On May 14, 2018 Mateon Therapeutics, Inc. (OTCQX:MATN), a biopharmaceutical company developing investigational drugs for the treatment of orphan oncology indications, reported first quarter 2018 financial results (Press release, Mateon Therapeutics, MAY 14, 2018, View Source [SID1234526565]).

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For the three months ended March 31, 2018, Mateon reported a net loss of $0.8 million, a decrease of $3.2 million from the net loss of $4.0 million reported for the three months ended March 31, 2017. R&D expenses decreased to $0.2 million for the first three months of 2018 compared to $2.8 million for the same period in 2017, while general and administrative expenses decreased to $0.6 million for the first three months of 2018 compared to $1.1 million for the same period in 2017.

At March 31, 2018, Mateon had cash and cash equivalents of $0.2 million. In April 2018, Mateon raised net proceeds of approximately $2.4 million in a private placement financing transaction.

"During the first quarter of 2018 our efforts were focused on obtaining capital so that we could advance our product candidates," said William D. Schwieterman, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Mateon Therapeutics. "After receiving the initial funds from our April financing transaction, we authorized our clinical investigators to resume screening new patients into our clinical study of OXi4503 in relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes. Based on our encouraging preclinical data, we are also planning for a new clinical study of CA4P as an immuno-oncology agent in combination with Opdivo – initially evaluating the combination in advanced melanoma patients who have not responded to currently approved treatments."

On May 14, 2018 Zymeworks Inc. (NYSE/TSX: ZYME), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing multifunctional therapeutics, and Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited (Daiichi Sankyo) reported that they entered into a new license agreement, building upon their 2016 cross-licensing and collaboration agreement (Press release, Zymeworks, MAY 14, 2018, View Source [SID1234526590]).

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"With a successful track record and our first bispecific antibody incorporating the Azymetric and EFECT technology having achieved a key research milestone in 2017, we look forward to adding two more bispecific compounds to our pipeline," said Antoine Yver, MD, MSc, Executive Vice President and Global Head, Oncology Research and Development, Daiichi Sankyo. "We are exceptionally impressed with the robust impact that Zymeworks’ technology brings to antibody development."

Under the terms of the second agreement, Daiichi Sankyo will acquire licenses to Zymeworks’ Azymetric and EFECT technology platforms to develop two additional bispecific antibody therapeutics. In exchange, Zymeworks will receive an upfront technology access fee of US$18 million and may receive up to US$466.7 million in potential clinical, regulatory and commercial milestone payments. In addition, Zymeworks will receive up to double-digit tiered royalties on global product sales.

"Expanding our relationship with a leading global pharmaceutical partner like Daiichi Sankyo is extremely satisfying as it underscores the power, versatility, and attractiveness of our technology platforms," said Ali Tehrani, Ph.D., President and CEO of Zymeworks. "Having already used our platforms to discover one bispecific antibody, Daiichi Sankyo now has increased access to our technology to create additional therapeutic candidates. We are pleased to be working with a healthcare pioneer with a proven track record of over 100 years of innovation leading to major breakthroughs in patient care."

Zymeworks and Daiichi Sankyo began working together in September 2016 through an agreement to develop one bispecific antibody therapeutic for which Zymeworks is eligible to receive preclinical, clinical, and commercial milestones payments, as well as up to double-digit tiered royalties on global product sales. Additionally, Zymeworks obtained a license to certain immuno-oncology antibodies from Daiichi Sankyo, with the right to research, develop, and commercialize multiple bispecific products globally in exchange for royalties on global product sales

On May 14, 2018 ABIVAX (Euronext Paris: FR0012333284 – ABVX), a biotechnology company harnessing the immune system to develop a functional cure for HIV as well as treatments for inflammatory/autoimmune diseases and cancer, reported the completion of enrollment of its Phase IIA clinical trial ABX464-101 in 30 patients with moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis (Press release, ABIVAX, MAY 13, 2018, View Source [SID1234526552]).

