On October 1, 2024 Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, reported the completion of the acquisition of CN201 from Curon Biopharmaceutical (Curon), a novel investigational clinical-stage bispecific antibody for the treatment of B-cell associated diseases (Press release, Merck & Co, OCT 1, 2024, View Source [SID1234646981]).

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"By actively depleting B-cells, CN201 offers applications spanning both B-cell malignancies and autoimmune diseases. We look forward to building upon the foundational work started by the Curon team," said Dr. Dean Y. Li, president, Merck Research Laboratories.

CN201 is currently being investigated in Phase 1 and Phase 1b/2 clinical trials for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) and relapsed or refractory B-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), respectively. Preliminary data suggest CN201 has activity in patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell hematologic malignancies and is well tolerated, potentially leading to significant and sustained reductions in B-cell populations.

Transaction details

Under the agreement, Merck, through a subsidiary, has acquired full global rights to CN201. As previously disclosed, the transaction is being accounted for as an asset acquisition. Merck is recording a pre-tax charge of approximately $750 million (reflecting the upfront payment and other related costs), or approximately $0.28 per share, which will be included in third-quarter non-GAAP results and was not included in Merck’s full-year financial outlook issued on July 30. As a matter of policy, Merck provides updates to its financial outlook once each quarter and will provide an update to its full-year financial outlook when it reports third-quarter 2024 results on October 31.

About CN201

CN201 is a novel CD3xCD19-targeting T-cell-engager bispecific antibody, designed to target B cells for elimination by T cells. CN201 is currently being evaluated in Phase 1 and Phase 1b/2 clinical trials for the treatment of relapsed or refractory non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and relapsed or refractory acute lymphocytic leukemia, respectively.

On October 1, 2024 Kiromic BioPharma, Inc. (OTCQB: KRBP) ("Kiromic" or the "Company") reported good safety and favorable ongoing efficacy results from the 10-month follow-up visit of the first patient treated in its Deltacel-01 Phase 1 clinical trial (Press release, Kiromic, OCT 1, 2024, View Source [SID1234646980]). This trial is evaluating Deltacel (KB-GDT-01), the Company’s allogeneic, off-the-shelf, Gamma Delta T-cell (GDT) therapy, in patients with stage 4 metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have failed to respond to standard therapies.

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In this patient, the tumor size was reduced by approximately 27% compared with the pre-treatment size, and no new sites of disease were identified. As a result, the progression-free survival (PFS) has reached 10 months with no reported adverse events. These results follow an approximate 20% reduction in tumor size detected at eight months post-treatment and an approximate 13% reduction at six months post-treatment. This patient is being treated at the Beverly Hills Cancer Center (BHCC).

"As this patient is the most advanced in our ongoing Deltacel-01 clinical trial, we are particularly encouraged by these latest follow-up results that continue to validate the potential of Deltacel as a safe and effective treatment for patients with later-stage cancers," said Pietro Bersani, Chief Executive Officer of Kiromic BioPharma. "We believe these findings underscore the promise of our allogeneic GDT therapy in providing durable clinical benefit."

"The latest results from this patient are highly promising, particularly given the durable progression-free survival and tumor reduction we observed," said Afshin Eli Gabayan, M.D., Medical Oncologist, Medical Director and Deltacel-01 Principal Investigator at BHCC. "This patient’s response to Gama Delta T-Cell Treatment continues to provide optimism as we evaluate Deltacel’s therapeutic potential. Continued meaningful results could represent a significant breakthrough for these late-stage cancer patients with limited treatment options."

Kiromic expects to report additional follow-up results from the fourth patient enrolled in this study in October.

About Deltacel-01

In Kiromic’s open-label Phase 1 clinical trial, titled "Phase 1 Trial Evaluating the Safety and Tolerability of Gamma Delta T Cell Infusions in Combination With Low Dose Radiotherapy in Subjects With Stage 4 Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer" (NCT06069570), patients with stage 4 NSCLC will receive two intravenous infusions of Deltacel with four courses of low-dose, localized radiation over a 10-day period. The primary objective of the Deltacel-01 trial is to evaluate safety, while secondary measurements include objective response, progression-free survival, overall survival, time to progression, time to treatment response and disease control rates.

