Stockwinners Market Radar for March 22, 2021 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

18:45 EDT Pacira says FDA approves supplemental NDA for EXPAREL in pediatric patients - Pacira BioSciences announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the submission of its supplemental new drug application seeking expansion of the EXPAREL label to include use in patients 6 years of age and older for single-dose infiltration to produce postsurgical local analgesia. With this approval, EXPAREL is the first and only FDA approved long-acting local analgesic for the pediatric population as young as age six. "The current standard of care for managing moderate-to-severe pain in children is opioids, which often come with unwanted severe and possibly life-threatening side effects in this vulnerable patient population," said Dave Stack, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Pacira. "In line with our corporate mission to provide an opioid alternative to as many patients as possible, we are grateful for the opportunity to give clinicians and patients a new, safe and effective option for achieving long-lasting non-opioid pain control in children without the need for an indwelling catheter and pump." Since initial approval in 2011, more than 8 million patients have been treated with EXPAREL. With approximately one million pediatric procedures per year where opioids, catheters and pain pumps are the mainstay of postsurgical pain control, there is an urgent unmet need for opioid alternatives.

18:24 EDT Biohaven Pharmaceutical CEO: Nurtec growth looks very good - In an interview on CNBC's Mad Money, Dr. Vlad Coric said Biohaven has a heavy digital-first campaign which gives it an edge over competitors. "We want people to treat their migraine period, regardless of whether it's acute of preventative," he added. The company is "anxiously awaiting" word from the FDA about the use of Nurtec for preventative measures, Coric noted.

18:00 EDT Google Cloud hires former Intel engineer to run custom chip push - "The future of cloud infrastructure is bright, and it's changing fast. As we continue to work to meet computing demands from around the world, today we are thrilled to welcome Uri Frank as our VP of Engineering for server chip design. Uri brings nearly 25 years of custom CPU design and delivery experience, and will help us build a world-class team in Israel. We've long looked to Israel for novel technologies including Waze, Call Screen, flood forecasting, high-impact features in Search, and Velostrata's cloud migration tools, and we look forward to growing our presence in this global innovation hub," wrote wrote Amin Vahdat Google Fellow and Vice President of Systems Infrastructure. The Fly notes that Uri Frank worked at Intel (INTC) prior to joining Google (GOOG, GOOGL). Reference Link

17:56 EDT Zealand Pharma jumps over 8% to $37.65 after FDA approval of Zegalogue

17:28 EDT QuantumScape drops 8% to $59.31 after 13M share common stock offering

17:15 EDT Banc of California to acquire Pacific Mercantile in roughly $235M transaction - Banc of California (BANC) and Pacific Mercantile Bancorp (PMBC) announced they have entered into a definitive agreement and plan of merger under which Pacific Mercantile will merge into Banc of California in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $235M, or $9.77 per share, based on the closing price for Banc of California's common stock of $19.54 as of March 22, 2021. Banc of California expects the transaction to be 12.9% accretive to EPS in 2022 with a 2.3 year earnback period to tangible book value per share based on a conservative and achievable cost savings estimate of approximately 35%. Pacific Mercantile Bancorp is a commercial bank headquartered in Costa Mesa, California with $1.6B in total assets, $1.2B in gross loans, and $1.4B in total deposits as of December 31, 2020. Pacific Mercantile had $229.7M in Paycheck Protection loans outstanding at December 31, 2020. Pacific Mercantile operates seven banking offices, including three full service branches, located throughout Southern California. The transaction will increase Banc of California's total assets to approximately $9.5B on a pro forma basis as of December 31, 2020. Jared Wolff, President and Chief Executive Officer of Banc of California, commented, "We are excited to welcome Pacific Mercantile's clients and colleagues into our banking family. Pacific Mercantile's talented team has built an attractive roster of operating company clients, and we look forward to serving them with high-touch relationship banking." Under the terms of the definitive agreement, which was approved by the Board of Directors of both companies, holders of Pacific Mercantile common stock will receive 0.5 shares of Banc of California common stock for each share of Pacific Mercantile common stock they own. Existing Banc of California stockholders will own approximately 81% of the outstanding shares of the combined company and Pacific Mercantile shareholders are expected to own approximately 19%. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals and shareholder approvals from Banc of California and Pacific Mercantile shareholders. Pacific Mercantile directors who own shares of Pacific Mercantile common stock and certain shareholders have entered into agreements with Banc of California pursuant to which they have committed to vote their shares of Pacific Mercantile common stock in favor of the transaction. Banc of California directors who own shares of Banc of California common stock and certain stockholders have entered into agreements with Pacific Mercantile pursuant to which they have committed to vote their shares of Banc of California common stock in favor of the transaction.

