StemCell Therapy

Research by a University of Southern Denmark team has found that the cannabis compound cannabidiol (CBD) may act as a helper compound to boost the effectiveness of antibiotics against drug-resistant Gram-positive bacteria. A study headed by Janne Kudsk Klitgaard, PhD, associate professor, clinical microbiology, found that combining CBD with the antibiotic bacitracin (BAC) had a more powerful effect against bacteria including Staphylococcus aureus, than BAC alone. Based on these observations, the combination of CBD and BAC is suggested to be a putative novel treatment in clinical settings for treatment of infections with antibiotic-resistant Gram-positive bacteria, the researchers stated in their published paper in Scientific Reports, titled, Cannabidiol is an effective helper compound in combination with bacitracin to kill Gram-positive bacteria.

Since the discovery of penicillin by Sir Alexander Fleming in 1928, antibiotics have saved millions of lives from fatal infections worldwide, the authors wrote. However, over time, bacteria have developed mechanisms to escape the effects of one or more antibioticsmultidrug resistance (MDR)leading to an increasing global health threat. With fewer antibiotics available to treat MDR bacterial infections, the possibility of entering a pre-antibiotic era is looming ahead, the team stated.

Among alternative strategies that are being explored to help address antibiotic resistance, helper compounds, also known as antibiotic potentiators or resistant breakers, are gaining attention. Such helper compounds are non-antibiotic compounds that act as adjuvants for antibiotics, operating synergistically through mechanisms including efflux pump inhibition, enzyme inhibition, or changing membrane permeability, which can contribute to improving antibiotic efficacy.

Given that overuse of antibiotics is the main cause of antibiotic resistance, the combination of an antibiotic with a helper compound could reduce the amount of antibiotic needed to achieve bacterial growth inhibition or killing than if the antibiotic was used alone. This strategy may, therefore, decrease the likelihood of resistance development, and investigations to identify efficient helper compounds are thus important, the investigators suggested.

CBD, from the cannabis plant Cannabis sativa, acts as an antagonist of both the cannabinoid type 1 and 2 (CB1 and CB2) receptors, and has been shown to have anti-sedative, anti-psychotic, and anxiolytic effects, the team noted. The compound has also been linked with a variety of effects, including inhibiting cancer cell growth, neuroprotection in neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinsons disease, and post-ischemia, and anti-inflammatory effects, as in type 1 diabetes.

CBD has also been observed to inhibit bacterial growth, but the use of cannabidiol as an antibiotic adjuvant hasnt yet been investigated, the team continued. Not much is known regarding antimicrobial effects of cannabinoids and even less on the mechanism of action the use of cannabidiol as an antibiotic adjuvant has not been studied so far.

For their reported study, the researchers evaluated whether CBD could act as a potential helper compound to increase the effectiveness of the antibiotic bacitracin, which is a mixture of cyclic peptides that interfere with the bacterial cell wall and interrupt biosynthesis of peptidoglycan, leading to cell lysis. The team first validated the antimicrobial effect of cannabidiol against the Gram-positive bacteria methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and also against Enterococcus faecalis, Listeria monocytogenes, and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis (MRSE). They then tested the effects of combining CBD and BAC against different Gram-positive bacteria, providing initial indication that CBD could potentiate the antimicrobial effects of the antibiotic.

Further tests with the combination of CBD and BAC against S. aureus showed that dual treatment caused morphological changes in the bacterial cells that affected cell division, so that the bacteria could no longer divide normally. the combination of CBD and BAC affects the cell envelope causing irregular cell division visualized by multiple septa formations and irregular cell membrane. These effects werent seen with either treatment on its own; CBD and BAC alone caused no morphological changes, they wrote.

The combined treatment was also found to decrease autolysis in S. aureus, while CBD was shown to cause depolarization of the cytoplasmic membrane. Gene expression analysis confirmed that treatment using CBD in combination with BAC resulted in reduced expression of key cell division and autolysis genes in the bacteria. The combination of BAC and CBD was, however, and as expected, not effective in Gram-negative bacteria. As a mixture of cyclic peptides that interrupt cell wall synthesis in Gram-positive bacteria, the antibiotic is probably unable to cross the outer membrane in Gram-negative bacteria, the researchers pointed out.

In this study, we found that the antibacterial effects of BAC against S. aureus as well as other Gram-positive bacteria can be enhanced by cannabidiol originating from the cannabis plant, the scientists concluded. They acknowledged that further work will be needed to understand the mechanisms of action of combined CBD and BAC treatment on Gram-positive bacteria. Changes observed in morphology were not caused by compositional changes in the cell wall muropeptide composition. Membrane potential changes for the combination of CBD and BAC compared to either CBD or BAC treatment alone did not reveal the mechanism of action for the combination of CBD and BAC, they wrote. Future studies are therefore focused on the cell division and cell envelope to identify the mechanism of action.

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Cannabis Compound CBD Acts as Helper to Boost Antibiotic Effectiveness - Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News

As conspiracy theories started spreading like wildfire on the Internet, several misguided rumours about the connection between 5G and coronavirus surfaced online. COVID-19, is believed to have originated from a wet market in Wuhan, China, in November. Coincidentally, China also turned on some of its 5G networks in November.

Rumours gained steam when Keri Hilson, popular American singer, with 4.2 million followers on Twitter, sent out tweets last week about the alleged connection between 5G and COVID-19, writing, "People have been trying to warn us about 5G for YEARS. Petitions, organizations, studies... what we're going through is the affects [sic] of radiation. 5G launched in CHINA. Nov 1, 2019. People dropped dead."

Several conspiracy theorists also alleged that the viral videos of people dropping on the ground and fainting in China, were a result of 5G radio waves messing with the oxygen levels in blood of the general public.

Soon, a UK based fact checking website, FullFact, debunked the claims and argued that there is no evidence that 5G is harmful to peoples health.

Read more:
A Bioweapon Or Effects Of 5G? 7 Conspiracy Theories Around Coronavirus That Will Shock You - The Biggest Humanitarian Crisis - Economic Times

In uncertain times, we are witnessing one of the greatest moments in the history of science.

A projected timeline for treatment and prevention of the novel coronavirus. Although we are living ... [+] through uncertain times, we are also witnessing one of the greatest moments in science history.

Scientists are breaking speed records in their race to develop treatments for the new coronavirus. Some are panning through old molecules hoping to find effective drugs. Others are applying the latest breakthroughs in synthetic biology to engineer sophisticated treatments and vaccines.

Ive previously talked about some synthetic biology companies that are racing to create treatments. Others like Mammoth Biosciences are developing much-needed testing. Every day brings additional reports of the latest breakthroughs from around the world. But how can we make sense of all this information?

To provide a big-picture perspective, SynBioBeta and Leaps by Bayer have partnered to help visualize the overall progress of the research community. At the heart of the project is an infographic showing the timeline to the various treatments and preventions (click here to download it). Its based on data from The Milken Institute, which recently released a detailed tracker to monitor the progress of each of the more than 60 known COVID-19 treatments and preventions currently in development.

One takeaway: the progress to develop coronavirus treatments and preventions is moving at an unprecedented pace, with historic records being broken nearly every week.

The crisis response from the global biotech community has been truly inspiring, says Juergen Eckhardt, SVP and Head of Leaps by Bayer, a unit of Bayer AG that leads impact investments into solutions to some of todays biggest challenges in health and agriculture. We are excited to partner on this visual timeline to help a broader audience understand how and when scientific innovation may bring us through this deeply challenging time.

COVID19: Projected timeline for treatment and prevention. Three paths: pre-existing drugs, antibody ... [+] therapies, and vaccines.

There are standard stages to getting a drug approved. In Phase 1 trials, a drugs safety is assessed in a small group of healthy subjects. In later stages (Phase II & III), efficacy is measured in a larger number of people, often versus a placebo. The situation with COVID-19 is predicted to become so dire so quickly, however, that many are looking to fast-track testing. This could include granting experimental drugs expanded access, for compassionate use, which would allow physicians to give them to patients who are critically ill before testing is complete.

The fastest way to safely stop COVID-19 would be to discover that an already-approved medication works against it. Repurposed drugs do not require the same extensive testing as novel medicines and may already be available in large quantities. The Milken Institutes tracker identifies 7 candidate drugs in this category.

One is the malarial medicine chloroquine, which in recent days has been touted by some as a possible miracle drug against the coronavirus. German pharmaceutical company Bayer last week donated three million tablets of chloroquine to the U.S. The FDA and academics are together investigating whether it can provide relief to COVID-19 patients.

There are hundreds if not thousands of other FDA-approved drugs on the market that are already proven safe in humans and that may have treatment potential against COVID-19, so many scientists are rapidly screening the known drug arsenal in hopes of discovering an effective compound.

Antibodies are proteins that are a natural part of the human immune system. They work around the clock in blood to block viruses and more. The problem at the moment is that because the novel coronavirus (known as SARS-CoV-2) is new, no one has had time to develop antibodies against it. No one, that is, except those who have recovered from COVID-19.

Antibodies taken from those people could help patients who are still infected. Such patient-to-patient transfers can be performed without extensive testing or lengthy approval processes so long as standard protocols are followed. It is yet unknown whether this treatment option will work for COVID-19, nor whether there will be enough recovered donors to deal with the infection at scale.

To improve this process, companies like Vancouver, Canada-based AbCellera are applying new biotechnologies.

AbCellera is using proprietary tools and machine learning to rapidly screen through millions of B cells from patients who recovered from COVID-19. B cells are responsible for producing antibodies. The company has announced a partnership with Eli Lilly on this project and aims to bring its hottest antibodies those that neutralize the virus to the clinic.

AbCellera's platform has delivered, with unprecedented speed, by far the world's largest panel of anti-SAR-CoV-2 antibodies," said Carl Hansen, Ph.D., CEO of AbCellera, in a statement. "In 11 days, we've discovered hundreds of antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for the current outbreak, moved into functional testing with global experts in virology, and signed a co-development agreement with one of the world's leading biopharmaceutical companies. We're deeply impressed with the speed and agility of Lilly's response to this global challenge. Together, our teams are committed to delivering a countermeasure to stop the outbreak."

James Crowe at Vanderbilt University is also sifting through the blood of recovered patients. Using a new instrument called Beacon from a company called Berkeley Lights. Crowes team has been scouring through B cells to find antibodies that neutralize SARS-CoV-2. The technology behind this project was developed in recent years with funds from the Department of Defense.

Normally this would be a five year program, Crowe told me. But in the rapid process his team is following, animal studies could be done in as fast as two months.

This morning, Berkeley Lights announced a Global Emerging Pathogen Antibody Discovery Consortium (GEPAD) to attack COVID-19 and other viruses. It is partnering with Vanderbilt University, La Jolla Institute for Immunology, and Emory University to accelerate the work above to the broader research community.

This collaboration also included commercial partners, including Twist Bioscience, who synthesized DNA for the project.

