Calidi Biotherapeutics Receives FDA Fast Track Designation for CLD-201 (SuperNova), a First-In-Class Stem-Cell Loaded Viral Therapy for the Treatment of Patients with Soft Tissue Sarcoma

On July 29, 2025 Calidi Biotherapeutics, Inc. ("Calidi" or the "Company") (NYSE American: CLDI), a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering the development of targeted therapies with the potential to deliver genetic medicines to distal sites of disease, reported that it received Fast Track designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for CLD-201 (SuperNova), the company’s allogeneic adipose stem-cell loaded oncolytic virus for the treatment of soft tissue sarcoma (Press release, Calidi Biotherapeutics, JUL 29, 2025, View Source [SID1234654607]).

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Fast Track designation is granted to products that are developed to treat serious or life-threatening conditions and demonstrate the potential to address unmet medical needs. This designation is intended to facilitate development and expedite review of qualifying drugs. CLD-201 will benefit from this designation through more frequent interactions with the FDA along with potential eligibility for priority review and accelerated approval.

Guy Travis Clifton, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of Calidi commented, "FDA IND clearance and Fast Track designation represents an important milestone in the development of CLD-201. This designation underscores the unmet medical need in sarcoma and provides scientific and regulatory validation of CLD-201. We believe CLD-201 has the potential to provide durable and transformational treatment to patients with sarcoma as well as patients with other advanced tumor types. We want to thank the FDA for its support and partnership and look forward to continued collaboration with the agency."

FDA Investigational New Drug (IND) clearance for CLD-201 was announced on April 17, 2025. The planned Phase 1 trial will be a first-in-human, open-label, multicenter study to evaluate the safety, tolerability and efficacy of CLD-201 in sarcoma, triple-negative breast cancer, and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

About CLD-201

CLD-201 is comprised of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (AD-MSC) loaded with oncolytic vaccinia virus, for the treatment of patients with advanced solid tumors including sarcoma, triple-negative breast cancer, and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Stem-cell loading of an oncolytic virus helps protect the virus from clearance by the body’s immune system and allows virus to amplify within the stem cell, leading to an increase in potency and immune activation and enhanced efficacy in pre-clinical animal models.

RECORDATI: STRONG MOMENTUM OF THE GROUP CONTINUES IN THE FIRST HALF OF 2025 REVENUE +11.7%, EBITDA(1) +9.6%, ADJUSTED NET INCOME(2) +8.9%

On July 29, 2025 Recordati S.p.A. reported the interim financial statements as of June 30, 2025, pursuant to Art. 154-ter of Italian Legislative Decree 58/1998 and subsequent amendments, prepared in accordance with said Decree and the CONSOB Issuers Regulation (Press release, Recordati, JUL 29, 2025, View Source [SID1234654605]). The statements were prepared in accordance with International Accounting Standard (IAS) 34 requirements for interim reporting, based on the assessment, measurement and recognition criteria set by the IFRSs. The interim financial statements on June 30, 2025 – as well as the Independent Auditors’ report on such statements – will be available within the legal deadline at the company’s offices and on the company’s website (www.recordati.com) and can also be viewed on the authorized storage system 1Info(www.1Info.it).

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Rob Koremans, Chief Executive Officer of Recordati, commented: "The strong performance in the first half of 2025 reflects solid execution across the business, with robust revenue growth and disciplined cost management. The licensing and supply agreement with Amarin to commercialize Vazkepa in Europe reinforces our commitment to the SPC business and further strengthens our core Cardiovascular franchise. We believe there is much potential ahead and feel confident in our ability to deliver the financial objectives that we have set ourselves, despite increasing FX headwinds."

H1 2025 Financial highlights

Consolidated net revenue for the first half of 2025 was € 1,323.8 million, up 11.7% versus the first half of 2024 or 7.8% on a like-for-like(3) basis at CER, driven by strong business momentum across both Specialty & Primary Care and Rare Diseases. The adverse FX impact for the first half of 2025 was € 23.2 million (-2.0%).

Specialty & Primary Care revenue was € 774.4 million for the first half of 2025, up 2.6% or 5.1% at CER (+2.6% excluding Türkiye). This reflects the strong performance of all core therapeutic areas, offsetting softer performance of Cough & Cold, which partially recovered in the second quarter of 2025. In particular, the Gastrointestinal and Cardiovascular franchises grew by mid- to high-single digit rates, thanks to the strong in-market performance of several products in the portfolio, with slight growth of the Urology franchise, reflecting strong Eligard sell-in in the first half of 2024.

