Pillar Biosciences Enters into Strategic Licensing Agreement for MSK’s OncoKB™ Precision Medicine Knowledgebase

On January 7, 2025 Pillar Biosciences, Inc. reported the company has entered into a strategic five-year licensing agreement with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) for its proprietary OncoKB precision medicine knowledgebase (Press release, Pillar Biosciences, JAN 7, 2025, View Source [SID1234649478]).

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OncoKB is the first somatic human variant database to receive FDA recognition. It contains information about the biological effects and possible treatment implications of specific cancer gene alterations.

The strategic licensing agreement enables immediate extension of the capability of Pillar Biosciences PiVAT bioinformatics platform for seamless patient genomic reporting through linkage to OncoKB.

"Our PiVAT secondary genomics analysis platform was purpose built for our SLIMamp chemistry to enable the most accurate genomic calling for our kitted RUO and IVD products," said ShiPing Zou, Senior Director of Global Product Management, Pillar Biosciences. "While Pillar’s panels are agnostic to which tertiary reporting our clients have implemented, it is important we ensure that downstream genomic reporting is not a bottleneck to assay validation and implementation and that we continue to provide timely access to actionable information to our customers and the patients they serve."

Francis Medical Announces Close of Record $80 Million Series C Equity Financing

On January 7, 2025 Francis Medical, Inc., a privately-held medical device company developing an innovative and proprietary water vapor ablation therapy for the treatment of prostate, kidney and bladder cancer, reported the completion of the company’s oversubscribed $80 million Series C equity financing, the largest fundraising round to date for the company (Press release, Francis Medical, JAN 7, 2025, View Source [SID1234649477]).

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Arboretum Ventures and Solas BioVentures co-led the Series C round. New investors Orlando Health Ventures and two additional strategic partners joined this round, along with previous investors Coloplast A/S and Tonkawa. The Series C proceeds will continue to fund the VAPOR 2 pivotal clinical study for the management of prostate cancer and the development and U.S. commercialization of its Vanquish Water Vapor Ablation proprietary prostate cancer treatment, expected by the end of 2025.

"We’re extremely proud to be joining this funding round and investing in Francis Medical’s development of a groundbreaking, disruptive therapeutic solution to treat prostate cancer," said David Strong, president and CEO of Orlando Health. "Vanquish is an innovative therapy that has the potential to revolutionize the way prostate cancer is treated, by safely and effectively ablating the cancerous tissue while minimizing or eliminating thermal damage to the nerves and surrounding prostate tissue, thus reducing adverse events associated with radical prostatectomy and radiation therapies."

The VAPOR 2 study is a prospective, multicenter, single-arm study that is evaluating the safety and efficacy of the Vanquish Water Vapor Ablation System for prostate cancer. Data gathered from the VAPOR 2 study will support 510(k) clearance, which the company expects to file for in July 2025. Previously, the company was awarded FDA Breakthrough Device status for Vanquish on the strength of its VAPOR 1 Early Feasibility Study, published in the Journal of Endocrinology in November 2022. The VAPOR 1 study reported no serious adverse events, no device-related adverse events, and no unanticipated adverse device effects as its primary endpoint. In 87% of patients treated, six-month biopsy results indicated no remaining Gleason Grade Group 2 or greater clinically significant disease in the targeted treatment areas.

As the second most common cancer in U.S. men, the American Cancer Society estimates 1 in 8 American men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime. Prostate cancer is a serious disease often treated with therapies that cause complications, such as urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction. Francis Medical’s Vanquish device’s thermal water vapor energy technology is a breakthrough therapy designed to use phase shift energy stored in sterile water vapor to convectively transfer thermal energy to cancerous tissue, causing cell death. Through this process, damage to surrounding structures can be minimized or eliminated by respecting the prostate’s natural boundaries. Vanquish aims to be a revolutionary cancer therapy that is tough on cancer yet gentle on patients.

"This milestone is an important step forward in the fight to vanquish prostate cancer," said Michael Kujak, president and CEO of Francis Medical. "We are excited to be bringing this therapy to the U.S. market in late 2025 and are incredibly grateful to our investor partners for their dedication to making a meaningful difference in the lives of prostate cancer patients and are more confident than ever that this groundbreaking technology will ultimately become the first-line treatment of choice for men and their doctors."

