On November 7, 2018 Inventiva reported that it will be presenting a poster on its YAP/TEAD pre-clinical program at the upcoming EORTC-NCI-AACR (Free EORTC-NCI-AACR Whitepaper) Molecular Targets and Therapeutics Symposium being held on November 13-16, 2018 in Dublin, Ireland (Press release, Inventiva Pharma, NOV 7, 2018, View Source [SID1234625407]).

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The poster to be presented, entitled "Discovery of promising anti-cancer drug combination using YAP-TEAD inhibitors with standard of care treatment in mesothelioma and NSCLC cells", illustrates some of the recent data observed by Inventiva in pre-clinical studies, which suggest that the YAP/TEAD inhibitor molecules being investigated by the Company may have potential as a therapy in the treatment of mesothelioma, Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) and other cancers.

Inventiva’s YAP/TEAD approach aims at disrupting the formation of the transcriptional complex formed by YAP and TEAD, which are believed to be key players in the oncogenic process as well as in fibrogenesis.

Inventiva has observed that its lead YAP/TEAD inhibitor molecules have prevented the formation of the YAP/TEAD transcriptional complex in vitro and are associated with a reduction of YAP/TEAD target genes expression and anti-proliferative effects in cancer cell lines where proliferation is under the control of the Hippo pathway. The Company has also observed in xenograft and patient-derived xenograft (PDX) mice models that its YAP/TEAD inhibitor molecules exhibited activity both as a stand-alone treatment or in combination with standard of care.

Based on these promising results, the Company plans to finalize the toxicological studies necessary to advance its YAP/TEAD program into Phase I/II clinical development in 2019.

"We have made significant progress in our understanding of the Hippo pathway, which offers exciting potential for the treatment of rare and prevalent cancers," stated Pierre Broqua, Chief Scientific Officer and cofounder of Inventiva. "We have observed that our patented small molecules exhibited activity both as a stand-alone treatment and in combination with standard of care in pre-clinical models. In addition, molecules that inhibit the YAP/TEAD interaction have already shown a potential to overcome drug resistance and tumor escape mechanisms, which makes this pathway particularly interesting. Our program is advancing well and we are looking forward to see it progressing into Investigational New Drug (IND) enabling studies."

The event details for the presentations are as follows:

Poster Title: "Discovery of promising anti-cancer drug combination using YAP-TEAD inhibitors with standard of care treatment in mesothelioma and NSCLC cells"
Session Title: Drug Resistance and Modifiers
Date: Tuesday, November 13th
Time: 10am to 2pm
Location: The Convention Centre, Spencer Dock, North Wall Quay, Dublin, Ireland

On November 7, 2018 SpringWorks Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing life-changing medicines for patients with severe rare diseases and cancer, reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track designation for nirogacestat, an investigational, oral, small molecule, selective gamma-secretase inhibitor, for the treatment of adult patients with progressive, unresectable, recurrent or refractory desmoid tumors or deep fibromatosis (Press release, SpringWorks Therapeutics, NOV 7, 2018, View Source [SID1234538851]).

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Desmoid tumors are rare and debilitating soft-tissue tumors that can occur in both children and adults. Depending on their size and location, desmoid tumors can cause severe morbidities such as pain, internal bleeding, disfigurement, and limited range-of-motion. In some cases, desmoid tumors can be fatal if they impact vital organs.1 It is estimated that 900 to 1,500 new cases of desmoid tumors are diagnosed each year in the United States.2

"The Fast Track designation recognizes that desmoid tumors have a substantial impact on the lives of patients, and that nirogacestat has the potential to address the significant needs faced by this community who currently do not have an FDA-approved treatment," said Saqib Islam, Chief Executive Officer of SpringWorks Therapeutics. "We look forward to continuing to work closely with the FDA throughout our development program with the hope of ultimately bringing this important medicine to patients."

The FDA’s Fast Track program is designed to expedite the development and review of drugs with the potential to treat serious or life-threatening conditions, and with nonclinical or clinical data that demonstrate the potential to address unmet medical needs. Fast Track designation enables a company to have frequent communication with the FDA throughout the drug development and review process.3

In June 2018, the U.S. FDA granted Orphan Drug designation for nirogacestat for the treatment of desmoid tumors. SpringWorks expects to initiate the DeFi Study, a global Phase 3, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, trial in patients with desmoid tumors in the first half of 2019.

About Desmoid Tumors
Desmoid tumors (also referred to as aggressive fibromatosis or desmoid-type fibromatosis) are rare, non-metastatic tumors of connective tissue cells that can arise in any part of the body, with the most common sites being the upper and lower extremities, abdominal walls, thoracic areas, and the head and neck. The severity of desmoid tumors and associated symptoms varies based on their size and location. Desmoid tumors can cause severe morbidities such as pain, internal bleeding, disfigurement, limited range of motion, and in some cases, fatality if they impact vital organs. While they can affect children and adults, desmoid tumors are more commonly diagnosed in young adults between 20-30 years of age, with a two-to-three-fold predominance in females. 1,4 It is estimated that desmoid tumors affect 2 to 4 per million people worldwide, and that there are 900 to 1,500 new cases diagnosed per year in the United States.2 Historically, desmoid tumors were treated with surgical resection or in severe cases, amputation, but even with these interventions, high rates of tumor regrowth have been observed.5 There are currently no FDA-approved therapies for the treatment of desmoid tumors.

