On March 13, 2018 IDEAYA Biosciences, Inc., an oncology-focused biotechnology company committed to the discovery of breakthrough synthetic lethality medicines and immuno-oncology therapies, reported that it has entered into a partnership agreement with Cancer Research UK’s (CRUK) Commercial Partnerships Team and the Drug Discovery Unit at the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute, part of the University of Manchester, UK, to develop small molecule inhibitors of Poly(ADP-ribose) glycohydrolase (PARG) (Press release, Ideaya Biosciences, MAR 13, 2018, View Source [SID1234525131]). PARG is a cellular enzyme that breaks down Poly(ADP-ribose), a post-translational modification that modulates protein function required for DNA repair. Inhibition of PARG in cancer cells with highly-active PARP results in depletion of cellular NAD. NAD is an essential cofactor in cellular respiration, and its depletion results in a dramatic decrease in cellular ATP and cancer cell death.

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"We are thrilled to be able to partner with one of the leading cancer research institutions in CRUK, who has had a prolific history in the space of DNA repair, including its scientific contributions to PARP biology and its associated biomarker BRCA," said Yujiro S. Hata, chief executive officer of IDEAYA. "We look forward to collaborating with this exceptional organization as we advance novel, small molecule inhibitors of PARG towards the clinic."

"The Drug Discovery Unit at the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute are delighted to be working alongside IDEAYA to further develop our PARG inhibitor program," said Allan Jordan, head of chemistry in the Drug Discovery Unit. "Stemming from fundamental biological discoveries made in our own Institute, PARG inhibitors offer a new way of compromising the ability of cancer cells to survive and resist treatment. We believe that these agents will offer a truly novel and clinically meaningful therapy for patients fighting against cancer.

"This new collaboration with IDEAYA, a leading biotechnology company, will accelerate the translation of discoveries from one of our major drug discovery units," said Iain Foulkes, Ph.D., Cancer Research UK’s executive director of research and innovation. "We’re excited to focus our combined expertise on this unique program of research. This is one of several partnerships in our growing portfolio of projects that we hope will result in vital new treatments for cancer patients."

IDEAYA and Cancer Research UK also announced today that data from the PARG program will be presented at the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting to be held April 14-18, 2018 in Chicago, IL. The presentation details are as follows:

Title: PARG inhibitors exhibit synthetic lethality with XRCC1 deficiency and a cellular mechanism of action that is distinct from PARP inhibition
Date and Time: Monday, April 16, 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM CDT
Abstract Number: 1943
Presenting author: Lisa Belmont, Ph.D.
Session Category: Experimental and Molecular Therapeutics

On March 13, 2018 Crown Bioscience, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Crown Bioscience International (TWSE: ticker 6554) and a global drug discovery and development services company providing translational platforms to advance oncology, inflammation, cardiovascular and metabolic disease research, reported it has been selected by Phanes Therapeutics as a strategic partner to advance their oncology drug discovery pipeline (Press release, Phanes Therapeutics, MAR 13, 2018, View Source [SID1234527491]).

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CrownBio provides the world’s largest collection of patient derived xenograft (PDX) models and is a leading provider of integrated oncology solutions that enable development of cutting-edge cancer treatments. Phanes will gain access to CrownBio’s clinically relevant CDX models, exclusive PDX models and robust in vitro assays to propel their innovative drug discovery pipeline.

Dr. Ming Wang, President and CEO of Phanes Therapeutics, expressed enthusiasm about this partnership, "We are an innovative drug discovery company with a robust pipeline and need access to top notch in vivo pharmacology efficacy models to quickly evaluate and advance our lead molecules. We are very glad to partner with CrownBio. They have very unique MuPrime models, as well as Humanized GEMMs (HuGEMM) and Patient-Derived Xenograft (PDX) models for our oncology programs. We look forward to a productive partnership."

"We are very pleased that Phanes Therapeutics has selected us as a trusted partner to advance their leading-edge oncology compounds," said Laurie Heilmann, CrownBio’s Chief Business Officer. "Our unique capabilities will help Phanes efficiently and thoroughly assess drugs in their pipeline to identify and advance candidates showing the most promise for improved treatment of cancer."

On March 13, 2018NantKwest (Nasdaq:NK), a leading, clinical-stage natural killer cell-based therapeutics company, reported that the company will be presenting and conducting one-on-one meetings at a number of investment and healthcare conferences in the month of March and April 2018 (Press release, NantKwest, MAR 13, 2018, http://ir.nantkwest.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=254059&p=RssLanding&cat=news&id=2337947 [SID1234524736]). The presentations and one-on-one discussions will feature a science and business overview, along with a clinical update provided by company management.