17:11 EDT Google Cloud hires former Intel engineer for to run custom chip push - "The future of cloud infrastructure is bright, and it's changing fast. As we continue to work to meet computing demands from around the world, today we are thrilled to welcome Uri Frank as our VP of Engineering for server chip design. Uri brings nearly 25 years of custom CPU design and delivery experience, and will help us build a world-class team in Israel. We've long looked to Israel for novel technologies including Waze, Call Screen, flood forecasting, high-impact features in Search, and Velostrata's cloud migration tools, and we look forward to growing our presence in this global innovation hub," wrote wrote Amin Vahdat Google Fellow and Vice President of Systems Infrastructure. The Fly notes that Uri Frank worked at Intel (INTC) prior to joining Google (GOOG, GOOGL). Reference Link

17:06 EDT Point72 Asset Management takes 5.8% passive stake in Curis - Point72 Asset Management disclosed a 5.8% stake in Curis, which represents over 5.33M shares. The filing does not allow for activism.

16:31 EDT California Resources names Mark McFarland as permanent CEO - California Resources announced the appointment of Mark McFarland as the company's permanent President and CEO, effective immediately. McFarland has served on the company's board since its emergence from bankruptcy in October 2020, as its Executive Chairman from November 2020 through December 31, 2020 and as its Chairman of the Board and interim CEO since December 31, 2020.

16:30 EDT Ionis Pharmaceuticals trading resumes

16:22 EDT Scholar Rock publishes pharmacology safety profile of SRK-181 - The company states: "Scholar Rock announced the publication of preclinical development data for SRK-181 in the peer-reviewed journal International Journal of Toxicology. SRK-181 is a product candidate that has been shown to be a potent and highly specific inhibitor of latent growth factor-beta activation in preclinical studies. SRK-181 is being developed to overcome primary resistance to checkpoint inhibitor therapy and is currently being studied in the two-part DRAGON Phase 1 trial in patients with locally advanced or metastatic solid tumors exhibiting primary resistance to anti-PD-1 therapy. Key findings include: Selective inhibition of latent TGFbeta1 activation by SRK-181 was shown to avoid dose-limiting toxicities associated with pan-TGFbeta inhibitors in preclinical pharmacology studies. In-vitro studies showed that SRK-181 had no effect on human platelet aggregation, activation, or binding and that SRK-181 does not trigger a proinflammatory cytokine response in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Four-week toxicology study showed that weekly intravenous administration of SRK-181 achieved sustained serum exposure and was well-tolerated in rats and monkeys with no treatment-related adverse findings. No observed adverse effect level of 200 mg/kg and 300 mg/kg were achieved in rats and cynomolgus monkeys, respectively. Preclinical pharmacologic and pharmacokinetics assessments provided support for the dose-selection strategy for the ongoing DRAGON Phase 1 trial in patients with solid tumors".

16:18 EDT Kodak announces commitment from ONLINEPRINTERS Group - In a post to its corporate website, Kodak said in part: "One of Europe's biggest online print shops has become more efficient and more sustainable thanks to high performance CTP and SONORA Process Free Plates from Kodak... In the second quarter of 2019, ONLINEPRINTERS became a beta user of the new T-speed KODAK MAGNUS Q800 Platesetter with automatic plate loading from a Single Pallet Loader for pallets with a capacity of 1500 plates including slip sheets. Trial production with the KODAK SONORA X Process Free Plate began in parallel... In view of their positive experience with Kodak's CTP and process free technologies, there is no doubt about which direction the ONLINEPRINTERS Group will take in the future. The production sites in Denmark and Poland have already been equipped with new MAGNUS Q800 Platesetters and have likewise gone over to printing with the SONORA XTRA Plate while Solopress in the UK has long been a user of Kodak platesetters and process free plates." Reference Link

16:17 EDT Chemours announces strategic review of Mining Solutions business - The Chemours Company announced the next step in its growth and repositioning journey. The company initiated a strategic review to assess the potential sale of its Mining Solutions business. The process is intended to drive shareholder value and portfolio focus. Chemours has retained Gordon Dyal & Co. Advisory Group LP to assist in this strategic review process.

