On February 15, 2017 MorphoSys AG (FSE: MOR; Prime Standard Segment, TecDAX; OTC: MPSYY) reported that it has added a second patent with US Patent Number 9,200,061 to its lawsuit against Janssen Biotech, and Genmab, A/S (Press release, MorphoSys, FEB 15, 2017, https://www.morphosys.com/media-investors/media-center/district-court-grants-morphosyss-request-to-add-second-patent-in [SID1234556345]). This patent claims methods of treating hematologic cancer associated with the undesired presence of CD38-positive cells by administering antibodies that bind to a specific region of the target molecule, CD38. In a hearing that took place on February 6, 2017 the District Court granted MorphoSys’s request to add the 9,200,061 patent to the case.

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On April 4, 2016 MorphoSys filed a lawsuit in the United States (U.S.) District Court of Delaware against Janssen Biotech, and Genmab, A/S for patent infringement of U.S. Patent Number 8,263,746.

By its complaint, MorphoSys seeks redress for infringement by Janssen’s and Genmab’s daratumumab, a CD38-directed monoclonal antibody indicated for the treatment of certain patients with multiple myeloma. Janssen Biotech obtained FDA approval on daratumumab and markets the product as Darzalex(R) in the U.S. and other countries. MorphoSys continues to develop MOR202, its own investigational human antibody to CD38, for the treatment of cancer, including multiple myeloma.

On February 15, 2017 Medtronic plc (NYSE: MDT) reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared an expanded indication for the OsteoCool(TM) RF Ablation System (Press release, Medtronic, FEB 15, 2017, View Source;p=RssLanding&cat=news&id=2246172 [SID1234517728]). Originally cleared for use in the spine, the FDA now allows the marketing of the OsteoCool System for palliative treatment of metastases in all bony anatomy – such as ribs, sacrum, extremities, and hip – in patients who have failed or are not candidates for standard therapy. The system uses targeted radiofrequency energy to ablate malignant metastatic bone tumors.

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"Patients with metastatic bone cancer may be treated with conventional therapies such as opioids, chemotherapy or radiation therapy for pain palliation," said Sandeep Bagla, M.D., an interventional radiologist with the Vascular Institute of Virginia in Woodbridge, Va. "With the expanded indication for the OsteoCool System, I now have the option to ablate these patients’ painful bone tumors when conventional therapies are considered ineffective, too slow-acting or cause unacceptable side effects."1

Metastatic bone disease has been reported to occur in 60-80 percent of cancer patients, most frequently among patients with primary malignancies of the breast, prostate, liver, and lung.2 More than 80 percent of bone metastases are found in the axial skeleton, which includes the skull, spine, and ribs.3
"Our Pain Therapies business is deeply rooted in the Medtronic Mission – which calls us to alleviate pain,"said Jeff Cambra, general manager of the Pain Therapies Interventional business, which is part of the Restorative Therapies Group at Medtronic. "With this expanded indication, we put an important treatment option into the hands of physicians so that they can help more patients suffering from debilitating pain."
Medtronic acquired the OsteoCool technology and associated intellectual property from Baylis Medical on December 16, 2015 and partnered with the company to further innovate the system.
"We’re pleased to broaden our partnership with Medtronic to improve the treatment of patients suffering from painful metastases," said Kris Shah, president of Baylis Medical. "The expansion of the OsteoCool System to include the ablation of malignant lesions in bone adds to our company’s track record of offering innovative clinical solutions and further enhancing patient access and treatment options."
The OsteoCool system is the only cooled radiofrequency (RF) ablation technology that offers simultaneous, dual-probe capabilities – providing for procedural flexibility and predictable, customized treatment. The system is temperature controlled and uses internally water-cooled probes to prevent overheating of surrounding tissue during the procedure.
The device also has a CE mark for the ablation of benign bone tumors such as osteoid osteoma and palliative treatment of metastatic malignant lesions involving bone, including the vertebral body. This indication is not available in the United States.

On February 15, 2017 Cytori Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CYTX) reported it has completed its acquisition of assets of privately held Azaya Therapeutics, Inc., a leader in the research, development and manufacturing of nanoparticle therapeutics (the "Acquisition"). The Acquisition provides Cytori with a proprietary liposomal nanoparticle technology platform that is intended to complement Cytori’s leadership position in regenerative medicine and expand its pipeline with two promising nanoparticle oncology drugs.

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"This acquisition is a very important step in the development of Cytori," said Dr. Marc Hedrick, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cytori. "The Acquisition provides Cytori both a near term opportunity to seek regulatory approval in Europe for the acquired ATI-0918 drug candidate, a generic form of nanoparticle encapsulated doxorubicin, with the goal of launching it in Europe as early as 2019, and bolsters Cytori’s early and intermediate stage pipeline with new drug candidates in regenerative medicine and oncology".

