Bio-Techne To Present At The Barclays Global Healthcare Conference

On February 27, 2020 Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH) reported that Chuck Kummeth, President and Chief Executive Officer, will present at the Barclays Global Healthcare Conference on Wednesday, March 11, 2020 at 9:30 a.m. EST (Press release, Bio-Techne, FEB 27, 2020, View Sourcenews/detail/178/bio-techne-to-present-at-the-barclays-global-healthcare-conference" target="_blank" title="View Sourcenews/detail/178/bio-techne-to-present-at-the-barclays-global-healthcare-conference" rel="nofollow">View Source [SID1234554917]). The conference will be held at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel in Miami Beach, FL. A live webcast of the presentation can be accessed via Bio-Techne’s Investor Relations website at View Source or through the following link https://cc.talkpoint.com/barc002/031020a_js/?entity=60_4GXRJYR.

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Merck to Present at the Cowen Health Care Conference

On February 27, 2020 Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, reported Robert M. Davis, chief financial officer and executive vice president, Merck Global Services, is scheduled to present during a fireside chat at the Cowen and Company 40th Annual Health Care Conference in Boston on March 3 at 12:00 p.m. EST (Press release, Merck & Co, FEB 27, 2020, View Source [SID1234554916]).

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Investors, analysts, members of the media and the general public are invited to listen to a live audio webcast of the presentation at View Source

Tocagen Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2019 Financial Results

On February 27, 2020 Tocagen Inc. (Nasdaq: TOCA), a clinical-stage, cancer-selective gene therapy company, reported financial results and business highlights for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2019 (Press release, Tocagen, FEB 27, 2020, View Source [SID1234554914]).

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"Following our extensive review of strategic alternatives, we are excited about the recently announced merger between Tocagen and Forte Biosciences. The proposed merger will create a dermatology company with established clinical proof of concept for their lead asset and an anticipated cash runway to reach a data readout in mid-2021 for its planned randomized Phase 2 trial in patients with atopic dermatitis," said Marty J. Duvall, Chief Executive Officer of Tocagen. "We believe that the proposed merger with Forte has the potential to deliver immediate and long-term value and the Forte leadership team has our full support."

Fourth Quarter 2019 Financial Results

Research and Development (R&D) Expenses: R&D expenses were $7.6 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2019, compared to $15.6 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2018. The reduction in R&D expenses was primarily driven by a reduction in manufacturing and clinical development costs due to the completion of our Toca 5 trial in September 2019.

General and Administrative (G&A) Expenses: G&A expenses were $3.1 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2019, compared to $3.5 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2018. The decrease in G&A expenses was primarily due to lower personnel related costs.

Net Loss: Net loss was $10.6 million, or $0.44 per common share (basic and diluted), for the quarter ended December 31, 2019, compared to a net loss of $19.6 million, or $0.96 per common share (basic and diluted), for the quarter ended December 31, 2018. The 2019 calculation is based on 23.9 million average common shares outstanding for the fourth quarter of 2019, compared to 20.5 million average common shares outstanding for the fourth quarter of 2018.

2019 Twelve-Month Results

License Revenue: License revenue was less than $0.1 million for the 12 months ended December 31, 2019, compared to $18.0 million for the 12 months ended December 31, 2018. The 2018 revenue was associated with a $16.0 million upfront payment and a $2.0 million development milestone earned upon

completion of enrollment in the Toca 5 clinical study, both recognized under Tocagen’s license agreement with ApolloBio.

R&D Expenses: R&D expenses were $45.3 million for the 12 months ended December 31, 2019, compared to $51.1 million for the 12 months ended December 31, 2018. The decrease in R&D expenses primarily reflects decreased costs in clinical development and manufacturing related to the wind down and suspension of the Company’s research and development activities.

G&A Expenses: G&A expenses were $16.2 million for the 12 months ended December 31, 2019, compared to $12.8 million for the 12 months ended December 31, 2018, with the increase primarily driven by commercial readiness activities incurred in the first half of 2019 in anticipation of a potential commercial launch following the completion of our Phase III clinical trial. In September 2019, upon missing our primary endpoint in our Toca 5 clinical trial, all commercial readiness activities were discontinued.

