On July 8, 2020 Xencor, Inc. (NASDAQ: XNCR), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing engineered monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases, and Atreca, Inc. (Atreca) (NASDAQ: BCEL), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing novel therapeutics generated through a unique discovery platform based on interrogation of the active human immune response, reported that the companies have entered into a collaboration and license agreement to research, develop and commercialize T cell engaging bispecific antibodies as potential therapeutics in oncology (Press release, Xencor, JUL 8, 2020, View Source [SID1234561763]).

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Bispecific antibodies that direct T cells to tumor cells, by simultaneously binding CD3 on T cells and a target on tumor cells, have the potential to drive tumor cell killing. This collaboration will leverage Xencor’s XmAb engineering platform to design and manufacture CD3 bispecific antibodies and Atreca’s ability to generate novel antibody-target pairs through its discovery platform, including its Immune Repertoire Capture (IRC) technology.

Under the terms of the agreement, the companies will engage in a three-year discovery program. Atreca will provide antibodies against novel tumor targets from which Xencor will engineer XmAb bispecific antibodies that also bind to the CD3 receptor on T cells. Up to two joint programs will be mutually selected for further development and commercialization, with each partner sharing 50 percent of costs and profits. Each company will lead development, regulatory and commercialization activities for one of the joint programs. In addition, the agreement allows for each partner to pursue up to two programs independently, with a mid- to high-single digit percent royalty payable on net sales. Atreca and Xencor began working together in 2019 under a material transfer agreement to accelerate this new collaboration agreement.

"We are proud to be partnering with Xencor, a leader in the engineering and development of antibody therapeutics," said John A. Orwin, chief executive officer of Atreca. "We believe this collaboration leverages two approaches with the potential to be highly complementary and underscores the value of novel antibody-target pairs in the development of cancer therapeutics. We are encouraged by the work already completed under our initial agreement and look forward to a productive partnership, as well as the prospect of adding T cell engaging bispecific product candidates to our clinical pipeline."

"Xencor is building a broad portfolio of drug candidates based on our XmAb technologies, which enable us to create therapeutic antibodies and other proteins with enhanced properties and new mechanisms of action," said Bassil Dahiyat, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer at Xencor. "Atreca’s unique discovery platform complements our protein engineering capabilities and bispecific platform by providing novel, tumor-selective antibodies and targets to engage with cytotoxic T cell killing. This collaboration offers both Xencor and Atreca with several opportunities to advance novel first-in-class CD3 bispecific antibodies for the potential treatment of patients with cancer."

About XmAb Bispecific Fc Technology and CD3 Bispecific Antibodies

XmAb bispecific Fc domains enable the rapid design and simplified development of bispecific antibodies, and other protein structures, that can bind two or more different targets simultaneously using an engineered heterodimer Fc domain. CD3 bispecific antibodies contain an anti-tumor associated antigen binding domain and a second binding domain targeted to CD3, an activating receptor on T cells, with the goal to recruit or activate T cells against the antigen target. Xencor has developed a mixed valency format, the XmAb 2+1 bispecific antibody, with two domains that bind a tumor target, which preferentially may bind and kill tumor cells with high target expression while potentially sparing low-expression normal tissues.

On July 8, 2020 VelosBio Inc. ("VelosBio"), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to developing novel, first-in-class cancer therapies targeting receptor tyrosine kinase-like orphan receptor 1 (ROR1), reported the completion of an oversubscribed Series B financing of $137 million led by Matrix Capital Management and Surveyor Capital (a Citadel company) (Press release, VelosBio, JUL 8, 2020, View Source [SID1234561762]). The Company has raised a total of $202 million in gross proceeds from private financings since its founding in 2017.

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New investors participating in the Series B financing round include Adage Capital Management LP, Cormorant Asset Management, Farallon, Foresite Capital, Janus Henderson Investors, Logos Capital, OrbiMed, funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners, Viking Global Investors, and Wellington Management Company, which are joining existing investors Arix Bioscience, Decheng Capital, Pappas Capital, Sofinnova Ventures, and Takeda Ventures.

