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Theolytics expands Series A financing and welcomes M Ventures as a new investor

On July 8, 2021 Theolytics reported that M Ventures – the strategic venture capital arm of Merck – joined the Theolytics’ investor syndicate alongside Epidarex Capital and Taiho Ventures in an extension to the Series A financing, which includes additional investment from Taiho Ventures and the University of Oxford (Press release, Theolytics, JUL 8, 2021, View Source [SID1234630922]).

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Spun-out of the University of Oxford in 2017, Theolytics has been developing the world’s largest library of potential adenovirus product candidates and breakthrough bioselection systems. The company’s internal pipeline development focuses on oncolytic virus therapies, while the proprietary platforms can be applied across other adenovirus-based modalities.

The expanded Series A funding will support the progress of internal programmes in ovarian cancer, and a second cancer indication in addition to further advancing the company’s unique technology platforms. As a part of Theolytics’ accelerated growth, the company will transition to state-of-the-art facilities on Oxford Science Park.

Charlotte Casebourne, CEO of Theolytics said "A warm welcome to the M Ventures team. This investment further validates the breakthrough potential of Theolytics’ technology, and will enable us to accelerate our progress in developing transformative therapies for patients in need."

Therese Liechtenstein said "Oncolytic virus therapies have the potential to help multiple large patient groups in oncology however their translation to date has been hampered by significant challenges. Theolytics is the first company to apply a truly systematic oncolytic virus discovery platform to overcome these challenges and build the next-generation oncolytic virus therapies. After actively exploring this space for a number of years, we as M Ventures are delighted to join the syndicate and become part of Theolytics. We look forward to supporting the team’s mission to make oncolytic viruses a successful novel therapeutic modality to help clinicians and their patients."

Kenneth Powell, Chair of the Board said "I am delighted that Therese Liechtenstein will join our Board of Directors. M Ventures represents a wealth of drug development and commercialisation expertise to support Theolytics’ future progress."

Apexigen to Participate in Upcoming Investor Conferences

On July 8, 2021 Apexigen, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing a new generation of antibody therapeutics for oncology, reported that Xiaodong Yang, M.D., Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer, and Linda Rubinstein, Chief Financial Officer, will participate in the following upcoming investor conferences in July (Press release, Apexigen, JUL 8, 2021, View Source [SID1234590989]):

William Blair Biotech Focus Conference 2021
Format: Corporate update and one-on-one investor meetings
Presentation Date & Time: Thursday, July 15, 2021, at 11:00 a.m. ET
Presentation Webcast: Click Here

LifeSci Annual Summer Symposium
Format: Corporate update
Presentation Date & Time: Wednesday, July 21, 2021, at 11:30 a.m. ET
Registration: Click Here

BeyondSpring to Participate in the William Blair Biotech Focus Conference

On July 8, 2021 BeyondSpring Inc. ("BeyondSpring") (NASDAQ: BYSI), a global biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of innovative cancer therapies, reported that management will participate in the William Blair Biotech Focus Conference being held virtually on July 14-15, 2021 and be available for 1×1 meetings (Press release, BeyondSpring Pharmaceuticals, JUL 8, 2021, View Source;utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=beyondspring-to-participate-in-the-william-blair-biotech-focus-conference [SID1234585700]). To participate in the conference, please contact [email protected] to request a meeting.

iBio Establishes Oncology Drug Discovery Pipeline with Three New Antibody Programs

On July 8, 2021 iBio, Inc. (NYSEA:IBIO) ("iBio" or the "Company"), a biotech innovator and biologics contract manufacturing organization, has taken another major step towards leveraging the speed and throughput of its proprietary, plant-based FastPharming Protein Expression System by reported it is adding three anti-cancer targets to its pipeline of therapeutic candidates (Press release, iBioPharma, JUL 8, 2021, View Source [SID1234585486]). This development establishes the Company’s new drug discovery capabilities announced just a few weeks ago.

As part of iBio’s efforts to change the drug development paradigm with the FastPharming System by reducing the time and cost to move from initial concept to the clinic, the Company intends to partner with best-in-class technology partners to help achieve that vision. Accordingly, iBio has entered into a research services agreement with FairJourney Biologics S.A. ("FairJourney"), leaders in antibody optimization. Pursuant to the agreement, iBio will gain access to novel display technologies and proprietary antibody libraries.

"We believe combining our ‘speed-to-clinic’ advantages and Glycaneering TechnologiesTM with the antibody optimization technologies provided by FairJourney may enable us to quickly develop differentiated cancer therapeutic antibodies with improved antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity, or ADCC," said Martin B. Brenner, DVM, Ph.D., iBio’s Chief Scientific Officer.

António Parada, CEO at FairJourney commented, "Our experience in antibody discovery for use in oncology has grown in recent years, with a number of undisclosed collaborations rapidly moving towards the clinic. We are excited to work with an innovator like iBio, which we believe has the ability to change the bioprocess paradigm, using its proprietary glycosylation technologies to enhance human anti-cancer antibody development."

F-star Therapeutics Enters into Exclusive Licensing Agreement with AstraZeneca for Novel STING Inhibitors

On July 8, 2021 F-star Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSTX) ("F-star" or the "Company"), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing next generation bispecific immunotherapies to transform the lives of patients with cancer, reported that it has entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with AstraZeneca plc (NASDAQ: AZN) ("AstraZeneca"), under which AstraZeneca will receive global rights to research, develop and commercialize next generation Stimulator of Interferon Genes (STING) inhibitor compounds (Press release, AstraZeneca, JUL 8, 2021, View Source [SID1234584767]).

Under the terms of the agreement, AstraZeneca is granted exclusive access to F-star’s novel preclinical STING inhibitors. AstraZeneca will be responsible for all future research, development and commercialization of the STING inhibitor compounds, and F-star will retain rights to all STING agonists, currently in clinical development for patients with cancer.

Neil Brewis, Chief Scientific Officer of F-star, said, "We are excited to announce this agreement with AstraZeneca to develop these promising drug candidates. STING inhibitors offer enormous potential for new treatments, as STING is known to play a role in activating the innate immune system across a range of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. We are confident that AstraZeneca can maximize the value of these discovery stage compounds to benefit patients."

Maria Belvisi, Senior Vice President and Head of Research and Early Development, Respiratory & Immunology, BioPharmaceuticals R&D of AstraZeneca, said, "As part of our bold ambition to develop therapeutic options for patients across immune mediated diseases I am delighted to announce this agreement with F-star to explore novel STING inhibitors. We look forward to advancing our discovery efforts in these areas of high unmet medical need."

F-star is eligible to receive upfront and near-term payments of up to $12 million. In addition, F-star will be eligible for development and sales milestone payments of over $300 million, as well as single digit percentage royalty payments. Payments received by F-star are subject to a contingent value rights agreement (CVR 2), under which a percentage will be payable to stockholders of F-star that were previously stockholders of Spring Bank Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ("Spring Bank") prior to the business combination between F-star and Spring Bank.