On December 4, 2019 COTA, Inc., a healthcare technology company that uses real-world data (RWD) to bring clarity to cancer care, reported is presenting posters at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) Annual Meeting & Exposition, ASH (Free ASH Whitepaper) 2019, in Orlando, FL from December 7-10, 2019 (Press release, COTA, DEC 4, 2019, https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cota-presents-posters-at-ash-annual-meeting-reviewing-complexities-of-generating-rwd-and-how-it-complements-traditional-clinical-trial-data-300969065.html [SID1234551947]). Collectively, the posters review existing challenges for generating RWD and the promise of this data to support new research in cancer biology.

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"The genetic environment – whether of individual patients or cancer cells – is playing an increasing role in how patients are being treated. Examining sources of real-world data in depth allows us to quickly, inexpensively test hypotheses related to the treatment of patients with specific biomarkers and their outcomes," said Andrew Norden, MD, Chief Medical Officer at COTA.

The Unforeseen Medical and Business Challenges Found When Integrating Abstracted Data from Disparate EHR Systems While Building the Curecloud Direct-to-Patient Multiple Myeloma Registry

Researchers from COTA and Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) explore challenges associated with existing methods of patient data curation to build the MMRF Registry. Despite a significant investment in electronic health records in the United States, many institutions are unable to provide relevant, research-grade clinical data in a timely, cost-free, and coded manner. A comprehensive, research-focused data abstraction process for coded data exchange is being established to support future RWD projects.

Chromosome 1q Amplification Is Associated with a History of Prior Malignancies Among Patients Newly Diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma

Researchers from COTA and Hackensack University Medical Center studied patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma who also had a history of prior malignancy. Using COTA’s RWD, they were able to identify an association with a prior history of cancer, especially prostate cancer, and amp(1q) in multiple myeloma. This relationship is worth further exploration of whether there is a common pathway associated with these characteristics. These findings are significant because patients with prior malignancies are often excluded from enrollment in clinical trials and rarely studied. Overall, the results reported suggest that RWD is an efficient and comparatively inexpensive tool to support research in cancer biology.

Thanks to a growing understanding and acceptance of RWD by regulatory bodies, it has been increasingly incorporated into clinical research, helping to expedite studies compared with traditional clinical trial methods alone. Rather than replacing clinical trials, these two models can complement each other to improve clinical trial design and postmarket research, allowing for a more complete picture of the patient group being studied.

Members of COTA’s Life Sciences team will be at ASH (Free ASH Whitepaper) to discuss their work with the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) and Hackensack University Medical Center (HUMC). Contact [email protected] to set up a meeting to learn more about how RWD can accelerate clinical research and ultimately reduce the cost of clinical trials.

The two posters will be exhibited in Hall B, Level 2 on Monday, December 9, 2019, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM and Saturday, December 7, 2019, 5:30 PM-7:30 PM.

On December 4, 2019 ViewRay, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRAY), maker of the MRIdian, which combines MRI and external-beam radiation therapy to simultaneously image and treat cancer patients, reported the pricing of an underwritten public offering of 41,550,000 shares of common stock at a price to the public of $3.13 per share, for gross proceeds of approximately $130.1 million, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by ViewRay (Press release, ViewRay, DEC 4, 2019, View Source [SID1234551946]). All of the shares to be sold in the offering will be offered by ViewRay. In addition, ViewRay has granted the underwriters of the offering a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 6,232,500 shares of common stock at the public offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions.

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ViewRay intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for working capital and general corporate purposes, including capital expenditures, research and development expenses, investments, commercial expenses, clinical data generation costs and infrastructure expenses.

The offering is expected to close on or about December 6, 2019, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

On December 4, 2019 Nordic Nanovector ASA (OSE: NANO) reported that new data from preclinical studies investigating the effect of Betalutin (177Lu-lilotomab satetraxetan) on non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) cell lines will be presented in a poster at the 61st American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) Annual Meeting & Exposition (7-10 December 2019 in Orlando, FL, USA) (Press release, Nordic Nanovector, DEC 4, 2019, View Source [SID1234551945]).

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The ongoing research programme aims to investigate resistance mechanisms that enable NHL cells to survive Betalutin treatment and to identify molecules that, when used in combination with Betalutin, could overcome that resistance. The findings of this research could direct future programmes designed to expand the use of Betalutin-based therapies in NHL patients.

The research being presented at ASH (Free ASH Whitepaper) builds on data previously presented (at the European Haematology Association annual meeting in June 2018) describing how a screen of more than 50 different NHL cell lines identified some cell lines that were resistant to Betalutin. Two resistant cell lines were aggressive diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) cell lines (the double-hit/double-expressor ABC-DLBCL cell lines RIVA and U2932).

The new poster reports how these two aggressive DLBCL cell lines have been used in a new screen where Betalutin has been combined with 384 different anti-cancer drugs to identify the Betalutin/drug combinations that could potentially contribute to reverting resistance.

