On January 3, 2025 General Proximity, a breakthrough biotech platform company, reported its emergence from stealth, unveiling its proprietary OmniTAC platform designed to pioneer the next generation of induced proximity medicines (Press release, General Proximity, JAN 3, 2025, View Source [SID1234649815]). The company has raised $16 million to accelerate the development of treatments targeting undruggable proteins associated with cancer, cardiometabolic disease, neurodegeneration, and longevity.

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"We believe proximity medicines are the future of small-molecule drug discovery and have the potential to lower global disease burden more than any other current therapeutic modality," said Armand B. Cognetta III, PhD, Founder and CEO of General Proximity. "Biological proximity—the nearness or interaction of two or more (macro)molecules—is a master regulator of biology. By achieving precise control of proximity through our OmniTAC platform, we are able to modulate ‘undruggable’ targets more effectively than other approaches. Control of proximity equals control of biology."

The oversubscribed seed round was led by Aydin Senkut, founder and managing partner at Felicis, a firm renowned for backing biotech trailblazers such as Recursion, Ginkgo Bioworks, and BioAge.

"It was clear from our first meeting with Armand that General Proximity is going to be one of the technologies that propels us towards cures for cancer and many other diseases," said Senkut. "We quickly became convinced that their cutting-edge proximity approach would enable them to solve some of the most ambitious and consequential challenges in drug discovery, paving the way for a bold new era of human healthspan and longevity extension."

Other notable investors include Y Combinator, age1, Modi Ventures, Wilson Sonsini, as well as a number of prestigious angel investors including Jeff Dean (Head of Google AI), Uri Lopatin (Khosla, YC, Pardes), Ben Mann (Co-Author GPT-3, Co-Founder Anthropic), Alec Nielsen (CEO Asimov), Trevor Martin (CEO Mammoth), Juan Benet (Founder Filecoin), Nish Bhat (Co-Founder Color Health), Jim Dahl (Rock Creek Capital), and De Thompson V (Legends Capital).

General Proximity is the brainchild of Armand, a veteran of renowned chemical biologist Benjamin Cravatt’s research group. The founding team behind General Proximity includes an array of top scientists from institutions such as Scripps Research Institute, the Broad Institute of Harvard/MIT, Yale, Oxford, Cambridge, UPenn, Johns Hopkins, Columbia, and UCSF, with deep experience from top pharmaceutical companies (Novartis, Merck, GSK, Genentech, Roche, and Alnylam), as well as multiple veterans from the labs of induced proximity pioneers Craig Crews and Amit Choudhary.

General Proximity has assembled a world-class Scientific & Strategic Advisory Board featuring key opinion leaders from top biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies such as Martin Babler (Genentech, Principia, Alumis), Lawrence Hamann (Bristol-Myers Squibb, Novartis, Celgene, Takeda, Interdict), and Andy Crew (Astellas, Arvinas, Siduma) alongside a number of academic experts in cancer biology and neurodegeneration.

In total, the team is responsible for hundreds of peer reviewed articles and patents and has been a driving force behind over 200 clinical programs and 36 FDA approved medicines.

The team has also attracted significant interest from the pharmaceutical industry, securing a record five ‘Golden Ticket’ awards from major pharma pitch competitions (AbbVie, Servier, Astellas, Ono, Bristol-Myers Squibb) and winning a coveted spot in Johnson & Johnson’s JLabs biotech incubator.

On January 3, 2025 Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: CYCC, NASDAQ: CYCCP; "Cyclacel" or the "Company") reported that the Company entered into a securities purchase agreement ("Agreement") with investor David Lazar ("Lazar"), pursuant to which he agreed to purchase from the Company 1,000,000 shares of Series C Convertible Preferred Stock (the "C Preferred Stock") and 2,100,000 shares of Series D Convertible Preferred Stock (the "D Preferred Stock") of Cyclacel at a purchase price of $1.00 per share for aggregate gross proceeds of $3.1 million, subject to the terms and conditions of the Agreement (Press release, Cyclacel, JAN 3, 2025, View Source [SID1234649426]). The proceeds of the transaction will be used to settle outstanding liabilities of the Company and other general corporate and operating purposes.

