On December 8, 2021 Celyad Oncology SA (Euronext & Nasdaq: CYAD) ("Celyad" or the "Company"), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR T) therapies for cancer, reported the closing of its previously announced private placement with an affiliate of Fortress Investment Group (such affiliate "Fortress") (Press release, Celyad, DEC 8, 2021, View Source [SID1234596587]). The Company issued 6,500,000 ordinary shares at a price of USD 5.00 (about EUR 4.42) for gross proceeds of USD 32.5 million (about EUR 28.7 million).

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The Company intends to use net proceeds from the private placement to fund research and development expenses, including the clinical development of its allogeneic CAR T candidates CYAD-101 and CYAD-211, to advance the current pipeline of preclinical CAR T candidates, to discover and develop additional preclinical product candidates using its proprietary non-gene edited short hairpin RNA (shRNA) technology platform, as well as for working capital, other general corporate purposes, and the enhancement of the Company’s intellectual property.

SVB Leerink acted as the exclusive placement agent for the private placement, Goodwin Procter LLP and Harvest acted as legal counsel to the Company. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Eubelius acted as legal counsel to Fortress.

The securities issued in the private placement have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933 or applicable state securities laws and may not be resold in the United States absent registration under the Securities Act or an applicable exemption from such registration requirements. The Company has agreed to customary registration rights covering the resale of the ordinary shares (in the form of American Depositary Shares) sold in the private placement.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the securities, nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of such state. Any offering of the securities under the resale registration statement will only be by means of a prospectus.

On December 8, 2021 Almac Diagnostic Services, a member of the Almac Group, reported that its unique software driven solution for gene expression data analysis – claraT – has assisted oncology researchers at The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (US) and Queen’s University Belfast (UK) in the study of brain and breast cancers (Press release, Almac, DEC 8, 2021, View Source [SID1234596586]). The studies, recently published in the MDPI Cancer Journal and the British Journal of Cancer, have the potential to lead to better therapeutic outcomes for patients.

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The research teams, led by Dr Analiz Rodriguez at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and Dr Stuart McIntosh at Queen’s University Belfast, cite use of Almac’s claraT report as a key method used to uncover new findings in their oncology studies.

Almac’s claraT report assists in the analysis of gene expression data by classifying the most biologically relevant gene expression signatures into a comprehensive easy-to-interpret report that covers all 10 Hallmarks of Cancer.

In Dr Analiz Rodriguez’s study, claraT was utilised as a method to facilitate the molecular profiling of brain metastases. Together with other genomic and transcriptomic tools, claraT helped identify novel molecular subtypes and new drivers of brain cancer progression in parallel to novel drug targets. These findings have been published in the MDPI Cancer Journal.

Dr Rodriguez said "We are grateful for the Almac Group’s claraT platform as it allowed us to evaluate hundreds of gene expression signatures and single gene targets that correlated to the Hallmarks of Cancer. Transcriptome data can be difficult to analyze, especially in our heterogenous dataset which included brain metastases samples from various primary cancer subtypes. The claraT software solution immensely simplified our workflow and helped us identify a novel subgroup of brain metastases which warrants further investigation."

Dr McIntosh’s study at Queen’s University Belfast demonstrated that the Almac DNA-damage immune-response (DDIR) assay could be used to identify a group of breast cancer patients more likely to benefit from DNA damaging chemotherapy prior to surgery. The team then used transcriptome profiling and the claraT report to demonstrate that patients with low baseline immune signalling or "cold" tumours could be immune primed through the prior use of DNA damaging chemotherapy, potentially sensitizing these tumours to immune checkpoint therapy. Taken together, these results could help refine the treatment of breast cancer patients and lead to better therapeutic outcomes. These results have been published in the British Journal of Cancer.