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Conference Details:
Event: Roth Capital 30th Annual Investment Conference
Date/Time: Tuesday, March 13, 2018, one-on-one meetings
Location: Laguna Niguel, CA

Event: Cowen & Company 38th Annual Healthcare Conference
Date/Time: Wednesday, March 14, 2018, one-on-one meetings
Location: Boston, MA

Event: Oppenheimer & Company 28th Annual Healthcare Conference
Date/Time: Tuesday, March 20, 2018, one-on-one meetings
Location: New York, NY

Event: Needham & Company 17th Annual Healthcare Conference
Date/Time: Wednesday, March 28, 2018, presentation at 12:45pm
Location: New York, NY

Event: Hanson Wade Innate Killer Summit
Date/Time: Thursday, March 29, 2018, presentation at 12:50pm
Location: New York, NY

Event: Jefferies IO Cell Therapy Investment Conference
Date/Time: Tuesday, April 3, 2018, presentation at 11:40am
Location: Boston, MA

On March 13, 2018 Actinium Pharmaceuticals reported that the Medical College of Wisconsin received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the previously announced Investigational New Drug (IND) application for the Phase 1 trial of Actimab-A in combination with CLAG-M for relapsed or refractory Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) patients (Press release, Actinium Pharmaceuticals, MAR 13, 2018, View Source [SID1234524720]). This investigator initiated trial will be conducted at the Medical College of Wisconsin and led by principal investigator Dr. Sameem Abedin in collaboration with Dr. Ehab Atallah. This trial will enroll up to 18 patients and will assess safety as well as efficacy, which will be based on response rates, percentage of patients receiving a bone marrow transplant and overall survival. Actimab-A is an antibody radio-conjugate (ARC) that combines the anti-CD33 antibody lintuzumab with the radioisotope actinium-225. CLAG-M is a salvage chemotherapy regimen consisting of cladribine, cytarabine, filgrastim and mitoxantrone that has become the standard of care at many institutions across the U.S. in AML patients with relapse.

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Dr. Mark Berger, Actinium’s Chief Medical Officer said, "The use of our actinium-225 – anti-CD33 ARC in combination with cytotoxic therapies such as CLAG-M has the potential to improve outcomes for a significant number of patients. We believe our ARC approach, which has shown to be potent while having minimal extramedullary toxicities in over 100 patients to date, has the potential to be synergistic with cytotoxic chemotherapy agents. CLAG-M has shown compelling results in patients with relapsed or refractory disease and we believe that the combination with our ARC can improve response rates, transplant rates and overall survival for patients. We are excited to begin enrolling patients on this trial and look forward to working with Dr. Abedin, Dr. Atallah and their colleagues at the Medical College of Wisconsin on this important Phase 1 study."

This Phase 1 combination trial is the fourth clinical trial from Actinium’s CD33 program. The Company’s other CD33 program trials include its Phase 2 trial Actimab-A trial for patients newly diagnosed with AML who are over the age of 60 and unfit for intense chemotherapy and the Phase 1 Actimab-M trial for patients with refractory multiple myeloma. A Phase 2 trial is planned for patients with high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome with a p53 genetic mutation for myeloablation prior to a bone marrow transplant.

Sandesh Seth, Actinium’s Chairman and CEO said, "We see the use of our ARC’s in combination with chemotherapy as an exciting development opportunity that has the potential to bring benefits to a significant number patients. We believe that this will be the first of many combinations given the potency of our ARC approach together with its minimal extramedullary toxicities and its unique mechanism of action. Together these attributes make our ARC a versatile therapy that we believe can bring benefits to patients as a monotherapy, in combination and for myeloablation prior to a bone marrow transplant."

About Actimab-A

Actimab-A is Actinium’s lead drug candidate from its CD33 program and is an antibody radio-conjugate (ARC) that is comprised of the CD33 targeting antibody lintuzumab and actinium-225, an alpha-emitting radioisotope. This ARC is currently being studied in the Phase 2 Actimab-A is clinical trial in patients that are newly diagnosed with AML who are over the age of 60 that are ineligible for intense chemotherapy, also known as unfit patients. Actimab-A has been granted Orphan Drug Designation for newly diagnosed AML in patients 60 and above by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency. The Company is also conducting the Phase 1 Actimab-M trial, an investigator initiated trial for patients with refractory multiple myeloma. Also, Actinium plans to begin the Phase 2 Actimab-MDS trial for patients with high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) that have a p53 genetic mutation myeloablation prior to a bone marrow transplant. Actimab-A is a second-generation therapy from the Company’s CD33 Program, which was developed at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and has now been studied in over 100 patients in four clinical trials.

On March 13, 2018 GT Biopharma Inc. (OTCQB: GTBP) (Euronext Paris: GTBP.PA) reported that Shawn Cross, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Raymond Urbanski, Chief Medical Officer, will present a company overview at the Roth Capital Partners 30th Annual Conference on Tuesday, March 13, at 11:30 a.m. PT (Press release, GT Biopharma , MAR 13, 2018, View Source [SID1234539532]).

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A live audio webcast of the event will be available via the ‘Investor Relations’ page of the GT Biopharma website, View Source Please log on through GT Biopharma’s website approximately 10 minutes before the scheduled start time. A replay of the webcast will be archived on Gt Biopharma’s website for 90 days following the call.