16:16 EDT Kura publishes Tipifarnib Phase 2 data in Journal of Clinical Oncology - Kura Oncology announced the publication of results from its RUN-HN study, a Phase 2 open-label, single-arm trial of tipifarnib in patients with HRAS mutant head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, HNSCC, whose disease had progressed after prior therapy. The paper, titled "Tipifarnib in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma with HRAS Mutations," was published online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. As of the April 10, data cutoff, a total of 22 HNSCC patients with high HRAS mutant variant allele frequency were enrolled, of whom 20 were evaluable for response. Eleven of the 20 evaluable patients met RECIST v1.1 criteria for confirmed partial response and, for an objective response rate, ORR,of 55% . Median progression-free survival of 5.6 months on tipifarnib was a statistically significant improvement over the median PFS of 3.6 months on last prior therapy. The median overall survival was 15.4 months . Robust activity was seen despite resistance to chemotherapy, immunotherapy and/or cetuximab. The ORR for three FDA-approved therapies for treatment of HNSCC in the second line range from 13-16%, with median PFS of 2-3 months and median OS of 5-8 months. "We are encouraged by the compelling efficacy and safety profile of tipifarnib in patients with recurrent or metastatic HRAS mutant head and neck squamous cell carcinoma," said Alan Ho, M.D., Ph.D., of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and principal investigator of the trial. "Importantly, these patients experienced limited benefit on prior therapies, including immunotherapies, which demonstrates the high unmet need for this disease. These data also reinforce the relevance of genomic testing for HRAS mutations to identify patients who could potentially benefit from tipifarnib treatment."

16:12 EDT Atlanticus Holding announces Jeffrey Howard, as its new CEO - Atlanticus Holdings announced that David Hanna, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, will transition to the role of Executive Chairman of Atlanticus. The Company's Board of Directors unanimously elected long-time President, Jeffrey A. Howard, as its new Chief Executive Officer. Both changes were effective March 1. Mr. Howard has served Atlanticus as President and as a member of its Board of Directors since April 2014. Having worked with the Company for almost 20 years, Mr. Howard has an intimate understanding of Atlanticus' operations and strategic opportunities.

16:08 EDT Ionis Pharmaceuticals: Roche to discontinue dosing in Phase 3 GENERATION HD1 - Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS) announced its partner, Roche (RHHBY), has decided to discontinue dosing in the Phase III GENERATION HD1 study of tominersen in manifest Huntington's disease. The decision was based on the results of a pre-planned review of data from the Phase III study conducted by an unblinded Independent Data Monitoring Committee. While there were no new or emerging safety signals identified for tominersen, the iDMC made its recommendation based on the investigational therapy's potential benefit/risk profile for study participants. Participants will continue to be followed for safety and clinical outcomes. In addition, dosing will be paused in the open-label extension study (GEN-EXTEND) of tominersen while data are carefully analyzed to inform next steps on this study. Roche also stated that the Phase I PK/PD study (GEN-PEAK) of tominersen and Roche's observational HD Natural History Study will continue. Roche has stated that once full data from the studies are available and analyzed, Roche will share learnings and future plans with the community.

16:07 EDT SpartanNash chairman Dennis Eidson to retire - SpartanNash announced that Dennis Eidson will retire as Chairman of the SpartanNash board and step down from the board when his term expires at the 2021 Annual Meeting. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of the board has nominated current Lead Independent Director Douglas A. Hacker to succeed Mr. Eidson as Chairman. It is anticipated that Mr. Hacker will be elected the new Chairman following the Annual Meeting on May 26, 2021.

16:06 EDT Seagate names Verizon CIO Arumugavelu to Board - Seagate (STX) announced that Shankar Arumugavelu has been appointed to the company's Board of Directors and to serve on the Audit and Finance Committee of the Board, effective March 19, 2021. Mr. Arumugavelu is senior vice president and global chief information officer for Verizon Communications (VZ) and leads the company's information technology strategy, architecture, development, and management of the information systems portfolio, continued evolution of digital platforms, and operation of supporting infrastructure across all Verizon business units.

16:04 EDT Starboard discloses 7.0% activist stake in eHealth - Starboard disclosed a 7.0% stake in eHealth, which represents over 1.8M shares. The filing does allow for activism.

16:03 EDT BioLife Solutions to acquire Stirling Ultracold in an all-stock merger

16:01 EDT Tencent Music, Warner Music sign multi-year licensing agreement - Tencent Music Entertainment Group and Warner Music announced an expanded multi-year strategic licensing agreement. The companies have been working together since their original agreement more than a decade ago. TME will continue to make Warner Music's repertoire available across all its online music platforms in mainland China, including QQ Music, Kugou Music and Kuwo Music, as well as its live streaming platforms and WeSing, its online karaoke platform. In addition, Warner Music's repertoire will also be made available, via TME's online music platforms, on certain designated connected devices, such as in-car audio systems, in mainland China. The companies also agreed to launch a new joint venture record label, leveraging Warner Music's global resources and experience in supporting artists' careers, as well as TME's massive influence in mainland China's music and entertainment market.

