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Cereal rust could lead to new wheat threat – Farm Weekly

SCIENTISTS have uncovered the origins of the world's deadliest strain of cereal rust disease which threatens global food security.

Researchers from Australia's national science agency, CSIRO, together with partners in the United States and South Africa, have solved a 20-year-old mystery with findings published last week in Nature Communications.

Their work shows that the devastating Ug99 strain of the wheat stem rust fungus (named for its discovery and naming in Uganda in 1999) was created when different rust strains simply fused to create a new hybrid strain.

This process is called somatic hybridisation and enables the fungi to merge their cells together and exchange genetic material without going through the complex sexual reproduction cycle.

The study found half of Ug99's genetic material came from a strain that has been in southern Africa for more than 100 years and also occurs in Australia.

The discovery shows that other crop-destroying rust strains could hybridise in other parts of the world - and scientists found evidence of this in their study.

It also means Ug99 could once again exchange genetic material with different pathogen strains to create a whole new enemy.

While it was proposed that rust strains could hybridise based on laboratory studies in the 1960s, this new research provides the first clear molecular evidence that this process generates new strains in nature.

Rusts are a common fungal disease of plants.

Globally they destroy more than $1 billion worth of crops each year.

Australian crops have largely been protected for the past 60 years by the breeding of rust-resistant crop varieties.

Group leader at CSIRO Dr Melania Figueroa said Ug99 was considered one of the most threatening of all rusts as it has managed to overcome many of the stem rust resistance genes used in wheat varieties and has evolved many variants.

"While outbreaks of Ug99 have so far been restricted to Africa and the Middle East, it has been estimated that a nationwide outbreak here could cost Australia up to $500 million in lost production and fungicide use in the first year," Dr Figueroa said.

"There is some good news, however, as the more you know your enemy, the more equipped you are to fight against it.

"Knowing how these pathogens come about means we can better predict how they are likely to change in the future and better determine which resistance genes can be bred into wheat varieties to give long-lasting protection."

Earlier this year, CSIRO worked with the University of Minnesota and the 2Blades Foundation to achieve good results in wheat resistance by stacking five resistance genes into the one wheat plant to combat wheat stem rust.

This latest research is the result of a collaboration between scientists from CSIRO, the University of Minnesota, University of the Free State and Australian National University.

The breakthrough came as Dr Figueroa's group was sequencing Ug99 (then at the University of Minnesota) and at the same time a CSIRO team led by Dr Peter Dodds was sequencing Pgt 21 in Australia.

Pgt21 is a rust strain that was first seen in South Africa in the 1920s and believed to have been carried to Australia in the 1950s by wind currents.

When the two groups compared results, they found the two pathogens share an almost identical nucleus and therefore half of their DNA.

"This discovery will make it possible to develop better methods to screen for varieties with strong resistance to disease," Dr Figueroa said.

"There was an element of serendipity at play in this work.

"We never expected that Ug99 and an Australian isolate might be related but only through a multi-continental collaboration was it possible to make the connections needed to achieve this discovery."

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Cereal rust could lead to new wheat threat - Farm Weekly

Abuse in cell banking services a global problem – Bioprocess Insider – BioProcess Insider

The International Society for Cell and Gene Therapy (ISCT) has formed a consortium to tackle what it says is a rising number of unscrupulous and unproven cell banking players.

With the rise of interest in the cell and gene therapy sector, industry and the market have been plagued with unproven products and services from rogue actors looking to profit from ill-informed and sometimes desperate patients.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) laid down a framework to tackle unapproved stem cell clinics, for example, and has issued warning letters,seized productsand instigated legal action to crack down on unscrupulous actors who often co-opt scientific terms and offer tokens of scientific legitimacy without backing from scientific studies and clinical evidence.

Image: iStock/Vitezslav Vylicil

Beyond stem cell clinics deceiving patients, with the approval of more cell and gene therapies, we see these profiteers moving to cell banking marketed to healthy people as well as patients, Laertis Ikonomou, co-chair off the International Society for Cell and Gene Therapy Presidential Task Force (PTF) on the Use of Unproven Cellular Therapies, told Bioprocess Insider.

There is potential for abuse in that the banking services may refer to direct-to-consumer unproven and unethical cell-based interventions will use cells from such cell banks. With global marketing and point of service kits, this is a borderless problem for all.

As such, the ISCT has formed a global consortium of professional and education societies to help combat the rise in the number of unproven commercial cell banking services. The consortium includes: The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR), Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC), American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy (ASTCT), American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT), European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT), Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT), Joint Accreditation Committee ISCT-EBMT (JACIE) and the Forum for Innovative Regenerative Medicine (FIRM).

We do not currently have detailed statistics specifically on the number of cell banking services per region. It appears most are concentrated in the US, United Kingdom, and India, said Laertis Ikonomou.

Nevertheless, we consider such services to be part of a global market for unproven cellular therapies. This market has been estimated to be worth as much as $2.4 billion (2.13 billion). It is also estimated that currently approximately 60,000 patients every year globally are treated with unproven cellular therapies and charges for individual treatments can be as much as $40,000 (35,500) per treatment.

The initiative looks to protect legitimate cell-based product development and patients in various ways, Ikonomou said.

Any questionable offer of unproven cell-based products and services hurts the field of regenerative medicine. It erodes the publics trust and it gives the false impression that it is acceptable to offer products that have not been proven safe and effective.

Our collaborative effort aims to highlight these issues. We also want to demonstrate to patients the gap between the real clinical potential of such a service which is unclear at the moment and the overblown advertising claims of businesses offering commercial cell banking services.

While industry-led efforts such as this are necessary, he added increased regulatory enforcement such as the FDAs recent injunctions against unproven tissue-based clinics can rein in businesses that offer questionable cell-related services or products.

Exaggerated and misleading claims of future clinical use for banked cells may also fall under the purview of the US Federal Trade Commission. ISCT is in ongoing communication with regulatory and professional societies around the world, through the ISCT led Cell Therapy Liaison Meetings with FDA, Health Canada, and additional channels.

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Abuse in cell banking services a global problem - Bioprocess Insider - BioProcess Insider

Allogene Moves Forward With CAR-T Therapy Pipeline – Seeking Alpha

Allogene Therapeutics (ALLO) has a pipeline full of immunotherapy products it is developing to treat different types of cancer. Specifically, its platform relies on allogeneic CAR-T therapies. The latest partnership involves Notch Therapeutics and its own technology platform to treat cancer. Both companies will develop induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) AlloCAR therapy products using Notch's technology. This will help diversify Allogene's pipeline and give it access to treat a few types of hematological malignancies.

