Centene Corporation Announces Offering of Senior Notes

On June 24, 2021 Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC) ("Centene" or the "Company") reported that it has commenced an underwritten public offering to sell $1,800,000,000 of senior notes due 2028 (the "Notes"), subject to market and other conditions (Press release, Centene , JUN 24, 2021, View Source [SID1234584343]).

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Centene intends to use the net proceeds from the offering of the Notes to finance a portion of the cash consideration payable in connection with Centene’s previously announced acquisition of Magellan Health Inc. ("Magellan Health" and such proposed acquisition, the "Magellan Acquisition") and to pay related fees and expenses. The closing of the offering is not conditioned on the closing of the Magellan Acquisition. If the Magellan Acquisition is not completed, Centene expects to use the net proceeds of the offering for debt repayment and general corporate purposes.

J.P. Morgan, Barclays, BofA Securities, Truist Securities and Wells Fargo Securities are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering of the Notes.

This offering is being made pursuant to an effective shelf registration statement and prospectus and a related preliminary prospectus supplement filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). Before you invest, you should read the prospectus and the related preliminary prospectus supplement, the registration statement and other documents that Centene has filed with the SEC for more complete information about Centene and this offering.

Copies of the prospectus supplement and related prospectuses for this offering can be obtained from J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717 or by calling +1 (866) 803-9204; from Barclays Capital Inc., c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, by email at [email protected], or by calling (888) 603-5847; from BofA Securities, NC1-004-03-43, 200 North College Street, 3rd floor, Charlotte, NC 28255-0001, Attn: Prospectus Department or by email at [email protected]; from Truist Securities by email at [email protected]; and from Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, 550 S. Tryon Street, 5th Floor, Charlotte, North Carolina 28202, Attention: Leveraged Syndicate.

This press release is neither an offer to purchase nor a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, including the Notes. There shall not be any sale of the securities described herein in any state or other 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 other jurisdiction.

Sirnaomics Doses First Patient in Phase 1 U.S. Clinical Study of STP705 for Treatment of Liver Cancer

On June 24, 2021 Sirnaomics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of RNAi therapeutics against cancer and fibrotic diseases, reported dose administration for the first patient in a Phase 1 U.S. clinical study for liver cancer treatment, with the company’s siRNA (small interfering RNA) drug candidate, STP705 (Press release, Sirnaomics, JUN 24, 2021, View Source [SID1234584342]). STP705 takes advantage of a dual-targeted inhibitory property and polypeptide nanoparticle (PNP)-enhanced delivery to directly knock down both TGF-β1 and COX-2 gene expression.

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This Phase 1 trial is a multicenter, open-Label, dose escalation and dose expansion study to evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and anti-tumor activity of STP705, with an intratumoral administration. In this "basket study" of up to 50 subjects suffering from cholangiocarcinoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, or liver metastases from colorectal cancer, the patients with advanced/metastatic or surgically unresectable solid tumors and are refractory to standard therapy will be treated with STP705. This therapeutic regimen is designed to take advantage of a dual-targeted inhibitory property of siRNAs and polypeptide nanoparticle (PNP)-enhanced delivery to directly knock down both TGF-β1 and COX-2 gene expressions. Early pre-clinical and clinical studies using STP705 have shown an increase of active T cell infiltration into the tumor microenvironment. In addition, knocking down TGF-β1 and COX-2 gene expressions in animal fibrosis tissue can activate fibroblast apoptosis with significant antifibrotic efficacy.

"Advancing STP705 from skin cancer to liver cancer is a major milestone for Sirnaomics’ clinical programs, especially with a basket study design that consists of multiple tumor types. We are particularly interested in learning whether the mechanism of action validated in the skin cancer clinical study can be further verified in this liver cancer study," said Patrick Lu, Ph.D., founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sirnaomics. "We are expecting that the combination of anti-fibrotic effects and enhanced tumor immunity will provide a novel approach for the treatment of cholangiocarcinoma and hepatocellular carcinoma using our novel siRNA therapeutics. Sirnaomics is committed to advancing our polypeptide nanoparticle delivery system for innovative RNAi-based cancer therapy."