Our mission is to provide the raw material needed for biologists to make breakthroughs, said Twists CEO Emily Leproust. If DNA is needed, we want to make it, quickly and perfectly

Another company that specializes in DNA synthesis, SGI-DNA, is offering its tools at much reduced cost to researchers developing COVID-19 treatments. The company said that people from around the world are coming to them for help.

"There is zero time to waste," said Todd R. Nelson, Ph.D., CEO of SGI-DNA. He said that researchers need synthetic DNA and RNA, which its Bio-XP machine can provide in as little as eight hours.

Nelson continued, "In a matter of a day or two, we have built the genes thought to be critical to the development of successful vaccines against SARS-CoV-2. SGI-DNA has made them available in the form of different genetic libraries, which researchers can use to find druggable targets in a matter of hours, dramatically accelerating the time to market for therapeutics and vaccines.

Beyond searching for antibodies in recovered patients, biotechnologists have other tricks up their sleeves.

One approach involves genetically engineering laboratory mice to mimic the human immune system. These animals can then be presented with the virus or parts of the virus and allowed to recover. The hope is that their B cells would then produce effective antibodies. Because this happens in a controlled setting, biologists can better understand and engineer the process.

A company called GenScript was pursuing this strategy as early as February 4, when police escorted 8 transgenic mice immunized with the 2019 nCoV antigen to research labs in China. In 12 hours, its researchers successfully found specific antibodies in the mice that could recognize the novel virus and potentially block it from binding to cells. In less than 24 hoursagain using Berkeley Lights new Beacon instrument for working with thousands of individual, live cellsGenScript completed a series of steps that would have taken three months using previous technology.

Yet another approach involves computational approaches and artificial intelligence. Firms like Distributed Bio are using computers to reengineer antibodies to better target SARS-CoV-2. The company is optimizing antibodies that are known to target SARS-CoV-1, the virus behind the 2003 outbreak of SARS.

We believe broadly neutralizing antibodies with engineered biophysical properties will become key weapons to win the war against all coronaviruses said Jake Glanville, CEO of Distributed Bio.

Vaccines work by simulating infection, which allows the body to mount its own defense against a virus. Effective vaccines take time to develop, and they can take even longer to test. But recent progress in biotechnology is again accelerating these efforts.

Notably, Moderna has launched a Phase 1 vaccine trial against COVID-19 in record time. Patients in Seattle have already begun receiving injections of an experimental mRNA vaccine. Moderna cranked out doses of this and won approval from the FDA for testing in just 44 days an all-time record.

These programs show a massive focus on a common enemy, and a coming together of disparate firms.

Ginkgo Bioworks, a giant in the emerging field of synthetic biology, has announced a $25 million fund to help spur even more collaboration. The company is offering its laboratory equipment and know-how to anyone with a good idea of how to stop COVID-19. We dont want any scientists to have to wait. The pandemic has already arrived, so the time for rapid prototyping and scale-up is right now, said Jason Kelly, CEO of Ginkgo.

These effortsand the infographic aboveshould give you hope. Although we are all now living in uncertain times, we are also witnessing one of the greatest moments in the history of science.

It's a terrible time, and simultaneously a fantastic time to see the global science community working together to conquer this very hard and challenging disease, said Berkeley Lights CEO Eric Hobbs. We are also learning and developing the tools and technologies to ensure that we can react faster to the next threat, so that we don't get to this point again in the future.

Follow me on twitter at @johncumbers and @synbiobeta. Subscribe to my weekly newsletters in synthetic biology.

Thank you to Ian Haydon and Kevin Costa for additional research and reporting in this article. Im the founder of SynBioBeta, and some of the companies that I write aboutincluding Leaps by Bayer, Mammoth Biosciences, Distributed Bio, Twist Bioscience, SGI-DNA, Genscript, Berkeley Lights, and Ginkgo Bioworksare sponsors of the SynBioBeta conference and weekly digest heres the full list of SynBioBeta sponsors.

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Timeline Shows 3 Paths To COVID-19 Treatment And Prevention (INFOGRAPHIC) - Forbes

The "Agricultural Biotechnology: Emerging Technologies and Global Markets" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The study scope includes key agricultural biotechnology tools (i.e., next-generation DNA sequencing, biochips, RNA interference, synthetic biology tools, and gene editing tools); synthetic biology-enabled chemicals and biofuels; biotech seeds; and biologicals.

The report analyzes these technologies and products to determine present and future market sizes, and to forecast growth from 2019 through 2024. The report also discusses industry strategic alliances, industry structures, competitive dynamics, patent status and market driving forces.

The research provides in-depth coverage of the agricultural biotechnology industry structure, including genomics technology providers (e.g., genome editing, NGS and microarray companies); major seed companies; biotech trait companies; synthetic biology tools companies; companies developing plant feedstocks; and agricultural biologicals companies. It provides an in-depth analysis of major industry acquisitions and alliances during 2018 and 2019.

96 agricultural and biotechnology companies are profiled in this report.

The report includes:

Market Insights

Global megatrends are driving the need for higher agricultural yields, creating strong tailwinds for innovative seed traits and biological pesticides and stimulants.

World population growth, coupled with rising incomes, lead to consumption of higher-quality foods, including meat. This, in turn, creates higher consumption of feed crops, including maize, soy, and wheat. At the same time, the total acreage of arable land available for producing crops is under pressure from a range of forces, including growing populations, urbanization, and global warming.

These global forces are creating leverage in the industry to increase productivity and crop yields. Biotechnology provides strategic tools for the agricultural industry to meet these market demands. This report examines the role of these technologies in agriculture and quantifies their market impact.

Reasons for Doing the Study

Agriculture is a fundamental and strategic component of a country. As a result, agricultural technologies provide competitive geographic advantage and are highly desirable. Biotechnologies address the pressing industry need for higher crop yields and other desirable traits. Agricultural biotechnology is a key and growing component of the global agriculture industry and is thus of interest to a wide audience.

This report seeks to provide a qualitative and quantitative description of the agricultural biotechnology industry so that emerging market opportunities can be identified and exploited by the reader. The report does this by examining the main product applications and markets, thereby helping companies to prioritize product opportunities and strategic opportunities. The report highlights key market and industry trends, as well as quantifying the main market segments, in order to help the reader better understand industry structure and changes occurring in the industry.

Rapid changes in technology-intensive fields such as DNA sequencing, gene editing, and synthetic biology are driving new products and applications in agriculture. These developments create unique market opportunities. This report analyzes these trends and their impact on future markets for agricultural products.

Based on these market and technology dynamics, it is especially timely to examine the agricultural biotechnology industry.

Key Topics Covered

Chapter 1 Introduction

Chapter 2 Summary and Highlights

Chapter 3 Overview

Chapter 4 Technology Background

Chapter 5 Agricultural Biotechnology Applications

Chapter 6 DNA Read, Write and Edit Industries

Chapter 7 Acquisitions and Strategic Alliances

Chapter 8 Agricultural Biotechnology Markets

Chapter 9 Patents

Chapter 10 Company Profiles

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/fwyt4b

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200327005159/en/

Contacts

ResearchAndMarkets.comLaura Wood, Senior Press Managerpress@researchandmarkets.com

For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900

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The Agricultural Biotechnology Industry 2020: Emerging Technologies and Global Markets - ResearchAndMarkets.com - Yahoo Finance

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. & SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Generation Bio and Vir Biotechnology (Nasdaq: VIR) today announced a collaborative research agreement to explore the potential for Generation Bios non-viral gene therapy platform to extend the impact and reach of Virs current or future human monoclonal antibodies (mAb) against SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19. Generation Bios technology has the potential to deliver genetic information directly to cells without the use of adeno-associated viruses (AAV), in effect instructing the patients body to produce the antibody itself.

The companies believe that this technology, coupled with Virs potent neutralizing antibodies, has the potential to provide effective, long-lasting protection against SARS-CoV-2. Virs leading antibody was isolated from a SARS-CoV-1 recovered patient and potently neutralizes SARS-CoV-2. Vir believes that this approach can potentially provide broad and longer-lasting protection.

Together, we believe we can develop long-lasting therapies suitable for population-wide prevention and treatment, said Generation Bio President and CEO Geoff McDonough, M.D. We are moving with urgency to explore leveraging our platform to build protection against COVID-19 for the long term.

Generation Bios proprietary non-viral gene therapy platform is designed to enable production of target proteins from a patients own cells. This approach may allow the patient to maintain stable levels of antibody expression for years, providing continuous protection against the target virus. In addition, the companies intend to leverage Generation Bios scalable manufacturing process to potentially extend the reach of Virs monoclonal antibodies to a greater number of patients.

We are eager to bring our antibodies to patients as quickly as possible, and should they work, to make them available to as many patients as quickly as possible. We are excited to explore the potential of ceDNA in an infectious disease setting and our anti-SARS-CoV-2 program offers a way to do that, said George Scangos, Ph.D., CEO of Vir. Both companies are highly motivated to make meaningful contributions to stopping this disease and we look forward to a productive collaboration with Generation Bio.

About Generation Bio

Generation Bio is an innovative genetic medicines company focused on creating a new class of gene therapy to provide durable, redosable treatments for patients suffering from both rare and prevalent diseases. The companys non-viral platform incorporates a proprietary high-capacity DNA construct called closed-ended DNA, or ceDNA; a novel cell-targeted lipid nanoparticle delivery system, or ctLNP; and an established, scalable capsid-free manufacturing process. The company is designing therapies to provide targeted delivery of genetic payloads that include large and multiple genes across a broad array of tissues, and to be redosable for individualized and extended treatment throughout a patients life. The platform is designed to expand access to treatments for rare diseases and to address prevalent diseases through efficient, scalable manufacturing.

About Virs Antibody Platform

Vir has a robust method for capitalizing on unusually successful immune responses naturally occurring in people who are protected from, or have recovered from, infectious diseases. The platform is used to identify rare antibodies from survivors that have the potential to treat and prevent rapidly evolving and/or previously untreatable pathogens via direct pathogen neutralization and immune system stimulation. Vir engineers the fully human antibodies that it discovers to enhance their therapeutic potential. This platform has been used to identify and develop antibodies for pathogens including Ebola (mAb114, currently in use in the Democratic Republic of Congo), hepatitis B virus, influenza A, SARS-CoV-2, malaria, and others.

About Vir Biotechnology

Vir Biotechnology is a clinical-stage immunology company focused on combining immunologic insights with cutting-edge technologies to treat and prevent serious infectious diseases. Vir has assembled four technology platforms that are designed to stimulate and enhance the immune system by exploiting critical observations of natural immune processes. Its current development pipeline consists of product candidates targeting hepatitis B virus, influenza A, SARS-CoV-2, human immunodeficiency virus, and tuberculosis. For more information, please visit http://www.vir.bio.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as may, will, expect, believe, plan, anticipate, estimate, explore, intend, potential and similar expressions (as well as other words or expressions referencing future events, conditions or circumstances) are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on Virs expectations and assumptions as of the date of this press release. Each of these forward-looking statements involves risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release include statements regarding the potential benefits of Virs collaboration with Generation Bio, the ability of ceDNA to deliver and support the production of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, Virs efforts to identify potential therapies for SARS-CoV-2, and its ability to address the COVID-19 pandemic. Many factors may cause differences between current expectations and actual results including unexpected safety or efficacy data observed during preclinical or clinical studies, challenges in administering mAbs against SARS-CoV-2, difficulties in scaling the manufacturing process to extend the reach of Virs monoclonal antibodies, and challenges in accessing manufacturing capacity. Other factors that may cause actual results to differ from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements in this press release are discussed in Virs filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including the section titled Risk Factors contained therein. Except as required by law, Vir assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in expectations, even as new information becomes available.