Allogene Therapeutics has formed a worldwide collaboration and license agreement with Notch Therapeutics. This agreement was made so that both companies could research and develop iPSC AlloCAR therapy products to treat a few types of hematological malignancies. Such hematological malignancies include: Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), leukemia, and multiple myeloma (MM). The development of the iPSC AlloCAR therapy products using either T-cells or natural killer cells will be done using Notch's Engineered Thymic Niche (ETN) platform. Why has Allogene chosen to make such a partnership? There are many advantages to tapping into the ETN platform. First and Foremost, pluripotent stem cells provide an inexhaustible source. Meaning an inexhaustible source that could be used as any cell type to treat a variety of diseases. That's just one advantage this technology has. Further advantages for this type of technology include lower cost of manufacturing such treatments and larger industrial scale. There is something even more important on why I believe such a partnership was made. While both companies are targeting a few hematological malignancies, iPSC AlloCar therapy products could also be utilized for other indications such as: Aging, autoimmune diseases, and infectious diseases. If early evidence seems promising in hematological malignancies, then I believe there will be a great interest to explore this technology in other areas. Under the terms of the agreement, Notch will first focus on taking care of the preclinical work with respect to the iPSC AlloCAR T cells. Allogene will work on the products when they get to the clinical stage and obtain exclusive worldwide rights to commercialize them. Notch doesn't go home empty-handed though. It obtains some perks as well, like:

The point here is that Allogene gains access to a technology that prides itself on providing a renewable source cell type of a product that could change the scope of CAR-T treatment.

According to the 10-Q SEC Filing, Allogene Therapeutics has cash, cash equivalents, and investments of $601.9 million as of September 30, 2019. The company believes that it has enough cash on hand to fund its operations for at least 12 months from the date of the 10-Q SEC Filing. Since this was filed on November 5, 2019, this means cash will run out sometime by November 5, 2020. Although, biotechs don't wait until the end of their estimates to raise additional cash. I would say that the biotech may need to raise cash sometime during mid-2020. The company has a lot of cash on hand because of the IPO it had done back in October of 2018. At that time, it has been the largest biotech IPO established in 2018. That's because it raised a total of $343.3 million in net proceeds.

Allogene has its own CAR-T technology it utilizes to develop treatments for cancer. Specifically, it has a huge focus on developing allogeneic CAR-T therapy treatments. The advantage of allogeneic is being able to produce treatment for cancer patients at a quicker rate compared to autologous therapy. For allogeneic CAR-T treatment, it is considered to be "off the shelf" therapy. Meaning patients won't have to wait for treatment. That's because, with autologous therapy, cells from the patient have to be extracted first, engineered, and then delivered back into the patient. This process takes about 4 weeks. On the other hand, for allogeneic CAR-T therapy, the treatment is ready to go and just needs to be administered to the patient. As with most CAR-T companies, Allogene is heavily focused on hematological malignancies (blood cancer). However, it won't just leave it to its own products in the pipeline to advance drugs in the clinic for hematological malignancies. That's why it has also chosen to partner with Notch Therapeutics for its iPSC AlloCAR therapy products. The key advantage being that Notch's technology provides an inexhaustible source of cells to utilize. A big risk for the partnership is that it will take some time to get this program into clinical trials in humans. In addition, there is no guarantee that this program will ultimately succeed in late-stage studies. Having said that, I believe that this will help Allogene expand the market opportunity in the hematology space. Especially, since the CAR-T therapy space is quite crowded when it comes to treating hematological malignancies.

This article is published by Terry Chrisomalis, who runs the Biotech Analysis Central pharmaceutical service on Seeking Alpha Marketplace. If you like what you read here and would like to subscribe to, I'm currently offering a two-week free trial period for subscribers to take advantage of. My service offers a deep-dive analysis of many pharmaceutical companies. The Biotech Analysis Central SA marketplace is $49 per month, but for those who sign up for the yearly plan will be able to take advantage of a 33.50% discount price of $399 per year.

Disclosure: I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

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Allogene Moves Forward With CAR-T Therapy Pipeline - Seeking Alpha

Heart-warming moment OAP meets mum who saved his life with anonymous stem cell donation after three years of – The Sun

THIS is the heart-warming moment a pensioner met the mum who saved his life with her anonymous stem cell donation after travelling 2,300 miles to thank her in person.

Jackie Wray, 50, met with her genetic twin, Siegfried Siggi Wahl, 71, in September after the pair spent more than three years communicating anonymously due to the laws surrounding stem cell donations.

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Siggi, from Hattersheim in Germany, was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia in April 2015 after he had suffered a stroke and doctors found the cancer when he was hospitalised.

After initial treatment proved unsuccessful, doctors told Siggi that his best chance of survival was a blood stem cell donation from a person with identical tissue type.

Luckily, just six months earlier, Siggis genetic twin Jackie, from, had signed up with blood cancer charity DKMS in 2015 after seeing a TV appeal for a child in urgent need of a donor.

And this moving video captures the moment Siggi met his angel Jackie at her home in Great Ayton, Middlesbrough for the first time earlier this year.

Jackie, who runs a wedding venue, said: Six months after being on the donor register, doctors had found a match I knew nothing about him at this stage, just that he was a man in Germany.

During the process, we both wanted to send cards to each other to check that each of us was alright, and I found out more information about him that way.

Jackie explained that donating her stem cells was like giving blood and lasted around four to five hours.

As a courier arrived to escort Jackies blood stem cells from London to Frankfurt, news broke of the 2016 terrorist attack in Paris, France, and the courier was unable to leave the UK.

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As Siggis wife Ursula sat at his bedside, doctors were worried the blood stem cells would not get to Siggi in time.

Dad-of-two Siggi said: The terrorist attack in France that delayed the stem cell courier shocked me and my wife, who was sitting next to my hospital bed with many tears in her eyes.

The next day, when the doctor came into my room, and said that the courier was on his way, and I had tears of joy in my eyes.

After Jackies stem cells finally arrived in Frankfurt , the transplant immediately went ahead.At one stage, Jackie had to donate extra blood plasma to Siggi, where she went through the same process as she did when harvesting the blood stem cells.

The extra donation meant it took them three years before they could finally meet.

This is because UK law states that whilst donors and their patients can communicate following the transplant, it must remain anonymous for at least the first two years.

The day their anonymity was waived, Siggi rang up Jackie straight away after exchanging email addresses, and after a very emotional conversation, the pair arranged to meet for the first time in the UK.

Jackie invited Siggi and his wife Ursula over to her home in Middlesbrough, where they stayed for three nights.

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During the trip, Siggi presented Jackie with a silver necklace with a pendant in the shape of an angel, to signify her saving his life.

Jackie said: When he arrived, there were lots of tears and lots of cuddling Siggi and his wife had made me a photo album with pictures of him during his treatment which just made me cry instantly.

Siggi added: For me, she is my angel that saved my life.

