On November 1, 2018 BeiGene, Ltd. (NASDAQ: BGNE), a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing innovative molecularly-targeted and immuno-oncology drugs for the treatment of cancer, reported that it will present data on its investigational anti-PD-1 antibody tislelizumab and its investigational BTK inhibitor zanubrutinib at the 60th American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) Annual Meeting, taking place December 1-4, 2018 in San Diego, CA (Press release, BeiGene, NOV 1, 2018, View Source/phoenix.zhtml?c=254246&" target="_blank" title="View Source/phoenix.zhtml?c=254246&" rel="nofollow">View Source;p=RssLanding&cat=news&id=2374795 [SID1234530502]). The presentations will include data from BeiGene’s new drug applications (NDAs) submitted in China for tislelizumab in patients with relapsed/refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma and zanubrutinib in patients with mantle cell lymphoma. Additionally, BeiGene will host an investor meeting and webcast from the ASH (Free ASH Whitepaper) Annual Meeting on December 3 at 8:00 pm PST.

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Oral Presentations:
Title: Safety and Activity of the Investigational Bruton Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor Zanubrutinib (BGB-3111) in Patients with Mantle Cell Lymphoma from a Phase 2 Trial
Session Name: 623. Mantle Cell, Follicular, and Other Indolent B-Cell Lymphoma—Clinical Studies: Prognostic Markers and Therapies in Mantle Cell Lymphoma and Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia
Date: Saturday, December 1, 2018
Time: 12:45 PST
Location: Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina, Pacific Ballroom 20
Presenter: Yuqin Song, M.D., Ph.D.

Title: Tislelizumab (BGB-A317) for Relapsed/Refractory Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma: Preliminary Efficacy and Safety Results from a Phase 2 Study
Session Name: 624. Hodgkin Lymphoma and T/NK Cell Lymphoma—ClinicalStudies: Immunotherapy and Targeted Strategies
Date: Monday, December 3, 2018
Time: 11:15 PST
Location: San Diego Convention Center, Room 6F
Presenter: Yuqin Song, M.D., Ph.D.

Poster Presentation:
Title: Updated Safety and Activity of the Investigational Bruton Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor Zanubrutinib (BGB-3111) in Patients with Mantle Cell Lymphoma
Session Name: 623. Mantle Cell, Follicular, and Other Indolent B-Cell Lymphoma—Clinical Studies: Poster I
Date: Saturday, December 1, 2018
Time: 18:15-20:15 PST
Location: San Diego Convention Center, Hall GH
Presenter: Stephen Opat, M.D.

Investor Webcast:
Date and Time: Monday, December 3, 2018 at 20:00 PST (Tuesday, December 4 at 12:00 China Standard Time)
Webcast: A live webcast and replay of the event will be available on BeiGene’s investor website, View Source

About Tislelizumab
Tislelizumab (BGB-A317) is an investigational humanized monoclonal antibody that belongs to a class of immuno-oncology agents known as immune checkpoint inhibitors. Discovered by BeiGene scientists in Beijing, tislelizumab is designed to bind to PD-1, a cell surface receptor that plays an important role in downregulating the immune system by preventing the activation of T-cells. Tislelizumab has demonstrated high affinity and specificity for PD-1 in pre-clinical studies. It is potentially differentiated from the currently approved PD-1 antibodies in an engineered Fc region, which is believed to minimize potentially negative interactions with other immune cells, based on preclinical data. Tislelizumab is being developed as a monotherapy and in combination with other therapies for the treatment of a broad array of both solid tumor and hematologic cancers. BeiGene and Celgene Corporation have a global strategic collaboration for the development of tislelizumab in solid tumor cancers outside of Asia (except Japan).

About Zanubrutinib
Zanubrutinib (BGB-3111) is an investigational small molecule inhibitor of Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK). Zanubrutinib was discovered in BeiGene’s research facilities in Beijing, China, and is being developed globally by BeiGene as a monotherapy and in combination with other therapies to treat various hematologic malignancies.