16:01 EDT AlloVir names Diana Brainard as new CEO - AlloVir announced that its board has appointed Diana M. Brainard, M.D., as the company's CEO, effective May 17, 2021. Dr. Brainard has served on AlloVir's Board of Directors since April 2019, initially as a Board Observer, and as an Independent Director since July 2020. Dr. Brainard currently serves as Senior Vice President and Head of the Virology Therapeutic Area at Gilead Sciences, Inc. She will succeed David Hallal, who will step down as CEO and continue to serve as Executive Chairman of the Board.

15:59 EDT Zealand Pharma's dasiglucagon NDA approved by FDA - Zealand Pharma's dasiglucagon was approved by the FDA on March 22, according to a post to the agency's website for New Drug Application 214231. Reference Link

15:40 EDT Just Energy trading halted, news pending

14:34 EDT Tonix expects to be in position to initiate Phase 2 study in MDD in Q4 - Tonix Pharmaceuticals announced that it has received the official minutes from a Type B pre-investigational new drug, or IND, meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on its development plan for TNX-601 CR tablet for the treatment of major depressive disorder, or MDD. Tonix's TNX-601 CR is a novel oral formulation which is being developed as a potential treatment for MDD, posttraumatic stress disorder, and neurocognitive dysfunction associated with corticosteroid use. "Tianeptine sodium immediate release has been available in Europe and many countries in Asia and Latin America for the treatment of depression for more than three decades, first marketed in France in 1989," the company noted. Based on the official minutes, Tonix expects to submit the IND to conduct a human abuse potential study and meet with FDA's controlled substances staff to reach agreement on the details of the abuse potential study. Pending the results of the human abuse potential study and the results of ongoing nonclinical toxicology studies, Tonix expects to be in a position to initiate a Phase 2 study for the treatment of MDD in the fourth quarter of 2021. "We are pleased with the results of the FDA meeting on developing TNX-601 CR for the treatment of MDD and we look forward to advancing its clinical development. Tianeptine products have been approved in Europe and other countries around the world and marketed as prescriptions drugs for treating depression for more than 3 decades. We believe that with respect to tianeptine, TNX-601 CR would meet the bioequivalence standard for daily dosing of these immediate release products. No tianeptine-containing product has been approved by the FDA. TNX-601 CR's proposed mechanism of action is distinct from any approved antidepressant in the U.S," said Seth Lederman, M.D., President and CEO of Tonix Pharmaceuticals.

14:01 EDT Sally Beauty appoints Kim McIntosh as Chief Accounting Officer - Sally Beauty (SBH) announced the appointment of Kim McIntosh, as Group Vice President, Controller and Chief Accounting Officer. McIntosh joins the company from Tailored Brands (TLRD), where she was Chief Accounting Officer since December 2020 and Vice President, Corporate Controller from March 2013 to December 2020.

13:39 EDT Texas PUC meeting canceled after Avangrid, PNM Resources settlement reached - The Public Utility Commission of Texas stated in a filing to the regulator's website that a prehearing conference was held in the case of Avangrid (AGR) and PNM Resources (PNM) on Friday, March 19, 2021. "At that time, the parties announced that they had reached a settlement agreement and were in the process of finalizing documents related to the agreement to file with the Commission... Since the prehearing conference, the decision has been made at the Commission to cancel the hearing on the merits." The administrative law judge in the case ordered that the parties must file the documents related to their agreement by close of business on March 30, 2021, the filing noted. Reference Link

12:51 EDT Barrick Gold to reprocess ground rock at closed Golden Sunlight mine - Montana Governor Gianforte and Barrick Gold CEO Mark Bristow met at the closed Golden Sunlight mine in Jefferson County to discuss a project that is expected to create 75 or more jobs and "tens of millions of dollars" in tax revenue over the next decade, the company said in a statement. The project involves the reprocessing of ground rock, from which gold was previously extracted in the Golden Sunlight mills. The focus will be on removing and concentrating sulfur that will then be sold to and used in gold production by Nevada Gold Mines. Barrick, which owns Golden Sunlight, is also the majority owner and operator of Nevada Gold Mines. Governor Gianforte said: "It's great to see Barrick's Golden Sunlight mine continue to invest in the community of southwest Montana. This is the type of investment that is possible when state agencies provide a stable, predictable regulatory process that companies can rely on - one that benefits the local environment too."

12:00 EDT Tuya falls -13.6% - Tuya is down -13.6%, or -$3.41 to $21.71.

12:00 EDT RLX Technology falls -44.6% - RLX Technology is down -44.6%, or -$8.68 to $10.78.

12:00 EDT X Financial rises 13.9% - X Financial is up 13.9%, or 62c to $5.06.

