On January 28, 2020 West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE: WST), a global leader in innovative solutions for injectable drug administration, reported that it was recently named as a Top Company for Corporate Responsibility practices by both Newsweek and Investor’s Business Daily (Press release, West Pharmaceutical Services, JAN 28, 2020, View Source [SID1234553621]).

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Newsweek has named West to its America’s Most Responsible Companies 2020 list. Newsweek’s partner, Statista Inc., who conducted the analysis, focused on areas such as Leadership Diversity, Employees and Philanthropy & Engagement as well as making a difference in local communities. After examining the top 2,000 public companies (by revenue), West was ranked #166 overall as among the "most committed to Corporate Responsibility" and was ranked in the Top 20 among companies in the Health Care & Life Sciences industry. West also ranked #9 overall for companies headquartered in Pennsylvania.

West is also honored to have been ranked #19 on Investor’s Business Daily’s 50 Best ESG Companies list. This recognition honors companies with strong financial performance that hold true to their ESG (environmental, social and governance) values. Among companies with ESG ratings of AAA or AA from MSCI ESG Research as of September 11, 2019, the top 50 recognized companies earned the highest IBD Composite Ratings, which is a marker of strong stock growth. West was ranked #3 in the Health Care sector.

"We are honored that West has been recognized for our Corporate Responsibility initiatives by these two publications," shared Steve Walton, VP, HSE & Corporate Responsibility. "This recognition is a testament to the great work our team members are doing to make their communities and the world a better place. I’m excited to keep the momentum going as we push forward with a continued focus and commitment into 2020 and beyond."

In addition to this Top Companies recognition, over the past year West has received several additional CR focused awards, recognizing the global efforts of the Company and its team members. These awards include: the CSR Initiative Award and Corporate Social Responsibility Programme of the Year Award, both presented to West’s Dublin, Ireland site; the Goodwill Employer of the Year Award, presented to West’s Kearney, NE site; the West Chester University Corporate President’s Award; and the Philadelphia Business Journal’s Faces of Philanthropy distinction.

West’s award-winning Corporate Responsibility Program is committed to nurturing a culture of diversity and inclusion and supporting the communities in which its team members live and work. One major element of the Program is West’s culture of giving. West targets its global philanthropic efforts to support children, people with disabilities, healthcare and education, with a focus on STEM. Health and Safety is also a key focus area, as West is committed to designing and operating its facilities to provide a healthy and safe workplace. In addition, environmental considerations are taken into account for every aspect of West’s business, and its Sustainability Program targets reductions in areas where West can make the greatest difference: greenhouse gas emissions, waste, energy and water usage, and increased recycling.

On January 28, 2020 Syros Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: SYRS), a leader in the development of medicines that control the expression of genes, reported that the first patient has been dosed in the Phase 1 clinical trial of SY-5609, its highly selective and potent oral cyclin-dependent kinase 7 (CDK7) inhibitor (Press release, Syros Pharmaceuticals, JAN 28, 2020, View Source [SID1234553620]). The trial is enrolling patients with advanced breast, colorectal, lung or ovarian cancer, or with solid tumors of any histology that harbor Rb pathway alterations.

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"SY-5609 represents a promising new approach for treating a number of cancers that have eluded treatment with other targeted approaches," said Kyriakos P. Papadopoulos, M.D., Co-Director of Clinical Research at South Texas Accelerated Research Therapeutics (START), and a clinical investigator in the trial. "We are always looking for opportunities to accelerate the development of new treatments to improve patients’ lives and give them real hope against cancer. SY-5609 has demonstrated compelling preclinical activity in a range of cancer models, and we are excited to further investigate it in this Phase 1 study."

SY-5609 has shown substantial anti-tumor activity, including complete regressions, in multiple preclinical models of solid tumors, including breast, colorectal, lung and ovarian cancers, at doses below the maximum tolerated dose (MTD). In preclinical studies of breast, lung and ovarian cancers, deeper and more sustained responses were associated with the presence of Rb pathway alterations. SY-5609 has also shown anti-tumor activity in combination with fulvestrant in treatment-resistant models of estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer, including those resistant to both fulvestrant and a CDK4/6 inhibitor.