On October 1, 2024 IN8bio, Inc. (Nasdaq: INAB), a leading clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on innovative gamma-delta T cell therapies, reported that it has entered into a definitive securities purchase agreement with accredited investors for a private placement that is expected to result in gross proceeds of approximately $12.4 million to IN8bio, before deducting placement agent fees and other offering expenses (Press release, In8bio, OCT 1, 2024, View Source [SID1234646978]). The net proceeds from this financing are expected to fund the Company’s current operating plan into 2026.

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The private placement was led by an existing healthcare-focused institutional investor and included a large mutual fund company and other existing and new institutional investors.

Under the terms of the securities purchase agreement, the Company will sell units comprised of an aggregate of 25,759,595 shares of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, pre-funded warrants to purchase 5,646,853 shares of common stock and warrants to purchase up to 31,406,448 shares of common stock (the "Series C Warrants"). The units will be sold at a purchase price of $0.395 per unit (or $0.3949 per unit with respect to units that include pre-funded warrants in lieu of common stock). The pre-funded warrants will have an exercise price of $0.0001 per share. The Series C Warrants will have an exercise price of $0.27 per share.

IN8bio intends to use the net proceeds from the private placement to fund the clinical development of INB-100 and future product candidates and for working capital and other general corporate purposes. The proceeds will support the continued enrollment of patients in the expansion cohort with a new target total enrollment of approximately 25 patients at the recommended Phase 2 dose. IN8bio expects to complete this additional enrollment in the first half of 2025, with long-term follow-up results anticipated in late 2025 and in 2026. To affirm the improvements in relapse free and overall survival observed to date and to further de-risk a future registrational randomized control trial, IN8bio will also seek to add a parallel control cohort to prospectively assess leukemia patients and enable comparison between patients receiving INB-100 to those who only receive standard haplotransplantation.

The closing of the private placement is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to occur on or about October 4, 2024.

Newbridge Securities Corporation acted as the sole placement agent for the private placement.

The offer and sale of the foregoing securities is being made in a private placement pursuant to an exemption under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and the Securities have not been registered under the Securities Act or applicable state securities laws. The Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States except pursuant to an effective registration statement or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy the Securities, nor shall there be any sale of the 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 October 1, 2024 Heidelberg Pharma AG (FSE: HPHA), a clinical stage company developing innovative Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADCs), reported that new clinical data from its lead Amanitin-based ADC candidate, HDP-101, were presented at the International Myeloma Society (IMS) Annual Meeting, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 27 September 2024 (Press release, Heidelberg Pharma, OCT 1, 2024, View Source [SID1234646977]).

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HDP-101 is being evaluated in an ongoing Phase I/IIa clinical trial in the indication of relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, a bone marrow cancer with a high unmet medical need. Clinical data from the fifth cohort demonstrated complete remission in one patient who had been heavily pre-treated. This patient showed an objective improvement ("partial response") in the 2nd cycle of treatment and complete remission was confirmed after the 11th cycle.

In addition, several patients showed promising biological activity and an objective improvement demonstrating the potential of HDP-101 as a treatment option for patients with the disease.

Following the presentation at IMS, Heidelberg Pharma will host an R&D webinar on 15 October 2024 at 17:00 CEST/ 11:00 EDT, for investors, analysts, and media.

The R&D webinar will feature presentations by the Heidelberg Pharma management team, alongside Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) in the myeloma field: Shambavi Richard, MD, Associate Professor Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, USA and Robert Z. Orlowski, MD, PhD, (Ad Interim) Director of Myeloma, and Professor of Medicine in the Departments of Lymphoma/Myeloma and Experimental Therapeutics, University of Texas, Houston, Texas, and principal investigator at MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA.

Webinar participants will have the opportunity to submit questions in advance of the webinar or ask questions live during the event.

