On November 30, 2020 Molecular Partners AG (SIX: MOLN), a clinical-stage biotech company that is developing a new class of custom-built protein drugs known as DARPin therapeutics, reported that Dr. Patrick Amstutz, CEO of Molecular Partners, will participate in a fireside chat at the Evercore ISI 3rd Annual HealthCONx Conference on Tuesday, December 1, 2020 at 3:55 – 4:25 PM Eastern Time (9:55 PM CET) (Press release, Molecular Partners, NOV 30, 2020, https://www.molecularpartners.com/molecular-partners-to-participate-in-the-evercore-isi-3rd-annual-healthconx-conference/ [SID1234571989]).

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The event will take place virtually, and audio webcast of the fireside chat will be webcast live and will be made available on the company’s website www.molecularpartners.com under the Investors section. The replay will be available for 90 days following the presentation.

About DARPin therapeutics
DARPin therapeutics are a new class of custom-built protein therapeutics based on natural binding proteins that open a new class of custom-built protein therapeutics based on natural binding proteins that open a new dimension of multi-functionality and multi-target specificity in drug design. A single DARPin candidate can be built to engage more than five targets, and its flexible architecture and small size offer benefits over conventional monoclonal antibodies or other currently available protein therapeutics. DARPin therapeutics have been clinically validated through to the registrational stage. The DARPin platform is a fast and cost-effective drug discovery engine, producing drug candidates with optimized properties for development and very high production yields. DARPin is a registered trademark owned by Molecular Partners AG.

On November 30, 2020 Autolus Therapeutics plc (Nasdaq: AUTL), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing next-generation programmed T cell therapies, reported publication of AUTO6 (1RG-CAR T) Phase 1 data in Science Translational Medicine (Press release, Autolus, NOV 30, 2020, View Source [SID1234571988]). AUTO6 is a second generation GD2-targeting CAR T candidate, developed in collaboration with UCL, and the trial was sponsored and run by Cancer Research UK’s Centre for Drug Development.

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These new results highlight that AUTO6 can induce rapid regression of bulky disease in a solid tumor setting without inducing on-target off-tumor toxicity, despite dose dependent CAR T expansion. CAR T cell expansion was observed in all six patients treated at the higher cell dose cohorts in this Phase 1 study. Three of these six patients demonstrated evidence of transient CAR T cell activity, including cytokine release syndrome, and regression of soft tissue and bone marrow disease activity. The GD2 binder used in AUTO6 has been designed to minimize on-target off-tumor neurotoxicity associated with GD2 expression at low levels in pain fibers and the brain. Despite the presence of clear CAR T cell activity, no neurotoxicity was observed. The publication also suggests that, whilst AUTO6 is a valid and safe strategy for targeting neuroblastoma, further modifications are required to promote CAR T cell persistence and induce deeper and more durable responses for these patients.

"We are encouraged by the anti-tumor activity in neuroblastoma, a disease where there are limited therapeutic options for children with relapsed or refractory disease," said Dr Karin Straathof, Consultant Paediatric Oncologist and research group leader at UCL Great Ormond Street Institute for Child Health. "This is of particular importance as this activity was observed in the absence of neurotoxicity which occurs with antibody-based approaches that target GD2."

Nigel Blackburn, director of drug development at Cancer Research UK, said, "Children who have hard to treat, or relapsed cancer have limited treatment options open to them, and early results of AUTO6 are encouraging. We look forward to seeing the next steps in the development of AUTO6NG, and if the treatment has durable effects in neuroblastoma."

"This is amongst the clearest data which demonstrate that CAR T cells can be highly active against advanced solid cancers," said Dr Martin Pule, CSO and founder of Autolus and director of the UCL CAR T programme. "It is encouraging that highly active CAR T cells do not cause on-target off-tumor neurotoxicity and the findings represent an important step in our ongoing efforts to develop CAR T cell therapies for solid cancers."

