On March 7, 2024 Merck, a leading science and technology company, reported financial results for 2023 in line with its guidance published in August despite a challenging market environment, thus demonstrating the robustness of its business model (Press release, Merck KGaA, MAR 7, 2024, View Source [SID1234640888]). The strong development of the Healthcare business sector partly compensated for the market-related declines in sales and earnings in Life Science and Electronics. The company expects to gradually return to organic growth in the course of fiscal 2024.

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

On March 6, 2024 Blacksmith Medicines, Inc. (Blacksmith), a leading biopharma dedicated to discovering and developing medicines targeting metalloenzymes, reported the company will present data on its oncology program targeting flap endonuclease 1 (FEN1), a structure-specific metallonuclease that cleaves 5’ DNA flaps during replication and repair, at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting 2024, taking place April 5-10 at the San Diego Convention Center, San Diego CA (Press release, Blacksmith Medicines, MAR 6, 2024, View Source [SID1234643533]).

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

Details of the poster presentation are as follows:

Abstract Number: 7148

Title: "Small molecule inhibitor of FEN1 nuclease utilizing a novel metal binding pharmacophore synergizes with inhibitors of USP1, PARP, PARG and ATR"

Session Category: Experimental and Molecular Therapeutics

Session Title: Novel Antitumor Agents 6

Session Date and Time: Wednesday April 10, 2024 9:00 AM – 12:30 PM

Location: Poster Section 23

Poster Board Number: 10

The abstract is now available on the conference website at AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting 2024.

About FEN1

Flap endonuclease 1 (FEN1) is a structure-specific di-magnesium metallonuclease that cleaves 5’ DNA flaps during replication and repair. FEN1 is an attractive target for development of anticancer therapeutics because it is overexpressed in many tumor types and has a large number of synthetic lethality partners including genes in Homologous Recombination (HR) pathway.

About metalloenzymes and the Blacksmith platform

Metalloenzymes utilize a metal ion cofactor in the enzyme active site to perform essential biological functions. This diverse class of targets has historically been difficult to drug due to small molecule chemistry limitations that have plagued the industry. The Blacksmith metalloenzyme platform has solved this problem by leveraging the following:

A large proprietary fragment library of metal-binding pharmacophores (MBPs);
A comprehensive database containing a full characterization of the metalloenzyme genome including functions, metal cofactors, and associations to disease;
A first-of-its-kind metallo-CRISPR library of custom single guide RNAs;
An industry-leading metalloenzyme computational toolkit for docking, modeling and structure-based drug design; and
A robust and blocking intellectual property estate covering bioinorganic, medicinal, and computational chemistry approaches for metalloenzyme-targeted medicines.

On March 6, 2024 Ono Pharmaceutical reported that it has entered into a license agreement with NEX-I, Inc. (Seoul, Republic of Korea; CEO, Kyoung Wan Yoon; "NEX-I") for NXI-101 (Press release, Ono, MAR 6, 2024, View Source [SID1234641879]).

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

NXI-101 is a first-in-class antibody drug candidate targeting ONCOKINE-1, which is a cancer immunotherapy-resistant factor discovered by NEX-I through its proprietary target screening platform "ONCOKINE platform". It has a potential to be a novel antibody drug with an efficacy against multiple cancer types including cancer immunotherapy-resistant cancer.

Under the terms of this agreement, Ono will have an exclusive right to develop and commercialize NXI-101 and its backup antibodies worldwide. Ono will pay to NEX-I an up-front and milestone payments on the progress of development and commercialization, as well as tiered royalties based on net sales.

"We are pleased to collaborate with NEX-I having a proprietary ONCOKINE platform for development and commercialization of NXI-101. We expect NXI-101 to be a new treatment option for cancer patients," said Toichi Takino, Senior Executive Officer / Executive Director, Discovery & Research of Ono. "Leveraging Ono’s experience and expertise in cancer immunotherapy, we will work on the development of the compound to add it to our development pipeline in oncology."

