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NexImmune to Present at the 2021 Cantor Virtual Global Healthcare Conference

On September 27, 2021 NexImmune, Inc. (Nasdaq: NEXI), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a novel approach to immunotherapy designed to orchestrate a targeted immune response by directing the function of antigen-specific T cells, reported that Scott Carmer, Chief Executive Officer, will present at the 2021 Cantor Virtual Global Healthcare Conference Wednesday, September 29, 2021 at 2:00 PM Eastern time (Press release, NexImmune, SEP 27, 2021, View Source [SID1234590402]).

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The webcast will be accessible on the Investor Relations page of NexImmune’s website at Events and Presentations | NexImmune, Inc. A replay of the presentation will be available at the same location for 90 days following the conference.

Xuanzhu and SignalChem Lifesciences Corporation announce collaboration and licensing agreement for SLC-391 in the Greater China region

On September 27, 2021 Sihuan Pharmaceutical Holdings Group Ltd., together with its subsidiaries and SignalChem Lifesciences Corporation reported that Sihuan Pharmaceutical Holdings Group Ltd subsidiary company Xuanzhu Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd. ("Xuanzhu") and SignalChem Lifesciences Corporation ("SignalChem") have entered into an exclusive collaboration and licensing agreement for the clinical development and commercialization of SLC-391, a potent and selective AXL targeting inhibitor, in the Greater China region (Press release, Lifescience Newswire, SEP 27, 2021, View Source [SID1234590366]).

Under the terms of the agreement, Xuanzhu will pay to SignalChem an upfront fee of thirteen million US dollars (US$13,000,000). Additional development milestones and royalties have also been committed. The exclusive rights for SLC-391 for the field of oncology is for the Greater China region (Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan).

AXL is a member of TAM (Tyro3, AXL, Mer) family of receptor tyrosine kinases. AXL along with its ligand GAS6 (growth arrest-specific gene 6) is highly expressed and activated in many malignant tumors, such as acute myeloid leukemia, kidney, pancreatic, breast, lung and ovarian cancer, etc. As one of the crucial signaling pathways promoting tumor growth and metastasis, immune escape and drug resistance, GAS6-AXL pathway is considered to be an attractive target for cancer treatment and has attracted widespread attention.

"The agreement with SignalChem will further advance Xuanzhu’s pipeline in the solid tumor and hematoma space. The results from preclinical and phase 1 clinical development demonstrated SLC-391 superiority not only as SLC-391 has prominent single-agent activities in multiple solid and hematological tumors but also can potentially be administered with a variety of drugs under development at Xuanzhu. Both parties will use their respective resources to accelerate the clinical approval of SLC-391 in China," said Ms. Xu Yanjun, Chairman of Xuanzhu. "Xuanzhu will continue to expand its efforts to develop and commercialize innovative drugs in the oncology field."

"Xuanzhu Biopharmaceutical, a subsidiary of Sihuan Pharmaceutical, is a highly innovative and progressive company," commented by Mr. Jun Yan, the Chairman and President of SignalChem, "We are very pleased to establish a partnership with Xuanzhu. This licensing agreement is of great significance for SignalChem to further validate and expand SLC-391’s clinical superiority. This agreement will accelerate SLC-391’s development timeline to reach the market and provide more effective treatment alternatives for patients with cancer." Mr. Jun Yan added, "the size of the agreement, including upfront, milestone and royalties, with Xuanzhu may be one of the largest agreements signed in Canada with a Chinese bio-pharma company for the Chinese territory rights, and we are looking forward to reaching all anticipated objectives. Furthermore, SignalChem will continue its efforts to expand and accelerate clinical development with SLC-391 for wider indications in even more geographic territories."

About SLC-391

SLC-391 is a potent, highly selective and orally bioavailable small molecule AXL inhibitor. Preclinical investigational data shows SLC-391 is a superior AXL inhibitor and has the potential to become a first-in-class inhibitor. Phase I clinical study is currently underway in Canada. SignalChem has established a collaboration with Merck (MSD) to evaluate the efficacy of SLC-391 in combination with Keytruda (pembrolizumab) for the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In pre-clinical studies, SLC-391 demonstrated strong efficacy as a single agent or in combination with other approved drugs in multiple animal models for cancer. SLC-391 will be developed to undisclosed cancer indications as a single agent or in combination with other therapies.