These data support Autolus’ continued development of AUTO6NG, which builds on this approach utilizing the same GD2 CAR alongside additional programming modules designed to enhance efficacy and persistence. Earlier this year at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) meeting, Autolus announced a preclinical data update demonstrating the validity of GD2 as a CAR T target in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and the ability of Autolus’ efficacy-enhancing modules to drive in vivo efficacy in an SCLC mouse model. The data also suggested AUTO6NG can overcome the immune suppressive mechanisms in the tumor microenvironment. Autolus plans to test AUTO6NG in a Phase 1 study in 2021.

About Autolus Therapeutics plc
Autolus is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing next-generation, programmed T cell therapies for the treatment of cancer. Using a broad suite of proprietary and modular T cell programming technologies, the company is engineering precisely targeted, controlled and highly active T cell therapies that are designed to better recognize cancer cells, break down their defence mechanisms and eliminate these cells. Autolus has a pipeline of product candidates in development for the treatment of haematological malignancies and solid tumors. For more information please visit www.autolus.com.

About UCL Business PLC
UCL Business PLC (UCLB) is a leading technology transfer company that supports and commercialises research and innovations arising from UCL, one of the UK’s top research-led universities. UCLB has a successful track record and a strong reputation for identifying and protecting promising new technologies and innovations from UCL academics. UCLB has a strong track record in commercialising medical technologies and provides technology transfer services to UCL’s associated hospitals; University College London Hospitals, Moorfields Eye Hospital, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children and the Royal Free London Hospital. It invests directly in development projects to maximise the potential of the research and manages the commercialisation process of technologies from laboratory to market. For further information, please visit: www.uclb.com Twitter: @UCL_Business

About Cancer Research UK

Cancer Research UK is the world’s leading cancer charity dedicated to saving lives through research.
Cancer Research UK’s pioneering work into the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer has helped save millions of lives.
Cancer Research UK has been at the heart of the progress that has already seen survival in the UK double in the last 40 years.
Today, 2 in 4 people survive their cancer for at least 10 years. Cancer Research UK’s ambition is to accelerate progress so that by 2034, 3 in 4 people will survive their cancer for at least 10 years.
Cancer Research UK supports research into all aspects of cancer through the work of over 4,000 scientists, doctors and nurses.
Together with its partners and supporters, Cancer Research UK’s vision is to bring forward the day when all cancers are cured.
For further information about Cancer Research UK’s work or to find out how to support the charity, please call 0300 123 1022 or visit www.cancerresearchuk.org. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

About Neuroblastoma
Neuroblastoma is the most common solid tumor in children that occurs outside of the brain and makes up 8% of the total number of children’s cancers. The site of origin is either in one of the two adrenal glands situated in the abdomen or in nerve tissue that runs alongside the spinal cord, in the neck, chest, abdomen or pelvis. The adrenal glands normally release hormones to maintain blood pressure and enable the body to respond to stress. In up to half of patients diagnosed with neuroblastoma, the tumor has spread to tissues beyond the original site such as the bone marrow, bone, lymph nodes, liver, and skin. As with most cancers, the cause of neuroblastoma is not known. When the lesion is localised, it is generally curable. However, long-term survival for children with advanced disease older than 18 months of age is poor despite aggressive multimodal therapy.

About AUTO6NG
AUTO6NG is a next generation programmed T cell product candidate in pre-clinical development. AUTO6NG builds on preliminary proof of concept data from AUTO6, a CAR targeting GD2-expression cancer cell currently in clinical development for the treatment of neuroblastoma. AUTO6NG incorporates additional cell programming modules to overcome immune suppressive defence mechanisms in the tumor microenvironment, in addition to endowing the CAR T cells with extended persistence capacity. AUTO6NG is currently in preclinical development for the potential treatment of both neuroblastoma and other GD2-expressing solid tumors, including osteosarcoma, soft tissue sarcoma, small cell lung cancer, and melanoma.

