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LungPredict: improve and personalize immuno-therapies

On January 23, 2020 Cancer Research Center of Toulouse reported that Immunotherapies are imposing themselves as a revolution in cancer treatment, giving hope to many previously incurable patients (Press release, Cancer Research Center of Toulouse, JAN 23, 2020, View Source [SID1234553456]). They aim to restore the natural defences mounted by the body against cancerous cells, such as lymphocytes, which are often disarmed by the tumour. Despite the promising potential, around 30% of patients do not benefit at all from immunotherapy. Better characterising the inter-cellular interactions in the tumour microenvironment will be key to propose new kinds of immunotherapy.

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LungPredict involves performing a deep molecular characterisation of lung cancer patients at diagnosis, to offer them personalised therapeutic approaches. The pilot phase (2019) consisted in developing logistic, experimental and bioinformatic protocols, assessing the feasibility of the full project.

The plan is to produce transcriptomics, targeted sequencing and high-content imaging on tumour samples for a few hundred patients. Blood is also being collected for future analyses and all data is linked to patients’ clinical records.

As part of this alliance between the company, researchers and clinicians, more similar projects will be launched in the future to exploit an integrative approach to achieve better personalized treatments for other cancers as well.

Onconova Therapeutics Regains Rigosertib Rights in Greater China

On January 23, 2020 Onconova Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: ONTX), a Phase 3-stage biopharmaceutical company discovering and developing novel products to treat cancer, with an initial focus on myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), reported that it has regained the rights to rigosertib in Greater China (Press release, Onconova, JAN 23, 2020, View Source [SID1234553440]). Onconova regained the rights from HanX Biopharmaceuticals (HanX) as a result of the termination of the Onconova-HanX License Agreement pursuant to its terms due to HanX failing to make required payments under the agreement. In exchange for transition assistance and upon further regulatory, development and commercial progress in Greater China, HanX may be eligible to receive from Onconova incentive milestones and royalty payments. The Greater China territory, including mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, represents one of the key world pharmaceutical markets.

"We are pleased to regain rigosertib rights for Greater China, and we are encouraged by the opportunity to partner rigosertib in select territories including Greater China as we approach the potential corporate catalyst of topline data for the registrational INSPIRE Trial in 1H 2020," said Dr. Steven Fruchtman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Onconova. "We thank HanX for their collaborative efforts to advance rigosertib in this key market including the filing of the rigosertib IND in China." Dr. Fruchtman continued, "In 2019, we added partners Knight Therapeutics for Canada, Specialised Therapeutics for Australia & New Zealand, and Inceptua Medicines Access in select countries for pre-approval access to our roster of global corporate partners, joining Pint Pharma for Latin America and SymBio Pharmaceuticals for Japan & Korea. The United States, Europe, and Greater China represent the major pharmaceutical markets Onconova directly controls heading into INSPIRE data read out."

Chi-Med Announces Pricing of US$110 Million Public Offering of ADSs

On January 23, 2020 Hutchison China MediTech Limited ("Chi-Med") (AIM/Nasdaq: HCM) reported the pricing of the underwritten public offering previously announced by Chi-Med on January 21, 2020 (Press release, Hutchison China MediTech, JAN 23, 2020, https://www.chi-med.com/chi-med-announces-pricing-of-us110-million-public-offering-of-adss/ [SID1234553438]). Chi-Med will issue and sell 4,400,000 American Depositary Shares ("ADSs"), each representing five ordinary shares, par value US$0.10 each, of Chi-Med at a price of US$25.00 per ADS on the Nasdaq Global Select Market ("Offering"). The gross proceeds to Chi-Med from the Offering, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses, are expected to be approximately US$110 million. In addition, Chi-Med has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 660,000 ADSs at the public offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions. The Offering is expected to close on January 27, 2020, subject to customary closing conditions.

Chi-Med will receive all of the net proceeds from the sale of ADSs in the Offering, which it intends to use primarily to fund its ongoing research and clinical development efforts and expand its commercialization capabilities.

BofA Securities, Inc., Goldman Sachs (Asia) L.L.C. and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC (in alphabetical order) are acting as joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners for the Offering. Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. and HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. are acting as joint bookrunners, and Canaccord Genuity LLC, CLSA Limited and Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited are acting as co-managers.

AMGEN ASTELLAS BIOPHARMA TO BECOME A WHOLLY OWNED AMGEN AFFILIATE ON APRIL 1, 2020 THE NEW COMPANY NAME WILL BE AMGEN K.K. THE HEADQUARTERS WILL RELOCATE TO TOKYO MIDTOWN

On January 23, 2020 Amgen Inc. (Headquarters: Thousand Oaks, California, USA; Chairman and CEO: Robert A. Bradway; "Amgen"), Astellas Pharma Inc. (Headquarters: Tokyo; President and CEO: Kenji Yasukawa, PhD., "Astellas"), and Amgen Astellas BioPharma K.K. (Headquarters: Tokyo; President and Representative Director: Steve Sugino; "Amgen Astellas BioPharma") reported that on April 1, 2020, Amgen will purchase the 49% of shares in Amgen Astellas BioPharma that are held by Astellas, based on the strategic alliance contract signed between Amgen and Astellas in 2013, making the company a wholly owned Amgen affiliate (Press release, Astellas, JAN 23, 2020, View Source [SID1234553437]).

With this, Amgen Astellas BioPharma will change its name to Amgen K.K., and simultaneously relocate its Headquarters to Tokyo Midtown (9-7-1 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo). Steve Sugino will continue to serve as President and Representative Director of Amgen K.K.

Amgen Astellas BioPharma commenced business in October 2013, bringing together the strengths of Amgen, one of the world’s leading independent biotechnology companies, and Astellas, a company with deep knowledge of the medical needs in Japan and a wealth of experience in the development and marketing of pharmaceutical products, as well as a strong business foundation, to contribute to healthcare in Japan through the provision of innovative medicines created by Amgen.

Since then, Amgen Astellas BioPharma and Astellas have worked together to serve patients in Japan with cardiovascular disease, cancer, and bone disease, which are three areas of significant unmet medical needs, launching Repatha for familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) or hypercholesterolemia for patients who have high cardiovascular event risk and do not adequately respond to HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, BLINCYTO for patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and EVENITY for osteoporosis patients at high risk of fracture. Amgen K.K. and Astellas will continue to co-promote these three products and Astellas will remain responsible for distribution and sales of the products beyond 2020.

Amgen K.K. will carry forward Amgen’s global mission to serve patients by delivering breakthrough-science-based medicines, while also striving to bring Amgen’s full global pipeline of innovative medicines to patients in Japan who face unmet medical needs.

USPTO Grants AskAt a Patent for the Use of EP4 Receptor Antagonists in the Treatment of Nash-Associated Liver Cancer

On January 23, 2020 AskAt reported that it received a Notice of Allowance dated January 14, 2020 from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in connection with Application No. 16/417,870, a use patent for AskAt’s EP4 receptor antagonists in the treatment of NASH-associated liver cancer AskAt received a Notice of Allowance dated January 14, 2020 from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in connection with Application No. 16/417,870, a use patent for AskAt’s EP4 receptor antagonists in the treatment of NASH-associated liver cancer.