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"ABIVAX is very pleased to announce the completion of enrolment in this first clinical trial exploring ABX464 for treatment of inflammatory indications," said Prof. Dr. Hartmut Ehrlich, M.D., chief executive officer at ABIVAX. "I would like to highlight the outstanding enthusiasm and dedication of Prof. Dr. Severine Vermeire, M.D., the Principal Investigator of this multinational trial and past president of ECCO (European Crohn’d and Colitis Organization), and thank the clinical trial sites, which kept recruitment on target, allowing us to report the top-line results from this important clinical trial in the autumn of this year," added Dr. Ehrlich.

ABX464-101 is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial (Phase 2a proof-ofconcept study) aimed at evaluating the safety and efficacy of ABX464 50 mg given once daily versus placebo for two months in subjects with moderate-to-severe active ulcerative colitis who have failed or are intolerant to immunomodulators, anti-TNFα, vedolizumab and/or corticosteroids. This clinical study is being conducted in 17 centers in seven European countries: Belgium, France, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Poland and Czech Republic. As of today, 30 out of the planned 30 patients have been randomized 2:1 to receive ABX464 or placebo, respectively. The study employs state-of-the art
technologies for monitoring potential treatment effects, including numerical recording of the colonoscopies with centralized reading.

ABX464-102 is a 12 months open label follow-up study for patients who completed ABX464-101, and 10 patients are already recruited into this clinical trial as of today. The rationale for the ABX464-101 study was derived from encouraging preclinical data, which demonstrated ABX464 had a strong anti-inflammatory effect. In macrophages, this effect was shown to be mediated by a 50-fold increase of the expression of IL-22, a cytokine known as a potent
suppressor of inflammatory processes, and a ten-fold increase of miR124 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMCs). mIR124 is a micro-RNA with potent anti-inflammatory properties and has recently been described as a tumor suppressor gene. Inflammation is a cornerstone of IBD, including ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. When evaluated in a mouse model of IBD, ABX464 demonstrated a long-lasting effect in preventing the typical
symptoms of inflammatory colitis, including histological changes1
.
Prof. Dr. Severine Vermeire, M.D., Head of the IBD center at the University Hospitals Leuven, Belgium and Principal Investigator of the study, said: "reaching our recruitment goal of 30 patients marks an important step as there is a strong need to develop additional drugs in this indication; too many patients still do not respond or stop responding to current treatments. We are looking forward to the top-line data from this study and also to transferring as many patients as possible onto the one year open-label extension study with ABX464, which will provide us with very important long-term safety and efficacy data."

Ulcerative colitis is a debilitating inflammatory bowel disease in adults and children, with limited therapeutic management options for many patients. There is an estimated number of close to 1 million patients with ulcerative colitis in the United States, and global pharmaceutical sales for this disease are estimated to be around 5.7 billion US$ in 2017.

On May 11, 2018 Advaxis, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADXS), a late-stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of immunotherapy products, reported on recently presented preclinical data demonstrating the anti-cancer potential of their Lm vector that presents tumor neoantigens, and is being evaluated in the ADXS-NEO program (Press release, Advaxis, MAY 11, 2018, View Source [SID1234526525]). ADXS-NEO is derived from the Company’s proprietary Lm Technology and is being developed in partnership with Amgen.

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These preclinical findings were discussed in poster presentations at the recent American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting. Additionally, portions of these data were presented by Amgen at a podium presentation during the European Neoantigen Summit 2018.

The first study, as discussed in a poster presentation at AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) entitled "Neoantigens that fail to elicit measurable T cell responses following peptide immunization can control tumor growth when delivered using a Listeria-based immunotherapy platform," showed that ADXS-NEO generates T cell responses against neoantigen peptides that control tumor growth, even when they were identified as "non-immunogenic" using a conventional peptide-adjuvant immunization. The poster is available here: View Source

In the second study, discussed in a poster presentation at AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) entitled "Targeting frameshift mutations with a Listeria monocytogenes immunotherapy drives neoantigen-specific antitumor immunity in MC38 and CT26 mouse tumor models," Advaxis’ Lm platform was shown to target frameshift mutations and generate T cells to multiple neoantigens per frameshift in MC38 and CT26 mouse tumor models. The poster is available here: View Source

"The results of these studies highlight the therapeutic potential of targeting neoantigens and suggest that ADXS-NEO could impact the way we approach treatment across a range of cancers," said Ken Berlin, President and CEO of Advaxis. "We look forward to our continued collaboration with Amgen, and to moving into the clinic with this product candidate."