On November 1, 2018 Kura Oncology, Inc. (Nasdaq: KURA), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of precision medicines for oncology, reported that two abstracts related to the company’s lead product candidate, tipifarnib, have been accepted for presentation at the upcoming American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) Annual Meeting, which will be held from December 1-4, 2018 in San Diego (Press release, Kura Oncology, NOV 1, 2018, View Source [SID1234530518]). The following abstracts were published today are now available on the ASH (Free ASH Whitepaper) website at www.hematology.org.

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Tipifarnib in Relapsed or Refractory Angioimmunoblastic T-cell Lymphoma (AITL) and CXCL12+ Peripheral T-cell Lymphoma (PTCL): Preliminary Results from an Open-Label, Phase 2 Study (Abstract # 2937)
Session Name: 624. Hodgkin Lymphoma and T/NK Cell Lymphoma – Clinical Studies: Poster II
Date: Sunday, December 2, 2018
Presentation Time: 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. PT
Location: San Diego Convention Center, Hall GH

Identification of Tipifarnib Sensitivity Biomarkers in T-cell Tumor Cell Lines (Abstract # 2851)
Session Name: 621. Lymphoma-Genetic / Epigenetic Biology: Poster II
Date: Sunday, December 2, 2018
Presentation Time: 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. PT
Location: San Diego Convention Center, Hall GH

Following presentation at the meeting, the posters will be available on Kura’s website at www.kuraoncology.com.

On November 1, 2018 Y-mAbs Therapeutics, Inc. (the "Company" or "Y-mAbs") (Nasdaq:YMAB) a late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel, antibody-based therapeutic products for the treatment of cancer, reported that Dr. Jeong A Park from the Department of Pediatrics of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) will present preclinical data from the Company’s bispecific GD2 antibody in a poster presentation at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) Annual Meeting and Exposition in San Diego, CA on December 3, 2018, at 9:00 PM Eastern (Press release, Y-mAbs Therapeutics, NOV 1, 2018, View Source [SID1234530534]). An abstract of the poster presentation will be made available online by ASH (Free ASH Whitepaper) on November 1, 2018 at 12:00 PM Eastern.

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Bispecific GD2 antibodies were tested in solid tumors in preclinical models with T-cells and were shown to exert anti-tumor effect against GD2(+) tumor xenografts or PDX tumors. Further, the bispecific GD2 antibodies induced rapid and quantitative T-cell homing to tumors, mediating antibody dependent T-cell mediated cytotoxicity (ADTC) against GD2, and were shown to infiltrate tumors with little to no immune response, also known as cold tumors

On November 1, 2018 Curis, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRIS), a biotechnology company focused on the development of innovative therapeutics for the treatment of cancer, reported financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2018 (Press release, Curis, NOV 1, 2018, View Source [SID1234530550]).

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"Following Curis’s recent leadership change, we are increasing our focus on the clinical execution of our three first-in-class therapeutics that have the potential to be significant and innovative cancer treatments. We expect all three drug candidates to progress rapidly in the clinic and have data readouts in 2019," said James Dentzer, President & Chief Executive Officer of Curis. "To achieve this goal, we are re-allocating resources to prioritize clinical operations and have implemented a reduction in headcount and expenditure on pre-clinical science, pipeline expansion, and general and administrative expenses. We expect these reductions will offset an increase in headcount and costs associated with clinical operations and result in net savings for the Company, reducing cash burn from approximately $11 million to $8 million per quarter. This renewed focus on clinical execution will benefit patients in need of life-changing medications and shareholders alike," Mr. Dentzer concluded.

Third Quarter 2018 Financial Results

Curis reported a net loss of $7.2 million, or $0.22 per share on a basic and diluted basis for the third quarter of 2018, as compared to a net loss of $15.5 million, or $0.53 per share respectively for the same period in 2017.

Revenues for the third quarter of 2018 were $2.8 million, as compared to $2.4 million for the same period in 2017. Revenues for both periods comprise primarily royalty revenues recorded on Genentech and Roche’s net sales of Erivedge.