Rare Diseases revenue was € 515.7 million for the first half of 2025, up 29.2% as compared to the first half of 2024, or 12.8% on a like-for-like(3) basis at CER, driven by strong volume growth across all three franchises. The Endocrinology franchise achieved net revenue of € 178.2 million, an increase of 16.6%, reflecting continued strong growth of Isturisa, with over 1,000 net active patients in the U.S., and double-digit growth of Signifor. The Hema-Oncology franchise achieved net revenue of € 200.7 million, growing by 71.2%, reflecting the contribution of Enjaymo of € 69.4 million (+26.4% vs the first half of 2024 pro-forma(7)), and driven by strong growth of Sylvant and Qarziba. The Metabolic franchise achieved net revenue of € 136.8 million, growing by 5.9%, driven by Carbaglu and Panhematin.

Adjusted operating income(8) was € 394.7 million for the first half of 2025, up 7.3% as compared to the first half of 2024 and 29.8% of net revenue, reflecting amortization charges related to the Enjaymo acquisition. Operating income was € 331.0 million in the first half of 2025, down 2.2% over the first half of 2024, absorbing gross margin-related non-cash charges of € 46.9 million (versus € 27.0 million in the first half of 2024), arising mostly from the unwind of the fair value step up of the acquired Enjaymo inventory. Non-recurring costs were € 16.7 million versus € 2.4 million in the first half of 2024, mainly related to the further optimization of the SPC commercial organization in Italy and Spain (reduction of approximately 80 commercial heads).

EBITDA(1) was € 496.3 million for the first half of 2025, up 9.6% compared to the first half of 2024, with margin of 37.5% of net revenue. Strong revenue performance was partially offset by a higher level of investments to support the launch of the recently approved label extension to Cushing’s syndrome for Isturisa in the U.S. (which was granted by the FDA on April 15, 2025), the integration of Enjaymo and to support continued geographic expansion.

Financial expenses were € 46.7 million, substantially aligned to those of the same period the previous year. New loans taken out during 2024 to fund the acquisition of Enjaymo caused an increase in interest expense of € 9.4 million, while net exchange gains over the period amounted to € 7.5 million (mainly unrealized and driven by the devaluation of the U.S. dollar), against net FX losses of € 7.5 million in the first half of 2024.

Adjusted net income(2) was € 327.8 million, 24.8% of revenue, up by 8.9% compared to the same period of 2024, with higher operating performance partially offset by the increase in the tax rate (mainly following the expiry of the patent box benefit in Italy). Net income was € 216.1 million, 16.3% of net revenue, down 4.1% versus the prior year, reflecting higher gross margin-related non-cash charges arising mostly from the unwind of the fair value step up of the acquired Enjaymo inventory and higher non-cash amortization charges related to Enjaymo rights, and higher non-recurring costs.

Free cash flow(4) was € 256.8 million for the first half of 2025, substantially aligned with the first half of 2024, driven by higher EBITDA which was partially offset by working capital absorption (reflecting higher U.S. stock levels) and higher income tax paid.

Net debt(5) as of June 30, 2025 was € 2,127.1 million, or leverage of just below 2.3x EBITDA pro-forma(6), compared to net debt of € 2,154.3 million on December 31, 2024, following the May dividend payment of € 137.6 million and upfront payment for Vazkepa.

Shareholders’ equity was € 1,870.5 million.

Pipeline and Corporate Development

On April 15, 2025, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the supplemental new drug application (sNDA) for Isturisa (osilodrostat) for the treatment of endogenous hypercortisolemia in adults with Cushing’s syndrome for whom surgery is not an option or has not been curative. This was an expansion of the previous indication for the treatment of patients with Cushing’s disease, which is a sub-type of Cushing’s syndrome. The Isturisa indication expansion was supported by the extensive Isturisa clinical development program, which included over 350 patients. In addition, during the second quarter of 2025, Isturisa was granted regulatory approval in both Canada and Russia.

On April 22, 2025, Recordati received approval for Signifor LAR in China for the treatment of acromegaly, expanding its Rare Diseases portfolio in China following the prior approvals of Isturisa and Carbaglu.

On June 24, 2025, Recordati announced a licensing and supply agreement with Amarin to commercialize the marketed cardiovascular medicine, Vazkepa (icosapent ethyl) across 59 countries, focused in Europe. Vazkepa is indicated to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events in statin-treated adult patients at high cardiovascular risk with elevated triglycerides and either established cardiovascular disease or diabetes with at least one other cardiovascular risk factor. Vazkepa was approved in 2021 in the EU and UK and in 2022 in Switzerland based on the REDUCE-IT study, a Phase 3 Cardiovascular Outcomes Trial (CVOT) performed in over 8,000 patients with statistically significant and clinically meaningful results in Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events (MACE).