Link:
Generation Bio and Vir Biotechnology to Collaborate on Research to Leverage Scalable Non-Viral Gene Therapy Platform for Durable Production of...

The recent performance of Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) stock in the market spoke loud and clear to investors as VIR saw more than 784.19K shares in trading volumes in the last trading session, way higher than the average trading volume of 784.19K shares by far recorded in the movement of Vir Biotechnology (VIR). At the time the stock opened at the value of $32.50, making it a high for the given period, the value of the stock jumped by 7.19%. After the increase, VIR touched a low price of $31.01, calling it a day with a closing price of $32.00, which means that the price of VIR went 1.8 below the opening price on the mentioned day.

Given the most recent momentum in the market in the price movement of VIR stock, some strong opinions on the matter of investing in the companys stock started to take shape, which is how analysts are predicting an estimated price of $26.33 for VIR within consensus. The estimated price would demand a set of gains in total of -123771.64%, which goes higher than the most recent closing price, indicating that the stock is in for bullish trends. Other indicators are hinting that the stock could reach an outstanding figure in the market share, which is currently set at 100.33M in the public float and 3.51B US dollars in market capitalization.

When it comes to the technical analysis of VIR stock, there are more than several important indicators on the companys success in the market, one of those being the Relative Strength Indicator (RSI), which can show, just as Stochastic measures, what is going on with the value of the stock beneath the data. This value may also indicate that the stock will go sideways rather than up or down, also indicating that the price could stay where it is for quite some time. When it comes to Stochastic reading, VIR stock are showing 18.57% in results, indicating that the stock is neither overbought or oversold at the moment, providing it with a neutral within Stochastic reading as well. Additionally, VIR with the present state of 200 MA appear to be indicating bullish trends within the movement of the stock in the market. While other metrics within the technical analysis are due to provide an outline into the value of VIR, the general sentiment in the market is inclined toward positive trends.

With the previous 100-day trading volume average of 1.01 million shares, iStar (STAR) recorded a trading volume of 1.02 million shares, as the stock started the trading session at the value of $9.95, in the end touching the price of $10.66 after jumping by 7.14%.

STAR stock seem to be going ahead the lowest price in the last 52 weeks with the latest change of 94.53%.Then price of STAR also went backward in oppose to its average movements recorded in the previous 20 days. The price volatility of STAR stock during the period of the last months recorded 15.22%, whilst it changed for the week, now showing 14.65% of volatility in the last seven days. The trading distance for this period is set at -11.12% and is presently away from its moving average by -23.73% in the last 50 days. During the period of the last 5 days, STAR stock gain around 48.47% of its value, now recording a dip by -19.24% reaching an average $13.20 in the period of the last 200 days.During the period of the last 12 months, iStar (STAR) dropped by -26.53%.

According to the Barcharts scale, the companys consensus rating fall to 3.50 from 4.00, showing an overall improvement during the course of a single month.

STAR shares recorded a trading volume of 659503 shares, compared to the volume of 1.10M shares before the last close, presented as its trading average. With the approaching 14.65% during the last seven days, the volatility of STAR stock remained at 15.22%. During the last trading session, the lost value that STAR stock recorded was set at the price of $10.66, while the lowest value in the last 52 weeks was set at $5.48. The recovery of the stock in the market has notably added 94.53% of gains since its low value, also recording -32.53% in the period of the last 1 month.

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What Will Eventually Wobble Vir Biotechnology (VIR), iStar (STAR) - US Post News

PRINCETON, N.J., March 27, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PDS Biotechnology Corporation (PDS Biotechnology) (Nasdaq: PDSB), a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company developing multiple therapies based on T-cell activating technology called Versamune today announced its financial results for the full year ended December 31, 2019 and provided a business update.

Fourth Quarter 2019 and Recent Business Highlights

We have made significant progress over the last year as we transitioned to a public company, strengthened our partnerships with leaders in immuno-oncology, such as Merck and National Cancer Institute and reported encouraging human data from our lead program, PDS0101, commented Dr. Frank Bedu-Addo, President and Chief Executive Officer of PDS Biotechnology. As we forge ahead in 2020, we look forward to leveraging the highly encouraging Phase I human clinical outcome data, which demonstrated complete lesion regression in 60% of evaluable patients with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and human papillomavirus (HPV) within 1-3 months of treatment. These results support our combination approach in our upcoming clinical trials and provide evidence that PDS0101 could be essential in expanding the clinical efficacy of checkpoint inhibitors and improving clinical outcomes for patients.

With a strengthened balance sheet, we look forward to initiating three studies, including; a Phase 2 combination study to evaluate PDS0101 in combination with KEYTRUDA in the first line treatment of metastatic head and neck cancer, a Phase 2 study to evaluate PDS0101 in combination with two promising immune-modulating agents in advanced HPV-associated cancers with the NCI and a Phase 2a study to evaluate the combination of PDS0101 and chemoradiation in patients with locally advanced cervical cancer. We remain committed to developing our novel Versamune platform in collaboration with our partners and would like to thank our shareholders for their continued support, concluded Dr. Bedu-Addo.

Full Year 2019 Financial Review

For the year ended December 31, 2019, the net loss was approximately $6.9 million, or $1.44 per basic and diluted share. This compares to a net loss of approximately $3.8 million, or $1.15 per basic and diluted share for the year ended December 31, 2018.

For the year ended December 31, 2019, research and development expenses increased approximately 634% to approximately $6.1 million compared to approximately $0.8 million in the prior year. The increase is primarily attributable to an increase in external expenses for clinical studies, internal R&D personnel costs, non-cash stock-based compensation and departmental costs.

For the year ended December 31, 2019, general and administrative expenses increased approximately 294% to approximately $11.0 million compared to approximately $2.8 million in the prior year. The increase was due to increases in personnel costs, non-cash stock-based compensation, facilities costs, D&O insurance costs, legal fees, professional fees and other operating expenses.

For the year ended December 31, 2019, total operating expenses increased approximately 477% to approximately $21.0 million compared to approximately $3.6 million in the prior year.

As of December 31, 2019, the Companys cash balance was approximately $12.2 million. This amount does not include the approximately $11.9 million in net proceeds after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions, not including other offering expenses from PDS Biotechs underwritten public offering including the full exercise of the underwriters overallotment option, which closed in February.

About PDS Biotechnology

PDS Biotech is a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company developing multiple therapies based on the Companys proprietary Versamune T-cell activating technology platform. The Versamune platform effectively delivers tumor-specific antigens for in vivo uptake and processing, while also activating a critical immunological pathway, the type 1 interferon pathway, thus resulting in the production of potent tumor-specific killer T-cells. Using Versamune, PDS Biotech is engineering therapies designed to better recognize cancer cells and break down their defense systems to effectively attack and destroy tumors. PDS Biotechs pipeline combines the Versamune technology with tumor-specific antigens across several cancer types. To learn more, please visit http://www.pdsbiotech.com or follow us on Twitter at @PDSBiotech.

About PDS0101

PDS Biotechs lead candidate, PDS0101, combines the utility of the Versamune platform with targeted antigens in HPV-expressing cancers. In partnership with Merck, PDS Biotech is advancing a combination of PDS0101 and KEYTRUDA to a Phase 2 study in first line treatment of recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer. In partnership with the National Cancer Institute (NCI), PDS Biotech is also advancing a combination of PDS0101 and two clinical stage immunotherapies to a Phase 2 study in advanced HPV-associated cancers. A third phase 2 study is to be performed in advanced localized cervical cancer combining PDS0101 with the chemoradiotherapy, which is the standard of care.

Forward Looking StatementsThis communication contains forward-looking statements (including within the meaning of Section 21E of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended) concerning PDS Biotechnology Corporation (the Company) and other matters. These statements may discuss goals, intentions and expectations as to future plans, trends, events, results of operations or financial condition, or otherwise, based on current beliefs of the Companys management, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management. Forward-looking statements generally include statements that are predictive in nature and depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, and include words such as may, will, should, would, expect, anticipate, plan, likely,believe,estimate,project,intend,and other similar expressions among others. Statements that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on current beliefs and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties and are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results could differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement as a result of various factors, including, without limitation: the Companys ability to protect its intellectual property rights; potential adverse reactions or changes to business relationships resulting from the resignation of the Companys Chief Financial Officer or the Companys ability to find a replacement Chief Financial Officer; the Companys anticipated capital requirements, including the Companys anticipated cash runway and the Companys current expectations regarding its plans for future equity financings; the timing for the Company or its partners to initiate the planned clinical trials for its lead assets, PDS0101 and PDS0102; the Companys interpretation of the results of its Phase 1 trial for PDS0101 and whether such results are sufficient to support additional trials or the future success of such trials;the successful implementation of the Companys research and development programs and collaborations, including any collaboration studies concerning PDS0101 and the Companys interpretation of the results and findings of such programs and collaborations and whether such results are sufficient to support the future success of the Companys product candidates; the acceptance by the market of the Companys product candidates, if approved;the timing of and the Companys ability to obtain and maintainU.S. Food and Drug Administrationor other regulatory authority approval of, or other action with respect to, the Companys product candidates;and other factors, including legislative, regulatory, political and economic developmentsnot within the Companys control, including unforeseen circumstances or other disruptions to normal business operations arising from or related to COVID-19. The foregoing review of important factors that could cause actual events to differ from expectations should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with statements that are included herein and elsewhere, including the risk factors included in the Companys annual and periodic reports filed with the SEC. The forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this press release and, except as required by applicable law, the Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement, or to make any other forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Media & Investor Relations Contact:

Deanne RandolphPDS BiotechPhone: +1 (908) 517-3613Email: drandolph@pdsbiotech.com

Tram Bui / Alexander LoboThe Ruth GroupPhone: +1 (646) 536-7035 / +1 (646) 536-7037Email: tbui@theruthgroup.com / alobo@theruthgroup.com

(Financial Statements to Follow)

PDS BIOTECHNOLOGY CORPORATION and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Balance Sheets

PDS BIOTECHNOLOGY CORPORATION and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss

Continued here:
PDS Biotechnology Reports Full Year 2019 Financial Results and Provides Business Update - BioSpace

Agricultural Biotechnology Markethas recently added by Qurate Research to its vast repository. This intelligence report includes investigations based on Current scenarios, Historical records, and future predictions. This includes factors such as market size, market share, market segmentation, significant growth drivers, market competition, different aspects impacting economic cycles in the market, demand, expected business up-downs, changing customer sentiments, key companies operating in the Agricultural Biotechnology Market, SWOT analysis has been used to understand the Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and threats in front of the businesses. Thus, helping the companies to understand the threats and challenges in front of the businesses. Agricultural Biotechnology Market is showing steady growth and CAGR is expected to improve during the forecast period.