"These preclinical findings provide foundational rationale suggesting that ADXS-NEO has the potential to generate immune responses against multiple neoantigens with the ability to control tumor growth. This is a personalized approach that uses a patient’s own immune system to recognize and eliminate cancer cells harboring multiple mutations that caused their malignancy," said Robert G. Petit, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer and Executive Vice President of Advaxis. "We also saw potent immune responses targeting frameshift mutations and control of tumor growth via multiple complementary mechanisms. This is important because frameshift mutations are observed to generate up to nine times more neoantigens per mutation than in-frame mutations" according to Turajlic, et al.

About ADXS-NEO

ADXS-NEO is a personalized Listeria monocytogenes (Lm)-based immunotherapy designed to generate immune response against mutation-derived tumor-specific neoantigens. The program focuses on creating a customized treatment with neoantigens specifically selected based on a biopsy of the patient’s tumor. The approach enables the development of tailored immune-therapies. ADXS-NEO is being evaluated in collaboration with Amgen.

On May 11, 2018 Cellectar Biosciences (Nasdaq: CLRB), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of drugs for the treatment of cancer, reported recent corporate highlights and financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2018 (Press release, Cellectar Biosciences, MAY 11, 2018, View Source [SID1234526526]).

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Recent Corporate Highlights

·Received orphan drug designation and rare pediatric disease designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for CLR 131 to treat neuroblastoma.

·Received orphan drug designation from the FDA for CLR 131 to treat rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare pediatric cancer.

·Presented Phase 1 study results at the 12th World Congress of the World Federation of Nuclear Medicine and Biology demonstrating that CLR 124 is able to cross the blood-brain barrier and achieve uptake in brain tumors. The company believes these data have positive read through for CLR 131 which varies only by the radionuclide delivered.

·Initiated the diffuse large B-cell lymphoma cohort of the company’s Phase 2 clinical trial of CLR 131. This cohort is the fourth and final in the study for patients with R/R B-cell hematologic cancers.

·Initiated cohort 5 in the Phase 1 study of CLR 131 in highly pretreated R/R multiple myeloma patients. This is the first cohort in the trial to use a fractionated dosing schedule.

·Presented two late-breaking poster presentations at the AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting. The posters highlighted the potential benefits of fractionated dosing regimens of CLR 131 and the ability of the company’s Phospholipid Drug Conjugates (PDCs) to provide improved targeting of tumor cells and the intracellular trafficking of these molecules.

·Granted seminal U.S. patent for phospholipid-ether analogs covering composition of matter and method of use for proprietary PDCs in combination with anti-cancer agents.

·Issued U.S. patent entitled "Alkylphosphocholine analogs for multiple myeloma imaging and therapy," covering the use of CLR 131 in multiple MM and received a composition of matter patent in Japan.

"The first quarter and recent weeks brought significant progress on both the clinical and regulatory fronts. We advanced both Phase 1 and Phase 2 studies for CLR 131, presented new data at major scientific conferences, and received orphan drug designation and rare pediatric disease designation from the FDA to treat neuroblastoma in pediatric patients, as well as an orphan drug designation to treat rhabdomyosarcoma," said James Caruso, president and CEO of Cellectar Biosciences. "We are particularly excited to begin our upcoming Phase 1 study to explore CLR 131 as a treatment option for children with life-threatening rare pediatric cancers."

First Quarter 2018 Financial Results

Research and development expense for the first quarter of 2018 was $2.1 million, compared with $1.9 million for the first quarter of 2017. The year over year increase is attributable to higher preclinical and clinical project costs, manufacturing, and general research and development costs.

General and administrative expense for the first quarter of 2018 was $1.3 million, compared with $1.0 million for the first quarter of 2017. The year over year increase is attributable to higher consulting, legal and marketing fees, as well as one-time personnel costs incurred in connection with the decision to outsource our manufacturing.

The net loss attributable to common stockholders for the first quarter of 2018 was $3.5 million, or $0.21 per share based on 16.8 million shares outstanding, compared with a net loss attributable to common stockholders for the first quarter of 2017 of $2.9 million, or $0.24 per share based on 12.0 million shares outstanding.

Cash and cash equivalents as of March 31, 2018 were $6.8 million, compared with $10.0 million as of December 31, 2017.