BUSINESS INSIGHTS, VIEWS AND ANALYSIS
Rancho BioSciences | February 02, 2023
On February 1, 2023, Rancho Biosciences, a leading provider of data sciences services, announced that BenevolentAI has joined the SCDS consortium as its fifth member. Rancho Biosciences launched its Single Cell Data Science (SCDS) pre-competitive consortium on February 26, 2022, with four Charter Members: Bristol Myers Squibb, Janssen Research & Development LLC, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson's Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies, Novartis, and Vesalius Therapeutics.
The consortium's mission is to establish a uniform industry standard for creating and formatting single-cell datasets through a systematic effort to build data models and ensure that public data are curated consistently. Due to the evident impact of single-cell transcriptomics technology on drug discovery, pharmaceutical firms continue to adopt single-cell sequencing techniques at an exponential rate.
The availability of ever-increasing volumes of single-cell datasets in the public domain enables pharmaceutical companies to vastly increase their universe of single-cell experiments over those generated internally. However, harnessing this enormous public data lake by locating, downloading, and curating single-cell data is difficult and time-consuming compared to the resources required for scientists to analyze data to derive value for biomedical research collectively.
To date, Rancho has provided 83 analysis-ready datasets by using its extensive curation knowledge and expertise. Each dataset contains 79 columns of curated metadata that have been verified against a 4-entity data model developed by Rancho for SCDS. Based on member priorities, Rancho will continue to contribute a steady stream of harmonized single-cell datasets to the consortium. With this shared cost model, these may be supplied at a far higher throughput and much more cost-effectively than a single company could do.
About Rancho BioSciences
Founded in 2012, Rancho BioSciences is a global fee-for-service data curation firm that provides analysis and development services to clients, including pharma, foundations, government, and biotech. With a global team of qualified Ph.D. and Ph.D./MD scientists that provide high-quality work based on their expertise and domain knowledge in biology, diseases, and clinical data, it strives to find cures for diseases by serving its clients and saving lives through Data. It aims to be the world's leading provider of data services and harness domain skills and expertise to address complex problems.
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PHARMACY MARKET, PHARMA TECH
Sanofi and Innate Pharma | December 19, 2022
Innate Pharma SA and Sanofi announced an expansion of their collaboration, with Sanofi licensing a natural killer cell engager program targeting B7H3 from Innate’s ANKETTM. Sanofi will also have the option to add up to two additional ANKETTM targets. Upon candidate selection, Sanofi will be responsible for all development, manufacturing and commercialization.
Innate and Sanofi signed a first NK cell engagers collaboration in 2016 for the generation and evaluation of up to two bispecific NK cell engagers, which are currently being evaluated by Sanofi’s R&D team, with one of these molecules already in clinical studies.
“At Sanofi, we are exploring the potential of NK cells for cancer immunotherapy, a key pillar for our oncology strategy. Our relationship with Innate aligns with our commitment to work with promising French companies and supports our ambition to develop a diverse portfolio of next-generation NK cell engagers, highly synergistic with Sanofi’s allogeneic NK cell platform, engineered lymphokines that stimulate NK cells, and growing Immuno-oncology pipeline. As a leading global company with roots in France, we are proud to collaborate to support the French healthcare ecosystem.”
Valeria Fantin, Ph.D., Global Head of Oncology Research at Sanofi
Yannis Morel, Ph.D., Executive Vice President, Product portfolio strategy & Business development at Innate Pharma
“Building on the success of our existing collaboration on hematologic targets, we are pleased to expand and strengthen our partnership with Sanofi on NK Cell Engagers with the addition of up to three new programs, including in solid tumors. Sanofi’s investment in Innate further validates the value of our ANKETTM platform and its potential to address multiple tumor types. By incorporating various tumor antigen binders, NK Cell Engagers are a versatile technology that may provide new options for patients and offer clinical benefit across multiple cancers, whilst also maintaining a good safety profile. This agreement also highlights Innate’s strategy to build a broad portfolio of ANKET programs addressing different types of cancer.”
Under the terms of the new license agreement, Innate will receive €25m upfront payment and up to €1.35bn total in preclinical, clinical, regulatory and commercial milestones plus royalties on potential net sales. Closing of the transaction is subject to HSR approval.
About ANKETTM
ANKETTM is Innate's proprietary platform for developing next-generation, multi-specific natural killer cell engagers to treat certain types of cancer.
This versatile, fit-for-purpose technology is creating an entirely new class of molecules to induce synthetic immunity against cancer. It leverages the advantages of harnessing NK cell effector functions against cancer cells and also provides proliferation and activation signals targeted to NK cells.
Our latest innovation, the tetra-specific ANKET molecule, is the first NK cell engager technology to engage activating receptors a tumor antigen and an interleukin-2 receptor via a single molecule.
About 2016 Sanofi/Innate research collaboration and licensing agreement
In 2016, Sanofi and Innate entered into a research collaboration and licensing agreement for the generation and evaluation of up to two bispecific NK cell engagers, using technology from Innate Pharma and Sanofi’s proprietary bispecific antibody format as well as tumor targets.
A Phase 1/2 clinical trial by Sanofi is ongoing, evaluating IPH6101/SAR’579 the first NKp46/CD16-based CD123-targeted ANKETTM NK cell engager, in patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia or high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome.
