On June 3, 2020 Genmab A/S (Nasdaq: GMAB) reported that at a board meeting the board decided to grant 4,982 restricted stock units and 15,645 warrants to employees of the company and three of the company’s subsidiaries (Press release, Genmab, JUN 3, 2020, View Source [SID1234560788]).

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Each restricted stock unit is awarded cost-free and provides the owner with a right and obligation to receive one share in Genmab A/S of nominally DKK 1. The fair value of each restricted stock unit is equal to the closing market price on the date of grant of one Genmab A/S share, DKK 1,948.

The restricted stock units will vest on the first banking day of the month following a period of three years from the date of grant. Furthermore, the restricted stock units are subject to vesting conditions set out in the restricted stock unit program adopted by the board of directors in accordance with the Remuneration Policy adopted by the shareholders at the annual general meeting. Information concerning Genmab’s restricted stock unit program can be found on www.genmab.com under Investors > Stock information > Restricted stock units.

The exercise price for each warrant is DKK 1,948. Each warrant is awarded cost-free and entitles the owner to subscribe one share of nominally DKK 1 subject to payment of the exercise price. By application of the Black-Scholes formula, the fair value of each warrant can be calculated as DKK 620.64.

The warrants vest three years after the grant date, and all warrants expire at the seventh anniversary of the grant date. The new warrants have been granted on the terms and conditions set out in the warrant program adopted by the board of directors on March 28, 2017. Information concerning Genmab’s warrant schemes can be found on www.genmab.com under Investors > Stock information > Warrants.

On June 2, 2020 Sanofi Chief Executive Officer Paul Hudson along with R&D and commercial leaders reported that it will provide an overview of Sanofi’s oncology strategy and progress update of its related key products and pipeline programs. Sanofi’s oncology strategy is focused on four core therapeutic areas with four anchor treatments the company believes have the potential to transform patient care (Press release, Sanofi, JUN 2, 2020, View Source [SID1234560787]).

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The four areas of strategic focus within oncology, including multiple myeloma, skin, lung, and breast cancers. Sanofi’s four anchor oncology treatments include Sarclisa (isatuximab-irfc), an anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody and Libtayo (cemiplimab-nwlc), a PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor1 and the pipeline programs – an investigational anti-CEACAM 5 antibody drug conjugate and SERD (‘859), an investigational oral selective estrogen receptor degrader.

"We are rapidly building momentum with the execution of our oncology strategy, with several developments on both our pipeline and marketed treatments. Additionally, we are assembling a world-class development and marketing team to support our growth in this core area," said Hudson. "We believe our efforts and treatments have the potential to make a significant difference in the lives of people living with cancer."

"We’ve developed a focused oncology strategy, and are making significant clinical progress to support our ambitions," said John Reed, M.D., Ph.D., Global Head of Research and Development at Sanofi. "With a deep toolbox of therapeutic platforms enabling us to discover highly differentiated molecules, Sanofi has a tremendous opportunity to continue our momentum and build a sustainable presence in oncology."

The virtual investor event will be held today from 4:00-5:30 pm CET/10:00-11:30 am EST. Sanofi speakers include:

Paul Hudson, Chief Executive Officer

John Reed, Global Head of Research and Development

Partnered with Regeneron

Dietmar Berger, Chief Medical Officer and Global Head of Development

Peter Adamson, Global Head of Development, Oncology

Alex Zehnder, Global Franchise Head, Oncology

Additional information about today’s oncology presentation can be found at:

View Source

On June 3, 2020 Shorla Pharma reported that picking up $8.3 million to push its programs through regulatory approval and build up its technical and commercial operations ahead of its first drug launch in 2021 (Press release, Shorla Pharma, JUN 3, 2020, View Source [SID1234560786]). The company will hire "key personnel" in Ireland, Cunningham told FierceBiotech. And with the U.S. as its first market, part of the funds will go toward setting up an outpost to take care of business development and regulatory and commercialization activities stateside.

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The Dublin-based company is working on three programs, all of which are improvements on established drugs, which may have a difficult-to-use formulation, not treat certain types of cancer very well or be in limited supply. Cunningham and Ryan didn’t disclose what the drugs are, beyond saying they are all "established active substances" that have been "proven from a safety and efficacy perspective."

On June 3, 2020 Novellus, a precision-oncology drug development company, reported that it has entered into an exclusive worldwide license agreement with Plexxikon, a member of the Daiichi Sankyo Group, for PLX8394, its clinical-stage oncology drug candidate which targets the BRAF protein (Press release, Novellusdx, JUN 3, 2020, View Source [SID1234560782]). PLX8394 is currently completing a Phase 1/2 trial in patients with advanced, unresectable solid tumors.

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"We are excited about executing this agreement with Novellus for PLX8394, as it enables our unique BRAF inhibitor to potentially offer clinical benefit for non-V600 patients as well as V600 patients that lack other treatment options," said Gideon Bollag, PhD, Plexxikon CEO.

"We are very pleased to sign this agreement with Plexxikon, an established drug development company with an impressive track record, including two marketed oncology drugs. We believe that the combination of PLX8394 with our Functional Annotation for Cancer Treatment (FACT) technology will enable rapid and successful development of this novel BRAF inhibitor for patient subpopulations in dire need," said Michael Vidne, PhD, Novellus CEO. "This agreement is the first step in Novellus’ strategy to develop compounds by functionally testing them on hundreds of mutations to identify hyper-specific biomarkers and match them with the right patients."

Under the terms of the agreement, Plexxikon grants Novellus rights to research, develop, manufacture and exclusively commercialize PLX8394 worldwide. Plexxikon will receive an undisclosed upfront payment, additional developmental milestones, and royalty payments.

About PLX8394

PLX8394 is an investigational, oral, small molecule inhibitor of the oncogenic BRAF serine/threonine-protein kinase, which accelerates BRAF mutant cancers by activating the RAS/MAPK pathway. PLX8394 is a next-generation BRAF inhibitor that blocks signaling from both monomeric BRAFV600 and dimeric BRAFnon-V600 mutant proteins, and unlike previous BRAF inhibitors, does not induce paradoxical activation of the MAPK pathway in cells with stimulated RAS signaling. The drug has demonstrated favorable preliminary clinical data in a biomarker-driven Phase 1/2 study in patients with advanced, unresectable solid tumors. The study will now enroll more patients.

On June 3, 2020 AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV), a research-based global biopharmaceutical company, reported that it will participate in the virtual Goldman Sachs 41st Annual Global Healthcare Conference on Wednesday, June 10, 2020 (Press release, AbbVie, JUN 3, 2020, View Source [SID1234560781]). Richard A. Gonzalez, chairman and chief executive officer, AbbVie, will present at 9:30 a.m. Central time.

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A live audio webcast of the presentation will be accessible through AbbVie’s Investor Relations website at investors.abbvie.com. An archived edition of the session will be available later that day.