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Heart-warming moment OAP meets mum who saved his life with anonymous stem cell donation after three years of - The Sun

Texan Spending Fortune, Hours A Day Trying To Live To At Least 120 Years Old: I Am My Asset – CBS Dallas / Fort Worth

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) Hundreds of pills, expensive machines and constant blood testing.

They are among the keys to immortality according the ultra-wealthy who are becoming devout followers of whats known as biohacking.

A rich Dallas and Austin developer is offering CBS 11 News a rare glimpse into the lifestyle.

Ari Rastegar (CBS 11)

Ari Rastegar goes to bed in special clothing on a temperature-regulated bed.

It has this metallic mechanism inside of it that helps flush lactic acid and eliminate inflammation, says Rastegar.

He also wears a mask.

Orange glasses that illuminate the the light so I dont disrupt the circadian rhythms, he says.

Thats just Rastegars nightly routine.

During the day, he takes nearly 150 vitamins customized to his current needs by his doctor.

Rastegar also gets his blood tested monthly.

The 37-year-old has a $15,000 vapor machine thats supposed to reduce stress and another $15,000 machine designed to calm his brain two hours before bedtime.

He says its paying off and making him healthier than ever.

I am my asset, he says.

Ari Rastegar and his vapor machine. (CBS 11)

Biohacking is all part of an effort to extend life beyond anything humans can imagine.

The data will tell you the folks that are living this type of lifestyle are living well in excess of 120 years old, says Rastegar.

The goal of biohacking is to keep strands of DNA from aging.

Rastegar has already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars.

But the real estate developer can afford it with the money he makes as CEO of Rastegar Property.

He owns buildings in Austin and is planning a $100,000,000, 26-story residential tower in the uptown section of Dallas next year.

I dont know if Im trying to live forever. Im trying to live as long as I can contribute, he says.

Rastegars exhausting daily routine also includes a hyperbaric chamber, meditation and he employs a life coach.

Rastegar is one of a growing number of longevity devotees who also undergo hormone therapy.

Others, not Rastegar, have even resorted to blood transfusions and stem cell treatments stay young.

My biological age is now that of about a 4-year-old, he says.

But medical doctors say not so fast when it comes to treatments that promise to slow down aging.

We dont have any long-term evidence-based studies to correlate whatever biohacking techniques people are using to prolong or extend life, yet, says Dr. James Pinckney of Diamond Physicians.

While physicians are cautious, Rastegar says hes seen the proof by lowering his cholesterol and raising his testosterone.

Rastegar along with a number of other millionaires and billionaires are spending vast amounts of their fortunes in the search for immortality.

But he says that doesnt mean he fears death.

I think were all little bit apprehensive, he says. I like to focus more on living, even with all this biohacking and all this stuff you dont know if youre going to make it to the next day.!

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Texan Spending Fortune, Hours A Day Trying To Live To At Least 120 Years Old: I Am My Asset - CBS Dallas / Fort Worth

Editas and Celgene sub Juno are tackling hottest immunotherapy cells – Endpoints News

As the first CRISPR-edited cancer patients watch their treatments unfold, one of the first CRISPR companies is rejigging a major oncology deal.

Editas Medicine is amending its long-running collaboration with Celgene and their subsidiary Juno Therapeutics. The new deal will expand the focus of their work to cover a subset of immune cells that have become an increasingly hot target for immunotherapy: gamma-delta cells.

The deal will make Editas eligible for a $70 million payment along with other possible milestones and royalties.

Its a significant expansion of the deal, Editas CSO Charlie Albright toldEndpoints News. These cells are part of the immune system and have significant potential to treat solid tumors.

Since it began in 2015, the Juno-Editas collaboration has focused largely on alpha-beta cells, the ones outfitted with the special receptors in current CAR-T treatments. Scientists at those companies and elsewhere have most publicly tried to apply CRISPR to improve CAR-T, which now work solely through viral gene transfer.

But they have also worked on expanding the approach to other immune cell types in hopes of making the treatment more effective, more accessible or as is the case with some of the gamma delta research expand it into other cancer types, especially solid tumors.

Editas has been slowly building their gamma-delta base throughout the year, Albright said. In April, they signedan agreement with BlueRock, in part to access pluripotent stem cells they hope to make into engineered gamma-delta cells that can be delivered to a patient. (Essentially a form of off-the-shelf CART).

Several companies are now pursuing gamma-delta immunotherapies, including GammaDelta Therapeutics and its new spinoff Adaptate and Regeneron-backed Adicet Bio. Theyre betting chiefly on these cells ability to penetrate the solid tumors that have been so resistant to the first wave of CAR-T treatments.

Albright argued, though, that for these techniques to work you need gene editing. Innate abilities in the cells have to be tuned up, he said. You have to increase cells persistence and enhance their ability to survive in a tumors micro-environment. Ideally, he said, you even give it new abilities, such as the power to catalyze the bodys innate immune system.

You cant do that with viral transduction, Albright said. You need gene editing.

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Editas and Celgene sub Juno are tackling hottest immunotherapy cells - Endpoints News

CytoDyn Receives IRB Approval To Proceed With Compassionate Use Of Leronlimab For Patients With Triple-Negative Breast Cancer – GlobeNewswire

VANCOUVER, Washington, Nov. 12, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CytoDyn Inc. (OTC.QB: CYDY), (CytoDyn or the Company"), a late-stage biotechnology company developing leronlimab (PRO 140), a CCR5 antagonist with the potential for multiple therapeutic indications, announced today it has received approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) for leronlimab to be administered to patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) under a compassionate use, which is also known as expanded access program.

This program will allow TNBC patients who are not eligible under the ongoing Phase 1b/2 clinical trial to receive leronlimab (PRO 140). Under this protocol, patients with locally recurrent or metastatic triple-negative breast cancer who had progressed within six months or less on latest chemotherapy will receive leronlimab (PRO 140) combined with a treatment of physicians choice.

The compassionate use or expanded access program is a potential pathway for patients with an immediately life-threatening condition to gain access to an investigational medical product (drug, biologic, or medical device) for treatment outside of clinical trials when no comparable or satisfactory alternative therapy options are available. An IRB is an appropriately constituted group that has been formally designated to review and monitor biomedical research involving human subjects pursuant to regulations of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

We are very pleased with the confidence demonstrated by the IRB to allow access to leronlimab for patients with triple-negative breast cancer. We are dedicated to advancing this therapeutic opportunity to many more patients in our ongoing trials, stated Nader Pourhassan, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of CytoDyn.

Expanded access may be appropriate when all the following apply:

Investigational drugs, biologics or medical devices have not yet been approved or cleared by FDA and FDA has not found these products to be safe and effective for their specific use. Furthermore, the investigational medical product may, or may not, be effective in the treatment of the condition, and use of the product may cause unexpected serious side effects.

