Merck Completes Tender Offer to Acquire Immune Design

On April 2, 2019 Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, reported the successful completion of the cash tender offer, through a subsidiary, for all of the outstanding shares of common stock of Immune Design (NASDAQ: IMDZ) at a purchase price of $5.85 per share (Press release, Merck & Co, APR 2, 2019, View Source [SID1234534914]). As of the tender offer expiration, 41,970,607 shares of common stock of Immune Design were validly tendered and not withdrawn from the tender offer, representing approximately 86.75 percent of the outstanding common stock of Immune Design on a fully diluted basis. All of such shares have been accepted for payment in accordance with the terms of the tender offer, and Merck expects to promptly pay for such shares.

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Merck expects to complete the acquisition of Immune Design today through a merger of Merck’s wholly-owned subsidiary with and into Immune Design in which all shares not tendered into the offer will be canceled and converted into the right to receive cash equal to the $5.85 offer price per share without interest, less any applicable withholding taxes. Upon completion of the merger, Immune Design will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Merck and the common stock of Immune Design will cease to be traded on the NASDAQ Stock Market.

Trillium Therapeutics Expands Immuno-Oncology Pipeline With STING Agonist Program

On April 2, 2019 Trillium Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq/TSX: TRIL), a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company developing innovative therapies for the treatment of cancer, reported that it has expanded its immuno-oncology pipeline with a STING agonist program and presented preclinical data from this program at the 2019 Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) (Press release, Trillium Therapeutics, APR 2, 2019, View Source [SID1234534913]).

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STING (stimulator of interferon genes) is an adaptor protein involved in sensing cytosolic DNA that plays a key role in promoting tumor immunity. STING has recently emerged as an attractive target in immuno-oncology, though the STING agonists currently in clinical trials are based on high molecular weight cyclic dinucleotide (CDN) scaffolds that possess certain undesirable drug properties. Trillium’s AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) presentation described TTI-10001, a novel small molecule STING agonist that exhibits favorable potency, cell permeability, and tumor retention properties that could potentially overcome the common limitations of current CDN-derived STING agonists. TTI-10001 is well tolerated in mice at relevant doses after intratumoral or intravenous delivery. Upon intratumoral administration, TTI-10001 monotherapy induced complete regressions in both injected and distal tumors and protected mice from subsequent tumor challenge, demonstrating the induction of durable immunity.

"Our STING agonist program builds upon the deep expertise we have developed in innate immunity through our work on CD47 and broadens our immuno-oncology pipeline," said Dr. Niclas Stiernholm, President and CEO of Trillium Therapeutics. "STING is a promising target and we believe our compound has the potential to be a first-in class small molecule agonist."

The poster will be available in the Events & Presentations section of Trillium’s website.

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals to Present Corporate Update at the H.C. Wainwright Global Life Sciences Conference on April 9

On April 2, 2019 Spectrum Pharmaceuticals (NasdaqGS: SPPI), reported that an overview of the company’s business strategy and development-stage programs will be given at the H.C. Wainwright Global Life Sciences Conference being held in London (Press release, Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, APR 2, 2019, http://investor.sppirx.com/news-releases/news-release-details/spectrum-pharmaceuticals-present-corporate-update-hc-0 [SID1234534912]). The company presentation is on Tuesday, April 9, 2019, at 10:30 AM GMT.

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A live webcast of Spectrum’s presentation will be available at View Source

ArQule to Present at 18th Annual Needham Healthcare Conference on April 9, 2019

On April 2, 2019 ArQule, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARQL) reported that Peter Lawrence, President and Chief Operating Officer, and Dr. Marc Schegerin, Chief Financial Officer and Head of Strategy, will present at the 18th Annual Needham Healthcare Conference on April 9, 2019 at 10:00 a.m. ET at the Westin New York Grand Central in New York City (Press release, ArQule, APR 2, 2019, View Source [SID1234534911]).

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The live webcast of the presentation will be available via the "Investors & Media" section of ArQule’s website, www.arqule.com, under "Events & Presentations." A replay of the webcast will be available shortly after the conclusion of the presentation.

Verastem Oncology to Present at the H.C. Wainwright Global Life Sciences Conference

On April 2, 2019 Verastem, Inc. (Nasdaq:VSTM) (Verastem Oncology or the Company), focused on developing and commercializing medicines to improve the survival and quality of life of cancer patients, reported that the Company will present at the H.C. Wainwright Global Life Sciences Conference on Tuesday, April 9, 2019 at 11:50 a.m. BST in London, UK (Press release, Verastem, APR 2, 2019, View Source;p=irol-newsArticle&ID=2393128 [SID1234534910]).

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A live webcast of the presentation will be available on the investors section of the Company’s website at www.verastem.com. An archived presentation will be available for 90 days.