On March 4, 2021 Amunix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ("Amunix"), a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing masked, protease-activated immune-oncology therapeutics to bring the promise of these potent therapies to patients with solid tumor cancers, reported that it has raised $117 million Series B financing (Press release, Amunix, MAR 4, 2021, View Source [SID1234576079]). The funding round was led by Viking Global Investors with participation from a premier syndicate of funds, including new investors Bain Capital Life Sciences, BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, Janus Henderson Investors, ArrowMark Partners, Avidity Partners, certain funds managed by Clough Capital Partners, and CaaS Capital Management. Also participating in the round were existing investors Redmile Group, Venrock, Casdin Capital, Omega Funds, Frazier Healthcare Partners, Longitude Capital, and Polaris Partners.

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Proceeds from the financing will fund the advancement into the clinic of AMX-818, a masked, protease-activated T cell engager (XPAT) targeting HER2-expressing solid tumors, as well as support Amunix’s robust pipeline of earlier stage XPATs and masked, protease-activated cytokines (XPACs).

"We are pleased to partner with investors who support our vision and our innovative approach as we strive to realize the potential of T cell engagers and cytokines and significantly improve outcomes for cancer patients," said Angie You, Ph.D., chief executive officer of Amunix. "We are building on the promise of these potent drugs to target and attack solid tumors, while potentially reducing their toxicity. Although widely recognized as powerful anti-tumor agents, the on-target and off-tumor toxicity of non-masked T cell engager and cytokine therapeutics has limited their utility. Our XTEN polymer technology with significant human validation is the foundation of our XPAT and XPAC platforms, enabling XTEN to serve as a universal mask that is protease releasable for preferential activation in the tumor microenvironment. Our platform offers a next generation, plug and play masking technology that we have leveraged to build out a robust pipeline and quickly advance new drug candidates through discovery and optimization."

About Amunix’s Platform
Amunix is leveraging its proprietary Pro- XTEN technology platform to create potent immune modulator drugs that are preferentially activated in the high protease milieu of the tumor microenvironment to drive tumor cell killing while minimizing toxicity elsewhere in the body. The technology comprises two proprietary components: 1) a mask, which is an unstructured polypeptide (XTEN) clinically validated to have low immunogenicity, that functions via steric hindrance and confers half-life extension, and 2) a protease release site that enables release of the mask and hence drug activation, by tumor-associated proteases. Amunix’s proprietary molecules are called XTENylated Protease-Activated T cell engagers XPAT) and XTENylated Protease-Activated masked Cytokines (XPACs).

On March 4, 2021 Pulmatrix, Inc. (NASDAQ: PULM), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative inhaled therapies to address serious pulmonary and non-pulmonary disease using its patented iSPERSE technology, reported that provides an update on its business and product pipeline (Press release, Pulmatrix, MAR 4, 2021, View Source [SID1234576078]).

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Pipeline and Business Updates:

PUR1800: 3 of 15 patients have been dosed in the Phase 1b clinical study with endpoints including safety, tolerability and exploratory biomarkers to demonstrate target engagement and anti-inflammatory effect. Ph1b top-line data is expected in Q4 2021, shortly after data from 6 and 9 month toxicology studies. Completion of these studies are important milestones under the kinase inhibitor licensing and development agreement with the Lung Cancer Initiative (LCI) at Johnson & Johnson*, which was previously on January 2, 2020.

Pulmazole: Completed a Type C Meeting with the U.S. FDA for the further clinical development of Pulmazole. Based on the feedback received, Pulmatrix intends to initiate a Phase 2b clinical study of Pulmazole in allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) in Q1 2022. Actual study start will be determined upon Cipla and Pulmatrix joint steering committee approval of final budget and assessment of COVID-19 impact on patient safety and study operations.