About Nirogacestat
Nirogacestat is an investigational, oral, small molecule, selective gamma-secretase inhibitor. Gamma secretase is an integral membrane protein that cleaves multiple different transmembrane protein complexes, including Notch, which is believed to play a role in activating pathways that contribute to desmoid tumor growth. Nirogacestat has been investigated in 24 patients with desmoid tumors across Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials.

On November 7, 2018 Sysmex Corporation reported that actual financial results during the six months ended September 30, 2018, differed in some respects from the forecast announced on May 9, 2018 (Press release, Sysmex, NOV 7, 2018, View Source [SID1234530822]). In addition, Sysmex
has revised its financial forecast for the full fiscal year ending March 31, 2019. These differences are described below.

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1. Differences between Actual and Forecast of Consolidated Financial Results for the Six Months Ended September 30, 2018 (April 1, 2018 to September 30, 2018)

Reasons for the Differences and Revision
On the consolidated sales front, in the first six months of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2019, sales in the Japan and EMEA regions were lower than previously forecast. As for profit, we worked to curtail selling, general and administrative expenses, but these reductions were unable to overcome the impact on profits of lower-than-expected sales. In addition, we recorded an exchange loss. As a result, operating profit, profit before tax and profit attributable to owners of the parent were lower than previously forecast.

Consequently, we have revised downward our forecast for the full fiscal year ending March 31, 2019, as we now expect sales, operating profit, profit before tax and profit attributable to owners of the parent to be below our previously forecast figures.

The foreign exchange assumptions used for calculating financial forecasts from the third quarter onward remain unchanged from our initial assumptions, at US$1.00 = ¥110 and €1 = ¥130.

On November 7, 2018 Karyopharm Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq:KPTI), a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company, reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track designation to selinexor, the Company’s first-in-class, oral SINE compound for the treatment of patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) who have received at least two prior therapies and are not eligible for high dose chemotherapy with stem cell rescue or CAR-T therapy (Press release, Karyopharm, NOV 7, 2018, View Source [SID1234530907]). Selinexor is currently being studied in the ongoing Phase 2b SADAL study in patients with relapsed or refractory DLBCL who are not eligible for stem cell transplantation for which top-line results will be presented at the upcoming American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) 2018 Annual Meeting.

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Karyopharm previously received Fast Track Designation for selinexor as a potential new treatment for patients with penta-refractory multiple myeloma who have received at least three prior lines of therapy. In October 2018, the U.S. FDA accepted Karyopharm’s New Drug Application for selinexor seeking accelerated approval as a new treatment for patients with penta-refractory multiple myeloma. The FDA has assigned a Priority Review and given an action date of April 6, 2019 under the Prescription Drug User-Fee Act (PDUFA).

The FDA’s Fast Track program facilitates the development of drugs intended to treat serious conditions and that have the potential to address unmet medical needs. A drug program with Fast Track status is afforded greater access to the FDA for the purpose of expediting the drug’s development, review and potential approval. In addition, the Fast Track program allows for eligibility for Accelerated Approval and Priority Review, if relevant criteria are met, as well as for Rolling Review, which means that a drug company can submit completed sections of its New Drug Application (NDA) for review by FDA, rather than waiting until every section of the NDA is completed before the entire application can be submitted for review.

"The receipt of Fast Track designation from the FDA for selinexor in relapsed DLBCL underscores the great unmet medical need for this aggressive form of lymphoma," said Sharon Shacham, PhD, MBA, Founder, President and Chief Scientific Officer of Karyopharm. "Pending positive results from the Phase 2b SADAL study, we plan to submit a second NDA to the FDA in the first half of 2019, with a request for accelerated approval, for oral selinexor as a potential new treatment for patients with relapsed or refractory DLBCL."

About the Phase 2b SADAL Study

The multicenter, open-label Phase 2b SADAL (Selinexor Against Diffuse Aggressive Lymphoma) study is evaluating oral selinexor in patients with relapsed or refractory DLBCL who have received two to five prior therapies and who are not currently eligible for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. In this study, approximately 125 patients will receive 60mg oral selinexor twice weekly in 4-week cycles. At least 50% of study participants must have the GCB sub-type. Objective response rate is the primary endpoint of the study, with duration of response a key secondary endpoint.

