On April 19, 2018 Tocagen Inc. (Nasdaq: TOCA), a clinical-stage, cancer-selective gene therapy company, and Beijing Apollo Venus Biomedical Technology Limited, an affiliate of ApolloBio Corp. (NEEQ: 430187), a biopharmaceutical company focused on oncology (collectively, "ApolloBio"), reported they have entered into a license agreement providing ApolloBio with an exclusive license to develop and commercialize Toca 511 & Toca FC within the greater China region, including mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan (Press release, Tocagen, APR 19, 2018, View Source [SID1234525818]).

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Toca 511 & Toca FC is a cancer-selective immunotherapy currently under evaluation in an international Phase 3 trial, called Toca 5, for patients with recurrent high grade glioma (HGG), a type of brain tumor. The product candidate has received Breakthrough Therapy Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and PRIority MEdicines (PRIME) designation from the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

Under the terms of the agreement, ApolloBio will make an upfront payment of $16 million to Tocagen, plus potential payments of $4 million in near-term development milestones, including completion of enrollment in the Toca 5 study. Tocagen will be eligible for additional future payments totaling up to $111 million upon meeting certain development and commercial milestones. In addition, low double-digit tiered royalty payments will be made based on net sales. ApolloBio will be responsible for all development and commercialization costs in the licensed territory.

"As an innovative biopharmaceutical company in China, ApolloBio is well positioned to leverage China’s recent regulatory changes supporting the development of new medicines," said Marty Duvall, chief executive officer of Tocagen. "ApolloBio brings valuable regional expertise in product development, regulation and healthcare access, positioning our lead product to advance towards patients in the greater China region as quickly and efficiently as possible."

The total number of new diagnoses of HGG expected in 2018 is about 180,000 worldwide and about 47,000 in the greater China region. Standard treatment for newly diagnosed HGG includes safe surgical removal of as much of the tumor as possible, followed by radiation therapy and chemotherapy. However, HGG recurs in most patients even after maximal treatment and there are currently very few treatment options available.

"We are committed to accelerating the availability of novel immuno-oncology treatments to patients with high unmet medical needs in the greater China region," said Dr. Weiping Yang, chief executive officer of ApolloBio. "Toca 511 & Toca FC is a highly promising, best-in-class cancer-selective immunotherapy and we look forward to working with Tocagen to advance this innovative late-stage product towards commercialization."

The license grant to ApolloBio is subject to the satisfaction of customary conditions and is expected to become effective in the second quarter of 2018. For more details, please refer to the corresponding Form 8-K filed today with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

About Toca 511 & Toca FC

Tocagen’s lead product candidate is a two-part cancer-selective immunotherapy comprised of an investigational biologic, Toca 511 and an investigational small molecule, Toca FC. Toca 511 (vocimagene amiretrorepvec) is a retroviral replicating vector (RRV) that selectively infects cancer cells and delivers a gene for the enzyme, cytosine deaminase (CD). Through this targeted delivery, infected cancer cells carry the CD gene and produce CD. Toca FC is an orally administered, extended-release formulation of the prodrug, 5-fluorocytosine (5-FC), which is converted into an anti-cancer drug, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), when it encounters CD. 5-FU kills cancer cells and immune-suppressive myeloid cells in the tumor microenvironment resulting in anti-cancer immune activation and subsequent tumor killing.

About ApolloBio Corp.

ApolloBio Corp. (NEEQ:430187) is an innovative Chinese biomedical company committed to research and development of innovative new medicines, accessing such new medicines through in-licensing, and additionally providing medical services. ApolloBio is focused on pharmaceutical products with significant market potential in China in the field of oncology; providing efficient access for American biomedical companies to enter into the Chinese market; and aiming to bring the newest and best medicines across the globe to the Chinese people. For more information, visit www.apollobio.com.

On April 19, 2018 Oasmia reported that the Private Placement has enabled Oasmia to place 26 new convertible instruments with a limited group of investors at a nominal value of SEK 1,000,000 per convertible instrument through an accelerated book building procedure (Press release, Oasmia, APR 19, 2018, View Source [SID1234556570]).