On November 30, 2020 Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: IOVA), a late-stage biotechnology company developing novel T cell-based cancer immunotherapies, reported that the company plans to present at the following conferences in November (Press release, Iovance Biotherapeutics, NOV 30, 2020, View Source [SID1234571987]):

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Piper Sandler 32nd Annual Virtual Healthcare Conference | December 1-3, 2020
Date/Time: presentation available at View Source
Cellular Immunotherapies for Solid Tumors Summit | December 1-3, 2020
Presentation Title: Clinical Success of TIL Technology Platform in Multiple Solid Tumors
Date/Time: Thursday, Dec. 3 at 2:10 pm ET at www.solid-tumors-summit.com
Live and archived webcasts of investor conference presentations will be available in the Investors section of the Iovance website at View Source.

On November 30, 2020 Verastem, Inc. (Nasdaq:VSTM) (also known as Verastem Oncology), a biopharmaceutical company committed to advancing new medicines for patients battling cancer, reported the initiation of a Phase 2 registration-directed clinical trial of VS-6766, its RAF/MEK inhibitor, and defactinib, its FAK inhibitor, in patients with recurrent low-grade serous ovarian cancer (LGSOC) (Press release, Verastem, NOV 30, 2020, View Source [SID1234571986]).

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"Results to date have demonstrated the clinical activity of VS-6766 and defactinib in KRAS mutant cancers, signaling potentially promising clinical results in low-grade serous ovarian cancer and in KRAS-G12V mutant non-small cell lung cancer," said Brian Stuglik, Chief Executive Officer of Verastem Oncology. "The start of our registration-directed trial in recurrent LGSOC is a significant milestone in our work to develop the backbone of therapy for RAS driven tumors, an area of minimal therapeutic results, significant toxicity and limited treatment options."

The Phase 2 study (GOG3052) is an adaptive two-part multicenter, parallel cohort, randomized, open label trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of VS-6766 alone and in combination with defactinib in patients with recurrent LGSOC.1 The first part of the study will determine the optimal regimen of either VS-6766 monotherapy or in combination with defactinib in patients with recurrent LGSOC randomized 1:1 in each treatment arm. The determination of which regimen to take forward into the expansion phase of the trial will be made based on objective response rate data. The expansion phase of the study will examine efficacy and safety parameters of the regimen selected. Trial enrollment is underway in the United States with European sites to follow. Additional information about this study can be found here on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04625270). The Company previously announced its successful meeting with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in Q3 2020 and the FDA’s support of the Company’s development strategy and adaptive trial design for LGSOC.

According to Susana Banerjee, M.D., Ph.D., Medical Oncologist and Research Lead for the Gynaecology Unit at The Royal Marsden and Team Leader at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, Global and Lead European Investigator of this trial, "Based on my experience treating patients with low-grade serous ovarian cancer in the Phase 1/2 FRAME trial, I have seen firsthand the potential for the combination of VS-6766 and defactinib, particularly in KRAS mutated tumors, which may address the significant limitations we have seen with other therapeutic approaches. This trial will further explore the encouraging response rates, durability and safety profile of VS-6766 and defactinib demonstrated in early phase studies and enable us to evaluate VS-6766 alone and in combination with defactinib to address the unmet needs of women with this specific type of ovarian cancer."

"LGSOC is a difficult to treat disease most often diagnosed in women between the ages of 45 to 55 years.2 The majority of these patients experience a significant amount of pain and impact on their lives over a long period of time as response rates with current therapies have historically been low and the toxicity profiles of these agents make it difficult to keep patients on therapy," said Rachel N. Grisham, M.D., Section Head, Ovarian Cancer and Director, Gynecologic Medical Oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Westchester, NY and the study’s principal US investigator. "This trial represents an opportunity to further evaluate the potential for improved outcomes for patients with LGSOC."