"We are delighted to start a journey with Ono, a leader in cancer immunotherapy well-known for its breakthrough anti-PD-1 antibody. This collaboration aligns with NEX-I’s strategic focus on novel target discovery and the advancement of our flagship tumor microenvironment modulator, NXI-101. Through this landmark partnership, we underscore our commitment to identifying and developing novel and differentiated therapies that promise substantial benefits for patients," said Kyoung Wan Yoon, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of NEX-I. "Our alliance with Ono represents a significant step forward for our ONCOKINE platform to assemble a diverse portfolio of clinical candidates across a broad range of mechanisms and therapeutic targets."

On March 6, 2024 Onchilles Pharma, a private biotech company developing cancer therapeutics that leverage a novel innate immune mechanism of action, reported that it will unveil preclinical data on systemically delivered N17465 in an oral presentation and new preclinical data for tumor-directed N17350 in a poster presentation at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting 2024, to be held April 5 to 10 at the San Diego Convention Center (Press release, Onchilles Pharma, MAR 6, 2024, View Source [SID1234640930]).

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

N17350 and N17465 are first-in-class biologic therapeutics that harness the potent efficacy of the innate immune system and have the potential to become a major new treatment modality for a wide range of cancer types. The company plans to start first-in-human clinical trials for N17350 in 2024.

Presentation Details
Talk Title : N17465, a systemically deliverable elastase, attenuates tumorigenesis and stimulates anti-tumor immunity

Session : Drug Discovery 2: New Therapies
Date and Time : April 9, 2024, 2:35 PM – 2:50 PM PDT
Location : TBD
Abstract : 6578

Poster Title : N17350 kills cancer cells, spares immune cells, and regresses CDX tumors from chemotherapy-naive and experienced patients

Session : New Targets
Date and Time : April 9, 1:30 PM – 5:00 PM PDT
Location : Section 25, Board 9
Abstract Number : 5895

About N17350 and N17465 and Their Novel Mechanism of Action
First described in research published in Cell from the lab of Onchilles’ Co-Founder Lev Becker, human neutrophils release catalytically active neutrophil elastase (called ELANE), which selectively and potently kills cancer cells independent of their genetics and anatomical origin, mobilizes adaptive immunity, and avoids resistance mechanisms. The team at Onchilles translated this ground-breaking discovery into a proprietary set of molecules, including N17350 and N17465, with the potential to treat a wide variety of tumor types with an optimal efficacy and safety profile.

On March 6, 2024 Innate Pharma SA (Euronext Paris: IPH; Nasdaq: IPHA) ("Innate" or the "Company") reported that an abstract regarding its preclinical asset IPH45, a novel and differentiated topoisomerase I inhibitor Antibody Drug Conjugate (ADC) targeting Nectin-4, has been selected for oral presentation at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting 2024, taking place April 5-10 in San Diego, California (Press release, Innate Pharma, MAR 6, 2024, View Source [SID1234640894]).

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

"We are excited to present our findings on IPH45 at this year’s AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper). IPH45 is a cutting-edge ADC that delivers a topoisomerase I inhibitor to tumors expressing Nectin-4. Our studies demonstrate that IPH45 effectively inhibits tumor growth both in vitro and in vivo, and it exhibits a favorable safety profile in preclinical studies," stated Prof. Eric Vivier, DVM, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer at Innate Pharma. "These promising results underscore the potential of IPH45 and reflect our dedication to pioneering the next wave of cancer treatments through advanced antibody engineering. Based on these encouraging data, we are eagerly advancing IPH45 towards clinical trials."

Details of the presentation

Preclinical characterization of IPH45, a novel topoisomerase I inhibitor ADC targeting Nectin‑4 for the treatment of Nectin-4 expressing tumors
Abstract Presentation Number: 6582
Session Type: Minisymposium
Session Category: Experimental and Molecular Therapeutics
Session Title: Drug Discovery 2: New Therapies
Session Date/Time: Tuesday Apr 9, 2024 2:30 PM – 4:30 PM
More information can be found on the AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) website.

About IPH45

Nectin-4 is a cell membrane adhesion protein overexpressed in several solid tumors, including urothelial, breast, lung, ovarian, and pancreatic cancers, with limited expression in normal tissues. IPH45 is a novel topoisomerase I inhibitor Antibody Drug Conjugate (ADC) targeting Nectin-4. In non-clinical models, IPH45 is well tolerated and shows anti-tumor efficacy in vitro and in vivo. IPH45 is progressing towards First in Human Studies.