On March 19, 2021 The Institute of Cancer Research, London (ICR) reported that its ‘resistance-busting’ drug EP0042 has entered a Phase I clinical trial in patients with cancers including acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) (Press release, AstraZeneca, MAR 19, 2021, View Source [SID1234576925]).

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The dual-inhibitor drug blocks the activity of two cancer-driving proteins from the Aurora and FLT3 families.

The discovery and initial development of EP0042 was conducted by scientists in ICR’s Cancer Research UK Cancer Therapeutics Unit, funded largely by Cancer Research UK with additional support from Breast Cancer Now.

According to ICR, EP0042 has shown promise as a potential treatment for patients with AML, by targeting FLT3-mutated cancer that become resistant to FLT3-selective inhibitor drugs.

It has also demonstrated potential as a treatment for additional cancer types, such as the childhood cancer neuroblastoma.

The development of EP0042 was advanced by Ellipses Pharma following successful negotiations between ICR and the company.

Under the terms of the deal between ICR and Ellipses, the company retains full responsibility for the EP0042 development programme, including pre-clinical studies and reformulation of the drug product to obtain clinical trial authorisation.

Ellipses will also be responsible for the progression of EP0042 into the clinic for the first-in-human trial, as well as any subsequent clinical studies.

The Phase I trial will be conducted at study centres planned in the UK, the Netherlands and Australia. If successful, EP0042 could progress into larger trials and become a new potential treatment for AML and neuroblastoma, ICR said in a statement.

"EP0042 is an innovative drug, targeting both Aurora and Flt3, and could ultimately counteract drug resistance in cancers including acute myeloid leukaemia and neuroblastoma," said Olivia Rossanese, head of cancer therapeutics at the ICR.

"It’s always a real pleasure to see one of our drugs enter Phase I trials – it’s the culmination of our work to translate our scientific understanding of how cancer grows into new therapies to treat patients. And it’s a reminder of the power of effective collaborations, with industry and our partners at The Royal Marsden, to develop and deliver new medicines to patients," she added.

On March 19, 2021 AstraZeneca/MSD reported that The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended Lynparza combined with Roche’s Avastin for certain patients with ovarian cancer via the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) (Press release, AstraZeneca, MAR 19, 2021, View Source [SID1234576921]).

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Through the CDF, Lynparza (olaparib) with Avastin (bevacizumab) can now be used as a maintenance treatment for patients with homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) positive advanced ovarian, fallopian tube and peritoneal cancer, following complete or partial response to first-line platinum-based chemotherapy and Avastin.

In the Phase III PAOLA-1 trial, Lynparza in combination with Avastin reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 67% in these patients, compared to treatment with Avastin alone.

Lynparza plus Avastin also increased the median progression-free survival (PFS) from 17.7 months with Avastin alone to 37.2 months.

"This announcement is an extremely positive sign of the progress we’re now making in ovarian cancer treatment," said Annwen Jones, chief executive of Target Ovarian Cancer

"The NICE recommendation and the introduction of HRD testing means that so many more women will receive treatment personalised to them. The future we want to see – where every woman with ovarian cancer has access to innovative treatments – has come a big step closer," she added.

Around 48% of women with newly-diagnosed advanced ovarian cancer have HRD-positive tumours.

NHS England, to support the introduction of the Lynparza plus Avastin treatment regimen, is making genomic HRD testing available for the first time.

This test determines both HRD and somatic BRCA mutation status, by testing only one tumour sample.

"From today, more women will have the chance to benefit from this personalised treatment regimen that could change the course of their disease, with data showing that disease progression could be stalled for more than three years," said David Long, UK oncology business unit director, MSD.

"It’s now crucial that every woman in England who could possibly benefit from this treatment combination is offered an HRD test," he added.

On March 19, 2021 Everest Medicines (HKEX 1952.HK), a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing transformative pharmaceutical products that address critical unmet medical needs for patients in Greater China and other parts of Asia, reported that it will report financial results for the full year ended December 31, 2020 and provide a business update on March 22, 2021 (Press release, Everest Medicines, MAR 19, 2021, View Source [SID1234576917]).

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Conference Call Information

A live conference call will be hosted on March 22, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. China Standard Time (March 21, 2021 at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time). Details are as follows:

Conference ID 7234522#

A replay will be available shortly after the call and can be accessed by visiting the Company’s website at View Source

On March 19, 2021 Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC) reported a reminder that it will release its 2021 first quarter financial results at approximately 6 a.m. (Eastern Time) on Tuesday, April 27, 2021, and host a conference call afterwards at approximately 8:30 a.m. (Eastern Time) to review the results. Michael F. Neidorff, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Jeffrey A. Schwaneke, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, of Centene Corporation will host the call (Press release, Centene , MAR 19, 2021, View Source [SID1234576916]).

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Investors and other interested parties are invited to listen to the conference call by dialing 1-877-883-0383 in the U.S. and Canada; +1-412-902-6506 from abroad, including the following Elite Entry Number: 9872494, to expedite caller registration; or via a live, audio webcast on the Company’s website at www.centene.com, under the Investors section.

A webcast replay will be available for on-demand listening shortly after the completion of the call for the next 12 months or until 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Time) on Tuesday, April 26, 2022, at the aforementioned URL. In addition, a digital audio playback will be available until 9 a.m. (Eastern Time) on Tuesday, May 4, 2021, by dialing 1-877-344-7529 in the U.S. and Canada, or +1-412-317-0088 from abroad, and entering access code 10153375.

Later that same day, the company will host its Annual Shareholder Meeting in a virtual format at 11:00 a.m. ET. Information on and shareholder registration for the meeting can be found at: www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/CNC2021.

On March 19, 2021 Cygnal Therapeutics, the first company to build a platform to develop drugs in the new field of exoneural biology, reported that it will present two posters at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting 2021, which will take place virtually from April 10-15 and May 17-21, 2021. The posters will describe insights into exoneural biology discovered via Cygnal’s Exoneural Medicine Platform (EMP).

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Poster Title: Neural communication to peripheral tumors regulates cancer cell activity
Number: 1450
Presenter: Monica Thanawala, Ph.D.

Poster Title: Novel mechanisms of Neuropilin-1 inhibition result in improved tumor growth inhibition in vivo
Number: 526
Presenters: Shalini Sethumadhavan, Ph.D., and Eric Zhu, Ph.D.

Both posters will be offered virtually, and Cygnal’s presenters will be available to answer questions via the AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper)’s online system during and after the event. The posters will be available for viewing by registered attendees from April 10 until June 21, 2021.