On January 14, 2020 Mirati Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: MRTX) reported the closing of its previously announced underwritten public offering of 3,538,462 shares of its common stock at a public offering price of $97.50 per share (Press release, Mirati, JAN 14, 2020, View Source [SID1234553193]). This includes the exercise in full by the underwriters of their option to purchase up to 461,538 additional shares of common stock. The aggregate gross proceeds to Mirati from this offering were approximately $345.0 million, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by Mirati.

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Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, SVB Leerink and Cowen and Company, LLC acted as joint book-running managers in the offering. Credit Suisse acted as lead manager in the offering. JonesTrading Institutional Services LLC acted as a co-manager in the offering.

The shares of common stock described above were offered by Mirati pursuant to a shelf registration statement filed by Mirati with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") that became automatically effective upon filing. A final prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus relating to the offering were filed with the SEC and are available on the SEC’s website located at View Source Copies of the final prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relating to the offering may be obtained from Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Attention: Prospectus Department, 200 West Street, New York, NY 10282, or by telephone at (866) 471-2526, or by email at [email protected]; or from SVB Leerink LLC, Attention: Syndicate Department, One Federal Street, 37th Floor, Boston, MA 02110, or by telephone at (800) 808-7525, ext. 6132, or by email at [email protected]; or from Cowen and Company, LLC, c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, Attn: Prospectus Department, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, or by telephone at (833) 297-2926, or by email at [email protected].

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall 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 the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or other jurisdiction.

On January 14, 2020 Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) ("Centene") reported the extension of the expiration date of the offers to exchange (the "Exchange Offers") notes (the "WellCare Notes") issued by WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE:WCG) ("WellCare") for up to $1,950,000,000 aggregate principal amount of new notes to be issued by Centene (the "Centene Notes") and cash and the related consent solicitations (the "Consent Solicitations") being made by Centene on behalf of WellCare to adopt certain proposed amendments (the "Amendments") to the indentures governing the WellCare Notes (Press release, Centene , JAN 14, 2020, View Source [SID1234553192]). Centene hereby extends such expiration date from 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on January 14, 2020, to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on January 21, 2020 (as the same may be further extended, the "Expiration Date").

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On November 14, 2019, requisite consents were received and supplemental indentures were executed, eliminating substantially all restrictive covenants and certain events of default and other provisions in each of the indentures governing the WellCare Notes. Such supplemental indentures will only become operative upon the settlement date of the Exchange Offers.

The Exchange Offers and Consent Solicitations are being made pursuant to the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the confidential offering memorandum and consent solicitation statement dated November 1, 2019, as amended on November 12, 2019 and the related letter of transmittal and consent hereby, each as amended by the press releases dated December 2, 2019, December 18, 2019 and January 8, 2020 and as amended hereby, and are conditioned upon the closing of Centene’s acquisition of WellCare (the "Merger"), which condition may not be waived by Centene, and certain other conditions that may be waived by Centene.

The settlement date for the Exchange Offers is expected to occur promptly after the Expiration Date and immediately prior to the closing of the Merger, which is expected to occur by the first half of 2020. As a result, the Expiration Date may be further extended one or more times. Centene will provide notice of any such extension in advance of the Expiration Date.

Except as described in this press release, all other terms of the Exchange Offers and Consent Solicitations remain unchanged.

As of 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on January 14, 2020, the principal amounts of WellCare Notes set forth in the table below had been validly tendered and not validly withdrawn:

Documents relating to the Exchange Offers and Consent Solicitations will only be distributed to eligible holders of WellCare Notes who complete and return an eligibility form confirming that they are either a "qualified institutional buyer" under Rule 144A or not a "U.S. person" and outside the United States under Regulation S for purposes of applicable securities laws. Except as amended by the press releases dated December 2, 2019, December 18, 2019 and January 8, 2020 and as amended hereby, the complete terms and conditions of the Exchange Offers and Consent Solicitations are described in the confidential offering memorandum and consent solicitation statement dated November 1, 2019 as amended on November 12, 2019 and the related letter of transmittal and consent, copies of which may be obtained by contacting Global Bondholder Services Corporation, the exchange agent and information agent in connection with the Exchange Offers and Consent Solicitations, at (866) 470-4200 (U.S. toll-free) or (212) 430-3774 (banks and brokers). The eligibility form is available electronically at: View Source

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or purchase, or a solicitation of an offer to sell or purchase, or the solicitation of tenders or consents with respect to, any security. No offer, solicitation, purchase or sale will be made in any jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The Exchange Offers and Consent Solicitations are being made solely pursuant to the offering memorandum and consent solicitation statement dated November 1, 2019, as amended on November 12, 2019 and as amended by the press releases dated December 2, 2019, December 18, 2019 and January 8, 2020 and as amended hereby and the related letter of transmittal and consent, and only to such persons and in such jurisdictions as are permitted under applicable law.

The Centene Notes offered in the Exchange Offers have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any state securities laws. Therefore, the Centene Notes may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and any applicable state securities laws.

On January 14, 2020 GenScript Biotech Corp., a leading global biotechnology group and a pioneer in the field of gene synthesis, reported held its inaugural "Global Forum on Cell & Gene Therapy and the Booming China Market," during the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference week, attracting hundreds of industry leaders, investors and others to address the challenges and opportunities in this innovative field (Press release, GenScript, JAN 14, 2020, View Source [SID1234553191]).

