AstraZeneca PLC (AZN)

[north40000]

AZN:: Then there is this PPHM conference call from March 2016:

3-9-16 Qtly. Conf. Call (King/Shan/Worsley/Lytle) Transcript http://tinyurl.com/gom7md5
...CEO SK: “Peregrine remains a strong company with a valuable clinical asset and a rapidly growing biomanufacturing business... 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.”

...VP Shan:

"Looking ahead, our priority is to generate clinical evidence of bavituximab’s ability to improve patient outcomes when combined with immuno-oncology agents. To this end, AstraZeneca and we are currently evaluating a trial design for the 2 previously announced clinical trials combining bavituximab with AZ’s PD-L1 inhibitor durvalumab. In light of the recent development in the SUNRISE trial, our companies are currently working together to identify the optimal path forward for demonstrating potential mechanistic synergies between bavituximab & durvalumab in different patient populations. We are particularly interested in combing bavituximab with checkpoint inhibitors because it has been observed that checkpoint inhibitors are most effective when there is a pre-existing T-Cell response in tumors. Importantly, we have pre-clinical evidence that bavituximab-like antibodies trigger CD+ T-Cell responses which can be prolonged by the addition of PD-1 checkpoint inhibitors. Another important observation we’ve recently made is that our PS signaling pathway inhibitors demonstrate multiple signs of immune activation in low or negative PD-L1 expressing tumors. We believe that this holds great potential to increase the number of patients able to respond to checkpoint therapies. Based on these observations, we believe that by combining these 2 projects the potential exists for a more complete
& lasting anti-tumor immune response."

See also:

http://ir.peregrineinc.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=936766

http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=117732788