In the summer 2022, Sanofi had made the decision to progress IPH6401/SAR’514 into investigational new drug (IND)-enabling studies. IPH6401/SAR’514 is a BCMA-targeting NK cell engager using Sanofi’s proprietary CROSSODILE® multi-functional platform, which comprises the Cross-Over-Dual-Variable-Domain (CODV) format. It induces a dual targeting of the NK activating receptors, NKp46 and CD16, for an optimized NK cell activation, based on Innate’s ANKETTM proprietary platform.
Under the terms of the original license agreement, Sanofi is responsible for the development, manufacturing and commercialization of products resulting from the research collaboration. Innate Pharma will be eligible to up to €400m in development and commercial milestone payments as well as royalties on net sales. To date, €13m milestone payments to Innate have been announced.
About Sanofi’s approach to NK therapies in oncology
At Sanofi, we are exploring the intrinsic abilities of Natural Killer cells to create new immunotherapies for patients with cancer. Natural Killer cell-based therapies are a key pillar within Sanofi’s Oncology strategy. By activating the innate power of NK cells, Sanofi is advancing a diverse and complementary range of NK-based therapeutics to transform immune biology. The breadth of our modalities and unique strength to innovate end-to-end maximizes the therapeutic possibilities for more people with cancer.
About Sanofi
We are an innovative global healthcare company, driven by one purpose: we chase the miracles of science to improve people’s lives. Our team, across some 100 countries, is dedicated to transforming the practice of medicine by working to turn the impossible into the possible. We provide potentially life-changing treatment options and life-saving vaccine protection to millions of people globally, while putting sustainability and social responsibility at the center of our ambitions.
About Innate Pharma
Innate Pharma S.A. is a global, clinical-stage oncology-focused biotech company dedicated to improving treatment and clinical outcomes for patients through therapeutic antibodies that harness the immune system to fight cancer.
Innate Pharma’s broad pipeline of antibodies includes several potentially first-in-class clinical and preclinical candidates in cancers with high unmet medical need.
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BUSINESS INSIGHTS, PHARMACY MARKET
Innovation Pharmaceuticals Inc | November 29, 2022
BT BeaMedical Technologies a private company developing a next-generation laser-based platform for epilepsy and cancer surgery, has notified Innovation Pharmaceuticals that it has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearance for its MANTA surgical laser family. The clearance is an important milestone for BeaMed in its development of an advanced laser technology with respect to shaping energy and matching it to patient specific anatomy, a novel concept that BeaMed is proving a reality. Innovation Pharmaceuticals made a strategic investment to acquire a minority stake in BeaMed in June 2022.
BeaMed is the inventor and developer of the StingRay Laser System a novel laser-based thermal ablation technology designed for treatment of previously inoperable cases of epilepsy and for improvement of outcomes and enablement of new treatment options for oncology procedures, including those treating brain, prostate, liver, breast, and lung cancers. The StingRay Laser System will utilize the MANTA laser family as its core energy generation devices coupled to new fiber optic technology, allowing a perfect match between the exact structure of tumors and epileptic focal points and the energy delivery, while protecting vital functional areas against thermal damage.
The MANTA surgical laser family was cleared by the FDA including five different wavelengths and soft tissue use in a very wide set of clinical specialties, including Neurosurgery, Spinal Surgery, Urology, Thoracic Surgery, Pulmonary Surgery, Gynecology, General Surgery, ENT/Head and Neck, Plastic Surgery, Orthopedics, Arthroscopy, Ophthalmology, Radiology, and Oral Surgery.
BeaMed expects to soon make requisite submissions to the FDA for clearance of its fiber optics for use in multiple medical indications.
“We are excited with the speed of progress BeaMed is making towards introduction of its new platform product with the potential to help millions of patients globally suffering from epilepsy and cancer in multiple specialties. The execution of this submission and the speed of clearance speaks volumes to the commercialization strategy and the exceptional capabilities of the regulatory team at BeaMed,”
Leo Ehrlich, Chief Executive Officer at Innovation Pharmaceuticals
“This is an exciting and important milestone for our company. This clearance gives us two key achievements. First, U.S. market access to a wide range of potential laser energy sources, each allowing us different and unique tissue interaction, an achievement which will have wide clinical implications. The second is a very wide set of intended uses covering many key potential markets for our technology. This underscores the clear regulatory strategy of BeaMed, which goes hand in hand with our broad impact business vision of revolutionizing key treatments, including brain tumors, epilepsy, lung cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer and more,” said Gil Shapira, co-founder of BeaMed.
BeaMed was founded by Moshe Eshkol and Gil Shapira, both highly experienced specialists in surgical lasers and medical devices. BeaMed and the development of the StingRay system are also supported by a special prestigious grant from the BIRD Foundation a bi-national organization supporting Israel-US collaboration. Gil Shapira brings forward 26+ years of engineering and product development and management experience, with over 17 years in the surgical laser industry. Gil owns and manages neoLaser, a company he founded in 2012, and led to revenue growth and profitability, with a 43% CAGR on its way to more than 1200 global installations and performing 50,000+ surgeries annually in over 30 countries. Previously, Gil led product development and marketing at OmniGuide, a successful high-growth laser-based medical device spin-off out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
About Innovation Pharmaceuticals
Innovation Pharmaceuticals Inc. is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing a portfolio of innovative therapies addressing multiple areas of unmet medical need, including inflammatory diseases, cancer, and infectious diseases. The Company is also active in evaluating other potential investment opportunities that can add value and diversify its portfolio.
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