"SY-5609 is a potentially transformative targeted approach for a range of difficult-to-treat cancers," said David A. Roth, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of Syros. "CDK7 inhibition attacks two fundamental processes in cancer: increased expression of cancer-driving genes, and uncontrolled cell cycle progression. Based on this dual mechanism and the exquisite selectivity and preclinical potency of SY-5609, we believe it could provide a profound benefit for patients in dire need of new therapies. We have designed our Phase 1 trial to move efficiently through dose escalation and to increase the chances of seeing early signals of clinical activity by focusing on patient populations we believe are most likely to respond."

The Phase 1 trial is a multi-center, open-label, dose-escalation trial that is expected to enroll approximately 60 patients with advanced breast, colorectal, lung or ovarian cancer, or with solid tumors of any histology that harbor Rb pathway alterations. The primary objectives of the dose escalation are to assess the safety and tolerability of escalating doses of SY-5609, with the goal of establishing an MTD. Additional objectives include assessments of anti-tumor activity, pharmacokinetics (PK), pharmacodynamics (PD) and potential predictive biomarkers, including Rb pathway alterations. In a future expansion portion of the Phase 1 trial, multiple cohorts are planned to further evaluate the safety and anti-tumor activity of SY-5609 as both a single agent and in combination with other therapies.

Syros expects to report initial safety, tolerability and PK/PD data in the fourth quarter of 2020 and additional dose-escalation data, including clinical activity, in mid-2021.

On January 28, 2020 Nymox Pharmaceutical Corporation (NASDAQ: NYMX) is reported to provide a current January 2020 update on several important corporate activities and achievements since the last update in October 2019 (Press release, Nymox, JAN 28, 2020, View Source [SID1234553619]).

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The Company recently received the necessary information regarding the formatting and content of its upcoming regulatory filings for its Fexapotide Triflutate (FT) first in class injectable drug to treat the symptoms of prostate enlargement (BPH) in men. The Company is proceeding to integrate safety data from its four Phase I and Phase II BPH clinical trials as well as the safety data from Prostate Cancer Study NX03-0040 into the final dataset (that also includes 4 Phase 3 trials) that will be part of the New Drug Application (NDA) submission. The filings seeking approvals in the US and in Europe are now targeted for the first half of 2020 in both jurisdictions. At this point, the Company does not have any barriers to report and does not expect any delays.

Nymox is further pleased to report that another peer review publication (as anticipated in the Company’s October 21, 2019 Press Release) was recently accepted and published in Research and Reports in Urology. This publication discusses the selective cellular ablation capabilities of Fexapotide Triflutate to induce apoptosis (natural cell death) in prostate glandular cells which are a major part of the prostate enlargement which defines benign prostatic hyperplasia. Selective pharmaco-ablation is achieved while leaving the nerve cells and urethra and other nearby tissues (all crucial for normal sexual function) unaffected. In fact, the Company has previously reported a statistically significant improvement in sexual function reported by men treated with FT for BPH in its U.S. Phase III long-term follow up studies.

A fourth new and important peer review article is expected to appear in the near term. Further information will be provided when the new article appears.

Dr Paul Averback, CEO commented, "We are very pleased to provide these positive substantiated updates to shareholders today. Now, after many months of intensive work with our regulatory advisors and experts, we are confident that we have the needed clarity concerning the optimal formatting and content protocols being undertaken. The Company is currently highly focused on expeditiously completing the final legs of its regulatory pre-filing responsibilities."

The new peer review article reported in January 2020 and published in Research and Reports in Urology provided detailed documentation of the selective pharmco-ablation mechanism of action of FT, demonstrating the highly selective reduction of prostate cells which comprises one of the most important underlying reasons for the highly superior safety and efficacy of Fexapotide.

According to the new paper, "a traditional major challenge for treatment has been to promote or to directly produce tissue destruction that is structurally selective at the microscopic (histological) level, in order to avoid undesirable toxicities and irreparable damage to key adjacent structures. For example, transurethral resection, high energy laser extirpations and other methods may damage prostatic nerves and peri-urethral musculature, with the consequent occurrences of ejaculatory disorders, sexual dysfunction and /or incontinence."

The article further states, "this is the first demonstration of a molecular treatment that can produce structurally significant and focally targeted destruction of prostate epithelial gland growth combined with complete or near complete preservation of key nerves and structural elements in intimate structural proximity to the foci of ablation."