PUR3100: In a dog PK study, PUR3100, a dry powder iSPERSE formulation of DHE, demonstrated similar exposure kinetics to modelled kinetics from published data with MAP0004, the MAP Pharmaceuticals pMDI inhaled formulation of DHE. We believe iSPERSE mitigates the manufacturing / device issues which led to MAP0004 FDA complete response letters while enabling a similar pharmacokinetic profile. As a result, PUR3100 will follow a development plan similar to the MAP0004 development program that achieved Ph3 clinical endpoints for safety and efficacy. PUR3100 plans to advance into IND enabling toxicology studies with anticipated Ph1/Ph2 clinical study start in Q1 2022.

Financing: Completed a registered direct offering with gross proceeds of $40 million extending the Company’s cash runway to fully fund data readouts across its development pipeline including PUR1800 Phase 1b, PUR3100 Phase 1 / Phase 2 and Pulmazole Phase 2b studies.
"We are very excited to have three iSPERSE enabled programs with potential to address significant unmet need in lung cancer, allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis, and acute migraine," said Ted Raad, Chief Executive Officer of Pulmatrix. "We have made significant advancements across every program and our now strengthened balance sheet leaves us well positioned to execute across our diversified pipeline to key data readouts and get one step closer to bringing these important therapies to patients."

On March 4, 2021 IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD. (the "Company" or "IPA") (NASDAQ: IPA) (TSXV: IPA), a leader in full-service, therapeutic antibody discovery and development, reported that it will be presenting at the H.C. Wainwright Global Life Sciences Conference being held virtually on March 9-10, 2021 (Press release, ImmunoPrecise Antibodies, MAR 4, 2021, View Source [SID1234576077]).

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Jennifer Bath, CEO of ImmunoPrecise, will provide an overview of the Company’s business during the live presentation and will be available to participate in one-on-one meetings with investors who are registered to attend the conference.

If you are an institutional investor, and would like to attend the Company’s presentation, please click on the following link (View Source) to register for the conference. Once your registration is confirmed, you will be prompted to log into the conference website to request a one-on-one meeting with the Company.

Event: H.C. Wainwright Global Life Sciences Conference (Virtual Conference)

Date: March 9-10, 2021

Presentation Day & Time: The pre-recorded presentation will be available on-demand starting March 9 at 7:00 A.M. (EST).

H.C. Wainwright is a full‐service investment bank dedicated to providing corporate finance, strategic advisory and related services to public and private companies across multiple sectors and regions. H.C. Wainwright & Co. also provides research and sales and trading services to institutional investors. According to Sagient Research Systems, H.C. Wainwright’s team is ranked as the #1 Placement Agent in terms of aggregate CMPO (confidentially marketed public offering), RD (registered direct offering) and PIPE (private investment in public equity) executed cumulatively since 1998.

About IPA’s PolyTope Platform.

IPA’s SARS-CoV-2 PolyTope monoclonal therapies are designed to protect against mutagenic escape with an emphasis on efficacy for every patient, variant, and strain of SARS-CoV-2. They are created with the goal of sustainable efficacy in the face of an evolving virus, combining extensively characterized, potently neutralizing, synergistic antibodies exhibiting richly diverse epitope coverage.

On March 4, 2021 Anixa Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANIX), a biotechnology company focused on the treatment and prevention of cancer and infectious disease reported that the European Patent Office has issued the first European patent for Anixa’s novel CAR-T cancer treatment technology, which has been licensed from The Wistar Institute and is being developed in partnership with Moffitt Cancer Center (Press release, Anixa Biosciences, MAR 4, 2021, View Source [SID1234576076]).

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The patent is titled, "METHODS AND COMPOSITIONS FOR TREATING CANCER," and the inventors are Drs. Jose Conejo-Garcia and Alfredo Perales-Puchalt, both formerly of The Wistar Institute. Dr. Conejo-Garcia is currently Chair of the Department of Immunology at Moffitt Cancer Center and Dr. Alfredo Perales-Puchalt is currently Vice President of R&D at Geneos Therapeutics. The patent is assigned to The Wistar Institute and Anixa Biosciences’ majority-owned subsidiary, Certainty Therapeutics, Inc., which is the exclusive, world-wide licensee.

