On December 11, 2019 NeoImmuneTech, Inc., a clinical-stage T cell-focused biopharmaceutical company, reported it has entered into a clinical collaboration agreement with Merck, known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, through a subsidiary, to evaluate the combination of NeoImmuneTech’s Hyleukin-7 (NT-I7) and Merck’s anti-PD-1 therapy, KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) in a basket study in patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) advanced solid tumors (Press release, NeoImmuneTech, DEC 11, 2019, View Source [SID1234552272]).

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The goal of the Phase 1b/2a study is to establish a recommended dosing regimen and explore the preliminary anti-tumor activity of the combination in patients with both checkpoint inhibitor (CPI)-treated and CPI-naïve R/R tumors. The results of this study will be used to further clinical development of this combination in select tumor types.

"Although immunotherapy has become the new paradigm in cancer treatment, the majority of patients fail to respond. For tumors that are considered non-responsive to CPIs, such as microsatellite stable colorectal cancer and pancreatic cancer, the response to single-agent CPI has been low," said NgocDiep Le, M.D., Ph.D., NIT’s Executive VP and Chief Medical Officer. "Since immunotherapies rely heavily on the anti-tumor activity of T cells, Hyleukin-7’s demonstrated ability to increase multiple T-cell subsets potentially enhances the breadth and depth of the response to CPIs such as KEYTRUDA."

Se Hwan Yang, Ph.D., NIT’s Co-President and Chief Executive Officer, added: "We are excited to partner with Merck in our endeavor to provide new treatment options for patients whose tumors do not respond to CPIs or have progressed after CPI treatment. This combination approach could open the door to expanding the use of immunotherapy to these patients and ultimately improve clinical outcomes."

KEYTRUDA is a registered trademark of Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA.

About Hyleukin-7
Hyleukin-7 (NT-I7), the only clinical-stage long-acting human IL-7, is uniquely positioned to address unmet medical needs in immuno-oncology. IL-7 is a fundamental cytokine for T-cell development and for sustaining immune response to chronic antigens (as in cancer). Hyleukin-7’s favorable PK/PD and safety profiles make it an ideal combination partner for immunotherapy standard of care (SOC) such as Checkpoint Inhibitor and CAR-T therapies. Hyleukin-7 is being studied in multiple clinical trials in solid tumors, and being planned for testing in hematologic malignancies, additional solid tumors and other immunology-focused indications.

On December 11, 2019 Pyxis Oncology, an immuno-oncology company focused on developing a new family of antibody-based immunotherapies derived from novel insights into the biology of the tumor microenvironment, reported the appointment of Lara Sullivan, M.D. as Chief Executive Officer and Director (Press release, Pyxis Oncology, DEC 11, 2019, View Source [SID1234552271]). She succeeds Longwood General Partner and founding Chief Executive Officer, David Steinberg, who assumes the role of Chairman of the Board of Directors while John Flavin, the founding Chairman, will remain on the Board as an independent Director.

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"This is a very exciting time in immuno-oncology and Pyxis has a unique platform to understand the tumor microenvironment that will enable the company to make major contributions to the field," said Lara. "I am looking forward to working closely with our scientific co-founders and the Pyxis scientific team to unlock new avenues to restore the potency of dysfunctional immune cells. Building off this solid foundation with the support of our investors, I believe Pyxis will be able to make a real difference in the lives of cancer patients as we move our antibody programs into the clinic."

"We are excited to welcome Lara to Pyxis, and look forward to her leadership as we build and advance our pipeline. Lara brings a remarkable range of skills and experience spanning drug development, corporate strategy, finance and business development to the role of CEO at Pyxis," said David Steinberg, Chairman, Pyxis Oncology. "In addition, I would like to thank our co-founder and outgoing Chairman John Flavin for his exceptional early leadership and pivotal role in conceptualizing and establishing Pyxis. We look forward to his ongoing engagement and further contributions as an independent Director."

Prior to joining Pyxis, Lara was Founder and President of SpringWorks Therapeutics where she conceived of and executed the clinical stage spin-out from Pfizer and raised the Series A. In her executive roles at Pfizer, she led early stage R&D portfolio operations and strategy, and developed novel business models for early stage financing. Previously, Lara was an Associate Partner at McKinsey & Co. and a Principal at Paul Capital Partners, and earlier in her career worked in healthcare finance at CS First Boston. She is an independent Director of Rexahn Pharmaceuticals. Lara holds an M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and a B.A. in Comparative Literature from Cornell University.