On October 1, 2024 Curium, a world leader in nuclear medicine, reported that it has entered into a strategic partnership with PDRadiopharma Inc, a wholly-owned subsidiary of PeptiDream, for the clinical development, regulatory filing, and commercialization in Japan of 177Lu-PSMA-I&T and 64Cu-PSMA-I&T (Press release, Curium Pharma, OCT 1, 2024, View Source [SID1234646974]). The two agents 177Lu-PSMA-I&T and 64Cu-PSMA-I&T target prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA) expressed on prostate cancer cells and are being investigated for prostate cancer treatment and diagnostics. Both target tumors with high levels of PSMA expression and thus potentially forming a theranostic (therapeutic & diagnostic) pair.

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Under the terms of the partnership, Curium and PDRadiopharma will jointly collaborate on clinical development activities of 177Lu-PSMA-I&T and 64Cu-PSMA-I&T in Japan, with PDRadiopharma leading regulatory filing, manufacturing, commercialization, and distribution activities in Japan. Curium will continue to lead global development of the two agents and support PDRadiopharma through technology transfer to support the set-up of manufacturing lines in Japan – including a high throughput Copper 64 manufacturing line based on Curium’s proprietary technology.

Patrick C. Reid, President & CEO of PeptiDream commented: "Targeted radiopharmaceuticals are rapidly revolutionizing how we both diagnose and treat cancer. At PeptiDream and PDRadiopharma we are focused on expanding our pipeline of these powerful targeted therapies, and we are thrilled to be able to accelerate those efforts by partnering with Curium to bring their highly promising prostate cancer targeting radiopharmaceuticals to patients in Japan."

Masato Murakami, President of PDRadiopharma & CMO of PeptiDream commented: "We are excited to partner with Curium in the development of 177Lu-PSMA-I&T and 64Cu-PSMA-I&T, highly promising products for both the diagnosis and treatment of PSMA-expressing prostate cancer. We look forward to working with Curium to deliver these much-needed agents to prostate cancer patients in Japan as quickly as possible."

Chaitanya Tatineni, Curium’s CEO International Markets commented: "As a global innovator in the field of radiopharmaceuticals with a promising late-stage oncology pipeline, Curium is delighted to partner with PDRadiopharma which has more than four decades of experience in Japan. Curium and PDRadiopharma plan to leverage their complementary strengths to accelerate the development of innovative products for the benefit of prostate cancer patients in Japan."

Prostate cancer continues to be widely prevalent in Japan. Annually, there are approximately 90,000 – 100,000 new cases, with patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer having an overall survival rate of approximately three years in clinical trial settings, and even shorter in the real-world, and there remains a significant unmet medical need for therapies.

177Lu-PSMA-I&T, a PSMA inhibitor conjugated with the radioisotope Lutetium 177, is currently being tested by Curium in a global pivotal Phase 3 ECLIPSE trial (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier; NCT05204927). ECLIPSE is a multi-center, open-label, randomized clinical trial comparing the safety and efficacy of 177Lu-PSMA-I&T versus hormone therapy in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. The ECLIPSE trial enrolled over 400 patients, across 51 trial sites in the United States and Europe.

64Cu-PSMA-I&T PET is currently being investigated in 2 multicenter Phase 3 trials; SOLAR RECUR testing the diagnostic performance in men with biochemical recurrence of prostate cancer (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT06235099) and SOLAR STAGE testing the diagnostic performance in men with newly diagnosed unfavorable intermediate- to high-risk prostate cancer (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier; NCT06235151). The first in human Phase 1/2 SOLAR trial met the co-primary endpoints of region-level correct localization rate and patient-level correct detection rate in patients with histologically-proven metastatic prostate cancer. PSMA-targeted PET/CT imaging is increasingly emerging as a highly sensitive method for detection of locally recurrent or metastatic lesions in the context of biochemical recurrence and for localization of primary prostate cancer.

Curium and PDRadiopharma have a long-standing relationship in the radiopharmaceutical field.