Dr. Amit Kumar, President and CEO of Anixa Biosciences, stated, "We are pleased that the European Patent Office (EPO) has issued this patent. This patent will provide protection of our technology throughout the European Union, in addition to the existing protection from our issued patent in the United States. Our CAR-T cancer technology takes advantage of specific hormone–hormone receptor biology to address malignancies and may hold promise to be the first successful CAR-T therapy against solid tumors. While our initial focus is the treatment of ovarian cancer, the technology is broad and may also be effective in treating other solid tumors by exploiting an anti-angiogenesis mechanism of action."

Heather A. Steinman, PhD, MBA, Vice President of Business Development at The Wistar Institute said, "Issuance of this European patent along with the previously issued U.S. patent is a critical step in the advancement of our CAR-T technology, which has been exclusively licensed to Anixa’s subsidiary, Certainty Therapeutics, Inc. As a collaborator of and minority shareholder in Certainty, we support the continuing advancement of this novel, targeted immunotherapy into the clinic where we hope one day it may help provide alternative treatment choices for ovarian and other cancer patients."

Dr. Kumar continued, "We are expecting to file an IND application for our ovarian cancer CAR-T therapy by the end of the first calendar quarter of 2021. After we receive clearance from the FDA, we will begin the clinical studies at Moffitt Cancer Center."

On March 4, 2021 Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN) and Five Prime Therapeutics (NASDAQ: FPRX), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing immuno-oncology and targeted cancer therapies, reported an agreement under which Amgen will acquire Five Prime Therapeutics for $38.00 per share in cash, representing an equity value of approximately $1.9 billion (Press release, Amgen, MAR 4, 2021, View Source [SID1234576075]). This acquisition adds Five Prime’s innovative pipeline to Amgen’s leading oncology portfolio.

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Five Prime’s lead asset, bemarituzumab, is a first-in-class, Phase 3 ready anti-FGFR2b antibody with positive data from a randomized, placebo-controlled Phase 2 study in frontline advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) cancer. Bemarituzumab targets FGFR2b, which has been found to be overexpressed in approximately 30% of patients with non-HER2 positive gastric cancer, as well as other solid tumors.
The bemarituzumab Phase 2 FIGHT trial demonstrated clinically meaningful improvements in progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS) and overall response rate (ORR) in the frontline treatment of patients with advanced gastric or GEJ cancer. Additional analysis showed a positive correlation between efficacy and expression of FGFR2b on tumor cells, confirming both the importance of the FGFR2b target and the activity of bemarituzumab against this target.
This correlation suggests that FGFR2b could play a role in other epithelial cancers, including lung, breast, ovarian and other cancers.
The acquisition of Five Prime also supports Amgen’s international expansion strategy. Gastric cancer is one of the world’s most common forms of cancer and is particularly prevalent in the Asia-Pacific region, where Amgen expects to generate significant volume growth in the coming years. Amgen plans to leverage its presence in Japan and other Asia-Pacific markets to maximize bemarituzumab’s potential. In addition, as part of this transaction, Amgen will receive a royalty percentage on future net sales in Greater China ranging from the high teens to the low twenties from a pre-existing co-development and commercialization agreement between Five Prime and Zai Lab (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
Five Prime’s additional innovative pipeline programs complement Amgen’s efforts to bring meaningful therapies to oncology patients.
"The acquisition of Five Prime offers a compelling opportunity for Amgen to strengthen our oncology portfolio with a promising late-stage, first-in-class global asset to treat gastric cancer," said Robert A. Bradway, chairman and chief executive officer at Amgen. "We look forward to welcoming the Five Prime team to Amgen and working with them to leverage our best-in-class monoclonal antibody manufacturing capabilities to supply additional clinical materials, as well as expanded production quantities, to realize the full potential of bemarituzumab for even more patients around the world as quickly as possible."

