Investor Criticizes China Biologic Over Rejected Takeover Bid

An investor in China Biologic Products Holdings Inc. has criticized the biopharmaceutical company for rejecting a $3.9 billion takeover bid, saying it should consider all options to maximize shareholder value and unwind a private placement that created a controlling group of insiders.

York Capital Management said in a letter to China Biologic’s board that several other holders, including Comgest Global Investors and Kite Lake Capital, share its concerns about the company rejecting the $118-per-share proposal.

“There was no sign of any serious engagement with the bidding consortium,” Richard Swanson, York Capital’s general counsel, wrote in the letter dated Sept. 26 that was obtained by Bloomberg. “No effort was made to solicit a higher bid from the consortium or from other bidders, despite media reports of multiple interested parties.”

U.S. and China-based representatives for China Biologic didn’t respond to requests for comment.

China Biologic received the all-cash proposal in August from a consortium led by the company’s former chairman David Gao and several investment firms. The group offered to acquire the shares in the company they didn’t already own at $118 a piece, a 31 percent premium on the closing price on Aug. 16, the day before the offer was made, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Four days later, the company’s board rejected the proposal, saying it didn’t reflect the intrinsic value of the company. The board also announced that it would issue 5.85 million shares in a private placement to a consortium that included shareholder PW Medtech and Centurium Capital, a private equity fund run by China Biologic Chairman David Hui Li at $100.90 apiece. The move gave Centurium and its partners a combined stake of about 37 percent in the company, York Capital said in its letter.

“As evidenced by where the shares are trading after the rejection and private share issuance, currently around $80/share, we do not believe that the company’s actions have created any value for minority shareholders,” Swanson said.

Beijing-based China Biologic’s shares fell 1.7 percent to $78.11 at 12:30 p.m. Thursday in New York, valuing the company at $2.6 billion.

The board said the private placement was done to help acquire and develop leading technologies assets, York Capital said, noting that China Biologic has $366 million in cash on its balance sheet.

“There has been no explanation made as to why the company would be in need of additional cash at this particular point in time,” York Capital said.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-10-04/investor-criticizes-china-biologic-over-rejected-takeover-bid

Analysts React To Arrowhead-Janssen Linkup: Downside May Be ‘Misguided’

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ARWR 17.4% stock tanked 15 percent Thursday after the company announced a new $3.7-billion dealto license its ARO-HBV treatment for chronic hepatitis B to Johnson & Johnson JNJ 0.18% subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals.

Investors clearly weren’t impressed by the new deal, but several analysts are saying it’s not as bad as the market is pricing in.

Terms Of The Deal

The new deal gives J&J exclusive licensing rights on the ARO-HBV program. In return, Arrowhead gets $175 million upon closing of the deal, Johnson & Johnson will take a $75 million stake in Arrowhead at a price of $23 per share, and will be eligible to receive $1.6 billion in payments via an initial tier of milestones and another $1.9 billion in additional payments as the treatment reaches a series of three additional targets.

FBR B. Riley analyst Madhu Kumar told Benzinga the negative market reaction in Arrowhead is the result of investors concluding that Arrowhead is “giving away” its best asset and forfeiting the company’s status as a prime acquisition target. He also said investors are likely “selling the news” and taking profits after the stock gained more than 400 percent year-to-date. Kumar said much of the negative sentiment appears to be misguided.

Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Elemer Piros reiterated his Outperform rating for Arrowhead and raised his price target from $17 to $24. Piros said the cash from the cash from the new deal will help Arrowhead develop its international clinics.

“Overall, we feel the agreement is positive for the company as the support of a large partner could speed up the development timelines, increase market penetration with expertise, and validates the TRiM platform that Arrowhead uses,” Piros wrote in a note.

ARO-HBV Value Estimates

Piper Jaffray analyst Edward Tenthoff reiterated his Overweight rating and raised his price target for Arrowhead from $17 to $25. Tenthoff now estimates ARO-HBV 2025 global royalties of $250 million.

“We view this deal as transformative for Arrowhead dramatically strengthening the balance sheet, finding a strong partner for ARO-HBV, while retaining the rest of TRiM pipeline,” Tenthoffsaid.