About Leronlimab (PRO 140)The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted a "Fast Track" designation to CytoDyn for two potential indications of leronlimab for deadly diseases. The first as a combination therapy with highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) for HIV-infected patients, and the second is for metastatic triple-negative breast cancer. Leronlimab is an investigational humanized IgG4 mAb that blocks CCR5, a cellular receptor that is important in HIV infection, tumor metastases, and other diseases, including non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Leronlimab has successfully completed nine clinical trials in over 800 people, including meeting its primary endpoints in a pivotal Phase 3 trial (leronlimab in combination with standard anti-retroviral therapies in HIV-infected treatment-experienced patients).

In the setting of HIV/AIDS, leronlimab is a viral-entry inhibitor; it masks CCR5, thus protecting healthy T cells from viral infection by blocking the predominant HIV (R5) subtype from entering those cells. Leronlimab has been the subject of nine clinical trials, each of which demonstrated that leronlimab can significantly reduce or control HIV viral load in humans. The leronlimab antibody appears to be a powerful antiviral agent leading to potentially fewer side effects and less frequent dosing requirements compared with daily drug therapies currently in use.

In the setting of cancer, research has shown that CCR5 plays a vital role in tumor invasion and metastasis. Increased CCR5 expression is an indicator of disease status in several cancers. Published studies have shown that blocking CCR5 can reduce tumor metastases in laboratory and animal models of aggressive breast and prostate cancer. Leronlimab reduced human breast cancer metastasis by more than 98% in a murine xenograft model. CytoDyn is, therefore, conducting a Phase 2 human clinical trial in metastatic triple-negative breast cancer and was granted Fast Track designation in May 2019. CytoDyn is conducting additional research with leronlimab in the setting of oncology and NASH with plans to conduct further clinical studies when appropriate.

The CCR5 receptor appears to play a central role in modulating immune cell trafficking to sites of inflammation. It may be important in the development of acute graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) and other inflammatory conditions. Clinical studies by others further support the concept that blocking CCR5 using a chemical inhibitor can reduce the clinical impact of acute GvHD without significantly affecting the engraftment of transplanted bone marrow stem cells. CytoDyn is currently conducting a Phase 2 clinical study with leronlimab to support further the concept that the CCR5 receptor on engrafted cells is critical for the development of acute GvHD. Blocking the CCR5 receptor from recognizing specific immune signaling molecules is a viable approach to mitigating acute GvHD. The FDA has granted "orphan drug" designation to leronlimab for the prevention of GvHD.

About CytoDynCytoDyn is a biotechnology company developing innovative treatments for multiple therapeutic indications based on leronlimab, a novel humanized monoclonal antibody targeting the CCR5 receptor. CCR5 appears to play a crucial role in the ability of HIV to enter and infect healthy T-cells. The CCR5 receptor also appears to be implicated in tumor metastasis and immune-mediated illnesses, such as GvHD and NASH. CytoDyn has completed a Phase 3 pivotal trial with leronlimab in combination with standard anti-retroviral therapies in HIV-infected treatment-experienced patients. CytoDyn plans to seek FDA approval for leronlimab in combination therapy and plans to complete the filing of a Biologics License Application (BLA) in 2019 for that indication. CytoDyn is also conducting a Phase 3 investigative trial with leronlimab as a once-weekly monotherapy for HIV-infected patients. CytoDyn plans to initiate a registration-directed study of leronlimab monotherapy indication, which, if successful, could support a label extension. Clinical results to date from multiple trials have shown that leronlimab can significantly reduce viral burden in people infected with HIV with no reported drug-related serious adverse events (SAEs). Moreover, results from a Phase 2b clinical trial demonstrated that leronlimab monotherapy can prevent viral escape in HIV-infected patients. Some patients on leronlimab monotherapy have viral suppression for more than four years. CytoDyn is also conducting a Phase 2 trial to evaluate leronlimab for the prevention of GvHD and has received clearance to initiate a clinical trial with leronlimab in metastatic triple-negative breast cancer. More information is at http://www.cytodyn.com.

Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release contains certain forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Words and expressions reflecting optimism, satisfaction or disappointment with current prospects, as well as words such as "believes," "hopes," "intends," "estimates," "expects," "projects," "plans," "anticipates" and variations thereof, or the use of future tense, identify forward-looking statements but, their absence does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. The Company's forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance, and actual results could vary materially from those contained in or expressed by such statements due to risks and uncertainties including: (i)the sufficiency of the Companys cash position, (ii)the Companys ability to raise additional capital to fund its operations, (iii) the Companys ability to meet its debt obligations, if any, (iv)the Companys ability to enter into partnership or licensing arrangements with third parties, (v)the Companys ability to identify patients to enroll in its clinical trials in a timely fashion, (vi)the Companys ability to achieve approval of a marketable product, (vii)the design, implementation and conduct of the Companys clinical trials, (viii)the results of the Companys clinical trials, including the possibility of unfavorable clinical trial results, (ix)the market for, and marketability of, any product that is approved, (x)the existence or development of vaccines, drugs, or other treatments that are viewed by medical professionals or patients as superior to the Companys products, (xi)regulatory initiatives, compliance with governmental regulations and the regulatory approval process, (xii)general economic and business conditions, (xiii)changes in foreign, political, and social conditions, and (xiv)various other matters, many of which are beyond the Companys control. The Company urges investors to consider specifically the various risk factors identified in its most recent Form10-K, and any risk factors or cautionary statements included in any subsequent Form10-Q or Form8-K, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required by law, the Company does not undertake any responsibility to update any forward-looking statements to take into account events or circumstances that occur after the date of this press release.

CONTACTSInvestors: Nader Pourhassan, Ph.D.President & CEOnpourhassan@cytodyn.com

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CytoDyn Receives IRB Approval To Proceed With Compassionate Use Of Leronlimab For Patients With Triple-Negative Breast Cancer - GlobeNewswire

Lineage Cell Therapeutics Reports Third Quarter 2019 Financial Results and Provides Business Update – Business Wire

CARLSBAD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Lineage Cell Therapeutics, Inc. (NYSE American and TASE: LCTX), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel cellular therapies for unmet medical needs, reported financial and operating results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2019. Lineage management will host a conference call and webcast today at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time/1:30 p.m. Pacific Time to discuss its third quarter 2019 financial results and to provide a business update.