Biohaven to Present at the 43rd Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference

On January 7, 2025 Biohaven Ltd. (NYSE: BHVN) reported that Vlad Coric, M.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, will present at the 43rd Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference at The Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco, California, on Monday, January 13, 2025, at 8:15 am (PT) (Press release, Biohaven Pharmaceutical, JAN 7, 2025, View Source [SID1234649476]).

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GSK’s B7-H3-targeted antibody-drug conjugate, GSK’227, receives US FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation in late-line relapsed or refractory osteosarcoma

On January 7, 2025 GSK plc (LSE/NYSE: GSK) reported that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation for GSK5764227 (GSK’227), its B7-H3-targeted antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) being evaluated for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory osteosarcoma (bone cancer) who have progressed on at least two prior lines of therapy (Press release, GlaxoSmithKline, JAN 7, 2025, View Source [SID1234649474]). The Breakthrough Therapy Designation aims to expedite the development and review of drugs with the potential to treat a serious condition and where preliminary clinical evidence may indicate substantial improvement over currently available therapy.1 This is the third regulatory designation for GSK’227, following the European Medicines Agency’s decision to grant Priority Medicines (PRIME) designation and the FDA’s decision to grant Breakthrough Therapy Designation for relapsed or refractory extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer in August 2024 and December 2024, respectively.2,3

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Hesham Abdullah, Senior Vice President, Global Head Oncology, R&D, GSK, said: "This latest regulatory designation for GSK’227 exemplifies the potential of our targeted ADC in patients with difficult to treat cancers. For patients with relapsed or refractory osteosarcoma, there is an urgent unmet medical need with no approved treatment options once the cancer returns a second time, and chemotherapy provides limited benefit in this setting."

The US FDA’s Breakthrough Therapy Designation is supported by data from the ARTEMIS-002 study. This is a phase II, open-label, randomised, multi-centre, clinical trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of GSK’227 in patients with relapsed or refractory osteosarcoma and other unresectable bone and soft tissue sarcomas, conducted by Hansoh Pharma. More than 60 patients were enrolled, including 42 patients with osteosarcoma. Results from ARTEMIS-002 were presented at the 2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting.4 Last year, GSK acquired exclusive worldwide rights (excluding China’s mainland, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan) from Hansoh Pharma to progress clinical development and commercialisation of GSK’227. GSK recently began a global phase I trial (NCT06551142) as a part of the development plan to support a registrational pathway for GSK’227.

Osteosarcoma mainly affects children and young adults and is the most common primary bone cancer, accounting for 20-40% of all bone cancers.5 It is a rare disease with an annual incidence of 3.3 patients per million in the US, representing less than 1% of all new cancer diagnoses.6,7 Approximately 20-30% of patients who present with localised (non-metastatic) osteosarcoma and 80% of those who present with metastatic osteosarcoma experience relapsed or refractory disease.8 Following first-line chemotherapy, treatment options for patients with relapsed or refractory osteosarcoma are severely limited, with no clear standard of care available.9 After patients progress on two prior lines of treatment, options become even more limited, with no approved therapies.

About GSK’227
GSK’227, also known as HS-20093, is a novel investigational B7-H3-targeted antibody-drug conjugate composed of a fully human anti-B7-H3 monoclonal antibody covalently linked to a topoisomerase inhibitor payload. HS-20093 is being developed by Hansoh Pharma for the treatment of lung cancer, sarcoma, head and neck cancers and other solid tumours in multiple phase I, II and III clinical trials in China. GSK’s global phase I trial for GSK’227 began in August 2024.

Syndax Announces Presentation at 43rd Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference

On January 7, 2025 Syndax Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: SNDX), a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company developing an innovative pipeline of cancer therapies, reported that Michael A. Metzger, Chief Executive Officer of Syndax, will present at the 43rd Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference on Tuesday, January 14, 2025 at 10:30 a.m. PT/ 1:30 p.m. ET (Press release, Syndax, JAN 7, 2025, View Source [SID1234649472]).

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A live webcast of the fireside chat can be accessed from the Investor section of the Company’s website at www.syndax.com, where a replay of the event will also be available for a limited time.