exemption provided in Section 4(a)(2) under the Securities Act and Rule 506(b) promulgated thereunder. Such preferred shares and common shares issuable upon conversion of the preferred shares have not been registered under the Act, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration with the SEC or an applicable exemption from such registration requirements.

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acted as the sole book-running manager in connection with the public offering and the lead placement agent in connection with the private placement. Roth Capital Partners, Maxim Group LLC and Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. acted as co-managers in connection with the public offering and as co-placement agents in connection with the private placement.

The public offering and the private placement are expected to close on or about December 28, 2020, subject to the satisfaction or waiver of customary closing conditions.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of offers to buy any securities of Cellectar being offered in the public offering or concurrent private placement, and shall not constitute an offer, solicitation or sale of any security in the public offering or concurrent private placement 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.