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Recognition of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) of the Liver Protective Effect of Can-Fite’s anti-Cancer Drug Namodenoson

On December 30, 2024 Can-Fite BioPharma Ltd. (NYSE American: CANF) (TASE: CANF), a biotechnology company advancing a pipeline of proprietary small molecule drugs that address Oncology and Inflammatory diseases, reported that its work titled "The Liver Protective Effect of the anti-Cancer Drug Candidate Namodenoson is Mediated via Adiponectin" will be presented at the 2025 ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium to take place at San Francisco & On Line, January 23-25 (Press release, Can-Fite BioPharma, DEC 30, 2024, View Source [SID1234649355]).

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Currently, Namodenoson is being evaluated in a pivotal Phase 3 multinational registrational trial for the treatment of advanced liver cancer (Hepatocellular Carcinoma; HCC). Interestingly, Namodenoson has also completely cleared cancer in an HCC patient who was enrolled in Can-Fite’s Phase 2b HCC trial. The patient continues to be treated through a compassionate use program in Romania, where she remains cancer-free for more than 8 years following her first dose of Namodenoson.

The uniqueness of Namodenoson is that beyond its anti-cancer activity, it also induces a liver-protective effect. The latter is manifested by anti-steatosis, anti-inflammatory, anti-fibrotic, and anti-ischemic effects in the liver. Can-Fite researchers also found that the molecular mechanism of the protective effect is mediated via adiponectin protein, a positive cytokine released by adipocytes and endothelial cells in the body, known to induce liver-, cardio-, and neuro-protective effects.

Namodenoson has received significant acknowledgment in the scientific and medical communities, as evidenced by the numerous peer-reviewed publications and conferences, in which it has been published and presented.

"Our Phase 3 registrational trial is designed to treat patients who have tried, yet not benefitted from the few other FDA-approved HCC treatments on the market today. In distinction from these drugs which induce liver toxicity on top of their anti-cancer effect, Namodenoson has the advantage of having a liver-protective effect and therefore can be administered to patients with advanced disease," stated Can-Fite CSO & Chairperson Dr. Pnina Fishman. We are hopeful that Namodenoson, with its liver-protective properties, can safely prolong life for advanced liver cancer patients."

About Namodenoson

Namodenoson is a small orally bioavailable drug that binds with high affinity and selectivity to the A3 adenosine receptor (A3AR). Namodenoson was evaluated in Phase II trials for two indications, as a second line treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma, and as a treatment for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). A3AR is highly expressed in diseased cells whereas low expression is found in normal cells. This differential effect accounts for the excellent safety profile of the drug.

CEL-SCI Announces Pricing of $5 Million Public Offering

On December 29, 2024 CEL-SCI Corporation ("CEL-SCI" or the "Company") (NYSE American: CVM), a Phase 3 cancer immunotherapy company, reported the pricing of a best-efforts public offering of 16,130,000 shares of its common stock (or pre-funded warrants ("Pre-Funded Warrants") in lieu thereof). Each share of common stock (or Pre-Funded Warrant) is being sold at a public offering price of $0.31 per share (inclusive of the Pre-Funded Warrant exercise price) (Press release, Cel-Sci, DEC 29, 2024, View Source [SID1234649353]). Total gross proceeds from the offering, before deducting the placement agent’s fees and other offering expenses, are expected to be approximately $5,000,000. The offering is expected to close on December 31, 2024, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to fund the continued development of Multikine, general corporate purposes, and working capital.

ThinkEquity is acting as sole placement agent for the offering.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

IDEAYA Biosciences Enters Exclusive License with Hengrui Pharma for SHR-4849, a Novel Phase 1 DLL3 Topo-I-Payload ADC Targeting SCLC and NET Solid Tumors

ON December 29, 2024 IDEAYA Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: IDYA), a precision medicine oncology company committed to the discovery and development of targeted therapeutics, reported that it has entered into an exclusive license agreement for SHR-4849, a novel DLL3-targeting Topo-I-payload ADC program with Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. (Hengrui Pharma, SHA: 600276), an innovative global pharmaceutical company headquartered in China focused on unmet clinical needs (Press release, Ideaya Biosciences, DEC 29, 2024, View Source [SID1234649352]). Under the terms of the agreement, IDEAYA will develop and commercialize SHR-4849 worldwide outside of Greater China.

