Moleculin Receives Approval for Leukemia Clinical Trial

On June 20, 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 has received Polish National Office approval to begin its second Phase I/II clinical trial to study Annamycin for the treatment of relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia ("AML") (Press release, Moleculin, JUN 20, 2018, View Source [SID1234527406]).

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"This approval is a significant step forward to be able to treat additional patients with AML and to generate positive clinical data regarding Annamycin," commented Walter Klemp, Chairman and CEO of Moleculin. "Consent from the Polish National Office was the final step required to allow us to begin recruiting patients for this important trial. Enrollment will begin immediately and we expect patients to commence receiving treatment, at the appropriate dose, in this clinical trial during the second half of this year."

NewLink Genetics Announces Updated Data for Indoximod Plus Radio-Immunotherapy in DIPG to be Presented at ISPNO 2018 Meeting

On June 20, 2018 NewLink Genetics Corporation (NASDAQ:NLNK) reported that updated data for patients with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) from NLG2105, a Phase 1 study evaluating indoximod in combination with radiation and chemotherapy for the treatment of pediatric patients with progressive brain tumors, will be presented at the International Symposium on Pediatric Neuro-Oncology (ISPNO) in Denver, Colorado (Press release, NewLink Genetics, JUN 20, 2018, View Source [SID1234527407]). The presentation session and time are noted below.

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Poster Session 1: IMMU-25 – Radio-immunotherapy using the IDO pathway inhibitor indoximod for children with newly-diagnosed DIPG, to be presented by Theodore S. Johnson, M.D., Ph.D., Georgia Cancer Center, Augusta University, Sunday, July 1, 5:00PM – 6:30PM MT, Hyatt Regency Denver

About Indoximod
Indoximod is an investigational, orally available small molecule targeting the IDO pathway. The IDO pathway is a key immuno-oncology target involved in regulating the tumor microenvironment and immune escape. Indoximod is being evaluated in combination with treatment regimens including chemotherapy, radiation, checkpoint blockade and cancer vaccines across multiple indications such as AML, DIPG and melanoma.

OncBioMune to Commence Phase 2 Trial of ProscaVax for Early Stage Prostate Cancer Patients

On June 20, 2018 OncBioMune Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTCQB:OBMP) ("OncBioMune" or the "Company"), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company engaged in the development of a proprietary immunotherapy cancer vaccine technology and targeted cancer therapies, reported to inform shareholders that all requisite approvals have been granted to commence a Phase 2 clinical trial of ProscaVax for early-stage prostate cancer to be hosted at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center a teaching hospital of Harvard University Medical School in Boston, MA (Press release, Oncbiomune, JUN 20, 2018, View Source [SID1234527408]).

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ProscaVax is OncBioMune’s lead immunotherapy platform candidate consisting of a combination of prostate cancer associated prostate specific antigen (PSA) with the biological adjuvants interleukin-2 (IL-2) and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF).

Per the study protocol, patients to be enrolled will be in what is termed "active surveillance," a disease management option for patients with localized prostate cancer that elect to work with their doctor to monitor the disease for progression before taking more drastic intervention measures, such as surgery or radiotherapy. To the Company’s knowledge, the trial of ProscaVax is the first ever worldwide for a prostate cancer vaccine technology addressing the active surveillance patient population.

"We are making the final preparations to initiate enrollment, including planned site visits," commented Dr. Jonathan Head, Chief Executive Officer at OncBioMune. "Underscored by the compelling data derived from the successfully completed Phase 1a clinical trial and our other research, we are eager to proceed with this study. Our goal is simple: to provide a safe, nontoxic. front-line therapy for prostate cancer patients that are otherwise left with either no therapy or with much more invasive options that typically have very unpleasant side effects, such as impotence or urinary incontinence. I’d like to express my gratitude for all the shareholders that have supported us throughout the process to advance our company to this next stage of ProscaVax development. I believe there is a bright future ahead of us."

Concurrent with the Phase 2 trial of patients in active surveillance, the Company is undergoing the approval process to initiate a Phase 2 trial of ProscaVax in hormone-naïve recurrent prostate cancer patients with increasing PSA at theUrology Clinics of North Texas. More updates on the status of this study are expected soon.