We are excited about our cell therapy programs and how they may benefit patients with serious medical conditions such as dry AMD, spinal cord injury, and cancer, stated Brian M. Culley, CEO of Lineage. We believe that Lineage has one of the largest and most comprehensive patent estates in cell therapy and that our clinical-stage programs are making important advances. We also recently implemented additional cost-cutting measures that will reduce our planned 2020 net operational spend to $16 million, $8 million to $12 million less than our previous estimate of $24 million to $28 million. Under this plan, our primary goal will be to complete enrollment in our Phase I/IIa clinical study of OpRegen early next year and collect the follow-up data to guide our late-stage study design and partnership discussions. We also have completed the transfer of OPC1 to our manufacturing facility and will continue our efforts to introduce manufacturing enhancements to OPC1 in preparation for the initiation of a randomized clinical study in 2021. We believe reducing our cash burn and focusing on OpRegen, our nearest-term high value asset, as well as on finding a strong marketing partner for Renevia, is the best way to create near-term shareholder value. In August 2020, we also are entitled to receive our final payment of $24.6 million in principal and interest for the 2018 sale of AgeX Therapeutics shares to Juvenescence, an amount which exceeds our anticipated cash needs from now through the end of next year.

Additionally, we are looking forward to hosting two therapeutic area experts in ophthalmology and spinal cord injury at Solebury Trouts KOL Event for analysts and investors in New York City on November 15, 2019, added Mr. Culley. Our executive team will be joined by renowned experts Allen C. Ho, M.D. FACS, Wills Eye Hospital Attending Surgeon and Director of Retina Research, and John Steeves, B.Sc., Ph.D., Emeritus Principal Investigator at ICORD and Professor in the Department of Neuroscience at the University of British Columbia. We will be providing an update on our OpRegen and OPC1 clinical programs, as well as an update on the SCiStar Clinical Study for the treatment of spinal cord injury.

Recent Significant Highlights

Near Term Milestones for 2019 and 2020

Balance Sheet Highlights

Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities totaled $35.7 million as of September 30, 2019. Marketable securities include our remaining ownership stakes in OncoCyte, AgeX and Hadasit Bio-Holdings Ltd (Hadasit), which are now all under 20% of their respective total outstanding shares. Lineage sold 6,250,000 shares of OncoCytes common stock in the third quarter of 2019 for net proceeds of $10.7 million. Lineage also sold 651,839 shares of AgeX common stock in the third quarter of 2019 for net proceeds of $1.6 million and 647,397 shares of Hadasit common stock in July 2019 for net proceeds of $1.2 million.

Lineages promissory note due from Juvenescence Limited had an outstanding balance (principal plus accrued interest) of $23.2 million as of September 30, 2019. Unless earlier converted into Juvenescence ordinary shares, the promissory note is payable in cash, plus accrued interest at 7% per year, at maturity in August 2020. If Juvenescence completes an initial public offering (IPO) resulting in gross proceeds of not less than $50.0 million, the promissory note automatically converts into the Juvenescence securities issued in the IPO based on the per-share price to the public in the IPO, subject to an upward adjustment in the number of shares that would be issued to Lineage upon such conversion if the 20-day volume-weighted average trading price of one share of common stock of AgeX before the IPO is priced above $3.00. If the promissory note is converted, the Juvenescence ordinary shares will be a marketable security that Lineage may use to supplement its liquidity, as needed and as market conditions allow.

In summary, as of September 30, 2019, the value of the Companys cash, marketable securities, and the balance of a promissory note due to it in August 2020 were in excess of $58.9 million.

Lineage expects to spend approximately $6 million in the fourth quarter of 2019. The Company has implemented significant cost savings initiatives and now anticipates that net operational spend for 2020 will be $16 million. This planned spending level represents a significant reduction from 2019 forecasted spending levels of $34 million and 2018 spending levels of $43 million for Lineage and Asterias Biotherapeutics, Inc. (Asterias) combined. Lineage acquired Asterias on March 8, 2019.

Third Quarter Operating Results

Note regarding AgeX: On August 30, 2018, Lineage deconsolidated AgeX from its consolidated financial statements due to the sale by Lineage of 14,400,000 shares of AgeX common stock to Juvenescence and the related decrease of Lineages ownership position in AgeX from 80.4% to 40.2%. Accordingly, Lineage ceased recognizing revenue and expenses related to AgeX and its programs on such date.

Revenues: Lineages revenue is generated primarily from research grants, licensing fees and royalties. Total revenues for the three months ended September 30, 2019 were $0.6 million, a decrease of $0.4 million as compared to the same period in 2018. The decrease was primarily related to a $0.4 million decrease in grant revenues, which is primarily based on the timing of grant-related activities.

Operating Expenses: Operating expenses are comprised of research and development (R&D) expenses and general and administrative (G&A) expenses. Total operating expenses for the three months ended September 30, 2019 were $8.9 million, a decrease of $2.4 million as compared to the same period in 2018.

R&D Expenses: R&D expenses for the three months ended September 30, 2019 were $4.3 million, a decrease of $0.6 million as compared to the same period in 2018. The decrease was primarily related to a $0.8 million decrease from the AgeX deconsolidation and the absence of AgeX R&D expenses incurred after August 30, 2018, offset by a net increase of $0.2 million in Lineage programs primarily related to: (1) an increase of $1.4 million in OPC1 and VAC2 expenses (these programs were acquired in the Asterias merger) offset by (2) decreases of $1.2 million in Renevia, OpRegen and other research-related expenses.

G&A Expenses: G&A expenses for the three months ended September 30, 2019 were $4.6 million, a decrease of $1.8 million as compared to the same period in 2018. The decrease was primarily attributable to a $0.8 million decrease in AgeX related general and administrative expenses, a $0.5 million reduction in legal and patent expenses, a $0.4 million decrease in salaries, benefits and severance costs primarily related to terminated personnel and a $0.3 million reduction in consulting expenses, offset by a $0.2 million increase in rent expense, which is primarily related to the implementation of ASC 842 Leases in 2019.

Loss from Operations: Loss from operations for the three months ended September 30, 2019 was $8.4 million, a decrease of $2.0 million as compared to the same period in 2018.

Other Income/(Expenses), Net: Other income/(expenses), net for the three months ended September 30, 2019 reflected other expense, net of ($9.1) million, compared to other income, net of $76.9 million for the same period in 2018. The variance was primarily related to the gain on the deconsolidation of AgeX in 2018 and the changes in the value of investments in marketable equity securities for the applicable periods.

Conference Call and Webcast

Lineage will host a conference call and webcast today, at 1:30pm PT/4:30pm ET to discuss its third quarter 2019 financial results and to provide a business update. Interested parties may access the conference call by dialing (866) 888-8633 from the U.S. and Canada and (636) 812-6629 from elsewhere outside the U.S. and Canada and should request the Lineage Cell Therapeutics Call. A live webcast of the conference call will be available online in the Investors section of Lineages website. A replay of the webcast will be available on Lineages website for 30 days and a telephone replay will be available through November 19, 2019, by dialing (855) 859-2056 from the U.S. and Canada and (404) 537-3406 from elsewhere outside the U.S. and Canada and entering conference ID number 1473397.

About Lineage Cell Therapeutics, Inc.

