On April 29, 2024 Oncotelic Therapeutics, Inc. (OTCQB:OTLC) ("Oncotelic", the "Company" or "We" or "Our"), reported that it has entered into a binding term-sheet with Mosaic ImmunoEngineering, Inc. (OTCPK: CPMV) ("Mosaic") under which Mosaic will acquire rights to Oncotelic’s clinical-stage necroptosis cancer therapies (Press release, Oncotelic, APR 29, 2024, View Source [SID1234642429]). Oncotelic’s necroptosis therapeutics work by disrupting tumor blood flow resulting in immunogenic tumor cell death through "death receptor" activation which can result in a robust anti-cancer immune response. In addition to the clinical stage assets, Mosaic will have access to Oncotelic’s proprietary Artificial Intelligence ("AI") technologies for identifying immunotherapy combinations.

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Pursuant to the binding term-sheet, Mosaic will issue to Oncotelic $15 million in CPMV shares upon execution of the definitive purchase agreement along with additional milestones allowing Oncotelic to earn up to an additional $15 million in shares of CPMV. The Mosaic team, which has broad experience in bringing oncology and orphan drug products to market with a combined experience including well over 30 FDA and worldwide product approvals, will be responsible for advancing the development of the technologies. Both companies will work closely together to ensure a smooth transfer of the technologies from Oncotelic to Mosaic. Oncotelic will provide short-term financial support for the program while the teams work together to achieve both short-term and long-term financing goals. Pursuant to the binding term sheet, the parties agreed to negotiate in good faith towards the execution of the Definitive Agreements and the closing of the transactions contemplated thereby, which will be subject to customary due diligence and other conditions as described in the binding term sheet.

"This will be the second transaction for capitalizing on our assets and building shareholder value. The first being the successful transition of OT-101 to our joint venture ("JV") with Dragon Capital Overseas, Limited. The JV is expected to list for an IPO, as well as the completion of establishing a research and manufacturing facility headquartered in San Diego, California." expressed Dr. Vuong Trieu, CEO of Oncotelic.

"We are very pleased to have this opportunity to bring these clinical stage assets that have promise for the treatment of multiple types of cancer into Mosaic. We anticipate that the initial application of the technology will be in areas with high unmet medical need such as uveal melanoma and retinoblastoma. We look forward to working with the Oncotelic team to advance the program." said Steven King, President and CEO of Mosaic.

On April 29, 2024 INOVIO (NASDAQ: INO), a biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing DNA medicines to help treat and protect people from HPV-related diseases, cancer, and infectious diseases, reported that management will participate in the following investor conferences during the month of May (Press release, Inovio, APR 29, 2024, View Source [SID1234642428]):

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The Citizens JMP Life Sciences Conference
Date: Tuesday, May 14, 2024
Time: 11:30 AM ET
Presenter: Dr. Jacqueline Shea, President & CEO
Format: Fireside Chat

RBC Capital Markets 2024 Global Healthcare Conference
Date: Wednesday, May 15, 2024
Time: 10:00 AM ET
Presenter: Dr. Jacqueline Shea, President & CEO
Format: Fireside Chat

H.C. Wainwright 2nd Annual BioConnect Investor Conference at NASDAQ
Date: Monday, May 20, 2024
Time: 12:30 PM ET
Presenter: Dr. Jacqueline Shea, President & CEO
Format: Fireside Chat

During the conferences, Dr. Shea and members of INOVIO’s management team will conduct one-on-one meetings with registered investors.

Webcasts of the fireside chats will be available on the INOVIO Investor Relations Events page at View Source Replays of the webcasts will be available for 90 days after the date of the presentation.

On April 29, 2024 Immix Biopharma, Inc. ("Immix Biopharma", "Company", "We" or "Us", Nasdaq:IMMX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company trailblazing cell therapies in autoimmune disease, reported that the European Commission (EC) has granted orphan drug designation to NXC-201 for the treatment of multiple myeloma (Press release, Immix Biopharma, APR 29, 2024, View Source [SID1234642427]).