11:52 EDT Box jumps 9% to $24.51 following Reuters report of exploring sale

11:03 EDT Sprouts Farmers Market opens Aurora, Colorado distribution center - Sprouts Farmers Market opened a new distribution center in in Aurora, marking its first center in Colorado and its sixth across the country. The 135,000 square-foot facility was built for Sprouts and includes 55 degrees F and 34 degrees F storage and fruit ripening rooms that are ideal for the variety of fresh produce Sprouts offers. The center services 45 of the chain's more than 360 stores, including all locations in Colorado, five stores in Utah, and eight in New Mexico. Sprouts is partnering with Penske Logistics as its third-party logistics provider for the distribution center and dedicated transportation fleet which created 70 new full-time jobs in the market. A seventh distribution center will open in Florida this summer to expand local produce offerings and guarantee freshness across stores in the state.

10:20 EDT Superior Energy CEO David Dunlap, CFO Westy Ballard resign - Superior Energy Services announced the resignations of David Dunlap, president and CEO and a member of its board of directors, and Westy Ballard, EVP, CFO and treasurer. Dunlap and Ballard resigned from the Company to pursue other opportunities. Michael McGovern, the chairman of the Company's board of directors, has been appointed executive chairman and assumed the functions of the Company's principal executive officer, and James Spexarth, the Company's chief accounting officer, has been appointed interim CFO. The Company plans to commence an executive search to identify a successor for Mr. Dunlap.

10:17 EDT NanoString awards Technology Access Program grant with Doloromics - NanoString Technologies (NSTG) announced the company has awarded a Technology Access Program grant with Illumina (ILMN) Accelerator startup, Doloromics, focused on gaining a deeper understanding of chronic pain diseases by spatially characterizing the dorsal root ganglion. NanoString will partner with at least one startup from each global Illumina Accelerator funding cycle for a GeoMx Digital Spatial Profiler Technology Access Program grant. Spatial profiling of the DRG from patient tissues with the Whole Transcriptome Atlas may be highly informative as it would allow a thorough understanding of the transcriptional expression within the DRG and could support discovery and validation of new targets. GeoMx DSP is uniquely positioned to advance this research because it is designed to read-out on Illumina sequencers, leveraging state-of-the-art next generation sequencing and the novel biological insights provided by innovative spatial profiling technology.

10:06 EDT CTI BioPharma says pacritinib shows 'encouraging' clinical benefit in Phase 1 - CTI BioPharma announced that Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, has published results from a Phase 1 study led by Joseph Pidala, MD, PhD, and Brian C. Betts, MD, evaluating pacritinib, an investigational oral kinase inhibitor with specificity for JAK2, for the prevention of acute graft-versus-host disease, or GVHD. The results demonstrated that pacritinib, combined with sirolimus and low-dose tacrolimus, has a "promising safety profile" and "exhibits preliminary therapeutic activity" in preventing acute GVHD after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation. The article, titled "Pacritinib Combined with Sirolimus and Low-Dose Tacrolimus for GVHD Prevention after Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation: Preclinical and Phase 1 Trial Results," is available online and the Phase 2 portion of the trial designed to evaluate the therapeutic effect of pacritinib in combination with sirolimus and low-dose tacrolimus for GVHD prevention is ongoing at Moffitt Cancer Center and the Masonic Cancer Center at the University of Minnesota. "This Phase 1 clinical trial is the first study to demonstrate that combining pacritinib, a selective JAK2 inhibitor, with sirolimus-based GVHD prophylaxis may produce lower rates of acute GVHD compared to the reported rates for sirolimus and tacrolimus alone," said Adam. R. Craig, MD, PhD, President and CEO of CTI BioPharma. "We are encouraged by these data and look forward to further evaluating pacritinib in preventing GVHD in the on-going Phase 2 clinical trial and continuing to highlight the potential for the expanded use of pacritinib."

10:03 EDT DoorDash launches on-demand delivery of COVID-19 PCR test collection kits - DoorDash announced that it will begin facilitating same-day delivery of COVID-19 PCR test collection kits across the U.S through partnerships with Vault Health and Everlywell. Consumers will now be able to access two COVID-19 home collection kits that received FDA Emergency Use Authorization via on-demand delivery from DoorDash's DashMart locations across the nation. The Vault Health powered COVID-19 Saliva Test Kit or Everlywell COVID-19 Test Home Collection Kit DTC will be available in 12 DashMart locations across the U.S. including Baltimore, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Minneapolis, and Phoenix, with more cities rolling out in the coming months. The Vault Health COVID-19 Saliva Test Kit and Everlywell COVID-19 Test Home Collection Kit DTC will be available for same-day delivery through the DoorDash marketplace app. With the addition of mail-in tests for COVID-19 at multiple DashMart locations, consumers are now able to get on-demand access to essential healthcare products. In addition to the DoorDash marketplace app, the Vault Health COVID-19 Saliva Test Kit will be available for same-day delivery in 20 markets including Baltimore, Chicago, Houston, Las Vegas, Phoenix, and San Diego through Vault Health's website powered by DoorDash Drive, DoorDash's white-label fulfillment platform that powers direct delivery for any business. This last-mile fulfilment will allow thousands of patients on the Vault platform to get tested same-day and receive results all within a record time of 48 hours.