"Liver cancer is a devastating disease for patients with high mortality and high unmet medical need," stated Michael Molyneaux, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Sirnaomics. "The company is excited to announce first dosing, as we hope to gain important insight into the potential safety and efficacy of STP705 in this Phase 1 trial and build on the data from this study to expand into other oncology indications."

Sirnaomics expects to report initial clinical data from the Phase 1 trial in the second half of 2021. Additional information about this clinical trial is available at clinicaltrials.gov using the identifier: NCT04676633

About Liver Cancer
Liver cancer is a global health problem, with liver neoplasms representing the second-most frequent cause of cancer-related death. There are many different types of liver cancers including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), cholangiocarcinoma, liver angiosarcoma, hepatoblastoma, and others. Additionally, the liver is a highly metastasis-permissive organ. It is the most frequently afflicted organ by metastasis and liver metastases are much more common than primary hepatic tumors. The distinctive biology of the liver renders it intrinsically susceptible to metastases. The true prevalence of liver metastasis is unknown, but between 30% and 70% of patients dying of cancer have liver metastases and most patients with liver metastases will die of their disease.

STP705 and Liver Cancer
Over expressions of TGF-β1 and COX-2 have been well-characterized as playing key regulatory roles in tumorigenesis. TGF-β is produced by different liver cells and is demonstrated to induce tumor cell migration and survival. TGF-β has been found to be overexpressed in metastatic HCC tissues. Overexpression of TGF-β is generally accepted to be associated with metastasis and poor prognosis. COX-2 is reported to be highly expressed in cancer stem cells and promotes cell migration in HCC cell lines. Additionally, inhibition of COX-2 suppresses cell migration and induces apoptosis. As such TGF-β1 and COX-2 are excellent therapeutic targets for treatment of liver cancer.

STP705 is composed of two siRNA oligonucleotides targeting TGF-β1 and COX-2 mRNA respectively and formulated in nanoparticles with a proprietary Histidine-Lysine Co-Polymer (HKP) peptide. Each individual siRNA has demonstrated the ability to inhibit the expression of their target mRNA and combining the two siRNAs produces a synergistic effect that diminishes pro-fibrogenic, pro-inflammatory, and pro-tumorigenic factors. Sirnaomics has completed several pre-clinical studies that demonstrate that inhibition of TGF-β1 and COX-2 and is expected to result in the inhibition of tumor growth and provide an alternative approach for the treatment of various liver cancers. Molecular analyses of the effects of administering the combination demonstrated that the inhibition of these targets had effects on downstream gene products associated with numerous oncology targets.

Additional immunohistochemistry and image analyses of the liver and tumor tissues demonstrated that animals treated with STP705 resulted in increased CD4+ and CD8+ T cell infiltration within the tumor microenvironment. Using STP705 for treatments of hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma have been designated as Orphan Drug indications by U.S. FDA. STP705 has also been evaluated in a Phase 2a clinical trial for treatment of non-melanoma skin cancer.

Mirati Therapeutics’ Adagrasib Receives Breakthrough Therapy Designation from U.S. Food and Drug Administration for Patients with Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Harboring the KRAS G12C Mutation

On June 24, 2021 Mirati Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: MRTX), a clinical-stage targeted oncology company, reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation to adagrasib for the potential treatment of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who harbor the KRASG12C mutation following prior systemic therapy (Press release, Mirati, JUN 24, 2021, View Source [SID1234584341]).

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Breakthrough Therapy Designation is an FDA program designed to expedite the development and regulatory review of drugs that have demonstrated preliminary clinical evidence of a substantial improvement over available therapy in the treatment of patients with serious diseases on at least one clinically significant endpoint.

The designation for adagrasib is supported by preliminary results from the registrational Phase 1/2 KRYSTAL-01 trial in patients with advanced NSCLC, whose cancer had progressed following prior treatment with immunotherapy and/or chemotherapy.

"We are pleased to receive this breakthrough therapy designation for adagrasib, which emphasizes the significant need for new treatment options for patients with lung cancer who harbor the KRASG12C mutation," said Charles M. Baum, M.D., Ph.D., president and chief executive officer, Mirati Therapeutics, Inc. "We look forward to submitting a New Drug Application for adagrasib in the second half of this year and further advancing adagrasib across a broad development plan with the goal of improving clinical outcomes in patients with KRASG12C mutated cancers."

