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Diffusion Pharmaceuticals Announces Strategic Review Process to Evaluate Value-Enhancing Alternatives including Opportunities to Better Leverage TSC

On October 25, 2022 Diffusion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: DFFN) ("Diffusion" or the "Company"), a biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapies that may enhance the body’s ability to deliver oxygen to areas where it is needed most, reported that its Board of Directors (the "Board") has authorized a thorough review and evaluation of a range of potential strategic opportunities in the interest of enhancing stockholder value including transactional opportunities to better leverage the potential of trans sodium crocetinate ("TSC") and the Company’s other assets (Press release, Diffusion Pharmaceuticals, OCT 25, 2022, View Source [SID1234622340]).

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As part of the Company’s previously disclosed, ongoing efforts to identify acquisition and partnership transactions that complement, supplement or de-risk the Company’s current development programs and the Board’s commitment to enhancing stockholder value, the Board has determined to expand its evaluation to a broader range of options which could include a joint venture, licensing, sale or divestiture of some of the Company’s proprietary technologies or a sale of the Company, in addition to the previously announced opportunities under consideration. The Company has retained Canaccord Genuity LLC as its financial advisor and Dechert LLP as its legal counsel to assist in the review process.

"Over the past two years, we have obtained encouraging data on the potential effects of TSC on oxygenation, including the results of our Altitude, TCOM, and COVID-19 Trials. We continue to believe TSC has potential benefits for patients, particularly as an adjuvant treatment to standard of care therapy for hypoxic solid tumors, like glioblastoma multiforme," said Robert J. Cobuzzi, Jr., Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Diffusion. "We continue to seek opportunities to leverage our cash position and the significant skills and experience of our team to opportunistically identify novel product candidates that may deliver additional value for our stockholders. This includes strategic transactions that may increase the likelihood of TSC’s successful development and simultaneously allow for a more effective and efficient use of our other resources."

There is no timeline for this review and there is no assurance that the Board’s review will result in any transaction being consummated. Diffusion does not intend to comment on the process or make further disclosures until it determines an update is appropriate.

Recursion Announces $150 Million Private Placement to New and Existing Investors, led by Kinnevik AB

On October 25, 2022 Recursion (NASDAQ: RXRX), the clinical-stage biotechnology company industrializing drug discovery by decoding biology, reported that it has entered into a stock purchase agreement for the sale of an aggregate of approximately 15.3 million shares of its Class A common stock in a private placement, led by Kinnevik AB, with participation by Baillie Gifford, Mubadala Investment Company, Laurion Capital Management, Invus, and Platinum Asset Management (Press release, Recursion Pharmaceuticals, OCT 25, 2022, View Source [SID1234622339]). The price per share of $9.80 reflects an approximate 7% discount to the volume weighted average share price of Recursion’s Class A common stock over the five trading days ended on October 24, 2022.

Gross proceeds of the private placement are expected to be approximately $150 million, led by Kinnevik with a $75 million investment, before deducting placement agent fees and other expenses payable by Recursion. Morgan Stanley is acting as lead placement agent for the private placement. Berenberg, KeyBanc Capital Markets and Needham & Company are acting as co-placement agents for the private placement.

Recursion currently intends to use the net proceeds from this private placement, together with existing cash and cash equivalents, for general corporate purposes, which may include strategic investments in advancing of existing clinical and preclinical programs, including Recursion’s new clinical program in AXIN1/APC mutant cancers with an initial focus in hepatocellular carcinoma and ovarian cancer for which a Phase 2 trial is being planned, digital chemistry technologies, automated chemical microsynthesis technologies, industrialized validation and translation, and scientific and technical personnel as well as runway extension and other purposes.

"We are proud to be supported by this esteemed group of new and existing investors, and delighted to welcome Kinnevik, who have joined us in our mission as company-building thought partners," said Christopher Gibson, Ph.D., co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Recursion. "This investment shows conviction in our approach as a leader within technology-enabled drug discovery across our pipeline, partnerships, and massive relatable datasets which ultimately enables us to create a more efficient path to new and better medicines."

Natalie Tydeman, Senior Investment Director at Kinnevik commented: "Recursion’s mission to decode biology to radically improve lives fits squarely into Kinnevik’s strategy of backing challengers that leverage disruptive technology to upend whole industries, and builds on Kinnevik’s successful track record of healthcare investing. We look forward to being long-term partners to Recursion’s visionary and ambitious management team on its journey to advance the future of medicine."

The securities being issued and sold in the private placement have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), or any state’s securities laws, and are being issued and sold pursuant to an exemption from registration provided for under the

Securities Act. The securities may not be offered or sold in the United States, except pursuant to an effective registration statement or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act. Recursion has agreed to file a registration statement (or a prospectus supplement to an effective registration statement on Form S-3ASR) with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") registering the resale of the shares of its Class A common stock issued and sold in the private placement. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities described herein, 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 the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

INOVIO to Report Third Quarter 2022 Financial Results on November 8, 2022

On October 25, 2022 INOVIO (NASDAQ: INO), a biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing DNA medicines to help treat and prevent infectious diseases, cancer, and diseases associated with HPV, reported that third quarter 2022 financial results will be released after the market close on November 8, 2022 (Press release, Inovio, OCT 25, 2022, View Source [SID1234622337]). Following the release, INOVIO will host a live conference call and webcast at 4:30 p.m. ET to discuss financial results and provide a general business update.

