On December 7, 2020, GenScript ProBio and Initium Therapeutics reported that Initium Therapeutics has launched a single B-cell based antibody development platform through collaboration with GenScript ProBio (Press release, Initium Therapeutics, DEC 7, 2020, View Source [SID1234629627]). Initium Therapeutics is a US biotechnology company, a spin-off from South Korean biotech company Tiumbio, seeking antibody-based therapeutics for patients who are suffering from unaddressed incurable and rare diseases. The strategic collaboration between the two companies will allow Initium Therapeutics to expand their antibody drug pipeline using GenScript ProBio’s ultra-rapid, high-efficient Berkeley Lights Beacon platform. Furthermore, their partnership will potentially be extended to GenScript ProBio’s cutting edge therapeutic antibody development platforms, including bispecific antibody platform, human antibody transgenic mouse and/or downstream therapeutic antibody development and manufacturing processes. Through this partnership, Initium Therapeutics expects to significantly accelerate their therapeutic antibody pipeline development.

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"We are very pleased to announce that through the strategic collaboration with GenScript ProBio, we will expand our therapeutic antibody pipeline in fibrosis, immuno-oncology and hemophilia," said Dr. Huntaek Kim, CEO of Initium Therapeutics/TiumBio. "Initium Therapeutics was established to develop innovative antibody-based therapeutics focusing on unaddressed rare diseases. Our deep scientific and drug development expertise have allowed us to recognize new therapeutic targets in fibrosis, immuno-oncology and hemophilia, and I believe the partnership with GenScript ProBio will strengthen our therapeutic antibody platform and expand our antibody pipeline in more rapid and highly efficient ways."

"We are very glad to cooperate with Initium Therapeutics and help them expand their therapeutic antibody pipeline in fibrosis, immuno-oncology and hemophilia by utilizing GenScript ProBio’s Berkeley Lights Beacon platform," said Dr. Brian Min, CEO of GenScript ProBio. "Our Single B cell screening platform dramatically expedites and enables unparalleled B cell diversity. We will continue fueling Initium’s first-rate research capabilities and look forward to further collaboration to bring diverse treatment options to patients in rare diseases," he added.

On December 7, 2020 BridgeBio Pharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: BBIO) and Maze Therapeutics reported the establishment of a joint venture, Contour Therapeutics, focused on transforming and advancing breakthrough precision medicine approaches designed to treat cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death worldwide (Press release, BridgeBio, DEC 7, 2020, View Source [SID1234576219]).

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This joint venture between two leading biotech companies unites Maze’s genetically driven approach to drug discovery, as well as insights from its COMPASS platform, with BridgeBio’s expertise in cardiac drug discovery and clinical development. Together, the companies will focus on advancing genetically validated therapeutic candidates through clinical development and will initially work on the development of a treatment for patients with an undisclosed, genetically defined form of heart failure.

The new partnership builds on exciting progress underway to identify and target genetic causes of cardiovascular diseases, including BridgeBio’s precision medicine approach at its affiliate Eidos Therapeutics designed to treat transthyretin amyloidosis, an underdiagnosed and life-threatening cause of heart failure. The partnership also builds on seminal advances in the treatment of inherited cardiomyopathies, including at MyoKardia, a company co-founded by senior leaders at BridgeBio and Maze.

"Cardiovascular disease is a deadly and widespread health problem across the world, but unfortunately, innovations in new treatment approaches have been limited," said Jason Coloma, Ph.D., CEO of Maze. "Since we launched Maze, we have been focused on the advancement of our COMPASS platform, on which we’ve made important progress and gained confidence in the genetics we are focused on, as well as novel insights into how to best develop therapies for patients with cardiovascular disease. We are excited to join forces with BridgeBio, combining the unique talents and expertise across our respective teams, in order to deliver a profound impact on how these diseases are treated in the future."

"We are privileged to be partnering with and learning from Maze. We are eager to build on BridgeBio’s work in precision medicine to treat cardiovascular disease, and we believe our joint venture with Maze holds great promise for patients as we bring together innovative leaders in cardiology and genetics," said Neil Kumar, Ph.D., founder and CEO of BridgeBio. "The identification and targeting of genetically defined patient populations has created elegant and clinically meaningful medicines in oncology and other therapeutic areas. We feel strongly that one of the next frontiers in precision medicine lies in helping people suffering from cardiovascular disease, and we are excited to be on the front lines of advances in this field."

"This partnership between Maze and BridgeBio will bring together many of the people who helped found and build revolutionary companies in cardiovascular drug development," said Charles Homcy, M.D., chairman of the Maze board of directors and lead director and chairman of pharmaceuticals of BridgeBio. "With the combined expertise of these teams, we have an opportunity to create something special that has a profound impact on how patients with cardiovascular disease are treated in the future."

About the Maze COMPASS Platform
The Maze COMPASS platform combines human genetics, functional genomics and data science to identify and prioritize drug targets for both rare and common diseases, validate drug targets and inform target tractability and clinical development. Maze aims to leverage COMPASS to translate a wealth of genetic opportunities generated by the platform into new therapeutics.

