Wood Trims Pfizer Stake And Loads Up $25M In Rival COVID-19 Vaccine Maker

 Cathie Wood led Ark Invest on Wednesday initiated a position in Moderna Inc 

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 after the biotech company said an updated version of its COVID-19 booster vaccine appeared to provide stronger protection against the Omicron variant than its current shot. 

St. Petersburg, Florida-based Ark Invest bought 172,939 shares, estimated to be worth $25.68 million, in Moderna.

Moderna closed 2.2% higher at $148.5 on Wednesday. The stock, which is down 36.8% so far this year, has risen 9% in the past month.

Ark Invest bought the Moderna shares via its flagship pharma-linked exchange fund Ark Genomic Revolution ETF 

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 on Wednesday. 

The money managing firm, however, sold 152,823 shares — estimated to be worth $8.17 million — in rival Pfizer Inc 

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 on Wednesday. 

Shares of the biotech firm, which is boosting production of its oral COVID-19 pill, closed 0.9% lower at $53.4. The stock is down 5.6% year-to-date. Pfizer has been seeking FDA approval for three COVID-19 vaccine doses for children under five.

Ark Invest held 732, 993 shares, worth $39.5 million, in Pfizer before Wednesday’s trade. The investment firm has been selling shares in Pfizer for months now.

https://www.benzinga.com/news/22/06/27621280/cathie-wood-takes-a-position-in-moderna-after-covid-19-vaccine-maker-says-updated-booster-shot-works

I-Mab, Ferring in New Collaboration

 

• Strategic collaboration to further develop olamkicept highlights Ferring’s continued commitment to innovation in gastroenterology and inflammatory bowel disease.

• Olamkicept is the first and only clinical stage selective interleukin-6 (IL-6) inhibitor that works through the trans-signaling mechanism.

• IL-6 is associated with a number of inflammatory conditions, such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

https://www.biospace.com/article/releases/ferring-announces-new-collaboration-for-development-of-olamkicept/

Aptevo: New Prelim Remission Data on 4 Morel Patients in Phase 1b Trial for Acute Myeloid Leukemia

 Aptevo Therapeutics Inc. ("Aptevo" or the "Company") (NASDAQ:APVO), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing novel immuno-oncology therapeutics based on its proprietary ADAPTIR™ and ADAPTIR-FLEX™ platform technologies, today announced new remission data on four additional patients. The new data includes one patient who achieved a complete remission (CR), one patient who achieved a complete remission with incomplete hematologic recovery (CRi) and two patients who achieved bone marrow complete remissions, or morphological leukemia-free state (MLFS), in the Company's on-going multi-cohort, multi-center Phase 1b expansion trial evaluating APVO436 for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The Company also provided an update on a myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) patient from the dose escalation part of the trial.

Cohort 1 currently has the highest enrollment rate in the trial and preliminary data show that a total of four out of 11 response-evaluable patients (36%) reported on to date, have experienced remission while on therapy. Of the three new cohort 1 patients announced today, one is a CR, one is a CRi, and one is a bone marrow complete remission (MLFS). Cohort 1 is a combination arm of the trial that includes relapsed patients and those with primary refractory AML that failed to respond to frontline standard induction chemotherapy. Cohort 1 patients receive standard chemotherapy drug cytarabine or the standard chemotherapy triple drug combination MEC (mitoxantrone, etoposide, cytarabine) plus APVO436.

The fourth new patient reported on today participated in cohort 3, a monotherapy arm of the trial, and achieved a bone marrow complete remission (MLFS).

https://www.biospace.com/article/releases/aptevo-therapeutics-announces-new-preliminary-remission-data-on-four-additional-patients-enrolled-in-on-going-apvo436-dose-expansion-phase-1b-trial-for-the-treatment-of-acute-myeloid-leukemia/

Immunome Starts Phase 1b Study of IMM-BCP-01 for the Treatment of COVID-19

 Immunome, Inc. (Nasdaq: IMNM), a biopharmaceutical company that utilizes its human memory B cell platform to discover and develop first-in-class antibody therapeutics, today announced the first patient has been enrolled in a clinical trial of IMM-BCP-01, a three-antibody cocktail for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19). Topline data is expected in the second half of this year, which is an update from our prior guidance.

The Phase 1b study of IMM-BCP-01 is a single dose, dose escalation study in recently diagnosed COVID-19 patients. The primary study endpoint is safety, with pharmacokinetics (PK) and virology as secondary assessments. IMM-BCP-01 is designed to target three distinct, non-overlapping epitopes of SARS-CoV-2, to neutralize the virus and initiate multiple viral clearance mechanisms simultaneously, including complement fixation and phagocytosis.

Previously announced data has shown that IMM-BCP-01 is effective in vitro against live virus versions of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant (BA.1 and BA.2).

“We are pleased that we have begun studying IMM-BCP-01 in patients with COVID-19,” said Purnanand Sarma, PhD, President & CEO of Immunome. “Based on the encouraging preclinical research, including data showing that our antibody cocktail demonstrated effectiveness against the Omicron variants BA.1 and BA.2 in live virus testing and Omicron BA.1 in-vivo in hamsters, we believe that IMM-BCP-01 can play an important role in addressing COVID-19.”

The investigational work for IMM-BCP-01 was funded by the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DOD) Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense (JPEO-CBRND) in collaboration with the Defense Health Agency (DHA) (Contract number: W911QY-20-9-0019).

About IMM-BCP-01

IMM-BCP-01 is a three-antibody cocktail targeting non-overlapping regions of the Spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, including highly conserved, subdominant epitopes, which elicits both ACE2 and non-ACE2 dependent neutralization, and induces natural viral clearance mechanisms, such as antibody dependent cellular cytotoxicity, complement activation and phagocytosis. When tested in vivo, these mechanisms combine to significantly reduce viral load in lungs of the hamsters infected with SARS-CoV-2. IMM-BCP-01 neutralizes all variants of SARS-CoV-2 tested to date in vitro. This investigational work was funded by the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DOD) Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense (JPEO-CBRND) in collaboration with the Defense Health Agency (DHA). (Contract number: W911QY-20-9-0019).

https://www.biospace.com/article/releases/immunome-announces-initiation-of-phase-1b-study-of-imm-bcp-01-for-the-treatment-of-covid-19/