On December 18, 2018 Phio Pharmaceuticals Corp. (NASDAQ: PHIO) (formerly RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation), a biotechnology company developing the next generation of immuno-oncology therapeutics based on its proprietary self-delivering RNAi (sd-rxRNA) therapeutic platform, reported that Dr. Gerrit Dispersyn, President and Chief Operating Officer, will present at Biotech Showcase 2019, to be held January 7 – 9, 2019 at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square (Press release, Phio Pharmaceuticals, DEC 18, 2018, View Source [SID1234532115]).

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Dr. Gerrit Dispersyn will present an overview of the Company’s novel self-delivering RNAi (sd-rxRNA) technology and the multiple business development and commercial opportunities available with this proprietary platform on:

Date: Monday, January 7, 2019
Time: 9:00 a.m. PST
Room: Yosemite C (Ballroom Level)

He will also be available for investor and executive meetings throughout the conference. The presentation will be webcast and available on the "Investors – Events and Presentations" section of the Company’s website, www.phiopharma.com.

About Biotech Showcase
Now in its eleventh year, Biotech Showcase, produced by Demy-Colton and EBD Group, is an investor and networking conference devoted to providing private and public biotechnology and life sciences companies with an opportunity to present to, and meet with, investors and executives in one place during the course of one of the industry’s largest annual healthcare investor conferences, J.P. Morgan Annual Healthcare Conference.

On December 18, 2018 Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ: LGND) reported its financial outlook for 2019 (Press release, Ligand, DEC 18, 2018, View Source [SID1234532150]). Ligand expects revenue in 2019 to be at least $212 million, with up to an additional $40 million of potential milestone and license payments. Approximately two thirds of the $212 million of revenue is expected to be royalty revenue, and the remainder is expected to consist of contract payments and material sales. With projected revenue of $212 million, adjusted earnings per diluted share for 2019 is estimated to be approximately $5.50. So far during the fourth quarter of 2018, Ligand has repurchased over 420,000 shares under its authorized share repurchase plan, and will potentially continue to execute additional repurchases going forward.

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Ligand is also raising its previous guidance for 2018, mostly due to higher material sales, and now expects revenue to be approximately $244 million, including royalties of approximately $123 million, material sales of approximately $28 million and license fees and milestones of approximately $93 million. Revenue for 2018 includes a milestone payment of $47 million from WuXi Biologics. With projected revenue of approximately $244 million, adjusted earnings per diluted share for 2018 is estimated to be approximately $6.63. This compares with previous guidance for 2018 revenue of approximately $240 million, and adjusted earnings per diluted share for 2018 which was previously estimated to be $6.52.

On December 17, 2018 Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY), and Boston Medical Center, a private, not-for-profit, academic medical center, reported a multi-year joint research study to identify and analyze potential sensitivity and resistance markers in patients treated with standard-of-care checkpoint inhibitors (Press release, Bristol-Myers Squibb, DEC 17, 2018, View Source [SID1234532098]). The comprehensive, multi-dimensional study will place an emphasis on uncovering mechanisms associated with lack of response to Immuno-Oncology (I-O) therapies, with the ultimate goal of identifying prognostic and potentially predictive I-O biomarkers in a variety of cancers.

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"Our newly opened R&D site in Kendall Square is focused on better understanding, and ultimately overcoming, the challenge of I-O resistance. We are thrilled to establish our first partnership since the site opened with our new neighbor, Boston Medical Center, with the goal of uncovering new insights into the biology of cancer and how it evolves with exposure to I-O intervention," said Saurabh Saha, M.D., Ph.D., senior vice president and global head of translational medicine, Bristol-Myers Squibb. "The information we glean from this collaboration will ultimately inform the development of novel therapeutic strategies to improve response rates and outcomes for patients."

Through the study, researchers will explore the role of tissue and circulating biomarkers on treatment sensitivity and resistance. In addition, scientists will investigate the role of the microbiome as a potential predictive biomarker in patients receiving treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors.

"Boston Medical Center serves a diverse patient population, with 70 percent of our patients coming from underserved communities," said Matthew Kulke, M.D., chief of hematology/oncology at Boston Medical Center. "These patients are sorely underrepresented in current research studies. We look forward to partnering with Bristol-Myers Squibb on this study to identify and assess biomarkers across a diverse patient population, providing us with a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of I-O resistance."

The two organizations will jointly conduct the research throughout the duration of the study, after which Bristol-Myers Squibb and Boston Medical Center may collaborate to publish results.

Bristol-Myers Squibb opened its Cambridge R&D site, located in Kendall Square, on November 26, 2018.

On December 17, 2018 Abbott (NYSE: ABT) reported that it will announce its fourth-quarter 2018 financial results on Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2019, before the market opens (Press release, Abbott, DEC 17, 2018, View Source [SID1234532099]).

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The announcement will be followed by a live webcast of the earnings conference call at 8 a.m. Central time (9 a.m. Eastern), and will be accessible through Abbott’s Investor Relations website at www.abbottinvestor.com. An archived edition of the call will be available later that day.

On December 17, 2018 RhoVac AB ("RhoVac") reported that the first prostate cancer patient included in the clinical phase I / II study with RhoVac’s drug candidate RV001 has completed it’s 12-month follow-up and thus the entire clinical phase I / II- study (Press release, RhoVac, DEC 17, 2018, https://www.rhovac.com/rhovac-announces-that-the-first-patient-completed-the-follow-up-phase-of-the-clinical-phase-i-ii-study/ [SID1234532083]).

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Prior to the clinical phase I / II study, conducted between 2017 and 2018, 22 patients with diagnosed prostate cancer and prostatectomized. Blood samples were taken before, during and after the study to analyse the product mediated immune response to treatments. The results, reported earlier this year, showed a significant immune response in 86% of the patients. Patients have also participated in a 3-, 6-, 9- and 12-month follow-up phase of the study, to assess the duration of the immune response.

RhoVac announces that the first patient has completed his 12-month follow-up and thus also completed his participation in RhoVac’s phase I / II clinical study. The samples for immunological analysis have been sent to the University of Tübingen. The interim report on the duration of the immunological responses, from all participating patients’ 3- and 6-month follow-up will be published in January 2019.

The last patient is expected to complete his 12-month follow-up in March 2019. The final report on the duration of the immunological responses is expected in the second quarter of 2019.

The company’s drug candidate RV001 activates T cells of the immune system to identify and eliminate cancer cells expressing the protein RhoC. As RhoC is generally overexpressed in metastatic cancer cells, RV001 can potentially be used in the treatment of several different cancer indications. It is the company’s ambition that the product being developed shall be used as a preventive treatment against metastases, thus preventing, or limiting the spread and recurrence of cancer