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"As an industry, we are on the brink of achieving some extraordinary breakthroughs in cell and gene therapy for cancer and other diseases," said GenScript Biotech CEO Frank Zhang, PhD. "Four gene and cell therapies have recently been approved by the FDA, bringing new hope to patients, and this is only the beginning. Our vision is to make cancer a chronic or curable disease rather than a deadly one, and to transform the treatment of cancer, autoimmune and other diseases by leveraging the advantages of cell and gene therapy."

While significant advances are being made, the Forum also tackled some of the more pressing challenges, such as mitigating treatment side effects, improving treatment efficacy in solid tumors and scaling up manufacturing. Panelists from Kite Pharma, GE Healthcare Life Sciences, Ziopharm Oncology, Oxford Biomedica, Genethon, CARsgen Therapeutics, J&J Innovation Asia Pacific, the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy, Loncar Investment, Lilly Asia Ventures, and many others participated in the event.

In the U.S. alone, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to approve 40-60 cell and gene therapies by 2030. During a panel discussion focused on regulatory issues, experts considered what regulators will need to do to keep up with the rapid pace of innovation, the new hospital-based regulatory pathway in China, how to ensure quality through the manufacturing process, and the challenges and opportunities that come with regulatory harmonization among different countries.

China continues to attract significant attention from industry and investors and is poised to grow even more. During his welcoming remarks, Zhang noted China’s emergence as a global economic leader, with a projected $1.1 trillion spend on healthcare this year, as well as the growing disease burden in China. By 2030, an estimated 4.3 million Chinese will be diagnosed with one of the 14 major cancers, according to research from IMS Health. Panelists addressed issues such as the amount of capital required to achieve scale in China, and advantages of the market in China.

"The drug development business is changing rapidly and China is at the fore in a number of ways," Zhang said. "Biotech and pharma companies do not need or desire to have the infrastructure to scale their drugs through commercialization. With lower costs, China is a natural place for companies to contract out costly development and manufacturing to organizations that have the expertise and experience to collaborate with them through the entire discovery to development lifecycle."

For its part, GenScript has put significant resources into its Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) business to meet the increasing demand. In 2018, the company officially launched its biologics CDMO segment, and last year opened a new GMP compliant biologics research center. GenScript is also leading the way in cell therapy through its antibody discovery service and plasmid and virus production capabilities.

In December 2017, Legend and Janssen, a Johnson & Johnson business, entered into a worldwide collaboration and license agreement to develop, manufacture and commercialize LCAR‐B38M (JNJ‐4528) in multiple myeloma. The companies are advancing this investigational B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) targeted chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy in previously treated patients with the disease. Clinical trials are ongoing in both the U.S. and China and the therapy has received orphan drug designation and breakthrough treatment designation from the FDA in the U.S. and PRIME designation from the European Medicines Agency.

GenScript is one of only a few Chinese companies to have a significant presence during JPM week. Based on the success of this year’s Forum and the interest in cell and gene therapy, GenScript will host its second annual Forum with influential leaders on the topic again next year during JPM week at the San Francisco Grant Hyatt.

On January 14, 2020 Medpace Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: MEDP) ("Medpace") reported that it will report its fourth quarter and fiscal year 2019 financial results after the market close on Monday, February 24, 2020 (Press release, Medpace, JAN 14, 2020, View Source [SID1234553190]). The Company will host a conference call the following morning, Tuesday, February 25, 2020, at 9:00 a.m. ET to discuss these results.

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To participate in the conference call, dial 800-219-7113 (domestic) or 574-990-1030 (international) using the passcode 4168269.

To access the conference call via webcast, visit the "Investors" section of Medpace’s website at investor.medpace.com. The webcast replay of the call will be available at the same site approximately one hour after the end of the call.

A supplemental slide presentation will also be available at the "Investors" section of Medpace’s website prior to the start of the call.

A recording of the call will be available from 12:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, February 25, 2020 until 12:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, March 10, 2020. To hear this recording, dial 855-859-2056 (domestic) or 404-537-3406 (international) using the passcode 4168269.

On January 14, 2020 BostonGene Corporation (BostonGene), a biomedical software company, reported its collaboration with the Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center (VIC) at Massachusetts General Hospital (Press release, BostonGene, JAN 14, 2020, View Source [SID1234553189]).

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BostonGene performs a computational analysis of a patient’s genomics and transcriptomics data from solid tumors including Lung Cancer and Head and Neck Cancer. In parallel, MGH VIC team conducts mass cytometry analysis of tissue of same patients. A correlation analysis is then employed to demonstrate the power of the computational algorithms in the assessment of the intratumoral cellular composition including stromal and immune components. The results of this collaboration highlight the powerful advantage of NGS data analysis in comparison to conventional techniques to more fully characterize the tumor.

Using small amounts of tissue, BostonGene provides an accurate, patient-tailored report for physicians. The report includes a visually-appealing and self-explanatory tumor schematics, called MF Portrait, depicting tumor activity, tumor cellular composition, activity of immune-microenvironment and other tumor-associated processes.

"Our collaboration with BostonGene is aimed at understanding the pathogenesis of each person’s cancer and ultimately having a positive impact on patient care by enabling personalized cancer treatments," said Mark Poznansky, MD, PhD, at Massachusetts General Hospital.

"BostonGene provides the solution necessary for oncologists to evaluate NGS data in combination with all relevant clinical knowledge to determine the best personalized care for the individual patient," said Andrew Feinberg, President and CEO of BostonGene. "We are excited to collaborate with VIC at MGH to demonstrate how our unique solution for tailored treatment options improves outcomes for cancer patients."