Prominent Players Profiled in the Report are

SyngentaDuPontMonsantoADAMA Agricultural SolutionsBASFBayer CropScienceCertis USADow AgroSciencesMycogen SeedPerformance PlantsKWS SAATEvogeneRubiconVilmorinGlobal Bio-chem Technology

Market by TypeMolecular MarkersVaccinesGenetic EngineeringTissue CultureMolecular DiagnosticsOthers

Market by ApplicationTransgenic Crops/SeedsBiopesticidesOthers

The Agricultural Biotechnology market report includes comprehensive information about the markets major competitors, including various organizations, companies, associations, suppliers and manufacturers competing for production, supply, sales, revenue generation, and after-sales performance expectations. The bargaining power of numerous vendors and buyers have also been included in the research report

Agricultural Biotechnology Market Region Coverage (Regional Production, Demand & Forecast by Countries etc.):

Key Question Answered in Report.

Overview of the chapters analysing the global Agricultural Biotechnology Market in detail:

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Agricultural Biotechnology Market: Analysis, Growth by Top Companies, Trends by Types and Application, Forecast Analysis to 2025 - The Fuel Fox

Sorrento Therapeutics Inc (SRNE) is near the bottom in its industry group according to InvestorsObserver. SRNE gets an overall rating of 31. That means it scores higher than 31 percent of stocks. Sorrento Therapeutics Inc gets a 16 rank in the Biotechnology industry. Biotechnology is number 13 out of 148 industries.

Trying to find the best stocks can be a daunting task. There are a wide variety of ways to analyze stocks in order to determine which ones are performing the strongest. Investors Observer makes the entire process easier by using percentile rankings that allows you to easily find the stocks who have the strongest evaluations by analysts.

These scores are not only easy to understand, but it is easy to compare stocks to each other. You can find the best stock in an industry, or look for the sector that has the highest average score. The overall score is a combination of technical and fundamental factors that serves as a good starting point when analyzing a stock. Traders and investors with different goals may have different goals and will want to consider other factors than just the headline number before making any investment decisions.

Sorrento Therapeutics Inc (SRNE) stock is trading at $1.86 as of 10:47 AM on Monday, Mar 30, an increase of $0.05, or 2.82% from the previous closing price of $1.81. The stock has traded between $1.80 and $1.94 so far today. Volume today is low. So far 1,628,594 shares have traded compared to average volume of 7,024,900 shares.

To screen for more stocks like SRNE click here.

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Is Sorrento Therapeutics Inc (SRNE) Stock Near the Top or Bottom of the Biotechnology Industry? - InvestorsObserver

Source

A year ago, I published an article on the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB), in which I dismissed the thought that IBB is the best fund to play the expected growth of the biotech sector. Since then, the fund has outperformed the S&P 500 Index by 3%.

Source: Seeking Alpha

I introduced investors to SPDR Biotech ETF (XBI), which I thought would outperform IBB because of its high concentration on small-cap stocks representing this business sector. Below is a comparison of returns between these two funds and the broad market in the last 12 months.

Data by YCharts

IBB has outperformed both the market and XBI over the last 12 months. However, up until the beginning of 2020, XBI had provided better returns than both the index and IBB, which was consistent with my expectations.

Twelve months and a pandemic later, I believe IBB is the best fund to hold for the next 12 months for reasons that are discussed below.

The major catalyst that would drive healthcare stocks higher in the next few months is the possibility of developing a vaccine or a drug to fight the novel coronavirus. However, such a product is unlikely to be invented by a small biotech company. This is not to say that the chances of such an occurrence are nil, but collectively, the big names in the industry have a better chance of finding a cure.

Here is a list of companies that are working to develop a cure for COVID-19 and their market capitalizations.

Source: MarketWatch

As evident from this data, the majority of companies who are actively working to develop a cure are billion-dollar companies. Governments and other responsible authorities, on the other hand, prefer to work with these companies because of their strong track record of previously working with state authorities to fight pandemics and other outbreaks.

IBB is a fund that primarily invests in large-cap biotech stocks, making the fund tailor-made to benefit from the expected surge in healthcare stock prices once further developments are announced of the fight against COVID-19.

IBB market-cap data

Source: Morningstar

The exposure to small and micro-cap biotech stocks are non-existent, which is a characteristic I did not enjoy a year back. However, the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, in my opinion, has changed the healthcare investing landscape considerably and tilted the odds in favor of large companies.

The top-10 holdings of IBB further highlight that the fund is invested in companies that are already researching for a product to fight the virus.

Source: Seeking Alpha

The thinking behind many investors is that the spread of COVID-19 will come to an end in the next couple of months, paving the way for global economic growth to return to its normalcy. However, things might be a bit more different than that. Even if the United States, along with other regions that are hammered by the virus, curb the spread of the virus, the repercussions of the pandemic will be felt throughout 2020.

Biotechnology companies will continue with their effort to develop a cure and different stages of their clinical trials will unfold for many months or years to come. Therefore, healthcare stocks are likely to be driven by pandemic-related developments for the entire year.

Is buying IBB better than buying the one company that will, for sure, develop a vaccine successfully to put an end to the novel coronavirus? Most certainly not, but no investor would be able to predict what company or companies would be successful in their efforts. Identifying which company would win the race and become the first to develop such medicine is even more complex. Therefore, an investment in IBB seems to have the best risk-reward profile to play the uncertainty, while gaining necessary exposure to the biotechnology sector.

Even if things continue to go South and none of the companies emerge victorious in this race to find a cure for COVID-19, the billion-dollar companies can still survive and reward investors in the long run, as opposed to a small-cap company whose stock price has shot up over the last few months based on expectations for a successful trial to fight the novel coronavirus. Almost all component companies of IBB have deep pipelines that could bring in billions of dollars in revenue in the coming years. Therefore, an investment in IBB is a less risky bet on the highly volatile biotech sector. This makes IBB even more attractive.

Biotech stocks are not for everyone because of the significant level of business uncertainty. An investor who is keen to gain exposure to the expected surge in healthcare stock prices should consider IBB because of its risk-reward profile and the long-term prospects of the companies the fund has invested in.

If you enjoyed this article and wish to receive updates on my latest research, click "Follow" next to my name at the top of this article.

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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A Bear Turning Bull On IBB Based On Recent Developments - Seeking Alpha

The latest Blue Biotechnology market study offers an all-inclusive analysis of the major strategies, corporate models, and market shares of the most noticeable players in this market. The study offers a thorough analysis of the key persuading factors, market figures in terms of revenues, segmental data, regional data, and country-wise data. This study can be described as most wide-ranging documentation that comprises all the aspects of the evolving Blue Biotechnology market.

The research report provides deep insights into the global market revenue, parent market trends, macro-economic indicators, and governing factors, along with market attractiveness per market segment. The report provides an overview of the growth rate of Blue Biotechnology market during the forecast period, i.e., 20202027. Most importantly, the report further identifies the qualitative impact of various market factors on market segments and geographies. The research segments the market on the basis of product type, application, technology, and region. To offer more clarity regarding the industry, the report takes a closer look at the current status of various factors including but not limited to supply chain management, niche markets, distribution channel, trade, supply, and demand and production capability across different countries.

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Blue biotechnology refers to the use of marine bio-resources as the source of biological applications. Blue biotechnology is used in various applications such as preservation of marine species, restoration of the aquatic wildlife in its original habitat. This field is also used to develop new medicines as well as conduct genetic study of plants. The increase in commercial applications of blue biotechnology has witnessed growth during the recent years, due to the adaptive nature of marine resources.

Key Players

The research provides answers to the following key questions:

The study conducts SWOT analysis to evaluate strengths and weaknesses of the key players in the Blue Biotechnology market. Further, the report conducts an intricate examination of drivers and restraints operating in the market. The report also evaluates the trends observed in the parent market, along with the macro-economic indicators, prevailing factors, and market appeal according to different segments. The report also predicts the influence of different industry aspects on the Blue Biotechnology market segments and regions.

by Product (Biopolymers, Bulk Chemicals, Enzymes, Pharma Products, and Other Products); Application (Bio-Engineering, Drug Discovery, Genomics, Vaccine Development, and Other Applications); End User (Biotechnology Companies, Pharmaceutical Companies, Hospitals, Research Institutes & Laboratories, and Other End Users)

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Blue Biotechnology Market Segmented by Region/Country: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and Central & South America

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The Insight Partners is a one stop industry research provider of actionable intelligence. We help our clients in getting solutions to their research requirements through our syndicated and consulting research services. We are committed to provide highest quality research and consulting services to our customers. We help our clients understand the key market trends, identify opportunities, and make informed decisions with our market research offerings at an affordable cost.

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Email: [emailprotected]

Originally posted here:
Blue Biotechnology Market Insights, Future Trends, On-going Demand, Opportunities, Segmentation, and Forecast till 2027 - Jewish Life News

In the wake of increasing cases of coronavirus in the city, Panjab University has offered its services to the administration for testing Covid-19 samples.

PU registrar Karamjeet Singh, in a letter to director health services wrote, The teachers fraternity of PU can help the administration in many different areas, including testing of Covid-19 samples,

PU said the departments of microbiology and biotechnology have requisite facilities to test samples using RT-PCR instrument and the BSL-2 (biological safety level-2) laboratory with negative pressure (requirement for testing such samples).

The varsity has offered help from trained research scholars, if the administration provides them standard kits and personal protection equipment (PPE).

We have the infrastructure at our department to help the Chandigarh administration in testing Covid-19 samples, said a professor of the microbiology department.

PU vice-chancellor Raj Kumar said, During this pandemic, we feel it is our duty to assist the Chandigarh administration. Since we have the infrastructure and scientists available, we must utilise them in the public interest.

PUs BioNEST gets funds for research

Panjab Universitys BioNEST has received 6 lakh from Techinvention Lifecare Private Limited, a Mumbai-based private Biotechnology firm, for research on Covid-19.

Rohit Sharma, the project leader of BioNEST-PU said, Such collaborations help in utilising the bio-incubator as a place for dedicated research to provide services in the national interest.

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Panjab University offers to help Chandigarh admn in testing of Covid-19 samples - Hindustan Times

Harshraj Singh

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, March 30

After the supply of fodder for cattle has been normalised, dairy owners in city are now waiting for medicines for the treatment of sick cattle and are concerned as medicines are not available.

Since curfew has been imposed, veterinary medicine shops are closed and there is no service available to deliver medicine at dairy complexes, said the dairy owners on Tajpur Road.

Earlier, Mayor Balkar Singh Sandhu met fodder suppliers of Baranala and requested them to ensure the supply of fodder for cattle in the district. Now, dairy owners want from the concerned authorities to allow delivery of veterinary medicines at doorsteps.