Jostein Dahle, Chief Scientific Officer of Nordic Nanovector, said: "Our ongoing research programmes and collaborations continue to help us understand how NHL cells react to Betalutin treatment. Understanding the mechanisms of resistance to Betalutin, and how to overcome them, is crucial for being able to deliver optimal treatment to patients with difficult to treat tumours. In the case of Betalutin-based treatment, which to date has demonstrated an encouraging clinical profile, such combination strategies could further enhance its potential to become an important option for NHL patients."

Abstract 2574

Abstract title: The Dual Cell Cycle Kinase Inhibitor JNJ-7706621 Reverses Resistance to CD37 Targeted Radioimmunotherapy in Activated B Cell like Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma Cell Lines

Authors: G.E. Rødland et al.

Session Name: 605. Molecular Pharmacology, Drug Resistance-Lymphoid and Other Diseases: Poster II

Date: Sunday, 8 December 2019
Presentation Time: 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM Eastern time
Location: Orange County Convention Center, Hall B

The abstract is available at View Source and the poster will be published on the Nordic Nanovector website to coincide with the session.

About ASH (Free ASH Whitepaper)

The ASH (Free ASH Whitepaper) annual meeting is the premier event for scientific exchange in the field of haematology, attracting more than 20,000 attendees from all over the world. Typically, more than 5,000 scientific abstracts are submitted each year, and more than 3,000 abstracts are accepted for oral and poster presentations through an extensive peer review process. View Source

On December 4, 2019 Dong-A ST Co., Ltd. (170900: Korea SE), a Korean pharmaceutical company, and Beactica Therapeutics AB, a Swedish drug discovery company, reported that a lead compound meeting certain pre-defined criteria has been selected in their collaborative research programme aimed at developing first-in-class protein-protein interaction inhibitors for a target of therapeutic importance in cancer and other diseases (Press release, Dong-A, DEC 4, 2019, View Source [SID1234551944]).

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The milestone transition provides Dong-A ST with exclusive global rights for further development and commercialization of products based on, or derived from, the lead compound. In return, Beactica receives an undisclosed milestone payment and is eligible to further payments for certain preclinical, clinical and regulatory milestones as well as royalties on commercial sales of the products resulting from the partnership. Beactica is also entitled to a revenue share from any related future licensing activities by Dong-A ST. Full financial details remain undisclosed.

"The collaboration between Dong-A and Beactica was initiated to develop next generation anti-cancer therapeutics and we greatly appreciate the phenomenal contribution Beactica has made in identifying novel modulators for a highly sought-after target," said Dr Taeyoung Yoon, Senior Vice President and Head of Research of Dong-A ST. "We are committed to advance this innovative programme with the ultimate aim to make a clinical impact where it is urgently needed."

"We are delighted to achieve this milestone under our collaboration with Dong-A, further validating the strength of our approach and drug discovery platform, as well as our success in collaborating globally with leading pharmaceutical companies," said Dr Per Källblad, CEO of Beactica. "Dong-A’s commitment to advance this programme towards the clinic is encouraging."

The collaboration between Dong-A ST and Beactica Therapeutics was initiated in October 2016 and expanded in December 2018.

On December 4, 2019 MaxCyte, the global cell-based therapies and life sciences company, and KSQ Therapeutics, a biotechnology company using its proprietary CRISPRomics discovery platform to achieve higher probabilities of success in drug development, reported that the companies have entered into a new development and commercialization agreement (Press release, MaxCyte, DEC 4, 2019, View Source;adoptive-cell-therapy-programs-300968617.html [SID1234551943]). Under the agreement, KSQ gains rights to use MaxCyte’s Flow Electroporation technology and ExPERT instruments for the advancement of KSQ’s engineered tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (eTIL) programs, which the company is developing for the treatment of PD-1 refractory solid tumors.

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Under the terms of the agreement, KSQ obtains non-exclusive clinical and commercial use rights to MaxCyte’s cell engineering platform to develop multiple adoptive cell therapies. In return, MaxCyte is eligible to receive certain milestone payments in addition to other licensing fees.

"Adoptive cell therapies hold significant potential to improve outcomes for patients that are otherwise unresponsive to current treatments," said David Meeker, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of KSQ. "MaxCyte’s technology will play an important role in enabling the further development of our eTIL programs as we work to bring best-in-class, cell-based medicines forward for difficult to treat solid tumors."

MaxCyte’s ExPERT instrument family represents the next generation of leading, clinically validated, electroporation technology for complex and scalable cellular engineering. By delivering high transfection efficiency with enhanced functionality, the ExPERT platform delivers the high-end performance essential to enable the next wave of biological and cellular therapeutics.

"We are delighted to have signed this agreement with KSQ Therapeutics, a company that’s forging an exciting path in the field of adoptive cell therapies with the potential to deliver significant benefits to patients. This is the fifth commercial license we have signed this year, demonstrating that MaxCyte is the partner of choice for leading technology companies, like KSQ, that are at the cutting edge of cell therapy and gene editing," said Doug Doerfler, President & CEO of MaxCyte, Inc.