On March 17, 2020 NeoPhore Limited, a small molecule cancer immuno-oncology company, reported the appointment of Dr Matthew Baker as Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Dr Baker was previously Vice President of Immunology at NeoPhore and will be succeeding Jeff Roix with immediate effect (Press release, NeoPhore, MAR 17, 2020, View Source [SID1234555661]).

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Dr Baker has more than 20 years’ experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Before joining NeoPhore, Dr Baker was Chief Scientific Officer of Denceptor Therapeutics Ltd, Abzena plc and was Chief Executive Officer and cofounder of Antitope Ltd. Prior to this, he served as Vice President for Biologics Discovery at Biovation Ltd. Dr Baker has a background in B and T cell immunology and completed post-doctoral positions in Cambridge, UK, after obtaining his PhD in cellular immunology at the University of Birmingham. Dr Baker is currently Non-Executive Director at Oxgene Ltd.

Commenting on today’s announcement Robert James, Chairman of Neophore said: "On behalf of the board and management I would like to thank Jeff for his contribution to NeoPhore and am very pleased to welcome Dr Matthew Baker as CEO. This is an exciting time for NeoPhore as it continues to develop its leading position in DNA mismatch repair (MMR) drug discovery. Matthew’s leadership skills and years of experience as a research expert in cell immunology will prove invaluable as NeoPhore enters the next phase of growth."

Newly appointed Chief Executive Officer, Dr Matthew Baker added: "Having been involved in the development of NeoPhore’s drug discovery programmes since June 2019, I am extremely excited by the technology and am delighted to take on the role of CEO. NeoPhore’s highly differentiated approach to targeting MMR has real potential to generate first-in-class next-generation immuno-oncology therapeutics. Together with the management team and board, I look forward to maximising the company’s pipeline of MMR drugs, as we progress from the lab to the clinic, ultimately improving outcomes for patients."

On March 17, 2020 SkylineDx shares research showing that multiple myeloma (blood cancer) patients with a high risk or aggressive course of the disease are unlikely to benefit from current treatment approaches, including lenalidomide mono-therapy for maintenance when compared to observation only (Press release, SkylineDx, MAR 17, 2020, View Source [SID1234555660]). The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) in London (UK), derived these results from the NCRI Myeloma XI trial with 329 patients and validated the findings in MRC Myeloma IX trial after which they published the findings in Nature Leukemia. The conclusion of the paper supports the use of so-called "molecular biomarkers" in the clinic to build a molecular profile of the patient’s cancer to better guide the most effective treatment strategy at diagnosis [2].

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The "aggressiveness" of the disease is measured with biomarkers per individual patient and translated into a standard-risk (normal course of the disease), a high-risk (progressive or more aggressive disease) and an ultrahigh-risk (fast progressive or most aggressive disease) profile. One of the biomarkers used is the MMprofiler with SKY92 algorithm. This biomarker reads the expression of 92 genes from the cancerous plasma cell and calculates if a patient is at high risk of progression, or in other words, if the cancer is more aggressive [2].

According to the published manuscript, the MMprofiler with SKY92 is independently able to predict the cancer’s aggressiveness in newly diagnosed patients. In 24.6% of patients, the SKY92 high-risk biomarker was present, resulting in a significant shorter period until disease progression (median of 16 months versus 33.8 months for non-SKY92 high-risk patients) and a significantly reduced overall outlook (50% of these high-risk patients died within 36.7 months versus a median that was not reached at 60 months for non-SKY92 high-risk patients). These results are regardless of induction treatment and posttransplant treatment strategy. Furthermore, if a patient bears the SKY92 high-risk marker, lenalidomide as maintenance therapy does not give the patient a significant longer relapse free period or a better overall outlook. That means that a patient can obtain the same result by being closely observed without taking the medicine and suffer accompanying adverse reactions [2].

"The publication by this esteemed group of researchers and clinicians is the independent confirmation that molecular biomarkers like SKY92 need to be adopted in clinical practice to avoid true fast progressing high-risk patients being missed at diagnosis," comments Dharminder Chahal, CEO of SkylineDx that developed the MMprofiler with SKY92 algorithm. "It shows that SKY92 identifies an additional 12% of high-risk patients for whom this information is currently not available but would impact their treatment decision. These patients need to be informed since they could clearly follow a different clinical path," concludes Dharminder Chahal.

On March 17, 2020 GEMoaB, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of next-generation immunotherapies for hard-to-treat cancers, reported that "Nature Scientific Reports" has published pre-clinical proof-of-concept data on UniCAR-modified off-the-shelf Natural Killer (NK) cells targeting GD2-expressing tumors (Mitwasi et al. 2020, 10:2141) (Press release, GEMoaB, MAR 17, 2020, View Source [SID1234555659]). The data generated by researchers of the Helmholtz-Center Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) provide further evidence on the unique flexibility of GEMoaB´s proprietary UniCAR platform.

