Genetron Closes $71 Million D Round for Cancer Diagnostics

On November 25, 2019 Genetron, a Beijing-North Carolina genomics company, reported that closed a $71 million Series D Round to develop cancer molecular diagnostics products and services (Press release, ChinaBio, NOV 25, 2019, View Source [SID1234551655]). The company’s offerings include risk assessment, early screening, molecular pathology diagnosis, medication guidance and prognosis monitoring. Its products address the needs of cancer patients and high-risk groups as well as people who show no signs of disease. The company also works with biopharmas to discover biomarkers for precision medicine drugs. The funding was led by Vivo Capital, CICC Healthcare Investment Fund and Alexandria Venture Investments

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Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement.

On November 25, 2019 (i) Teva Pharmaceutical Finance Netherlands II B.V. ("Teva Finance II"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (the "Company"), issued €1,000,000,000 aggregate principal amount of 6.000% Senior Notes due 2025 (the "Euro Notes"); and (ii) Teva Pharmaceutical Finance Netherlands III B.V. ("Teva Finance III" and, together with Teva Finance II, the "Issuers"), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, issued $1,000,000,000 aggregate principal amount of 7.125% Senior Notes due 2025 (the "USD Notes" and, together with the Euro Notes, the "Notes") (Filing, 8-K, Teva, NOV 25, 2019, View Source [SID1234551653]).

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Teva intends to use the net proceeds from the Notes, together with cash on hand, to (i) fund the announced tender offer for a maximum combined aggregate purchase price (exclusive of accrued and unpaid interest but inclusive of tender premium) of up to $1,500,000,000 (ii) partially redeem €650,000,000 of the currently outstanding €1,660,154,000 aggregate principal amount of Teva Finance II’s 0.375% Senior Notes due 2020, (iii) pay fees and expenses in connection therewith and (iv) the extent of any remaining proceeds, for general corporate purposes, which may include the repayment of outstanding debt.

The Euro Notes were issued pursuant to a Senior Indenture, dated as of March 14, 2018 (the "Euro Notes Base Indenture"), by and among Teva Finance II, the Company, as guarantor, and The Bank of New York Mellon, as trustee, as supplemented by the Second Supplemental Indenture, dated as of November 25, 2019 (the "Euro Notes Supplemental Indenture" and, together with the Euro Notes Base Indenture, the "Euro Notes Indenture"), by and among Teva Finance II, the Company, as guarantor, The Bank of New York Mellon, as trustee, and The Bank of New York Mellon, London Branch, as paying agent. The USD Notes were issued pursuant to a Senior Indenture, dated as of March 14, 2018 (the "USD Notes Base Indenture"), as supplemented by the Second Supplemental Indenture, dated as of November 25, 2019 (the "USD Notes Supplemental Indenture" and, together with the USD Notes Base Indenture, the "USD Notes Indenture" and, together with the Euro Notes Indenture, the "Indentures"), in each case, by and among Teva Finance III, the Company, as guarantor, and The Bank of New York Mellon, as trustee.

Interest will be payable on the Notes semi-annually in arrears on January 31 and July 31 of each year, beginning on July 31, 2020, until their maturity date of January 31, 2025. The Euro Notes and the USD Notes are senior unsecured obligations of Teva Finance II and Teva Finance III, respectively, and the Notes are guaranteed on a senior unsecured basis by the Company.

Teva Finance II may redeem the Euro Notes, in whole or in part, at any time or from time to time, upon at least 10 days’, but not more than 60 days’, prior notice. The Euro Notes will be redeemable at a redemption price equal to the greater of (1) 100% of the principal amount of the Euro Notes to be redeemed or (2) the sum of the present values of the Remaining Scheduled Payments (as defined in the Euro Notes Indenture) of the Euro Notes being redeemed discounted, on a semi-annual basis (assuming a 360-day year consisting of twelve 30-day months), at the applicable Reinvestment Rate (as defined in the Euro Notes Indenture), plus accrued and unpaid interest thereon, if any (including Additional Interest, if any), to, but not including, the redemption date; provided that if Teva Finance II elects to redeem the Euro Notes at any time on or after October 31, 2024 (three months prior to the maturity date of the Euro Notes), Teva Finance II may redeem the Euro Notes, in whole or in part, at a redemption price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the Euro Notes then outstanding to be redeemed, plus accrued and unpaid interest thereon, if any, to, but not including, the redemption date.

