On March 1, 2021 Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: IOVA), a late-stage biotechnology company developing novel T cell-based cancer immunotherapies, reported that senior leadership plans to present at the following virtual healthcare conferences (Press release, Iovance Biotherapeutics, MAR 1, 2021, View Source [SID1234575950]):

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Cowen 41st Annual Health Care Conference – Cell Therapy Panel
Date/Time: Wednesday, March 3, at 1:20 p.m. ET
H.C. Wainwright Global Life Sciences Conference
Date/Time: Tuesday, March 9, at 7:00 a.m. ET
Barclays Global Healthcare Conference
Date/Time: Thursday, March 11, at 1:50 p.m. ET
Oppenheimer 31st Annual Healthcare Conference
Date/Time: Wednesday, March 17, at 1:10 p.m. ET
The live and archived webcasts of the presentations will be available in the Investors section of the Iovance website at View Source

On March 1, 2021 Lixte Biotechnology Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: LIXT), a clinical-stage drug discovery company developing pharmacologically active drugs for use in cancer treatment, reported that it has entered into definitive agreements for the purchase and sale of 1,133,102 shares of Lixte’s common stock, at a purchase price of $3.70 per share, in a registered direct offering (Press release, Lixte Biotechnology, MAR 1, 2021, View Source [SID1234575938]). The closing of the offering is expected to occur on or about March 2, 2021, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

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WestPark Capital, Inc. and WallachBeth Capital, LLC are acting as co-placement agents for the offering.

The gross proceeds to Lixte from this offering are expected to be approximately $4.19 million before deducting the placement agents’ fees and other offering expenses payable by Lixte. The company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for working capital and general expenses including further development of its lead clinical compound LB-100.

The shares of common stock are being offered by Lixte pursuant to a "shelf" registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-252430) previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on January 26, 2021 and declared effective by the SEC on February 5, 2021. The offering of the securities will be made only by means of a prospectus, including a prospectus supplement, forming a part of the effective registration statement. A final prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus relating to the securities being offered will be filed with the SEC. Electronic copies of the final prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus may be obtained, when available, on the SEC’s website at View Source or from: WestPark Capital, Inc. – Attention: Jason Stern, 1900 Avenue of the Stars, 3rd Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90077 or by Email: [email protected] or by telephone at (310) 203-2919.

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

On March 1, 2021 Cancer Research UK and Teon Therapeutics, Inc. (Teon) today (Monday 1 March) reported that they have signed a collaboration agreement to progress the early phase clinical development of Teon’s first-in-class small molecule adenosine A2B receptor antagonist, TT-702 (Press release, Teon Therapeutics, MAR 1, 2021, View Source [SID1234575900]).

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Cancer Research UK is the world’s leading cancer charity dedicated to saving lives. Teon is a biopharmaceutical company that is developing a focused portfolio of small molecules that modulate metabolic signalling pathways in the tumour microenvironment.

Under the terms of the clinical development partnership, Cancer Research UK will sponsor the first-in-human Phase I/II clinical trial of TT-702, which will be led by a team at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust.

TT-702 targets cancer’s ability to evade the human immune response, enabling the immune system to expose and then destroy cancer cells. The hope is that TT-702 could be used to treat patients with advanced hard-to-treat solid tumours, including metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer, which is an aggressive form of cancer which has progressed despite surgery and hormone therapy.

Cancer Research UK’s Centre for Drug Development will work closely with Teon throughout the collaboration and share clinical insights as they emerge to help guide TT-702’s future development strategy.

Teon retains the rights to further develop and commercialise TT-702 and will receive the results of the clinical trial from Cancer Research UK in return for undisclosed success-based milestone and royalty payments.

TT-702 is an adenosine receptor antagonist and specifically targets the A2B receptor, which is over expressed on various types of tumour cells and immune cells*.

High levels of adenosine in the tumour microenvironment activate the A2B receptor, triggering tumour cells to grow and suppress T-cells, allowing the cancer cells to avoid immune detection.

TT-702 prevents the A2B receptor being activated by high levels of adenosine, which prevents cancer cell growth and enhances the anti-tumour immune response.

The Centre for Drug Development, Teon, and a team of clinical investigators led by Professor Johann de Bono are currently preparing to open a first-in-human clinical trial in the second half of 2021.

The researchers will test the safety and efficacy of TT-702 in multiple cancer indications, including hard-to-treat prostate cancer and triple negative breast cancer. TT-702 will be evaluated as both a monotherapy and in combination with anti-PD1 immunotherapy or hormonal therapy.

Dr Nigel Blackburn, Cancer Research UK’s director of drug development, said: "We are delighted to be working with Teon to advance TT-702 into human trials, and the drug makes an exciting addition to our growing portfolio of innovative anti-cancer agents. Finding new ways to target difficult-to-treat cancers remains a research priority for Cancer Research UK, and despite the challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic, we are continuing to leverage new partnerships like Teon, so we can bring potentially life-saving treatments closer to patients who need them."

Ken Horne, president and chief operating officer at Teon Therapeutics, said: "The partnership with the Centre for Drug Development provides an ideal route for Teon to pursue early-phase clinical development of TT-702, and leverage the incredible resources that Cancer Research UK brings. We are very excited to collaborate with a world-class investigator like Professor de Bono, thanks to the Centre for Drug Development".

Professor Johann de Bono, Professor of Experimental Cancer Medicine at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and Consultant Medical Oncologist at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, said: "We are excited to begin clinical trials of this new anti-cancer drug in several types of cancer. This new agent targets the evasive strategies cancer takes against the human immune response, exposing cancer cells to the immune system for destruction."

