BioVaxys and Horizon Technology Finance Corp Execute Amendment to Asset Purchase Agreement ("APA")

On May 29, 2025 BioVaxys Technology Corp. (CSE: BIOV) (FRA: 5LB) ("BioVaxys" or the "Company") reported that the Company and Horizon Technology Finance Corporation ("Horizon") have executed a follow-on Amendment ("Amendment") to the Asset Purchase Agreement dated February 11th, 2024 ("APA") for acquiring the entire portfolio of assets and intellectual property based on the DPX immune educating platform technology developed by Canadian biotechnology company, IMV Inc (Press release, BioVaxys Technology, MAY 29, 2025, View Source [SID1234653498]).

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Section 12 of the February 11th, 2024 APA is a performance milestone provision for BioVaxys to demonstrate an aggregate capital raise of USD $10M by December 31, 2024. On December 9th, 2024, Horizon and BioVaxys initially amended the APA by agreeing to delete the reference to "December 31, 2024" found in Section 12 and replacing it with the date of "June 30, 2025."

This new Amendment of May 29th, 2025, supersedes and replaces the Section 12 terms of the APA so that the net performance milestone required to be raised in any form (including, but not limited to equity, grants, licensing fees, or loans) is now significantly lowered to USD $2,028,636. If BioVaxys is successful in meeting this milestone by September 30, 2025, Section 12 of the APA shall end and be of no further force or effect.

As consideration for Horizon amending the APA, BioVaxys agrees to issue to Horizon 2,800,000 share purchase warrants and 1,200,000 share purchase warrants to Powerscourt Investments XXV LP ("Powerscourt"), with each warrant entitling Horizon and Powercourt the purchase of one whole at a purchase price of $0.06 Canadian Dollars per share at any time on or before May 31, 2028. Horizon and Powerscourt are the members/owners of HIMV LLC (70%/30%), the party to the APA. All other terms and conditions of the APA to remain the same.

BioVaxys and Horizon have further agreed that Section 7(c)(i) of the APA "Licensing Earn-Out Payments Term" be amended from the original "Eighth anniversary of the Closing Date" found in the last line of Section 7(c)(i) to August 11, 2033. During the Licensing Non-Sales Earn-Out Term, BioVaxys shares a predetermined percentage of net licensing non-sales revenues with Horizon.

The "Licensing Non-Sales Earn-Out Term" refers to payments received from an existing licensee or preexisting potential licensee, ending upon the expiration of the last valid claim of a former IMV patent that is the subject of the license agreement to which such existing licensee or preexisting potential licensee is party, and any other payment received under a license agreement, ending on August 11, 2033.

China’s HER2-Targeted ADC Trastuzumab Rezetecan Gains NMPA Approval for HER2-Mutant NSCLC

On May 29, 2025 The National Medical Products Administration reported that it has recently granted approval for Trastuzumab rezetecan, China’s first domestically developed antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), for treatment of adult patients with unresectable locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring activating HER2 (ERBB2) mutations who have previously received at least one systemic therapy (Press release, Hengrui Pharmaceuticals, MAY 29, 2025, View Source [SID1234653497]).

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The approval of Trastuzumab rezetecan was based on the pivotal HORIZON-Lung study led by Professor Lu Shun at Shanghai Chest Hospital, which demonstrated groundbreaking efficacy in HER2-mutant locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC patients who have received prior systemic therapy. The trial achieved a median follow-up of 14.2 months, an IRC-confirmed objective response rate (ORR) of 74.5%, and a median progression-free survival (mPFS) of 11.5 months—thereby doubling the efficacy of conventional treatments. In addition, Trastuzumab rezetecan significantly reduced the toxicity risks typically associated with conventional ADCs. These results have redefined global benchmarks for ADC research and garnered significant attention from the international scientific community.

Trastuzumab rezetecan has achieved breakthroughs in both efficacy and safety through pioneering molecular design from the ground up, a milestone made possible by Hengrui Pharmaceuticals’ decade-long development of its ADC R&D platform, the Hengrui Rapid Modular ADC Platform (HRMAP). HRMAP enables end-to-end capabilities spanning molecular design, preclinical optimization, and clinical translation. To date, Hengrui has advanced over 10 differentiated ADC candidates into clinical development, including Trastuzumab rezetecan, its flagship HER2-targeted ADC therapy.