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"Frail patients, heavily represented in our NEXICART-1 clinical trial, remain an area of unmet medical need and are a significant portion of the relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma population," said Ilya Rachman, MD PhD, Chief Executive Officer, Immix Biopharma. "We believe EU orphan drug designation for NXC-201 affirms the potential clinical impact of NXC-201 in this sizable population."

Gabriel Morris, Chief Financial Officer, Immix Biopharma added, "We believe NXC-201’s observed favorable tolerability profile and ‘Single Day CRS’ across a robust clinical dataset could enable an attractive option for frail relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma patients in addition to our lead indication, relapsed/refractory AL Amyloidosis, and our active NXC-201 expansion into other autoimmune diseases."

According to Davis et al., 2023 Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, commercial CAR-Ts produced 6.9 months median progression free survival in frail relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma patients in a real-world setting. 61% of patients in the dataset were considered frail.

Orphan drug designation in the European Union (EU) is granted by the EC based on a positive opinion issued by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products. To qualify for orphan drug designation, a candidate therapy must be intended for the treatment, prevention or diagnosis of a life-threatening or chronically debilitating disease that occurs in not more than five in 10,000 people in the EU. The designation provides regulatory, financial and commercial incentives to develop therapies for rare diseases where there are either no satisfactory treatment options or significant benefit to those affected by the disease.

On April 29, 2024 Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: DCPH), a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing important new medicines to improve the lives of people with cancer, reported that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement with ONO Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (ONO), under which ONO will acquire all outstanding shares of Deciphera common stock for $25.60 per share in cash through a tender offer followed by a merger of Deciphera with a wholly-owned subsidiary of ONO (the "Acquisition"), for a total equity value of $2.4 billion (Press release, Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, APR 29, 2024, View Source [SID1234642426]). The boards of directors of both companies have unanimously approved the transaction.

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Together, ONO and Deciphera will accelerate their shared vision to deliver innovative new drugs and serve patients around the world. Deciphera brings specialized research and development capabilities in kinase drug discovery, well-established commercial and sales platforms in the United States and Europe, and global clinical development capabilities. In addition to QINLOCK – Deciphera’s switch-control inhibitor for the treatment of fourth-line gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), which is approved in the United States and over 40 other countries, Deciphera also brings a mature, diverse pipeline of best-or-first in class potential medicines, including vimseltinib, DCC-3116 (an ULK inhibitor) and multiple additional oncology candidates. Vimseltinib is a highly selective switch-control kinase inhibitor with successful pivotal clinical data for the potential to be a best-in-class and first-in-class agent for the treatment of tenosynovial giant cell tumor (TGCT), and potentially other indications. The Acquisition is expected to enable ONO to build a robust presence in oncology, one of its key priority areas, and also support ONO’s efforts to become a Global Specialty Pharma company.

Steven L. Hoerter, President and Chief Executive Officer of Deciphera, said, "Deciphera and ONO share a deep commitment to improve the lives of people living with cancer, and the transaction announced today enables us to make even greater impact for patients. Together, we expect to advance and accelerate each organization’s important work through combined research and development capabilities and a global commercial footprint. Importantly, this acquisition delivers for all of Deciphera’s stakeholders. It provides immediate, compelling value for our shareholders, provides greater opportunities for our world-class team, and ultimately, greater hope for patients. I am excited about the future of the combined organization, and we are honored to contribute to the continued growth of ONO in the U.S. and around the world."

Gyo Sagara, Representative Director, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of ONO, said, "We expect that this acquisition of Deciphera will not only expand ONO’s target oncology portfolio, but also accelerate ONO’s business development in the United States and Europe, and strengthen kinase drug discovery research. Deciphera’s mission statement ‘Inspired by Patients: Defeat Cancer’ is aligned with ONO’s corporate philosophy ‘Dedicated to the Fight against Disease and Pain.’ We respect the innovative culture of Deciphera and look forward to working together to drive further growth for both ONO and Deciphera."

Transaction Details

The Acquisition is structured as a tender offer and subsequent merger of Deciphera with a wholly-owned subsidiary of ONO. Under the terms of the definitive merger agreement, ONO will acquire all outstanding shares of Deciphera for $25.60 per share in cash for a total equity value of approximately $2.4 billion. The purchase price represents a premium of 74.7% to Deciphera’s closing share price of $14.65 on April 26, 2024, and a premium of 68.8% to Deciphera’s 30-trading-day volume weighted average price as of April 26, 2024.