On December 7, 2020 Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATRA), a pioneer in T-cell immunotherapy leveraging its novel allogeneic EBV T-cell platform to develop transformative therapies for patients with serious diseases including solid tumors, hematologic cancers and autoimmune diseases, reported that it has commenced an underwritten public offering of $150,000,000 of shares of its common stock (Press release, Atara Biotherapeutics, DEC 7, 2020, View Source [SID1234574478]). In connection with the proposed offering, Atara Biotherapeutics expects to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional $22,500,000 of shares of its common stock at the public offering price, less the underwriting discounts and commissions. All of the shares in the proposed offering will be sold by Atara Biotherapeutics. The proposed offering is subject to market and other conditions, and there can be no assurances as to whether or when the proposed offering may be completed, or as to the actual size or terms of the proposed offering.

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Citigroup, Evercore ISI and Mizuho Securities are acting as joint book-running managers for the proposed offering.

The securities described above are being offered by Atara Biotherapeutics pursuant to a shelf registration statement on Form S-3, including a base prospectus, that was previously filed by Atara Biotherapeutics with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and that became automatically effective on February 27, 2018. A preliminary prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus relating to the proposed offering will be filed with the SEC and will be available on the SEC’s website located at View Source Copies of the preliminary prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relating to the proposed offering, when available, may be obtained from: Citigroup, by mail at Citigroup Global Markets Inc., c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, or by telephone at 800-831-9146; Evercore Group L.L.C., Attention: Equity Capital Markets, 55 East 52nd Street, 35th Floor, New York, NY 10055, or by telephone at 888-474-0200, or by email at [email protected]; or Mizuho Securities USA LLC, Attention: Equity Capital Markets, 1271 Avenue of the Americas, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10020, by telephone 212-205-7600, or by email: [email protected]. The final terms of the proposed offering will be disclosed in a final prospectus supplement to be filed with the SEC.

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

On December 7, 2020 Boehringer Ingelheim and Proxygen reported they have entered into a collaboration and license agreement to enable the identification of molecular glue degraders against various oncogenic targets (Press release, Proxygen, DEC 7, 2020, View Source [SID1234574446]). The collaboration combines Proxygen’s unique molecular glue degrader discovery platform and its expertise in targeted protein degradation with Boehringer Ingelheim’s long-term strategy to provide first-in-class, breakthrough therapies for cancer patients.

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Molecular glue degraders and PROTACs harness the power of the cell’s recycling machinery to selectively eliminate disease-causing proteins. Molecular glue degraders achieve this by specifically bridging the distance between target proteins and ubiquitin ligases, which consequently flag the target proteins for rapid degradation. Molecular glues orchestrate this protein-protein proximity through highly cooperative binding. They circumvent the need for a defined binding pocket on the surface of the target protein, a requirement for conventional small molecule drugs, allowing pharmaceutical intervention on proteins that were previously considered undruggable.

"Proxygen’s molecular glue degrader platform has the potential to become a valuable component of Boehringer Ingelheim’s cancer research strategy to treat tumors driven by the most frequently mutated cancer-causing proteins that were previously considered undruggable and to further expand our efforts in the area of targeted protein degradation," says Norbert Kraut, Global Head of Cancer Research at Boehringer Ingelheim. "We are very pleased to partner with Proxygen, complementing our efforts in taking difficult-to-treat cancers on."

The identification of molecular glue degraders has been serendipitous up to this point. Proxygen’s highly scalable and broadly applicable molecular glue discovery platform promises a goal-oriented and comprehensive avenue towards an improved identification of molecular glue degrader candidates.

"We are very excited to join forces with Boehringer Ingelheim," says Bernhard Boidol, Chief Executive Officer of Proxygen. "Working together with a leader in innovative oncological research and development not only validates the broad applicability of our molecular glue degrader platform but also allows us to rapidly develop new therapies for the high unmet medical need of many patients with lung and colorectal cancers."

Proxygen’s new method has recently been recognized by Boehringer Ingelheim through its Grass Roots ‘Innovation Prize’ in Vienna, Austria. The ‘Innovation Prize’ recognizes the innovation power of young life-science companies and bio-entrepreneurs to create and sustain pipelines for the next generation of medicines. Launched in 2015, the Grass Roots programs comprise of ‘Office Hours,’ ‘Academy’ and the ‘Innovation Prize.’ As a company dedicated to improving health and quality of life, these programs give Boehringer Ingelheim the opportunity to lend expertise to the early-stage innovation community and offer guidance around the science to help enable ideas to deliver the next breakthroughs.

Proxygen is entitled to receive up-front payments, research and development support and milestone gated development payments, as well as tiered royalties based on future commercial sales of developed products.

On December 7, 2020 Bayer AG and Atara Biotherapeutics reported an exclusive worldwide license agreement for next-generation, mesothelin-directed CAR-T cell therapies for the treatment of solid tumors (Press release, Bayer, DEC 7, 2020, View Source [SID1234573600]). The agreement includes the development candidate ATA3271, an armored next generation allogeneic T-cell immunotherapy, and an autologous version, ATA2271, for the treatment of high mesothelin-expressing tumors such as malignant pleural mesothelioma and non-small-cell lung cancer.

