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STORM Therapeutics Extends Series A Round to Include New Investor Taiho Ventures

On January 8, 2018 STORM Therapeutics, the leading drug discovery company focused on small molecule therapies modulating RNA modifying enzymes, reported that it has raised an additional £4 million of funding from Taiho Ventures, LLC the strategic corporate venture capital arm of Taiho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd (Press release, STORM Therapeutics, JAN 8, 2018, View Source [SID1234561046]). This is an addition to the £12 million Series A Financing announced in June 2016. Taiho Ventures joins the existing blue chip investor syndicate of Merck Ventures, Cambridge Innovation Capital, Pfizer Venture Investments and Touchstone Innovations with an equal size of investment. Sakae Asanuma, President of Taiho Ventures, joins STORM Therapeutics’ Board of Directors.

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Following encouraging progress to date, the financing will enable STORM Therapeutics to expand and accelerate its pipeline, pursue emerging therapeutic opportunities, and build a broader drug discovery platform encompassing new drug targets from additional academic collaborators and its scientific founders.

Commenting on the fundraising, Keith Blundy, CEO of STORM Therapeutics, said: "We are pleased to welcome Taiho Ventures to our existing investor syndicate. This extended investment represents further validation and support of our strategy to harness the power of RNA epigenetics as a new area of important biology. As the first company tackling disease through modulating RNA modifying enzymes, we believe we are well positioned to build a world leading company."
Sakae Asanuma, President of Taiho Ventures, added: "We are excited to join this experienced management team and investor syndicate to help STORM Therapeutics fulfil its ambition to become the leading therapeutics company in RNA epigenetic modulation. Our strategy is to invest globally in companies that discover and develop innovative first-in-class therapeutic products that demonstrate a clear potential to benefit cancer patients, and as our first investment in Europe we believe that STORM’s innovative approach has the potential to significantly improve the way the world treats cancer."

Oncoceutics Extends IP Coverage to Japan with New Patent Covering All Cancers

On January 8, 2018 Oncoceutics, Inc. reported that the Japanese Patent Office (JPO) has issued Japanese Patent No. 6132833 for the use of ONC201 to treat all cancers or patients having a risk of cancer, including brain, colon, breast, colorectal cancers, and glioblastoma (Press release, Oncoceutics, JAN 8, 2018, https://oncoceutics.com/oncoceutics-extends-ip-coverage-japan-new-patent-covering-cancers/ [SID1234558374]). The claims issued also include the use of ONC201 when administered in conjunction with another anticancer agent and 25 routes of administration, including oral administration.

This is the first patent issued outside the United States covering ONC201. This patent, combined with issued patents for ONC201 formulation and use in combination with other therapies, as well as FDA regulatory designations that ONC201 has received, provides ONC201 with a robust suite of intellectual property.

ONC201, a member of the imipridone family, has demonstrated anti-cancer activity and safety in preclinical models and ongoing clinical trials, including a trial for various solid and liquid tumors. Oncoceutics has also received patents covering its next generation of imipridones, namely ONC206 and ONC212.

"We are delighted that the Japanese Patent Office has recognized these indications as novel uses of ONC201 and granted these broad patent protections in such an important market," said Martin Stogniew, Ph.D., Chief Development Officer of Oncoceutics. "The company’s current patent estate gives Oncoceutics more than 15 years of patent protection for the vast majority of human cancers, including tumor types where ONC201 is currently in Phase II trials."

Critical Outcome Technologies Changes Name to Cotinga Pharmaceuticals

On January 8, 2018 Critical Outcome Technologies Inc. (TSX VENTURE:COT)(OTCQB:COTQF) ("COTI" or the "Company"), a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company advancing a pipeline of targeted therapies for the treatment of cancer, reported a name change from "Critical Outcome Technologies Inc." to "Cotinga Pharmaceuticals Inc (Press release, Critical Outcome Technologies, JAN 8, 2018, View Source [SID1234533160])." The effective date of the name change, approved by shareholders in December 2017, is expected to be January 10, 2018.

This new brand signifies the Company’s evolution from a technology-driven company to a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company. The name is derived from the Cotingas, one of the world’s largest and most diverse bird species, and symbolizes the Company’s focus on developing innovative therapies to treat a wide spectrum of cancers.

"We are excited to officially introduce Cotinga Pharmaceuticals," said Alison Silva, President & CEO. "After a close review of the business, we have launched a new brand that reaffirms our identity, recognizes our achievements in the clinic, and underscores our continued commitment to develop therapeutics for patients suffering from various cancers. We have made considerable progress advancing our pipeline of targeted therapies to date, and we look forward to building on this progress in the year ahead as we continue the Phase 1 trial of our lead compound, COTI-2, in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and prepare our second compound, COTI-219, for an investigational new drug (IND) submission."