The president of Tajpur Road Dairy Complex Association, DS Oberoi, said: The supply of dry fodder for cattle has been resumed. We want that medicines and feed for the cattle should also be delivered at dairy complexes. There are some veterinary medicine shops at Tajpur Road, but are closed owing to the curfew. The government should either open veterinary medicine shops or provide the shop owners with curfew passes to start delivery of required medicines at dairy complexes. If the required feed is not available, production of milk may also get affected.

Though dry fodder is being made available but the suppliers say they are unable to weigh the fodder as the stores where weighing scales are available, are closed. We request the authorities to resolve our issues so that supply of milk can be ensured, said a dairy owner.

Mayor Balkar Singh Sandhu said: After we met some farmers, they have started the supply of fodder to dairy complexes. We will take the required measures so that the delivery of veterinary medicines can also be ensured at the earliest.

Originally posted here:
Dairies demand doorstep delivery of vet medicines - The Tribune

The Conference of Research Workers in Animal Diseases held its 100th annual meeting Nov. 2-5 in Chicago. The city of Chicago marked the occasion with a proclamation honoring CRWAD and its years of work.

Since the first CRWAD meeting convened in 1920as a closed gathering of 11 individuals, mostly directors of experiment stations and deans of U.S. veterinary schoolsthe conference has evolved into the premier international event on animal health and disease research.

More than 700 scientists attended the 100th annual CRWAD meeting, which featured 17 featured speakers and 270 oral and 220 poster presentations.

Leadership

The 2019 CRWAD officers were Qijing Zhang, PhD, Iowa State University, president; Dr. Amelia Woolums, Mississippi State University, vice president; Dr. Christopher Chase, South Dakota State University, immediate past president; Dr. Paul Morley, West Texas A&M University, executive director; and council membersDr. M.M. Chengappa, Kansas State University; Charles Czuprynski, PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Dr. Annette OConnor, Michigan State University; and Dr. Philip Griebel, University of Saskatchewan.

AAVI awards

The American Association of Veterinary Immunologists recognized Dr. Bettina Wagner, Cornell University, as the 2019 AAVI Distinguished Veterinary Immunologist.

Recipients of the AAVI student awards for best oral presentations were as follows: Alexandra Gillespie, University of Massachusetts; Carsten Walker, Michigan State University; Jayne Wiarda, Iowa State University; Elizabeth Larson, Cornell University; and Amanda Amaral, North Carolina State University. Best poster presentation was awarded to Shauav Bhattarai, South Dakota State University.

ACVM awards

The American College of Veterinary Microbiologists named Dr. T.J. Nagaraja, Kansas State University, as the 2019 Distinguished Veterinary Microbiologist.

ACVM student award winners were as follows: Don Kahn Award for best overall presentationDebra Goulart, Iowa State University; best oral presentationsSara Raabis, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Syeda Hadi, Michigan State University; best poster presentationF. Yuan, Kansas State University.

AVEPM awards

The Association for Veterinary Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine presented the Mark Gearhart Memorial Graduate Student Award for best overall graduate student research to Dr. Gizem Levent, Texas A&M University.

Sam Rowe, University of Minnesota; James Ogunrina, Texas A&M University; and Casey Cazer, Cornell University, received awards for best oral presentations. Sneha Jha, Purdue University, won best poster presentation.

Animal Health Institute and Joseph J. Garbarino Foundation

Best oral presentation was by Ting-Yu Cheng, Iowa State University, and best poster presentations were by Emily John, University of Prince Edward Island, and Babiana Benavides, University of Narino.

American Association of Veterinary Parasitology awards

The best oral presentation was presented by Megan Wright, University of Tennessee.

NC1202 awards

The NC1202 North Central Multistate Committee for Research on Enteric Diseases of Swine and Cattle made the following student awards: Lynn Joens Award, first place, oralRaquel Burin, Washington State University; second place, oralFrances Shepherd, University of Minnesota.

The David H. Francis award for best poster presentation was given to Brandon Ruddell, Iowa State University.

Continue reading here:
CRWAD marks 100th annual meeting | American Veterinary Medical Association - American Veterinary Medical Association

The new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, has many people staying at home except for essential activities like seeking medical care, exercising, walking their dog, or shopping for groceries.

You can reduce your risk of exposure to COVID-19 whenever you leave your house by taking precautions such as practicing social distancing and washing your hands thoroughly and often.

Shopping for groceries, though, carries extra risk.

Not only are you near other people, but many of the products youre buying have probably been handled by others and possibly sneezed or coughed on.

This doesnt mean you should give up on trips to the supermarket. Thats not really a viable option for most of us.

But you can take a little extra care when handling your groceries to avoid spreading the virus to other people and surfaces in your house.

Charlotte Baker, DrPH, MPH, an assistant professor of epidemiology at Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine in Blacksburg, Virginia, said your biggest risk at the supermarket is coming into close contact with another person whos sick.

Thats why its important to stay at least 6 feet from other people at all times.

Do not be afraid to ask others to step back if they are too close to you in line, said Baker. Or wait a few moments to grab something if others are already by the item you want.

Its not clear, though, how much of a role produce and food packaging plays in transmitting the virus that causes COVID-19.

Still, the World Health Organization says that in addition to close person-to-person contact, people can pick up the virus by touching contaminated surfaces and then touching their eyes, nose, or mouth.

Some surfaces may pose a bigger risk than others.

A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine found that the virus was detectable on plastic and stainless steel for up to 72 hours, and on cardboard for up to 24 hours.

Baker said when youre at the supermarket, you should assume all surfaces everywhere have been touched by someone who is sick.

This includes produce and packaged foods.

Touch just the items you intend to buy, wipe down the cart or basket handles with disinfectant wipes, and wash your hands or use hand sanitizer when youre done, she said.

Baker added that many people are also reducing their potential exposure by using curbside pick-up or at-home delivery. Even local food producers are offering these services.

Some farmers markets are allowing customers to preorder foods so they are already packaged when you come pick them up, she said, reducing the amount of time that you need to be near other people and reducing the amount of items that you can touch.

Whichever way you get your groceries, youll want to handle them carefully when you get them home. This will reduce the chance of spreading the virus to other people or surfaces in your house.

Elizabeth L. Andress, PhD, a professor of foods and nutrition at the University of Georgia, said at the very least you should wash your hands after unpacking and putting away your groceries.

If youre concerned about potential contamination on your groceries, you can take additional steps to protect yourself.

Some people may choose to wipe or wash cans and boxes of food before storing them to reduce possible virus content, said Andress. You can also throw out disposable packaging.

When youre done, she suggests that you wash any tables, countertops, or other surfaces that were touched by your groceries or grocery bags.

And wash your hands again.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offers advice for cleaning and disinfecting your home during the pandemic, including which cleaners work best against SARS-CoV-2.

If youre using cloth bags, wash them with laundry soap in a washing machine and dry them thoroughly before reusing them.

If you or someone in your household is at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19, you might want to adopt the modified sterile technique recommended by Dr. Jeffrey VanWingen, a family physician practicing in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in this YouTube video.

VanWingen said that one option is to leave your groceries in your garage or porch for at least 72 hours to allow the virus to become inactive.

This isnt possible for many people. For them, he suggests the sterile technique. You can also do this after letting your groceries sit outside for 72 hours.

A key part of VanWingens method is setting up a cleaning station to avoid contaminating your food or other surfaces in your house.

After that, it involves wiping down all packaging with a disinfectant before putting your groceries away. You can also discard packaging and transfer the food to a clean bag or container.

For fruits and vegetables, VanWingen suggests scrubbing them for at least 20 seconds with soap and water.

Andress cautions that the Food and Drug Administration doesnt recommend using soap when cleaning produce because of the risk of ingestion.

So if you choose to use soap and water on your fruits and vegetables, rinse them completely with clean water before storing.

Taking these precautions with your groceries can help you lower your chance of being exposed to the virus.

If you do get sick, youll need to take extra care in order to protect your family.

If someone in your household is confirmed positive with COVID-19, showing symptoms of the disease, or awaiting the results of a test, they should take extra cleaning and disinfection steps around the home, said Andress.

Continued here:
How to Decontaminate Groceries During the COVID-19 Outbreak - Healthline

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials see no evidence that the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 in people sickens pets or can spread to people through pets.

But the agency is advising, out of an abundance of caution, that people who become sick with the coronavirus should limit contact with their companion animals, just as they should limit contact with people. World Health Organization officials also indicated they saw no evidence pets have become ill with or could spread the virus.

Meanwhile, the AVMA and government agencies continue to monitor the availability of medical supplies and animal drugs as well as other potential impacts to the profession as the virus continued to spread in the U.S. in the first few months of the year. A number of universities and organizations cancelled classes and events to allow for social distancing.

When possible, have another member of your household care for your animals while you are sick, according to a CDC FAQ document updated in February to add information on animals. If you are sick with COVID-19, avoid contact with your pet, including petting, snuggling, being kissed or licked, and sharing food. If you must care for your pet or be around animals while you are sick, wash your hands before and after you interact with pets and wear a facemask.

Though the virus seems to have emerged from an animal source, CDC officials also saw no evidence that animals or animal products arriving from China or elsewhere pose a risk of spreading the COVID-19 virus in the U.S. More information is available at jav.ma/cdc_covid.

Late in February, authorities in Hong Kong reported that they quarantined a pet dog after its owner was hospitalized because of COVID-19, and nasal and oral cavity samples tested weak positive for the COVID-19 virus. Four subsequent nasal samples continued to test weak positive, but test results for nasal samples collected on March 12 and 13 came back negative. The regions Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said the results suggested a low-level infection likely acquired from a person, and they said World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) officials agreed with their findings.

The dog has not shown any signs of disease related to COVID-19, Hong Kong authorities said. The companion animal was returned to the owner after completion of quarantine and consecutive negative test results. The dog, identified by the South China Morning Post as a 17-year-old Pomeranian, died on March 16, the department said in an email, citing the animals owner. The AFCD gave no further details.

OIE officials separately characterized the positive nasal sample results as presence of genetic material from the COVID-19 virus and said the organization lacks evidence dogs become sick from the virus or play a role in disease spread.

On March 19, Hong Kong authorities said they quarantined two more dogsa German Shepherd Dog and a mixed-breed dog whose owner had COVID-19after a polymerase chain reactionbased assay detected COVID-19 virus in a sample from the German Shepherd Dog but not the other dog. Neither dog showed clinical signs of disease.

Idexx Laboratories Inc. announced March 13 that it has seen no positive results to date of SARS-CoV-2 in pets. Idexx evaluated thousands of canine and feline specimens during validation of a new veterinary test system for the COVID-19 virus, according to a company press release. The specimens were obtained from those submitted to Idexx reference laboratories for PCR assay testing.

The company says if health authorities determine it is clinically relevant to test pets, it will make the test system available, but neither the CDC nor the AVMA is recommending that pets be tested at this time. Dogs or cats with respiratory signs should be evaluated by a veterinarian for more-common respiratory pathogens before looking to evaluate them for COVID-19, according to an AVMA FAQ for veterinarians and veterinary clinics.

