On November 8, 2018 ADC Therapeutics, an oncology drug discovery and development company that specializes in the development of proprietary antibody drug conjugates (ADCs), reported it will present two posters highlighting preclinical data and the Phase Ib clinical trial design for ADCT-301 (camidanlumab tesirine) in advanced solid tumors at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) (Free SITC Whitepaper)’s (SITC) (Free SITC Whitepaper) 33rd Annual Meeting, which is being held November 7-11 in Washington, DC (Press release, ADC Therapeutics, NOV 8, 2018, View Source [SID1234596074]).

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Jay Feingold, MD, PhD, Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President of Clinical Development at ADC Therapeutics, said, "ADCT-301 is already being evaluated in relapsed and refractory Hodgkin lymphoma, and at the 2018 American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) Annual Meeting we will be updating our abstract data from June, at which time we had an overall response rate of 80.8 percent with a complete response rate of 50 percent in median 6th line patients. Based on the immune-oncology potential ADCT-301 demonstrated in preclinical studies, we are excited to be starting a clinical trial for ADCT-301 in solid tumors to see if we can make an impact and improve patient outcomes in multiple solid tumor cancers."

Patrick van Berkel, PhD, Senior Vice President of Research and Development at ADC Therapeutics, said, "ADCT-301 targets CD25, which is expressed on Tregs that infiltrate the local tumor environment. In preclinical models, a single dose of the CD25-targeted ADC induced strong and durable anti-tumor activity against established CD25 negative solid tumors with infiltrating Tregs. Moreover, re-challenged mice did not develop new tumors indicating the CD25-targeted ADC was able to induce tumor-specific protective immunity."

ADC Therapeutics’ posters will be located in Poster Hall E in the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. The Poster Hall will be open Friday, November 9 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday, November 10 from 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. EST. Details of the posters are below.

Abstract Poster Number: P11
Title: A CD25 targeted pyrrolobenzodiazepine dimer-based antibody-drug conjugate shows potent anti-tumor activity in pre-clinical models of solid tumors either alone or in combination with a PD-1 inhibitor
Presentation Date and Time: Friday, November 9, 12:45-2:15 p.m. and 6:30-8 p.m. EST
Presenter: Francesca Zammarchi, PhD, ADC Therapeutics

Abstract Poster Number: P316
Title: Phase 1b dose-escalation and dose-expansion study to evaluate safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and antitumor activity of ADCT-301 (camidanlumab tesirine) in patients with advanced solid tumors
Presentation Date and Time: Saturday, November 10, 12:20-1:50 p.m. and 7-8:30 p.m. EST
Presenter: Francesca Zammarchi, PhD, ADC Therapeutics

For more information about the SITC (Free SITC Whitepaper) 2018 Annual Meeting, please visit View Source

About ADCT-301

ADCT-301 (camidanlumab tesirine) is an antibody drug conjugate (ADC) composed of a monoclonal antibody that binds to CD25 (HuMax-TAC, licensed from Genmab A/S), conjugated to the pyrrolobenzodiazepine (PBD) dimer payload tesirine. Once bound to a CD25-expresing cell, ADCT-301 is internalized into the cell where enzymes release the PBD-based warhead. The intra-tumor release of its PBD warhead may cause bystander killing of neighboring tumor cells. In addition, the PBD warhead will trigger immunogenic cell death, which in turn will strengthen the immune response against tumor cells. ADCT-301 is being evaluated in a Phase Ib clinical trial in solid tumors (NCT03621982), as well as ongoing Phase Ia/Ib clinical trials in patients with relapsed or refractory Hodgkin lymphoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NCT02432235).

On November 8, 2018 Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: SRNE), a clinical-stage immunotherapy biotech company, reported the closing of a debt financing for up to $150 million (Press release, Sorrento Therapeutics, NOV 8, 2018, View Source [SID1234532262]). The financing is being provided by funds and accounts managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. ("Oaktree"), a leading global investment firm. An affiliate of Oaktree is the sole administrative agent and collateral agent for the financing and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC served as the sole placement agent for the transaction.

