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Varian Names Chief Medical Officer for Interventional Oncology

On September 16, 2019 Varian (NYSE: VAR) has named Francis R. Facchini, M.D., FSIR, as the new chief medical officer, Interventional Oncology, reporting to Dee Khuntia, Varian chief medical officer (Press release, Varian Medical Systems, SEP 16, 2019, View Source [SID1234539552]). Effective September 3, 2019, Dr. Facchini has global responsibility for overseeing all aspects of this area including ongoing development of Varian’s innovative IO treatment offerings, clinical strategy, and helping advance the field of interventional oncology as an important pillar of patient care.

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Dr. Facchini was most recently chief medical officer and head of medical affairs for BTG Plc. where he had responsibility for developing and commercializing products targeting critical care, cancer, vascular and other disorders. Facchini previously had served as global director of Medical and Clinical Affairs for Angiodynamics, Inc. and was chief medical officer of Navilyst Medical, Inc.

"Frank will be a great addition to the Varian Medical Affairs team," said Khuntia. "He is a strategic thinker with strong business acumen and a deep understanding of this ever-changing industry. As a key opinion leader in the field of Interventional Oncology, Frank has a proven track record delivering highly creative, impactful solutions that will benefit Varian in our fight against cancer."

"Varian is known for keeping patients at the center of its thinking and developing the most advanced technologies to fight cancer," said Facchini. "Varian excels at bringing together the greatest scientists, clinicians and researchers to do great things to advance oncology treatment. This is the most ideal time in my career path to be joining this team."

Among his many academic achievements, Dr. Facchini received a Doctor of Medicine from Loyola University, Stritch School of Medicine and a BA in Philosophy from DePauw University.

Actinium Pharmaceuticals to Present at the Sachs 19th Annual Biotech in Europe Forum for Global Partnering & Investment

On September 16, 2019 Actinium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE AMERICAN: ATNM) ("Actinium") reported that it will present at the Sachs 19th Annual Biotech in Europe Forum for Global Partnering & Investment (Press release, Actinium Pharmaceuticals, SEP 16, 2019, View Source [SID1234539551]). The forum is being held at the Congress Center Basel in Basel, Switzerland on September 25-26, 2019. The event is expected to attract more than 700 delegates from across the globe. Details of Actinium’s presentation are as follows:

(PRNewsfoto/Actinium Pharmaceuticals, Inc.)

Date: Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Time: 4:50 PM CEST
Venue: Congress Center Basel in Basel, Switzerland
Track: F

Members of Actinium’s Executive team will be available for one-on-one meetings with conference attendees. Those interested in scheduling a meeting with Actinium may do so by contacting David Gould, MD, Senior Vice President, Corporate Development and Affairs via email at [email protected].

About the Sachs 19th Annual Biotech in Europe Forum

The 19th Annual Biotech in Europe Forum is recognized as a leading international stage for those interested in investing and partnering in the biotech and life science industry. The event draws together a cross-section of early-stage/pre-IPO, late-stage and public companies with leading investors, analysts, money managers and pharma licensing executives. Supported and designed by leading figures within Europe’s pharmaceutical and biotech industry, the event is expected to attract more than 700 delegates and over 100 presenting companies. To learn more about the event, please click here: View Source

Moleculin Announces its Sponsored Research at MD Anderson Cancer Center Has Resulted in the Filing of Patent Protection for New Discovery

On September 16, 2019 Moleculin Biotech, Inc., (Nasdaq: MBRX) ("Moleculin" or the "Company"), a clinical stage pharmaceutical company with a broad portfolio of drug candidates targeting highly resistant tumors, reported its sponsored research at MD Anderson Cancer Center has resulted in the filing of a new patent on behalf of MD Anderson Cancer Center covering the combination of its immune-stimulating/transcriptional-modulator, WP1066, with well-known immune checkpoint inhibitors (Press release, Moleculin, SEP 16, 2019, View Source [SID1234539550]).

Moleculin Biotech, Inc. is a clinical stage pharmaceutical company focused on the development of a broad portfolio of oncology drug candidates for the treatment of highly resistant tumors. (PRNewsfoto/Moleculin Biotech, Inc.)

"We had previously announced preliminary preclinical data showing beneficial therapeutic effect from WP1066 when used in combination with PDL-1 and CTLA-4 immune checkpoint inhibitors in pancreatic cancer models," commented Walter Klemp, Moleculin’s Chairman and CEO. "We are pleased to report the filing of a patent on behalf of MD Anderson Cancer Center for this new discovery that opens new potentially effective approaches to utilize check point inhibitors for treatment of pancreatic cancer and other types cancers that are unresponsive to current immunotherapies. These studies were supported by our sponsored research agreement with MD Anderson Cancer Center. Pursuant to the terms of our Sponsored Research Agreement, we intend to add this to our already diverse list of technology licenses."

