On December 6, 2018 Moleculin Biotech, Inc., (Nasdaq: MBRX) ("Moleculin" or the "Company"), a clinical stage pharmaceutical company focused on the development of oncology drug candidates, all of which are based on license agreements with The University of Texas System on behalf of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, reported it will host a conference call to discuss the recent discovery of a use of one its molecule for cancer treatment and provide a business update (Press release, Moleculin, DEC 6, 2018, View Source [SID1234531947]). The call will be at 4:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, December 12, 2018.

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Participants can dial (800) 860-2442 or (412) 858-4600 to access the conference call, or can listen via a live Internet web cast, which is available in the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website at www.moleculin.com. A webcast replay will be available in the Investors section of the Company’s website at www.moleculin.com for 90 days. A teleconference replay will be available at (877) 344-7529 or (412) 317-0088, confirmation code 10126965, through December 19, 2018.

On December 6, 2018 Novocure (NASDAQ:NVCR) reported that the results of a retrospective post-hoc sub-group analysis of its EF-14 phase 3 pivotal trial in newly diagnosed glioblastoma (GBM) have been published in the Journal of Neuro-Oncology (Press release, NovoCure, DEC 6, 2018, View Source [SID1234531931]). The analysis demonstrated that more time on Optune predicted increased survival in patients who received Optune plus temozolomide compared to patients who received temozolomide alone. Optune is a noninvasive, portable medical device that delivers Tumor Treating Fields to people with GBM. Tumor Treating Fields is a cancer therapy that uses electric fields tuned to specific frequencies to disrupt cell division, inhibiting tumor growth and causing certain cancer cells to die.

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"The total amount of time the device is worn, also known as monthly Optune usage – or treatment compliance – matters greatly for patients with GBM, one of the most aggressive forms of cancer," said Steven A. Toms, MD, Professor of Neurosurgery and Medicine, and Vice Chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at Lifespan Health System, and the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, and author of the article. "Optune plus temozolomide has proven to provide long-term quality survival to patients with newly diagnosed GBM. Therefore, the importance of monthly Optune usage should be reinforced with patients by their health care providers."

Data from this sub-group analysis demonstrated that patients using Optune 50 percent or more of the time had a survival benefit compared to those who used temozolomide alone (n=388/450, OS HR 0.67, 95% CI 0.45–0.99). Patients who used Optune more than 90 percent of the time experienced a median overall survival of 24.9 months (n=43; OS HR 0.52, 95 percent CI 0.35–0.79) and a predicted 5-year survival rate of 29.3 percent versus a median overall survival of 16.0 months and a predicted 5-year survival rate of 4.5 percent for patients who used temozolomide alone. Monthly usage was a predictor of survival, independent of other prognostic factors such as Karnofsky Performance Status, age or MGMT methylation status.

Novocure’s phase 3 pivotal EF-14 trial compared Optune in combination with temozolomide to temozolomide alone in a total of 695 patients with newly diagnosed GBM. The trial was designed to test both progression free survival and overall survival. The trial demonstrated unprecedented five-year survival results in newly diagnosed GBM for those patients treated with Optune in combination with temozolomide. Those patients experienced an extension of overall survival without added systemic toxicity compared to patients treated with temozolomide alone. The data also showed that Optune-treated patients were able to maintain their mental, emotional and physical well-being longer than those treated with temozolomide alone, as measured for up to one year.

On December 6, 2018 Aeglea BioTherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: AGLE), a clinical-stage biotechnology company reported that designs and develops innovative human enzyme therapeutics for patients with rare genetic diseases and cancer, will participate in a fireside chat at the BMO Capital Markets 2018 Prescription for Success Healthcare Conference in New York, NY on Wednesday, December 12 (Press release, Aeglea BioTherapeutics, DEC 6, 2018, View Source [SID1234531948]).

