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$246m ADC Technology Deal with ProfoundBio

On July 22, 2021 Synaffix B.V., a biotechnology company focused on commercializing its clinical-stage platform technology that enables antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) with best-in-class therapeutic index, reported the signature of a license and option agreement with ProfoundBio, an emerging oncology biotherapeutics company (Press release, Synaffix, JUL 22, 2021, View Source [SID1234590210]).

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The deal provides access to multiple novel linker-payload technologies developed by Synaffix and includes access to the GlycoConnect glycan conjugation and HydraSpace polar spacer technologies, both of which are known to optimize the therapeutic properties (efficacy and safety) of ADCs. Upon signature, ProfoundBio was granted non-exclusive license rights to deploy the above technologies for one therapeutic program that targets an undisclosed specific tumor associated antigen (TAA). Additionally, ProfoundBio retains license option rights to a second TAA that can be nominated later.

Under the terms of the agreement, Synaffix is eligible to receive upfront and potential milestone payments worth up to $246 million, plus tiered royalties on net sales. No further financial details are disclosed.

ProfoundBio will be responsible for the research, development, manufacturing and commercialization of the ADC products. Synaffix will closely support ProfoundBio’s research activities and be responsible for the manufacturing of components that are specifically related to its proprietary GlycoConnect, and HydraSpace technologies.

Baiteng Zhao, CEO of ProfoundBio said:

"Selecting the right linker-payload for each ADC is critical for success. Through our collaboration with Synaffix, we can access multiple potent ADC linker-payloads and efficiently optimize the competitive position of our therapeutic pipeline."

"With the solid experience and track record of our founding management team and a strong venture capital syndicate behind us, we are well positioned to rapidly progress multiple best-in-class and first-in-class ADC candidates to the clinic. We look forward to working closely with Synaffix to achieve this."

Peter van de Sande, CEO of Synaffix said:

"This collaboration is another example of Synaffix’ proprietary technologies helping biotech and pharma companies optimize the competitive positions of their ADC pipelines."

"The ProfoundBio team brings multiple decades of valuable ADC development experience from Seattle Genetics (now Seagen) and MSD. into our collaboration. We are looking forward to continuing our close collaboration with ProfoundBio on their emerging ADC portfolio and supporting the development of multiple ADCs into the clinic and beyond."

INmune Bio acquires z-Movi® Cell Avidity Analyzer to accelerate the selection of NK cell products for cancer treatments

On July 22, 2021 LUMICKS, a leading next generation life science tools company renowned for its innovative platforms for Dynamic Single-Molecule and Cell Avidity analysis, reported that it has installed its ground-breaking z-Movi Cell Avidity Analyzer at INmune Bio (NASDAQ: INMB) (Press release, LUMICKS, JUL 22, 2021, View Source;utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=inmune-bio-acquires-lumicks-z-movi-cell-avidity-analyzer-to-accelerate-the-selection-of-nk-cell-products-for-cancer-treatments [SID1234586006]).

INmune Bio is a clinical stage biotechnology company developing new therapies that modulate the innate immune system to treat cancer and neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s. Its Natural Killer Cell Priming Platform, INKmune is a "pseudokine" which drives a patient’s own natural killer (NK) cells to memory-type NK cells which kill persistent tumors that survive initial treatments.

INmune Bio is employing the z-Movi cell avidity analysis platform to demonstrate that the mechanism of action of the tumor-priming is the increase in NK cell:tumor cell avidity. Early data acquired by the z-Movi support their hypothesis that increased cell avidity enhances NK cell killing of tumor cells. This allows screening of batches of INKmune for potency and provides a potential biomarker of in vivo activity by measuring the tumor avidity of NK cells isolated from patients before and after INKmune treatment.

"The z-Movi is the first high throughput tool I have seen to reliably measure cell:cell avidity, allowing us to dissect the temporal nature of the formation of NK cell:tumor cell synapse as well as the critical components required for synapse stability and NK cell triggering. These data are incredibly valuable for our continued development of INKmune but, equally importantly, establishing the mechanism of action of INKmune as "increasing NK avidity" gives us a perfect tool and assay to measure potency of batches of INKmune, which is required by drug regulatory agencies" said Professor Lowdell, CSO of INmune Bio.

The z-Movi Cell Avidity Analyzer is a unique platform that measures the binding strength between target and immune cells, which is a key event in the mode of action of immune products. Furthermore, the z-Movi platform provides these measurements across a large population of cells, rapidly, with single-cell resolution. Cell avidity solutions have the potential to shorten the drug development cycle for adoptive cell therapies and other immune-therapies and reduce failure rates in clinical trials.

"We are excited to work together with INmune Bio, a pioneer in immunotherapy that harnesses the innate immunity of patients to combat solid and liquid cancers," said Dr. Andrea Candelli, CSO and co-founder of LUMICKS. "We strive to provide the benefits of fast, predictive, and reproducible cell avidity measurements to partners like INmune, in order to continue to advance science and accelerate the entry of cell-based therapies into clinical trials."

HY 2021 results

Roche reports good half-year results

Caribou Biosciences Announces Pricing of Upsized Initial Public Offering

On July 22, 2021 Caribou Biosciences, Inc., a leading clinical-stage CRISPR genome-editing biopharmaceutical company, reported the pricing of its upsized initial public offering of 19,000,000 shares of common stock at a public offering price of $16.00 per share (Press release, Caribou Biosciences, JUL 22, 2021, View Source [SID1234585132]). All of the shares of common stock are being offered by Caribou. The gross proceeds of the offering, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions, and other offering expenses payable by Caribou, are expected to be $304.0 million. In addition, Caribou has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 2,850,000 shares of common stock at the initial public offering price, less the underwriting discounts and commissions.

The shares are expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on July 23, 2021, under the ticker symbol "CRBU." The offering is expected to close on or about July 27, 2021, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

BofA Securities, Citigroup, and SVB Leerink are acting as joint book-running managers for this offering.

A registration statement relating to the offering has been declared effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on July 22, 2021. The offering is being made only by means of a prospectus. Copies of the final prospectus relating to this offering may be obtained, when available, from: BofA Securities, NC1-004-03-43, 200 North College Street, 3rd Floor, Charlotte, NC 28255-0001, Attention: Prospectus Department, or by email at [email protected]; Citigroup, c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, by telephone at (800) 831-9146 or by email at [email protected]; or SVB Leerink LLC, Attention: Syndicate Department, One Federal Street, 37th Floor, Boston, MA 02110, or by telephone at (800) 808-7525, ext. 6105, or by email at [email protected]. Copies of the final prospectus, when available, related to the offering will also be accessible through the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any offer or 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.

This press release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking statements" and include, without limitation, statements regarding Caribou’s expectations with respect to the commencement of trading of its shares on the Nasdaq Global Select Market and the size, completion and timing of the closing of the initial public offering. No assurance can be given that the offering discussed above will be completed on the terms or timing described in this release, or at all. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous conditions, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including those set forth in the Risk Factors section of the Company’s registration statement and preliminary prospectus filed with the SEC. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this release, except as required by law.