Operating expenses were $9.3 million for the third quarter of 2018, as compared to $16.9 million for the same period in 2017, and comprised the following:

Costs of Royalty Revenues. Costs of royalty revenues, resulting from payments to third-party university patent licensors associated with Genentech and Roche’s Erivedge net sales, were $0.2 million as compared to $0.1 million for the same period in 2017.

Research and Development Expenses. Research and development expenses were $5.0 million, as compared to $13.4 million for the same period in 2017. The decrease was primarily driven by decreased costs related to clinical activities and manufacturing for fimepinostat, CA-170 and CA-4948 and a payment to Aurigene of $3.8 million for an exclusivity option in September 2017.

General and Administrative Expenses. General and administrative expenses were $4.1 million as compared to $3.4 million for the same period in 2017. The increase in general and administrative expenses was primarily driven by higher personnel costs and professional and consulting services partially offset by lower stock-based compensation for the period.

Other Expenses. Net other expenses totaled $0.8 million as compared to $1.0 million for the same period in 2017. Net other expense primarily consisted of interest expense related to Curis Royalty’s (a wholly owned subsidiary of Curis) debt obligations.

As of September 30, 2018, Curis’s cash, cash equivalents and investments totaled $30.8 million and there were approximately 33.1 million shares of common stock outstanding.

Recent Operational Highlights

Precision oncology, fimepinostat (formerly CUDC-907):

Having received Fast Track designation for fimepinostat, Curis is working with the FDA and select clinical sites to initiate a combination study of fimepinostat (a MYC inhibitor) with venetoclax (a BCL-2 inhibitor) in DLBCL, including patients with DH/DE Lymphoma.
DLBCL with alterations in both the MYC gene and the BCL2 gene is defined as Double-Hit Lymphoma. In preclinical studies, the combination of fimepinostat with venetoclax has demonstrated highly synergistic effect, resulting in significant tumor size reduction.
Precision oncology, CA-4948 (IRAK4 Kinase Inhibitor; Aurigene collaboration):

Curis continues to enroll patients with relapsed or refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma in a dose escalation study evaluating CA-4948, a first-in-class oral, small molecule IRAK4 kinase inhibitor. CA-4948 is designed to target cancers with MYD88 mutations in DLBCL and Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia.
Immuno-oncology, CA-170 (VISTA / PDL1 antagonist; Aurigene collaboration):

Patient treatment continues in the dose escalation study evaluating CA-170 in patients with advanced solid tumors or lymphomas.
Curis is working with select clinical sites to initiate a study of CA-170 in patients with mesothelioma, following evidence of mesothelioma tumor samples expressing high levels of VISTA. Recent publications have identified VISTA as a possible resistance mechanism to treatment with anti-PD1 antibodies in several cancer indications.
Curis collaborator Aurigene continues to enroll immunotherapy treatment-naïve patients in a clinical study of CA-170 at select trial sites in India.
Recent Corporate Highlights

In September, Curis announced change in leadership with the appointment of James Dentzer to the position of President and Chief Executive Officer.
In October, Curis implemented a 27% reduction in headcount and a re-allocation of pre-clinical resources to strengthen focus on clinical development. The Company expects the net result of expense reductions in pre-clinical R&D and G&A and targeted increases in clinical operations to result in a total cash burn reduction from approximately $11 million to $8 million per quarter going forward.
Upcoming Activities

Curis will provide an update on the dose escalation study of CA-170 at the annual SITC (Free SITC Whitepaper) conference in November.
2019 Data Catalysts

Curis expects to commence enrollment in a combination study evaluating a fimepinostat and venetoclax regimen in patients with R/R DLBCL, including patients with DH/DE Lymphoma, in the first half of 2019 and report initial data in the second half of 2019.
Curis expects to report initial data from an ongoing dose escalation study evaluating CA-4948 in patients with R/R DLBCL and WM, including patients with MYD88-altered disease, by mid-year 2019.
Curis expects to commence enrollment in a clinical study evaluating CA-170 in patients with mesothelioma (high VISTA expressors) in the first half of 2019 and report initial data in the second half of 2019.
Conference Call Information

Curis management will host a conference call today, November 1, 2018, at 8:30 a.m. ET, to discuss these financial results, as well as provide a corporate update.

