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Moleculin Announces Inclusion in the Russell 2000® Index

On June 15, 2021 Moleculin Biotech, Inc., (Nasdaq: MBRX) ("Moleculin" or the "Company"), a clinical stage pharmaceutical company with a broad portfolio of drug candidates targeting highly resistant tumors and viruses, reported that as part of the annual reconstitution of the Russell stock indexes, Moleculin has been selected to be added to the Russell 2000 Index effective after the close of the U.S. equity markets on June 25, 2021 (Press release, Moleculin, JUN 15, 2021, View Source [SID1234584015]).

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Moleculin Biotech, Inc. is a clinical stage pharmaceutical company focused on the development of a broad portfolio of oncology drug candidates for the treatment of highly resistant tumors. (PRNewsfoto/Moleculin Biotech, Inc.)

"We are pleased to have been included in this year’s reconstitution of the Russell 2000 Index. Our team has worked tirelessly to advance the Company on multiple fronts and we believe this inclusion is further evidence of those efforts. We are grateful for the opportunity to access increased market exposure to help drive awareness of our development programs seeking to solve the toughest challenges in highly resistant cancers and viruses," commented Walter Klemp, Chairman and CEO of Moleculin.

The Russell 2000 Index measures the performance of the small-cap segment of the US equity market. The Russell 2000 Index is a subset of the Russell 3000 Index representing approximately 10% of the total market capitalization of that index. It includes approximately 2,000 of the smallest securities based on a combination of their market cap and current index membership.

Russell indexes are widely used by investment managers and institutional investors for index funds and as benchmarks for active investment strategies. Approximately $9 trillion in assets are benchmarked against Russell’s U.S. indexes which are part of FTSE Russell, a global index leader that provides innovative benchmarking, analytics and data solutions for investors worldwide.

Jounce Therapeutics Achieves First Milestone in Exclusive License Agreement with Gilead Sciences and FDA Clearance of Investigational New Drug Application for Anti-CCR8 Antibody

On June 15, 2021 Jounce Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: JNCE), a clinical-stage company focused on the discovery and development of novel cancer immunotherapies and predictive biomarkers, reported the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) clearance of its Investigational New Drug (IND) application for JTX-1811, an anti-CCR8 antibody, for which Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: GILD) has exclusive rights to develop and commercialize (Press release, Jounce Therapeutics, JUN 15, 2021, View Source [SID1234584014]). The IND clearance triggers a $25.0 million milestone payment to Jounce.

JTX-1811, which will be referred to as GS-1811 in Gilead’s pipeline, is a monoclonal antibody created by Jounce and designed to selectively deplete immunosuppressive tumor-infiltrating T regulatory (TITR) cells. The target of JTX-1811 is CCR8, a chemokine receptor enriched on TITR cells. When JTX-1811 binds to CCR8, it targets TITR cells for depletion by enhancing an antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity mechanism.

"The clearance of the JTX-1811 IND marks an important and validating milestone for Jounce in our approach to cancer immunotherapy treatment. We have now been able to bring multiple novel and diversified immunotherapy development candidates into clinical development, further enhancing our opportunity to bring benefit to cancer patients who have few options. Specifically, this is our fourth internally-developed antibody in five years and is testament to the power of our discovery to early development engine" said Richard Murray, PhD, Chief Executive Officer and President of Jounce Therapeutics. "We look forward to JTX-1811’s continued advancement as Gilead progresses this program into the clinic."

Under the terms of the September 2020 agreement, Gilead invested $35.0 million in Jounce’s common stock and made an $85.0 million upfront payment to Jounce. Jounce has led the development of JTX-1811 through IND clearance, after which Gilead now has the sole right to develop and commercialize the program. After receiving this $25.0 million milestone payment, Jounce may receive up to an additional $660.0 million in future clinical, regulatory and commercial milestone payments and will also be eligible to receive royalties ranging from high single digit to mid-teens based upon worldwide sales. Any milestone or royalty paid to Jounce is subject to certain reductions as described in the license agreement