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CAR-T cell therapy holds great promise for treating a wide range of malignancies. Nevertheless, the CAR-T approach faces multiple challenges, including the risk of acute and long-term toxicities, a current lack of suitable targets, insufficient engraftment and persistence especially in solid tumors. In addition, currently commercially available CAR-T products can only be derived from individual patients, adding significant complexity and cost to the autologous manufacturing process.

GEMoaB’s rapidly switchable universal CAR platform UniCAR promises an improved therapeutic window and increased efficacy and safety over conventional CAR-T therapies in hematological malignancies and solid tumors. As soluble adaptors termed targeting modules (TMs) are used to provide the antigen-specificity to activate UniCAR gene-modified T-cells (UniCAR-T), the manufacturing process is significantly simplified by the ability to use the same UniCAR-T effector cell against multiple antigens and tumor types.

Natural killer (NK) cells genetically engineered to express a CAR (CAR-NK) have recently emerged as promising candidates for effective cancer treatment. Off-the-shelf CAR-NK cells from an allogeneic source, such as cord blood, can be safely administered without the need for full HLA matching, therefore eliminating the need to produce a unique CAR product for each patient. Furthermore, allogeneic CAR-NK cells have a proven track record of safety due to their lack of causing cytokine release syndrome (CRS).

In a recent publication in Nature Scientific Reports (Mitwasi et al. 2020, 10:2141), researchers of the HZDR combined the advantages of the UniCAR approach with the off-the shelf capabilities of NK cells. The publication provides proof-of-concept for a universal off-the-shelf cellular therapeutic based on UniCAR-modified NK-92 cells retargeted to GD2-expressing tumors by GD2-specific TMs. Redirected UniCAR-NK-92 cells induced specific and effective killing of GD2-expressing cells in vitro and in vivo, associated with enhanced interferon-γ production.

"We are very pleased that our co-founder Prof. Michael Bachmann and researchers of the HZDR could demonstrate that GEMoaB’s highly flexible UniCAR system can be readily applied to continuously expanding off-the-shelf NK cells, which in combination with GD2-specific TMs efficiently target and lyse GD2-expressing tumor cells such as neuroblastoma and melanoma," said Prof. Gerhard Ehninger, co-founder and CMO of GEMoaB. "UniCAR-NK cells could represent an additional universal and modular off-the-shelf platform that would allow the use of TMs against multiple antigen targets for an effective and safe therapy of cancer."

"As we are progressing with our clinical development plans for UniCAR-T-CD123 in hematological malignancies and UniCAR-T-PSMA in solid tumors, we are developing a deep pipeline of TMs directed against a wide variety of blood and solid tumor cancers," said Dr. Armin Ehninger, Chief Scientific Officer of GEMoaB. "We believe that UniCAR-NK cells could further enhance the unique flexibility of our platform by combining the advantages of UniCAR with the safety and off-the-shelf capabilities of NK cells."

On March 17, 2020 Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) reported that it will host a conference call for investors at 8:30 a.m. (Eastern Time) on Tuesday, April 14th to review first-quarter results (Press release, Johnson & Johnson, MAR 17, 2020, View Source;johnson-to-host-investor-conference-call-on-first-quarter-results-301025768.html [SID1234555658]). Joseph J. Wolk, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Christopher DelOrefice, Vice President, Investor Relations will host the call. The question and answer portion of the call will also include additional members of Johnson & Johnson’s executive team.

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Investors and other interested parties can access the webcast/conference call in the following ways:

The webcast and presentation material are accessible at Johnson & Johnson’s website www.investor.jnj.com. A replay of the webcast will be available approximately three hours after the conference call concludes.
By telephone: for both "listen-only" participants and those financial analysts who wish to take part in the question-and-answer portion of the call, the telephone dial-in number in the U.S. is 877-869-3847. For participants outside the U.S., the dial-in number is 201-689-8261.
A replay of the conference call will be available until approximately 12:00 a.m. on April 22, 2020. The replay dial-in number for U.S. participants is 877-660-6853. For participants outside the U.S., the replay dial-in number is 201-612-7415. The replay conference ID number for all callers is 13700136.
The press release will be available at approximately 6:45 a.m. (Eastern Time) the morning of the conference call.
Please refer to www.investor.jnj.com for a complete list of currently planned 2020 earnings webcast/conference calls. Please note the second-quarter date of Thursday, July 16th, 2020.