Teva Finance III may redeem the USD Notes, in whole or in part, at any time or from time to time, upon at least 10 days’, but not more than 60 days’, prior notice. The USD Notes will be redeemable at a redemption price equal to the greater of (1) 100% of the principal amount of the USD Notes to be redeemed or (2) the sum of the present values of the Remaining Scheduled Payments (as defined in the USD Notes Indenture) of the USD Notes of such series being redeemed discounted, on a semi-annual basis (assuming a 360-day year consisting of twelve 30-day months), using a discount rate equal to the sum of the Treasury Rate (as defined in the USD Notes Indenture) plus 50 basis points, plus accrued and unpaid interest thereon, if any (including Additional Interest, if any), to, but not including, the redemption date; provided that if Teva Finance III elects to redeem the USD Notes at any time on or after October 31, 2024 (three months prior to the maturity date of the USD Notes), Teva Finance III may redeem the USD Notes, in whole or in part, at a redemption price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the USD Notes then outstanding to be redeemed, plus accrued and unpaid interest thereon, if any, to, but not including, the redemption date.

The terms of the Indentures, among other things and subject to specified exceptions, limit the ability of (a) the Company and its subsidiaries to (i) create liens upon certain of their property and (ii) enter into sale-leaseback transactions; and (b) the applicable Issuer and the Company to merge, consolidate or sell, lease or convey all or substantially all of their assets. The Indentures provide for customary events of default, which include (subject in certain cases to customary grace and cure periods), among others, nonpayment of principal or interest; breach of other covenants or agreements in the Indentures; acceleration of certain other indebtedness; failure of the Company’s guarantee to be enforceable; and certain events of bankruptcy or insolvency. The Notes were issued in private offerings exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), to qualified institutional buyers in accordance with Rule 144A and to non-U.S. persons in offshore transactions in reliance on Regulation S under the Securities Act.

In connection with the sale of the Euro Notes, Teva Finance II and the Company entered into a Registration Rights Agreement, dated as of November 25, 2019, with the initial purchasers party thereto. In connection with the sale of the USD Notes, Teva Finance III and the Company entered into a Registration Rights Agreement, dated as of November 25, 2019, with the initial purchasers party thereto. Under the terms of each Registration Rights Agreements, the applicable Issuer and the Company agreed to use reasonable best efforts to file a registration statement with respect to a registered exchange offer to exchange the Notes for new notes with terms substantially identical to the Notes, to cause the exchange offer registration statement to be declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission and to consummate the exchange offer on or before the 365th day after November 25, 2019. The Issuers and the Company may be required to provide shelf registration statements to cover resale of any series of Notes under certain circumstances. If the Issuers and the Company fail to satisfy these and other obligations contained in the Registration Rights Agreements, additional payments of interest will accrue on the Notes.

The foregoing summary descriptions of the Euro Notes Base Indenture, Euro Notes Supplemental Indenture, USD Notes Base Indenture, USD Notes Supplemental Indenture, each series of Notes and the Registration Rights Agreements are not complete and are qualified in their entirety by reference to the Euro Notes Base Indenture, the Euro Notes Supplemental Indenture, the form of Euro Notes, the Euro Notes Registration Rights Agreement, the USD Notes Base Indenture, the USD Notes Supplemental Indenture, the form of USD Notes and the USD Notes Registration Rights Agreement, which are filed as Exhibits 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7 and 4.8, respectively, to this Current Report on Form 8-K and are incorporated herein by reference.

Varian to Attend Upcoming Investor Events

On November 25, 2019 Varian (NYSE: VAR) reported that J. Michael Bruff, chief financial officer* and Anshul Maheshwari, vice president, Treasury and Investor Relations* will be participating in the following investor conferences (Press release, Varian Medical Systems, NOV 25, 2019, View Source [SID1234551652]):

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Evercore ISI 2nd Annual HealthCONx Conference in Boston, MA
Wednesday, December 4, 2019 at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time

Piper Jaffray 31st Annual Healthcare Conference in New York, NY
Thursday, December 5, 2019 at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time

Information about the webcast of the company’s presentation will be available through a link on the company website at www.varian.com/investors.

