On May 20, 2020 China Biologic Products Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBPO, "China Biologic" or the "Company"), a leading fully integrated plasma-based biopharmaceutical company in China, reported its unaudited financial results for the first quarter of 2020 (Press release, China Biologic Products, MAY 20, 2020, View Source [SID1234558348]).

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First Quarter 2020 Financial Highlights

Total sales in the first quarter of 2020 increased by 29.4% in RMB terms and 25.3% in USD terms to $162.6 million from $129.8 million in the same quarter of 2019.
Gross profit increased by 18.0% to $101.0 million from $85.6 million in the same quarter of 2019. Gross margin decreased to 62.1% from 65.9% in the same quarter of 2019.
Income from operations increased by 54.5% to $68.0 million from $44.0 million in the same quarter of 2019. Operating margin increased to 41.8% from 33.9% in the same quarter of 2019.
Non-GAAP adjusted income from operations increased by 52.1% in RMB terms and 47.3% in USD terms to $76.9 million from $52.2 million in the same quarter of 2019.
Net income attributable to the Company increased by 41.6% to $53.4 million from $37.7 million in the same quarter of 2019. Diluted earnings per share increased to $1.36 compared to $0.94 in the same quarter of 2019.
Non-GAAP adjusted net income attributable to the Company increased by 42.3% in RMB terms and 38.0% in USD terms to $61.4 million from $44.5 million in the same quarter of 2019. Non-GAAP adjusted earnings per diluted share increased to $1.56 from $1.11 in the same quarter of 2019.
NOTE: Detailed financial statements and information are available through this link: View Source

"This quarter’s exceptionally strong performance was mainly driven by a substantial growth in IVIG sales volume due to a rise in demand in connection with the COVID-19 outbreak," said Joseph Chow, Chairman and CEO of China Biologic. "More than 40% of the IVIG sales growth came from Hubei province, the epicenter of the outbreak and an area in which we prioritized our sales efforts in late 2019 and subsequently brought on key local distributors that had previously worked with our competitors. In addition to IVIG, the sales of most of our other products have been negatively impacted by the outbreak, showing either a decline or only a marginal growth. Our strong operating income growth was also attributable to reduced operating costs in the first quarter as a result of delays in our normal operational activities caused by COVID-19 related quarantine regulations."

"Looking ahead to the rest of 2020, given the limited volume of available plasma inventory and the oversold IVIG in the first quarter, we expect the overall growth rate of IVIG sales will slow down in the remaining quarters of 2020. We will make proactive adjustments to our operational strategies in the face of lower anticipated demand for most of our products, as well as lower-than-expected plasma collection volume and intensified competition."

Financial Outlook

The COVID-19 outbreak has impacted various aspects of CBPO’s operations, including plasma collection, production of certain products, and sales and marketing activities. The Company continues to actively evaluate the overall impact of the outbreak on its business and will provide financial guidance for the full year 2020 when it has better visibility.

Conference Call

The Company will host a conference call at 7:30 am Eastern Time on Thursday, May 21, 2020, which is 7:30 p.m. Beijing Time on May 21, 2020, to discuss its first quarter 2020 results and answer questions from investors. Listeners may access the call by dialing:

A live and archived webcast of the conference call will be available through the Company’s investor relations website at View Source

On May 20, 2020 Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO), the world leader in serving science, reported that its Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.22 per common share, payable on July 15, 2020, to shareholders of record as of June 15, 2020 (Press release, Thermo Fisher Scientific, MAY 20, 2020, View Source [SID1234558347]).

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On May 20, 2020 Gibson Oncology, LLC ("Gibson"), a privately-held clinical-stage company, reported that it has secured worldwide, exclusive commercial rights to a novel series of 56 rationally designed compounds called Azaindenoisoquinolines ("Aza Compounds"), from Purdue University and the National Cancer Institute (Press release, Gibson Oncology, MAY 20, 2020, View Source [SID1234558346]). These Aza Compounds, as well as additional rationally designed compound analogs, have proven to be inhibitors of cMYC, as well as topoisomerase IB (TOP1).

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Gibson’s recently licensed cMYC inhibitors represent potential "major" advances since cMYC is responsible for 80% of cancers but has been thought to be "undruggable" because of peculiarities in the cMYC receptors. Gibson’s new agents target a novel approach with clear demonstration of promoting the G quadruplex required for inhibition of cMYC, as recently published in The Journal of the American Cancer Society. The license comes with an extensive patent estate on the compounds which enable this activity.

Furthermore, based on this exciting development, Randall Riggs, CEO of Gibson Oncology, stated that he is pleased to welcome two outstanding and well-accomplished oncology experts to its scientific advisory board (SAB) in order to help the company rapidly advance the Aza Compounds to clinical trials.

Michael Zinner, M.D. is presently the CEO and Executive Medical Director of the Miami Cancer Institute and formerly was the Clinical Director of the Dana Farber-Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center and Surgeon-in-Chief at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital as well as co-founder of the GI Cancer Center at Dana Farber at Harvard Medical School. He is the author of over 230 academic papers, largely on the treatment of Cancer.

Danzhou Yang, Ph.D. is presently a Professor of Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, and Martha and Fred Borch Chair in Cancer Therapeutics, and Associate Dean for Graduate Studies at Purdue College of Pharmacy and Purdue Cancer Center. She has a distinguished career in DNA-associated cancer targets and is an expert in the structure-function relationships of DNA G-quadruplexes.