On March 17, 2020 Cigna Corporation (NYSE: CI) reported the results as of 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on March 17, 2020 (the "Early Tender Date") of its previously announced offers to purchase for cash (1) up to $500,000,000 of Cigna Holding Company’s 4.000% Senior Notes due 2022, Cigna Corporation’s 4.000% Senior Notes due 2022, Express Scripts Holding Company’s 3.900% Senior Notes due 2022 and Cigna Corporation’s 3.900% Senior Notes due 2022 (collectively, the "2022 Existing Notes," and such tender offer, the "2022 Notes Tender Offer") and (2) up to $950,000,000 of Cigna Holding Company’s 7.650% Senior Notes due 2023, Cigna Corporation’s 7.650% Senior Notes due 2023 and 3.750% Senior Notes due 2023, Express Scripts Holding Company’s 3.000% Senior Notes due 2023 and Cigna Corporation’s 3.000% Senior Notes due 2023 (collectively, the "2023 Existing Notes," and such tender offer, the "2023 Notes Tender Offer"), in each case, validly tendered and accepted by Cigna, upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Offer to Purchase dated March 4, 2020 and the related Letter of Transmittal (collectively, the "Offer to Purchase") (Press release, Cigna , MAR 17, 2020, View Source [SID1234555657]). The 2022 Existing Notes and the 2023 Existing Notes are referred to collectively as the "Securities" and the 2022 Notes Tender Offer and the 2023 Notes Tender Offer are referred to collectively as the "Tender Offers."

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The Company has been advised by the tender and information agent that, as of the Early Tender Date, the amounts set forth in the tables below of each series of Securities had been validly tendered and not validly withdrawn. The amount of each series of Securities that is to be accepted for purchase as of the Early Tender Date will be determined in accordance with the acceptance priority levels and the proration procedures described in the Offer to Purchase. As set forth in the tables below, in connection with the 2022 Notes Tender Offer, it is expected that all of Cigna Holding Company’s 4.000% Senior Notes due 2022 and Cigna Corporation’s 4.000% Senior Notes due 2022 validly tendered and not validly withdrawn will be accepted for purchase and will not be subject to proration, and Express Scripts Holding Company’s 3.900% Senior Notes due 2022 validly tendered and not validly withdrawn will be subject to a proration factor of approximately 50.0%. The Company does not expect to accept any of Cigna Corporation’s 3.900% Senior Notes due 2022 for purchase. As set forth in the tables below, in connection with the 2023 Notes Tender Offer, it is expected that all of Cigna Holding Company’s 7.650% Senior Notes due 2023 and Cigna Corporation’s 7.650% Senior Notes due 2023 validly tendered and not validly withdrawn will be accepted for purchase and will not be subject to proration, and Cigna Corporation’s 3.750% Senior Notes due 2023 validly tendered and not validly withdrawn will be subject to a proration factor of approximately 33.5%. The Company does not expect to accept any of Express Scripts Holding Company’s 3.000% Senior Notes due 2023 and Cigna Corporation’s 3.000% Senior Notes due 2023 for purchase. The Company has also elected not to exercise its Aggregate Maximum Principal Amount Allocation (as defined in the Offer to Purchase) in connection with the Tender Offers.

Denotes a series of Securities for which the calculation of the applicable Total Consideration (as defined in the Offer to Purchase) will be performed using the present value of such Securities as determined at the Price Determination Time (as defined in the Offer to Purchase) as if the principal amount of Securities had been due on the applicable par call date of such series rather than the maturity date.

Denotes a series of Securities for which the calculation of the applicable Total Consideration will be performed using the present value of such Securities as determined at the Price Determination Time as if the principal amount of Securities had been due on the applicable par call date of such series rather than the maturity date.

It is anticipated that payment for the Securities that were validly tendered and accepted for purchase as of the Early Tender Date will be made on March 19, 2020.

The Tender Offers will expire at 11:59 p.m., New York City Time, on March 31, 2020. Because the Tender Offers have been fully subscribed as of the Early Tender Date, the Company does not expect to accept for purchase any Securities tendered by holders after the Early Tender Date.

Additional Information

BofA Securities, Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC are the Dealer Managers for the Tender Offers. D.F. King & Co., Inc. has been appointed as the tender agent and information agent for the Tender Offers.

Persons with questions regarding the Tender Offers should contact BofA Securities at (980) 387-3907 (collect) or (888) 292-0070 (toll-free), Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC at (917) 343-9660 (collect) or (800) 828-3182 (toll-free) and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC at (212) 761-1057 (collect) or (800) 624-1808 (toll-free). The Offer to Purchase will be distributed to holders of Securities promptly. Holders who would like additional copies of the Offer to Purchase may contact the information agent, D.F. King & Co., Inc. by calling toll-free at (800) 499-8541 (banks and brokers may call collect at (212) 269-5550) or email [email protected].

This press release is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security. The Tender Offers are being made solely pursuant to the Offer to Purchase.

The Tender Offers do not constitute, and the Offer to Purchase may not be used in connection with, an offer or solicitation by anyone in any jurisdiction in which such offer or solicitation is not permitted by law or in which the person making such offer or solicitation is not qualified to do so or to any person to whom it is unlawful to make such offer or solicitation.