"There is significant unmet medical need in DLL3-expressing solid tumors, and we are excited by the opportunity to develop SHR-4849, which has monotherapy potential in SCLC and NETs. SHR-4849 is competitively well positioned with first-in-class potential in the DLL3 topo-I-payload ADC field, a therapeutic area that has demonstrated preliminary monotherapy clinical validation in SCLC," said Yujiro S. Hata, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, IDEAYA Biosciences. "In addition, SHR-4849 accelerates IDEAYA’s strategic objective to develop rational clinical combinations of topo-payload based ADCs with our PARG inhibitor IDE161, where we observe enhanced preclinical combination efficacy versus evaluated topo-payload ADCs alone," said Daniel A. Simon, Chief Business Officer, IDEAYA Biosciences.

Frank Jiang, Chief Strategy Officer and Board Director, Hengrui Pharma, said "SHR-4849 is a novel DLL3 targeting ADC showing encouraging early clinical signals in small-cell lung cancer with a manageable safety profile. We are delighted to partner with IDEAYA to support the development of this ADC globally, which furthers our goal of delivering innovative medicines for the benefit of patients around the world."

SHR-4849 has shown promising antitumor activity in preclinical studies, including tumor regression as a monotherapy in multiple models. This drug is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1 clinical trial for advanced solid tumors in China (NCT06443489). In the ongoing Phase 1 dose escalation, SHR-4849 has reached therapeutic dose levels where multiple partial responses have been observed as of the data cut-off date of December 10, 2024. Among 11 evaluable small cell lung cancer (SCLC) subjects treated at therapeutic dose levels, 8 partial responses by RECIST 1.1 were observed, resulting in an overall response rate of ~73% (including both confirmed and unconfirmed responses, all unconfirmed responses were pending further evaluation). As of the data cut-off date, treatment related adverse events (TRAEs) were predominantly Grade 1 or 2, and the Phase 1 dose escalation is ongoing with no reported drug-related discontinuations, and the maximum tolerated dose has not yet been reached. The most common TRAEs observed were white blood cell count decreased, anemia, neutrophil count decreased, nausea and platelet count decreased.

IDEAYA is targeting to file a US IND for SHR-4849 in the first half of 2025.

DLL3 has been reported to be expressed in multiple solid tumor types, including in SCLC and Neuroendocrine Tumors at approximately 85% and 20-40%, respectively, based on the Human Protein Atlas database. DLL3 has limited extracellular expression in normal tissues, making it a promising therapeutic target in these tumor types, for which there remains significant unmet medical need.

Under the terms of the agreement, Hengrui Pharma is eligible to receive upfront and milestone payments totaling $1.045 billion, including a $75m upfront fee, up to $200m in development and regulatory milestone payments, plus commercial success-based milestones. Hengrui is also eligible to receive mid-single to low-double digit royalties on net sales outside of Greater China. The upfront and projected research and development costs, including potential milestone payments, does not change the earlier provided IDEAYA guided cash out runway of at least 2028.

Alphamab Oncology Announced Anti-HER2 Bispecific ADC JSKN003 Received Approval from CDE to Initiate a Phase III Clinical Study for Ovarian Cancer

On December 27, 2024 Alphamab Oncology (stock code: 9966.HK) reported that anti-HER2 bispecific antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) JSKN003 has received approval from the Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) of the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) to initiate a Phase III clinical study (study number: JSKN003-306). The study aims to compare the efficacy of JSKN003 versus investigator-selected chemotherapy for the treatment of platinum-resistant recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer, primary peritoneal cancer, or fallopian tube cancer.

Ovarian cancer (OC) ranks as the third most common gynecologic malignancy in China and continues to show a rising incidence, with the highest mortality rate among all malignant gynecologic tumors. The standard treatment regimens recommended by authoritative guidelines both domestically and internationally include surgery combined with platinum-based chemotherapy and targeted therapy maintenance. However, about 70% of OC cases recur after treatment and progress to platinum-resistant ovarian cancer (PROC), leaving patients with limited effective treatment options and poor prognosis. The 2024 NCCN guideline recommend non-platinum cytotoxic drugs and targeted monotherapy as the preferred treatment option for patients with PROC. Previous studies have shown that the objective response rate (ORR) of PROC treated with non-platinum chemotherapy alone is only 4% to 13%, while the ORR for non-platinum chemotherapy combined with targeted therapy is merely 10% to 30%, highlighting an urgent need for new treatment options.

