On October 22, 2020 Araris Biotech AG, a company pioneering antibody-drug conjugate (ADC)-linker technology, reported it has received an additional CHF 12.7 million in seed financing, bringing the total amount raised to CHF 15.2 million (Press release, Araris Biotech, OCT 22, 2020, View Source [SID1234651278]).

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The investment round was led by Pureos Bioventures with participation from new investors 4BIO Capital, btov Partners and existing investors Redalpine, VI Partners and Schroder Adveq. The proceeds will be used to nominate a clinical candidate and advance Araris’ lead program into preclinical and clinical development. The new funds will also support the development of a broad proprietary pipeline of ADC compounds.

Philipp Spycher, Ph.D., CEO and co-founder of Araris, said, "We see this funding as strong validation of our company, lead programs and the Araris ADC-linker platform. We’re focused on using our unique linker technology, that allows development of ADCs without engineering the native antibody, to design better medicines for cancer. This capital will allow us to advance our lead program to the next stage of development and progress our preclinical pipeline towards the clinic. We are also pleased to further strengthen our investor base with such a distinguished group of investors, all of whom have a proven track record of supporting successful emerging companies."

Dragan Grabulovski, Ph.D. co-founder and founding chairman of Araris added, "The quality of the investors reflectsthe quality of the science, the product candidates and the entire team at Araris Biotech. I would like to welcome Dominik Escher, Dmitry Kuzmin, Michael Sidler and Arnd Kaltofen to the board of directors. Their experience and knowledge of the sector will be key to ensuring Araris’ continued success."

Dominik Escher, Ph.D., managing partner at Pureos, commented, "With this significant seed round, Araris is in an excellent position to advance its antibody-drug conjugates towards the clinic. Today, there are nine antibody-drug conjugates approved by the FDA but many of them cannot be dosed high enough to elicit efficacy due to systemic toxicity often caused by linker instability or heterogenous distributions of the payload. The Araris technology addresses these limitations and offers a novel and innovative approach to bring better therapies to patients in need."

Dmitry Kuzmin, Ph.D., managing partner at 4BIO Capital, said, "We are excited to be investing at this early stage of what we expect to be an extraordinary future for Araris. Its pioneering technology, enabling fast and precise production of ADCs, is highly innovative and we believe has huge potential to bring enhanced therapies to patients across the globe."

On October 22, 2020 Athenex, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATNX), a global biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development and commercialization of novel therapies for the treatment of cancer and related conditions, reported that it will release third quarter 2020 financial results on Thursday, November 5, 2020, before the market opens, and host a conference call and live audio webcast 8:00am Eastern Time to discuss financial results and provide a business update (Press release, Athenex, OCT 22, 2020, View Source [SID1234573870]).

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To participate in the call, dial 877-407-0784 (domestic) or 201-689-8560 (international) fifteen minutes before the conference call begins and reference the conference passcode 13711719. The live conference call and replay can also be accessed via audio webcast at the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website, located at View Source

On October 22, 2020 Plus Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: PSTV) (the "Company"), reported financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2020, and provided an overview of recent business highlights (Press release, PLUS THERAPEUTICS, OCT 22, 2020, View Source [SID1234572294]).

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"Our lead investigational drug, RNL for recurrent glioblastoma, continues to progress toward its first major data readout," said Dr. Marc Hedrick, President and Chief Executive Officer of Plus Therapeutics. "In the third quarter, we advanced RNL successfully to the sixth dosing cohort and we are now administering over 1,000% more radiation to patients in a single treatment than can be delivered with traditional external beam radiation therapy."

Third Quarter 2020 and Recent Clinical Highlights

Plus Therapeutics has three clinical stage, nanoscale injectable oncology drugs, each designed to provide enhanced benefits versus existing therapies. The Company’s lead investigational drug is Rhenium NanoLiposome (RNL), a radiotherapy being developed for several cancer targets. RNL is being evaluated in the U.S. NIH/NCI-supported, multi-center ReSPECT Phase 1 dose-finding trial and for the treatment of recurrent glioblastoma. RNL is designed to safely, effectively, and conveniently deliver a targeted and very high dose of radiation directly to brain tumors. In addition:

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted the Company Orphan Drug and Fast Track Designations for RNL for the treatment of glioblastoma patients.
The Company established a Clinical Advisory Board of five leading experts in the fields of neurological surgery and neuro-oncology that will advise the Company as it advances its nanoscale therapeutics to treat rare brain and neurological cancers.
The independent Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) of the ReSPECT Phase 1 trial in recurrent glioblastoma approved the Company to commence enrollment in the sixth cohort of patients.
Expected Upcoming Milestones and Events

The first nine months of 2020 marked the successful implementation of the Company’s expanded development focus, pipeline expansion and optimized costs and operational structure. In upcoming quarters, the Company intends to focus on a number of additional business objectives and potential milestones:

Report preliminary RNL data from the ReSPECT Phase 1 dose-finding trial in recurrent glioblastoma at the Society of Neuro-Oncology Annual Meeting being held virtually November 19-22, 2020.
Finalize plans for the next stage of clinical development for RNL in recurrent glioblastoma.
Continue evaluations of additional external and internal drug development candidates.
Initiate IND-enabling RNL studies for additional indications.
Explore partnership opportunities for RNL, DocePLUS and DoxoPLUS assets.
Third Quarter 20 20 Financial Results

As of September 30, 2020, the Company had cash of approximately $7.6 million, compared to cash of approximately $17.6 million as of December 31, 2019. During the third quarter of 2020, 317,521 series U warrants were exercised, raising $0.7 million. Net cash used in operating activities was $5.2 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2020, compared to net cash used of $6.9 million during the same period in 2019. During the second quarter of 2020, $5 million of the Oxford debt principal was paid down.
On September 30, 2020, the Company entered into a purchase agreement and registration rights agreement with Lincoln Park Capital Fund, LLC (LPC) pursuant to which and following the filing and effectiveness of a registration statement, the Company will have the right at its sole discretion, but not the obligation, to sell to LPC up to $25 million worth of shares over the 36-month term of the agreement, subject to various terms and conditions.
On October 9, 2020 the Company filed a shelf registration on Form S-3 allowing for the sale of securities "at the market" of up to $10 million.
Loss from continuing operations for the third quarter 2020 was $1.7 million, or $(0.39) per share, compared to operating income of $0.5 million, or $(0.03) per share (on a fully diluted basis including preferred stock), for the same period in 2019.
Net loss in the third quarter of 2020 was $1.7 million, or $(0.39) per share, compared to net income of $0.5 million, or $(0.03) per share (on a fully diluted basis including preferred stock), for the third quarter of 2019.
Clinical expenses relating to the ReSPECT Phase 1 dose-finding trial in recurrent glioblastoma continue to be funded under a $3 million grant with the U.S. NIH/NCI.
Conference Call

The Company will hold a conference call and live audio webcast at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time today to discuss its financial results and provide a general business update.

Event: Plus Therapeutics Third Quarter 2020 Financial Results Conference Call and Webcast
Date: Thursday, October 22, 2020
Time: 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
Live Call: 877-402-3914; 631-865-5294 (Intl.); Conference ID: 2108916
The webcast can be accessed live via the investor section of the Plus Therapeutics website at ir.plustherapeutics.com/events and will be available for replay beginning two hours after the conclusion of the conference call.

On October 22, 2020 The Board of Directors of PerkinElmer, Inc. (NYSE: PKI), declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.07 per share of common stock October 22, 2020 (Press release, PerkinElmer, OCT 22, 2020, View Source [SID1234570405]). This dividend is payable on February 12, 2021 to all shareholders of record at the close of business on January 22, 2021.

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On October 22, 2020 Adaptimmune Therapeutics plc (Nasdaq:ADAP), a leader in cell therapy to treat cancer, reported that it will report financial results and provide a business update for Q3 2020, before the U.S. markets open on Thursday, November 5, 2020 (Press release, Adaptimmune, OCT 22, 2020, View Source [SID1234570104]). Following the announcement, the Company will host a live teleconference and webcast at 8:00 a.m. EST (1:00 p.m. GMT) on the same day (details below).

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The press release and the live webcast of the conference call will be available in the investor section of Adaptimmune’s corporate website at www.adaptimmune.com. An archive will be available after the call at the same address.

To participate in the live conference call, please dial (833) 652-5917 (U.S. or Canada) or +1 (430) 775-1624 (International). After placing the call, please ask to be joined into the Adaptimmune conference call and provide the confirmation code (6183339).