Even after Thursday’s sell-off, Arrowhead shares are still up 311 percent year-to-date. The stock traded around $15.56 at time of publication.

https://www.benzinga.com/analyst-ratings/analyst-color/18/10/12460074/analysts-react-to-arrowheads-janssen-collaboration-down

Veeva TAM expanded again but valuation is fair, says JPMorgan

JPMorgan analyst Sterling Auty kept his Neutral rating and $95 price target on Veeva after its Analyst Day presentation. The analyst states that the management has increased its total addressable market estimate to over $9B from $8B indicated in last year’s analyst day while also boosting its operating margin projections and outlining a roadmap for more products. Auty noted however that Veeva’s current multiple presents limited room for upside.

https://thefly.com/landingPageNews.php?id=2800124

Migraine treated without medicine in pilot study

By slightly changing the body’s own molecules using a small inhaler, certain migraine patients can either cut down on medication or do without it completely. This is shown by a pilot study which has been published in the scientific journal Cephalalgia.

Patients who suffer from migraine with aura, which is where they experience either sensory or visual disturbances before the painful headaches begin, have been examined in the study. Eleven patients participated in the pilot study, which will now be followed by a large clinical trial.

One of the authors is MSc in Engineering and PhD Troels Johansen, who carried out the study as part of his PhD at the Department of Clinical Medicine at Aarhus University and the Headache Clinic at Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark.

He explains that migraines occur as part of a chain reaction during which the veins in the brain contract and the blood cannot therefore supply the brain with sufficient oxygen.

“We utilise CO2 and oxygen, which are the body’s natural molecules for mobilising its own defence against migraine attacks. The inhaler expands the blood vessels that supply the brain with oxygen by up to seventy per cent and thereby stops the destructive chain reaction,” says Troels Johansen, adding that the effect of the treatment starts after a few seconds.

The pilot study was carried out from 2016-2017 with eleven patients with migraine with aura. One of the results was that the effect of the pain relief increased significantly with each use of the inhaler. Forty-five per cent experienced an effect the first time, and that number rose to 78 per cent the second time.

“The study shows some very significant physiological effects in the body,” says Troels Johansen, who currently teaches at the Aarhus University School of Engineering. Together with a team of employees, he has put the inhaler into production through the company BalancAir.

Since the pilot project is limited to migraine with aura and only comprised eleven patients, Troels Johansen is now planning to conduct a large clinical trial that will also include migraine without aura and chronic migraine.

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Story Source:

Materials provided by Aarhus University. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

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Journal Reference:

1. Cecilia H Fuglsang, Troels Johansen, Kai Kaila, Helge Kasch, Flemming W Bach. Treatment of acute migraine by a partial rebreathing device: A randomized controlled pilot study. Cephalalgia, 2018; 38 (10): 1632 DOI: 10.1177/0333102418797285

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/10/181004110050.htm

DNA-encoded checkpoint inhibitor antibodies advance immunotherapy

Wistar scientists and collaborators demonstrate for the first time that through engineering constructs, they can express DNA-encoded monoclonal antibodies (DMAbs) targeting CTLA-4, an important cancer checkpoint molecule that blocks anti-cancer immunity. Using a synthetic DNA platform, they built versions of the anti-CTLA-4 molecule and were able to then deliver the DMAbs and have them generate fully functional anti-CTLA4 molecules in vivo. This proof-of-principle study opens new avenues for the design and delivery of therapeutic checkpoint inhibitors and suggests potentially novel applications of this technology in cancer treatment. Study results were published online in Cancer Research.

Treatment of cancer with checkpoint inhibitors has recently revolutionized cancer immunotherapy. Since the discovery of immune checkpoints, which was recognized as a groundbreaking development for cancer therapy and awarded the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine this week, checkpoint inhibitors are becoming standard of care for various malignancies, showing unprecedented impact for patients.

Despite the tremendous advancement in cancer therapy brought by monoclonal antibodies targeting checkpoint molecules, manufacturing complexity and repeated dosing may limit a broader use of this technology.

“Our work provides the first demonstration that we can use synthetic DNA technology to produce checkpoint inhibitor molecules in vivo to impact tumor growth in a preclinical setting,” said lead researcher David B. Weiner, Ph.D., executive vice president and director of the Vaccine & Immunotherapy Center at The Wistar Institute, and W.W. Smith Charitable Trust Professor in Cancer Research. “We showed that DMAbs may represent a valuable addition to the cancer immunotherapy toolbox: In our preclinical studies, DMAbs achieved antitumor activity comparable to that of traditional monoclonal antibodies, while being delivered through a simpler formulation that may provide a bridge to expand target populations for checkpoint inhibitors.”

The team developed a synthetic, sequence-optimized DNA plasmid designed to encode anti-mouse CTLA-4 monoclonal antibodies. When injected in the muscle of mice with the aid of an electroporation device to enhance uptake, the anti-CTLA-4 DMAbs resulted in significant and prolonged antibody expression with even a single dose. Importantly, this approach stimulated robust CD8+ T-cell infiltration, achieving tumor clearance across multiple mouse tumor models. The researchers then went on to develop human checkpoint inhibitor molecules and demonstrated their production in mice and their ability to stimulate human T-cell responses associated with antitumor activity.

