Avid Bioservices Inc (CDMO)

[cjgaddy]

Steve Worsley (VP/BusDev) 3-9-16 on Sloan Kettering Collab... Sorry if already posted – I've been very busy and may have missed. SW: “We are also renewing the MSKCC contract for next year as we’ve seen exciting results thus far”. Very nice to hear!

3-9-16/CC - STEPHEN WORSLEY (VP/Business Dev.):
“As Joe provided an update on our collaborations with AstraZeneca and the NCCN, I’d like to provide an update on Peregrine’s other I-O-focused collaboration with the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. The goal of this partnership is to evaluate combinations of bavituximab with other checkpoint inhibitors & immune stimulatory agents for the purpose of developing new and increasingly effective anti-cancer treatments. This work is advancing well. To date, we've seen initial signs of activity with new combinations with bavituximab and other treatment modalities, such as checkpoint blockers, T-Cell agonists, and radiation. Our plan is to spend the next year investigating these possible combination potentials. We are also renewing the contract for next year as we’ve seen exciting results thus far.”
http://tinyurl.com/gom7md5
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5-29-15: Peregrine Pharmaceuticals Enters Into Research Collaboration to Investigate Novel PS-Targeting Immunotherapy Combinations
• Research Collaboration to Focus on Exploring Potential Combinations of PS-Targeting Agents Including Bavituximab With Other Immune Modulators
http://ir.peregrineinc.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=915472
TUSTIN, May 29, 2015: Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on advancing bavituximab, a novel immuno-oncology agent in Phase III development for the treatment of lung cancer, today announced that the company has entered into a sponsored research agreement with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) to explore the potential of Peregrine's proprietary phosphatidylserine (PS)-targeting antibody platform. The goal of the research is to identify effective treatment combinations based on Peregrine's PS-targeting agents, including Peregrine's lead clinical agent bavituximab, with other checkpoint inhibitors or immune stimulating agents that will further guide the bavituximab clinical development program.

The studies at MSK will be performed under the direction of Taha Merghoub, PhD, [ http://www.mskcc.org/research-areas/labs/members/taha-merghoub-01 ] Associate Attending Biologist, Melanoma and Immunotherapeutics Service, Ludwig Collaborative and the Swim Across America Laboratory, a part of the laboratory of Jedd D. Wolchok, MD, PhD [ http://www.mskcc.org/research-areas/labs/jedd-wolchok ], a leader in the field of cancer immunotherapy. Dr. Wolchok serves as the Chief, Melanoma and Immunotherapeutics Service, Lloyd J. Old Chair for Clinical Investigation as well as an Associate Director of the Ludwig Center for Cancer Immunotherapy at MSK.

"The phosphatidylserine (PS) signaling pathway is a very interesting target for modulating the immune system's response to cancer. We look forward to exploring the potential of PS-targeting agents alone and with other immune modulators that may lead to novel advances in cancer therapy," said Dr. Wolchok.

As part of the collaboration, researchers at MSK will conduct research to further explore the combination of PS-targeting agents, including bavituximab, that block a primary immunosuppressive pathway thereby allowing anti-tumor immune responses with other immuno-stimulatory agents that enhance immune responses. Specifically, MSK researchers will examine the combination of bavituximab alongside models of checkpoint blockade that are unresponsive to inhibition or co-stimulation given the ability of bavituximab to reprogram myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSC) and increase tumoricidal T-cells in tumors, a mechanism of action that is complementary to checkpoint blockade and T-cell activation.

"A key focus of the Wolchok Lab's research is studying novel immunotherapy combinations that work together to enable the immune system to recognize and destroy cancer. This collaboration will allow us to focus on the role and contribution of PS blockade therapy in determining which combination of the current and next generation of immune modulators is likely to increase the extent and amplitude of anti-tumor response. This important pre-clinical and translational work will potentially guide the design of the next generation of clinical studies with bavituximab," said Dr. Merghoub.
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CEO Steve King 3-9-16/CC: “Peregrine remains a strong company with a valuable clinical asset and a rapidly growing biomanufacturing business. The important work of developing bavituximab as an anti-cancer therapeutic continues. We believe our relationships with AstraZeneca, Mem. Sloan Kettering, UTSW, & NCCN will be invaluable as we establish & execute our overall strategy for advancing the bavituximab I-O combination plans in a range of cancers.”