"This is an exciting day for patients who may one day benefit from the promise of bemaritizumab and our full pipeline. I’m so proud of the Five Prime team and the science we’ve pioneered," said Tom Civik, president and chief executive officer of Five Prime. "We see tremendous complementarity between the two companies. Amgen has global reach, world-class resources, and they share our deep passion for science and commitment to patients. I have full confidence that Amgen is the right company to work with us to bring our innovative cancer treatments to patients and to achieve our mission to rewrite cancer."

Transaction Terms
Under the terms of the merger agreement, which was approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies, Amgen will commence a tender offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Five Prime’s common stock for $38.00 per share in cash. Following the completion of the tender offer, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Amgen will merge with Five Prime and shares of Five Prime that have not been tendered and purchased in the tender offer will be converted into the right to receive the same price per share in cash as paid in the tender offer (other than shares held by stockholders who properly demand and perfect appraisal rights under Delaware law).

The transaction is expected to close by the end of the second quarter and is subject to customary closing conditions, including the tender of at least a majority of the outstanding shares of Five Prime’s common stock and the expiration or termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976.

Amgen reaffirmed its full-year outlook with Revenue guidance of $25.8 to $26.6 billion and non-GAAP EPS guidance of $16.00-$17.00.

Goldman Sachs acted as financial advisor to Amgen and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP as its legal advisor. Lazard acted as financial advisor to Five Prime and Cooley LLP as its legal advisor.

Amgen Webcast Investor Call
Amgen will host a webcast call for the investment community on Thursday, March 4, 2021, at 10:30 a.m. EST. Peter H. Griffith, executive vice president and chief financial officer, David M. Reese, M.D., executive vice president of Research and Development, and Murdo Gordon, executive vice president of Global Commercial Operations at Amgen will participate.

Live audio of the conference call will be broadcast over the internet simultaneously and will be available to members of the news media, investors and the general public. The webcast, as with other selected presentations regarding developments in Amgen’s business given at certain investor and medical conferences, can be accessed on Amgen’s website, www.amgen.com, under Investors. Information regarding presentation times, webcast availability and webcast links are noted on Amgen’s Investor Relations Events Calendar. The webcast will be archived and available for replay for at least 90 days after the event.

About FGFR2b
The fibroblast growth factor (FGF)/fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) pathway is implicated in the development and growth of cancer cells. FGFR2b is a splice variant of FGFR2 which can be found in tumors of epithelial origin. Data from the FIGHT trial suggests that approximately 30 percent of patients with non-HER2 positive gastroesophageal cancers overexpress FGFR2b.1 FGFR2b has also been shown to be overexpressed in numerous other cancers, including lung, breast, ovarian and other cancers.

About Bemarituzumab
Bemarituzumab (anti-FGFR2b) is a first-in-class targeted antibody that blocks fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) from binding and activating FGFR2b, inhibiting several downstream pro-tumor signaling pathways and potentially slowing cancer progression. Five Prime Therapeutics granted an exclusive license to Zai Lab Limited to develop and commercialize bemarituzumab in Greater China, and Zai Lab collaborated with Five Prime Therapeutics on the Phase 2 FIGHT trial in Greater China.

About the FIGHT Trial
The FIGHT study was a randomized, placebo controlled trial that evaluated bemarituzumab plus chemotherapy (mFOLFOX6) versus placebo plus chemotherapy in patients with fibroblast growth factor receptor 2b-positive (FGFR2b+), non HER2 positive frontline advanced gastric or GEJ cancer. The trial enrolled 155 patients in 15 countries across Asia, the European Union, and the United States, with 77 patients randomized to the bemarituzumab arm and 78 patients to the placebo arm.

About Gastric Cancer and GEJ Cancer
Gastric cancer, also known as stomach cancer, is the third most common cause of cancer death worldwide and, excluding non-melanoma skin cancer, the fifth most common cancer worldwide, with over 1,000,000 new cases diagnosed each year.2 For HER2 negative patients, frontline therapy available today is the same systemic chemotherapy available since the 1990s.3,4