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Presentation Details
Date: Wednesday, December 12, 2018
Time: 3:40 p.m. ET
Location: Mandarin Oriental New York Hotel, New York City
Room: North Salon II
Webcast: View Source

To access the live and archived audio webcast of the fireside chat, visit the Presentations & Events section of the Aeglea BioTherapeutics investor relations website. Please connect to the website at least 15 minutes prior to the presentation to allow for any software download that may be necessary. Replays of the webcast will be available for 30 days thereafter.

On December 6, 2018 Neon Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: NTGN), a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company developing neoantigen-based therapeutics, and Apexigen, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, reported that patient dosing has begun in NT-003, Neon’s Phase 1b combination trial of NEO-PV-01 in metastatic melanoma (Press release, Apexigen, DEC 6, 2018, View Source [SID1234591000]). NEO-PV-01 is a personal neoantigen vaccine custom-designed and manufactured based on the unique mutational fingerprint of each individual patient.

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The Phase 1b trial is evaluating NEO-PV-01 and nivolumab in combination with other agents in first-line patients with advanced or metastatic melanoma. One arm of the multi-arm study will evaluate the vaccine and nivolumab in combination with Apexigen’s APX005M, an investigational CD40 agonist. Another will evaluate NEO-PV-01 and nivolumab in combination with ipilimumab.

"We believe that there is very strong scientific rationale for treating patients with these additional agents as they may enhance neoantigen immune responses induced by NEO-PV-01 with the potential to drive additional clinical benefit," said Richard Gaynor, M.D., President of Research and Development at Neon Therapeutics.

"CD40 agonists such as APX005M have been shown to enhance antigen presentation, resulting in improved magnitude and quality of T cell responses and we share the enthusiasm of the team at Neon to conduct this clinical trial," said Ovid Trifan, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer of Apexigen.

James P. Allison, Ph.D., a Nobel Prize winner, developer of the first FDA-approved checkpoint inhibitor (ipilimumab) and one of Neon’s founders, commented, "Both preclinical and clinical work have demonstrated that CTLA-4 antagonism enhances the priming of de novo immune responses and increases T cell infiltration into the tumor. These findings provide clear rationale for combining a checkpoint inhibitor such as ipilimumab with NEO-PV-01 to augment the immune response and potentially transform how we treat cancer."

About NT-003
NT-003 is a Phase 1b, open-label, multicenter clinical study of NEO-PV-01 with nivolumab, in combination either with APX005M or low dose ipilimumab, for the treatment of advanced or metastatic melanoma. APX005M or ipilimumab will only be dosed during the vaccination period.

More information regarding NT-003 can be found here.

On December 6, 2018 QIAGEN N.V. (NYSE: QGEN; Frankfurt Prime Standard: QIA) reported that a clinical development program is underway with Novartis to bring to market a molecular test as a companion diagnostic to guide the use of the investigational compound BYL719 (alpelisib) in combination with fulvestrant for men and postmenopausal women living with PIK3CA mutated hormone receptor positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 negative (HR+/HER2-) advanced or metastatic breast cancer (Press release, Qiagen, DEC 6, 2018, View Source [SID1234531932]).

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The Novartis drug candidate is in late-stage development, and QIAGEN expects to provide its companion diagnostic to clinical laboratory partners who will then be ready to offer immediate access to the test upon potential regulatory approvals of BYL719 and QIAGEN’s test.

Novartis has completed a Phase III clinical trial (SOLAR), testing BYL719 in combination with fulvestrant for patients with PIK3CA mutated HR+/HER2- advanced breast cancer.

QIAGEN’s companion diagnostic for PIK3CA mutations will provide a complete Sample to Insight workflow, from DNA extraction to detection of the clinically relevant mutations and final reporting. The test will be clinically validated for analysis of both FFPE tissue and liquid biopsy samples using plasma. The companion diagnostic will run on the Rotor-Gene Q MDx cycler, which is part of the modular QIAsymphony family of automation solutions, established in numerous pathology laboratories worldwide.