The launch of the trial follows the recent results of two clinical trials led by Professor Udai Banerji, Deputy Director of Drug Development at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. The first, a Phase 1 trial published in The Lancet Oncology, showed that VS-6766 could be effective against a range of KRAS-mutated tumor types, including lung and gynecological cancers.3 The second, a Phase 1/2 trial presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting 2020, showed the combination of a RAF/MEK and FAK inhibitor could be beneficial for patients with KRAS mutant LGSOC.4

About Low Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer (LGSOC)

Low-grade serous ovarian cancer (LGSOC) is a recurrent, chemotherapy-resistant cancer with a high mortality rate.2 It comprises 5-10% of serous ovarian cancers and 6-8% of all ovarian cancers.2 There are an estimated 6,000 patients in the U.S. and 80,000 worldwide living with this disease.5 LGSOC is most often diagnosed in women between the ages of 45-55 years.2 LGSOC has a median survival of approximately 10 years,2 with 85% of patients experiencing recurrence6 and enduring severe pain and complications as the disease progresses. Chemotherapy is the standard of care for this disease.2

About VS-6766

VS-6766 is an oral small molecule inhibitor of the RAF/MEK signaling pathway. In contrast to other MEK inhibitors in development, VS-6766 blocks both MEK kinase activity and the ability of RAF to phosphorylate MEK. This unique mechanism allows VS-6766 to block MEK signaling without the compensatory activation of MEK that appears to limit the efficacy of other inhibitors.

About Defactinib

Defactinib (VS-6063) is an oral small molecule inhibitor of FAK and PYK2 that is currently being evaluated as a potential combination therapy for various solid tumors. The Company has received Orphan Drug designation for defactinib in ovarian cancer in the US, EU and Australia. Preclinical research by Verastem Oncology scientists and collaborators at world-renowned research institutions has described the effect of FAK inhibition to enhance immune response by decreasing immuno-suppressive cells, increasing cytotoxic T cells, and reducing stromal density, which allows tumor-killing immune cells to enter the tumor.7,8

About the VS-6766/Defactinib Combination

RAS mutant tumors are present in ~30% of all human cancers, have historically presented a difficult treatment challenge and are often associated with significantly worse prognosis.9 Challenges associated with identifying new treatment options for these types of cancers include resistance to single agents, 10 identifying tolerable combination regimens with MEK inhibitors and new RAS inhibitors in development addressing only a minority of all RAS mutated cancers.

The combination of VS-6766 and defactinib has been found to be clinically active in patients with KRAS mutant tumors. In an ongoing investigator-initiated Phase 1/2 FRAME study, the combination of VS-6766 and defactinib is being evaluated in patients with LGSOC, KRAS mutant NSCLC and colorectal cancer. Updated data from this study presented at the 2nd Annual RAS-Targeted Drug Development Summit in September 2020 demonstrated a 56% overall response rate and long duration of therapy among patients with KRAS-G12 mt LGSOC.10 Based on an observation of higher response rates seen in NSCLC patients with KRAS-G12V mutations in the study, Verastem will also be further exploring the role of VS-6766 and defactinib in KRAS-G12V NSCLC. The FRAME study was expanded in August 2020 to include new cohorts in pancreatic cancer, KRAS mutant endometrial cancer and KRAS-G12V NSCLC.

On November 30, 2020 Allarity Therapeutics A/S ("Allarity" or the "Company") reported the Interim Report for the period January – September 2020 (Press release, Allarity Therapeutics, NOV 30, 2020, View Source [SID1234571985]). The report is available as an attached document and on the company’s website.

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Steve Carchedi, CEO of Oncology Venture, Steve stated, "During Q3 we have continued the transformation of the Company, as we adopted a new company name and corporate brand-identity as Allarity Therapeutics. As part of our company transformation, we welcomed two new board members, Mr. Soren Gade, Member of the European Parliament, and Ms. Gail Maderis, President & CEO of Antiva Biosciences. In addition, Mr. Jens Knudsen joined the Allarity Executive Management team as our new CFO. All three of these new team members bring extensive experience in and deep knowledge of Oncology therapeutics development coupled with diagnostics that will greatly benefit Allarity. We also announced several positive developments on our stenoparib (PARPi) program. We are now in full control of the development program, we are progressing with our Phase 2 trial of this drug in ovarian cancer, and stenoparib has also shown promising in vitro anti-viral activity against Coronavirus in pre-clinical studies. In addition, we provided an updated timeline for our dovitinib program. Overall, I continue to be very optimistic on the future of our company and our priority therapeutic programs, and I look forward to continuing to share our progress. After all, the patients are waiting."

