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New Cancer Center Established at Johns Hopkins University

On January 27, 2020 The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research reported the creation of The Mark Foundation Center for Advanced Genomics and Imaging at the Johns Hopkins University (JHU), which will receive initial funding of $5 million over 2 years (Press release, The Mark Foundation For Cancer Research, JAN 27, 2020, View Source [SID1234553565]).

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Bringing together the tools of astronomy image analysis, pathology, computer science, cancer genomics, and immunogenomics to solve problems in oncology, the new center will find innovative solutions that can expand the number of cancer patients who benefit from immunotherapy.

Scientists from The Mark Foundation will collaborate with JHU researchers as part of a joint steering committee that will review scientific progress and facilitate the success of the center.

"It takes a village of diverse disciplines and areas of expertise to confront the vast challenges presented by cancer, and the work of this center is the perfect embodiment of this reality," said Michele Cleary, PhD, CEO of The Mark Foundation. "One focus of the center is especially imaginative, as it involves developing a new platform that takes a model used in astronomical nighttime sky analysis and turns it into one that can be used to analyze cancer tumors."

The Mark Foundation Center for Advanced Genomics and Imaging will be led by Drew Pardoll, MD, PhD, Director of the Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy and co-Director of the Cancer Immunology Program at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, together with Janis Taube, MD, MSc, Professor of Dermatology and Pathology and Director of the Division of Dermatopathology and co-Director of the Tumor Microenvironment Laboratory of the Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy.

TILT Biotherapeutics Signs a Licensing Deal with Biotheus, Inc for Cancer Therapy with Oncolytic Virus TILT-123

On January 27, 2020 TILT Biotherapeutics ("TILT"), a privately held biopharmaceutical company based in Helsinki, Finland, reported that they have signed a license agreement with Biotheus Inc. ("Biotheus"), a privately held Chinese company based in Zhuhai, Guangdong, China (Press release, TILT Biotherapeutics, JAN 27, 2020, View Source [SID1234553564]). Under the agreement TILT has granted Biotheus rights for development and commercialization of TILT’s proprietary oncolytic virus TILT-123 in Greater China (including Mainland China, Hongkong, Taiwan and Macau).

The license agreement includes an upfront payment as well as milestone payments linked to finishing of various phases of clinical development and obtaining marketing approvals. Under the agreement TILT is eligible to receive upfront and milestone payments as well as significant royalties on future sales.

"We are very happy to give our flagship product TILT-123 into the expert hands of Biotheus. TILT-123 is a unique product developed for activation of T-cells, and currently under clinical development in Europe and soon in the US. Biotheus has an interesting portfolio of synergic compounds and valuable development expertise in immuno-oncology. We believe that this collaboration greatly supports the global development and commercialization of TILT-123 while making the product also available to Chinese cancer patients." says Akseli Hemminki, MD, PhD, eMBA, Founder and CEO of TILT Biotherapeutics Ltd.

The patented TILT technology is based on novel oncolytic viruses coding for cytokines. The constructs are unique in structure, sequence and function. TILT-123 is a human 5/3 chimeric adenovirus capable of replicating only in cells defective in retinoblastoma/p16 pathway, found in most human tumors. TILT-123 was further modified to insert expression sequences for two cytokines: human Tumor Necrosis Factor alpha (hTNFα) and human Interleukin 2 (hIL-2).

Ningbo NewBay Medical Technology Co., Ltd. Announces a License Agreement with Genentech

On January 27, 2020 NewBay Medical Technology Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Ningbo Tai Kang Medical Technology Co., Ltd. reported that it has entered into a licensing agreement with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, under which it has been granted the exclusive global rights to further develop and commercialize GDC-0570, a small molecule Pan-PIM inhibitor that is active against multiple myeloma and prostate cancer in preclinical models (Press release, NewBay Medical Technology, JAN 27, 2020, View Source [SID1234553563]). PIM kinases regulate cell metabolism, growth and survival.

"We are very pleased to enter this global exclusive license agreement with Genentech. We look forward to working with medical experts and global regulatory agents to accelerate clinical development of this promising investigational medicine," commented Dr. Zhenhai Shen, CEO of Ningbo NewBay Medical Technology Co., Ltd.

Under the agreement, Genentech will receive an upfront payment and will be eligible to receive milestone payments linked to clinical, regulatory and commercial successes, as well as royalty payments.

About GDC-0570

GDC-0570 is a small molecule Pan-PIM inhibitor discovered and developed by Genentech. PIM-1/2/3 are Serine/Threonine kinases which play an essential role in the regulation of signal transduction cascades. GDC-0570 is a potential first-in-class drug candidate.

Corporate Presentation January 2020

On January 27, 2020 BioNTech Presented the corporate presentation (Presentation, BioNTech, JAN 27, 2020, View Source [SID1234553560]).

Alector Announces Proposed Public Offering of Common Stock

On January 27, 2020 Alector, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALEC), a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering immuno-neurology, reported it intends to offer and sell, subject to market and other conditions, 5,095,000 shares of its common stock in an underwritten public offering (Press release, Alector, JAN 27, 2020, View Source [SID1234553559]). In addition, Alector expects to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 764,250 additional shares of Alector’s common stock. All of the shares in the proposed offering will be sold by Alector. The proposed offering is subject to market and other conditions, and there can be no assurance as to whether or when the proposed offering may be completed, or as to the actual size or terms of the proposed offering.

Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, BofA Securities and Cowen are acting as joint book-running managers for the proposed offering.

A registration statement relating to the securities has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission but has not yet become effective. These securities may not be sold, nor may offers to buy be accepted, prior to the time the registration statement becomes effective. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, 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.

The proposed offering will be made only by means of a prospectus. When available, copies of the preliminary prospectus relating to the proposed offering may be obtained from:

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Attention: Prospectus Department, 180 Varick Street, 2nd Floor, New York, New York 10014 or by email at [email protected];
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Attention: Prospectus Department, 200 West Street, New York, New York 10282, or by email at [email protected];
BofA Securities, NC1-004-03-43, 200 North College Street, 3rd Floor, Charlotte, NC 28255-0001, Attn: Prospectus Department, or by email [email protected]; or
Cowen and Company, LLC c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY, 11717, Attn: Prospectus Department, by email at [email protected] or by telephone at (833) 297-2926.