On March 19, Antech Diagnostics announced that it also has not detected any evidence of SARS-CoV-2 in samples from dogs and cats.

Since February, AVMA leaders have been working with the CDC, the Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and other experts and international disease authorities to gather the latest information on the coronavirus for veterinarians, clients, and patients, available at avma.org/coronavirus. Aside from keeping veterinary team members healthy, ensuring as much access to care for ill patients as possible, and other concerns, AVMA leaders are worried about potential drug shortages as COVID-19 disrupts supply chains, especially because six of the 32 companies that produce animal-use drugs in China or that use active ingredients from China to produce drugs for the U.S. market indicated to the FDA they have seen disruptions that could lead to shortages.

No animal drug shortages were reported as of mid-March.

The website notes that FDA officials were working with the companies to find ways to mitigate shortages, and the AVMA was collecting information on drug needs and veterinarians concerns. The AVMA is asking that veterinarians send information on supply chain issues to coronavirusavma [dot] org, with details on the products and their manufacturers or distributors.

FDA officials also forecast short supplies of personal protective equipment such as surgical masks, gowns, and suits, as well as isolation gowns.

Guidance from the FDA on surgical mask and gown conservation strategies is available at jav.ma/masks.

As cases of COVID-19 ramped up over the beginning of March, academic institutions reacted by taking greater precautions to slow the spread of the COVID-19 illness.

The 50th Annual Student AVMA Symposium, slated for March 14-16 at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine in Ithaca, New York, was canceled after organizers conferred and the university called off all nonessential events or work-related gatherings scheduled between March 9 and April 15 that involved more than 100 people.

Student organizers were working with college leadership to identify ways to provide recorded lectures for registrants to view, according to a post on the events website.

The Veterinary Innovation Summit, which was to be held April 3-5 at Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, was also canceled because of caution over COVID-19. All registration fees were to be refunded and cancellation fees waived.

Many universities with veterinary colleges announced in mid-March that they were suspending face-to-face instruction and testing for various lengths of time during the spring semester to allow for social distancing. Instead, universities encouraged educators to move their courses online and to prepare to continue that way as long as in-person instruction seemed inadvisable, potentially through the end of the semester.

Many clinical rotations were being cancelled and veterinary teaching hospitals were curtailing operations to enable social distancing, according to a March 15 announcement from the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges. Schools are working with students who are in clinical rotations and externships on an individual basis to re-assign them or make alternative arrangements as needed, the announcement said.

The AAVMC also noted that its impacted member institutions were working with the AVMA Council on Education to ensure they maintain the highest quality of education during this time.

The COE requires schools to report any disruption to the educational program lasting two or more weeks and to describe their plans to remediate the disruption. The COE is reviewing these plans to ensure they are in compliance with the standards of accreditation, the announcement said.

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No evidence pets can become ill with COVID-19 virus as it surges in US - American Veterinary Medical Association

VALLEY COTTAGE, N.Y. Veterinary orthotics and prosthetic devices are increasing used for injured animals. Orthotics are a medical device which is attached to the body of an injured animal to provide support, align, position, immobilize, prevent or correct deformity, assisting weak muscles, or improving functions. Prosthetics are defined as medical devices which are used to compensate for a missing or amputated leg segment. Owing to the current advancements in the veterinary orthotics-prosthetics market, it is no longer necessary to amputate an entire leg when the only lower body is injured; partial amputation is sufficient in many cases.

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Veterinary Orthotics-Prosthetics Market: Segmentation

Veterinary Orthotics-Prosthetics marketcan be segmented on the basis of various product types available for the rehabilitation of injured animals:

Preview Analysis ofVeterinary Orthotics-Prosthetics Market: Global Industry Analysis 2012 2016 and Opportunity Assessment; 2017 2027:https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/veterinary-orthotics-prosthetics-market

On the basis of diagnosis of the end users, we can segment the veterinary orthotics-prosthetics market into:

Veterinary Orthotics-Prosthetics Market: Dynamics

The veterinary orthotics-prosthetics market is a growing market owing to the rising awareness regarding the treatment options available to rehabilitate the animals. Canine rehabilitation has made advancements in the modern veterinary medicine with the advent of various research institutions. The market for veterinary orthotics-prosthetics is driven by improving the quality of life, functional independence, preventing euthanasia among others. However, low support from the government and non-profit organizations has restricted the growth of the market. Veterinary orthotics-prosthetics market witnesses innovations in prosthetic device technology, customization in prosthetic devices, and consolidation of the global veterinary orthotics-prosthetics market.

Veterinary Orthotics-Prosthetics Market: Region-wise Outlook

Based on geography, the Veterinary Orthotics-Prosthetics Market can be segmented into five major regions: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Middle East & Africa. At present, North America holds a leading position in the Veterinary Orthotics-Prosthetics Market followed by Europe. The major driving factors which have driven the growth of the Veterinary Orthotics-Prosthetics Market in these regions are the fast paced services and fulfillment of custom requirements for the manufacturing of orthotics-prosthetics products. Following North America, European countries are also anticipated to show steady growth in the Veterinary Orthotics-Prosthetics Market. In the next few years, Asia-Pacific would show remarkable growth in the Veterinary Orthotics-Prosthetics Market as it is developing at a very rapid pace and has shown the emergence of many regional players. The factors which would fuel the growth of Veterinary Orthotics-Prosthetics Market in Asia-Pacific are increasing awareness regarding animal care and rehabilitation services and rapid development of the healthcare infrastructure across the Asian countries. Veterinary Orthotics-Prosthetics Market would evolve at a rapid rate across the regions. However, North America would maintain its position in the overall Veterinary Orthotics-Prosthetics Market.

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Veterinary Orthotics-Prosthetics Market: Key Players

It is expected that with due course of time, there will be an influx of well-established players in the Veterinary Orthotics-Prosthetics Market. Some of the major service providers operating in the Veterinary Orthotics-Prosthetics Market is OrthoPets LLC., Animal Ortho Care, AAA Orthotics and Prosthetics, Anchor Orthotics & Prosthetics, Animal Care Castle Rock OrthoPets Castle Rock, Appletree Orthotic Services Ltd, Animal Orthocare, Avondale Veterinary Healthcare Complex OrthoPets Iowa, Buddy Braces, Dogs in Motion Canine Rehabilitation OrthoPets Australia, Equisport Medicine OrthoPets Washington, HandicappedPets.com, Hanger Clinic, Holisticvet OrthoPets South Africa, J.G. McGinness Prosthetics & Orthotics, K-9 Orthotics & Prosthetics, A Loyal Companion OrthoPets Arizona, M.H. Mandelbaum Orthotic & Prosthetic Services, My Pets Brace, Ortho Design, OrthoPets Europe, OrthoVet, LLC, PALS Pet Artificial Limbs & Supports, Pawsitive Steps Rehabilitation Clinic OrthoPets Michigan, PawsAbility, Paws on the Go OrthoPets Southern California, Paws to Embrace, Petsthetics, LLC, Wheat Ridge Veterinary SpecialistsPosh Ortho Dog Inc., Santoro & Sons, Sierra Orthopedic Lab, Veterinary Inclusive Prosthetics/Orthotics (VIP) and Veterinary Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Group (VOSM). Veterinary Orthotics-Prosthetics Market has a presence of many regional players manufacturing customized which have a huge market share in emerging countries.

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Veterinary Orthotics Prosthetics Market Prophesied to Grow at a Faster Pace by 2027 - PharmiWeb.com

A domestic cat in Belgium has been infected with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus that's spreading across the globe, the government's FPS Public Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment announced March 27, according to news reports.

This is the first human-to-cat transmission of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). About a week after its owner got sick with COVID-19, after returning from a trip to Northern Italy, the cat developed coronavirus symptoms: diarrhea, vomiting and respiratory issues, Steven Van Gucht, virologist and federal spokesperson for the coronavirus epidemic in Belgium, told Live Science.

The owner sent samples of vomit and feces to Dr. Daniel Desmecht's lab at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Lige. Genetic tests showed high levels of SARS-CoV-2 in those samples, he said. "The cat recovered after 9 days," Van Gucht said.

Related: 13 Coronavirus myths busted by science

Cats and humans appear to have a similar "doorknob" on the surfaces of respiratory cells that lets the SARS-CoV-2 virus get inside, according to Van Gucht.

In humans, scientists have figured out that the SARS-CoV-2 virus attaches to a receptor protein called ACE2 that's on the outside of respiratory cells. Once inside of these cells, the virus hijacks certain machinery so it can replicate.

"The feline ACE2 protein resembles the human ACE2 homologue, which is most likely the cellular receptor which is being used by Sars-CoV-2 for cell entry," Van Gucht said.

During the 2003 SARS outbreak, cats were infected with a coronavirus as well, Van Gucht said.

The only other pets thought to have "caught" the novel coronavirus from owners were two dogs in Hong Kong. The first dog, a 17-year-old Pomeranian, tested a weak positive for the virus at the end of February, Live Science reported. The dog died in mid-March, though the exact cause of death is not known, as the owner didn't allow an autopsy.A second dog, a German shepherd, tested positive but showed no symptoms of the disease, Bloomberg reported.

During the outbreak of another coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), dogs and cats contracted low levels of that virus, animal health expert Vanessa Barrs from City University told the South China Morning Post.

There have been no reports of pets passing the virus to their human owners, and Van Gucht stressed that even human-to-pet transmission is not a significant path of viral spread.

"We think the cat is a side victim of the ongoing epidemic in humans and does not play a significant role in the propagation of the virus," he said.

To prove definitively that the cat was infected with SARS-CoV-2, scientists will need a blood test to look for antibodies specific to this virus, Van Gucht said. Those tests will happen once the cat is no longer under quarantine.

Originally published on Live Science.

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Cat infected with COVID-19 from owner in Belgium - Livescience.com

Over 95% planned enrollment completed in Phase 3 oGVHD study; topline results anticipated by end of 2020

MALVERN, PA Ocugen, Inc. (NASDAQ: OCGN), a clinical-stage company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing transformative therapies to treat rare and underserved ophthalmic diseases, recently reported full year 2019 financial results along with a general business update.

We are extremely pleased with the progress we have made in enrolling patients in our Phase 3 clinical trial for OCU300, an orphan drug candidate for ocular graft versus host disease (oGVHD). Based on current enrollment, we anticipate topline results by the end of the year, commented Shankar Musunuri, PhD, MBA, Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder of Ocugen.

The publication of preclinical data on OCU400 inNature Gene Therapyearlier this month is a key achievement for this program. We continue to advance IND-enabling studies toward bringing this potential breakthrough modifier gene therapy platform to patients in a Phase 1/2a clinical trial for OCU400 in 2021.

Similar to the situation with virtually all other biopharmaceutical companies, we are also assessing the potential impact of ongoing COVID-19 pandemic-related events on our programs and plans. We are grateful to healthcare professionals and others who are working hard to address and mitigate the challenges presented by the virus.

