On August 24, 2020 Merck reported that it is set to spend £1 billion ($1.31 billion) on a new unifying early research hub in England’s capital city (Press release, Merck & Co, AUG 24, 2020, View Source [SID1234563991]).

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The new hub, which will bring together staffers from across the region to a central hub in London, will be the company’s first early-stage R&D center outside of its native U.S. The focus will be on diseases of aging, predominately in neuroscience, an area with high risk but major unmet need.

Merck had made moves to create the hub back in 2017, a year after the U.K. voted to leave the EU, and was hailed by politicians as a positive investment.

It has been somewhat delayed, given how tight space is in London (the same issues New York has with lab space) and it wanting to be in the life sciences hub by the Francis Crick biomedical research institute in north London. Merck, known as MSD in Europe, already has a major five-year neuro R&D pact with the Crick Institute.

It will be called, quite simply, the London Discovery Research Centre, and it should be up and running by 2025, with work starting late next year, should it cut through the red tape. On top of the moving scientists and staffers from its other areas into the center, it also expects to create about 120 new jobs for scientists and technicians.

In all, it expects to employ 800 people at the 25,000-square-meter site and to spend £1 billion all told on the hub.

"We currently view the U.K. as a world leader in developing science, driven by the long-term emphasis on building a strong research and development infrastructure," said David Peacock, MSD managing director for the U.K. and Ireland, speaking to the Financial Times.

On August 24, 2020 Compass Therapeutics, Inc. a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing proprietary antibody therapeutics intended to engage the immune system to treat both solid tumors and hematological malignancies, reported the publication in the journal Science of preclinical data supporting CTX-2026, the Company’s novel anti-CD277 antibody product candidate (Press release, Compass Therapeutics, AUG 24, 2020, View Source [SID1234563985]). The paper describes the discovery and preclinical characterization of CTX-2026, a fully human antibody that binds to the CD277 antigen expressed on members of the butyrophilin family, including BTN3A1, and has been shown to engage two T cell subsets, gamma delta and alpha beta, to overcome the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment associated with ovarian cancer.

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The paper entitled "BTN3A1 Governs Antitumor Responses by Coordinating Alpha Beta and Gamma Delta T-Cells," was co-authored by Jose R. Conejo-Garcia, M.D., Ph.D., and other researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center, researchers from The Wistar Institute, and Compass Therapeutics scientists.

"Ovarian cancer has been one of the most difficult cancers to treat, with a significant unmet need in the United States and around the world. I am encouraged by these data which not only suggest that BTN3A1 may play an important role in ovarian cancer but also demonstrate that CTX-2026 binding to BTN3A1 overcame the immunosuppressive microenvironment of ovarian cancer and delayed malignant progression in preclinical tumor models," said Thomas Schuetz, M.D., Ph.D., co-founder and chief executive officer at Compass Therapeutics. "We are excited about this program and its potential to deliver a novel, immune-oncology therapeutic candidate."

"This research demonstrates that targeting BTN3A1 orchestrates cooperative killing of established tumors by alpha beta and gamma delta T cells, and could enable novel interventions for malignancies resistant to existing immunotherapies," said Dr. Conejo-Garcia, Co-Leader of the Immunology Program and Chair of the Department of Immunology, Moffitt Cancer Center.

Highlights from the publication include:

BTN3A1 is overexpressed in malignant ovarian cancers, compared to benign ovarian tumors and normal tissues. Consistent with its immunosuppressive role, higher average BTN3A1 expression in samples from 200 ovarian cancer patients with clinical data was associated with significant reduction in patient survival.
CTX-2026, an anti-CD277 antibody, elicited coordinated alpha beta and gamma delta T cell responses, preventing alpha beta T cell inhibition while inducing gamma delta T cell activation to suppress the growth of established ovarian tumors in preclinical models.
CTX-2026 antibodies transform BTN3A1 from an immunosuppressive to an immunostimulatory mediator, restoring pre-existing anti-tumor immune responses in immunocompetent syngeneic mouse models.
Targeting CD277 by CTX-2026 was associated with greater activity than a PD-1 blocker in the orthotopic xenograft and syngeneic models of ovarian cancer.

On August 24, 2020 Kronos Bio, Inc., a private clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of novel cancer therapeutics designed to transform patient outcomes through a precision medicine strategy by targeting dysregulated transcription, reported a private financing of approximately $155 million of convertible notes, with $148 million in funding received to date and the remaining $7 million to be funded by mid-September pursuant to binding commitments (Press release, Kronos Bio, AUG 24, 2020, View Source [SID1234563984]). The financing was led by Perceptive Advisors and included funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Inc., funds affiliated with Casdin Partners, Commodore Capital, EcoR1 Capital, Fidelity Management and Research Company, Surveyor Capital (a Citadel company), funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., Woodline Partners, and a large diversified asset manager on the west coast, as well as existing investors including GV (formerly Google Ventures), Invus, Nextech Invest, Omega Funds, Polaris Partners, and Vida Ventures, LLC.

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"We appreciate the strong support from this group of investors and believe this capital will help propel Kronos through our upcoming period of clinical development," said Norbert Bischofberger, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Kronos. "Importantly, this capital will help advance our lead spleen tyrosine kinase (SYK) inhibitor, which we recently acquired from Gilead, including potentially into a registrational trial in 2021. It will also help us advance our second lead pipeline candidate, KB-0742, a differentiated CDK9 inhibitor, into a Phase 1/2 clinical trial for treatment of MYC-amplified solid tumors, as well as to further invest in our product discovery engine to drive multiple oncology programs targeting dysregulated transcription factors."