Shun Lu, MD, PhD, Director of oncology department (Shanghai Lung Tumor Clinical Medical Center),China, and principal investigator of Horizon-Lung, said, "the HORIZON-Lung study validates Trastuzumab rezetecan as a transformative therapy for HER2-mutant NSCLC, addressing a critical unmet need for advanced HER2-driven NSCLC patients in China. Grounded in epidemiological data that accurately reflect China’s NSCLC epidemiological landscape, this therapeutic advance not only provides a novel treatment option for patients, but also heralds China’s emergence as a pioneering force in shaping the global ADC landscape for precision oncology.

Beyond its established efficacy in lung cancer, Trastuzumab rezetecan has demonstrated significant clinical advances across multiple tumor types, with eight additional indications—including breast cancer, colorectal cancer, gastric cancer, biliary tract cancer, cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, fallopian tube cancer, and primary peritoneal cancer—receiving Breakthrough Therapy Designation (BTD) from China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA).

Intensity Therapeutics, Inc.’s Phase 3 INVINCIBLE-3 Sarcoma Study Selected for Presentation at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2025 Annual Meeting

On May 29, 2025 Intensity Therapeutics, Inc. ("Intensity" or "the Company") (Nasdaq: INTS), a late-stage clinical biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of proprietary, novel immune-based intratumoral cancer therapies designed to kill tumors and increase immune system recognition of cancers, reported that the Company will be presenting a Trials in Progress poster outlining its Phase 3 INVINCIBLE-3 clinical trial of INT230-6 for the treatment of metastatic soft tissue sarcomas (Press release, Intensity Therapeutics, MAY 29, 2025, View Source [SID1234653496]). The poster will be shown at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) 2025 Annual Meeting held at McCormick Place in Chicago May 30-June 5, 2025.

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The poster, titled, "A Multicenter, Randomized, Global Phase 3 Study to Assess the Efficacy and Safety of Intratumoral (IT) INT230-6 (SHAO, VINblastine, Cisplatin) as Monotherapy Compared with Standard of Care Systemic Chemotherapy in Adults with Locally Recurrent, InoperaBLE, or Metastatic Soft Tissue Sarcomas (STS) (INVINCIBLE-3)," will be presented by Sant P. Chawla M.D., Director, Sarcoma Oncology Center of Southern California, during the "Sarcoma" session to be held on Saturday May 31, 2025 from 9:30 AM to 12 PM on panel 66a. An abstract of the poster, which outlines the Company’s Phase 3 study protocol, can be found here.

"The INVINCIBLE-3 trial is breaking new ground in metastatic sarcoma with a unique, new, investigational product, INT230-6. Following direct intratumoral injection, this drug product results in significant necrosis and the formation of cysts within tumors, with little residual cancer remaining in those injected tumors. A successful outcome of the INVICIBLE-3 study will require practicing physicians to think differently about setting dose and disease endpoints. INT230-6’s dose per tumor is set by the tumor size. In this protocol, survival advantage is the gold standard upon which the efficacy of a novel investigational agent such as INT230-6 would be ultimately based," said Dr. Chawla.

"We have designed a unique Phase 3 protocol comparing our local therapy to the best systemic standard of care based on our completed Phase 1/2 trial. In our first study, refractory, metastatic sarcoma patients whose disease continued to progress following a median of three prior lines of therapy received INT230-6 alone," said Lewis H. Bender, Intensity Therapeutics Founder, President, and CEO. "Those sarcoma patients showed immune engagement post-dose, uninjected tumors regressing, a disease control rate of 93%, and a median overall survival of 21.3 months with minimal treatment-associated adverse events. Eight regulatory agencies, including the U.S. FDA, have authorized the Phase 3 study. Until sufficient additional funding is obtained, new enrollment for the Phase 3 has been paused. We are continuing to treat the enrolled patients, maintain pharmacovigilance, monitor sites, and look forward to reinitiating recruitment as soon as sufficient resources are available."