Lineage Cell Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel cell therapies for unmet medical needs. Lineages programs are based on its proprietary cell-based therapy platform and associated development and manufacturing capabilities. With this platform Lineage develops and manufactures specialized, terminally-differentiated human cells from its pluripotent and progenitor cell starting materials. These differentiated cells are developed either to replace or support cells that are dysfunctional or absent due to degenerative disease or traumatic injury or administered as a means of helping the body mount an effective immune response to cancer. Lineages clinical assets include (i) OpRegen, a retinal pigment epithelium transplant therapy in Phase I/IIa development for the treatment of dry age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness in the developed world; (ii) OPC1, an oligodendrocyte progenitor cell therapy in Phase I/IIa development for the treatment of acute spinal cord injuries; and (iii) VAC2, an allogeneic cancer immunotherapy of antigen-presenting dendritic cells currently in Phase I development for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer. Lineage is also evaluating potential partnership opportunities for Renevia, a facial aesthetics product that was recently granted a Conformit Europenne (CE) Mark. For more information, please visit http://www.lineagecell.com or follow the Company on Twitter @LineageCell.

Forward-Looking Statements

Lineage cautions you that all statements, other than statements of historical facts, contained in this press release, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements, in some cases, can be identified by terms such as believe, may, will, estimate, continue, anticipate, design, intend, expect, could, plan, potential, predict, seek, should, would, contemplate, project, target, tend to, or the negative version of these words and similar expressions. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to Lineages cost-savings efforts, manufacturing plans, enrollment activities, data presentations, clinical study advancement, drug evaluation, and anticipated net operational spend for the fourth quarter of 2019 and full year 2020. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause Lineages actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements in this press release, including risks and uncertainties inherent in Lineages business and other risks in Lineages filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC). Lineages forward-looking statements are based upon its current expectations and involve assumptions that may never materialize or may prove to be incorrect. All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. Further information regarding these and other risks is included under the heading Risk Factors in Lineages periodic reports with the SEC, including Lineages Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 14, 2019 and its other reports, which are available from the SECs website. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they were made. Lineage undertakes no obligation to update such statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made, except as required by law.

Tables to follow

LINEAGE CELL THERAPEUTICS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(IN THOUSANDS)

September 30,2019 (Unaudited)(Notes 1 and 3)

December 31,2018(Notes 1 and 6)

ASSETS

CURRENT ASSETS

Cash and cash equivalents

$

14,366

$

23,587

Marketable equity securities

21,318

7,154

Promissory note from Juvenescence (Note 5)

23,238

-

Trade accounts and grants receivable, net

157

767

Receivables from affiliates, net (Note 10)

164

2,112

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

2,342

2,738

Total current assets

61,585

36,358

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Lineage Cell Therapeutics Reports Third Quarter 2019 Financial Results and Provides Business Update - Business Wire

Marker Therapeutics Reports Third Quarter 2019 Operating and Financial Results – P&T Community

HOUSTON, Nov. 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Marker Therapeutics, Inc.(Nasdaq:MRKR), a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company specializing in the development of next-generation T cell-based immunotherapies for the treatment of hematological malignancies and solid tumor indications, today provided a corporate update and reported financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2019.

"We continue to make progress in advancing our next-generation T-cell based immunotherapies for the treatment of hematological malignancies and solid tumors," said Peter L. Hoang, President and CEO of Marker Therapeutics. "Our partner-sponsored MultiTAA T-cell therapy trials at the Baylor College of Medicine continue to show promising results. In addition, we continue to expand our team and build out our infrastructure to support future Marker-sponsored clinical trials. We expect the next 12 to 18 months to be an exciting and productive time for our Company."

Continued Mr. Hoang: "We recently filed an Investigational New Drug (IND) application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for our MultiTAA T-cell therapy as part of a planned Marker Phase 2 study in post-allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant patients with acute myeloid leukemia in both the adjuvant and active disease setting. The FDA reviewed our submission and requested additional information regarding certain quality and technical specifications for two reagents supplied by third party vendors that are used in our manufacturing process. Because the FDA requires these data in order to clear the IND, the Marker AML trial has been placed on clinical hold until our complete response to the technical questions is satisfactory to the FDA. While these reagents are not present in the final product, we worked with respective manufacturers of these reagents to satisfy the FDA's questions and subsequently submitted a complete response to the FDA in late October. We currently project to initiate our Phase 2 trial in 2020 and look forward to providing an update on our clinical path forward upon receiving the FDA's feedback."

PROGRAM UPDATES

Multi-Antigen Targeted (MultiTAA) T-Cell Therapies

Marker Submits Response to FDA Clinical Hold on AML Trial The Company worked with regulatory and quality groups at the respective manufacturers to address the FDA's request and submitted a complete response to the issues raised by the FDA on October 28, 2019. The FDA will respond within 30 daysafter receiving Marker's complete response, indicating whether the hold is lifted and, if not, specifying the reasons the clinical trial remains on hold.Marker expects to initiate its Phase 2 clinical trial of MultiTAA therapy for the treatment of post-transplant AML in 2020.

T Cell-Based Vaccines

Phase 2 Triple Negative Breast Cancer Trial ProgressingMarker continues to advance its T cell-based vaccine program in triple negative breast cancer. To date, results have shown:

Phase 2 Platinum-Sensitive Advanced Ovarian Cancer Trial Update Marker will be discontinuing the development of TPIV200 in patients with platinum-sensitive advanced ovarian cancer based on an unblinded review of interim results from its Phase 2 study conducted by an independent Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB). Although the DSMB did not express any safety concerns with respect to TPIV200, Marker has elected to suspend the trial because it did not meet the threshold for probability of success based upon the Company's pre-specified criteria. Pending full review of the data, Marker anticipates closing the trial in the first quarter of 2020.

CORPORATE UPDATES

THIRD QUARTER 2019 FINANCIAL RESULTS

Net loss for the quarter ended September 30, 2019 was $5.5 million, compared to a net loss of $4.4 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2018.

Research and development expenses during the three months ended September 30, 2019 were $3.1 million, compared to $1.9 million during the three months ended September 30, 2018. The increase of $1.2 million was primarily attributable to increases in personnel-related expenses, relating to the build-up of Marker's internal infrastructure.

General and administrative expenses were $2.5 million during the three months ended September 30, 2019 as compared to $2.6 million during the three months ended September 30, 2018. The decrease was primarily attributable to $0.6 million of merger-related expenses incurred during the three months ended September 30, 2018, offset by increased expenses in headcount-related and legal and other professional expenses.

CASH POSITION AND GUIDANCE

At September 30, 2019, Marker had cash and cash equivalents of $48.5 million. The Company believes that its existing cash and cash equivalents will fund its current operations through at least the fourth quarter of 2020.

Conference Call and Webcast

The Company will host a webcast and conference call to discuss its third quarter 2019 financial results and provide an update on recent corporate activities today at 5:00 p.m. EST.