Dr. Yang stated, "I am excited to join Gibson’s SAB and contribute over 30 years of my anti-cancer research experience understanding cMYC’s critical role as an oncogene that impacts many human cancers and targeting cMYC for cancer therapeutics. Gibson Oncology is playing a crucial role in the development of first-in-class therapy that directly attacks cMYC, the root cause of many cancers. I look forward to advance the novel small molecule compounds in our pipeline for the future medicines to precisely turn-off this major oncogene which could be greatly beneficial to treating a variety of cancer patients."

On May 20, 2020 MedX Health Corp. ("MedX" or the "Company") (TSX-V: MDX) reported the precise specifics of the series of closings of non-brokered private placements made since January 30, 2020 (Press release, MedX Health, MAY 20, 2020, View Source [SID1234558345]). The following Table sets out the particulars of the dates of each closing, the number of units issued and the amount raised on each closing, together with details of Agent’s Warrants and cash commissions paid to Agents at each closing.

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Each Unit ("Unit") was issued at the price of $0.12, and comprises one fully paid common share and one share purchase warrant, exercisable at $0.20 for a period expiring on the second anniversary of each respective issue; all the securities issued are restricted from trading for a period of four months from their respective dates of issue. Included in the securities issued on April 27, 2020, are 200,000 units, at a total cost of $24,000, subscribed for by an Insider. Final Acceptance has been obtained from the TSX-V in relation to the closings which took place on January 30, March 4 and March 5, 2020, while the closings which took place on April 22, 27 and 29, and May 13, 2020, which are part of the proposed private placement announced in the Company’s Press Release dated March 6, 2020, are still subject to Final Acceptance from the TSX-V.

Each Agent’s Warrant, which is non-transferable, is exercisable to acquire one Unit at $0.12 per Unit, at any time during the period of two years following the respective dates of issue.

The funding from these placements will be used by MedX for further development and enhancement of its telemedicine software platform, marketing initiatives and general corporate purposes, including adding additional resources while it expands into new markets, in particular in Latin America and the USA where the Company is anticipating rapid growth.

On May 20, 2020 DermTech, Inc. (NASDAQ: DMTK) ("DermTech"), a leader in precision dermatology enabled by a non-invasive skin genomics platform, reported that the DermTech Pigmented Lesion Assay (the "DermTech PLA") is reviewed in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology ("JAAD") by leading dermatologists at the New York University School of Medicine as one of four novel molecular technologies with the potential to address current gaps in melanoma management through improved diagnostic accuracy and prognostication (Press release, DermTech International, MAY 20, 2020, View Source [SID1234558344]). Since its launch in 2016, the DermTech PLA, DermTech’s non-invasive adhesive patch test for melanoma detection, has been used to assess more than 50,000 lesions and remains the first and only non-invasive gene expression test in dermatology, providing objective genomic data to help guide clinical decisions.

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The article published in JAAD summarizes a review of four molecular technologies that analyze skin cells and inherited genetic variations as adjunct tools for melanoma management, providing a comprehensive, evidence-based foundation for clinicians regarding the management of difficult pigmented lesions. The review examined the fundamental principles behind each test, peer-reviewed literature assessing tool performance, and the utility and limitations of each assay. The published summary cites six peer-reviewed studies of the DermTech PLA. Key points from the article in reference to the DermTech PLA include:

The DermTech PLA’s high negative predictive value ("NPV") of >99% suggest a role as a rule-out tool for melanoma, providing clinicians with additional information to reduce biopsies of benign lesions
The molecular test measures the levels of PRAME and LINC00518, two genes preferentially identified in melanoma
The non-invasive adhesive patch removes only the outermost layers of the stratum corneum and does not impact future histologic examination of the underlying epidermis
Reduction of unnecessary biopsies not only decreases patient morbidity but may reduce costs to the overall healthcare system
Physician follow-up within 6-12 months on negative results, per standard of care, should mitigate any remaining risk of missed melanoma(s)
"This review underscores the growing importance of genomic information and objective diagnostic tools in melanoma diagnosis. The revolution in cancer care brought about by genomics is beginning to take hold in dermatology, and DermTech is at the forefront of this change," said John Dobak, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of DermTech. "Early melanoma detection is very challenging, and the DermTech PLA can reduce unnecessary pain and scarring from surgical biopsies, while improving the overall accuracy of diagnosis. As the authors note, the DermTech PLA is validated with proven clinical utility and a high sensitivity and low probability of missing melanoma."

Surgical biopsies are the current standard method for testing suspicious lesions for melanoma, though they can cause discomfort and scarring for patients, and still carry a 17% chance of missing melanoma. Of the 4.5 million skin biopsies performed annually in the U.S. to rule out melanoma, approximately 180,000 cases of melanoma are detected. In addition, 8%-20% of pathologist-evaluated lesions are classified as ambiguous or indeterminate, demonstrating the difficulty and subjectivity in detecting melanoma based on a clinical visual assessment alone.

The DermTech PLA uses a revolutionary adhesive patch technology to collect skin cells from the surface of an entire lesion without a biopsy, leaving the lesion intact to offer dermatologists the option for additional analyses if necessary. The skin cells extracted from the patch are analyzed for genetic data associated with melanoma. The DermTech PLA is validated with proven clinical utility, and has a 91% sensitivity with less than a 1% chance of missing a melanoma (99% NPV).