Vazkepa is currently commercialized in 11 European countries, generated net sales of € 12 million in 2024 and is expected to achieve over € 40 million in revenues in 2027 and to be EBITDA positive from 2026. The expected revenue in 2025 is less than € 10 million with a slightly negative impact at the EBITDA level, reflecting the commercial investments required to sustain the expected future growth. Under the terms of the agreement, Recordati paid Amarin an upfront cash payment of US$ 25 million.

During the second quarter of 2025, a clinical trial was initiated to investigate the safety, dose and early signs of effect for dinutuximab beta (Qarziba) in combination with chemotherapy for the treatment of patients with GD2-positive Ewing sarcoma.

Following the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) positive opinion earlier this year, on July 28, 2025, the European Commission issued a positive decision and granted marketing authorization, under exceptional circumstances, for Maapliv, a solution of amino acids intended for the treatment of maple syrup urine disease (MSUD) presenting with an acute decompensation episode in patients from birth who are not eligible for an oral and enteral branched-chain amino acids (BCAA)-free formulation.

The other lifecycle management programs are progressing in line with plans.

Business outlook

With a robust start to the year, and despite increased FX headwinds, the financial targets for FY 2025 as set out in February are confirmed for the year, implying double-digit growth across all key metrics:

Net revenue between € 2,600 and 2,670 million
EBITDA(1) between € 970 and 1,000 million; margin +/- 37.5%
Adjusted net income(2) between € 640 and 670 million; margin +/- 25.0%

The Group now expects FX headwinds for FY 2025 of approximately –3%, significantly higher than expected at the start of the year (-1%).

(1) Net income before income taxes, financial income and expenses, depreciation, amortization and write-downs of property, plant and equipment, intangible assets and goodwill, non-recurring items and non-cash charges arising from the allocation of the purchase price of acquisitions to the gross margin of acquired inventory as foreseen by IFRS
(2) Net income excluding amortization and write-downs of intangible assets (except software) and goodwill, non-recurring items, non-cash charges arising from the allocation of the purchase price of acquisitions to the gross margin of acquired inventory as foreseen by IFRS 3, monetary net gains/losses from hyperinflation (IAS 29), net of tax effects.
(3) Pro-forma growth calculated excluding revenue of Enjaymo for H1 2025
(4) Total cash flow excluding financing items, milestones, dividends, purchases of treasury shares net of proceeds from exercise of stock options and performance shares.
(5) Cash and cash equivalents, less bank debts and loans, which include the measurement at fair value of hedging derivatives.
(6) Pro-forma calculated by adding Enjaymo’s estimated contribution from July to November 2024 (when it still was propriety of Sanofi) to EBITDA
(7) Comparing 1H 2025 revenue (which considers also the margin retained by Sanofi’s on in market sales for those countries where it was still holding the MA) with 1H 2024 revenue totally realized by Sanofi
(8) Net income before income taxes, financial income and expenses and non-recurring items, non-cash charges arising from the allocation of the purchase price of acquisitions to the gross margin of acquired inventory as foreseen by IFRS 3.

Conference Call

Recordati will host a conference call tomorrow, July 30th, at 2:00 p.m. CEST (1:00 p.m. GMT) to present the results for the first half of 2025. Please find the pre-registration link here with all the dial-in details and a calendar invitation to follow.

Perrigo to Present at the Canaccord Genuity 45th Annual Growth Conference

On July 29, 2025 Perrigo Company plc (NYSE: PRGO), a leading provider of Consumer Self-Care Products, reported that President and CEO Patrick Lockwood-Taylor and CFO Eduardo Bezerra are scheduled to present at the Canaccord Genuity 45th Annual Growth Conference, on Tuesday, August 12th at 9:00 AM EDT (Press release, Perrigo Company, JUL 29, 2025, View Source [SID1234654604]).

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Interested parties can access the webcast on the Perrigo website at View Source

Oncolytics Biotech® to Engage FDA for Potential Registration-Enabled Study in First-Line Pancreatic Cancer with Goal to Launch Trial Activities by Year-End

On July 29, 2025 Oncolytics Biotech Inc. (Nasdaq: ONCY) (TSX: ONC) ("Oncolytics" or the "Company"), a clinical-stage immunotherapy company developing pelareorep, reported it has initiated regulatory discussions with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a potential registration-enabled pivotal study in first-line metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (mPDAC) (Press release, Oncolytics Biotech, JUL 29, 2025, View Source [SID1234654603]). Assuming discussions with the FDA go as expected, the Company expects to commence study start-up activities before the end of 2025.