JSKN003 is an anti-HER2 bispecific ADC, which is developed inhouse with Alphamab’s proprietary Glycan-specific conjugation platform. Multiple clinical studies of JSKN003 are currently being conducted in Australia and China. Clinical research results have demonstrated favorable tolerability and safety profile, with promising efficacy of JSKN003 in heavily pretreated patients with advanced solid tumors. Data from two Phase I clinical studies of JSKN003 for the treatment of PROC presented at the 2024 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) (Free ESMO Whitepaper) Congress indicated that JSKN003 monotherapy showed promising efficacy signals in patients with advanced PROC, and the efficacy was observed across patients with or without HER2 expression, prior bevacizumab treatment, prior PARP inhibitor treatment, and whether they were primary platinum-resistant.

JSKN003-306 is a randomized, open-label, parallel-controlled, multi-center Phase III clinical study for the all-comer population with platinum-resistant recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer, primary peritoneal cancer, or fallopian tube cancer who have received 1-4 lines of prior treatment. The study aims to compare the efficacy and safety of JSKN003 versus investigator-selected chemotherapy in this patient population.

About JSKN003

JSKN003 is an anti-HER2 bispecific antibody-drug conjugate (bis-ADC), which is developed inhouse with Alphamab’s proprietary Glycan-specific conjugation platform. JSKN003 can bind HER2 on the surface of tumor cells and release topoisomerase I inhibitors (TOPIi) through cellular endocytosis, thereby exert anti-tumor effects. Compared with its ADC counterparts, JSKN003 demonstrated better serum stability and stronger bystander effect, which effectively expands the therapeutic window.

Multiple clinical studies at various stages of JSKN003 are currently being conducted in China and Australia. Clinical research results have demonstrated favorable tolerability and safety profile, with promising efficacy of JSKN003 in heavily pretreated patients with advanced solid tumors, especially in patients with HER2-expressing breast cancer, platinum-resistant ovarian cancer (PROC) or high HER2-expressing solid tumors.

In September 2024, the Company entered a licensing agreement with JMT-Bio Technology Co., Ltd. ("JMT-Bio"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd. ("CSPC") (stock code: 1093.HK), pursuant to which, JMT-Bio was granted the exclusive license and sublicense rights to develop, sell, offer for sale and commercialize JSKN003, for the treatment of tumor-related indications (the "Field") in mainland China (excluding Hong Kong, Macau or Taiwan) (the "Territory") and become the sole marketing authorization holder for JSKN003 for the Field in the Territory. Alphamab retains the sole right to supply JSKN003.

(Press release, Alphamab, DEC 27, 2024, View Source [SID1234657008])

CEL-SCI Announces Proposed Public Offering of Common Stock

On December 27, 2024 CEL-SCI Corporation ("CEL-SCI" or the "Company") (NYSE American: CVM), a clinical stage cancer immunotherapy company, reported that it intends to offer to sell shares of its common stock (and/or pre-funded warrants in lieu thereof) in a best efforts public offering (Press release, Cel-Sci, DEC 27, 2024, View Source [SID1234649336]). The offering is subject to market conditions and there can be no assurance as to whether or when the offering may be completed, or as to the actual size or terms of the offering.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds from this offering to fund the continued development of Multikine*, for general corporate purposes, and working capital.

ThinkEquity is acting as sole placement agent for the offering.

The securities will be offered and sold pursuant to a shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-265995), including a base prospectus, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on July 1, 2022 and declared effective on July 15, 2022. The offering will be made only by means of a written prospectus. A preliminary prospectus supplement and accompanying base prospectus describing the terms of the offering has been or will be filed with the SEC on its website at www.sec.gov. Copies of the preliminary prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus relating to the offering may also be obtained from the offices of ThinkEquity, 17 State Street, 41st Floor, New York, New York 10004. Before investing in this offering, interested parties should read in their entirety the preliminary prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus and the other documents that the Company has filed with the SEC that are incorporated by reference in such preliminary prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, which provide more information about the Company and such offering.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.