*Effective December 1, 2019

Termination of a Material Definitive Agreement

On November 25, 2019, Brickell Biotech, Inc. (the "Company"), Brickell Subsidiary, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, and NovaQuest Co-Investment Fund X, L.P. ("NovaQuest") reported that it has entered into a Settlement and Termination Agreement (the "Settlement and Termination Agreement") as a result of the previously disclosed license agreement-related dispute with Bodor Laboratories, Inc. and Nicholas S. Bodor (collectively, "Bodor") (Filing, 8-K, Vical, NOV 25, 2019, View Source [SID1234551651]). The Settlement and Termination Agreement terminates the Funding Agreement, dated as of June 2, 2019 (the "Funding Agreement"), pursuant to which NovaQuest had committed to provide up to $25.0 million in near-term research and development funding to the Company. NovaQuest agreed to cancel and surrender the warrant it previously received in connection with the Funding Agreement, and the Company repaid NovaQuest the $5.6 million advance previously made by NovaQuest including accrued interest. Subject to the mutual indemnity included in the Settlement and Termination Agreement, NovaQuest agreed to waive any and all further Company obligations (including any and all future milestone payments and royalties owed to NovaQuest) and each party agreed to release any and all claims against the other party in respect of the Funding Agreement.

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The foregoing description of the Settlement and Termination Agreement is not complete and is subject to and qualified in its entirety by reference to such agreement, a copy of which is attached to this filing as Exhibit 10.1 and is incorporated herein by reference.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Reports Fiscal Year 2019 Results

On November 25, 2019 Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ARWR) reported financial results for its fiscal year ended September 30, 2019 (Press release, Arrowhead Research Corporation, NOV 25, 2019, View Source [SID1234551650]). The company is hosting a conference call at 4:30 p.m. EST to discuss results.

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Conference Call and Webcast Details

Investors may access a live audio webcast on the Company’s website at View Source For analysts that wish to participate in the conference call, please dial 855-215-6159 or 315-625-6887 and provide Conference ID 7768049.

A replay of the webcast will be available on the company’s website approximately two hours after the conclusion of the call and will remain available for 90 days. An audio replay will also be available approximately two hours after the conclusion of the call and will be available for 3 days. To access the audio replay, dial 855-859-2056 or 404-537-3406 and provide Conference ID 7768049.

Selected Recent Events

Began dosing patients in an adaptive design Phase 2/3 trial, called SEQUOIA, with the potential to serve as a pivotal registrational study of ARO-AAT, Arrowhead’s second generation subcutaneously administered RNAi therapeutic being developed as a treatment for a rare genetic liver disease associated with alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency

Began recruiting patients for the ARO-AAT 2002 study, a pilot open-label, multi-dose, Phase 2 study to assess changes in a novel histological activity scale in response to ARO-AAT over time in patients with alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency associated liver disease

Arrowhead collaborator, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., part of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, began dosing patients a Phase 2b triple combination study called REEF-1, designed to enroll up to 450 patients with chronic hepatitis B infection, and in connection with the start of this study Arrowhead earned a $25 million milestone payment

Hosted an analyst R&D Day to discuss Arrowhead’s emerging pipeline of RNAi therapeutics and advancements being made to the company’s proprietary Targeted RNAi Molecule (TRIMTM) platform

With collaborator, Janssen, presented Phase 2 clinical data on a double combination of JNJ-3989 (formerly ARO-HBV) and a nucleos(t)ide analog (NA), and the first clinical data on a triple combination of JNJ-3989, JNJ-6379, and an NA, in two poster presentations at The Liver Meeting, the Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease

Presented new clinical data on two cardiometabolic candidates, ARO-APOC3 being developed as a potential treatment for patients with severe hypertriglyceridemia and familial chylomicronemia syndrome, and ARO-ANG3 being developed for the treatment of dyslipidemias, such as homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HoFH), and metabolic diseases, in two late-breaking oral presentations at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2019

Expanded the management team to include highly accomplished and proven leaders Javier San Martin, M.D., in the role of chief medical officer, and Curt Bradshaw, Ph.D., in the role of chief scientific officer