On May 1, 2017 Heat Biologics, Inc. ("Heat") (NASDAQ: HTBX), a leader in the development of immunotherapies designed to activate a patient’s immune system against cancer, reported that the company has completed the acquisition of an 80% controlling interest in Pelican Therapeutics, Inc. ("Pelican") (Press release, Heat Biologics, MAY 1, 2017, View Source [SID1234518883]). Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Pelican is a privately held immuno-oncology company focused on developing agonists to TNFRSF25, a differentiated and potentially best-in-class T cell costimulatory receptor. Heat also announced its appointment of industry veteran and Pelican board member Rahul Jasuja, Ph.D., as new Chief Executive Officer of the Pelican subsidiary.

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"We are pleased to complete the acquisition of Pelican, to expand our reach within immuno-oncology," stated Jeff Wolf, Heat’s Founder and CEO. "Pelican’s two product candidates strengthen our portfolio in the emerging T cell activation space. Pelican’s T cell co-stimulator, PTX-25, in combination with Heat’s ImPACT/ComPACT platform, has the potential to dramatically improve the durability of responses by stimulating the production of ‘memory’ CD8+ T cells. The acquisition also brings a $15.2 million grant awarded by the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) to advance multiple products through preclinical development and at least one program through a 70 patient Phase 1 clinical trial."

"Furthermore, we are pleased to welcome Dr. Jasuja as new CEO of the Pelican subsidiary. As a board member, he made significant contributions advancing the business strategy and preclinical activities and we believe he is ideally suited to lead the new Pelican subsidiary moving forward."

Trieza Therapeutics is a new company developing immunomodulatory oncolytic viruses for the treatment of cancer (Company Web Page, MPM Capital, MAY 1, 2017, View Source [SID1234518761]). Founded as a spin-out from Potenza Therapeutics, Trieza has a portfolio containing multiple pre-clinical candidates.

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On May 1, 2017 ImmunoGen, Inc. (Nasdaq: IMGN), a leader in the expanding field of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) for the treatment of cancer, reported that the results from a Phase 1 dose-escalation study evaluating mirvetuximab soravtansine (IMGN853) in patients with folate receptor alpha (FRα)-positive solid tumors were published in the journal Cancer (Press release, ImmunoGen, MAY 1, 2017, View Source [SID1234518773]). The previously disclosed data demonstrated encouraging clinical activity and a manageable safety profile for mirvetuximab soravtansine (IMGN853), and informed the dose that was used in Phase 1 expansion cohorts and the ongoing Phase 3 FORWARD I trial of patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer.

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"These Phase 1 results have played an important role in determining the appropriate dose for mirvetuximab soravtansine in the recently initiated Phase 3 FORWARD I trial of patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer," said Kathleen Moore, M.D., Associate Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Stephenson Cancer Center at the University of Oklahoma. "The combination of these data and the recent data published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology further support the dose that has been chosen and patients who have been selected for FORWARD I."

The open-label, Phase 1 dose-escalation study treated a total of 44 patients with recurrent ovarian (52%) or endometrial cancer (25%), along with renal cell carcinoma and non-small cell lung cancer (11% and 9%, respectively). Patients received mirvetuximab soravtansine on day 1 of a 21-day cycle (Q3W dosing) with cycles repeated until dose-limited toxicity or progression, concluding the recommended dose for future trials is 6.0 mg/kg of mirvetuximab (based on adjusted ideal body weight) dosed once every three weeks. On the basis of the study findings, and additional data that demonstrated the importance of FRα expression levels for optimal mirvetuximab sorvatansine activity, the Company designed the Phase 3 FORWARD I trial utilizing this dose in patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer, along with a Phase 1b trial evaluating mirvetuximab in combination with standard-of-care chemotherapy and targeted agents.1

Mirvetuximab soravtansine exhibited a manageable safety profile and encouraging preliminary clinical activity. Adverse events (AEs) were generally mild with the majority being grade 1 or grade 2 (least severe grades). The most commonly observed AEs were fatigue, blurred vision and diarrhea.1

The publication, "Phase I dose-escalation study of mirvetuximab soravtansine (IMGN853), a folate receptor alpha-targeting antibody-drug conjugate, in patients with solid tumors," is available on the Cancer website.

About Mirvetuximab Soravtansine

Mirvetuximab soravtansine (IMGN853) is the first FRα-targeting ADC. It uses a FRα-binding antibody to target the ADC specifically to FRα-expressing cancer cells and a potent anti-tumor agent, DM4, to kill the targeted cancer cells.

Mirvetuximab soravtansine is ImmunoGen’s lead program and is in Phase 3 testing as a single agent for the treatment of platinum-resistant ovarian cancer. The candidate is also being assessed in combination regimens for both platinum-resistant and platinum-sensitive disease in Phase 1b/2 FORWARD II trial.

About Ovarian Cancer and FRα

In 2016, approximately 22,300 new cases of ovarian cancer will be diagnosed in the U.S. and more than 14,200 women will die from the disease.2 ImmunoGen estimates that 60% of ovarian cancer cases have medium or high FRα expression.

Standard first-line therapy for ovarian cancer is a platinum-based regimen. Once the cancer becomes platinum-resistant, treatment options include single-agent cytotoxic therapies such as pegylated liposomal doxorubicin, paclitaxel, or topotecan.

(Filing, Annual, Kitov Pharmaceuticals , 2016, MAY 1, 2017, View Source [SID1234518764])

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On April 28, 2017 Alligator’s reported that lead programme, ADC-1013, which has a pre-clinical profile indicating good safety and applicability in multiple tumor types, is currently being investigated in a second Phase I dose escalation trial (Press release, Alligator Bioscience, APR 28, 2017, View Source [SID1234538689]). The immuno-oncology antibody was out-licensed in August 2015 to Janssen Biotech Inc., an oncology company within the Johnson & Johnson group.

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Alligator’s wholly-owned product ATOR-1015 is a bispecific immuno-oncology compound that has the potential to be a first in class dual immune activating antibody.

"We are excited to be presenting these early data which provide further validation of the strength of our pipeline of tumor-directed immuno-oncology antibodies", says Per Norlén, Chief Executive Officer of Alligator Bioscience. "Alligator is deeply rooted in immuno-oncology and, as one of the first entrants into the scientific area in 2008, has successfully built a pipeline with the potential to provide much-needed treatments to patients suffering from multiple metastasizing cancers."

For further information, please contact:

Per Norlén, CEO
Telephone: + 46 46 286 42 80 (switchboard)
E-mail: [email protected]

Rein Piir, VP Investor Relations at Alligator
Telephone: +46 708 537292
E-mail: [email protected]

Per-Olof Schrewelius, CFO
Telephone: +46 46 286 42 85
E-mail: [email protected]

The information in the press release was submitted for publication at 1 p.m. CET on 28 April, 2017.