On May 27, 2020 Anaeropharma Science reported that it will present its latest research outcomes towards bispecific antibody producing recombinant Bifidobacterium at the 2020 Annual Meeting of the AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) (American Association for Cancer Research) that will virtually take place during June 22-24, the poster is titled "Anti-tumor activity of Bifidobacterium secreting dual specific T cell redirecting antibody against EGFR/HER3-expressing cancer" (Press release, Anaeropharma Science, MAY 27, 2020, View Source [SID1234558515]).

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

On May 28, 2020 A-Alpha Bio reported that it has been awarded a National Science Foundation Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant to continue developing their AlphaSeq platform for the discovery of molecular glues (Press release, A-Alpha Bio, MAY 26, 2020, View Source [SID1234636940]). AlphaSeq is a proprietary drug discovery platform that applies synthetic biology and next generation sequencing to measure up to millions of protein-protein affinities simultaneously by characterizing all interactions between two protein libraries. A-Alpha Bio’s partners use AlphaSeq for antibody development – for example simultaneously optimizing specificity and cross-reactivity. In addition, AlphaSeq will soon be leveraged for the discovery of protein degrading "molecular glues."

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

Molecular glues function by physically sticking two proteins together that would not otherwise interact. More specifically, targeted protein degraders redirect an E3 ubiquitin ligase to bind to a target protein, such as an oncogenic or plaque forming protein, and flag it for degradation. Targeted degradation is an attractive strategy for inhibiting otherwise undruggable proteins and has an enormous potential impact for treating cancers, immunological disorders, and neurodegenerative diseases.

The major barrier to molecular glue discovery is the low probability that a small molecule will "glue" together two particular proteins. Not only must the molecule bind to an E3 ubiquitin ligase, but the presence of the bound small molecule must then redirect binding to a target protein intended for degradation.

"Molecular glue discovery is a really hard problem. The only way to solve it is to test a lot E3 ligase-target interactions," said Randolph Lopez, Co-Founder and CTO of A-Alpha Bio. "With probabilities so low, you have to screen more than you would for a typical small-molecule discovery program – and that’s exactly what AlphaSeq allows us to do."

Using AlphaSeq, A-Alpha Bio measures interactions between an entire library of E3 ubiquitin ligases (humans have over 600) and an entire library of target proteins, instead of just one of each. When a drug candidate is tested, AlphaSeq detects interactions between any ligase–target pair. For example, if 100 ligases and 100 targets are included, a single AlphaSeq assay will measure 10,000 potential interactions, all in less than 1 milliliter of volume. Increasing screening throughput by many orders of magnitude, as AlphaSeq enables, is the type of breakthrough required to discover molecular glues and unlock one of the most promising new drug modalities.

During Phase I of their NSF SBIR award, A-Alpha Bio successfully demonstrated feasibility by expressing E3 ubiquitin ligases and target proteins in their AlphaSeq platform and correctly observing protein interactions that are enhanced by existing molecular glues. With continuing support from an NSF SBIR Phase II award, A-Alpha Bio will construct E3 ligase and target libraries, improve assay sensitivity for the detection of weak protein interactions, and develop a high-throughput screening workflow for molecular glue libraries.

"Targeted protein degradation is one of the most exciting and rapidly growing therapeutic modalities," added Randolph. "We are thrilled to have the National Science Foundation’s continued support to develop AlphaSeq for molecular glue discovery."

On May 26, 2020 InDex Pharmaceuticals Holding AB (publ) reported that CEO Peter Zerhouni will present the company at Redeye Growth Day 2020 on June 2 at 15.50 CET (Press release, InDex Pharmaceuticals, MAY 26, 2020, View Source [SID1234562660]). The presentation will be livestreamed and can be followed at View Source

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

On May 26, 2020 ORIC Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ORIC), a clinical stage oncology company focused on developing treatments that address mechanisms of therapeutic resistance, reported that Jacob Chacko, M.D., chief executive officer, will present a company overview at the Jefferies Virtual Healthcare Conference on Tuesday, June 2, 2020, at 11:00 am ET (Press release, ORIC Pharmaceuticals, MAY 26, 2020, View Source [SID1234561055]).

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

A webcast of the presentation will be available through the investor section of the company’s website at View Source A replay of the webcast will be available for 90 days following the event.

On May 26, 2020 Fortress Biotech, Inc. (Common Stock: Nasdaq: FBIO) (Preferred Stock: Nasdaq: FBIOP) ("Fortress"), an innovative biopharmaceutical company, reported that it has priced an underwritten public offering of 555,556 shares of its 9.375% Series A Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Stock ("Series A Preferred Stock") at a price of $18.00 per share, with expected gross proceeds to Fortress of approximately $10 million (Press release, Fortress Biotech, MAY 26, 2020, View Source [SID1234558558]). In addition, Fortress has granted the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase up to 83,333 additional shares of its Series A Preferred Stock at the public offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions. The offering is expected to close on or about May 29, 2020, subject to customary closing conditions.

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

The Benchmark Company, LLC and ThinkEquity, a division of Fordham Financial Management, Inc. are acting as joint bookrunning managers for the offering.

Fortress intends to use the net proceeds from the public offering for its operations, including, but not limited to, general corporate purposes, which may include research and development expenditures, clinical trial expenditures, manufacture and supply of product, and working capital.

This offering is being made only by means of a written prospectus and related prospectus supplement that form a part of the registration statement. A copy of the final prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus related to this offering may be obtained from any of the underwriters, including the offices of The Benchmark Company, LLC, Attn: Prospectus Department, 150 E 58th Street, 17th floor, New York, NY 10155, 212-312-6700, Email: [email protected], and the offices of ThinkEquity, a division of Fordham Financial Management, Inc., 17 State Street, 22nd Floor, New York, New York 10004, by telephone at (877) 436-3673 or by email at [email protected]. You may also obtain these documents for free when they are available by visiting the Securities Exchange Commission’s ("SEC") website at www.sec.gov.

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