About Prostate Cancer

According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer in men other than skin cancer, with about 1 in 9 men diagnosed during their lifetime. ACS estimates that about 164,690 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed during 2018 and approximately 29,430 men will die from the disease this year. Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in men, trailing only lung cancer. Approximately 2.9 million men are living with prostate cancer today. The average age of diagnosis is 66, with the disease considered rare in men under the age of 40.

AIVITA Biomedical Announces U.S. Food and Drug Administration Clearance of IND for Phase II Glioblastoma Multiforme Trial

On June 20, 2018 AIVITA Biomedical, a biotech company specializing in innovative stem cell applications, reported the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared its Investigational New Drug (IND) application for a Phase II clinical trial investigating the Company’s ROOT OF CANCER technology in patients with glioblastoma multiforme (Press release, AIVITA Biomedical, JUN 20, 2018, View Source [SID1234527425]). This will be the third investigation of AIVITA’s platform cancer immunotherapy, which is currently the subject of a Phase II clinical trial in ovarian cancer in the USA, and a commercialization effort in melanoma in Japan.

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AIVITA’s single-arm, open-label trial calls for approximately 55 patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme to be enrolled with the intent to receive the Company’s ROOT OF CANCER treatment. The treatment consists of the patient’s own dendritic cells loaded with tumor antigens from the patient’s own tumor-initiating cells. The treatment will be administered in a series of injections along with standard care, which may include surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, as well as checkpoint inhibitors should they eventually be approved as standard care.

"We are delighted with this opportunity to help glioblastoma multiforme patients, who face the most aggressive form of brain cancer," said Dr. Hans Keirstead, AIVITA’s Chief Executive Officer. "This approval reflects the platform nature, the safety and the manufacturing efficiency of our novel technology."

The University of California, Irvine will be the study’s first site, with additional sites to follow.

About Glioblastoma Multiforme

Glioblastoma Multiforme is the most aggressive and most common form of malignant brain tumor. Median survival is only nine months, rising to 15–16 months for those receiving standard of care surgery and adjuvant chemoradiation.1 The cause of most cases is unclear. The National Cancer Institute estimates there will be 23,880 new cases of brain and nervous system cancer in 2018.

[1] Bi, Wenya Linda, and Rameen Beroukhim. "Beating the Odds: Extreme Long-Term Survival with Glioblastoma." Neuro-Oncology 16.9 (2014): 1159–1160. PMC. Web. 18 June 2018.
About the ROOT OF CANCER GBM trial

AIVITA’s treatment is a platform technology applicable to most solid tumor types and consists of autologous dendritic cells loaded with autologous tumor antigens from autologous self-renewing tumor-initiating cells.

Patients eligible for treatment will be those (1) who have recovered from surgery such that they are about to begin concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy (CT/RT), (2) for whom an autologous tumor cell line has been established, (3) have a KPS of > 70, and (4) have undergone successful leukapheresis from which peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were obtained that can be used to generate dendritic cells (DC).

For additional information about AIVITA’s AV-GBM-1 trial please visit: View Source

eidos therapeutics announces pricing of initial public offering

On June 19, 2018 Eidos Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: EIDX), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on addressing the large and growing unmet need in diseases caused by transthyretin (TTR) amyloidosis (ATTR), reported the pricing of its initial public offering of 6,250,000 shares of common stock at a public offering price of $17.00 per share (Press release, Eidos Therapeutics, JUN 19, 2018, View Source [SID1234576277]). All of the shares are being offered by Eidos. The shares are expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on June 20, 2018 under the ticker symbol "EIDX." The gross proceeds from the offering, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses payable by Eidos, are expected to be approximately $106.3 million. The offering is expected to close on June 22, 2018, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. In addition, Eidos has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 937,500 shares of common stock at the initial public offering price.

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J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and BofA Merrill Lynch are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering. Barclays Capital Inc. is also participating as a joint book-running manager.

A registration statement relating to these securities was declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 19, 2018. The offering will be made only by means of a prospectus, copies of which may be obtained from J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Attention: Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, telephone: (866) 803-9204, or by emailing [email protected]; BofA Merrill Lynch, NC1-004-03-43, 200 North College Street, 3rd Floor, Charlotte, NC 28255-0001, Attention: Prospectus Department, or by emailing [email protected]; or Barclays Capital Inc., c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, Attn: Prospectus Department, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, telephone: (888) 603-5847 or by emailing [email protected].

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.