On March 1, 2021 Invest Puerto Rico (InvestPR), the Island’s economic development organization, and the Puerto Rico Department of Economic Development and Commerce (DDEC), reported that CytoImmune Therapeutics Puerto Rico LLC ("CTPR") will establish cell therapy operations in Puerto Rico in 2021 with the aim of developing novel, coordinate immunotherapy solutions for cancer patients (Press release, CytoImmune Therapeutics, MAR 1, 2021, View Source [SID1234575897]).

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The new company, an affiliate of the California-based CytoImmune Therapeutics, organized under the provisions established by the Puerto Rico Incentives Code (Act 60) will be the first of its kind on the Island. Its purpose is to conduct R&D and manufacturing in a 37,000 square foot facility in Toa Baja.

CytoImmune has been developing and commercializing novel cancer immunotherapy products designed to utilize the power of the patient’s own immune system to eliminate cancer cells. This happens through proprietary Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) engineered T cells (CAR-T) technology, and an approach for natural killer (NK) cell immunotherapy that involves a CAR NK cell. This technology enables the cell to recognize specific proteins or antigens present on the surface of tumor cells.

Now, manufacturing of CAR NK cells for first-inhuman phase 1 clinical trials will be performed in CytoImmune’s Puerto Rico facilities. Because of the ability to freeze and thaw these CAR NK cells, multiple institutions can be involved in early phase clinical trials, including some in Puerto Rico, thereby hastening accrual in each clinical stage.

The initiative represents an investment of $28 million in the Island ($8 million by CTPR with co-investment of $17 million by CytoImmune), including machinery and equipment. CTPR expects to hire up to 100 professionals with estimated total payroll of $7 million annually.

"We are pleased to welcome CytoImmune to Puerto Rico. The company’s commitment to stand up R&D and manufacturing facilities on the Island is a testament to Puerto Rico’s potential as a viable investment destination and speaks to Puerto Rico’s value proposition as a life science hub," says Rodrick Miller, CEO of Invest Puerto Rico. "We work to strengthen Puerto Rico’s position each day with an ever-resilient business ecosystem designed to encourage new investment in the short and long term."

"CytoImmune Therapeutics Puerto Rico is a leader in the field of cell therapy and immunotherapy for the treatment of cancers. This is an excellent opportunity to establish an R&D facility in Toa Baja. CTPR with this remarkable scientific discovery will bring hope to many of the sick people with cancer worldwide," says Bernardo Márquez García, the mayor of Toa Baja. "We understand that our Municipality and Puerto Rico can benefit from 100+ jobs, and my administration will support CytoImmune’s development."

Will Rosellini, Co-founder and President of CytoImmune, noted, "Puerto Rico was the obvious choice for expanding our operations. The Island, with proven history in the life science sector, can support our research and development, including a deep talent pool, supportive business climate, and many other high-value intangibles."

On March 1, 2021 Suzhou Medilink Therapeutics Ltd. (Medilink), a global biotech company focusing on next-generation antibody-drug conjugate Research & development, reported the closing of a $50 million series A financing, to accelerate its innovative pipeline development and to support its unique conjugate technology platform (Press release, Suzhou Medilink Therapeutics, MAR 1, 2021, View Source;development-301236856.html [SID1234575893]). The financing includes a series-A1 round led by Apricot Capital, and a series-A2 round co-led by Loyal Valley Capital and Qiming Venture Partners.

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"Our team has extensive knowledge in ADC technology and project development. Our aim is to develop medicines with real benefit for patients around the world. The ADC field has experienced a series of significant breakthroughs in recent years and we believe that there is still an urgent need to develop more efficacious and safer ADC drugs " Said Dr. Tongtong Xue, Founder and CEO of Medilink, " With solid support from our prestigious investors, we will focus on our conjugate platform and swiftly build up our differentiated pipeline, to meet huge unmet needs worldwide."

Medilink Therapeutics was established in 2020 by a sophisticated team of industrial veterans. Dr. Xue has comprehensive experience in R&D, manufacture and business development. He used to serve as the CEO of Kelun-Biotech and managed a team of over 1000 scientists. Dr Jiaqiang Cai, CSO of Medilink, gathered nearly 30 years’ industrial experience in small molecule and ADC drug R&D and served previously as the VP at Shanghai Hansoh Pharmaceutical Ltd. Dr Liang Xiao, COO of Medilink, who was the VP at Kelun-Biotech and COO at Klus Pharma, has extensive experience in the development of biologics and ADCs.

Mr. Roy (Ronggang) Xie, Partner at Loyal Valley Capital said, "ADC is one of the most important approaches for cancer treatment. The advance of linker and payload technology has expanded the therapeutic applications of ADC. The Medilink team has the insight and knowledge edge in ADC R&D front. Since its founding, Medilink has shown strong execution capability and made rapid progress in fronts including projects, external collaborations and team buildings. We are honored to work with such an excellent team. Loyal Valley Capital will definitely be a long-term supporter of Medilink, which we believe will become a world-class leader in drug conjugate technology development. "

Dr. Kan Chen, Principal of Qiming Venture Partners, said, "Conjugated drugs have obvious advantages in fighting against cancers, especially malignant tumors. As the technical barriers are extremely high, ADC development is full of hope and challenges. Founded in Suzhou，China, Medilink has high ambitions for its ADC R&D to be globally competitive, and meet the needs of global patients in the future. The team has the vision, experience and capacities to achieve the goal."

Mr. Jing Qiang, Partner at Apricot Capital, said, "The ADC drug development is highly complex, which requires well-balanced approach of all components including antibody, linker, and payload. Medilink has shown their strong know-how and unique insights in every step of ADC design and development. It is highly appreciated about the entrepreneurship and chemistry among the team members, and we are confident that the company will be able to grow as a leading drug conjugate technology platform in the world."