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Atara is a pioneer in allogeneic T-cell immunotherapy with industry-leading allogeneic cell manufacturing processes and next-generation CAR-T technologies. The licensed technology leverages Atara´s novel, proprietary Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) T-cell platform combined with next generation CAR-T technologies targeting mesothelin to improve efficacy, persistence, safety, and durability of response.

"This transaction is a fundamental element of Bayer’s new Cell & Gene Therapy strategy. It strengthens our development portfolio through allogeneic cell therapies and consolidates our emerging leadership in the field," said Wolfram Carius, Head of Bayer’s Cell & Gene Therapy Platform. "We look forward to partnering with Atara to develop next-generation off-the-shelf CAR-T cell therapies for patients with difficult-to-treat cancers."

"This exciting partnership between Atara and Bayer will accelerate the development of next-generation mesothelin-targeted CAR-T cell therapies for the treatment of multiple solid tumors and helps us bring the power of our allogeneic cell therapy platform to patients as quickly as possible," said Pascal Touchon, President and CEO Atara. "Bayer’s proven track record in oncology global development and commercialization, and growing presence in cell and gene therapy, enhances Atara’s capabilities and complements our leading allogeneic T-cell platform."

Under the terms of the agreement, Atara will lead IND (Investigational New Drug)-enabling studies and process development for ATA3271 while Bayer will be responsible for submitting the IND and subsequent clinical development and commercialization. Atara will continue to be responsible for the ongoing ATA2271 phase 1 study, for which an IND filing has been accepted and the clinical trial has been initiated. Atara will receive an upfront payment of USD 60 million and is eligible to receive payments from Bayer upon achievement of certain development, regulatory and commercialization milestones totaling USD 610 million, as well as tiered royalties up to low double-digit percentage of net sales.

As part of the transaction, Atara will also provide translational and clinical manufacturing services to be reimbursed by Bayer. In addition, for a limited period of time, Bayer has a non-exclusive right to negotiate a license for additional Atara CAR-T product candidates.

About CAR-T cell therapy
T cells are a type of white blood cell that are critical in eliminating the body of abnormal and cancerous cells in healthy individuals. In cancer patients, these T cells frequently fail to either recognize or effectively engage cancer cells. CAR-T cell therapies involve engineering a human T cell to express a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) that increases its ability to recognize cancer cells. These therapies use the immune system to fight cancer and have the potential to disrupt cancer care and potentially even provide a cure. Mesothelin is a tumor-specific antigen that is commonly expressed at high levels on the cell surface in many aggressive solid tumors and is an attractive target for immune-based therapies, including CAR-T therapy.

About Bayer’s new Cell & Gene Therapy (C&GT) Platform
In order to build up its presence in C&GT, Bayer is strengthening its internal C&GT capabilities. At the same time, the company is pursuing external strategic collaborations, technology acquisitions and licensing. The goal is to build robust platforms with broad application across different therapeutic areas. Strategically, Bayer focuses on selected areas of C&GT, such as stem cell therapies (with focus on induced pluripotent cells or iPSCs), gene augmentation, gene editing and allogeneic cell therapies in different indications. Leveraging external innovation together with the expertise of the teams at Bayer represents a key value-driver, especially in the highly dynamic and competitive field of C&GT. Bayer’s operating model for C&GT, where partners operate autonomously and are fully accountable to develop and progress their portfolio and technology, is essential for preserving their entrepreneurial culture and positions Bayer as a partner of choice. The role of Bayer’s C&GT Platform is to steer strategically, ensuring the different parts of the organization complement each other and combining the best in Biotech and Pharma know-how. As part of the Pharmaceuticals Division, the C&GT Platform will combine multiple backbone functions providing support across the entire value chain for the research and development of cell and gene therapies. This includes expertise in Research and Preclinical Development, CMC (Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls), Clinical Development, Commercial, Strategy Implementation and Project Management. With a high level of flexibility, it will orchestrate operations from science to launch in order to generate and maintain a sustainable pipeline, with the goal to bring breakthrough science to market as fast as possible.

About Atara’s Mesothelin CAR-T Franchise
Two of Atara’s next generation CAR T immunotherapy programs target mesothelin – the autologous ATA2271 program and allogeneic ATA3271 program. Mesothelin is a tumor-specific antigen that is commonly expressed at high levels on the cell surface in many aggressive solid tumors including mesothelioma, non-small cell lung cancer, ovarian cancer and pancreatic cancer.

Both ATA2271 and ATA3271 are engineered for use in solid tumors as they incorporate Atara’s novel inclusion of both a PD-1 DNR construct to overcome checkpoint inhibition and a 1XX costimulatory domain on the CAR (chimeric antigen receptor) to enhance expansion and functional persistence of the CAR T cells. ATA3271, the allogeneic version of this CAR T, leverages Atara’s EBV T-cell platform and is currently in IND-enabling studies. ATA2271, the autologous version has enrolled the first patient in an an open-label, single-arm Phase 1 clinical study in November 2020.