10:00 EDT AMC Entertainment falls -8.1% - AMC Entertainment is down -8.1%, or -$1.13 to $12.80.

10:00 EDT RLX Technology falls -40.1% - RLX Technology is down -40.1%, or -$7.80 to $11.65.

10:00 EDT Caleres rises 17.4% - Caleres is up 17.4%, or $3.29 to $22.17.

09:58 EDT Microsoft announces more workers to return to office starting March 29 - Microsoft is planning to accommodate additional workers in their Redmond, Washington headquarters and nearby campuses. "Since the beginning of the pandemic, our No. 1 priority has been the well-being and safety of our people. We have never stopped monitoring local health data and tracking government requirements to determine when our campuses could safely accommodate additional workers onsite. As some employees return to our global work sites and others prefer or need to work remotely, we are finding additional ways of putting our hybrid workplace into practice," said Kurt DelBene, Microsoft's Executive Vice President. "Taking the example of our Redmond campus, we've been closely monitoring local health data for months and have determined that the campus can safely accommodate more employees on-site while staying aligned to Washington state capacity limits," DelBene added. The shift planned represents a move from Stage 3: Working from home strongly encouraged to Stage 4: soft open of the company's 6 Stage COVID-19 hybrid workplace plan. Reference Link

09:47 EDT SM Energy falls -7.2% - SM Energy is down -7.2%, or -$1.33 to $17.03.

09:47 EDT RLX Technology falls -36.3% - RLX Technology is down -36.3%, or -$7.06 to $12.40.

09:47 EDT Caleres rises 16.2% - Caleres is up 16.2%, or $3.05 to $21.93.

09:38 EDT My Size to launch app for Russia's Evropeyskiy Mall - MySize announced the planned launch of their application supported by Evropeyskiy Mall, which the company identifies as "the largest shopping center in Russia." MySize said: "The app will give consumers an ultra streamlined in-person shopping experience, allowing them to virtually obtain fits for apparel at dozens of retailers in the mall, along with seamless cashier-free purchasing via in-app check out."

09:32 EDT First Northwest Bancorp to purchase Bellevue, WA branch from Sterling Bank - First Northwest Bancorp (FNWB) announced that First Fed has entered into an agreement with Sterling Bank (STL) and Trust of Southfield, Michigan to purchase its Bellevue, Washington branch, subject to applicable regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. The agreement includes the purchase of approximately $77.7M in deposits as of the announcement date and all of SBT's furniture, fixtures, and equipment at this location, as well as assumption of SBT's leasehold obligations relating to the branch. The parties expect to close the transaction by the end of the second quarter of 2021 pending the standard regulatory approval process.

09:32 EDT 180 Degree Capital issues second open letter to Enzo Biochem shareholders - 180 Degree Capital Corp. (TURN) issued an open letter to the board and shareholders of Enzo Biochem (ENZ). The letter said in part: "This is a highly bothersome and rather disappointing second public letter that I feel we must write to you, the Board of ENZ. While we were mildly supportive of the leadership change that you announced last week, we also knew at the end of the day you would end up playing games. We are appalled by what we believe is a shameful decision by ENZ's Nominating/Governance Committee to not accept the resignation of Dr. Elazar Rabbani from ENZ's Board. You clearly have no respect for the will of your shareholders who are the true owners of this company. You also appear to have no idea of what we believe is your role is as board members and what the word accountability means. We believe that your job as directors of a publicly traded company is to practice proper corporate governance, oversee the company's strategy, and ensure that the management team is creating value for its shareholders. As we noted in our first public letter, and discuss further below, Dr. Rabbani has not generated value for shareholders. In fact, he has destroyed value for shareholders; and yet you chose to look the other way and somehow convince yourselves that he is irreplaceable. I thought the two new board members, Dr. Tagliaferri and Dr. Walters, would provide an objective analysis of the situation. Instead, they appear to have drunk the Kool-Aid and participated in a decision that is akin to giving the middle finger to your shareholders...It is our strong opinion that Dr. Rabbani should not be involved in the selection of ENZ's next CEO."