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The convertible loan is issued with the purpose of replacing the Company’s financing under the Company’s convertible loan 2017:2 in the total amount of MSEK 26, which fell due for payment 18 April 2018. The fallen due loan amount under the Company’s convertible loan 2017:2 will be paid to the convertible loan holders in May 2018 and the fallen due interest was paid in April 2018.

In order to enable the placement, the Board of Directors of Oasmia has, by virtue of the authorisation granted by the Annual General Meeting held on 25 September, 2017, resolved on a directed issue of a new convertible loan in the amount of SEK 26,000,000. The convertible instruments have been subscribed at 100 per cent of the nominal amount and the convertible loan bear an interest rate of 8 per cent per year. The conversion rate is based on the closing price of Oasmia’s shares on Nasdaq Stockholm on 18 April 2018 with premium and will amount to SEK 4.90. The term of the loan is approximately one year with a maturity date on 22 April 2019 if not converted to shares earlier. The terms of the convertible instruments are based on an accelerated book building procedure on 18 April 2018 and the Board of Directors has thereby ensured that the terms of the convertible instruments corresponds to fair market standards.

If the convertible loan is fully converted into shares, the number of shares in Oasmia increases by 5,306,122 from 176,406,372 to 181,712,494 and the share capital increases by SEK 530,612.20 from SEK 17,640,637.20 to SEK 18,171,249.40. In the event of a full conversion into shares, the dilution effect will amount to approximately 2.9 per cent.

On April 19, 2018 Atreca, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on developing novel therapeutics based on a deep understanding of the human immune response, reported that John A. Orwin, formerly CEO of Relypsa, has been appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Atreca (Press release, Atreca, APR 19, 2018, View Source [SID1234525531]). He will also serve on the Company’s Board of Directors. Mr. Orwin replaces Atreca co-founder Dr. Tito A. Serafini in this role. Dr. Serafini will assume the newly created position of Chief Strategy Officer, responsible directly for research, preclinical development, technology, and intellectual property. Dr. Serafini also will remain on Atreca’s Board of Directors.

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"John Orwin is a seasoned leader with a very strong track record in scaling up clinical-stage companies. He brings core capabilities that will complement Tito’s vision and his ability to drive Atreca’s innovative science and the development and application of its broadly enabling technology platform," stated Brian Atwood, Atreca’s Chairman, and Founder and former President and CEO of Cell Design Labs. "We believe their combined talents and expertise will be highly synergistic, further differentiating the Company from others in the space and accelerating Atreca’s progress."

Mr. Atwood continued, "During Tito’s tenure leading Atreca, the Company went from early concept through the buildout of its Immune Repertoire Capture (IRC) technology, the creation of a discovery engine generating multiple scientific discoveries and a large collection of preclinical assets, and the rapid advancement of a lead candidate, with an anticipated IND filing in mid-2019. We are proud of the corporate culture of excellence Tito established, attracting a fantastic team and leading life sciences institutional investors, and for the considerable accomplishments achieved under his leadership."

"I am enthusiastically committed to Atreca, a company that I believe can both continue to transform the way new therapies are discovered and ultimately deliver life-changing treatment options to patients in need," said Dr. Serafini. "John’s joining the Company as CEO will have a profoundly positive impact on Atreca, given his successful track record scaling R&D companies, building out their clinical development organizations, manufacturing capabilities, and commercial and G&A functions. This is a very exciting time for Atreca, and I am thrilled with the Company’s prospects for continued and accelerated growth."

Mr. Orwin brings over 25 years of diverse experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, having held senior positions at leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, including Johnson & Johnson, Affymax, Rhône-Poulenc Rorer, Genentech, and most recently Relypsa. During Mr. Orwin’s tenure at Relypsa, the company launched and commercialized its lead candidate, Patiromer (US brand name Veltassa), and was acquired by Galenica (Vifor Pharma) in a transaction worth over $1.5 billion. Prior to Relypsa, he served as Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors of Affymax. Previously, Mr. Orwin was Senior Vice President of the BioOncology Business Unit at Genentech (now a member of the Roche Group), where he was responsible for all marketing, sales, business unit operations and pipeline brand management for Genentech’s oncology portfolio in the United States. He has also held senior marketing and sales positions at Johnson & Johnson, Alza Pharmaceuticals, Sangstat Medical Corporation, Rhône-Poulenc Rorer Pharmaceuticals and Schering-Plough Corporation. Mr. Orwin received an M.B.A. from New York University and a B.A. from Rutgers University.

