On January 23, 2018 Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) reported that it will report its fourth quarter and full year 2017 financial and operating results on Thursday, February 8, 2018, before the U.S. financial markets open (Press release, Regeneron, JAN 23, 2018, View Source [SID1234523493]). The Company will host a conference call and simultaneous webcast at 8:30 AM Eastern Time that day.

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Conference Call Information
To access this call, dial (800) 708-4539 (U.S.) or (847) 619-6396 (International). A link to the webcast may be accessed from the ‘Events and Presentations’ page of Regeneron’s website at www.regeneron.com. A replay of the conference call and webcast will be archived on the Company’s website and will be available for 30 days.

On January 23, 2018 Sanofi reported that its Pre-Quarterly Results Communication document is available on the "Investors" page of the company’s corporate website (Press release, Sanofi, JAN 23, 2018, View Source [SID1234523494]):

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View Source

As for each quarter, Sanofi prepared this document to assist in the financial modeling of the Group’s quarterly results. This document includes a reminder on various non-comparable items and exclusivity losses as well as the foreign currency impact and share count. Sanofi’s fourth quarter results will be published on February 7, 2018.

On January 23, 2018 Tmunity Therapeutics, Inc., a private clinical-stage biotherapeutics company focused on saving and improving lives by delivering the full potential of next-generation T cell immunotherapy, reported the closing of a $100 million Series A financing (Press release, Tmunity Therapeutics, JAN 23, 2018, View Source [SID1234523496]). Syndicate investors, which include Ping An Ventures, Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Gilead Sciences, Inc. and Be The Match BioTherapies, join seed round investors, the University of Pennsylvania and Lilly Asia Ventures. Tmunity is developing a diversified portfolio of novel treatments that exhibit best-in-class control over T cell activation and direction in the body. The proceeds from the Series A will be used to advance and expand the business and operational structure of Tmunity to support the rapid translation, development and manufacture of its portfolio of novel T cell based immunotherapies, first for the treatment of cancer.

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"Tmunity was created to integrate and advance proprietary, novel approaches to cell and gene therapies and we have pursued an equally unique approach to the selection of our visionary funding partners," said Usman "Oz" Azam, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Tmunity. "Our mix of investors brings together global leaders in healthcare services and biopharmaceuticals in Ping An Ventures and Gilead, the visionary philanthropy of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, and Be The Match BioTherapies. Together, they share a common passion to work together to drive the next-generation of personalized therapies for patients. We appreciate their confidence in – and vision for – Tmunity to deliver on that potential. This is a very exciting time for us."

Pursuing Integrated Approaches to Engineered T Cell Therapies Leveraging Proprietary and External Technologies and Scientific Insight from the University of Pennsylvania

Tmunity was founded on an exclusive collaboration and license agreement with the University of Pennsylvania, offering proprietary technologies and unparalleled expertise in first-in-patient cell and gene therapies of its scientific founders, led by Carl H. June, M.D. Today, Tmunity is uniquely positioned to integrate the best technologies and pursue multiple approaches to engineered T cell therapies simultaneously in order to advance treatments into the clinic rapidly, optimize and scale manufacturing, pursue regulatory approvals aggressively, and thus deliver them effectively to patients.

"Tmunity is unlike any other cell-based immunotherapy ‘start-up’ because of the unrivaled expertise of its scientific founders and leadership team in cell and gene therapy and its proven translational and manufacturing success in T cell medicine," said Jiang Zhang, Managing Partner of Ping An Ventures. "We were also attracted to the global potential of the pipeline, especially the T cell therapies in oncology in China, as well as the scope beyond oncology into autoimmune and infectious diseases, as we begin to expand our investment portfolio."

About Series A Round Investors

Ping An Ventures

Ping An Ventures is the direct investment arm under Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd., one of the largest and most valuable financial service conglomerates in the world, ranked No. 39 on the Global Fortune 500. Ping An Ventures invests in healthcare industry in all stages with a specific focus on both growth-stage and PIPE investment. With multi-billion dollars asset under management in multiple funds, the investment team has invested in over 50 companies globally, covering all sectors in healthcare: Biotech, Diagnostics, Medical Device, Services, Healthcare IT, etc. The investment team includes many industry and financial veterans, and commits to discovering and helping fast-growing and leading healthcare companies in their sectors. For more information, visit www.pinganventures.com.

Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy

The Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy brings together the best scientists, clinicians and industry partners to build a smarter and more coordinated cancer immunotherapy research effort. The Parker Institute is an unprecedented collaboration between the country’s leading immunologists and cancer centers. The program started by providing institutional support to six academic centers, including Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Stanford Medicine, the University of California, Los Angeles, the University of California, San Francisco, the University of Pennsylvania and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Recently, the institute also initiated programmatic support for top immunotherapy investigators, including a group of researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Robert Schreiber, Ph.D., of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Nina Bhardwaj, M.D., Ph.D., of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Phil Greenberg, M.D., of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. The Parker Institute network also includes more than 40 industry collaborations, more than 60 labs and more than 300 of the nation’s top researchers focused on treating the deadliest cancers. The goal is to accelerate the development of breakthrough immune therapies capable of turning most cancers into curable diseases. The institute was created through a $250 million grant from The Parker Foundation. For more information, visit www.parkerici.org.

Gilead Sciences

Gilead Sciences is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and commercializes innovative therapeutics in areas of unmet medical need. The company’s mission is to advance the care of patients suffering from life-threatening diseases. Gilead has operations in more than 30 countries worldwide, with headquarters in Foster City, California. For more information, visit www.gilead.com.

Be The Match

Be The Match BioTherapies partners with organizations pursuing life-saving cellular therapies in every stage of development – from discovery through commercialization. The organization is built on the foundation established over the last 30 years by the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP)/Be The Match, with unparalleled experience managing cellular therapies. Be The Match BioTherapies offers customizable solutions, such as cell therapy supply chain delivery for autologous or allogeneic therapies, enabled by high-touch, personalized case management and a robust, customizable technology platform, MatchSourceSM. Experience in cell sourcing and collection allows Be The Match BioTherapies to provide cells consented for research, clinical or commercial use. Researchers have access to clinical trial services through a partnership with the CIBMTR (Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research). In addition, Be The Match BioTherapies has the infrastructure in place to collect, store and analyze patient samples post-cell or gene therapy treatment at the time points required by regulatory authorities. For more information, visit BeTheMatchBioTherapies.com.

On January 24, 2018 Novartis CEO Joe Jimenez reported fourth quarter and full year 2017 results (Press release, Novartis, JAN 23, 2018, View Source [SID1234523565]). In his remarks Jimenez said: "It was a landmark year for innovation resulting in a rich late-stage pipeline. With several key launches on the horizon and our new operating model in place, Novartis is poised for sustainable growth."

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Vas Narasimhan, designated CEO from February 1, commented: "I want to thank Joe and the Board for their leadership and guidance as I transition to my new role. I feel privileged to lead Novartis at this exciting time."

On January 23, 2018 Skyhawk Therapeutics, Inc. ("Skyhawk"), a new private company focused on the discovery and development of small molecule therapeutics that correct RNA expression, reported the close of $8 million in seed funding led by major family and biotech investors, including Tim Disney, the Duke of Bedford, Alexandria Venture Investments, and other undisclosed private investors (Press release, Skyhawk Therapeutics, JAN 23, 2018, https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/skyhawk-therapeutics-launches-with-8-million-in-seed-financing-to-advance-its-novel-platform-and-portfolio-of-small-molecules-that-correct-rna-expression-300586378.html [SID1234551690]). Proceeds of the financing will advance Skyhawk’s portfolio of specific and selective small molecules that initially target RNA exon skipping, which drives a set of 50+ diseases that include both broad-based neurological conditions and previously "undruggable" oncogenes in cancer.

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"We are pleased be working with leading investors to advance our mission of revolutionizing disease treatment with small molecules that correct RNA expression," said founding investor and executive chairman of Skyhawk’s board of directors, Bill Haney. "The Skyhawk team has spent the last 12 months building an expansive intellectual property base covering its unique drug discovery tools and small molecule library portfolio. The company’s first drug candidate targets a set of exon-skipping-driven cancer indications, and we are focusing our energy on driving it into the clinic in 2019."

Initially, Skyhawk is targeting diseases driven by a type of RNA mis-splicing called "exon skipping," where key regions on the RNA are left out during the RNA splicing process. Skyhawk’s proprietary technology enables the rational design of small molecules that target specific binding pocket regions on RNA, using both sequence and structural specificity, at particular moments in the RNA splicing process. By doing so, they reverse the mis-splicing and treat the disease.

"The ability to use small molecule therapeutics to selectively target RNA and correct RNA expression is potentially transformative," said Catherine Nuccio of Alexandria Venture Investments. "The technology has now moved beyond proof of concept and is applicable in a range of diseases for the benefit of a broad base of patients. We are excited to seed and support the team that helped to develop the initial technology and its mechanisms."

There are 50+ known diseases driven by exon skipping, from broad based neurological conditions to major cancers, and hundreds more driven by similar forms of RNA mis-expression.