The proceeds from the Series B financing will be used to further advance the clinical development of the VelosBio lead antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), VLS-101, and support the continued expansion of its pipeline of ROR1-directed next-generation ADCs and bispecific antibodies. ROR1 is a cell surface antigen present on a range of hematologic and solid tumor malignancies. VLS-101 is a ROR1-directed ADC that is currently being studied in a first-in-human Phase 1 clinical trial in patients with relapsed or refractory hematologic cancers. Studies in patients with solid tumors are scheduled to begin later this year.

"We are delighted to welcome a top-tier group of leading healthcare investors to advance development of our pipeline of first-in-class ROR1-directed therapeutics. We have made tremendous progress since founding the Company in 2017, and this financing reflects strong support for our platform, people, and comprehensive development strategy," said Dave Johnson, Chief Executive Officer, VelosBio. "This investment positions us to further the development of our unique pipeline of targeted therapies, and continue the expansion of our world-class team of scientists and researchers who share a passion for developing paradigm-shifting cancer therapeutics to improve patients’ lives."

"We were attracted to VelosBio by the excellent science, experienced management team, and broad potential therapeutic applicability of its proprietary ROR1-targeting technology," said Karan Takhar, Managing Director, Matrix Capital Management. "The early clinical data with VLS-101 are very promising and support ROR1’s potential as a novel oncology target. We see tremendous opportunity for the VelosBio pipeline to produce novel targeted therapies for use as monotherapy or in combination across a broad range of cancers."

On July 8, 2020 Lava Therapeutics B.V., a biotech company pioneering bispecific gamma-delta T cell engagers for cancer, reported the appointment of Benjamin Winograd, M.D., Ph.D., as the company’s chief medical officer (Press release, Lava Therapeutics, JUL 8, 2020, View Source [SID1234561761]). Dr. Winograd is a seasoned drug development expert with significant experience leading oncology and hematology programs within the pharmaceutical industry. In this new role, Dr. Winograd will report to Steve Hurly, chief executive officer, in their U.S. office, and oversee strategic direction of clinical operations, translational medicine and regulatory affairs.

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"We are very excited to welcome Benjamin as our CMO, as he brings a wealth of experience leading oncology drug development to the team," said Mr. Hurly. "Benjamin’s impressive track record of advancing novel programs from early scientific research through clinical development and regulatory approvals will be instrumental as we approach clinical initiation with our most mature bispecific gamma-delta T cell engager program later this year."

Dr. Winograd brings more than 35 years of experience within the pharmaceutical industry to Lava. He joins the company from Celgene, where he most recently served as the clinical research and development therapeutic area head for multiple myeloma and led landmark studies resulting in the registration of lenalidomide (Revlimid) and pomalidamide (Pomalyst/Imnovid). Prior to that, he was instrumental in the early and late development, registration and launching of cancer therapeutics including paclitaxel (Taxol), irinotecan (Camptosar), exemestane (Aromasin), epirubicin (ELLENCE) and temozolomide (Temodar). Dr. Winograd received his M.D. and Ph.D. from the Technical University of Munich, Germany, and began his career as part of the EORTC Cooperative Group at the VU University in Amsterdam.

"Lava’s approach to leveraging bispecific gamma-delta T cell engagers has the potential to treat a broad range of cancer indications, while avoiding unwanted challenges seen with other immunotherapy approaches already in clinical use and in development. I look forward to collaborating with the experienced leadership team and esteemed advisors to advance this exciting science into clinical development and bring new therapeutic options to cancer patients," said Dr. Winograd.

On July 8, 2020 Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ: TWST), a company enabling customers to succeed through its offering of high-quality synthetic DNA using its silicon platform, reported a partnership with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (Takeda) for access to proprietary phage display libraries for the discovery, validation and optimization of antibodies in Takeda’s pipeline of biologics for oncology, rare diseases, neuroscience, and gastroenterology (Press release, Takeda, JUL 8, 2020, View Source [SID1234561760]).

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"Twist’s unique ability to generate robust, diverse and cutting-edge libraries through its proprietary silicon platform together with our deep insight into therapeutic drug discovery and development will help us expand a growing pipeline of targeted biologic candidates," said Robert Mabry, Head of Global Biologics Research at Takeda.

Under the terms of the agreement, Twist Biopharma, a division of Twist Bioscience, will license to Takeda its "Library of Libraries," a panel of synthetic antibody phage display libraries derived only from sequences that exist in the human body. Together, the companies will work to discover, validate and optimize new antibody candidates. In return, Takeda will pay Twist annual technology licensing fees, as well as milestones and royalties for all compounds discovered from the Twist phage display libraries.

