On December 19, 2024 Astellas Pharma Inc. (TSE: 4503, President and CEO: Naoki Okamura, "Astellas") and Sangamo Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: SGMO), a genomic medicine company, reported they have entered into a license agreement allowing Astellas to leverage Sangamo’s novel proprietary neurotropic adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsid, STAC-BBB, which has demonstrated potent blood-brain barrier penetration and neuronal transduction in nonhuman primates (Press release, Astellas, DEC 19, 2024, View Source [SID1234649211]). The agreement grants Astellas a worldwide exclusive license to utilize the STAC-BBB capsid for one target, with the right to add up to four additional targets after paying additional licensed target fees to deliver their intravenously administered genomic medicines to treat certain neurological diseases.

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Sandy Macrae, Chief Executive Officer, Sangamo
"We strongly believe in the potential of STAC-BBB, our industry-leading, intravenously delivered AAV capsid, to overcome the challenges associated with delivering therapies to the central nervous system. This agreement underscores the continued industry interest in our STAC-BBB capsid and reinforces our ongoing commitment to partnering with collaborators who understand its unique potential. We are delighted to license STAC-BBB to Astellas to advance potential treatments for neurological diseases with significant unmet medical needs."

Adam Pearson, Chief Strategy Officer, Astellas
"Delivering treatments to the brain and central nervous system remains a highly complex challenge in the field of gene therapy. We believe that technologies such as Sangamo’s STAC-BBB capsid could prove critical in helping us deliver effective transformational treatments to patients suffering from serious genetic neurological conditions. We continue to build a world-class gene therapy pipeline and end-to-end discovery, development, manufacturing, and commercial capabilities. This agreement is another example of our commitment to delivering meaningful therapies for patients with genetic diseases."

Under the terms of the agreement, Sangamo is responsible for completing a technology transfer related to the STAC-BBB capsid. Astellas is responsible for all research, preclinical and clinical development, regulatory interactions, manufacturing, and global commercialization of the resulting gene therapy products. Sangamo will receive a $20 million upfront license fee from Astellas and is eligible to earn up to $1.3 billion in additional licensed target fees and milestone payments across the five potential neurology disease targets, as well as tiered mid-to-high single digit royalties on potential net sales of such products, subject to certain specified reductions.

On December 19, 2024 Artios Pharma Limited ("Artios"), a clinical-stage biotech company led by pioneers of DNA damage response ("DDR") drug development, reported that it will present at the 43rd Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference taking place in San Francisco from January 13 to 16, 2025 (Press release, Artios Pharma, DEC 19, 2024, View Source [SID1234649210]).

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Artios Pharma to Present at the 43rd Annual J.P. Morgan

Niall Martin, PhD, Artios’ Chief Executive Officer, will present the company’s strategic vision for 2025 and beyond on January 16 at 08:00 am PST (11:00 am EST / 04:00 pm UTC) in the Elizabethan C room at The Westin St. Francis, 335 Powell Street, San Francisco.

On December 19, 2024 AFYX Therapeutics A/S, a pioneering Danish biopharmaceutical company specializing in reversed innovation and the repurposing of established pharmaceutical substances, reported it has successfully raised DKK 25 million in its latest funding round (Press release, AFYX Therapeutics, DEC 19, 2024, View Source [SID1234649209]). This milestone will support the company’s efforts to advance its product pipeline, scale operations, and expand its footprint across the European Union and other global markets.

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The funding round was led by existing investors and employees and highlights the robust internal and external trust in AFYX’s mission and strategic direction. The new funds will accelerate the development of the company’s leading products, including its clobetasol patch for oral lichen planus and esketamine therapy for cluster headaches. Additionally, the capital will fuel AFYX’s commercial expansion into new markets, organizational growth, and broader international partnerships.

"We are thrilled to have secured this significant investment, which will enable us to advance our mission of developing transformative biopharmaceutical solutions," said Dr. Claus Møller San Pedro, CEO and co-founder of AFYX Therapeutics. "The continued trust from our investors reflects their confidence in our team and vision. With their ongoing support, we’re well-positioned to address critical unmet medical needs and deliver groundbreaking therapies that improve patient outcomes."

Since its formation in January 2024, through the merger of three highly experienced pharmaceutical innovators, AFYX Therapeutics has made remarkable progress. Over its first year, the company has accelerated its research and development activities, expanded its commercial reach, and secured new international distribution partnerships, paving the way for sustained growth and innovation.