"Under the collective vision of Tito and his team, Atreca has become the first mover in discovering and advancing candidates based on its unique approach of understanding the active adaptive immune response at the single cell level in patients," commented Mr. Orwin. "The Company has differentiated itself through its foundational technology, its discovery engine, its strategy for advancing candidates, and in terms of productivity, having generated a library of nearly 1,000 antibodies targeting public tumor antigens. I look forward to contributing to the next chapters of the Company’s evolution, including preparations to bring the first candidates into clinical development in 2019 and 2020."

On April 19, 2018 Onconova Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ONTX), a Phase 3 clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel products to treat cancer, reported an advance in pre-clinical development and the presentation of new data for investigational ON 123300, a novel dual inhibitor of CDK4/6 + ARK 5 with potential application across a variety of cancers (Press release, Onconova, APR 19, 2018, View Source [SID1234525549]).

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CDK inhibitors have emerged as promising and potentially targeted large market cancer therapies. ON 123300 has the potential to overcome many of the limitations of current generation CDK4/6 inhibitors. Onconova believes that ON 123300 may act as a single agent, due to the unique targeting of ARK5, as well as CDK 4 and 6, making it potentially suitable for indications that may not be responsive to the current generation of CDK4/6 inhibitors.

Onconova and HanX Biopharmaceuticals, the Company’s Greater China collaboration partner for ON 123300, recently completed the pre-Investigational New Drug (pre-IND) consultation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). These discussions provided guidance for the manufacturing of ON 123300 and the pre-clinical development plan for the submission of an IND application.

The data from preclinical studies demonstrates that there is a differential metabolism of ON 123300 in male versus female rodents. As a result, the drug exposure is almost 2-3 fold higher in female rats. Based upon preclinical animal liver microsome studies, this differential effect appears to be limited to rodents, and is not observed in preclinical studies with human liver microsomes. Based on the metabolism data from other species, relevant species have been selected along with the dosing strategy to be implemented in GLP toxicological studies to be conducted by HanX. As a part of the pre-clinical development program, Onconova and HanX announced a collaborative program in December 2017, wherein the remaining IND enabling studies will be funded by and conducted by HanX.

Onconova previously reported that ON 123300 was found to be as active as Palbociclib (Pfizer’s Ibrance) in a preclinical Rb + ve xenograft model. Moreover, the molecule may have the potential advantage of reduced neutropenia when compared to Palbociclib based upon this model.

Ramesh Kumar, President and CEO of Onconova, commented, "At the end of March, we received pre-IND guidance from the FDA, which provides a path towards filing an IND and then starting clinical trials. Our partner, HanX, has initiated GMP manufacturing and will be initiating GLP pre-clinical studies based on the guidance provided by the FDA, and we look forward to advancing ON 123300 into clinical development."

Faming Zhang, Ph.D., founder and Chairman of HanX, commented, "We are pleased to have completed the process chemistry and have initiated GMP manufacturing for ON 123300. GLP toxicology studies are planned and we will be undertaking additional preclinical studies to enhance the profile of this novel compound. In collaboration with Onconova, our goal is to simultaneously file the IND in the USA and China, as soon as possible. Once an IND is in place, HanX plans to initiate Phase 1 studies in China and also participate in more advanced global clinical trials."

A copy of the presentation is available by visiting the Scientific Presentations section of Onconova’s website.

On April 19, 2018 Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE:EBS) reported that it will host a conference call on Thursday, May 3, 2018 at 5:00 pm (Eastern Time) to discuss the financial results for the first quarter of 2018, recent business developments, revenue guidance for the second quarter of 2018, and revenue and net income guidance for full year 2018 (Press release, Emergent BioSolutions, APR 19, 2018, View Source;p=RssLanding&cat=news&id=2343377 [SID1234525532]).

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This conference call can be accessed live by telephone or by webcast:

Live Teleconference Information:
Dial in number: (855) 766-6521
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Conference ID: 93329114

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A replay of the call can be accessed on Emergent’s website emergentbiosolutions.com under "Investors."