About Selinexor

Selinexor is a first-in-class, oral Selective Inhibitor of Nuclear Export (SINE) compound. Selinexor functions by binding with and inhibiting the nuclear export protein XPO1 (also called CRM1), leading to the accumulation of tumor suppressor proteins in the cell nucleus. This reinitiates and amplifies their tumor suppressor function and is believed to lead to the selective induction of apoptosis in cancer cells, while largely sparing normal cells. To date, over 2,800 patients have been treated with selinexor. In April and September 2018, Karyopharm reported positive data from the Phase 2b STORM study evaluating selinexor in combination with low-dose dexamethasone in patients with penta-refractory multiple myeloma. Selinexor has been granted Orphan Drug Designation in multiple myeloma and Fast Track designation for the patient population evaluated in the STORM study. Karyopharm’s New Drug Application (NDA) has been accepted for filing and granted Priority Review by the FDA, and oral selinexor is currently under review by the FDA as a possible new treatment for patients with penta-refractory multiple myeloma. The Company also plans to submit a Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in early 2019 with a request for conditional approval. Selinexor is also being evaluated in several other mid-and later-phase clinical trials across multiple cancer indications, including in multiple myeloma in a pivotal, randomized Phase 3 study in combination with Velcade (bortezomib) and low-dose dexamethasone (BOSTON), as a potential backbone therapy in combination with approved therapies (STOMP), in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (SADAL), liposarcoma (SEAL), and an investigator-sponsored study in endometrial cancer (SIENDO), among others. Additional Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3 studies are ongoing or currently planned, including multiple studies in combination with approved therapies in a variety of tumor types to further inform Karyopharm’s clinical development priorities for selinexor. Additional clinical trial information for selinexor is available at www.clinicaltrials.gov.

On November 7, 2018 XOMA Corporation (Nasdaq: XOMA) ("XOMA" or the "Company") reported its intent to commence a rights offering pursuant to which the Company would raise approximately $20 million through the distribution of subscription rights to holders of its common stock and Series X preferred stock, which will entitle the holders to purchase shares of XOMA’s common stock at $13.00 per share (the "Rights Offering") (Press release, Xoma, NOV 7, 2018, View Source [SID1234531171]). The offering will be fully backstopped by BVF Partners L.P., the Company’s largest stockholder, which has agreed to purchase at a minimum its as-converted pro rata share of the offering amount, and will purchase an additional amount of securities, up to a total of approximately $20 million, that are not subscribed for by the Company’s other stockholders in the rights offering.

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Under the proposed Rights Offering, the Company plans to distribute non-transferable subscription rights to purchase a portion of a share of Common Stock for each share of Common Stock outstanding and for each share of common stock issuable on conversion of the Company’s outstanding shares of Series X Preferred Stock, at a subscription price per share of $13.00, to its stockholders of record as of the close of business on November 16, 2018 (the "Record Date"). The subscription rights will be exercisable for up to an aggregate of approximately 1,538,460 shares of Common Stock, with participation to be allocated among holders of its Common Stock and Series X Preferred Stock on a pro rata basis (assuming full conversion of the Series X Preferred Stock into shares of Common Stock), subject to the aggregate offering threshold and ownership limitations. The subscription rights are non-transferable and may be exercised only during the anticipated subscription period of Monday, November 19, 2018, through 5:00 PM EDT on Friday, December 14, 2018, unless extended. Any participant in the Rights Offering that, by exercise of its subscription right would become a holder of greater than 9.9% of the outstanding number of shares of Common Stock of the Company following the offering may elect to instead purchase Series Y Preferred Stock of the Company. The company intends to sell the Series Y Preferred Stock at $13,000 per share, and any such holder so electing would have a right to purchase one one-thousandth of a share of Series Y Preferred Stock for each share of Common Stock it had a right to purchase under the subscription rights. Each share of Series Y Preferred Stock will, subject to certain limitations, be convertible into 1,000 shares of common at the election of the holder. The Series Y Preferred Stock will generally have no voting rights, except as required by law, and will participate pari passu with any distribution of proceeds to holders of Common Stock in the event of the Company’s liquidation, dissolution or winding up.

The Rights Offering will be made pursuant to the Company’s effective shelf registration statement on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and only by means of a prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus. The Company expects to mail subscription certificates evidencing the subscription rights and a copy of the prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus for the Rights Offering shortly following the Record Date.

This press release is not intended to and does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to subscribe for or buy or an invitation to purchase or subscribe for any securities in any jurisdiction, nor shall there be any sale, issuance or transfer of securities in any jurisdiction in contravention of applicable law. No offer of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

BVF Partners L.P., the Company’s largest shareholder, owning approximately 17.9% of the Company’s outstanding common stock (and 48.6% on an as-converted basis), will backstop the Rights Offering and has agreed to purchase up to $20 million of Series Y Preferred Stock at price of $13,000 per share in a private placement within five days of conclusion of the Rights Offering, with the dollar amount to be purchased in such private placement reduced by the dollar amount sold by the Company (including to BVF Partners L.P., and its affiliates), in the Rights Offering.