On December 11, 2019 PierianDx, the leading clinical genomics informatics company, reported that Intermountain Healthcare has selected the PierianDx Clinical Genomics Workstation to advance their precision medicine program, Intermountain Precision Genomics (Press release, PierianDx, DEC 11, 2019, View Source [SID1234552270]). Intermountain Healthcare will leverage PierianDx for next-generation sequencing (NGS) variant analysis, classification, and reporting services to assist in the identification of targeted therapies and potential clinical trial opportunities for cancer patients.

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PierianDx provides a SaaS platform, Clinical Genomics Workspace (CGW), the industry-leading clinical software for informatics, interpretation, and reporting of NGS data. By joining the PierianDx customer network, Intermountain Healthcare can access the genomic data within CGW’s knowledgebase, the most clinically robust database comprised of millions of biomedical findings driven by public and highly curated sources. Intermountain Healthcare joins a long list of other leading diagnostic labs and health systems using PierianDx.

"We are thrilled that Intermountain Healthcare has joined our rapidly expanding partner network," says Michael L. Sanderson, CEO of PierianDx. "Intermountain Healthcare is widely known as a leader in precision medicine and we look forward to continued collaboration opportunities."

On December 11, 2019 NanoString Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:NSTG), reported a leading provider of life science tools for translational research, reported the formation of the GeoMx Breast Cancer Consortium (GBCC) (Press release, NanoString Technologies, DEC 11, 2019, View Source [SID1234552269]).
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The consortium is focused on using the GeoMx Digital Spatial Profiler to address some of the most challenging translational research questions in breast cancer by applying spatial analysis. Some of the initial projects that the GBCC is planning include studies that will explore the immune interactions in HER2+ breast cancer, responsiveness to immunotherapy in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), disease evolution in metastatic breast cancer, and role of the tumor microenvironment in molecular epidemiological studies.

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Through the work of the GBCC, NanoString intends to develop a GeoMx Atlas database combining spatial and clinical data to enable meta-analyses to identify and validate oncology biomarkers in the spatial domain.

"By evaluating breast cancer with a spatial approach, we hope to expand our ability to understand the impact of treatments on the tumor, immune infiltrate and microenvironment," said Sandra Swain, M.D., Associate Dean for Research Development and Professor of Medicine at Georgetown University Medical Center. "In forming this consortium, we are promoting the importance of engaging innovative approaches across multiple studies to ensure rapid progress in discovery of novel biomarkers which may lead to more effective means of treating breast cancer."

"While earlier diagnosis and new therapies have improved patient outcomes in breast cancer, there are subgroups of patients with aggressive disease where effective therapies remain elusive," said Brad Gray, president and CEO of NanoString. "We believe that by applying spatial analysis, the GeoMx Breast Cancer Consortium can help to address some of the most pressing needs in breast cancer research."

Founding member institutions and investigators of the GeoMx Breast Cancer Consortium include:

The Dana Farber Cancer Institute: Elizabeth Mittendorf, M.D., Ph.D.
The Mayo Clinic: Jodi Carter, M.D., Ph.D.; Aubrey Thompson, Ph.D.; Fergus Couch, Ph.D.
The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre: Sherene Loi, Ph.D.
The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill: Melissa Troester, M.P.H., Ph.D.
Georgetown University Medical Center: Sandra Swain, M.D.
The Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques: August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS): Aleix Prat, M.D., Ph.D.
Researchers that are interested in joining the GeoMx Breast Cancer Consortium can find an application at: View Source

On December 11, 2019 Phoenix Biotechnology, Inc. ("Phoenix" or the "Company" www.phoenixbiotechnology.com) reported that it has completed the private placement of 1,373,400 shares of common stock for gross proceeds of $4,120,200 (Press release, Phoenix Biotechnology, DEC 11, 2019, View Source [SID1234552268]).

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The gross proceeds of the offering are expected to be used for general corporate purposes including funding Phoenix’s continuing research at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, University of Nebraska and University of L’Aquila (Italy); filing and prosecuting the Company’s U.S. and international patent portfolio; and paying general and administrative expenses.

Robert A. Newman, Ph.D., President and Chief Science Officer, said, "We are grateful to have received significant new resources for our continued research efforts. The ongoing research of our lead drug against glioblastoma appears to be very promising. In addition, we are proud of the research recently published of our drug’s efficacy against HTLV-1, a virus that affects millions of people with devastating declines in their quality of life. All of our work is aimed at providing hope for those afflicted with serious diseases for which there are few, if any, meaningful therapeutic options. The funds recently raised will assist us in continuing this important work."

The shares of common stock have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any security and shall not constitute an offer, solicitation or sale in any jurisdiction in which it would be unlawful.