09:23 EDT Keurig Dr Pepper strengthens commitment to water stewardship - In celebration of World Water Day, Keurig Dr Pepper strengthened its commitment to water stewardship across its value chain by joining the new Texas Water Action Collaborative, a coalition of industry, nonprofit and governmental organizations to benefit the quality and volume of water on the Trinity River in Texas, and announcing a new regenerative agriculture goal. As part of its Drink Well. Do Good. corporate responsibility commitments, the company announced a new goal to support regenerative agriculture and conservation on 250,000 acres of land by 2030. Keurig Dr Pepper will partner with key suppliers and farmers to achieve the goal, which represents 50% of the land used to grow the company's top climate-sensitive crops, including coffee, corn and apples. This new goal will accelerate the company's efforts to protect water resources within its supply chain, as regenerative agriculture practices contribute to improved water quality and quantity, while also supporting biodiversity and strengthening farmer economic resilience.

09:19 EDT Chicken Soup announces expanded distribution rollout of Crackle Plus networks - Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment reported that it has increased its distribution of its Crackle Plus AVOD networks to 41 touchpoints, above its prior target, and now is expanding this initiative with plans to reach a total of 64 consumer touchpoints. The Crackle Plus networks, including Crackle and Popcornflix, are available on a variety of platforms and services as both linear and VOD offerings. Crackle Plus networks are always free and offer a wide selection of hit movies, TV series, and original and exclusive programming. Expansion of Crackle Plus's distribution is a key part of the Company's broader marketing strategy to drive more viewers to its original and exclusive content.

09:17 EDT Reviva Pharmaceuticals announces 2021 anticipated events, targeted milestones - Anticipated Events and Targeted Milestones for 2021: Meet with the FDA to discuss final study design of the Phase 3; Initiate Phase 3 Double-blind, Placebo-controlled, Multicenter Trial in 360 patients, assuming the Company achieves its fundraising goals; Pursue partnership and financing opportunities for the development of our pipeline; Evaluate grant and other non-dilutive financing opportunities for our product candidates from Federal and State Healthcare Agencies and Foundations.

09:16 EDT Comtech awarded follow-on order for more than $1M for military X-band SSPAs - Comtech Telecommunications announced that during its Q3, its subsidiary Comtech Xicom Technology received a contract valued at more than $1M for X-band SSPA/BUCs for transportable military satellite communications ground systems. X-band is set aside for government satellite service, primarily military applications that require low interference, low rain-fade, and small terminal size, even if data rates are limited. One of the major challenges of X-band is that, unlike other satcom bands, the receive band is adjacent to the transmit band, making it critical that any RF leakage be extremely low to avoid interfering with the receive signal. Xicom's X-band amplifiers and BUCs are optimized for this challenging low leakage requirement as well as being high in power density, highly efficient and compact. They are ideal for fixed, transportable, manpack, and mobile military applications, the company said.

09:15 EDT Fortress Biotech partner Journey Medical in-licenses Accutane for nodular acne - Fortress Biotech announced that Journey Medical in-licensed and launched an oral isotretinoin under the brand name Accutane in the U.S. Accutane is an oral medication that is indicated for the treatment of severe recalcitrant nodular acne. It is only available by prescription at major U.S. retail and specialty pharmacy chains. Claude Maraoui, President and Chief Executive Officer of Journey Medical, stated, "We are proud to add Accutane to our growing portfolio of dermatology products, which also includes Targadox and Ximino. Licensing and launching Accutane allows us to leverage the strength of its brand name with our experienced acne sales team. We are poised for an exciting year as we launch this brand under the Journey Medical umbrella." Acne is one of the most commonly treated disease states in dermatology. Acne is most common among teenagers, though it affects people of all ages. Accutane belongs to a class of drugs that may affect all four major pathogenic processes in acne: increased sebum production, irregular follicular desquamation, propionibacterium acnes proliferation and inflammation. Over 1.8 million prescriptions were written for all isotretinoin products in 2020, according to Symphony Health.

09:12 EDT L3Harris Technologies to provide electronic warfare system for F-16 aircraft - L3Harris Technologies (LHX) has been awarded a contract from Lockheed Martin (LMT) for development of a new advanced electronic warfare system to protect the international F-16 multirole fighter aircraft against emerging radar and electronic threats. L3Harris designed Viper Shield to provide U.S. and global coalition partners with cutting-edge countermeasures against sophisticated, ever-changing threats. The baseline version is integrated into the aircraft fuselage, saving space for additional capability such as a fuel pod that could be attached externally to increase mission range.

