1stOncology™: Cancer Intelligence Service – Page 12055 – 1stOncology is recognized as a Top 10 Global Pharma Analytic Provider

Agilent Technologies Increases Cash Dividend to 18 Cents Per Share

On November 20, 2019 Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: A) reported that its board of directors has increased the company’s quarterly dividend to 18 cents per share of common stock, reflecting a 10 percent increase over the previous quarter’s dividend (Press release, Agilent, NOV 20, 2019, https://www.agilent.com/about/newsroom/presrel/2019/20nov-gp19025.html [SID1234551525]). The dividend will be paid on Jan. 22, 2020 to all shareholders of record as of the close of business on Dec. 31, 2019.

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

The timing and amounts of future dividends are subject to determination and approval by Agilent’s board.

Castle Biosciences to Present at Upcoming Investor Conferences

On November 20, 2019 Castle Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: CSTL), a skin cancer diagnostics company providing personalized genomic information to improve cancer treatment decisions, reported that Derek Maetzold, president and chief executive officer, will present at the following upcoming investor conferences (Press release, Castle Biosciences, NOV 20, 2019, View Source [SID1234551523]):

Piper Jaffray 31st Annual Healthcare Conference, New York
Presentation on Wednesday, December 4, 2019, at 2:30 p.m. EST
Evercore ISI 2nd Annual HealthCONx Conference, Boston
Presentation on Thursday, December 5, 2019, at 12:30 p.m. EST
Live audio webcasts of the company’s presentations will be available by visiting Castle Biosciences’ website at View Source A replay of the webcast will be available for two weeks following the conclusion of the live broadcast.

Genprex Announces $1.26 Million Registered Direct Offering

On November 20, 2019 Genprex, Inc.("Genprex" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: GNPX), a clinical stage gene therapy company developing a new approach to treating cancer based upon a novel proprietary technology platform, reported a registered direct offering of 3,167,986 shares of its common stock at a price to the public of $0.40 per share, for gross proceeds of approximately $1.26 million prior to deduction of commissions and offering expenses payable by Genprex (Press release, Genprex, NOV 20, 2019, View Source [SID1234551522]). In a concurrent private placement, the Company agreed to issue to the investors in the registered direct offering unregistered warrants to purchase up to 3,167,986 shares of the Company’s common stock.

Joseph Gunnar & Co. is acting as the exclusive placement agent.

The warrants will be exercisable 6 months from the issuance date, have an exercise price of $0.46 per share, and will expire 5 years from such date. The warrants will be exercisable for 100% of shares of common stock purchased by each investor in the registered direct offering. In addition, the Company has agreed to reduce the exercise price of an aggregate of 2,283,740 warrants held by the purchasers in the registered direct offering to $0.46, which warrants will not be exercisable for six months from the closing of the registered directed offering and the expiration date of the warrants will be extended by six months to January 27, 2024.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the offering for working capital and general corporate purposes. The closing of the offering is expected to take place on or about November 25, 2019, subject to the satisfaction or waiver of customary closing conditions.

The shares of common stock described above (but not the warrants or the shares of common stock underlying the warrants) are being offered pursuant to a "shelf" registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-233774) that was filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and was declared effective on October 28, 2019. The Company will file a prospectus supplement with the SEC relating to such shares of common stock. Copies of the prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relating to and describing the terms of the offering may be obtained, when available, from Joseph Gunnar & Co., 30 Broad Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10004, or by email at [email protected]. In connection with the private placement, the Company has agreed to a file a registration statement registering for resale the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants issued in the private placement within 45 days of the closing of the private placement.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities described herein, nor shall there be any sale of these securities 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.