A review article on the progress in the development of Fexapotide entitled "Efficacy and safety of fexapotide triflutate in outpatient medical treatment of male lower urinary tract symptoms associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia" authored by Neal Shore, MD, FACS (Carolina Urologic Research Center, Myrtle Beach, SC); Ronald Tutrone, MD, FACS (Chesapeake Urology Research Associates, Baltimore, MD); and Claus G. Roehrborn, MD (University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX) was published in Therapeutic Advances in Urology. 2019;11:1-16.

The clinical trial results for Fexapotide treatment of BPH are published in the World Journal of Urology May 2018, Volume 36, pages 801–809 (View Source) in a peer review report entitled "Fexapotide Triflutate: Results of Long- Term Safety and Efficacy Trials of a Novel Injectable Therapy for Symptomatic Prostate Enlargement" authored by Neal Shore, MD, FACS (Carolina Urologic Research Center, Myrtle Beach, SC); Ronald Tutrone, MD, FACS (Chesapeake Urology Research Associates, Baltimore, MD); Mitchell Efros, MD, FACS (Accumed Research, Garden City, NY); Mohamed Bidair, MD (San Diego Clinical Trials, San Diego, CA); Barton Wachs, MD (Atlantic Urology Medical Group, Long Beach, CA); Susan Kalota, MD (Urological Associates of Southern Arizona, Tucson, AZ); Sheldon Freedman, MD, FACS (Freedman Urology, Las Vegas, NV); James Bailen, MD, FACS (First Urology, Louisville, KY); Richard Levin, MD, FACS (Chesapeake Urology Research Associates, Towson, MD); Stephen Richardson, MD (Jean Brown Research, Salt Lake City, UT); Jed Kaminetsky, MD, FACS (University Urology, New York, NY); Jeffrey Snyder, MD, FACS (Genitourinary Surgical Consultants, Denver, CO); Barry Shepard, MD, FACS (Urological Surgeons of Long Island, Garden City, NY); Kenneth Goldberg, MD, FACS (U T Southwestern Dept of Urology, Lewisville, TX); Alan Hay, MD, FACS (Willamette Urology, Salem, OR); Steven Gange, MD, FACS (Summit Urology Group, Salt Lake City, UT); Ivan Grunberger, MD, FACS (Brooklyn Urology, Brooklyn, NY).

On January 28, 2020 Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, reported that the Board of Directors has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share of the company’s common stock for the second quarter of 2020 (Press release, Merck & Co, JAN 28, 2020, View Source [SID1234553618]). Payment will be made on April 7, 2020 to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 16, 2020.

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On January 28, 2020 Genprex, Inc.("Genprex" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: GNPX), a clinical-stage gene therapy company utilizing a unique, non-viral proprietary platform designed to deliver tumor suppressor genes to cancer cells, reported that it closed its previously announced common stock offering priced at-the-market under Nasdaq rules (Press release, Genprex, JAN 28, 2020, https://www.genprex.com/news/genprex-inc-announces-closing-of-8-million-at-the-market-common-stock-offering/ [SID1234553617]). The Company sold an aggregate of 7,620,000 shares of its common stock at a price of $1.05 per share for gross proceeds to the Company of $8 million, before deducting commissions and estimated offering expenses. There were no warrants issued in the offering.

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A.G.P./Alliance Global Partners acted as the lead placement agent for the offering, and Joseph Gunnar & Co., LLC acted as co-placement agent for the offering.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to advance its lead clinical programs in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and for working capital and general corporate purposes.

"The successful closing of this transaction is further evidence that our corporate vision and proprietary technology in the gene therapy cancer treatment market are gaining traction with institutional investors," commented Rodney Varner, Chief Executive Officer at Genprex. "This offering significantly improves our balance sheet and allows us the financial flexibility to further develop our pipeline and advance our clinical trials in NSCLC for our lead drug candidate, Oncoprex, in combination with already approved lung cancer therapies. We are excited to generate additional clinical data in NSCLC from Oncoprex’s novel mechanisms of action."

The securities were offered pursuant to an effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-233774) previously filed and declared effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on October 28, 2019.

A prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus relating to the offering have been filed with the SEC and are available for free on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Electronic copies of the final prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relating to the offering may be obtained from either A.G.P./Alliance Global Partners, 590 Madison Avenue, 36th Floor, New York, New York 10022 or by email at [email protected] or Joseph Gunnar & Co. LLC, 30 Broad Street, 11th Floor, New York, New York 10004 or by email at [email protected].

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities described herein, nor will there be any sale of these securities in any state or other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.