Seattle Genetics and Astellas Announce U.S. FDA Grants Priority Review for Enfortumab Vedotin Biologics License Application in Locally Advanced or Metastatic Urothelial Cancer

On September 16, 2019 Seattle Genetics, Inc. (Nasdaq:SGEN) and Astellas Pharma Inc. (TSE: 4503, President and CEO: Kenji Yasukawa, Ph.D., "Astellas") reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted the Biologics License Application (BLA) for the investigational agent enfortumab vedotin and granted Priority Review for the treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer who have received a PD-1/L1 inhibitor and who have received a platinum-containing chemotherapy in the neoadjuvant/adjuvant, locally advanced or metastatic setting (Press release, Astellas, SEP 16, 2019, View Source [SID1234539549]). The filing is based on results from the first cohort of patients in the EV-201 pivotal phase 2 clinical trial that were presented as a late-breaking oral presentation at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) in June 2019. Under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA), the FDA has set a target action date of March 15, 2020. Enfortumab vedotin is a novel investigational antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) that targets Nectin-4, a protein that is highly expressed in urothelial cancers.1

The FDA granted enfortumab vedotin Breakthrough Therapy designation in March 2018, for patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer whose disease has progressed during or following checkpoint inhibitor therapy.

"The FDA’s filing of the application for enfortumab vedotin and granting of Priority Review is a significant milestone toward offering a new treatment to patients with advanced urothelial cancer who have a clear unmet need," said Roger Dansey, M.D., Chief Medical Officer at Seattle Genetics.

"If approved, enfortumab vedotin will likely play an important role in the treatment of advanced urothelial cancer, and we look forward to working with the FDA as the review process advances," said Andrew Krivoshik, M.D., Ph.D., Senior Vice President and Oncology Therapeutic Area Head at Astellas.

About the EV-201 Trial

EV-201 is an ongoing single-arm, pivotal phase 2 clinical trial of enfortumab vedotin in patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer who have been previously treated with a PD-1/L1 inhibitor, including those who have also been treated with a platinum-containing chemotherapy (cohort 1) and those who have not received a platinum-containing chemotherapy and who are ineligible for cisplatin (cohort 2). In cohort 1, 128 patients were enrolled at multiple centers internationally.2 The primary endpoint is confirmed objective response rate per blinded independent central review. Secondary endpoints include assessments of duration of response, disease control rate, progression-free survival, overall survival, safety and tolerability. EV-201 continues to enroll patients in cohort 2.

More information about enfortumab vedotin clinical trials can be found at clinical trials.gov.

About Urothelial Cancer

Urothelial cancer is the most common type of bladder cancer (90 percent of cases). In 2018, more than 82,000 people were diagnosed with bladder cancer in the United States.3 Globally, approximately 549,000 people were diagnosed with bladder cancer last year, and there were approximately 200,000 deaths worldwide.4

About Enfortumab Vedotin

Enfortumab vedotin is an investigational ADC composed of an anti-Nectin-4 monoclonal antibody attached to a microtubule-disrupting agent, MMAE, using Seattle Genetics’ proprietary linker technology. Enfortumab vedotin targets Nectin-4, a cell adhesion molecule that is expressed on many solid tumors, and that has been identified as an ADC target by Astellas.

The safety and efficacy of enfortumab vedotin are under investigation and have not been established. There is no guarantee that the agent will receive regulatory approval or become commercially available for the uses being investigated.

Onconova Therapeutics Announces Presentation on Rigosertib at the RAS-Targeted Drug Discovery Summit

On September 16, 2019 Onconova Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ONTX), a Phase 3-stage biopharmaceutical company discovering and developing novel products to treat cancer, with a focus on myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS),reported that it will present at the RAS-Targeted Drug Discovery Summit being held September 17-19 in Boston, Massachusetts (Press release, Onconova, SEP 16, 2019, View Source [SID1234539548]). Dr. Steven Fruchtman, President & CEO, will be presenting. Also attending the conference will be Avi Oler, VP Corporate Development.

ABOUT RAS AND RIGOSERTIB:

There is a high frequency of Ras mutations in cancer that leads to the belief that mutations of the Ras Pathway provide a proliferative advantage and thus is involved in the pathogenesis of cancer. As a result, targeting the Ras pathway has been the objective of scientific research for decades. As published in the journal Cell in 2016, and now under investigation in a pivotal Phase 3 Trial, rigosertib targets the mutated RAS pathway by its interaction with Ras effector proteins containing the Ras Binding Domain. The RAS-Targeted Drug Discovery Summit provides an opportunity to showcase the potential for rigosertib in MDS and in other RAS-driven cancers, such as KRAS-mutated lung cancer and colorectal cancer, and Ras- driven pediatric cancers as well. Onconova will review its INSPIRE Trial for which the Company anticipates reporting top-line data for second-line, higher-risk MDS patients in the first half of 2020 following full enrollment and 288 death events. Onconova’s representatives look forward to joining colleagues at the Summit to discuss advancements in rigosertib’s development and the progress the Company and others have made in targeting RAS.

DETAILS OF THE PRESENTATION:

Title: Rigosertib: Targeting the Ras+ Pathway and Clinical Trials in MDS and Beyond
Date/Time: Thursday, September 19th, 10:30 a.m.
Presenter: Steven M. Fruchtman, M.D.