The webcast will be accessible in the Investors section of the Company's website at http://www.markertherapeutics.com. Individuals can participate in the conference call by dialing 877-407-8913 (domestic) or 201-689-8201 (international) and referring to the "Marker Therapeutics Third Quarter 2019 Earnings Call."

The archived webcast will be available for replay on the Marker website following the event.

About Marker Therapeutics, Inc.Marker Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company specializing in the development of next-generation T cell-based immunotherapies for the treatment of hematological malignancies and solid tumor indications. Marker's cell therapy technology is based on the selective expansion of non-engineered, tumor-specific T cells that recognize tumor associated antigens (i.e. tumor targets) and kill tumor cells expressing those targets. This population of T cells is designed to attack multiple tumor targets following infusion into patients and to activate the patient's immune system to produce broad spectrum anti-tumor activity. Because Marker does not genetically engineer its T cell therapies, we believe that our product candidates will be easier and less expensive to manufacture, with reduced toxicities, compared to current engineered CAR-T and TCR-based approaches, and may provide patients with meaningful clinical benefit. As a result, Marker believes its portfolio of T cell therapies has a compelling product profile, as compared to current gene-modified CAR-T and TCR-based therapies.

Marker is also advancing a number of innovative peptide and gene-based immuno-therapeutics for the treatment of metastatic solid tumors, including the Folate Receptor Alpha program (TPIV200) for breast cancer and the HER2/neu program (TPIV100/110) for breast cancer, currently in Phase 2 clinical trials.

To receive future press releases via email, please visit:https://www.markertherapeutics.com/email-alerts/

Forward-Looking Statement DisclaimerThis release contains forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements in this news release concerning the Company's expectations, plans, business outlook or future performance, and any other statements concerning assumptions made or expectations as to any future events, conditions, performance or other matters, are "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements include statements regarding our intentions, beliefs, projections, outlook, analyses or current expectations concerning, among other things: our research, development and regulatory activities and expectations relating to our non-engineered multi-tumor antigen specific T cell therapies; our TPIV200 and TPIV100/110 programs; the effectiveness of these programs or the possible range of application and potential curative effects and safety in the treatment of diseases; and, the timing and success of our clinical trials, as well as clinical trials conducted by our collaborators. Forward-looking statements are by their nature subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated in such statements. Such risks, uncertainties and factors include, but are not limited to the risks set forth in the Company's most recent Form 10-K, 10-Q and other SEC filings which are available through EDGAR at http://www.sec.gov. The Company assumes no obligation to update our forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date of this press release.

Marker Therapeutics, Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

(Unaudited)

September 30,

December 31,

2019

2018

ASSETS

Current assets:

Cash and cash equivalents

$ 48,477,670

$ 61,746,748

Prepaid expenses and deposits

1,906,062

141,717

Interest receivable

78,145

108,177

Total current assets

50,461,877

61,996,642

Non-current assets:

Property, plant and equipment, net

438,881

147,668

Right-of-use assets, net

501,714

-

Total non-current assets

940,595

147,668

Total assets

$ 51,402,472

$ 62,144,310

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

Current liabilities:

Accounts payable and accrued liabilities

$ 2,858,808

$ 2,754,572

Lease liability

199,266

-

Warrant liability

129,000

49,000

Total current liabilities

3,187,074

2,803,572

Non-current liabilities:

Lease liability, net of current portion

333,480

-

Total non-current liabilities

333,480

-

Total liabilities

3,520,554

2,803,572

Commitments and contingencies

-

-

Stockholders' equity:

Preferred stock - $0.001 par value, 5 million shares authorized and 0 shares issued and outstanding at September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, respectively

-

-

Common stock, $0.001 par value, 150 million shares authorized, 45.7 million and 45.4 million shares issued and outstanding as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, respectively

45,723

45,440

Additional paid-in capital

370,290,447

365,400,748

Accumulated deficit

(322,454,252)

(306,105,450)

Total stockholders' equity

47,881,918

Originally posted here:
Marker Therapeutics Reports Third Quarter 2019 Operating and Financial Results - P&T Community

Neon Therapeutics Reports Third Quarter 2019 Financial Results and Recent Highlights – Associated Press

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Nov. 12, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Neon Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: NTGN), a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company developing neoantigen-based therapeutics, today reported financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2019 and provided a business update.

We continue to make important progress in advancing our leadership in the field of neoantigen-targeted therapies and are pleased to have recently presented updates across our personalized cancer vaccine and adoptive T cell therapy programs at the SITC Annual Meeting. In the remaining months of 2019, we look to continue building on our leadership position by completing our process development work that will enable our planned Clinical Trial Application in Europe for Phase 1 development of our neoantigen-targeted T cell therapy candidate, NEO-PTC-01, said Hugh ODowd, Neons Chief Executive Officer.

Recent Highlights

-- RECON Bioinformatics Platform: Neon scientists published in the scientific journal Immunity a breakthrough process for predicting which neoantigens will be presented by MHC class II molecules in the tumor microenvironment. o Predicting the relevant cancer-specific antigens is a crucial precursor to developing immunotherapies that effectively train T cells to traffic to the tumor and destroy malignant cells. In the paper, titled Defining HLA-II ligand processing and binding rules with mass spectrometry enhances cancer epitope prediction, Neons proprietary mono-allelic profiling technology called MAPTAC facilitated the development of convolutional neural network-based predictors. o These algorithms achieved up to a 61-fold improvement in predicting MHC class II peptides compared to publicly available tools. o This MHC class II technology will be integrated into Neons RECON bioinformatics platform and is expected to improve the efficacy of immunotherapies developed by Neon by predicting recruitment of CD4+ T cells, which are believed to be important in controlling tumor growth. -- NEO-PV-01: Neon presented updated results at the SITC Annual Meeting from the ongoing, multicenter Phase 1b NT-001 clinical trial evaluating NEO-PV-01, Neons personal neoantigen vaccine candidate, in combination with OPDIVO (nivolumab) in patients with advanced or metastatic melanoma, smoking-associated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and bladder cancer. o Across all three distinct tumor types, results demonstrated prolonged and consistent improvements in progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) that compare favorably to that observed with checkpoint inhibitor monotherapy, based on historical benchmark data. o Further, neoantigen-specific immune responses and epitope spread to RECON-predicted targets were associated with longer PFS, and major pathological responses post-administration of NEO-PV-01 in melanoma patients were also associated with longer PFS. o The safety data for NT-001 were consistent with the safety profile for OPDIVO monotherapy. These updated results come from 82 patients who received at least one dose of OPDIVO in the Phase 1b NT-001 trial. -- NEO-PTC-01:Neon presented at the SITC Annual Meeting an update on preclinical and process development work for NEO-PTC-01, its personal neoantigen-targeted T cell therapy candidate consisting of multiple T cell populations targeting the most therapeutically relevant neoantigens from each patients tumor. o NEO-PTC-01 leverages Neons RECON bioinformatics platform to individually select a set of neoantigen targets for each patient, and NEO-STIM, its proprietary process to directly prime, activate and expand neoantigen-targeting T cells ex vivo.Neon believes that this approach will allow NEO-PTC-01, a non-engineered product that leverages peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) as starting material, to specifically target each patients individual tumor with T cells that can drive a robust and persistent anti-tumor response. o In the SITC update, Neon demonstrated that it can reproducibly generate a potent T cell product from PBMCs of melanoma patients, as well as at therapeutic scale using a healthy donor sample. This process development work showed that NEO-PTC-01 induced multiple CD8+ and CD4+ T cell responses from both the memory and the nave T cell compartments. o Neon is focusing the initial clinical development of NEO-PTC-01 in patients with solid tumors that are refractory to checkpoint inhibitors. Neon expects to file a clinical trial application, or CTA, in Europe by the end of 2019 to evaluate NEO-PTC-01 in the solid tumor setting.