Umoja Biopharma Closes an Oversubscribed $210 Million Series B Financing to Expand Integrated Immunotherapy Platforms and Advance Programs to the Clinic

On June 15, 2021 Umoja Biopharma, an oncology company leveraging its proprietary integrated technologies to reprogram immune cells in vivo to create next-generation immunotherapies for the treatment of solid tumors and hematologic malignancies, reported the completion of an oversubscribed $210 million Series B financing (Press release, Umoja Biopharma, JUN 15, 2021, View Source [SID1234584013]). The proceeds will enable Umoja to continue development of its integrated technologies, advance its product candidates based on CAR T-cell adapter-mediated tumor-targeting (TumorTag) and the in vivo modification of immune cells (VivoVec and RACR/CAR) into clinical development, and build internal manufacturing capabilities to support preclinical and clinical development of its pipeline programs.

The financing was co-led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Cormorant Asset Management with participation from new investors, including RTW Investments, LP; Temasek; Presight Capital (the international venture arm of Christian Angermayer’s Apeiron Investment Group); Caas Capital; and an investment fund associated with SVB Leerink. They were joined by all the company’s existing investors: MPM Capital, DCVC Bio, Qiming Venture Partners USA, Casdin Capital, The Emerson Collective, and Alexandria Venture Investments.

"Umoja has made tremendous strides in the past year, including advancing our preclinical programs, expanding manufacturing capabilities, and bringing on key hires to prepare for our next phase of development and growth," said Andrew Scharenberg, M.D., co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Umoja Biopharma. "We are excited to continue this momentum, with ongoing efforts to further validate our in vivo-based approach for maximum patient impact in both solid tumors and hematologic malignancies."

The Series B funding will be used in part to advance Umoja’s two lead programs into the clinic: TumorTag UB-TT170 for folate receptor-expressing solid tumors, and VivoVec UB-VV100 for CD19+ hematological cancers.

"Umoja’s fully integrated approach is capable of engineering a patient’s own immune system to attack and destroy tumors with a simplicity and cost that enables widespread implementation," said Ryan Crisman, Ph.D., co-founder and Chief Technical Officer. "We believe our team is well positioned to deliver on the next wave of immuno-oncology therapies, providing transformative benefits as well as improving access to all patients."

Umoja will continue adding to its team to support the company’s rapid growth, building upon the recently announced leadership appointments of Nushmia Khokhar, M.D., as Chief Medical Officer, Irena Melnikova, Ph.D., as Chief Financial Officer, and David Fontana, Ph.D., as Chief Business and Strategy Officer, while also expanding its footprint to include a manufacturing operations site in Boulder, Colo.

Alentis Therapeutics Raises USD 67 Million in Series B Financing

On June 15, 2021 Alentis Therapeutics, the Swiss biotech developing breakthrough treatments for fibrotic diseases, reported that it has raised USD67 (CHF60) million in a Series B financing round (Press release, Alentis Therapeutics, JUN 15, 2021, View Source [SID1234584012]). The funding will be used primarily for proof-of-concept clinical trials of Alentis’ first in class, Claudin-1 targeting, anti-fibrotic molecules in advanced liver and kidney fibrosis, and support ongoing drug discovery programs targeting other fibrotic diseases and hepatobiliary cancers.

Morningside Venture Investments led the financing, joined by Jeito Capital and Series A investors BioMed Partners, BB Pureos Bioventures, Bpifrance through its InnoBio 2 fund, High-Tech Gründerfonds and Schroders Capital.

"Our investors recognize the high unmet medical need," said Dr. Roberto Iacone, CEO of Alentis, "They feel a great sense of urgency to develop innovative treatments for patients with life-threatening fibrotic diseases as well as related deadly cancers such as hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma." Dr. Iacone added, "This will fuel our strategy of expanding the indications for Claudin-1 targeting agents and further build our pipeline of proprietary product candidates.

Prof. Thomas Baumert, founder of Alentis, said that in the US and Europe alone, about 45% of deaths can be attributed to fibrotic disorders. He said that fibrosis affects nearly all tissues and organ systems such as the liver, kidneys and lungs.

