On March 19, 2015 Coronado Biosciences reported the formation of a new company, Mustang Therapeutics, Inc. Mustang will initially focus on the preclinical and clinical development, as well as commercialization of proprietary Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR-T) technology (Press release, Coronado Biosciences, MAR 19, 2015, View Source;FID=1500069685 [SID:1234502337]). This portfolio of CAR-T cells was developed by Dr. Stephen Forman, Director, T cell Therapeutics Research Laboratory and the Francis and Kathleen McNamara Distinguished Chair in Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, and Dr. Christine Brown, Associate Director, T cell Therapeutics Research Laboratory and Associate Research Professor. The deal is valued in excess of $40 million for the development of these CAR-T cells via up-front and milestone payments to City of Hope. It is anticipated that the first two CAR-T cells from this partnership will begin enrollment in human clinical trials at the City of Hope this year.

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Dr. Lindsay Rosenwald, Coronado Biosciences’ Chairman and CEO, commented, "The development of Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cells for serious, refractory cancers is a burgeoning field of oncology. The engineering of patients’ immune cells to treat cancers may have a dramatic effect in cancer therapy. We are excited to have formed this partnership with the City of Hope and the laboratory of Dr. Stephen Forman."

George Megaw, City of Hope’s Director of the Office of Technology Licensing stated, "We are delighted to be able to partner with Coronado Biosciences in the formation of Mustang Therapeutics. We are impressed with the ability of their executive team to design and execute clinical trials in important medical conditions in a timely and expeditious manner. At City of Hope, our goal is to alleviate human suffering and disease and we believe Mustang Therapeutics will be able to offer novel and effective therapies to cancer patients."

About Mustang Therapeutics
Mustang Therapeutics is a development stage oncology company newly formed in partnership with the City of Hope in Duarte, CA. Mustang will focus on preclinical and clinical development, as well as commercialization of proprietary Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR-T) technology for refractory cancers.

Five Prime Therapeutics has filed a 10-K – Annual report [Section 13 and 15(d), not S-K Item 405] with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (Filing, 10-K, Five Prime Therapeutics, MAR 18, 2015, View Source [SID1234502318]).

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Galectin Therapeutics has filed a 10-K – Annual report [Section 13 and 15(d), not S-K Item 405] with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (Filing, 10-K, Galectin Therapeutics, MAR 18, 2015, View Source [SID1234502320]).

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On March 18, 2015 Nimbus Therapeutics, a biotechnology company focused on designing highly selective and potent medicines to disrupt known drivers of serious diseases, reported the successful completion of an oversubscribed $43 million Series B financing led by Pfizer Venture Investments and Lightstone Ventures (Press release, Nimbus Therapeutics, MAR 18, 2015, View Source [SID1234517064]). All of the company’s Series A investors, including Atlas Venture, SR One, Lilly Ventures and Bill Gates, also participated in the Series B round. Coinciding with this announcement, the company recently changed its name from "Nimbus Discovery" to "Nimbus Therapeutics," to signal its transition to a clinical stage company.

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"Our ability to attract such a high-caliber cadre of new and existing investors reinforces our belief in the boundless potential of our novel computational technology-driven approach to drug discovery and development," said Donald "Don" Nicholson, Ph.D., chief executive officer at Nimbus. "This financing round sets the foundational stage for several key inflection points for Nimbus in 2015 and beyond. Progressing the first of our pipeline of small molecules into the clinic, we hope to make substantial strides this year toward realizing our mission to turn historically difficult targets into medicines that matter for patients."

Nimbus plans to use the funds from the Series B round to advance its lead program, an Acetyl CoA Carboxylase (ACC) inhibitor, into clinical development, representing the first allosteric and liver-targeted inhibitor intended for the treatment of Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis, or NASH, an increasingly common liver disease which is estimated to affect 16 million Americans.1 Nimbus plans to report Phase 1 data from this program later this year. Additionally, the company will continue to advance its preclinical programs of novel small molecules including those for IRAK4, Tyk2, KRas and other medically-important targets.

"It’s clear that Nimbus not only is employing a breakthrough technological approach for drug discovery and development, but also has the scientific expertise and management acumen to translate the company’s vision into reality," said Chris Christoffersen, Ph.D., General Partner, Lightstone Ventures. "We look forward to supporting Nimbus in the critical years ahead as it advances its promising therapeutics for people impacted by NASH and a broad spectrum of diseases with high unmet needs, and expands its potential reach and impact through new collaborations and partnerships."

Nimbus’ programs address well-validated biological mechanisms implicated in areas of metabolic disease, cancer and immune-inflammatory disorders, which have proven intractable by traditional drug discovery methods. Employing a novel approach to research and development, Nimbus deeply integrates computer-driven drug design, chemistry and pharmacology, working in close coordination with its co-founding partner, Schrödinger, and a highly integrated network of partners and collaborators. The company has demonstrated the ability to accelerate discovery, design and optimization of drug candidates and rapidly move investigational medicines into the clinic.

1Frontline Gastroenterol. 2014 Jul; 5(3): 211-218; Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2011 Aug; 34(3): 274-85; World J Transplant. 2014 Jun 24; 4(2): 81-92; Hematology. 2014 Dec 29

About ACC and NASH

Acetyl CoA Carboxylase (ACC), a master regulator of fatty acid synthesis and oxidation, has been a sought-after, yet intractable target over the past two decades. Successful inhibition of ACC may enable new strategies to reduce lipids, blood glucose, weight and cardiovascular risk. Nimbus is the first company to successfully design drug-quality allosteric inhibitors targeting ACC for the treatment of metabolic disease as well as cancer.

The company’s first indication for ACC-focused clinical development in metabolic disease is Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis, or NASH, a serious condition that can lead to liver cirrhosis, often leading to transplant, and other complications including hepatocellular carcinoma, a liver cancer with high mortality rates. Currently there are no therapies specifically approved to treat NASH. Other possible metabolic disease indications for ACC inhibition include type 2 diabetes and hypertriglyceridemia.

Northwest Biotherapeutics has filed a 10-K – Annual report [Section 13 and 15(d), not S-K Item 405] with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (Filing, 10-K, Northwest Biotherapeutics, MAR 17, 2015, View Source [SID1234502354]).

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