Dr McIntosh said "The increasing use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer has great potential to benefit patients, but there is a real need for validated biomarkers to identify those patients who will benefit from it. Furthermore, although there is increasing interest in the use of immune checkpoint therapies in breast cancer, we still don’t know which patients are likely to respond, nor what the best accompanying chemotherapeutic regimen is to sensitise patients to these. The use of Almac’s claraT report in our study has given us a valuable insight into the underlying biology of breast tumours before and during neoadjuvant chemotherapy, allowing us the potential to develop studies with a sound scientific rationale to further improve outcomes for these women."

Professor Richard Kennedy, Global VP and Medical Director, Almac Diagnostic Services stated: "We are delighted to be able to equip leading cancer researchers like Professor Rodriguez and Dr McIntosh with a valuable gene expression analysis platform which has supported the identification of exciting new data in their studies. We congratulate them and their teams on their recent publications and look forward to seeing how their studies progress towards new therapeutic interventions in both brain and breast cancer."

To see the current list of publications, posters and presentations that Almac’s claraT report has assisted research institutions with. Please see: View Source

On December 8, 2021 Actinium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE AMERICAN: ATNM) ("Actinium" or the "Company"), a leader in the development of targeted radiotherapies for patients with unmet needs reported its participation in the Targeted Radiopharmaceuticals Summit being held virtually December 7 – 9, 2021 (Press release, Actinium Pharmaceuticals, DEC 8, 2021, View Source [SID1234596585]). The Targeted Radiopharmaceuticals Summit brings together experts and thought leaders in the field with the goal to achieve meaningful clinical efficacy with theragnostic radionuclide therapies in a mono and combinatorial setting & deliver a robust, cGMP compliant manufacturing supply chain. Representatives from Actinium’s R&D and Clinical Development teams have been invited to participate as expert speakers in two panel presentations during the Targeted Radiopharmaceuticals Summit. The panel details are as follows:

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Panel: Review of the Last 12 Months of Development of Alpha Emitting Therapies

Session: Next Generation Alpha Emitter Based Therapeutics

Actinium Expert Speaker: Helen Kotanides, Ph.D., Vice President, Translational Research and Preclinical Development

Date and Time: December 9, 2021, 5:30 pm CET, 11:30 am EST

Panel: High Dose – Low Dose Therapeutic Strategy: Tailoring the Dose of Radiopharmaceuticals for Opportunity and Outcomes

Session: Optimizing Treatment Regimens

Actinium Expert Speaker: Mary Chen, M.D., Ph.D., Vice President, Clinical Development

Date and Time: December 9, 2021, 6:30 pm CET, 12:30 pm EST

Learn more about the Targeted Radiopharmaceuticals Summit at www.targeted-radiopharma.com.

On December 8, 2021 Avistone Pharmaceuticals ("Avistone" or "the Company"), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on precision oncology therapeutics, reported it has received a strategic investment of more than $200 million led by Vivo Capital with participation from Bain Capital and Primavera Capital (collectively the "Investor Group") (Press release, Avistone Pharmaceuticals, DEC 8, 2021, View Source [SID1234596584]). The investment will support the combination of Avistone with Pearl Biotechnology Co. Ltd. to create a fully-integrated targeted oncology platform that will address unmet patient needs globally.

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The strategic investment will also support the accelerated development of Avistone’s existing drug candidates, expand its product pipeline through both research and development efforts and business development, enable the combined business to capitalize on opportunities in key markets outside of China, and scale its capabilities to prepare for commercialization.

Based in Beijing, China, Avistone has been committed to the development of precision oncology therapeutics for nearly a decade and has a broad oncology pipeline focused on treatments for lung cancer. The Company’s most advanced asset is a c-Met inhibitor in late-stage clinical development for genetically-defined populations of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and glioblastoma (GBM). This product candidate has been awarded Breakthrough Therapy designation by China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA). In addition, Avistone has an innovative pipeline of tyrosine kinase inhibitors for other molecular drivers of cancer that includes another drug candidate currently in a Phase I dose escalation clinical study. The Company also has several therapeutic compound candidates in pre-clinical and IND-enabling studies.

