On September 19, 2018 Propanc Biopharma, Inc. (OTCQB: PPCB) ("Propanc Biopharma" or the "Company"), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focusing on development of new and proprietary treatments for cancer patients suffering from solid tumors, such as pancreatic, ovarian and colorectal cancers, reported the execution of a research collaboration agreement with the University of Jaén, Spain, for the provision of research services and scientific technical advice for the Company’s POP1 drug discovery program (Press release, Propanc, SEP 19, 2018, View Source [SID1234529489]). The goal for the program is to synthesize and develop a backup clinical compound to the Company’s lead product candidate, PRP. The development of the backup compound will be used for treating patients with limited therapeutic options for the treatment of solid tumors,

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The specific objectives for the collaboration include:

The identification of a suitable backup clinical compound to PRP;
The validation of the anti-carcinogenic properties of the new drug candidate through in vitro testing;
The validation of the anti-carcinogenic properties of the new drug candidate through in vivo testing;
The production of the new synthetic drug candidate in compliance with FDA’s "current good manufacturing practice" (cGMP) conditions, in order for it to be used in human trials.
Dr. Macarena Perán Quesada, Professor at the University of Jaén, will be in charge of management and coordination of the working team and will be the scientific consultant in charge of the project run by the University of Jaén. Dr. Perán is the lead author of several scientific papers jointly published with the Company regarding the anti-cancer and anti-tumor effects of PRP, as well as a co-inventor of several patents in the Company’s intellectual property portfolio, including the discovery of PRP as a targeted, cancer stem cell therapy.

"We are truly delighted to be working with Dr. Perán, as we look to discover and develop new compounds which support our lead product candidate, PRP, which is progressing towards human trials," said Mr. James Nathanielsz, Propanc Biopharma’s Chief Executive Officer. "Our vision is to establish a new therapeutic drug class for the treatment and prevention of metastatic cancer, by targeting and eradicating cancer stem cells. We look forward to executing this important project with Dr. Perán and the Department of Health Sciences at the University of Jaén."

"The collaboration between public institutions and biotech companies is key to overcoming therapeutic challenges," said Dr. Perán. "We are excited to commence this new project with the hope of providing an effective treatment against aggressive cancers, like pancreatic cancer."

On September 19, 2018 Molecular Templates, Inc. (Nasdaq:MTEM) reported an agreement with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (Takeda) for the joint development of CD38-targeted engineered toxin bodies (ETBs) for the treatment of patients with diseases such as multiple myeloma (Press release, Molecular Templates, SEP 19, 2018, View Source [SID1234529616]). The lead development candidate is a CD38-targeted ETB that resulted from a previous discovery collaboration between the two companies.

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The parties developed preclinical stage ETBs targeting CD38 under the prior discovery collaboration. Takeda and Molecular Templates will further develop the ETBs for the treatment of multiple myeloma under this new license, development and commercialization agreement.

"This collaboration builds on Takeda’s deep history and commitment to the study of blood cancers, including multiple myeloma," said Philip Rowlands, Ph.D., Head, Oncology Therapeutic Area Unit at Takeda. "Throughout our research collaboration with Molecular Templates, we have seen the promise of its ETB platform for the discovery and development of new therapies. As we expand our relationship and continue to explore next-generation modalities, our hope is to bring forth new and important treatment options for patients."

Under the terms of the agreement, Takeda will make an upfront payment of $30 million and Molecular Templates is eligible to receive development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments of up to $632.5 million if Molecular Templates exercises its co-development option or $337.5 million if Molecular Templates does not exercise or opts out of its co-development option. Takeda has also agreed to pay royalties on sales of the commercial product developed through the collaboration. Molecular Templates and Takeda will share equally in the development costs.

"We have worked closely with Takeda’s scientific team since October 2016 to develop CD38-targeted ETBs with substantial improvements over our own internal program, MT-4019," said Eric Poma, Ph.D., Molecular Templates’ Chief Executive and Scientific Officer. "Takeda’s expertise in multiple myeloma and strong antibody capabilities allowed us to develop CD38-targeted ETBs that, of the ones tested to date, are the most potent ETBs we have created with our platform. We look forward to moving this program into the clinic."

Multiple myeloma cells widely express the CD38 protein, making it an increasingly important target in the development of therapeutics for multiple myeloma. CD38-targeted ETBs recognize the protein and deliver a modified bacterial toxin that enters the myeloma cells and destroys them through the enzymatic and irreversible destruction of ribosomes. Unlike other CD38-targeted therapies, ETBs are not reliant on the body’s own immune system for effectiveness, offering the potential of broader and deeper responses.

