Pernix Group, Inc.

Blueprint Medicines announced strategic financing collaborations with Sixth Street and Royalty Pharma totaling up to $1.25 billion. The deals with the life science-focused investors provide capital to expand Blueprint’s pipeline toward commercialization and will enable the company to continue pursuing business development opportunities. The collaboration with Sixth Street has three main components. First, Sixth Street will pay Blueprint a $250 million upfront cash payment in exchange for 9.75% royalties on the latter's products AYVAKIT and BLU-263, both potential treatments for systemic mastocytosis (SM). There is an annual cap of $900 million in net sales and a cumulative cap of 1.45 times the invested capital. Second, Sixth Street offered up to $400 million in a senior secured credit facility from which Blueprint can draw in delayed tranches. And third, Blueprint gets $260 million in a potential credit facility to support business development opportunities. "Blueprint Medicines is an impressive and differentiated biopharmaceutical company, with a proven track record of success in developing and commercializing precision therapies. We are particularly excited about the opportunity for AYVAKIT to meet the substantial need in patients with non-advanced systemic mastocytosis," Vijay Mohan and Jeff Pootoolal, partners at Sixth Street, said in a statement. Blueprint's NSCLC/Thyroid Cancer Drug Attracts Royalty Pharma In the second collaboration, Royalty Pharma plans to monetize royalties receivable from Blueprint’s drug Gavreto, a treatment Blueprint developed with Roche for certain types of non-small cell lung cancer and thyroid cancer. Royalty Pharma will receive royalties from net sales outside of the U.S., not including Greater China, with $175 million cash paid to Blueprint upfront and up to $165 million in potential milestone payments based on future sales. "Gavreto is an important precision therapy that has been incredibly meaningful for patients with metastatic, RET fusion-positive non-small cell lung cancer who may have otherwise had limited options," Pablo Legorreta, Royalty Pharma's founder and CEO, said in a statement. "We are pleased to establish a partnership with the experienced team at Blueprint Medicines to help fuel their execution on the significant commercial and development opportunities they have ahead." Blueprint CEO Kate Haviland added, "This attractive deal puts Blueprint Medicines in a very strong financial position to drive rapid growth while maintaining our path to profitability in the coming years." Blueprint Drawing Investment in Tough Market These collaborations are the latest in a series of successes for Blueprint. At the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2022 Congress in early June, the company announced positive data for AYVAKIT, showing that the drug significantly improved overall survival in advanced SM. In February, Blueprint forged another collaboration, this time with Proteovant Therapeutics to advance novel targeted protein degrader therapies. In March, AYVAKIT (branded AYVAKYT) received approval from the European Commission to treat adults with SM. Ayvakyt was the first approved therapy in the European Union designed to selectively target the KIT D816V mutation. Now with the two latest collaborations, Blueprint is confident in its successful future. "Executing this deal with such favorable terms in the current market environment speaks to the quality of the assets, the aligned confidence in the commercial opportunities, and the investment opportunity that Blueprint Medicines represents overall for firms like Sixth Street and Royalty Pharma, with whom we are building long-term strategic relationships," Haviland said.

SAN JOSE, Calif., June 17, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- California Water Service Group (Group) (NYSE: CWT) announced today the recipients of its 8th annual college scholarship program. In total, Group provided $80,000 in scholarships to 12 students living in its California, Hawaii, New Mexico, and Washington service areas for the 2021-2022 academic year. Out of more than 300 applicants, winners were selected based on outstanding academic achievement, community service, and financial need. One-third of the recipients this year are first-generation college attendees. Four grand-prize recipients were each awarded $10,000 scholarships: Eight additional winners received $5,000 each: "The vibrancy of the communities we serve is inextricably tied to the educational opportunities afforded to students. One way we improve the quality of life for those we serve is by helping local students attain their goals,” said Martin A. Kropelnicki, President and Chief Executive Officer. “We look forward to seeing where their journeys take them next.” The next scholarship cycle will open in the spring of 2022 for students entering or continuing higher education in the fall of 2022. To be eligible for a scholarship, students must live in one of Group’s service areas and plan to enroll in a full-time, undergraduate study program at an accredited two- or four-year college, university, or vocational-technical school for the upcoming academic year. To learn more about the program, please visit the scholarship information webpage at learnmore.scholarsapply.org/calwaterscholarships. The scholarship program is administered by Scholarship Management Services, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Scholarships are funded by California Water Service Group’s stockholders, not ratepayers, as part of Group’s philanthropic giving program. To date, Group has awarded $520,000 in scholarships to students through the program. About California Water Service GroupCalifornia Water Service Group is the parent company of regulated utilities California Water Service, Hawaii Water Service, New Mexico Water Service, Washington Water Service, and now Texas Water Service, a utility holding company. Together, these companies provide regulated and non-regulated water service to more than 2 million people in California, Hawaii, New Mexico, Texas, and Washington. California Water Service Group’s common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “CWT.” Additional information is available online at . Media ContactYvonne Kingmanykingman@calwater.com310-257-1434