Skyhawk Founders and Board of Directors
Skyhawk founders and founding board of directors include:

William Haney, Skyhawk co-founder and executive chairman of the Skyhawk board of directors, and co-founder and CEO of Dragonfly Therapeutics. Bill is currently CEO of Dragonfly Therapeutics, a Boston-based biotech that develops novel first-in-class therapeutics targeted at natural killer (NK) cells and other cells of the innate immune system. He is an investor and entrepreneur, having started or helped start more than a dozen technology companies.
Kathleen McCarthy, Skyhawk co-founder and CEO. Kathleen is a leading expert in developing small molecules to target RNA splicing. As a pre-clinical scientist at the Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) Foundation in New York and at Roche in Basel, Switzerland, Kathleen helped bring the first-ever small molecule therapeutic targeting mRNA-protein interactions to clinical trials in SMA. She is a co-inventor and co-author on numerous patents and publications describing small molecules that specifically and selectively target RNA expression.
Kevin Koch, Skyhawk founding board member, venture partner with OrbiMed Advisors, LLC and President and CEO of Edgewise Therapeutics. Dr. Koch was formerly SVP of Drug Discovery: Chemical and Molecular Therapeutics at Biogen, where he managed global drug discovery and immunology. He was the co-founder of Array BioPharma, where he oversaw the invention of over 20 clinical development candidates, and has held senior positions at Amgen Inc. and Pfizer Central Research.
Andrew Boyd, Skyhawk founding board member and Fidelity Head of Global Equity Capital Markets. Andrew is head of Global Equity Capital Markets at Fidelity Management & Research Company, where he leads the private equity investments across the Fidelity funds. In this role he has been at the forefront of technology development, and has been a leading investor in firms such as Uber, Snapchat and SpaceX.
Andrew Bedford, Skyhawk founding board member, technology investor and Duke of Bedford, England. Andrew currently manages a broad portfolio of London properties, and, as the 15th Duke of Bedford, England, serves as a British nobleman and peer. He is an investor and board member in numerous companies with 30+ years’ experience in international real estate and technology.
Skyhawk Founding Scientific Advisory Board
Skyhawk’s founding scientific advisory board (SAB) is comprised of scientists with expertise in RNA-based disease and neurological conditions, mechanisms of RNA splicing, alternative splicing regulation in cancer, DNA replication and RNA structural biology. Members include:

Friedrich Metzger, founding chairman of the Skyhawk scientific advisory board and former Head of Discovery Rare Diseases at Roche. Dr. Metzger is a leading scientist in RNA-based disease and neurological conditions. At Roche, Dr. Metzger spent 15 years running drug discovery programs for Alzheimer’s, ALS, Parkinson’s, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). He is the senior author on the Science and Nature papers describing the first small molecules that could specifically and selectively target RNA expression.
Jacqueline A. Lees, founding member of the Skyhawk scientific advisory board, Associate Director of the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, and Professor of Biology at MIT. Dr. Lees is a leading scientist in cancer cell cycle regulation and alternative splicing regulation in cancer. Her research focuses on metastasis and personalized medicine, and the genetic causes of cancer.
Adrian Krainer, founding member of the Skyhawk scientific advisory board, member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, and Professor at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Dr. Krainer is a world expert on the role of mRNA splicing proteins in cancer, and neurological and rare diseases. His lab is leading the understanding of mechanisms of RNA splicing, and the means by which faulty splicing can be corrected.
Steven Bell, founding member of the Skyhawk scientific advisory board, Investigator at Howard Hughes Medical Institute, member of the National Academy of Sciences, and Professor of Biology at MIT. Dr. Bell is a leading scientist in the study of DNA replication, with an emphasis on how assembly of enzymes is regulated during the cell cycle to ensure genomic maintenance.
Frédéric Allain, founding member of the Skyhawk scientific advisory board and Professor/Head of the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biophysics at ETH, Zurich, Switzerland. Dr. Allain is a leading scientist in the role of RNA in disease and the use of NMR technology to elucidate the structure of protein RNA complexes. He and his team are expert in the use of biophysical tools to study protein RNA interactions and mRNA splicing regulation, with a focus on the segment of genetic diseases that originate from post-transcriptional misregulation of gene expression often caused by splicing, RNA editing or translation defects.
"Skyhawk’s founding team has unique depth of experience in this growing area of small molecule therapeutic development." said Tim Disney, founding investor in Skyhawk. "To support their mission we put together a long-term, science-focused group of investors, who share their humility in the face of this great opportunity, and a strong interest on getting drugs to patients, quickly."