“Our results open the door for further applications of DMAbs in cancer immunotherapy,” said Elizabeth K. Duperret, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow in the Weiner Lab and first author on the study. “This platform is rapid and flexible, allowing for further optimization of antibody sequences, including development of novel therapeutic approaches for which conventional monoclonal antibodies are not suitable.”

This work was supported by National Institutes of Health grants F32 CA213795 and SPORE P50CA174523, and funding from the W.W. Smith Family Trust and the Basser Foundation. Core support for The Wistar Institute was provided by the Cancer Center Support Grant P30 CA010815. Additional funding was provided by Inovio Pharmaceuticals.

Co-authors of this study from The Wistar Institute include Aspen Trautz, Regina Stoltz, Ami Patel, Alfredo Perales-Puchalt, and Kar Muthumani. Other co-authors include Megan C. Wise, Trevor Smith, Kate Broderick, Emma Masteller, J. Joseph Kim, and Laurent Humeau from Inovio Pharmaceuticals.

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Story Source:

Materials provided by The Wistar Institute. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/10/181004112544.htm

Rigel Pharma Analyst Day saw 85% tavalisse refill rate, says Piper Jaffray

Piper Jaffray analyst Christopher Raymond kept his Overweight rating and $8 price target on Righer Pharmaceuticals after the company’s Analyst Day. He says the presentation indicated utilization of Tavalisse across all lines and a 85% refill rate, suggesting that the drug had higher demand than anticipated. Raymond contends that the launch so far has been successful while also pointing to the company’s “positive progress for fostamatinib in AIHA and other pipeline products”.
https://thefly.com/landingPageNews.php?id=2800113

‘Swatting’ and other cyberthreats a growing problem for 911 call centers

In a northern Virginia suburb of Washington, D.C., several months ago, police from two departments rushed to a school full of students after receiving a 911 call from a person who said they were feeling “homicidal.”

The call was a false alarm. But there was little they could do, officials said.

The call was ultimately traced to an IP address located outside the country, said Eddie L. Reyes, director of Public Safety Communications for Prince William County, as he addressed lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

“In Prince William County, it’s difficult to find legitimate callers—people who are calling 911 because they can’t breathe or they’re having a robbery in progress—let alone, the swatters,” Reyes said, referring to the harassment tactic of deceiving an emergency service into sending a police and emergency service response team to another person’s address.

He was testifying in support of an anti-swatting act which would create stiffer criminal penalties against those who purposely transmit false caller ID information in order to trigger an emergency response to a false location.

Swatting has become a growing issue around the country—including an attack against Parkland High School shooting survivor turned anti-gun activist David Hogg, when police knocked down the door of his family’s home after receiving a “swatting call” to his address—experts testified during a hearing on possible legislation to improve public safety communications.

In some cases, swatting incidents have turned deadly, as with the ongoing case against a California man charged with making a fake emergency call that turned deadly for a Kansas man in December.

“Most states and municipalities do not have laws that address these types of incidents, so at best, those who are identified and arrested often only face misdemeanor charges,” Reyes said in testimony submitted to the House Energy and Commerce Committee. “Swatting has proven not only costly for 9-1-1 centers and field responders, but also extremely difficult to combat. Thus, enhancing the penalties for swatting and providing reimbursement to public safety agencies will be very helpful.”

Lawmakers were also considering legislation that would block state and local government from diverting funds designated for emergency communications for other purposes. Reyes and other experts testifying before lawmakers said that funding putting additional resources into fending off cyber attacks. “Our networks are constantly being attacked, the threats are growing stronger on a regular basis but, unfortunately at the local municipal level, we don’t have the resources in both funding and personnel to address or tackle those types of constant threats. We’re not in a proactive mode. We’re more in a reactive mode,” Reyes said referring to the additional threat of denial of service attacks.

James Curry, the communications division head in Hunterdon County, which is part of the New Jersey Department of Public Safety, testified in support of the fee integrity act after New Jersey officials reportedly diverted 911 funding for other parts of the state’s budget. He said having the funding available to update to next-generation 911 technology could help fight threats to the 911 system.

Curry was referring to internet protocol (IP)-based 911 systems which allow 911 to collect digital messages including voice, photos, videos, text messages.

While NPR reported earlier this year that it further raises concerns about swatting threats, Curry said the technology would help his department more easily track down callers.

https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/hospitals-health-systems/emergency-911-centers-need-more-funding-to-fight-back-against-cyber