About INT230-6

INT230-6, Intensity’s lead proprietary investigational product candidate, is designed for direct intratumoral injection. INT230-6 was discovered using Intensity’s proprietary DfuseRx℠ technology platform. The drug is composed of two proven, potent anti-cancer agents, cisplatin and vinblastine, and a penetration enhancer molecule (SHAO) that helps disperse potent cytotoxic drugs throughout tumors for diffusion into cancer cells. These agents remain in the tumor resulting in a favorable safety profile. In addition to local disease control, direct killing of the tumor by INT230-6 releases a bolus of neoantigens specific to the patient’s malignancy, leading to immune system engagement and systemic anti-tumor effects. Importantly, these effects are mediated without immunosuppression, which so often occurs with systemic chemotherapy.

About INVINCIBLE-3

INVINCIBLE-3 is a study to evaluate a novel, new drug product administered intratumorally by an interventional radiologist or an equivalently trained physician using image guidance compared to systemically dosed second- or third-line US standard of care chemotherapy. Patients will be randomized 2 to 1 to INT230-6 or pazopanib, trabectedin, or eribulin (selection of SOC depends on the sarcoma subtype). As this is a survival study, there is no crossover allowed between US SOC and INT230-6. Disease progression will be determined by the World Health Organization (WHO) Criteria in conjunction with evaluation of the post-treatment scans. Dosing beyond radiographic progression is allowed should tumors have low levels residual cancer on scans post baseline. Participants will be prospectively stratified into 1 of 3 histologically defined aSTS strata: leiomyosarcoma, liposarcoma (dedifferentiated, myxoid, round cell and pleomorphic) and undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma

The participants will undergo in 4 phases: screening, treatment, maintenance, and follow-up in the study. Study visits, tumor and endpoint assessments will occur as indicated in the procedural outlines as part of a schedule of events. Important inclusion criteria include: histologically proven, unresectable, locally advanced, or metastatic STS only of the following Participant must have a pathology report indicating the diagnosis of their STS. Participants must have received at least 1 line of therapy for STS and must have progressed following anthracycline-based or alternative standard therapies, except if medically contraindicated or refused by the participant. A participant cannot have received more than 2 prior regimens for unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic STS. Participants must have measurable disease per RECIST 1.1 criteria. Participants must have at least 1 target tumor ≥ 2 cm suitable for injection using routine image guidance, measurable by CT or MRI.

Key exclusion criteria include: Prior primary or metastatic brain or meningeal tumors unless clinically and radiographically stable as well as off steroid therapy for at least 2 months. History of severe hypersensitivity reactions to US SOC agents and vinblastine or cisplatin or other products of the same class and their excipients. Histologically proven, unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic STS subtypes other than those specified, for example, excluded subtypes include liposarcoma (well differentiated), desmoid or dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans. Other prior malignancy, except for adequately treated basal or squamous cell skin cancer or superficial bladder cancer, or any other cancer from which the participant has been disease-free for at least 2 years.

Diakonos Oncology to Present Phase I Results of Dubodencel (DOC1021), a Double-Loaded Dendritic Cell Therapy for Glioblastoma, at the ASCO 2025 Annual Meeting

On May 29, 2025 Diakonos Oncology Corp., a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a new generation of immunotherapies to treat challenging and aggressive cancers, reported that it will present new clinical data at the 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting, taking place in Chicago, IL (Press release, Diakonos Oncology, MAY 29, 2025, View Source [SID1234653495]). The presentation, titled "Vaccination by homologous antigenic loading with DOC1021 as adjuvant therapy for glioblastoma: Phase I clinical trial results," will highlight findings from the company’s Phase I trial of Dubodencel (DOC1021), a double-loaded dendritic cell therapy being evaluated for the treatment of glioblastoma, a highly aggressive brain tumor with a median overall survival of 14-18 months despite standard care. The study, recently completed, offers hope for improving outcomes in this devastating disease.

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"We will present the latest results in the evaluation of Dubodencel’s potential to enhance immune responses against glioblastoma, even in patients with poor prognostic factors," said Jay Hartenbach, President and COO of Diakonos Oncology. "Our approach focuses on leveraging the immune stimulating potential of dendritic cells, which play a crucial role in the adaptive immune response and can be exploited to provoke an intense and specific response to a patient’s tumor."