Business Highlights:

Full Year 2019 Financial Results:

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Ocugen Provides Business Update and Full Year 2019 Financial Results - MyChesCo

Glen Allen Mar 30, 2020 (Thomson StreetEvents) -- Edited Transcript of Precigen Inc earnings conference call or presentation Monday, March 2, 2020 at 10:30:00pm GMT

Precigen, Inc. - President & CEO

Precigen, Inc. - VP of IR

H.C. Wainwright & Co, LLC, Research Division - MD of Equity Research & Senior Healthcare Analyst

Good day, and welcome to the Precigen Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Please note that this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Steven Harasym. Please go ahead, sir.

Steven Harasym, Precigen, Inc. - VP of IR [2]

Thank you, operator. Welcome to the Precigen Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2019 Business and Update Call. I'm Steven Harasym, Vice President of Investor Relations. And I'm pleased to be joined today by Dr. Helen Sabzevari, President and CEO of Precigen; and Tom Samuelson, Vice President of Finance.

During today's call, as seen on Slide 2, we will make various forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that our forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those indicated by our forward-looking statements. Please read the safe harbor statement contained in this presentation as well as in Precigen most recent SEC filings for a more complete discussion of these risks and uncertainties. I would now like to turn the call over to Dr. Helen Sabzevari. Helen?

Helen Sabzevari, Precigen, Inc. - President & CEO [3]

Thank you, Steve. Please go to Slide 3. I'm extremely pleased to be here today as we have made great progress even since our last public presentation at JP Morgan Health Care Conference in early January. We enter 2020 with renewed optimism about our ability to deliver on our aggressive goals and add value to shareholders.

Precigen's mission is to improve patient care through innovative gene and cell therapy-based approaches. I will review our carefully curated portfolio of unique solutions to unmet needs in health in greater detail. Our approaches are novel and designed to treat conditions that are both difficult to treat and have limited treatment options for patients.

Before we give a quick recap of the divestments and transactions that enabled us to advance towards our goal of becoming a dedicated health care company, I thought it would be useful to provide a recap of how far we have come in such a short time, as shown in Slide 3. In Q4 of 2018, we started on the path to becoming a stand-alone health care company by reacquiring the rights to our oncology assets from our former partners. In just under a year, we advanced 2 programs from inception into the clinic and developed a pipeline of promising product candidates in immuno-oncology, autoimmunity and infectious diseases. We also took the necessary steps to expand on an already robust IP estate. Finally, we consolidated the majority of our operation in our Maryland headquarters and continue to bolster our scientific team here.

We believe the transactions that occurred over the last several months put us firmly on the path to being able to devote our resources to advance our health care assets and become a major player in the gene and cell therapy field. As you may recall, this included divesting the majority of Intrexon's non-health care assets, my appointment as a CEO, and name change from Intrexon to Precigen, and associated stock ticker change to PGEN. We also sold our position in AquaBounty for approximately $21.6 million; sold our 50% interest in EnviroFlight to our former partner, Darling Ingredients for $12.2 million; completed the sale of several assets, including our non-health subsidiaries, Oxitec, Okanagan Specialty Fruits and AgBio and ILH Holdings for a combined $53 million-plus certain contingent payment rights. These now divested non-health businesses accounted for $46 million in net cash operating expenses and capital expenditure in 2019 and raised $35 million in capital through the issuance of equity.

Through the financial transaction, we achieved our previously stated cash position goals, allowing the company to deliver on several value-creating milestones in 2020. Furthermore, we are happy to report that the going concern qualifier has been removed from our financial statement. Based on a combination of our cash position and reduced spending, we anticipate current capital on hand will allow us to operate well into 2021.

In light of our transition to a more health-focused company, we are evaluating all aspects of our operating structure and will provide updates in our next quarterly call. Concurrently, I want to acknowledge the contributions of General Bostick, COO and President of Intrexon Bioengineering; and Tom Reed, Founder and CFO of Intrexon, both of whom are no longer at the company. We thank them for their contribution and services.

Moving ahead, I want to share how we plan to manage Precigen going forward on the next slide. Slide 4, please. With our focus firmly on health care, we have aligned the entire company to operate in accordance with 4 key principles. First is adhering to strict fiscal responsibility. We will responsibly allocate capital to maximize value creation for stakeholders. Fiscal responsibility for us is not just about saving, maintaining cash and cutting costs. It is also about allocating resources to the right areas to create value. You will note that in 2019, we spent $43.7 million on our 2 most advanced health care subsidiaries, Precigen and ActoBio. Collectively, the health portfolio spent significantly lower than our non-health portfolio.

The second operating principle is actively managing our portfolio with a strict adherence to data-driven go and no-go decisions. Third is focusing on rapid execution, moving our valuable portfolio of assets quickly into the clinic and advancing them into registration-enabling studies in accordance with the appropriate scientific, clinical and manufacturing standards. And finally, forming a strategic partnership to advance or divest assets in our portfolio where appropriate, noting our fiduciary duty to operate in the best interest of shareholders.

Since January, we have aligned our portfolio, streamlined our operations and optimized our organizational structures to improve operational efficiency, especially at the corporate level. We will continue to take additional efficiency measures across the organization, and we'll update you on our progress. I strongly believe that the most important way we can deliver value to shareholders is to create value to patients through rapid development of novel therapeutics that are safe, effective and address unmet medical needs in a fiscally responsible manner.

Before moving on to a review of the anticipated 2020 milestones for Precigen, on the next slide, we want to discuss our strategy for the remaining non-health assets. Slide 5, please. Our subsidiary MBP Titan's technology platform has the potential to upgrade natural gas to higher value carbon output through our Methane Bioconversion Platform. As we prioritize our health portfolio, the Board of Directors and I are committed to significantly reducing our non-health spending, specifically for MBP.

To this end, we have already implemented efficiency measures at MVP to achieve this goal and have already significantly reduced their capital requirements compared to last year. We will continue to evaluate further efficiency measures that support its ongoing operations while establishing clear fiscal guardrails on spending.

Our goal is to partner or ultimately sell this business. Whatever we do will be in the long-term interest of our stakeholders and adherence to our mission. We will continue to update you on our decision when we have new information to share.

Another non-health business in our portfolio, Trans Ova, is the industry leader in advanced reproductive technologies for the cattle industry. We considered divestiture of this non-health business, but ultimately elected to retain it because we believe it has more value than the offers we received.

Nevertheless, we continue to strategically evaluate options for this business. In the meantime, however, we have implemented efficiency and cost reduction measures, such that we will not contribute any additional capital towards Trans Ova and expect Trans Ova to return to being a net contributor of capital to Precigen this year.

Moving to the next slide. You can see the breadth of our health care organization. Slide 6, please. The new Precigen enters 2020 with a promising portfolio of investigational gene and cell therapies. Under the new 1 Precigen umbrella is our transformative UltraCAR-T, AdenoVerse immunotherapy and ActoBiotics Therapeutic platforms, which share a focus on developing innovative therapies in immuno-oncology, infectious diseases and autoimmune disorders. We also are advancing an innovative approach from our subsidiary, Triple-Gene, in heart failure.

Slide 7, please. Moving to the next slide, we see the breadth and the value of our clinical portfolio, which includes our internal as well as partnered programs, including later-stage assets in Phase II and Phase III clinical trials. Two important things to remember about our portfolio are that: first, we are advancing unique programs that represent substantial therapeutic class innovation; and second, we expect most of these programs to have important data readouts in 2020.

Following the release of new data, we intend to assess and further prioritize our pipeline to optimize cash resources. Beyond this clinical pipeline, we also have a portfolio of novel preclinical assets that will be assessed and funded according to strict science and data development analysis. Our most significant role for preclinical assets for 2020 is to initiate a Phase I trial of PRGN-2009, our new off-the-shelf AdenoVerse immunotherapy in HPV-positive cancers.

Slide 8, please. Before reviewing our many exciting milestones for 2020, I want to take a few moments on the next slide to provide an overview of one of our most promising therapeutic platforms, UltraCAR-T. We believe it holds the promise to revolutionize the CAR-T landscape and provide benefits to patients and the health care system at large for the following reasons. First, unlike conventional CAR-T, UltraCAR-T cells do not require lentivirus and long ex vivo expansion in manufacturing facilities. Instead, UltraCAR-T uses nonviral, rapid, overnight manufacturing at hospital. This overnight manufacturing brings the potential for repeat dosing of UltraCAR-T to patients as well. This manufacturing approach, we believe, brings the convenience of allogeneic CAR-T administration to autologous CAR-T treatment without the potential risk associated with the allogeneic CAR-T therapy.

Second, unlike conventional CAR-T, UltraCAR-T cells express membrane-bound IL-15, which provides higher potential to expand and persist in vivo and to maintain a younger, less differentiated state.

Conventional CAR-T cells have limited potential for expansion after administration due to long manufacturing process that requires T cell activation and expansion outside the body.

Allogeneic CAR-T cells are even more limited in their persistence potential since they are foreign and risk rejection by patients' immune system and the occurrence of the graft-versus-host disease.

Furthermore, allogeneic CAR-T cells requires severe lymphodepletion of patients, which also limits antigen-spreading potential. We believe membrane-bound IL-15 provides our UltraCAR-T cells with a higher potential for expansion and persistence in patients after administration than conventional CAR-T.

Third, we have built our UltraCAR-T platform such that all modified T cells express a kill switch. This engineering provides us with an ability to selectively eliminate UltraCAR-T cells by administration of a kill switch activator in the event of toxicity, thus improving the safety profile.

With the potential to advance precision medicine and disrupt the current CAR-T landscape, our vision for the UltraCAR-T platform is to build and validate a library of UltraCAR vectors to provide personalized autologous CAR-T treatment for any cancer patients in a rapid and cost-conscious manner. During 2020, we expect to report numerous data sets and achieve new milestones.

Slide 9, please. Looking at our advanced assets,

3005 is the first UltraCAR-T in solid tumors, targeting ovarian cancer in Phase I clinical study. We currently are enrolling the second cohort for the IP arm. To date, we continue to have 100% manufacturing success and the preliminary findings regarding UltraCAR-T kinetics, which includes expansion and persistence in patients treated in the lowest dose cohort are very encouraging. We know that everyone is eager to see these early data points, and we share their excitement. We will continue to evaluate the appropriate time to provide additional details. Presently, we expect to provide an initial readout from the IP arm in the second half of 2020. We are also planning to present preclinical data for 3005 at an upcoming medical meeting later this year.

Slide 10, please. 3006 is the first UltraCAR-T therapy be evaluated in hematological cancers. We recently received orphan drug status from the FDA for this program. We are currently enrolling the second cohort for the non-lymphodepletion arm and the first cohort for the lymphodepletion arm. As with 3005, we continue to have 100% manufacturing success and the preliminary findings regarding UltraCAR-T kinetics from the trial are very encouraging. We expect to provide an initial data readout in the second half of 2020.