Jefferies LLC acted as the sole placement agent for the financing.

On August 24, 2020 NeoImmuneTech, Inc., a clinical-stage T cell-focused biopharmaceutical company, reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared its investigational new drug (IND) application for the combination of its lead drug candidate, NT-I7 (efineptakin alfa), a novel long-acting human interleukin-7 (IL-7), and Kymriah (tisagenlecleucel), a CD19 CAR T-cell therapy, for the treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory large B cell lymphoma (r/r LBCL) (Press release, NeoImmuneTech, AUG 24, 2020, View Source [SID1234563983]). This IND clearance allows NeoImmuneTech (NIT) to initiate a multicenter Phase 1b study evaluating the safety, tolerability, and preliminary anti-tumor activity of NT-I7 administration following standard-of-care Kymriah CAR T-cell therapy.

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Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma is the most commonly occurring subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), accounting for 25% to 30% of all NHL and >20,000 cases in the U.S. annually. Despite improvement in therapeutic options, treatment is often not curative with as many as 50% of patients with adverse risk factors developing relapsed or refractory disease.

"CAR T-cell therapy has undoubtedly changed the treatment paradigm of LBCL; however there is still a large patient population who will relapse or develop refractory disease," commented John DiPersio, M.D., Ph.D., Chief, Division of Oncology; Director, Center for Gene and Cellular Immunotherapy; and Deputy Director, Siteman Cancer Center at Washington University School of Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital. "In multiple animal models, the addition of NT-I7 to CAR T cells substantially increased CAR T cell proliferation, persistence, and target-specific tumor killing, resulting in significantly prolonged survival of the treated animals. In the clinic, treatment with NT-I7 has shown to increase T cell counts in the blood and is well tolerated. Administration of NT-I7 following Kymriah may increase the expansion and persistence of Kymriah and facilitate the reconstitution of patients’ own immune system to fight cancer."

In addition to establishing the safety, tolerability, and assessing the preliminary anti-tumor activity of NT-I7 following Kymriah, this Phase 1b study will determine the recommended Phase 2 dose to be used for further clinical development of the combination.

"This latest IND clearance marks another achievement for our robust clinical development program of NT-I7, which has multiple ongoing trials in both cancer and infectious diseases," said NgocDiep Le, M.D., Ph.D., Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of NeoImmuneTech. "As CAR T cell expansion is a strong predictor of response to CAR T-cell therapy, we believe that treatment with NT-I7 following Kymriah could potentially enhance the response rate and duration of response to Kymriah, and ultimately improve the clinical outcome for patients with r/r LBCL. We eagerly look forward to executing this important clinical trial as soon as possible to hopefully deliver another breakthrough treatment for these patients."

Kymriah is a registered trademark of Novartis AG.

About NT-I7

NT-I7 (efineptakin alfa) is the only clinical-stage long-acting human IL-7, and is being developed for oncologic and immunologic indications, in which T cell amplification and increased functionality may provide clinical benefit. IL-7 is a fundamental cytokine for naïve and memory T cell development and for sustaining immune response to chronic antigens (as in cancer) or foreign antigens (as in infectious diseases). NT-I7 exhibits favorable PK/PD and safety profiles, making it an ideal combination partner. NT-I7 is being studied in multiple clinical trials in solid tumors and as a vaccine adjuvant. Studies are being planned for testing in hematologic malignancies, additional solid tumors and other immunology-focused indications.

On August 24, 2020 Finance executives at respected Taiwanese wealth management company Crest View International has commented on Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. reported that they agree to sell their Japanese consumer health-care business for $2.3 billion (242 billion yen) to U.S. investment fund, Blackstone Group Inc (Press release, Takeda, AUG 24, 2020, View Source [SID1234563982]).

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"Takeda is a global manufacturer of over-the-counter (OTC) drugs and health products and according to our researchers, Blackstone is planning to take this business unit public in around five years"

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"Takeda is a global manufacturer of over-the-counter (OTC) drugs and health products and according to our researchers, Blackstone is planning to take this business unit public in around five years," commented Michael Kennedy, Head of Corporate Trading at Crest View International.

Japan’s largest pharmaceuticals company has been attempting to reduce its OTC assets worldwide as it aims to refocus its business and lower debt following its $59 billion acquisition of biopharmaceutical firm Shire.

According to analysts at Crest View International, the unit, which sold for a lower price than anticipated, likely due to Covid-19’s impact on its finances, may benefit from the governments push to curb the costs of health-care, including prescription medicine.

Takeda said proceeds from the sale would boost its net profit by $992 million (105 billion yen). In addition, the Blackstone takeover could also help rejuvenate the selling of household brands such as Alinamin energy drinks and Benza Block cold medication.

"Blackstone is aiming to invest 50 billion yen into the OTC business. It has a three-year strategy to strengthen the business throughout Asia, with networks in China Taiwan and Thailand, and to launch new products based on its already-popular offerings," commented John Harrison, Head of Wealth Management at Crest View International.

Since Takeda acquired Shire, it has extended its therapy areas to include gastroenterology, oncology, neuroscience, rare diseases and plasma-derived therapies. Its asset sales centred on cutting business lines that are not aligning with these core target areas. In June, Takeda decided to sell a separate portfolio of over-the-counter medication to South Korea’s Celltrion Inc. in a deal worth approximately $278 million, which is subject to certain post-sale conditions.