On December 15, 2017 Endocyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECYT), a biopharmaceutical company developing targeted therapeutics for personalized cancer treatment, reported that it has been selected for addition to the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index (NASDAQ:NBI) (Press release, Endocyte, DEC 15, 2017, View Source [SID1234522667]). Endocyte’s addition to the NBI will become effective prior to market open on Monday, Dec, 18, 2017.

The NASDAQ Biotechnology Index (NBI) contains securities of NASDAQ-listed companies that meet certain eligibility criteria, and are classified according to the Industry Classification Benchmark as either Biotechnology or Pharmaceuticals. These requirements include minimum market capitalization, and average daily trading volume. For more information about the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index visit View Source

Ohr Pharmaceutical has filed a 10-K – Annual report [Section 13 and 15(d), not S-K Item 405] with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (Filing, 10-K, Ohr Pharmaceutical, 2017, DEC 15, 2017, View Source [SID1234522669]).

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On December 15, 2017 H3 Biomedicine Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company specializing in the discovery and development of precision medicines for oncology and a member of Eisai’s global Oncology Business Group, reported that data on one of its clinical programs has been published in the current issue of Cancer Research (Press release, H3 Biomedicine, DEC 15, 2017, View Source [SID1234522668]). The title of the paper, "H3B-6527 is a Potent and Selective Inhibitor of FGFR4 in FGF19-driven Hepatocellular Carcinoma," was composed by H3 scientists with Anand Selvaraj, PhD, Senior Investigator as lead scientist on the study.

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"We are encouraged by the pre-clinical data of H3B-6527 and the article published in Cancer Research highlights the strength of H3’s unique drug discovery platform that successfully targets specific drivers of hepatocellular carcinoma," said Markus Warmuth, M.D., President and CEO of H3 Biomedicine. "We feel this new research continues to underscore our commitment to FGFR4 inhibition as a novel treatment approach in this therapeutic area and we look forward to advancing this program."

The data were recently presented at the International Liver Cancer Association annual meeting held in Seoul, Republic of Korea.

The publication reports that an oral dosing of H3B-6527 in mice led to dose-dependent pharmacodynamic modulation of FGFR4 signaling and tumor regression in FGF19 altered HCC xenograft models. These data served as proof-of-concept for the approach and led to the clinical introduction of H3B-6527.

The data published in Cancer Research show promising pre-clinical activity of H3B-6527 in hepatocellular carincoma models," said Pete Smith, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, H3 Biomedicine. "H3B-6527 is currently in a Phase I clinical trial and we look forward to discussing the progress of the trial in the coming months."

About H3B-6527
H3B-6527 is a selective, orally bioavailable, and potent inhibitor of fibroblast growth factor receptor 4 (FGFR4) that is being investigated for the treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Aberrant signaling through the FGF19-FGFR4 axis has been shown to drive tumor development and dependency in pre-clinical models of HCC. H3B-6527 has shown sustained tumor regressions in several preclinical models of HCC where FGF19-FGFR4 signaling is aberrantly activated. The safety and preliminary efficacy of H3B-6527 will be explored in patients that are selected using a companion diagnostic that identifies HCC with activated FGF19-FGFR4 pathway activity. H3B-6527 is currently in Phase 1 clinical trials. For more information on the clinical trial, please click here.

On December 15, 2017 Cancer Research UK reported the signing of a five-year drug-discovery collaboration between its subsidiary, Cancer Research Technology (CRT), and Celgene Corporation, to discover, develop and commercialise new anti-cancer treatments (Press release, Cancer Research Technology, DEC 15, 2017, View Source [SID1234523153]).

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This arrangement represents an expansion of Cancer Research Technology’s theme-based translational model that now encompasses six industry partnerships, including this new collaboration with Celgene.

The collaboration is centred on mRNA translation, the cellular process of assembling proteins, which is a promising area of research with the potential to produce treatments that can target a fundamental characteristic of cancer cells.

Dr Iain Foulkes, Cancer Research Technology’s CEO, said: "This bold and exciting collaboration between one of industry’s leading innovators, Celgene, and CRT is part of our theme-based drug discovery approach and helps leverage our understanding of cancer biology and the needs of patients to drive the most promising discoveries into the clinic.

"This is our largest drug discovery collaboration to date and represents a major endorsement of the reputation and scale of our capacity and expertise in both drug discovery and clinical development by a leading industry partner."

Cancer Research Technology will lead drug discovery R&D activity and can progress clinical candidates through phase one trials.

Under the terms of the agreement*, Celgene will pay an upfront fee to Cancer Research Technology, and have the option to secure US rights to projects resulting from the collaboration, subject to the payment of additional option fees. Celgene will also have the option to secure Global rights to such projects at the end of phase one clinical trials, subject to the payment of additional option fees.

Cancer Research Technology can receive downstream royalties and development milestones from licensed programs.

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

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