NAVROGEN INC. AND LONZA SIGN AGREEMENT TO USE LONZA’S GS GENE EXPRESSION SYSTEM® FOR NAVROGEN’S ANTI-HIO TARGETING AGENTS

On November 20, 2019 Navrogen Inc. and Lonza Pharma & Biotech reported that they have entered a licensing agreement for the production of Navrogen’s biotherapeutics using Lonza’s GS Xceed Expression System (Press release, Navrogen, NOV 20, 2019, View Source [SID1234551520]).
Navrogen recently announced funding to develop biotherapeutics targeting Humoral Immuno-Oncology (HIO) factors to reverse their inhibitory activity against the pharmacologic effects of antibody-based therapies. Navrogen’s biological drugs involve novel protein and antibody-based configurations. Lonza’s GS Xceed toolbox includes GS PiggyBac, a unique and proven transposon-based technology suited for complex protein expression and bioprocessing that preferentially targets stable regions of the genome associated with highly expressed genes. This system will play a key role in advancing Navrogen’s novel therapeutic interventions from the laboratory bench to patient’s bedside.

"We are pursuing novel targets, called HIO factors, produced by tumor cells that dampen the effect of a number of antibody-based therapeutics. To overcome the immuno-suppressive effects of these factors we developed a pipeline of uniquely engineered, biological-based compositions that may require optimized systems to facilitate their production at large scale for clinical trials", commented Dr. Luigi Grasso, Ph.D., co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Navrogen.

Dr. Nicholas Nicolaides, Ph.D., Navrogen’s co-founder and Chief Executive Officer said "Our collaboration with Lonza and their expertise will undoubtedly enable us to advance our pipeline of first-in-class products forward to meet our strategic initiatives and timelines. This partnership is one of many that we have formed with top-tiered vendors who have proven track records in supporting the development of biological-based therapies to support clinical trials and commercialization."

"Developing new technologies to enable production of increasingly complex and hard-to-express biological drugs is a priority for Lonza. Navrogen’s use of our GS PiggyBac system aligns the economics of bringing these first-in-class therapeutics to patients with current market needs", commented Dr Sarah Holland, Head of licensing, Lonza Pharma & Biotech.

Checkpoint Therapeutics Announces Pricing of Public Offering of Common Stock

On November 20, 2019 Checkpoint Therapeutics, Inc. ("Checkpoint") (NASDAQ: CKPT), a clinical-stage immunotherapy and targeted oncology company, reported the pricing of its previously announced underwritten public offering (Press release, Checkpoint Therapeutics, NOV 20, 2019, View Source [SID1234551519]). Checkpoint is offering 13,400,000 shares of its common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, at a price to the public of $1.27 per share. In connection with the offering, Checkpoint has also granted the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase up to an additional 2,010,000 shares of common stock offered in the public offering, at the same public offering price per share, less underwriting discounts and commissions.

National Securities Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of National Holdings Corporation (NasdaqCM: NHLD), is acting as sole book-running manager for the offering and H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC is acting as lead manager for the offering. Lake Street Capital Markets, LLC is acting as financial advisor to Checkpoint.

The Company expects to receive gross proceeds from the offering of $17,018,000, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering-related expenses. Assuming the full exercise of the underwriter’s option to purchase additional shares, gross proceeds would be $19,570,700.

Checkpoint intends to use the net proceeds from the offering primarily to support the continued development of cosibelimab, including an ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial in checkpoint therapy-naïve patients with selected recurrent or metastatic cancers, including ongoing cohorts intended to support one or more Biologics License Application submissions, and for general corporate purposes.

The offering is expected to close on or about November 22, 2019, subject to customary closing conditions.

A shelf registration statement on Form S‐3 (File. No. 333‐221493) (the "Registration Statement") relating to the shares of common stock being offered was filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and was declared effective on December 1, 2017. The offering is being made only by means of a prospectus. A preliminary prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus describing the terms of the offering have been filed with the SEC. A final prospectus supplement to the base prospectus describing the final terms of the offering will be filed with the SEC and, when available, may be obtained from National Securities Corporation, Attn: Charles Wanyama, 200 Vesey Street, 25th Floor, New York, New York 10281, telephone: (212) 417-3634, or by email at [email protected]; or the on the SEC’s website at View Source

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy securities of the Company, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale is not permitted.