Presentation Details
Title: Vaccination by homologous antigenic loading with DOC1021 as adjuvant therapy for glioblastoma: Phase I clinical trial results
Authors: Joseph Georges, Christina Clay, Sabina Amin, Joseph Ifrach, Briana Burns, Akshar Trivedi, Wei Liu, Madhuri Namekar, Keenan Ernste, Vinod Ravi, Sigmund Hsu, Jay-Jiguang Zhu, Rodrick Zvavanjanja, Yoshua Esquenazi, Nitin Tandon, Alan Turtz, Laura Aguilar, Vanaja Konduri, William Decker
Abstract Number: 2014
Session Type: Rapid Oral Abstract Session
Session Title: Central Nervous System Tumors
Track: Central Nervous System Tumors
Sub Track: Primary CNS Tumors–Glioma
Session Date and Time: May 31, 2025, 3:00 PM-4:30 PM CDT
Location: Room S102, McCormick Place

About Dubodencel

Dubodencel, also known as DOC1021, is a first-in-class, double-loaded autologous dendritic cell therapy that uniquely combines tumor lysate and amplified tumor-derived mRNA. The immunotherapy is made with a patient’s dendritic cells combined with mRNA and proteins prepared from freshly obtained patient tumor specimens.

The unique double loading approach, which mimics a viral infection, unlocks a synergistic and exponentially more powerful tumor killing TH1 response driven by dual protein and RNA antigen sourcing, and it allows targeting of the complete cancer antigen pool. Moreover, the approach does not require any molecular modification of the patient’s immune cells for manufacturing, and does not require preconditioning of bone marrow or high dose IL-2 for administration. Dubodencel allows for a simple administration in the outpatient setting and broad reach via community cancer centers.

In addition to the recently opened Phase 2 GBM study, a clinical trial of Diakonos’ dubodencel is ongoing for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. Diakonos has received Fast Track designations from the FDA for both the GBM and pancreatic cancer programs, in October 2023 and May 2024, respectively. The company has also received Orphan Drug Designation for the GBM program in January 2024.

Grit Biotechnology Presents Clinical Breakthroughs at 2025 ASCO Annual Meeting

On May 29, 2025 Grit Biotechnology Co., Ltd. ("Grit Bio"), a clinical-stage biotech pioneering novel immunotherapies reported that three abstracts featuring new clinical data from tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) therapies will be presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) 42nd annual meeting, which is taking place in Chicago, IL from May 30th to June 3rd (Press release, Grit Bio, MAY 29, 2025, View Source [SID1234653494]).

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Grit Bio will provide the clinical updates of its leading TIL programs, including GT101 – an unmodified TIL therapy in treating recurrent and metastatic cervical cancer, GT201 – an armored TIL product expressing membrane bond IL-15 complex in treating various solid tumors, and GT300 – a CRISPR/Cas-edited dual KO TIL product in treating advanced solid tumors. The details of Grit Bio’s poster presentations are included below. The abstracts were published via the ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) website on May 22, 2025.

Title: GT101 autologous TIL therapy in patients with recurrent and metastatic cervical cancer: A phase 1 study.
Presentation Type: Poster
Time: 9:00 AM-12:00 PM CT, Sunday, June 1st
Poster # 431
Abstract #: 5533
Title: Assessing the Safety and Efficacy of GT201: A First-in-Class Autologous Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocyte Monotherapy in Advanced Solid Tumors
Presentation Type: Poster
Time: 9:00 AM-12:00 PM CT, Monday, June 2nd
Poster #: 446
Abstract #: 6038
Title: Evaluating the Safety and Efficacy of CRISPR/Cas-Modified Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes (GT300) as Monotherapy in Advanced Solid Tumors
Presentation Type: Poster
Time: 9:00 AM-12:00 PM CT, Sunday, June 1st
Poster #: 511
Abstract #: 5613
"We have harnessed cutting-edge technologies, including advanced gene editing tools, to enhance the potency and persistence of our TIL products, enabling the development of multiple differentiated TIL pipelines." said Dr. Yarong Liu, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Grit Biotechnology. "These therapies have demonstrated promising clinical potential across a wide range of indications. Looking forward, we remain committed to accelerating their clinical advancement and actively seeking global collaborations to bring these transformative therapies to patients worldwide."