Innovent and UNION Therapeutics Enter into Strategic Collaboration and License Agreement for Orismilast, a Next-generation PDE4 Inhibitor for Inflammatory Dermatology Conditions

On September 27, 2021 Innovent Biologics, Inc. (Innovent) (HKEX: 01801), a world-class biopharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures and commercializes high quality medicines for the treatment of cancer, metabolic, autoimmune and other major diseases, and UNION therapeutics A/S (UNION), a privately-held, multi-asset, clinical stage, pharmaceutical company focused on immunology and infectious diseases, reported that they have entered into a strategic collaboration and license agreement for the development and commercialization of orismilast in China (Press release, Innovent Biologics, SEP 27, 2021, View Source [SID1234590356]).

Under the terms of the agreement, UNION grants Innovent an exclusive license to research, develop and commercialize orismilast in China, including participating in and recruiting Chinese patients for potential future global studies of orismilast. UNION will receive an upfront payment of USD 20 million and is further entitled to receive up to USD 247 million in milestone payments as well as tiered royalties on sales of orismilast in China. UNION will retain global rights for orismilast outside of China.

In China there are approximately fifty million patients suffering from atopic dermatitis and six million patients suffering from psoriasis, and their prevalence is rising with changing lifestyles. Current standard of care treatments are topical steroids, oral immunosuppressants and injectable biologics, all of which have certain limitations in efficacy, safety or route of administration, presenting significant unmet clinical needs. In Phase 2a clinical studies, orismilast has demonstrated potential best-in-class profiles in these conditions, with a combination of improved efficacy and tolerability, and could be well positioned to address the unmet needs of these patient populations.

Dr. Yongjun Liu, President of Innovent, said: "We are very pleased to enter a collaboration with UNION. We have been impressed with our partner’s capability to advance the global development of orismilast and we are excited to help bring orismilast to patients in China. This collaboration further strengthens our position in autoimmune by adding a mid-stage potential best-in-class therapy into our portfolio. Innovent is proud to be an ideal partner for worldwide biotech and pharmaceutical companies in terms of accelerating the development and commercialization progress of novel assets to benefit a broader patient population."

Kim Kjøller, Chief Executive Officer of UNION therapeutics, said, "We are excited to enter into this strategic collaboration with Innovent, whose deep insights and presence in China make them an ideal partner to bring orismilast to Chinese patients. We are impressed by Innovent’s track record of international partnering, advancing assets through clinical development and commercial execution. This agreement provides independent validation of our belief in the best-in-class potential of orismilast, and expands our global footprint in an underserved market with significant potential. Partnering with pharmaceutical companies is core to our strategy of maximizing the value of our product candidates, and we are therefore excited to enter this collaboration with an internationally recognized partner."

About orismilast

Orismilast is a potent and selective, next-generation PDE4 inhibitor with broad anti-inflammatory properties, which was originally developed by LEO Pharma and acquired by UNION in 2020. Orismilast has generated positive proof of concept data orally in psoriasis and topically in atopic dermatitis and is being developed as a potential best- or first-in-class treatment option in both diseases. The selectivity of orismilast for PDE4 subtypes B and D and the novel modified release delivery is expected to result in an attractive therapeutic window, i.e., the combination of improved efficacy and tolerability, compared to other PDE4 inhibitors. UNION has two product candidates with orismilast in Phase 2 clinical development: UNI50001, an oral PDE4 inhibitor investigated for the treatment of psoriasis, atopic dermatitis and hidradenitis suppurativa; and UNI50002, the topical formulation of orismilast investigated for the treatment of atopic dermatitis. The safety and tolerability of PDE4 inhibitors is well understood, with two oral treatments and one topical currently approved and marketed.

Monoclonal antibodies Boehringer Ingelheim and Invetx

On September 27, 2021 Boehringer Ingelheim, a global leader in animal health, and Invetx, a Boston-based pioneer in protein-based therapeutics for animal health, reported that they have entered into a collaboration agreement to develop novel, species-specific monoclonal antibody biotherapeutics targeting a wide range of diseases in the veterinary species, initially focused on dogs and cats (Press release, Boehringer Ingelheim, SEP 27, 2021, View Source [SID1234590353]).