On September 19, 2018 Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc., (NASDAQ:AUPH)(TSX:AUP) reported its Chairman and CEO, Richard Glickman, will present a company overview at two upcoming investor conferences (Press release, Aurinia Pharmaceuticals, SEP 19, 2018, View Source [SID1234529490]).

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The presentations will be webcast live and can be accessed via the investor section of the Aurinia website, www.auriniapharma.com. A replay of each presentation will also be archived on the site following the event.

Monday, October 1, 2018, Aurinia will present at the Cantor Fitzgerald 4th Annual Healthcare Conference in New York City at 8:55am ET.

Tuesday, October 2, 2018, Aurinia will present at the LEERINK Partners Roundtable Series: Rare Disease & Immuno-Oncology in New York City at 3:30pm ET.

On September 19, 2018 Abzena, plc (AIM: ABZA, Abzena’), the life sciences group providing services and technologies to enable the development and manufacture of biopharmaceutical products, reported that it has signed an antibody humanisation agreement with Tmunity Therapeutics (Tmunity), a clinical stage T cell therapy company and a leader in the development of new Chimeric Antigen Receptor T Cell (CAR-T) therapies for the treatment of solid and hematological cancers (Press release, Abzena, SEP 19, 2018, View Source [SID1234529491]).

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Under the agreement Abzena will humanize monoclonal antibodies using its Composite Human Antibody technology. This technology combines humanization and deimmunisation technologies to generate fully-humanized therapeutic antibodies devoid of CD4+ T cell epitopes.

Tmunity will use the humanised antibodies to develop CAR-T engineered products. CAR-T therapy is an innovative therapeutic form of personalised medicine in which a patient’s own T-cells are genetically modified to express an antigen recognizing CAR on the surface of the T cell. When the CAR-T encounters a cancer cell expressing the cognate antigen, the CAR-T is activated releasing cytokines that kill the cancer cell. CAR-T therapies have been successfully developed for the treatment of hematological cancers, a success that Tmunity is seeking to duplicate in solid tumors and other hematological malignancies.

The research and license agreement between Abzena and Tmunity also includes developability assessment to assess for any potential sequence liabilities that would affect quality of the product and EpiScreen, Abzena’s ex-vivo immunogenicity assessment platform.

Under the terms of the licence agreement Abzena will also be due milestone payments should products containing any of the humanized antibody sequences reach IND acceptance.

Campbell Bunce, SVP Scientific Operations of Abzena, said:

"We are delighted to be working with such an innovative organisation as Tmunity, to use our Composite Human Antibody platform to help design superior CARs for their CAR-T products. We believe that reducing the risk of immunogenicity of the receptor will contribute to a reduced risk profile for this exciting and potent treatment for cancer."

"Innovative use of our proprietary technology for an emerging and revolutionary drug platform like CAR-T, and utilisation of our protein engineering, immunology and bioanalytics expertise, is a great example of our ability to provide world-class support to our partners."

On September 19, 2018 Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) reported that it will host a conference call for investors at 8:30 a.m. (Eastern Time) on Tuesday, October 16th, to review third-quarter results (Press release, Johnson & Johnson, SEP 19, 2018, View Source [SID1234529548]). Joseph J. Wolk, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Christopher DelOrefice, Vice President, Investor Relations will host the call. The question and answer portion of the call will also include the following executives: Ashley McEvoy, Executive Vice President, Worldwide Chairman, Medical Devices; Jorge Mesquita, Executive Vice President, Worldwide Chairman, Consumer; and Jennifer Taubert, Executive Vice President, Worldwide Chairman, Pharmaceuticals.

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Investors and other interested parties can access the webcast/conference call in the following ways:

The webcast and presentation material are accessible at Johnson & Johnson’s website www.investor.jnj.com. A replay of the webcast will be available approximately three hours after the conference call concludes.

By telephone: for both "listen-only" participants and those financial analysts who wish to take part in the question-and-answer portion of the call, the telephone dial-in number in the U.S. is 877-869-3847. For participants outside the U.S., the dial-in number is 201-689-8261.

A replay of the conference call will be available until approximately 12:00 a.m. on October 24, 2018. The replay dial-in number for U.S. participants is 877-660-6853. For participants outside the U.S., the replay dial-in number is 201-612-7415. The replay conference ID number for all callers is 13683425.

The press release will be available at approximately 6:45 a.m. (Eastern Time) the morning of the conference call.