BeiGene and Mirati Therapeutics Announce Exclusive License Agreement for Sitravatinib in the Asia Pacific Region

On January 8, 2018 BeiGene, Ltd. (NASDAQ: BGNE), a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing innovative molecularly targeted and immuno-oncology drugs for the treatment of cancer, and Mirati Therapeutics (NASDAQ: MRTX), a clinical-stage targeted oncology company, reported an exclusive license agreement for the development, manufacturing and commercialization of Mirati’s sitravatinib in Asia (excluding Japan), Australia, and New Zealand (Press release, Mirati, JAN 8, 2018, View Source [SID1234523062]). Mirati will retain exclusive rights for the development, manufacturing and commercialization of sitravatinib for the rest of world.

Sitravatinib is an investigational tyrosine kinase inhibitor that has demonstrated potent inhibition of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs), including TAM family receptors (TYRO3, Axl, MER), split family receptors (VEGFR2, KIT) and RET. It is being evaluated by Mirati as a single agent in a Phase 1b expansion trial in patients whose tumors harbor specific genetic alterations in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and other tumors types. Sitravatinib has shown encouraging interim results in an ongoing Phase 2 trial in combination with nivolumab in NSCLC patients who have progressed after prior treatment with a checkpoint inhibitor.

"We are delighted to enter into this exclusive clinical development and commercialization agreement for sitravantinib and look forward to working with the experienced team at Mirati. Sitravatinib is an exciting compound that has demonstrated a unique tyrosine kinase inhibition profile and promising clinical activity both as a single agent and in combination with a checkpoint inhibitor in non-small cell lung cancer. This collaboration complements our portfolio and will allow us to investigate sitravatinib in

combination with tislelizumab, our investigational anti-PD-1 antibody, in China and the rest of the licensed territory," commented John V. Oyler, Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of BeiGene.

"We are excited to begin a partnership with BeiGene, which has built a world-class global development organization with a strong presence in Asia-Pacific, as well as an established commercial organization in China. They have demonstrated an ability to enroll patients quickly in a variety of indications which will augment our development capabilities and expand the evaluation of sitravatinib to additional tumor types for patients who are checkpoint inhibitor naïve or who have been previously treated with a checkpoint inhibitor," said Charles M. Baum, M.D., Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Mirati Therapeutics.

Under the agreement Mirati will receive an upfront cash payment of $10 million from BeiGene. Additionally, Mirati is eligible to receive up to $123 million of additional payments based upon the achievement of certain development, regulatory and sales milestones as well as significant royalties on future sales of sitravatinib in the licensed territory.

Incyte and Syros Announce Global Target Discovery and Validation Collaboration Focused on Myeloproliferative Neoplasms

On January 8, 2018 Incyte Corporation (NASDAQ:INCY) and Syros Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SYRS) reported that the companies have entered into a target discovery, research collaboration and option agreement (Press release, Syros Pharmaceuticals, JAN 8, 2018, View Source [SID1234523027]). Under the agreement, Syros will use its proprietary gene control platform to identify novel therapeutic targets with a focus in myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), and Incyte will receive options to obtain exclusive worldwide rights to intellectual property resulting from the collaboration for up to seven validated targets. Incyte will have exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize any therapies under the collaboration that modulate those validated targets.

"The discovery and development of novel therapeutic approaches to treat MPNs is an important area of focus at Incyte," said Reid Huber, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Incyte. "Through this collaboration, we believe that Syros’ gene control platform will allow us to advance our understanding of the underlying biology of MPNs and potentially uncover new molecular targets for drug discovery."

"Our gene control platform has broad applicability across diseases," said Nancy Simonian, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Syros. "By working with Incyte, a leader in the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for MPNs, we aim to leverage the promise of our platform to benefit patients with diseases beyond our current areas of focus. Meanwhile, we can continue advancing our own pipeline to achieve our long-term goal of building a fully integrated company with therapies that make a profound difference for patients."

Terms of the Agreement

Under the terms of the agreement, Incyte will pay Syros $10 million upfront – including $2.5 million in cash and $7.5 million in prepaid research and development (R&D) – and purchase a total of $10 million in Syros common stock at $12.61 per share.

Should Incyte exercise all of its options under the agreement, Syros could receive up to $54 million from Incyte in target selection and option exercise fees. For products resulting from the collaboration against each of the up to seven selected and validated targets, Syros could receive up to $50 million in development and regulatory milestones, as well as up to $65 million in commercial milestones. Syros would also be eligible to receive low single-digit royalties on sales of products resulting from the collaboration.

The transaction is effective immediately.

About Incyte Corporation

Incyte Corporation is a Wilmington, Delaware-based biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of proprietary therapeutics. For additional information on Incyte, please visit the Company’s website at www.incyte.com.

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