We are very excited about the Phase II trial for AG013 for oral mucositis in head and neck cancer with our partner Oragenics as we believe that it will further validate our ActoBiotics platform across multiple indications. Using our platform in partnership with Oragenics, we are targeting oral mucositis, a severe and painful side effect of chemoradiation therapy, especially in patients with head and neck cancer. There are currently no drugs approved to prevent this condition in the cancer patient population. As a result, the FDA has given this program Fast Track status, which validates the urgent need for a treatment. AG013 is formulated as an oral rinse and used as mouthwash to deliver the trefoil factor 1 gene, which prevents mucosal tissue damage and induces subsequent repair of the lining of the mouth. Based on the encouraging Phase I data, AG013 is currently in a Phase II trial. Enrollment in this study was completed in the fourth quarter of 2019, and we are looking forward to reporting interim data from the Phase II trial in the first half of 2020. We also expect to report interim data from an ongoing clinical trial of AG019 in type I diabetes patients. AG019 is a first-in-class disease-modifying antigen-specific immunotherapy for the prevention, delay or reversal of type 1 diabetes with encouraging results in preclinical studies. Currently, AG019 is in a Phase Ib/IIa trial. The Phase IIa portion of the trial is now enrolling, and interim data readout is expected in the third quarter of 2020.

Another exciting asset in our portfolio is INXN-4001, a novel gene therapy for heart failure patients, which is being developed by our majority-owned Triple-Gene subsidiary. We expect to complete the trial by the end of 2020. 2009 is an off-the-shelf AdenoVerse immunotherapy product candidate designed to activate the immune system to recognize and target HPV-positive solid tumors. This program is currently under development through a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement or CRADA with Dr. Jeffrey Schlom, a world renowned investigator in immuno-oncology at the NCI. We expect the NCI to start dosing patients in 2020.

I'll now turn the call over to Tom Samuelson to provide a financial update.

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Tom Samuelson, [4]

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Thank you, Helen, and good evening, everyone. There are 3 key points that I would like to address today. First, as Helen mentioned, we've made material progress in narrowing the company's focus to our core health care programs and reducing our other capital requirements. A critical component of this pivot was the divestiture of a number of our legacy bioengineering assets, including our shares in AquaBounty for $86.8 million plus certain contingent payment rights, and the sale of $35 million of our common stock. The business is sold in these recent transactions accounted for $46 million in 2019 segment adjusted EBITDA losses, capital that can be redeployed towards our health care assets in 2020. Please recall that segment EBITDA, which is more fully defined in our 10-K, is generally the sum of net cash operating expenses and capital expenditures. The proceeds from these transactions, combined with the company's cash and short-term investments on hand, provide sufficient capital to remove the going concern qualification from our 2019 financial statements. We've adjusted our 2019 and prior financial statements to reflect the effects of these businesses as discontinued operations.

Second, we reported fourth quarter and full year 2019 revenues of $17 million and $90.7 million and consolidated financial results from continuing operations, as we continued our shift from the business model focused on collaboration and licensing revenues to one wholly focused on our internal programs primarily in human health. Despite pivoting away from a collaboration model, we continue to own the rights to certain legacy milestones and royalties. Any of these, if successful, could result in additional sources of capital for us without requiring any further obligations on our part.

Fourth quarter and full year segment EBITDA losses including corporate costs, were $37.8 million and $144.4 million, respectively. These annual losses included only $30.2 million at Precigen and $13.7 million at ActoBio. Among our retained bioengineering entities, MBP Titan and Trans Ova Genetics accounted for $36.7 million and $6.3 million, respectively. As Helen mentioned, we are fully committed to reducing spend at these entities and have already implemented efficiencies that should substantially reduce their capital requirements going forward. I would further highlight that the aforementioned $46 million in segment EBITDA losses from transacted assets does not include an allocation of general corporate costs, which we do not allocate to particular segments. More details on segment information can be found in the financial discussion in our 10-K.

Third, the 2019 consolidated loss attributable to Precigen shareholders of $322.3 million or $2.09 per share includes $116.2 million or $0.75 per share associated with the discontinued operations. We further incurred a noncash impairment charge of $29.6 million for the write-down of goodwill associated with our Trans Ova Genetics subsidiary.

As discussed, we've initiated efforts in 2020 to improve the financial performance of Trans Ova Genetics going forward.

In concluding the financial component of our call, I will again reiterate that Precigen is wholly committed to deploying our precious capital towards our highest value health care assets in 2020 and beyond. We look forward to providing regular updates as our targeted value-generating milestones are achieved.

I would now like to turn the call back to Helen for concluding remarks.

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Helen Sabzevari, Precigen, Inc. - President & CEO [5]

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Thank you, Tom. In closing our call today, I want to confirm our optimism about Precigen's potential to transform the health care landscape with our innovative and focused portfolio. I think you will agree that there has never been a more exciting and promising time at Precigen. As Precigen's CEO, you have my commitment to manage our company in a financially prudent, fiscally disciplined and transparent manner with the paramount goal of achieving our mission to bring novel treatment options to patients. If we do this, all of our stakeholders will benefit.

With that, we'll now open the line for questions. Operator, please begin.

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Questions and Answers

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Operator [1]

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(Operator Instructions) Our first question will come from Jason Butler of JMP Securities.

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Jason Nicholas Butler, JMP Securities LLC, Research Division - MD and Senior Research Analyst [2]

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Helen, first one, just on the UltraCAR-T trials for both 3005 and 3006, can you frame for us how we should think about the readouts later this year in terms of patient numbers and maturity of data? And maybe if not specifically in terms of numbers, then in terms of how it could inform next steps or potentially progression to pivotal studies?

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Helen Sabzevari, Precigen, Inc. - President & CEO [3]

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Thank you, Jason. Actually, we are very excited for this upcoming interim data. First of all, in regards to the ovarian cancer, the IP arm and in regard to the AML that we have non-lymphodepletion arm to report. As you might have seen in our slides, our trials currently are 3 plus 3 plus 3, there are 3 doses. And as we finish these doses, we obviously will be reporting on the safety and dose, which are the paramount aspects of the Phase I. But at the same token, as we have always emphasized what is the most important thing for us is also show that our manufacturing in vivo directing patients to show the persistence and also the expansion of T cells. So we are looking forward to show some of the interim data by the second half of 2020. And it's quite exciting for us as we go through this journey, and we continue to then expand these patients to Phase Ib.

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Jason Nicholas Butler, JMP Securities LLC, Research Division - MD and Senior Research Analyst [4]

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Great. And then I had a question on AG013 and the interim results upcoming. How should we think about the magnitude of treatment effect here in terms of what would be clinically important to patients? And then in terms of the oral mucositis endpoint, can you just talk to us about subjectivity of the endpoint and how you're controlling for that? And any expectations for either reduction in analgesic use or potential for prolong radiation dose?

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Helen Sabzevari, Precigen, Inc. - President & CEO [5]

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Absolutely. Thank you. So our -- actually, the AG013 is a very exciting program for the platform of ActoBio. As you know, that ActoBio platform uses our elective delivery mechanisms for delivering different proteins, specifically to the mucosal linings. In the case of the oral mucositis, this is a devastating disease especially after the treatment of head and neck cancer patients with chemo and radiation. There are tremendous ulcers in the mouth, which is quite painful, and currently, there is really no treatment for this.

In the Phase I of the study that was done, we have designed the [elastics] in such a way that it delivers a gene that protects and also stimulates the lining of the mucosal lining of the mouth. And we had a very exciting results in the first Phase I showing reduction in the ulcers and actually the level of the pain. And now we have entered and actually finished enrollment of the patients in 2019 in a Phase II that it's done in a randomized fashion. So there is a placebo arm versus the treatment arm, which is quite important. And one aspect that is quite exciting based on the Phase I data, FDA has given us a Fast Track for this indication currently. And this is -- would be the first proof of this platform actually for ActoBio, which we also have exciting trial ongoing in the T1D, type 1 diabetes, which we are anticipating to actually report on in second half of 2020 using a similar actually platform, but delivering a proinsulin, and as well as IL-10, which suppresses the immune system, but actually, it helps the onset of -- it reduces onset of diabetes, and we had a very encouraging preclinical data, the Phase I data and now the Phase IIa will be reported in second half.

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Jason Nicholas Butler, JMP Securities LLC, Research Division - MD and Senior Research Analyst [6]

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Okay, great. That's helpful. And then just 1 last financial question, and sorry if I missed this in the prepared comments. But should we expect any further reorganization charges? And if so, how should we think about those in terms of cash versus noncash spend?

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Helen Sabzevari, Precigen, Inc. - President & CEO [7]

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So currently, I think we are not expecting any further reorganization charges. And as we mentioned by the end of January, all the assets will transfer to Third Security, and currently, we do not expect anything in that lab.

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Operator [8]

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(Operator Instructions) Our next question will come from Swayampakula Ramakanth from H.C. Wainwright.

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Swayampakula Ramakanth, H.C. Wainwright & Co, LLC, Research Division - MD of Equity Research & Senior Healthcare Analyst [9]

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This is RK from H.C. Wainwright. Helen, a couple of quick questions. For the non-oncology assets, AG019 and INXN-4001, what do you plan for these assets in the long term? The reason for that question is, as you can imagine, as these assets get into late-stage development, they could become cash-intensive because of the large clinical trials that you would need to conduct. Would these be assets that can become currency in terms of out licensing?

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Helen Sabzevari, Precigen, Inc. - President & CEO [10]

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Thank you, RK. Great question. So we agree. We have a portfolio of -- maybe I should just first give a few minutes on the reason that we have a portfolio that we have. The strength of our portfolio is that we are not a one-drug-product company. It becomes very important because when you are one-drug-product company, basically despite of what the science might be or might not be, you are committed somehow. Whereas the way we have arranged our portfolio is that it's in such a manner that we prioritize and make it go/no-go decision based on data, and we know the attrition of the portfolio. And therefore, it's very, very important that we keep a fiscal responsibility with very, very laser-focused decision-making to address our portfolio.

In regards to the assets that we have highlighted for this year, actually, this has been a principal factor behind it. We are looking at our data, we are evaluating the breadth of the data that comes in its totality. And then there will be decisions made that if these assets will go to the next levels of development or not. However, what is very important as the fourth pillar that I mentioned as part of our principle is a strategic partnership. And this is very, very important for us in our portfolio. And to your point, obviously, and I'm going to stress this over and over again. We will not take every asset forward ourselves. We will also look into strategic partnerships that will bring the most value for our shareholders. And I think this is a pillar for us that it would allow us to manage our portfolio accordingly and make the decisions with the right partners, with the right speed and with the right cash to make these things and move them forward. And definitely, as you have mentioned, this is one of our strategic responsibility and platforms that we have for these assets.

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Swayampakula Ramakanth, H.C. Wainwright & Co, LLC, Research Division - MD of Equity Research & Senior Healthcare Analyst [11]

See the original post here:
Edited Transcript of XON earnings conference call or presentation 2-Mar-20 10:30pm GMT - Yahoo Finance