On December 19, 2024 Vivesto AB, an oncology-focused development company, reported that positive results were obtained from preclinical studies with combination treatments within the company’s Cantrixil program, supporting continued development in hematological cancer (Press release, Vivesto, DEC 19, 2024, View Source [SID1234649208]). Vivesto also announced that a new patent application covering the treatment of hematological cancer with Cantrixil was filed, with the aim to strengthen the IP position.

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The drug candidate Cantrixil has been evaluated in further combination treatments with other anti-cancer drugs generating new in vitro data in hematological cancer cell lines. The results demonstrate clear positive effects of Cantrixil in combination with other anti-cancer drugs. The positive results confirm previous preclinical efficacy results and support continued development in hematological cancer. New results from hematological cancer models are expected to be presented throughout 2025.

"Hematological cancer is one of Vivesto’s priority focus areas, and we are pleased to report successful results from yet another preclinical study supporting the further development of the Cantrixil program. We believe that Cantrixil can play a key role in the treatment of hematological cancer and look forward to reporting new data from additional ongoing studies early next year that will be of great importance as the program is developed towards clinical phase," said Erik Kinnman, CEO of Vivesto. "Vivesto also filed a new patent application for the treatment of hematological cancer with Cantrixil as a robust patent portfolio is fundamental for value creation in clinical development, and eventually, commercialization of the product."

Cantrixil has previously shown strong cytotoxic effects at low doses in cell lines derived from patients with hematological cancer. The recently generated data provides important input to the dosing selection and treatment regime in upcoming preclinical and clinical studies.

On December 18, 2024 Applied DNA Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: APDN) ("Applied DNA" or the "Company"), a leader in PCR-based DNA technologies, reported that the State Institute for Drug Control of the Czech Republic (SÚKL) approved an application for a Phase I clinical trial of an investigational CD123-specific autologous CAR T-cell therapy by the Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion (ÚHKT/Eng: IHBT) in Prague for the treatment of relapsed and/or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) (Press release, Applied DNA Sciences, DEC 18, 2024, View Source [SID1234650780]). UHKT-CAR123-01 utilizes Applied DNA’s synthetic DNA, Linea DNA, as a critical component in its manufacture.

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AML is a hematologic malignancy with a high rate of treatment failure for which current treatment options are often restricted to palliative approaches. Novel emerging methods leveraging advancements in genetic medicines, such as CAR T-cell therapies, can potentially improve outcomes of patients after relapse but have been difficult to establish for clinical use due to high costs and long manufacturing times predominantly attributable to the use of viral vectors.

UHKT-CAR123 seeks to address these issues by generating CD123-specific CAR T-cells in a non-viral workflow utilizing Linea DNA to reduce manufacturing costs and timelines. Preclinical data showed that ÚHKT’s Linea DNA-empowered non-viral workflow resulted in the rapid production of substantial and cost-efficient CAR T-cell yields with high potency[1].

"The use of Linea DNA illustrates our innovative approach to finding new and best-in-class treatments for patients with relapsed or refractory AML," stated Dr. Jan Vydra, principal investigator of the UHKT-CAR123 clinical trial.

Added Pavel Otáhal, Ph.D., scientific project leader at ÚHKT, "The Linea DNA platform enables the very rapid abiotic production of expression vectors usable for highly effective electroporation-based CAR-T manufacturing compared to plasmid-based vectors. The decreases in complexities and costs of developing autologous CAR-T technologies offer an innovative approach for the rapid clinical testing of novel types of CAR-T products. This is an incredible milestone for ÚHKT and one that we could not have achieved without the commitment of the Applied DNA team."

Applied DNA CEO Dr. James A. Hayward, said, "We congratulate ÚHKT on their progress into the clinic. Their accomplishment is also a significant milestone for Linea DNA as we look to support additional customers expected to initiate clinical trials in calendar 2025."

About Linea DNA
Linea DNA is an enzymatically produced, linear DNA manufactured by the Company’s proprietary, large-scale polymerase chain reaction ("PCR") based manufacturing platform, the Linea DNA platform. As an alternative to plasmid-based DNA, Linea DNA can be used to manufacture of a wide range of nucleic acid-based therapies and in vitro diagnostics, including mRNA therapies, DNA vaccines, cell and gene therapies, and molecular and genetic diagnostic tests.