Summary of the Interim Report

Consolidated group revenue amounted to 0 MDKK (0.5 MDKK).
Consolidated group loss before depreciation amounted to -34.3 MDKK (-46.0 MDKK).
Consolidated group loss before net financials amounted to -35.1 MDKK (-46.8 MDKK).
Consolidated net result amounted to -27.5 MDKK (-59.1 MDKK).
Consolidated earnings per share (EPS) amounted to -0.18 DKK (-0.65 DKK).
2019 numbers in brackets.

Highlights during Q2 2020

On 13 July, the company announced that it had acquired full ownership of its PARP inhibitor program (at the time known as 2X-121, now stenoparib) by acquiring all outstanding shares in Oncology Venture US Inc., formerly 2X Oncology, Inc., from its external shareholders and warrant holders.

On 14 July, the company announced a directed issue of 2,255,639 shares under its existing convertible loan note agreement with Negma Group LTD and Park Partners GP.

On 14 August, the company announced a directed issue of 1,893,939 shares under its existing convertible loan note agreement with Negma Group LTD and Park Partners GP.

On 21 August, the company published that it would offer 1,619,912 new shares, each with a subscription price of DKK 0.05, to a small number of recipients as part of the clean-up of outstanding incentive commitments and obligations made by prior management.

On 21 August, the company announced that it had called upon Global Corporate Finance (GCF) to invest in the Company in a directed share issue in accordance with the Company’s share subscription agreement with GCF. A total of 5,980,020 shares at a price per share of SEK 1.3420441 was issued to Global Corporate Finance.

On 26 August, the company announced that its PARP inhibitor stenoparib (formerly known as 2X-121) had shown in vitro anti-viral activity against Coronavirus in pre-clinical studies. Based on these findings, the company planned to advance the compound into human clinical trials as a potential therapy for COVID-19.

On 28 August, the company published the Interim Report for the period January – June 2020.

On 21 September, the company published a notice to convene an Extraordinary General Meeting on 7 October 2020.

On 21 September, the company announced its plans to change its company name to Allarity Therapeutics and restructure its Board of Directors subject to approval of shareholders at the upcoming EGM.
Highlights after the period

On 6 October, the company announced that it has called upon Global Corporate Finance (GCF) to invest in the Company in a directed share issue in accordance with the Company’s share subscription agreement with GCF. A total of 5,370,617 shares was issued to Global Corporate Finance.

On 6 October, the company announced that a small group of recipients had received a total of 1,619,912 shares in exchange for previously annulled warrants.

On 7 October, the company announced that the Extraordinary General Meeting had approved the adoption of the Company’s new name, Allarity Therapeutics, as well as the restructuring of its Board of Directors, and a revision of the Company’s Articles of Association.

On 9 October, Allarity Therapeutics published that following the Company’s name change from Oncology Venture A/S to Allarity Therapeutics A/S, the Company will be trading under its new short name ALLR from Monday, 12 October 2020.

On 23 October, Allarity Therapeutics announced several updates related to its planned filing of a new drug application (NDA) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for dovitinib, one of Allarity’s priority programs.

On 26 October, Allarity Therapeutics announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) had issued Notices of Allowance to the Company for three new DRP biomarker patents in conjunction with use of several of its clinical pipeline drugs.

On 4 November, the company announced that Jens Erik Knudsen, CPA, MBA, had been appointed as its new Chief Financial Officer (CFO), effective immediately, replacing outgoing CFO Henrik Moltke.

On 5 November, the company announced that it had drawn down a second tranche under its convertible note agreement with Negma Group LTD and Park Partners GP.
The report is available on:

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Online webcast/conference call

Allarity Therapeutics A/S will host a live webcast on 30 November 2020, at 5:00 p.m. CET to discuss the company’s third quarter 2020 results and provide a business and financial update.

Attendees are encouraged to pre-register in order to be able to watch the presentation slides using this link:

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