Expected Near-Term Milestones

-- NEO-PTC-01: Planned European CTA filing to evaluate NEO-PTC-01 in a refractory solid tumor setting (2H 2019). -- NEO-PTC-01: Planned Phase 1 initiation in a refractory solid tumor setting (1H 2020). -- NEO-PV-01: Planned clinical results and correlative immune data, including 12-month follow-up, from NT-002 Phase 1b trial in first-line metastatic NSCLC (Q3 2020).

Third Quarter 2019 Financial Results and Financial Guidance:

-- R&D Expenses:Research and development expenses were $14.1 million for the third quarter of 2019, compared to $14.4 million for the same period last year. The decrease was primarily due to a reduction in clinical development and manufacturing costs, partially offset by an increase in personnel-related costs and costs related to the preparation for the planned CTA filing in Europe for Phase 1 development of NEO-PTC-01. -- G&A Expenses:General and administrative expenses were $5.1 million for the third quarter of 2019, compared to $4.6 million for the same period last year. The increase was primarily due to personnel-related costs and costs associated with being a public company. -- Net Loss: Net loss was $19.0 million for the third quarter of 2019, compared to $18.4 million for the same period last year. -- Cash Position:As of September 30, 2019, cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities were $44.3 million, as compared to cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $103.3 million as of December 31, 2018. -- Financial Guidance: Based on its current operating plan, Neon expects that its existing cash and cash equivalents will enable the Company to fund its operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements into June 2020.

OPDIVO is a registered trademark of Bristol-Myers Squibb Company.

About Neon Therapeutics

Neon Therapeutics is a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company and a leader in the field of neoantigen-targeted therapies, dedicated to transforming the treatment of cancer by directing the immune system towards neoantigens. Neon is using its neoantigen platform to develop both vaccine and T cell therapies, including NEO-PV-01, a clinical-stage neoantigen vaccine for the treatment of metastatic melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer, and bladder cancer; NEO-PTC-01, a neoantigen T cell therapy for the treatment of solid tumors; and NEO-SV-01, a neoantigen vaccine for the treatment of a subset of hormone receptor-positive (HR+) breast cancer.

For more information, please visit neontherapeutics.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements of Neon Therapeutics, Inc. within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements may include, but may not be limited to, express or implied statements regarding our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approval of our product candidates; the potential timing and advancement of our clinical trials; the potential timing and manner of data readouts from our ongoing and planned clinical trials; the design and potential efficacy of our therapeutic approaches; financial plans and projections; and our ability to replicate results achieved in our preclinical studies or clinical trials in any future studies or trials. Any forward-looking statements in this press release are based on managements current expectations and beliefs of future events, and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those set forth in or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: uncertainties related to the initiation, timing and conduct of studies and other development requirements for our product candidates; the risk that any one or more of our product candidates will not be successfully developed and commercialized; the risk that the results of preclinical studies and clinical trials may not be predictive of future results in connection with future studies or trials; the risk that Neons collaborations will not continue or will not be successful; risks related to our ability to protect and maintain our intellectual property position; risks related to our capital requirements and use of capital; and risks related to the ability of our licensors to protect and maintain their intellectual property position. For a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties, and other important factors, any of which could cause Neons actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see the section entitled Risk Factors in Neons most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as discussions of potential risks, uncertainties, and other important factors in Neons other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All information in this press release is as of the date of the release, and Neon undertakes no duty to update this information unless required by law.

Selected Consolidated Balance Sheet Data (Unaudited)(amounts in thousands)

September 30, 2019 December 31, 2018 ------------------ ----------------- Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities $ 44,278 $ 103,311 Working capital (1) $ 36,215 $ 92,737 Total assets $ 62,317 $ 114,088 Total stockholders equity $ 45,334 $ 101,249

______________________________________________

(1) Working capital is defined as current assets less current liabilities.

Consolidated Statements of Operations (Unaudited)(amounts in thousands, except per share data)

Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended September 30, September 30, 2019 2018 2019 2018 ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Operating expenses: Research and development $ 14,120 $ 14,441 $ 47,027 $ 42,403 General and administrative 5,134 4,612 16,122 12,524 --------- - --------- - --------- - --------- - Total operating expenses 19,254 19,053 63,149 54,927 --------- - --------- - --------- - --------- - Loss from operations (19,254 ) (19,053 ) (63,149 ) (54,927 ) Other income (expense), net Interest income 278 672 1,252 1,136 Other expense (4 ) (10 ) (39 ) (20 ) --------- - --------- - --------- - --------- - Total other income, net 274 662 1,213 1,116 --------- - --------- - --------- - --------- - Net loss (18,980 ) (18,391 ) (61,936 ) (53,811 ) Accretion of redeemable convertible preferred stock to (6,371 ) redemption value --------- - --------- - --------- - --------- - Net loss attributable to common stockholders $ (18,980 ) $ (18,391 ) $ (61,936 ) $ (60,182 ) - ------- - - ------- - - ------- - - ------- - Net loss per share attributable to common stockholders, $ (0.68 ) $ (0.67 ) $ (2.23 ) $ (5.55 ) basic and diluted - ------- - - ------- - - ------- - - ------- - Weighted average common shares outstanding, basic and 27,935 27,358 27,792 10,834 diluted --------- - --------- - --------- - --------- -

Investor Contact: Paul Cox, Corporate Affairs and Strategy pcox@neontherapeutics.com 617-337-4762

Media Contact: Stephanie Simon, Ten Bridge Communications stephanie@tenbridgecommunications.com 617-581-9333

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Neon Therapeutics Reports Third Quarter 2019 Financial Results and Recent Highlights - Associated Press