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"With this financing, we believe we now have adequate funding for up to the next two years, enabling us to bring several of our key clinical programs in the CAR-T and non-opioid pain management space to FDA approvals and potential commercialization," said Henry Ji, Ph.D., Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Additionally, with encouraging data readout from our ongoing Anti-CEA trial for liver metastases among pancreatic cancer patients and our recently initiated Anti-CD38 CAR-T trial for multiple myeloma cancer patients, we are optimistic about potential collaborations with strategic partners."

Building off its industry-leading fully human antibody G-MAB library, a wide array of innovative technologies such as the Sofusa lymphatics delivery system, and multi-site multi-modality cGMP facilities, Sorrento continues to expand and advance its robust clinical product pipeline.

The financing is a senior secured five-year term loan, with the first tranche of $100 million already funded and an additional tranche of $50 million available subject to Sorrento’s achievement of certain business milestones in the next nine to twelve months.

On November 8, 2018 Merus N.V. (Nasdaq:MRUS), a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company developing innovative bispecific antibody therapeutics (Biclonics), reported that Ton Logtenberg, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Merus, will present a company overview at the Jefferies 2018 London Healthcare Conference on Thursday, November 15, 2018, at 3:20 p.m. GMT (Press release, Merus, NOV 8, 2018, View Source;p=RssLanding&cat=news&id=2376165 [SID1234532116]).

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A live webcast of the presentation will be available on the Investors and Media page of the Company’s website, View Source A replay of the presentation will be archived and available on the Merus website site for a limited time following the event.

On November 8, 2018 Coherus BioSciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: CHRS), reported financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2018 (Press release, Coherus Biosciences, NOV 8, 2018, View Source/news-releases/news-release-details/coherus-biosciences-reports-corporate-highlights-and-third" target="_blank" title="View Source/news-releases/news-release-details/coherus-biosciences-reports-corporate-highlights-and-third" rel="nofollow">View Source [SID1234531695]).

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Third Quarter 2018 and Recent Corporate Highlights Include:

On September 25, 2018, the European Commission (EC) approved UDENYCA by granting marketing authorization in all European Union member states.
On November 2, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved UDENYCA (pegfilgrastim-cbqv) for patients with cancer receiving myelosuppressive chemotherapy. UDENYCA is Coherus’ first drug to receive FDA or EC approval.
In preparation for a comprehensive launch of UDENYCA, Coherus completed the hiring of about 70 sales representatives covering seven territories as well as the hiring of other personnel for our commercial groups and teams.
Third Quarter 2018 Financial Results:
Research and development (R&D) expenses for the third quarter of 2018 were $31.6 million compared to $42.6 million for the same period in 2017. R&D expenses for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 were $83.6 million, as compared to $130.9 million for the same period in 2017. The decreases in R&D expenses were mainly due to the completion of our clinical trials and related manufacturing for the immunology biosimilar drug candidates, CHS-1420 (adalimumab (Humira) biosimilar) and CHS-0214 (etanercept (Enbrel) biosimilar). These cost decreases were partially offset by the costs associated with the manufacturing of UDENYCA.
General and administrative (G&A) expenses for the third quarter of 2018 were $25.4 million, compared to $14.0 million for the same period in 2017. G&A expenses for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 were $60.3 million, as compared to $56.3 million for the same period in 2017. The increases in G&A expenses in 2018 were mainly attributable to the costs associated with hiring a sales force and completing the commercial infrastructure to launch and sell UDENYCA in the U.S.
Net loss attributable to Coherus for the third quarter of 2018 was ($58.8) million, or ($0.87) per share, compared to a net loss of ($59.0) million, or ($1.09) per share, for the same period in 2017.
Cash and cash equivalents and investments in marketable securities – totaled $117.2 million as of September 30, 2018, compared to $159.8 million as of June 30, 2018. Cash use in operations of $42.8 million during the third quarter of 2018 was lower than guidance of $48 to $53 million.

