On July 31, 2018 Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: MACK) reported that the company will host its second quarter 2018 investor conference call and webcast at 8:30 am ET on Tuesday, August 7, 2018 (Press release, Merrimack, JUL 31, 2018, View Source [SID1234528281]).

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The call will provide an update on Merrimack’s recent progress as well as a summary of its second quarter 2018 financial results. A press release detailing the information to be discussed on the call will be issued the morning of Tuesday, August 7, 2018. Investors and the general public are invited to listen to the call by dialing (877) 564-1301 (domestic) or (224) 357-2394 (international) five minutes prior to the start of the call and providing the passcode 6476538.

A listen-only webcast of the call will be available in the Investors section of Merrimack’s website, investors.merrimack.com, and a replay of the call will be archived there for six weeks.

On July 31, 2018 Laekna Inc., a biotechnology company headquartered in Shanghai, reported the signing of an agreement with Novartis Pharma AG for exclusive global rights to develop and commercialize two oral Novartis clinical-stage oncology assets (Press release, Laekna Therapeutics, JUL 31, 2018, View Source;article_id=32 [SID1234530438]). The candidates are oral pan-Akt kinase inhibitors. Over ten clinical Phase I/II studies for afuresertib (ASB183) and uprosertib (UPB795) have been conducted in several cancer indications including ovarian and gastric cancer, multiple myeloma, melanoma, and other indications. These trials demonstrated positive proof-of-concept results for clinical efficacy and tolerable safety profiles in cancer patients. Novartis will have an equity stake in Laekna, along with upfront and development milestone payments, and royalties on future sales. Details of the terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

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The Pten/PI3K/Akt signaling axis is one of the most critical oncogenic pathways driving cancer growth. Inhibiting this axis has been proven to be effective for many cancer patients, and early clinical results for afuresertib and uprosertib are extremely promising. Laekna has mapped out several clear registration paths for NDA approval potentially as the first in class medicine.

In 2017, Laekna struck its first deal with Novartis, acquiring global rights to develop a CYP17 inhibitor (CFG920), an oral androgen inhibitor, to treat prostate cancer. Before the in-licensing, Novartis had reported positive results from a proof-of-concept study of CFG920 in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.

"Novartis is a global leader in oncology drug innovation. This is the second licensing agreement between Laekna and Novartis, adding to the previous licensing of CFG920 less than a year ago", says Dr. Chris Lu, founder and CEO of Laekna. "We have demonstrated to Novartis that Laekna is a valuable collaborator with our strong commitment, experienced team and financing support from the top investment partners."

"We are dedicated to developing these products rapidly through the regulatory process and into commercialization, with the goal of ultimately benefitting patients around the world," added Amy Xie, VP Operations at Laekna.

On July 31, 2018 Oncoceutics, Inc. reported the publication of a scientific research article in the journal Clinical Cancer Research that demonstrates utility for the company’s imipridone portfolio of compounds in neuro-oncology (Press release, Oncoceutics, JUL 31, 2018, View Source [SID1234558367]). Oncoceutics developed this portfolio of chemical compounds that target G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) using the unique core chemical structure of the company’s lead compound ONC201.

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The article identifies several opportunities to use imipridones against gliomas, including identifying effects on an important gene called c-myc on which many cancers depend and which has been deemed "undruggable." The published results also validate the anti-cancer effects, in patient-derived glioma models, of targeting the dopamine receptor DRD2. This is the GPCR antagonized by both ONC201 and ONC206, the second generation DRD2 antagonist with differentiated receptor pharmacology and drug-like characteristics compared to ONC201. In addition, the article provides clinical rationale for the introduction of ONC206 into the clinic in 2019 to treat gliomas and further connects DRD2 antagonism to the previously described downstream signaling effects.

"It is exciting to see the utility of additional imipridones beyond ONC201 for the treatment of lethal cancers with no curative treatments, such as glioblastoma," said Markus Siegelin, M.D, Assistant Professor of Pathology & Cell Biology at Columbia University who served as a senior corresponding author of the publication. "Our study provides unique insights into the mechanism of DRD2 antagonism resulting in the identification of biomarkers for the imipridone clinical program."

"The imipridone family of compounds contains several new therapeutic concepts for oncology that build out from our understanding of ONC201," said Joshua Allen, Ph.D., Senior Vice President of R&D at Oncoceutics. "These exciting new findings set the stage for the upcoming clinical introduction of ONC206 as the next imipridone to make clinical impact."

Apellis Pharmaceuticals has filed a 10-Q – Quarterly report [Sections 13 or 15(d)] with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission .

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On July 31, 2018 Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: INFI) reported that it will host a conference call on Tuesday, August 7, 2018, at 4:30 p.m. ET to review its second quarter 2018 financial results and provide an update on the company (Press release, Infinity Pharmaceuticals, JUL 31, 2018, View Source [SID1234528282]).

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A live webcast of the conference call can be accessed in the Investors/Media section of Infinity’s website at www.infi.com. To participate in the conference call, please dial 1-877-316-5293 (domestic) or 1-631-291-4526 (international) five minutes prior to start time. The conference ID number is 8037589. An archived version of the webcast will be available on Infinity’s website for 90 days.