Net Loss: Net loss was $63.5 million, or $2.69 per common share (basic and diluted), for the 12 months ended December 31, 2019, compared to a net loss of $49.0 million, or $2.44 per common share (basic and diluted), for the 12 months ended December 31, 2018. The 2019 calculation is based on 23.6 million average common shares outstanding for the 12 months ended December 31, 2019, compared to 20.1 million average common shares outstanding for the prior year.

Cash Position

Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities were $21.8 million at December 31, 2019 compared to $96.1 million at December 31, 2018.

Morphic Announces Corporate Highlights and Financial Results for the Full Year 2019

On february 27, 2020 Morphic Therapeutic (NASDAQ: MORF), a biopharmaceutical company developing a new generation of oral integrin therapies for the treatment of serious chronic diseases, reported corporate highlights and financial results for the full year 2019 (Press release, Morphic Therapeutic, FEB 27, 2020, View Source [SID1234554913]).

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2019 and Recent Corporate Highlights:

Completed a successful Initial Public Offering with gross proceeds of $103.5 million

Announced a partnership with Janssen for the discovery of novel oral integrin inhibitors

Presented preclinical data supporting MORF-057 as an oral inhibitor candidate targeting α4β7; IND expected in mid-2020

Advanced development of MORF-720 in IPF with AbbVie, IND anticipated by year-end 2020

Year-end cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $237.0 million expected to fund operating expenses and capital expenditures requirements at least through 2022

"Morphic Therapeutic made tremendous progress in our mission to develop oral integrin therapeutics during 2019 across both the developmental and financial aspects of our business. Notably, we completed a successful IPO in July 2019 that provided us with substantial resources to advance our proprietary pipeline of integrin-targeted candidates. Further, we struck an important partnership with Janssen that supports the exploration of a broader scope of integrin drug targets," commented Praveen Tipirneni, M.D., president and chief executive officer of Morphic Therapeutic. "Moving forward, Morphic began 2020 with important milestones that signal the near-term initiation of clinical trials of our development pipeline. We recently presented preclinical data at ECCO 2020 supporting MORF-057’s mechanism of action as being analogous to that of approved therapeutic vedolizumab, with a potentially superior target interaction profile and oral administration."

Financial Results for the Full Year 2019

Net loss for the year ended December 31, 2019, was $43.3 million or $2.69 per share compared to a net loss of $23.8 million or $22.28 per share for the year ended December 31, 2018.

Revenue was $17.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2019 compared to $3.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2018. The increase was due to collaboration agreements signed with AbbVie in October 2018 and Janssen in February 2019.

Research and development expenses were $53.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2019 as compared to $22.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2018. The increase was primarily attributable to higher development and manufacturing costs associated with our lead product candidates, MORF-057 and MORF-720, as well as increased personnel-related costs to support continued progress with the company’s pipeline.

General and administrative expenses were $10.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2019, compared to $5.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2018. The increase year-over-year was primarily attributable to increased headcount and higher professional and consulting fees associated with ongoing business activities and Morphic’s costs to operate as a public company.

As of December 31, 2019, Morphic had cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $237.0 million, compared to $185.9 million as of December 31, 2018. Morphic believes its cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities as of December 31, 2019, will be sufficient to fund operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements at least through 2022.

Varian to Attend Upcoming Investor Events

On February 27, 2020 Varian (NYSE: VAR) reported that J. Michael Bruff, chief financial officer and Anshul Maheshwari, vice president, investor relations and treasurer will be participating in the following investor conferences (Press release, Varian Medical Systems, FEB 27, 2020, View Source [SID1234554912]):

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Barclays Global Healthcare Conference in Miami Beach, FL on Tuesday, March 10, 2020 at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time
BTIG MedTech, Digital Health, Life Science & Diagnostic Tools Conference in Snowbird, UT on Wednesday, March 18, 2020
Information about the webcast of the company’s presentation at the Barclays Global Healthcare Conference will be available through a link on the company website at www.varian.com/investors.