Guidance for next twelve months from September 30, 2018:
UDENYCA (pegfilgrastim-cbqv), Neulasta biosimilar

Anticipate U.S. commercial launch in January 2019.
CHS-1420 (adalimumab (Humira) biosimilar)

Pursue manufacturing objectives in support of the anticipated filing of a 351(k) biologic license application (BLA) in the U.S. at the end of 2019.
CHS-3351 (ranibizumab (Lucentis) biosimilar) and CHS-2020 (aflibercept (Eylea) biosimilar)

Complete manufacturing technology transfer and continue clinical development of CHS-3351.
Continue preclinical development of CHS-2020.
CHS-131 (small molecule drug candidate in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis "NASH")

Anticipate initiation of Phase 2 clinical trial in NASH.
Conference Call Information

When: Thursday, November 8, 2018 at 4:30 p.m. ET

Dial-in: (844) 452-6826 (toll free) or (765) 507-2587 (International)

Conference ID: 7181479

Webcast: View Source

Please join the conference call at least 10 minutes early to register. The webcast will be archived on the Coherus website.

On November 8, 2018 Sesen Bio, Inc. (Nasdaq: SESN), a late-stage clinical company developing targeted fusion protein therapeutics for the treatment of people with cancer, reported operating results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2018 and recent highlights from its development program for Vicinium for patients with high-grade non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) (Press release, Eleven Biotherapeutics, NOV 8, 2018, View Source [SID1234531409]).

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"2018 has been a year of focused execution for Sesen Bio, led by the advancement of the Phase 3 program for Vicinium for patients with NMIBC," said Dr. Thomas Cannell, president and chief executive officer of Sesen Bio. "NMIBC is a devastating disease and there remains just one recommendation for patients who do not respond or become refractory to today’s standard-of-care treatment: complete bladder removal. Our goal is to help save this essential organ and provide a meaningful treatment option for patients with BCG-unresponsive NMIBC. Our Phase 3 registration clinical trial is well-designed and preliminary data reported earlier this year suggest that Vicinium is active and has a favorable safety profile, consistent with our Phase 2 experience. We look forward to assessing six-month data from the trial next month and twelve-month data in mid-2019. If the VISTA Trial is successful, we believe Viciniumcould change the treatment outlook for patients with NMIBC, bringing us closer to achieving our mission of saving and renewing the lives of patients with cancer."

Recent Highlights

In September 2018, at the Global Congress on Bladder Cancer 2018, Sesen Bio presented a biomarker update from its Phase 3 VISTA Trial data showing that all screened patient samples expressed EpCAM, the molecular target of Vicinium.
In October 2018, the company entered into an agreement with FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies U.S.A., Inc. to provide supply services in support of the manufacturing of Vicinium for the treatment of high-grade NMIBC. The Agreement facilitates a transfer of manufacturing technology from Sesen Bio to Fujifilm.
Upcoming Events

Sesen Bio anticipates reporting six-month data from the ongoing Phase 3 VISTA Trial in December 2018. A conference call will be held to review the data, with details to follow.
Third Quarter 2018 Financial Results

Cash Position: Cash and cash equivalents were $57.9 million as of September 30, 2018, compared to $11.3 million as of September 30, 2017.
Revenue: There was no revenue for the three-month periods ended September 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively, as no revenue triggering milestones were achieved during either period under the company’s license agreement with F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd and Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. (Roche).
R&D Expenses: Research and development expenses were $3.4 million for the three months ended September 30, 2018, compared to $3.6 million for the same period in 2017. The decrease was due primarily to a reduction in Vicinium-related development expenses.
G&A Expenses: General and administrative expenses were $3.8 million for the three months ended September 30, 2018, compared to $1.6 million for the same period in 2017. The increase was due primarily to an increase in professional fees as well as higher personnel-related expenses.
Net Loss: Net loss was $14.0 million, or $0.18 per share, for the three months ended September 30, 2018, compared to net loss of $9.1 million, or $0.37 per share, for the same period in 2017. The increase was due primarily to the change in the fair value of contingent consideration and increased general and administrative expenses.
Financial Guidance: Based on current operating plans, Sesen Bio believes it will have capital sufficient to fund its current operating plans into 2020.