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Lazar is purchasing 1,000,000 shares of C Preferred Stock for $1,000,000 at an initial closing to occur on or about January 3, 2025. Each share of C Preferred Stock is convertible into 2.65 shares of Company common stock. The aggregate number of shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of the C Preferred Stock is subject to a 5% beneficial ownership limitation prior to stockholder approval of the transaction. Subject to the satisfaction of certain closing conditions and within two business days of the date that the Company’s stockholders approve the issuance of all the shares of Common Stock upon conversion of the C Preferred Stock and D Preferred Stock, as required by the applicable rules and regulations of the Nasdaq Stock Market (the "Preferred Stock Stockholder Approval"), Lazar will pay an additional $2,100,000 in exchange for 2,100,000 shares of D Preferred Stock at a second closing. Each share of D Preferred Stock shall be convertible into 110 shares of common stock.

In connection with the Agreement, the Company’s Board of Directors will be reconstituted. Dr. Samuel Barker will continue to serve as Chairman, and Paul McBarron and Spiro Rombotis will continue as directors. David Natan, a seasoned financial executive with biopharmaceutical industry experience, will join the Board and will chair the audit committee. In addition, Spiro Rombotis stepped down from his position as Chief Executive Officer of the Company and David Lazar was appointed as interim Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Kenneth Ferguson, Dr. Christopher Henney, Dr. Brian Schwartz, Dr. Robert Spiegel and Ms. Karin Walker have resigned from the Board. The Company wishes to express its gratitude to the departing directors for their long and dedicated service and their support of Cyclacel’s efforts to serve the unmet medical needs of cancer patients.

On January 2, 2025, the Company also entered into a Warrant Exchange Agreement (the "Exchange Agreement") with the holder (the "Holder") of certain existing warrants (the "Exchanged Warrants") to purchase an aggregate of 24,844,725 shares of the Company’s common stock. Pursuant to the Exchange Agreement, on the closing date and subject to the receipt of approval of the Company’s stockholders as required by the applicable rules and regulations of the Nasdaq Stock Market with respect to the issuance of all of the shares of common stock to be issued pursuant to the Exchange Agreement (the "Warrant Exchange Stockholder Approval"), the Company agreed to exchange with the Holder the Exchanged Warrants for an aggregate of 24,844,725 shares of Common Stock (the "New Shares") and $1,100,000 in cash (collectively, the "Exchange"). To the extent the Holder would otherwise beneficially own in excess of any beneficial ownership limitation applicable to the Holder after giving effect to the Exchange, the Exchanged Warrants shall be exchanged for a number of New Shares issuable to the Holder without violating the beneficial ownership limitation and the remainder of the Holder’s Exchanged Warrants shall be issued as pre-funded warrants to purchase the number of shares of Common Stock equal to the number of shares of Common Stock in excess of the beneficial ownership limitation. The closing of the Exchange is expected to take place substantially concurrently with the date on which the Warrant Exchange Stockholder Approval is received, subject to the receipt by the Company of the Preferred Stock Stockholder Approval. The Company also agreed to register the New Shares for resale pursuant to certain registration rights set forth in the Exchange Agreement.

The Board has directed management to reduce operating costs while strategic alternatives are being explored. There can be no assurance that the exploration of strategic alternatives will result in any agreement or transaction, or as to the timing of any such agreement or transaction. Further, there can be no assurance that the Company will receive the Preferred Stock Stockholder Approval or the Warrant Exchange Stockholder Approval.

The Company has received a written communication from the Nasdaq Stock Market, and expects to receive formal notification, that, in response to the Company’s request for an extension, the new deadline to demonstrate compliance with Nasdaq’s minimum stockholders’ equity requirement is February 6, 2025. If the Company fails to regain compliance during the required compliance period, its securities would be subject to delisting.

On January 3, 2025 Novocure (NASDAQ: NVCR) reported that management will participate in the 43rd Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference on Wednesday, January 15, 2025. Ashley Cordova, Chief Executive Officer, and William Doyle, Executive Chairman, will speak on behalf of the company and address questions at 9:00 a.m. PST (Press release, NovoCure, JAN 3, 2025, View Source [SID1234649410]). Ms. Cordova and Mr. Doyle will be joined by Christoph Brackmann, Chief Financial Officer, for one-on-one meetings with investors throughout the conference.

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A live audio webcast of this presentation can be accessed from the Investor Relations page of Novocure’s website, www.novocure.com/investor-relations, and will be available for replay for at least 14 days following the event.