Cytori plans to develop nanoparticle-based therapeutics under the name Cytori Nanomedicine in the areas of oncology and regenerative medicine. In addition to ATI-0918, the generic nanoparticle encapsulated doxorubicin, Cytori has added the clinical stage ATI-1123 drug candidate, a protein-stabilized nanoparticle formulation of docetaxel and a preclinical stage regenerative medicine drug candidate for scleroderma.

On February 14, 2017 Incyte Corporation (Nasdaq:INCY) and Agenus Inc. (Nasdaq:AGEN) reported that the companies have amended the License, Development and Commercialization Agreement that was originally entered into January 9, 2015 (Press release, Incyte, FEB 14, 2017, View Source [SID1234517737]). The amended agreement converts the ongoing GITR and OX40 antibody programs from co-funded development and profit-sharing arrangements to royalty-bearing programs, with Incyte now responsible for funding and conducting global development and commercialization. Should candidates from either of these two programs be approved, Agenus would now become eligible to receive 15 percent royalties on global net sales of each approved product.

The ongoing TIM-3 and LAG-3 antibody programs remain royalty-bearing programs, at tiered rates of 6 to 12 percent, with Incyte retaining exclusive world-wide clinical development and commercial responsibilities.

Pursuant to the amended agreement, Agenus will receive today accelerated milestone payments of $20 million from Incyte related to the clinical development of INCAGN1876 (anti-GITR agonist) and INCAGN1949 (anti-OX40 agonist). Across all programs in the collaboration, Agenus will now be eligible to receive up to a total of $510 million in future potential development, regulatory and commercial milestones.

The parties have also entered into a separate Stock Purchase agreement whereby Incyte will purchase 10 million shares of Agenus common stock today at $6 per share.

"The antibody discovery collaboration between Incyte and Agenus has progressed well and has already resulted in two programs in clinical trials. We look forward to further developing our GITR and OX40 antibody programs, and exploring immunotherapy combinations with these compounds and other agents in the near future," said Hervé Hoppenot, CEO of Incyte.

"We believe the amended agreement will help streamline the development of our collaboration portfolio, provide the opportunity to prioritize our other internal programs towards rapid commercialization and help foster the development of our portfolio of novel I-O programs," said Garo Armen, Ph.D., Chairman and CEO of Agenus. "The revised agreement will also strengthen Agenus’ balance sheet and reduce cash burn."

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On February 14, 2017 Genomic Health, Inc. (Nasdaq: GHDX) reported financial results and business progress for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2016 (Press release, Genomic Health, FEB 14, 2017, View Source [SID1234517742]).

Total revenue was $327.9 million in the full year 2016, compared with $287.5 million in 2015, an increase of 14 percent.

U.S. product revenue was $280.1 million in the full year 2016, compared with $246.0 million in 2015, an increase of 14 percent. Prostate test revenue in the U.S. was $10.8 million and contributed to approximately 3 percent of total product revenue growth in the year.

International revenue for the full year 2016 was $46.8 million compared with $41.5 million in 2015, an increase of 13 percent, and an increase of 15 percent on a constant currency basis.i

"In 2016, we delivered double-digit revenue and test growth for the year, and achieved profitability in the fourth quarter," said Kim Popovits, chairman of the board, chief executive officer and president of Genomic Health. "With substantial opportunity for growth in our global breast and U.S. prostate business and leverage of our unique commercial channel with the planned launch this year of Oncotype DX AR-V7 Nucleus Detect, we expect to continue to deliver long-term revenue growth with improved profitability."

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Operating loss was $15.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2016, compared with an operating loss of $34.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2015. Net loss was $13.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2016, compared with a net loss of $33.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2015.

Basic and diluted net loss per share was $0.42 for the year ended December 31, 2016, compared with a basic and diluted net loss per share of $1.03 for the year ended December 31, 2015.

More than 118,570 Oncotype test results were delivered for the year ended December 31, 2016, an increase of 11 percent, compared with more than 107,030 test results delivered in 2015. Oncotype DX breast cancer tests delivered in the U.S. grew 7 percent in the full year, compared to the prior year. Oncotype DX Genomic Prostate Score tests delivered in the U.S. grew 16 percent in the full year, including 29 percent in the fourth quarter, and represented approximately 8 percent of total test volume in 2016. International tests delivered grew 23 percent in the full year compared to the prior year and represented approximately 24 percent of total test volume in 2016.