A live and archived version of the audio presentation will be available online at View Source This is a listen-only event but will include a live Q&A with analysts.

Immix Biopharma to Present Milestones Achieved to Enable Kick-Off of 2 IMX-110 Clinical Trials at the 2022 ThinkEquity Conference on October 26

On October 25, 2022 Immix Biopharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: IMMX) ("ImmixBio", "Company", "We" or "Us"), a biopharmaceutical company pioneering Tissue-Specific Therapeutics (TSTx) targeting oncology and immuno-dysregulated diseases, reported that Chief Executive Officer Ilya Rachman, MD, PhD, and Chief Financial Officer Gabriel Morris will present a company overview and milestones achieved to enable kick-off of 2 IMX-110 clinical trials at the ThinkEquity Conference at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in New York, New York on Wednesday, October 26, 2022 at 2:00 PM ET (Press release, Immix Biopharma, OCT 25, 2022, View Source [SID1234622336]).

Presentation date and time: October 26, 2022, 2:00 PM ET
View the live presentation: View Source
Presentation Topic: ImmixBio Milestones Achieved to Enable Kick-off of 2 IMX-110 Clinical Trials
A live webcast of the presentation will be available on the Events & Presentations page located within the Investor Relations section of the ImmixBio website at View Source for approximately 90 days following the presentation.

"I am pleased with the level of investor interest in Immix Biopharma after we announced in October that IMX-110 clinical trial data is expected to be released on a rolling basis beginning in Q1 2023," said Ilya Rachman, MD, PhD. "Since then, we have fielded additional inbound industry interest in ImmixBio. We are especially excited about our upcoming combination trial of IMX-110 with BeiGene / Novartis’ anti-PD-1, tislelizumab. I am looking forward to presenting milestones we have achieved to enable kick-off of 2 IMX-110 clinical trials at the upcoming ThinkEquity conference."

Cullinan Oncology Significantly Increases Ownership Stake in its MICA Subsidiary which Holds Worldwide Rights to Clinical-Stage Novel Monoclonal Antibody CLN-619

On October 25, 2022 Cullinan Oncology, Inc. (Nasdaq: CGEM), a biopharmaceutical company focused on modality-agnostic targeted oncology, reported that it has increased its ownership in its Cullinan MICA, Inc. (MICA) subsidiary from 54% to 92% (Press release, Cullinan Oncology, OCT 25, 2022, View Source [SID1234622335]). MICA holds the worldwide rights to CLN-619, an antibody that restores the MICA/MICB pathway to promote tumor cell lysis from both cytotoxic innate and adaptive immune cells. CLN-619 is being investigated as both monotherapy and in combination with checkpoint inhibitor therapy in an ongoing Phase I study in patients with advanced solid tumors. Cullinan increased its ownership by purchasing equity from two of MICA’s financial investors, Avalon Ventures and Bregua Corporation, for $30.7 million. The Myeloma Investment Fund, a venture philanthropy fund for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF), maintained its ownership in the entity.

"Cullinan Oncology has acquired additional ownership in the MICA subsidiary as part of our overall strategy to deploy our robust financial resources for pipeline investment, acceleration, and expansion," said Nadim Ahmed, Chief Executive Officer of Cullinan Oncology. "This investment recognizes the strategic importance of CLN-619 in our portfolio as a key asset with first-in-class potential and strong rationale for development in a broad range of cancer indications. We are excited by the potential of this unique approach to cancer treatment, and we remain committed to our mission to create new standards of care for patients with cancer."

"One of the hallmarks of cancer is the ability to avoid destruction by immune cells. CLN-619 is designed to overcome immune evasion by promoting NK cell-mediated tumor cell lysis and facilitating engagement of certain classes of T-cells. This differentiated mechanism activates both the innate and adaptive immune system, providing strong rationale to target the MICA/MICB pathway as a novel approach with potential to treat patients with cancer," said Jeff Jones, MD, MPH, MBA, Chief Medical Officer, Cullinan Oncology. "Given MICA/MICB are broadly expressed across tumor types, we are committed to investigating CLN-619 across a range of malignancies, and we look forward to reporting initial clinical data from our ongoing Phase I clinical study in mid-2023."

About CLN-619

CLN-619 is a humanized IgG1 monoclonal antibody that binds to MICA and MICB, ligands expressed on a wide variety of hematological and solid tumors that are recognized by both cytotoxic innate and adaptive immune cells via their NKG2D receptors. To evade lysis by these immune cells, tumor cells shed MICA/MICB from their cell surface. CLN-619 promotes an antitumor response through multiple potential mechanisms of action, including prevention of the proteolytic cleavage of MICA/MICB from cancer cells, antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC), and enhancement of MICA/MICB binding to NKG2D. Multiple studies evaluating serum samples from cancer patients have demonstrated that high serum levels of shed MICA correlate with poor prognosis. CLN-619 is being studied in an ongoing Phase I dose escalation and expansion trial both as a monotherapy and in combination with pembrolizumab. The study design allows dose level extensions as well as expansion in tumor specific cohorts. The trial was initiated in December 2021, and initial clinical data is anticipated in mid-2023.