Texas-based Caris Life Sciences secured a massive $830 million from a growth equity round, one of the largest capital raises in precision medicine. The company has raised approximately $1.3 billion in external financing over the past three years, including $310 million in 2020. The financing will provide strategic capital for Caris as it focuses on continued commercial expansion and investment in the company’s first-in-class liquid biopsy platform. Caris Life Sciences develops molecular profiling assays for oncology that scans DNA, RNA, and proteins to reveal a molecular blueprint to help physicians determine the best course of treatment for cancer patients. The company’s approach provides oncologists the ability to use whole-genome sequencing, whole transcriptome sequencing, and protein analysis to assess all 22,000 genes in DNA and RNA. The company’s plans for a liquid biopsy platform would provide high concordance to tissue across different modalities, including therapy selection, recurrence monitoring, and early screening across all cancer types. Chief Executive Officer David D. Halbert, who also serves as chairman of the board, said oncology patients are at the center of everything the company does. With the $830 million funding, Halbert said Caris Life Sciences will bring its technology to as many patients as possible, and could reinvent cancer care. “We plan to unlock the full potential of precision medicine through comprehensive interrogation of cancer at the molecular level. This will allow the delivery of transformative applications of molecular science, including the launch of our early detection (stage 1 and stage 2) blood-based pan-cancer test, providing results for every patient with no non-shedders,” Halbert said in a statement. The financing round was investment firm Sixth Street, a longtime investor in Caris. Since 2018, Sixth Street has played a significant role in the company’s growth. In 2018, it invested $150 million in the form of growth debt. Last year the company participated in the company’s raise and invested an additional $75 million in growth debt financing. T.Rowe Price Associates, Silver Lake, Fidelity Management & Research Company, and Coatue also played a significant role in the round. Additional investors included Columbia Threadneedle Investments, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Millennium Management, Neuberger Berman Funds, Highland Capital Management, Rock Springs Capital, OrbiMed, ClearBridge Investments, Tudor Investment Corporation, Eaton Vance Equity (Morgan Stanley), Pure Vida Investments, and First Light Asset Management. “Since our original investment in 2018, Caris has steadily advanced its position as the market-leading precision medicine company by continuing to advance innovative product development and pursuing new initiatives in blood-based molecular science profiling, while expanding the application of its artificial intelligence platform,” Vijay Mohan, co-founding Partner at Sixth Street and Caris Board Member said in a statement. Caris isn’t the only company in the Lone Star Bio Hotbed to announce financing news. Houston-based Sporos Bioventures raised $38.1 million in a Series A financing round last week. The startup focuses on breakthroughs in cancer and immune-related diseases. The company launched with four subsidiary companies under its umbrella, which Sporos said were each founded based on truly novel mechanisms governing cancer and immune disease. Sporos’ most advanced company, Tvardi, is developing small molecule inhibitors to STAT3, a critical regulatory protein integral to the survival and immune evasion of cancer cells as well as to the pathogenesis of many inflammatory and fibrotic diseases. Sporos will use the Series A proceeds to support the development of lead assets across its portfolio and build out the team. In Sugar Land, Texas, QuVa Pharma completed a $275 million financing round, which will enable the company to meet the needs of its approximately 2,000 hospital customers, add more hospitals to the platform, and expand its 200 SKU product portfolio.