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This milestone reflects Oncolytics’ conviction in pelareorep’s differentiated mechanism of action and its encouraging survival signal in one of the most lethal and underserved solid tumors. The FDA interaction will focus on finalizing a clinical trial design that leverages pelareorep’s demonstrated synergy with chemotherapy with or without checkpoint inhibition, and overall survival as the primary endpoint. Among the potential options, Oncolytics will consider proposing an adaptive study in collaboration with a third party.

"We expect to move quickly and decisively down a clear regulatory path," said Jared Kelly, Chief Executive Officer of Oncolytics. "This is about execution and focus. Our goal is to win on survival—and this pivotal study is how we do it. We believe this program not only creates significant value for shareholders but also positions Oncolytics as a highly attractive partner for pharma companies seeking to break open the immunotherapy landscape in mPDAC and other GI tumors."

Oncolytics’ recent Key Opinion Leader event reinforced the clinical promise of pelareorep in mPDAC and other gastrointestinal (GI) cancers, including KRAS-mutated colorectal cancer, and validated its ability to transform "cold" tumors into immunologically active ones. Experts emphasized the scarcity of innovation in pancreatic cancer and the urgent demand for new immunotherapies that can deliver a survival benefit in this setting.

With Fast Track and Orphan Drug designations in mPDAC and translational data supporting pelareorep’s immunologic activity, the Company believes it is well-positioned to engage potential partners seeking to bolster their GI oncology pipelines. The upcoming regulatory discussions and planned trial initiation represent major catalysts for strategic collaboration and long-term value creation.

Additional information on the study design, timelines, and next steps will be provided following regulatory feedback.

NanoCell Announces Publication of Research Data in Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer Demonstrating First-in-Class Non-Viral DNA-Based In Vivo CAR-T Generation

On July 29, 2025 NanoCell Therapeutics, Inc. ("NanoCell"), a biotechnology company developing a non-viral, DNA-based in vivo gene therapy platform, reported the publication of research data in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer demonstrating its novel targeted lipid nanoparticle delivery system, termed NCtx (Press release, NanoCell Therapeutics, JUL 29, 2025, View Source [SID1234654602]). This technology enables the direct in vivo generation of chimeric antigen receptor T-cells (CAR-T), potentially transforming the accessibility and scalability of CAR-T therapies for cancer patients worldwide.

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The study, titled "T cell-specific non-viral DNA delivery and in vivo CAR-T generation using targeted lipid nanoparticles," represents the first successful demonstration of efficient non-viral DNA delivery to T cells in vivo, positioning NCtx as a promising advancement in the field of in vivo CAR-T therapy.

While CAR-T therapy has shown remarkable success in treating hematologic malignancies, current approaches face significant barriers including high manufacturing costs (approximately $300,000 per patient), complex logistics, lengthy manufacturing times, and limited patient access due to specialized facility requirements. The NCtx platform co-delivers minicircle DNA encoding a CAR construct and transposase mRNA in a single targeted nanoparticle, enabling stable genomic integration and durable CAR expression. The system utilizes dual CD7/CD3 targeting to achieve T cell specificity while activating cells for enhanced DNA uptake.

Researchers demonstrated that a single intravenous dose of NCtx led to robust CAR-T cell generation in multiple humanized mouse models, effective tumor control and significantly extended survival, durable CAR expression and functional anti-tumor activity at doses as low as 4 µg/kg.

"This research demonstrates a new path forward for CAR-T therapy," said Dr. Jacek Lubelski, senior author and CTO at NanoCell Therapeutics. "By enabling in vivo CAR-T generation through a single, targeted nanoparticle injection, we can potentially dramatically simplify treatment protocols while expanding access in the future to patients worldwide who currently cannot benefit from conventional CAR-T therapies."

Results were generated using a dual-CAR construct targeting CD19 and CD22, developed by Shanghai Cell Therapy Group (SHCell) View Source

"Our collaboration with SHCell underscores the power of combining innovative delivery platforms with cutting-edge CAR designs," said Dr. Maurits Geerlings, CEO and President of NanoCell Therapeutics. "We are excited about the potential of this partnership to accelerate the development of transformative therapies for patients with B cell cancers and beyond."

The platform’s modular design enables rapid adaptation for multiple therapeutic targets across oncology and autoimmune diseases. The study was conducted by research teams at NanoCell Therapeutics and the University Medical Centre Utrecht, with support from the European Union’s Horizon Europe and Horizon 2020 research programs.

As NanoCell continues to advance its NCtx platform, the company is expected to pursue an IMPD application pending financing, marking a critical step toward clinical development.