On March 9, 2020 Invicro LLC, a Konica Minolta Company reported it has entered into a strategic research partnership with industry leading pathologist, Dr. David Rimm, MD, PhD, at The Yale University School of Medicine to advance the development of Quanticell, Konica Minolta’s proprietary tissue biomarker detection technology (Press release, invicro, MAR 9, 2020, View Source [SID1234555325]).

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Invicro is a global provider of imaging biomarkers, core lab services, CAP-CLIA pathology services, advanced analytics and software solutions for drug discovery and development. Dr. Rimm is the Professor of Pathology and Medicine; Director of Pathology Tissue Services; and Director of Translational Pathology at Yale University.

Quanticell is an ultra-sensitive, quantitative, amplification-free technology that detects proteins at the cellular and subcellular level using photostable, highly bright phosphor-integrated dots (PIDs). This nanoparticle-based detection technology circumvents the limitations observed with traditional multiplex chromogenic and fluorescent-based assays, such as signal saturation, non-linearity and high background.

"With his unmatched knowledge and experience in anatomical pathology, product commercialization, and late-stage clinical trials, Dr. Rimm is a leading pioneer in the quantitative pathology space," said Dr. Ken Bloom, Chief Medical Officer for Advance Pathology Solutions for Invicro. "We could not be happier to have him as a scientific research partner. I am highly confident that his efforts will support the advancement of Quanticell for specific drug development initiatives."

Chromogenic-based Immunohistochemistry (IHC) is ubiquitously used in research and clinical practice, including companion diagnostics (CDx). Despite IHC’s wide use, underperforming assays often require additional molecular testing due to narrow detection range. With expertise in quantitative and digital pathology and having invented the AQUA technology for predicting response to therapies or recurrence in a myriad of disease indications, Dr. Rimm and his research team will evaluate a multitude of assay conditions to assess Quanticell’s technology performance for quantifying HER-2 expression across a much wider dynamic range.

"I am thrilled to be working on this cutting-edge technology that has the potential to revolutionize molecular drug target testing that will in turn maximize therapeutic efficacy and reduce undesired toxicity," said Dr. Rimm. "In previous studies performed in my laboratory, we have found that HER-2 protein expression spanned three logs of dynamic range and discovered DAB-based methods typically only show a linear range of one log, which we hypothesize can be addressed with Konica Minolta’s novel detection technology."

On March 9, 2020 Refuge Biotechnologies, Inc. ("Refuge"), a synthetic biology company developing intelligent cell therapeutics for cancer immunotherapy, reported the promotion of Francesco M. Marincola, M.D., to president (Press release, Refuge Biotechnologies, MAR 9, 2020, View Source [SID1234555324]). He will retain his role as chief scientific officer.

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"Since Franco joined Refuge as our chief scientific officer in 2018, he has transformed our immune cell therapy research program into one that can compete with the best in the world. His knowledge, insight and relationships in both academia and industry have paved a clear path for us as we continue to advance our pipeline of intelligent cell therapies to fight cancer," said Bing C. Wang, Ph.D., co-founder and chief executive officer of Refuge. "In parallel, he has demonstrated a strength in mentorship by training internal scientists to grow into their potential and has set the standard for our company’s culture and expectation of leadership in scientific pursuits. We are proud to recognize his leadership across the organization with the promotion to president."

"One key motivation behind pioneering the CRISPR interference and activation technology was to find new ways to innovate treatments of cancers in a precise way without making permanent cuts to the DNA. With this approach, the technology can deliver multiplex treatments to T cells all at once – making the process inexpensive and efficient," said Stanley Qi, Ph.D., scientific founder. "It’s been remarkable to witness the progress that Refuge has made with translating this technology into next-generation cell immunotherapies that could have meaningful impacts. Much of that success is in part to Franco’s profound scientific vision, leadership, and clinical mindset as Refuge matures into a clinical-stage program. This promotion is well-deserved."

Dr. Marincola joined Refuge as chief scientific officer in May 2018, focused on the development of the intelligent cell therapy platform and lead therapeutic programs. In his career, he served as a distinguished research fellow and strategist for immune oncology discovery at AbbVie, developed and led a genetic research institute at Sidra Medical and Research Center in Qatar, and served as president of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) (Free SITC Whitepaper). Dr. Marincola has spent his career studying tumor immunology and was a pioneer in the development of technologies for studying the dynamics of the tumor microenvironment adaptations during immune therapy in real-time.

On March 9, 2020 Pacira BioSciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: PCRX) today reported that it will present at the 2020 Barclays Global Healthcare Conference at 9:00 AM ET on Thursday, March 12, 2020 (Press release, Pacira Pharmaceuticals, MAR 9, 2020, View Source [SID1234555323]). Live audio of the event can be accessed by visiting the "Events" page of the company’s website at investor.pacira.com. A replay of the webcast will also be available for two weeks following the event.

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On March 9, 2020 Zydus Cadila, an innovation-driven global pharmaceutical company, and XOMA Corporation (Nasdaq: XOMA) reported they have entered into a licensing agreement to advance an IL-2-based immuno-oncology (IO) drug candidate that combines Zydus’ IL-2 with XOMA’s novel anti-IL-2 monoclonal antibody (Press release, Zydus Cadila, MAR 9, 2020, View Source [SID1234555322]).

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As part of the agreement, Zydus will advance the new IO candidate through formal clinical trials. Zydus has been granted exclusive rights to develop and commercialize the therapy in India, Brazil, Mexico and other emerging markets, and XOMA has the potential to receive single-to double-digit royalties on commercial sales in those territories. XOMA retains rights in all other territories (i.e., XOMA territory). Through this collaboration, Zydus will develop the new IO drug candidate through human proof-of-concept and each company has the potential to receive pre-defined shares of future proceeds that may arise from licensing and commercialization activities.

Speaking about the development, Managing Director of the Zydus group, Dr. Sharvil Patel said, "IL-2 will be the backbone of IO-based therapies for cancer treatment in the future. In this win-win agreement, we see a great strategic fit between our IL-2 and XOMA’s anti-IL-2 monoclonal antibody as together they have the potential to provide a safe and efficacious medicine to address the unmet needs of patients living with cancer."

Jim Neal, Chief Executive Officer at XOMA commented, "IL-2 has long been recognized as an effective anti-tumor agent, but its utility has been limited by its toxicity. XOMA has developed unique, fully human antibodies that promote IL-2 action specifically to the cytotoxic effector immune cell populations relevant for anti-tumor activity while simultaneously limiting the unwanted stimulation of immunosuppressive T cells, thereby minimizing its undesired side effects. This IL-2 and monoclonal antibody combination has the potential to turn the immune system against the cancer cells, and Zydus is an ideal partner to advance this combination through clinical development."

On March 9, 2020 Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ: RARE), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel products for serious rare and ultra-rare genetic diseases, reported that Shalini Sharp, the company’s Chief Financial Officer, will hold a virtual presentation at the Barclays Global Healthcare Conference on Wednesday, March 11, 2020 at 1:35 PM ET (Press release, Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical, MAR 9, 2020, View Source [SID1234555320]).

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The live and archived webcast of the presentation will be accessible from the company’s website at View Source The replay of the webcast will be available for 90 days.