On October 30, 2020 Astellas Pharma Inc. (TSE: 4503, President and CEO: Kenji Yasukawa, Ph.D., "Astellas") reported that it has completed the acquisition of Iota Biosciences, Inc. ("iota"), a start-up company focused on the bioelectronics field, located in Berkeley, California, and iota has become a wholly owned subsidiary of Astellas as of U.S. Pacific Time October 29, 2020 (Press release, Astellas, OCT 30, 2020, View Source [SID1234569467]).

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Under the Merger Agreement executed between Astellas and iota shareholders, Astellas paid approximately US$127.5 million to acquire all of the outstanding equity in iota that was not previously held by Astellas (Astellas through a U.S. subsidiary, was an investor in iota through its previous Series A Preferred Stock offering). In addition, iota’s former shareholders (other than Astellas) will be eligible to receive additional payments of up to a total of approximately US$176.5 million upon achievement of predetermined milestones by iota within certain timeframes after completion of the transaction.

Astellas is also committing to spend a total of US$125 million over the next five years to fuel iota’s aggressive expansion.

This acquisition is expected to accelerate Astellas’ Rx+ business not only by expediting the Rx+ projects previously covered under the Research and Development Agreement signed between the parties in August 2019 but also by allowing exploration of other applications of iota’s unique bioelectronics technology for new target diseases and developing new technologies.

At this point, Astellas intends to maintain the organization in California and to retain the iota Biosciences name.

On October 29, 2020 Plus Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: PSTV) (the "Company"), reported that it has treated the first patient in the sixth and final cohort of its National Cancer Institute (NCI)-supported, multi-center ReSPECT Phase 1 dose-finding clinical trial evaluating Rhenium NanoLiposomes (RNL) for the treatment of recurrent glioblastoma (GBM) (Press release, PLUS THERAPEUTICS, OCT 29, 2020, View Source [SID1234572297]). Initiation of the sixth dose cohort follows successful completion of the fifth cohort and clearance from the ReSPECT trial’s Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB).

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The sixth cohort of the ReSPECT trial includes an increase in both the RNL drug volume and radiation dose to 8.8 milliliters and 22.3 millicuries, respectively. RNL is designed to safely, effectively and conveniently deliver a very high dose of radiation, with a dose that is up to 25 times greater than currently used external beam radiation therapy, directly into the brain tumor for maximum effect.

"Cohort progression in our ReSPECT trial represents another milestone toward the trial’s first major readout," said Marc Hedrick, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Plus Therapeutics. "The RNL drug volume and dose in cohort six should allow us to target the majority of glioblastoma tumors found in the recurrent setting."

Plus Therapeutics will be presenting data from the ReSPECT clinical trial at the 2020 Society for Neuro-Oncology (SNO) Annual Meeting being held virtually November 19-21, 2020. The Company will be providing detailed interim safety, tolerability, dosing and efficacy data of RNL in adults with recurrent GBM after standard surgical, radiation and chemotherapy treatment.

ReSPECT is currently supported by an award from the NCI. The Company plans to complete enrollment in the Phase 1 trial by the end of 2020 and in parallel will utilize its recently awarded U.S. Food and Drug Administration Orphan Drug and Fast Track designations to determine the next steps for the program.

On October 29, 2020 Ziopharm Oncology, Inc. (Nasdaq: ZIOP), reported the Company will host a conference call and webcast on Thursday, November 5, at 4:30 pm EDT to provide a corporate update and discuss financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2020 (Press release, Ziopharm, OCT 29, 2020, View Source [SID1234569927]).

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The call can be accessed by dialing 1-800-920-9723 (U.S. and Canada) or 1-212-231-2932 (international). The passcode for the conference call is 21971110. To access the live webcast or the subsequent archived recording, visit the "Investors" section of the Ziopharm website at www.ziopharm.com. The webcast will be recorded and available for replay on the Company’s website for two weeks.

On October 29, 2020 Geron Corporation (Nasdaq: GERN) reported that it will release its third quarter 2020 financial results after the market closes on Thursday, November 5, 2020 via press release, which will be available on the Company’s website at www.geron.com/investors (Press release, Geron, OCT 29, 2020, View Source [SID1234569806]). Geron will host a conference call to discuss the financial results as well as recent events at 4:30 p.m. ET the same day.

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A live, listen-only webcast will be available on the Company’s website at www.geron.com/investors/events. If you are unable to listen to the live call, an archived webcast will be available on the Company’s website for 30 days.

Participants may access the conference call live via telephone by pre-registering online using the following link, View Source Upon registration, a phone number, Direct Event Passcode and unique Registrant ID will be sent via email. This information will be needed in order to enter the conference call. Participants are advised to pre-register at least 10 minutes prior to joining the call.

On October 29, 2020 Immutep Limited (ASX: IMM; NASDAQ: IMMP), a biotechnology company developing novel immunotherapy treatments for cancer and autoimmune disease, reported that it has entered into a Licence and Collaboration Agreement with Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, known as LabCorp (NYSE: LH) that will support the development of immuno-oncology products or services (Press release, Immutep, OCT 29, 2020, View Source [SID1234569750]).

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"Over the years, Immutep has generated a significant amount of know-how in immuno-oncology, specifically in terms of LAG-3", said Marc Voigt, CEO of Immutep.

Under the terms of the Agreement, Immutep is eligible to receive an upfront fee of US$125,000 and potential further commercial milestones and service payments. The milestone payments, which consist of up to three payments, are tied to the commercialisation of new drugs or new indications of existing drugs that requires use of an immuno-oncology diagnostic being developed by LabCorp.

The Agreement will continue until such time as the licensed technology and associated intellectual property have been exhausted and are in the public domain, or until terminated by either party.

The collaboration with LabCorp is unrelated to any of Immutep’s own in-house pharmaceutical development programs in cancer or autoimmune disease. Significantly, it enables Immutep to enter the immuno-oncology diagnostics field.