To access the live conference call, please dial 1-888-346-6389 (United States) or 1-412-317-5252 (International), shortly before 8:30 a.m. ET. The conference call can also be accessed on the Curis website at www.curis.com in the Investors section. A replay of the call will be available on the Curis website shortly after the commencement of the meeting

On November 1, 2018 Xencor, Inc. (NASDAQ:XNCR), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of autoimmune disease, asthma and allergic diseases, and cancer, reported that initial data from its ongoing Phase 1 dose-escalation study of XmAb14045, a CD123 x CD3 bispecific antibody, in patients with relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) will be presented in an oral session at the 2018 American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) Annual Meeting on Monday, December 3, 2018 (Press release, Xencor, NOV 1, 2018, View Source [SID1234530578]).

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Key Highlights from the Abstract

At data cut off on June 27, 2018, 63 patients with relapsed/refractory AML and one patient with B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia had received XmAb14045. Patients had a median age of 61 years and were heavily pretreated, having a median of three prior therapies, and 30% (n=19/64) had undergone prior allogeneic stem cell transplantation.
No MTD was identified, and cytokine release syndrome (CRS) was the most common toxicity occurring in 49 of 64 patients (77%). Seven patients (11%) experienced Grade 3 or 4 CRS. CRS was generally manageable with premedication.
23% of evaluable patients with AML achieved either complete remission (CR) or CR with incomplete hematologic recovery (CRi) at the two highest dose levels studied to date (1.3 and 2.3 mcg/kg weekly; n=3/13).
Two patients with responses were bridged to stem cell transplantation, and the third was ineligible but remained in remission at 14+ weeks after initiating therapy.
"Initial results from the ongoing study of our lead bispecific antibody XmAb14045 in heavily pretreated patients with acute myeloid leukemia demonstrate that several patients achieved complete remissions," said Paul Foster, M.D., senior vice president and chief medical offer at Xencor. "XmAb14045 is a full-length immunoglobulin designed to be dosed intermittently. We continue to optimize dosing regimen as we advance the Phase 1 study."

Presentation Details

Abstract:

763

Title:

Complete Responses in Relapsed/Refractory Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) Patients on a Weekly Dosing Schedule of XmAb14045, a CD123 x CD3 T Cell-Engaging Bispecific Antibody: Initial Results of a Phase 1 Study

Presenter:

Farhad Ravandi, M.D., Professor of Medicine and Chief of Section of Developmental Therapeutics in the Department of Leukemia at the University of Texas – M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

Session:

616. Acute Myeloid Leukemia: Novel Therapy, excluding Transplantation: New Treatment Strategies

Date & Time:

Monday, December 3, 2018, 2:45 p.m. PST

Location:

Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego, Seaport Ballroom F

The accepted abstract is now available on the ASH (Free ASH Whitepaper) conference website.

Analyst & Investor Event and Webcast Information
Xencor will host an analyst and investor event on Monday, December 3, 2018 from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. PST with formal remarks at 8:30 p.m. PST. The event will feature a discussion of the data presented at ASH (Free ASH Whitepaper) and Xencor’s bispecific oncology pipeline. The event will be webcast live and can be accessed under Events & Presentations in the Investors section of www.xencor.com, where it will be archived for 30 days.

About XmAb14045
XmAb14045 is a tumor-targeted antibody that contains both a CD123 binding domain and a cytotoxic T-cell binding domain (CD3) in a Phase 1 clinical trial for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and other CD123-expressing hematologic malignancies. An XmAb Bispecific Fc domain serves as the scaffold for these two antigen binding domains and confers long circulating half-life, stability and ease of manufacture on XmAb14045. CD123 is highly expressed on AML cells and leukemic stem cells, and it is associated with poorer prognosis in AML patients. Engagement of CD3 by XmAb14045 activates T cells for highly potent and targeted killing of CD123-expressing tumor cells.