On January 3, 2025 Researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania reported a new screening technology, Aptamer-based T Lymphocyte Activity Screening and SEQuencing (ATLAS-seq), to better identify antigen-reactive T cells that are more likely to offer greater immune responses against cancer cells (Press release, CHOP, JAN 3, 2025, View Source [SID1234649409]). The findings were reported this week in the journal Nature Communications.

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Researchers continuously work to develop immunotherapy treatments that help the immune system recognize and attack specific protein targets on cancer cells, also known as tumor antigens, thereby training the body to fight cancer more effectively and precisely. Discovering antigen-reactive T cell receptors (TCRs) is essential to this precision medicine approach.

TCRs are protein complexes located on the surface of T cells that recognize and bind to antigen peptides presented by major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules, triggering a cascade of cellular responses that lead to T cell activation. However, standard methods for isolating antigen-reactive TCRs often fail to identify TCRs that effectively activate T cells.

"TCRs identified by ATLAS-seq tend to be more efficient in target cell killing than those identified by conventional technologies," said Lan Lin, PhD, senior author of the study and Assistant Professor in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Penn Medicine. "Overall, ATLAS-seq improves TCR screening to more effectively identify antigen-reactive TCRs with high functional activity."

The ATLAS-seq technology combines a single-cell approach with an aptamer-based fluorescent molecular sensor that emits a fluorescence signal when a T cell is activated. In the study, the researchers designed a microfluidic system to isolate individual T cells that react to stimulation by an antigen peptide of interest and determined their unique TCR sequences using single-cell sequencing.

"We envision that ATLAS-seq can play a pivotal role in identifying TCRs targeting tumor antigens, driving the development of novel T cell immunotherapies for a broad range of hard-to-treat cancers," said Lin, who is also a researcher in the Raymond G. Perelman Center for Cellular and Molecular Therapeutics and the Center for Computational and Genomic Medicine at CHOP.

This work was supported by National Institutes of Health grant R01GM121827, W.W. Smith Charitable Trust grant C2004 and a CHOP Research Institute Cell & Gene Therapy Collaborative seed grant.

On January 3, 2025 DiaCarta Inc., a precision molecular diagnostic company, reported the publication of its prospective clinical trial data on its blood-based test for triaging FIT (fecal immunochemical test)-positive patients in colorectal cancer (CRC) screening (Press release, DiaCarta, JAN 3, 2025, View Source [SID1234649408]).The study data was published in the Journal of Molecular Pathology on December 13, 2024. The findings reveal that in triaging FIT-positive patients in CRC screening, the QuantiDNA test from patients’ plasma reduces the need for colonoscopy examinations by 33% and is non-inferior to the standard of care in detecting significant colorectal lesions.

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The prospective clinical trial was designed for the Triage of FIT+ Patients Enrolled in a Colorectal Cancer Screening Program. During the period 2019–2022, 711 individuals of both genders, aged 50–74, participating in a CRC screening program organized by the ASL NA 3 SUD, a public healthcare company operating in the district of Naples (Italy), were enrolled in a cross-sectional study aimed at investigating the possible role of the plasma-based test. According to the study protocol, all participants with a FIT+ (or FOBT+) test, willing to sign an informed consent and eligible for the study, received both the blood-based test and a colonoscopy. Data analysis strategy ensured a comparison between the standard of care and the alternative approach. The study was approved by the Ethical Committee in December 2018. Statistical analysis was conducted internally and independently validated by TechnoSTAT Clinical Services (Bnei Brak, Israel). The database was provided and held by Mednet, Inc. (Minnetonka, MN, USA).

"In Europe, all patients diagnosed as FIT positive are referred for colonoscopy, but, according to data collected from within the screening programs, 75% of them turn out to be negative afterward," said Dr. Mauro Scimia, DiaCarta’s Medical Director and Senior Business Director in Italy, as well as one of the senior authors of this paper. "We utilized the straightforward, non-invasive, and well-tolerated blood-based test to triage FIT+ patients, significantly reducing the number of patients who truly require colonoscopy. This approach helps alleviate the burden on healthcare providers and reduces patients’ anxiety while they wait for long colonoscopy queues."

"We are very pleased with the clinical trial results. The clinical performance of the simple blood-based test in triaging CRC screening aligns perfectly with our mission to advance cancer testing through liquid biopsy," Dr. Adam (Aiguo) Zhang, President and CEO of DiaCarta, added. "This clinical trial represents a major milestone in "bringing the test into clinical practice."