"Avistone is a science-driven, innovative biotechnology company committed to the discovery and clinical development of first-in-class and best-in-class drugs," said Dr. Hepeng Shi, Chairman, CEO, and Founder of Avistone. "We are thrilled for our company, team, and product pipeline to be recognized by such well-established global life sciences investors as Vivo Capital, Bain Capital, and Primavera Capital. We look forward to leveraging their resources and capabilities to realize our vision to become a global oncology leader that provides more effective treatment options and improves quality of life for patients around the world."

"Vivo Capital is excited to have the opportunity to lead this transformative financing for Avistone. The deal exemplifies Vivo’s investment capabilities in both innovation and private equity transactions in China, as well as extraordinary collaborations both internally, led by Drs. Hongbo Lu and David Liu, and externally, joined by Bain Capital and Primavera Capital." said Shan Fu, Managing Partner and CEO of Greater China for Vivo Capital. "As a global biotech investor with 25 years of history, Vivo is excited to witness the rapid emergence of the Chinese biotech industry. We have known the Avistone team for many years, and we see tremendous value in Avistone’s capabilities in both innovative drug R&D and execution in China. We look forward to partnering with Bain Capital and Primavera Capital to help Avistone bring life-saving therapeutics to patients around the world," added Dr. Hongbo Lu, Managing Partner and CIO of Greater China for Vivo Capital.

"Over the past several years, Bain Capital Life Sciences and Bain Capital Asia Private Equity have systematically studied the life sciences landscape in China to identify the most attractive therapeutic areas and the most promising companies, and this exciting investment represents a culmination of our cross-platform efforts," said Ricky Sun, a Managing Director at Bain Capital Life Sciences. "We are excited to collaborate with Dr. Shi and his team, and to provide the necessary resources to enable the Company to build a best-in-class targeted oncology platform that brings transformative products to patients all over the world."

"The era of precise and personalized cancer treatment has arrived after years of development. However, there are still considerable clinical needs that have not been met," said Jiaqi Zheng, Managing Director of Primavera Capital. "As pioneers in the China pharmaceutical industry, Dr. Shi and his team have accumulated a great deal of expertise in drug discovery and clinical development of targeted therapies. We are delighted to become an investor and strategic partner of Avistone and are committed to supporting the Company’s mission of becoming a leading global biopharmaceutical platform of innovative precision therapeutics."

On December 7, 2021 METiS Therapeutics reported the company debut with $86 million Series A financing to harness artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to redefine drug discovery and delivery and develop optimal therapies for patients with serious diseases (Press release, METiS Therapeutics, DEC 7, 2021, View Source [SID1234648428]). PICC PE and China Life led the financing and were joined by Sequoia Capital China, Lightspeed, 5Y Capital, FreeS Fund and CMBI Zhaoxin Wuji Fund. The financing will be used to advance the company’s pipeline of novel assets with high therapeutic potential and the continued development of its AI-driven drug discovery and delivery platform.

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"METiS is well-positioned to change the drug discovery and delivery landscape with the creation of a proprietary predictive AI platform. We leverage machine learning, AI and quantum simulation to uncover novel drug candidates and to transform drug discovery and development, ultimately bringing the best therapies to patients in need," said Chris Lai, CEO, and Founder, METiS Therapeutics. "We are fortunate that our world-class roster of investors believes in our vision and today’s news represents the first of many significant milestones that we will be accomplishing throughout the next year."

The METiS platform (AiTEM) combines state-of-the-art AI data-driven algorithms, mechanismdriven quantum mechanics and molecular dynamics simulations to calculate Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) properties, elucidate API-target and API-excipient interactions, and predict chemical, physical and pharmacokinetic properties of small molecule and nucleic acid therapeutics in specific microenvironments. This enables efficient lead optimization, candidate selection and formulation design. Founded by a team of MIT researchers, serial entrepreneurs and biotech industry veterans, METiS develops and in-licenses novel assets with high therapeutic potential that could benefit from its data-driven platform.