"We look forward to applying our unique ability to generate robust, diverse and cutting-edge libraries together with Takeda’s deep insight into therapeutic drug discovery and development to truly forge new frontiers in bringing personalized therapies to patients worldwide," said Emily M. Leproust, Ph.D., CEO and co-founder of Twist Bioscience.

On July 8, 2020 Kinnate Biopharma Inc., a precision oncology company focused on the discovery and development of novel kinase inhibitors, reported the appointment of Richard Williams, MBBS, PhD as Chief Medical Officer (Press release, Kinnate Biopharma, JUL 8, 2020, View Source [SID1234561759]). Most recently Chief Medical Officer and Global Head of Oncology Programs at WuXi NextCODE, Dr. Williams brings to Kinnate more than a decade of global clinical strategy and drug development experience in the biopharmaceutical industry. The company has also announced the appointment of Robert Kania, PhD as Senior Vice President, Drug Discovery.

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Kinnate is focused on the design and development of best- and first-in-class small molecules targeting atypical mutations and fusions with no coverage from currently available therapeutics. The company’s pipeline portfolio includes a RAF dimer inhibitor targeting Class II and III mutations, an FGFR2/3 inhibitor and a CDK12 inhibitor, as well as other early stage development programs.

"As Kinnate continues to accelerate progress toward clinical testing, we need a leader who shares our vision of developing best- and first-in-class therapies for people with genetically defined and hard-to-treat cancers," said Nima Farzan, Chief Executive Officer of Kinnate. "With extensive clinical development and drug discovery experience over his distinguished career, Richard brings significant precision oncology expertise to the Kinnate team and will play an instrumental role in advancing our lead candidates through clinical trials and regulatory submission."

While at WuXi NextCODE, Dr. Williams was responsible for leading the clinical development of large-scale genomics and target biomarker discovery programs. Previously, he was with cancer detection company GRAIL as Group Medical Director and Program Lead of the Circulating Cell-Free Genome Atlas (CCGA), the largest-ever prospective study of circulating nucleic acids in cancer. He also guided the development of early clinical oncology assets as Head of Early Development Oncology Group and Early Development Leader at Amgen. While Senior Medical Director at Puma Biotechnology, Dr. Williams led the Phase 2 and Phase 3 trials in metastatic breast cancer and lung cancer for the development of the targeted cancer therapeutic Nerlynx (neratinib). He was also a clinical hematology and oncology fellow, and later an NIH-funded faculty member, at St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital where he focused on translational biology and therapeutics studies within the molecular oncology and hematological malignancies programs. He has co-authored 60 publications in high impact clinical, translational and basic research journals including NEJM, Nature and Cancer Cell, and is the co-inventor on two patents. Dr. Williams holds an MBBS and PhD as well as a BMedSc from University of Queensland, Australia.

"Currently available therapies don’t provide sufficient clinical benefit to most patients with genetically-defined cancers. Kinnate has developed an impressive platform of kinase inhibitors that could fill this significant unmet need," said Dr. Williams. "I look forward to working with Kinnate’s world-renowned team of drug hunters, life science investors, and scientific advisors to rapidly bring these targeted medicines to the cancer patients who will benefit from these potentially life-saving therapies."

At Kinnate, Dr. Kania will be instrumental in advancing the company’s early-stage development programs. Prior to joining Kinnate, he spent more than 20 years in various senior roles at Pfizer, where he was most recently, Senior Director, Design Chemistry. Other positions he held at the company include Senior Director of Cancer Chemistry, Project Leader and Scientist. While at Pfizer, he was co-inventor for a number of FDA-approved precision oncology therapies including Inlyta (axitinib), Lorbrena (loratinib) and Xalkori (crizotinib). Dr. Kania has published nearly 40 peer-reviewed journal articles and holds 19 patents in drug development-related areas. He holds a PhD and MA in Organic Chemistry from Harvard University and a BS in Chemistry from University of California, Berkeley.

"Kinnate has built an exceptional team with deep expertise across medicinal chemistry, cancer genetics and translational biology and I am pleased to join them in the development of new cancer treatments for people who currently have limited options," added Dr. Kania.