Additional Fourth Quarter 2016 Financial Results

Total revenue was $82.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2016, compared with $75.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2015, an increase of 10 percent.

U.S. product revenue was $70.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2016, an increase of 9 percent, compared with $64.5 million in the same period in the prior year. Prostate test revenue in the U.S. of $3.6 million contributed to approximately 4 percent of the year-over-year growth.

International product revenue was $12.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2016, compared with $10.6 million a year ago, an increase of 13 percent, and an increase of 16 percent on a constant currency basis.i

In the fourth quarter of 2016, more than 30,020 Oncotype test results were delivered, an increase of 8 percent, compared with more than 27,730 test results delivered in the same period in 2015.

Operating income for the fourth quarter of 2016 was $1.5 million, compared with an operating loss of $3.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2015. Net income was $1.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2016 compared with a net loss of $2.7 million for the fourth quarter of 2015.

Basic and diluted net income per share was $0.04 for the fourth quarter of 2016 compared with basic and diluted net loss per share of $0.08 for the same period in 2015.

Cash and cash equivalents and short-term marketable securities at December 31, 2016 were $87.7 million excluding the fair value of the company’s investment in a marketable security of $9.3 million, compared with $76.8 million at December 31, 2015 excluding the fair value of the company’s investment in a marketable security of $18.1 million.

2017 Financial Guidance

"In 2017 at the mid-point of revenue guidance, we expect to deliver 11 percent revenue growth and positive net income for the full year, which requires operating leverage of more than 40 percent," said Brad Cole, chief operating officer and chief financial officer of Genomic Health. "We anticipate that expected reimbursement progress in the second half of the year will contribute to accelerated revenue growth."

The company is providing the following financial guidance for the full year ending December 31, 2017:

· Total product revenue of between $355 to $370 million, representing growth of between 9 and 13 percent compared to 2016; and

· Positive net income at mid-point of revenue guidance.

Recent Business Highlights

Oncotype DX Commercial Progress

· The American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) incorporated the Oncotype DX Breast Recurrence Score in its recently published Eighth Edition AJCC Cancer Staging Manual. Representing a rigorous, multi-disciplinary assessment, the updated criteria identify Oncotype DX as the only multi-gene test with Level I evidence to be used by pathologists and clinicians for formal staging of breast cancer patients.

· Established additional coverage for the Oncotype DX Genomic Prostate Score, bringing the total number of U.S. covered lives to more than 65 million.

· Knappschaft, one of Germany’s largest public health insurance funds, began offering Oncotype DX to early-stage breast cancer patients through an exclusive agreement, bringing the total number of German private covered lives to nearly 9 million.

Presentations and Publications

· Received acceptance to present results from a large Oncotype DX Genomic Prostate Score validation study, conducted in collaboration with Kaiser Permanente Northern California, at the Genitourinary (GU) Cancers Symposium, the European Association of Urology (EAU) Congress and the American Urological Association (AUA) Annual Meeting. With these new data, Oncotype DX is the first and only genomic prostate test validated in all major short- and long-term endpoints, including adverse pathology, biochemical recurrence, metastasis and prostate cancer specific death.

· Investigators from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) and Epic Sciences Inc. published findings in European Urology demonstrating that only nuclear localization of the AR-V7 protein in circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patient blood samples is predictive of therapeutic benefit. Genomic Health expects to begin offering the Oncotype DX AR-V7 Nucleus Detect test this year.

· Presented results from multiple studies demonstrating the unparalleled value of the Oncotype DX test in individualizing breast cancer treatment decisions for patients with various stages of the disease at the 2016 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. Presentations included two overviews of prospective outcomes data and clinical evidence supporting use of the test in both node-positive and node-negative disease.

· The Journal of the National Cancer Institute published results of an NSABP-led study demonstrating the Oncotype DX Breast Recurrence Score is an independent predictor of locoregional recurrence risk in node-positive breast cancer patients treated with chemo-endocrine therapy.

· The Journal of the National Cancer Institute published results of an additional analysis from the second clinical validation study of the Oncotype DX DCIS Score demonstrating its ability to identify women with low risk of recurrence following surgery who can avoid radiation therapy.

· The European Journal of Surgical Oncology published a UK decision impact study of node-negative and node-positive breast cancer patients demonstrating the Oncotype DX Breast Recurrence Score significantly reduced the use of chemotherapy and can lead to significant cost savings for the National Health Service (NHS).

· Received acceptance to present four Oncotype DX studies at the upcoming Miami Breast Cancer Conference and 15 Oncotype DX studies at the upcoming St. Gallen Breast Cancer Conference in March.