For each selected disease target, Invetx will apply its unique platform to the discovery and optimization of best-in-class candidates and Boehringer Ingelheim will advance these therapies through clinical and regulatory development to bring them to market. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

"This partnership is a prime example of Boehringer Ingelheim’s commitment to address unmet needs in the rapidly growing animal health market," shared Eric Haaksma, Head of Global Innovation, Animal Health at Boehringer Ingelheim. "We were drawn to working with Invetx because of the company’s cutting-edge discovery platform, optimization technologies and antibody expertise. Together, we will leverage innovation to discover breakthrough scientific advancements to improve animal health."

Today, monoclonal antibodies are currently used in the treatment of many human diseases. The therapy is a form of immunotherapy that uses monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to bind monospecifically to certain cells or proteins, mimicking the body’s own natural response to attack those cells. Leveraging the technology in animal health creates great potential to address unmet needs.

Invetx’s fully integrated platform encompassing discovery, product development and commercial manufacturing sets a new standard for veterinary biotherapeutics. By leveraging validated technologies in human biotech and optimizing them for veterinary application, Invetx can generate differentiated antibodies against a wide range of targets to treat a variety of chronic and serious diseases in animals.

"We are thrilled to partner with global animal health leader Boehringer Ingelheim, using our unique discovery platform to deliver fully species-specific, optimized and half-life extended biotherapeutics," said Juergen Horn, PhD, Chief Executive Officer, Invetx. "These programs will complement our own proprietary portfolio and strengthen our position as a leader in creating novel, transformative and best-in-class therapies for veterinary patients."

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Sprint Bioscience initiates marketing of an additional cancer drug program

On September 27, 2021 Sprint Bioscience reported that it is starting to market the DISA program to potential partners and, following a series of research advances, reveals the cancer drug program’s target protein, TREX1 (Press release, Sprint Bioscience, SEP 27, 2021, View Source [SID1234590352]). The goal of the program, currently in the preclinical phase, is to develop drugs that inhibit the protein TREX1 in order to enhance the effect of immuno-oncological therapy, radiation therapy and chemotherapy in the treatment of cancer. The company will initiate discussions with potential partners in connection with the BioEurope conference in October.

"Inhibiting TREX1 is a unique approach with great potential to enhance the effect of several current therapies. Many modern cancer drugs depend on the immune system being able to identify the cancer cells, and with our TREX1 inhibitors, we have identified a way to stop the cancer cells’ ability to hide from the immune system. We have now reached a strong competitive position in the program’s development and look forward to discussions with potential partners."
Martin Andersson, head of research at Sprint Bioscience

Cancer cells often have elevated levels of DNA fragments that have incorrectly ended up outside the cell nucleus. Since DNA fragments that are outside the cell nucleus can activate the immune system, cancer cells depend upon these DNA fragments being rapidly removed – if they are not, the body’s immune system will attack the cancer cells.

The target protein in the Sprint Bioscience DISA project, TREX1 (three-prime repair exonuclease 1), is a protein that breaks down DNA fragments outside the cell nucleus and thus helps cancer cells escape the immune system. Scientific studies have previously shown that there is a link between elevated levels of the TREX1 protein and inferior survival for patients with certain types of cancer, including breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and pancreatic cancer.

The body’s immune response towards cancer cells can be strengthened by inhibiting TREX1, which opens up the potential to enhance the effect of other therapies such as immuno-oncology therapy, radiation therapy, and cytotoxic drug treatment. Sprint Bioscience has secured a major competitive advantage by determining the three-dimensional structure of the human TREX1 protein, not previously reported in the scientific literature. This enables the company to make full use of the power of the fragment-based technology for drug development (FBDD) that is the company’s hallmark, and at the same time further increases the opportunities to build shareholder value in this program.

"Inhibiting TREX1 is a unique approach with great potential to enhance the effect of several current therapies. Many modern cancer drugs depend on the immune system being able to identify the cancer cells, and with our TREX1 inhibitors, we have identified a way to stop the cancer cells’ ability to hide from the immune system. We have now reached a strong competitive position in the program’s development and look forward to discussions with potential partners." says Martin Andersson, Chief Scientific Officer at Sprint Bioscience.sions with potential partners." says Martin Andersson, head of research at Sprint Bioscience.