Connect Biopharma Holdings Ltd.

SAN DIEGO, CA, Sept. 10, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Connect Biopharma Holdings Limited (Nasdaq: CNTB) (“Connect Biopharma,” “Connect” or the “Company”), a U.S.-headquartered global clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to improving the lives of patients with inflammatory diseases, today announced that Connect Biopharma’s management team will participate at the Cantor Fitzgerald Global Healthcare Conference 2024 taking place in New York, NY on September 17th – September 19th. Details of the presentation are below. Format: Company presentationDate and time: September 19, 2024 at 9:10am ETLocation: InterContinental New York Barclay Hotel Webcast Link: https://wsw.com/webcast/cantor22/cntb/2073357 The Connect Biopharma management team will host one-on-one meetings during the conference. Interested investors should contact their Cantor Fitzgerald representative to request meetings. Links to access company presentation for select events, when available, will be posted to Connect Biopharma’s website on the Presentations & Events page of the Investors section. About Connect Biopharma Holdings Limited Connect Biopharma is a global, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative therapies to treat inflammatory diseases with the goal of improving the lives of millions of those affected around the world. The Company’s lead product candidate, rademikibart (formerly known as CBP-201), is an antibody designed to target interleukin-4 receptor alpha (IL-4Rα) and has demonstrated activity in both atopic dermatitis and asthma. The Company’s second product candidate, icanbelimod (formerly known as CBP-307), is a modulator of S1P1 T cell receptors and has demonstrated activity in ulcerative colitis. For more information, please visit: https://www.connectbiopharm.com/ INVESTOR CONTACT: David Szekeres President dszekeres@connectpharm.com

Plus, news about the Gladstone Institutes, ImmunityBio, Keen Vision Acquisition Corporation and Medera: Basilea Pharmaceutica earns $25M milestone from Pfizer: The payment was triggered after the antifungal Cresemba exceeded a sales threshold as part of a licensing agreement with the drugmaker. The agreement covers Cresemba’s sales in Europe and 16 countries in Asia and China. Cresemba pulled in $489 million in global sales between April 2023 and March 2024, according to Basilea. — Katherine Lewin Connect Biopharma reduces workforce in China: As part of the company’s decision to become more US-centric, Connect cut its China-based workforce by 15% over the past year, and it expects to further reduce its workforce this year. It had 81 full-time employees at the end of last year. It has cash and cash equivalents of $110 million, which gives the company runway into the first half of 2027. — Katherine Lewin Gladstone Institutes announces $350M capital campaign: The organization plans to use the money it raises to add more than 300 scientists and 15 laboratories as part of a goal to “develop the next generation of biotechnologies and advance discoveries to the clinic as rapidly as possible.” The labs will add 100,000 square feet of space. — Katherine Lewin ImmunityBio lays off 20 people in California and Colorado: The cuts were detailed in a WARN report submitted to the Florida Department of Commerce on Aug. 30, with manufacturing and quality control-related teams mostly impacted. The company’s IL-15 agonist Anktiva won FDA approval in April to treat bladder cancer. ImmunityBio did not immediately respond to a request for comment. — Max Bayer Keen Vision Acquisition Corporation, Medera to merge: Medera, a privately-held biotech, focuses on developing gene and cell therapies for difficult-to-treat and currently incurable diseases. Its three most advanced candidates are gene therapy treatments for heart failure indications. Keen is a SPAC that went public in February 2023. The companies expect the merger to close in the fourth quarter. At that time, the company will be known as Medera. Keen will get $149.5 million in cash proceeds from the transaction. — Katherine Lewin

A geographical pivot has also seen Connect Biopharma transfer the manufacturing for rademikibart to a U.S.-based contract manufacturer. In a year that has already seen Connect Biopharma walk away from a Pfizer collaboration and halt its preclinical work, the biotech is now in the process of “significantly reducing” its presence in China.As part of its transition into a U.S.-focused company, Connect had already reduced its Chinese head count by around 15% in the year leading up to July, with “further reductions in the China workforce expected by end of year.”This geographical pivot has also seen Connect transfer the manufacturing process for its anti-IL-4Ra antibody rademikibart to a U.S.-based contract manufacturer, “allowing the company to significantly reduce manufacturing expenses for the remainder of 2024 and 2025.”They are only the latest changes at Connect, which in April returned the rights for an eczema drug to Pfizer. The biotech had identified the H3R antagonist as complementary to rademikibart and Regeneron and Sanofi’s rival drug Dupixent but decided to pass back the drug to “maximize resources and extend its cash runway.”That same focus on conserving cash also saw Connect halt all preclinical and discovery programs. The company has since received “favorable feedback” from the FDA about potential phase 3 trials for rademikibart in both asthma and atopic dermatitis. But, in a second-quarter earnings report yesterday, Connect said it is still “considering whether advancing rademikibart into a phase 3 program is the appropriate next step versus other development opportunities for rademikibart, which could be completed without additional financing.”Simcere Pharmaceutical—which picked up the greater China rights to the drug last year—doesn’t have the same hesitation, having recently announced the launch of phase 3 trials of rademikibart in asthma and moderate to severe atopic dermatitis.“Having had the opportunity to thoroughly review all the clinical data generated with rademikibart, I continue to be incredibly excited about this potential best-in-class competitor to [Dupixent],” Connect CEO Barry Quart said in the Sept. 5 release.“In parallel, we continue to take steps towards transforming into a U.S.-centric company and significantly reducing our footprint in China,” added Quart, who joined Connect in June. “We are excited about the company’s transformation and look forward to unveiling our new strategy for rademikibart in the near future.”Connect ended June with $110.2 million in cash and equivalents. Combined with its ongoing efforts to keep a tight grip on its spending, the biotech expects this money to fund its operations into “at least” the first half of 2027.Connect’s other clinical-stage candidate is an S1P1 T-cell receptor modulator called icanbelimod that is being aimed at ulcerative colitis, although the company didn’t share any updates on the asset in yesterday’s release.