"Fibrosis is an important risk factor for cancer, and Claudin-1 has a well-established role in cancer biology including tumor invasion and metastasis," Prof. Baumert said. "Given the absent and unsatisfactory treatment options, it’s critical that we deliver new therapeutics for patients suffering from fibrosis and cancer."

In addition, Alentis welcomed Jason Dinges of Morningside and Rafaèle Tordjman, founder and CEO of Jeito Capital, to its Board of Directors, effective immediately.

"We are excited about Alentis’ first-in-class approach to potentially enable effective treatments for fibrotic diseases with significant unmet medical need," said Dr. Dinges. "We look forward to supporting this exceptional team as they pioneer modulation of Claudin-1, an important and highly promising target in fibrosis and oncology."

"Our investment in Alentis is very much in line with Jeito’s goal to accelerate the growth of companies developing treatments for severely ill patients with no other options. We provide input into the science right through to the product’s market access," said Dr. Tordjman. "Alentis has an outstanding and experienced team from pharma and biotech and is focused on a unique target, based on the founder’s work and his team of more than 10 years."

Alentis’ unique therapeutic approach focuses on the inhibition of Claudin-1 outside the tight junction and its downstream signalling acting on cell fate and plasticity. Alentis’ lead molecules ALE.F02 and ALE.C04 are highly selective anti-Claudin-1 mAb that recognize pathological overexpressed and conformation-dependent Claudin-1 epitopes in fibrotic disease and cancer. In preclinical studies, the lead molecule ALE.F02 modulates the function of non-junctional Claudin-1, preventing, and possibly reversing, the growth of fibrotic tissue within the liver and kidney by changing the plasticity of key cell types mediating fibrosis. Safety studies in non-human primates have supported translatability of the approach into patients. Alentis expects to initiate its first clinical trial in Q4 2021.

Champions Oncology and BGI Americas Announce a Strategic Partnership to provide Mass Spectrometry Proteomics, Metabolomics, and multi-omic Data Analysis Solutions

On June 15, 2021 Champions Oncology (NASDAQ: CSBR), a technology-enabled research organization reported that they have entered into a strategic partnership with BGI Americas (Press release, Champions Oncology, JUN 15, 2021, View Source [SID1234584011]).

Through this partnership, BGI will now have access to Champions’ Lumin Bioinformatics platform, a revolutionary data interpretation tool, to display and deliver proteomics data to their clients. By leveraging Lumin, BGI’s customers will be able to gain novel insights from their proteomics data using unique multi-omic datasets assembled from over 25,000 cancer patients. Lumin Bioinformatics allows oncology scientists and bioinformaticians to analyze and visualize cancer model public and proprietary datasets to illuminate the cellular dynamics of cancer, through specialized modules such as gene signatures, network viewers, synergy plots and even gene dependency mapper tools using AI machine learning technology.

Through this partnership Champions Oncology will be able to offer to its customers multi-omics biomarker discovery and validation solutions by leveraging BGI’s advanced mass spectrometry services in proteomics and metabolomics. Specifically, BGI’s Mass Spectrometry Center in San Jose, California will be responsible for sample preparation as well as generation and analysis of proteomics and metabolomics data using the lab’s cutting-edge mass spectrometers, including Thermo Fisher Q Exactive HF-X, Orbitrap Fusion Lumos, and Orbitrap Eclipse. Furthermore, this partnership will enable Champions to further enhance the characterization of its highly annotated, clinically relevant, and continuously expanding PDX bank with proteomic and metabolomic profiling datasets. By partnering as preferred providers, BGI and Champions will offer their customers a fully streamlined workflow from data generation to analysis and interpretation, to address the needs of a variety of drug discovery and development projects.

"Partnerships with global leaders in cutting edge technologies like genomics and proteomics are critical to Champions providing the most diverse and robust model datasets through our Lumin Bioinformatics platform," said Ronnie Morris, MD, CEO of Champions Oncology. "This partnership helps to solidify Champions Oncology as a global leader in data-driven solutions and an ideal partner for biomarker discovery and validation efforts."