ONO will promptly commence the tender offer, and it will expire 20 business days after its commencement, unless otherwise extended. If the tender offer conditions are not satisfied, ONO may be required to extend the tender offer under certain circumstances. Upon the successful completion of the tender offer, ONO’s wholly-owned subsidiary will merge with and into Deciphera, with Deciphera continuing as the surviving corporation and a wholly-owned subsidiary of ONO, and any shares of common stock of Deciphera not tendered into the offer will receive the same USD per share price payable in the tender offer. The Acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of 2024, subject to customary closing conditions, including U.S. antitrust clearance and the tender of a majority of Deciphera’s outstanding shares of common stock.

In connection with the execution of the merger agreement, certain stockholders of the Company owning approximately 28% of the outstanding shares of Deciphera Common Stock have entered into Tender and Support Agreements pursuant to which they will tender all of their owned shares in the offer.

Upon completion of the Acquisition, Deciphera will operate as a standalone business of ONO Group, from its headquarters in Waltham, Massachusetts.

In light of the Acquisition, Deciphera will not host a first quarter 2024 earnings call. The Company will file a Form 10-Q in the ordinary course.

Advisors

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC is serving as exclusive financial advisor to Deciphera and Goodwin Procter LLP is serving as legal counsel. BofA Securities is serving as financial advisor to ONO and Greenberg Traurig is serving as legal counsel.

On April 29, 2024 Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ: TECH), a global life sciences company providing innovative tools and bioactive reagents for the research and clinical diagnostic communities reported a significant milestone in its commitment to providing cutting-edge solutions to its customers (Press release, Bio-Techne, APR 29, 2024, View Source [SID1234642425]). Effective May 1, 2024, Bio-Techne will enter into a strategic distribution agreement with Thermo Fisher Scientific, a leading provider of laboratory products and services, in Europe.

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This partnership marks an important collaboration between two industry leaders in the fields of scientific research, diagnostics, and biotechnology. Under this agreement, Thermo Fisher, through the European arm of its Fisher Scientific Channel, will distribute Bio-Techne’s extensive portfolio of innovative products, including antibodies, proteins, Immunoassay kits, reagents and enzymes to laboratories and research institutions across Europe.

"We are excited to partner with Thermo Fisher to expand the reach of our products and services throughout Europe," said Kim Kelderman, Bio-Techne’s President and Chief Executive Officer. "By leveraging the Fisher Scientific Channel’s extensive European distribution network and industry expertise, we aim to enhance support for researchers and accelerate scientific discoveries that address some of the most pressing challenges in healthcare today."

Bio-Techne’s state-of-the-art products are designed to accelerate research and improve outcomes in areas including cell and gene therapy, immunology, neuroscience, and more. With this collaboration, Thermo Fisher reinforces its commitment to providing customers with access to the latest technologies and expertise, ultimately advancing scientific knowledge and improving human health.

"We are thrilled to forge this partnership with Bio-Techne, a company renowned for its pioneering advancements in the life sciences industry," said Claire Wallace, President Research and Safety Market, Europe at Thermo Fisher. "By adding Bio-Techne’s high-quality products to our comprehensive portfolio, we aim to further empower scientists and researchers with the tools they need to drive breakthrough discoveries and advancements in healthcare."

"Thermo Fisher is an ideal partner to accelerate our already strong presence in Europe," said Dr. Peter Schüßler, Vice President and General Manager EMEA. "We are looking forward to the positive impact this relationship will have on the research community, as expanded access to our portfolio of bioactive reagents enables scientific discoveries in the region."

This distribution agreement underscores Thermo Fisher’s dedication to fostering innovation and collaboration within the scientific community. Through strategic partnerships with leading companies like Bio-Techne, Thermo Fisher continues to strengthen its position as a trusted partner for researchers and laboratories across Europe.

For more information about Bio-Techne and its range of products and services, visit our Website.

For more information about the Fisher Scientific Channel in Europe and its comprehensive range of laboratory products and services, visit their Website.