About KRASG12C in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide, accounting for 2.21 million new cases and 1.8 million deaths worldwide in 2020. Lung cancer consists of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in approximately 85 percent of cases and small cell lung cancer (SCLC) in approximately 15 percent of cases. KRASG12C is the most common KRAS mutation in NSCLC, present in approximately 14 percent of patients with lung adenocarcinoma, and is a biomarker mutation of poor prognosis.

About Adagrasib (MRTX849)

Adagrasib is an investigational, highly selective, and potent oral small-molecule inhibitor of KRASG12C that is optimized to sustain target inhibition, an attribute that could be important to treat KRASG12C mutated cancers, as the KRASG12C protein regenerates every 24-48 hours. Studies of adagrasib have shown that the drug has a long half-life, extensive tissue distribution and is well tolerated. Adagrasib has also shown single-agent responses in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, and other solid tumors with KRASG12C mutations. Adagrasib is a being evaluated in several clinical trials in combination with other anti-cancer therapies with strong scientific rationale in patients with advanced solid tumors. Registration-enabling studies are ongoing in NSCLC and colorectal cancer. For more information visit Mirati.com/science.

Elevation Oncology Announces Pricing of Initial Public Offering

On June 24, 2021 Elevation Oncology, Inc. (Nasdaq: ELEV), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of precision medicines for patients with genomically defined cancers, reported the pricing of its initial public offering of 6,250,000 shares of its common stock at a public offering price of $16.00 per share (Press release, Elevation Oncology, JUN 24, 2021, View Source [SID1234584340]). All of the shares are being offered by Elevation Oncology. The gross proceeds from the offering, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses payable by Elevation Oncology, are expected to be $100 million. The shares are expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on June 25, 2021 under the ticker symbol "ELEV." The offering is expected to close on June 29, 2021, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. In addition, Elevation Oncology has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 937,500 shares of common stock at the initial public offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions.

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J.P. Morgan Securities, Cowen, and SVB Leerink are acting as joint bookrunning managers for the offering. Wedbush PacGrow is acting as lead manager for the offering.

A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and was declared effective on June 24, 2021. The offering is being made only by means of a prospectus. A copy of the final prospectus, when available, may be obtained from J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, by telephone at (866) 803-9204, or by email at [email protected]; Cowen and Company, LLC, Attention: Prospectus Department, c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, by telephone at (833) 297-2926 or by email at [email protected]; or SVB Leerink LLC, Attention: Syndicate Department, One Federal Street, 37th Floor, Boston, Massachusetts 02110, by telephone at (800) 808-7525, ext. 6105, or by email at [email protected].

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 other 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.

AngioDynamics to Report Fiscal 2021 Fourth Quarter and Full-Year Financial Results and Host Investor & Technology Day on July 13, 2021

On June 24, 2021 AngioDynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANGO), a leading provider of innovative, minimally invasive medical devices for vascular access, peripheral vascular disease, and oncology, reported that it will report financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2021 before the market open on Tuesday, July 13, 2021 (Press release, AngioDynamics, JUN 24, 2021, View Source [SID1234584339]). The Company’s management will host a conference call at 8:00 a.m. ET the same day to discuss the results.

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To participate in the conference call, dial 1-877-407-0784 (domestic) or +1-201-689-8560 (international) and refer to the passcode 13720741.

This conference call will also be webcast and can be accessed from the "Investors" section of the AngioDynamics website at www.angiodynamics.com. The webcast replay of the call will be available at the same site approximately one hour after the end of the call.

A recording of the call will also be available from 11:00 a.m. ET on Tuesday, July 13, 2021, until 11:59 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 20, 2021. To hear this recording, dial 1-844-512-2921 (domestic) or +1-412-317-6671 (international) and enter the passcode 13720741.

The Company also announced that it will host its Investor & Technology Day virtually beginning at 9:30 a.m. ET on July 13, 2021. Additional information and registration instructions will be available on the "Investors" section of the AngioDynamics website at www.angiodynamics.com closer to the event date. The webcast replay of the event will be archived on the same site.