09:09 EDT INmune Bio announces presentations on NK cells at medical meetings - INmune Bio announced that Professor Mark Lowdell, PhD, CSO of INmune Bio, will deliver presentations at two upcoming medical meetings. Event details: Innate Killer Digital Summit 2021, March 23-25. Title: Exploring the Network of Cellular Interactions of NK Cells in the Tumor Microenvironment: In this presentation, Dr. Lowdell will discuss the company's latest data and the discovery of a new mechanism of action of its NK-priming immunotherapy, "INKmune". INKmune is a clinical stage proprietary tumor cell line which is administered intravenously and primes NK cells to kill otherwise resistant tumors. INKmune-primed NK cells have been shown to kill a wide variety of solid and hematological cancer cells in preclinical studies. Use of two of the latest state-of-the-art cell:cell analysis technologies has demonstrated that INKmune increases NK cell killing of tumor cells by strengthening the binding of the NK to the tumor cell; the avidity. Our preclinical studies show that the robust immune synapse created by INKmune priming is greater than that induced by conventional cytokine activation and allows more rapid NK-mediated killing which was confirmed by videomicrography. These INKmune-primed NK cells are not only more efficient killers of tumor cells but are able to overcome inhibition by regulatory cells and hypoxia in the tumor microenvironment. Festival of Biologics USA: World Immunotherapy Congress 2021, March 29-April 1. Session: Cell and Gene Therapy. Title: Enhancing the Cellular Interactions Between NK Cells and Tumor Cells: This second presentation will focus on the immunobiology of the NK:tumor immune synapse and the impact of tumor cell susceptibility to NK killing on NK exhaustion and the ability to lyse multiple target cells.

09:07 EDT Virpax to initiate IND enabling studies for Probudur for postoperative pain - Virpax Pharmaceuticals announced that preclinical studies of Probudur, a proprietary patented injectable, long-acting "local anesthetic" Liposomal Gel Technology for postoperative pain management, have been initiated under an agreement with Charles River Laboratories. Under the terms of the agreement, Charles River Laboratories will perform seven preclinical animal studies including method, dosage, and toxicity as part of the required U.S. Food and Drug Administration enabling trials for an Investigational New Drug Application for Probudur. Anthony Mack, Chairman & CEO of Virpax stated, "We now have three product candidates in preclinical IND enabling studies. As anticipated, our pipeline is moving forward and we are confident that we will be able to engage in our first-in-human trials in the near future."

09:06 EDT Monaker Group launches NextTrip Journeys, Nexttripcruise.com - Monaker Group announced the launch of NextTrip Journeys, its consumer travel division, and as part of it with the launch of www.nexttripcruise.com - an online cruise portal where guests can book directly, find inspiring cruise itineraries and work with the company's Personal Journeys Consultants to create a customized vacation. This launch brings with it the transformation of Maupintour into NextTrip Journeys. Further innovation of the NextTrip Journeys brand in 2021 will include the addition of Luxury travel in late second quarter that will cater to clientele seeking private air, yacht charters and private island adventures.

09:04 EDT Great Lakes Dredge announces receipt of $90.3M in awarded work - Great Lakes Dredge & Dock announced the receipt of several major dredging awards totaling $90.3M.The awarded work includes: Boston Harbor Navigation Improvement Project-Phase 3, Capital, Massachusetts, $61.8M. Rehabilitation Effort for the Panama City Beaches Coastal Storm Risk Management Project, Coastal Protection, Florida, $28.5M. The Boston Harbor Navigation Improvement Project- Phase 3 work will provide navigational improvements that will allow larger tankers to access the various terminals and reduce transportation costs. Boston Harbor is New England's largest port serving as the principal distribution point for the export and import of commerce for Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. This final phase of the Boston harbor deepening project involves the excavation of hard rock and will greatly improve navigational access to Boston's shipping terminals. The client on this project is the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District, and the project is federally funded. The drilling, blasting and dredging work is expected to commence in the second quarter of 2021 with anticipated completion by the end of the year.

09:04 EDT Taronis Fuels shareholders look to 'dispel certain falsehoods' by board - Thomas Wetherald and Tobias Welo, who owned more than 16.2% of the outstanding shares before the Board of Directors' recent defensive and dilutive entrenchment maneuvers, announced that they have sent a letter to the shareholders of Taronis Fuels setting the record straight regarding their consent solicitation and the opportunity it presents the long suffering shareholders of Taronis to upgrade its board. The letter read in part, "he Concerned Shareholders are writing this letter and sending you this WHITE consent card to provide further insights into the reasoning and motivation behind our consent solicitation and to dispel certain falsehoods put forth by the incumbent Board of Directors. If you have returned a green revocation form, you have every right to change your vote and consent by returning the enclosed WHITE consent card. Returning the green revocation card will cancel your consent on the WHITE card. We would like to start by addressing continued statements by the incumbent Board that we are trying to "seize" the Company "without paying a premium". This is a patently ridiculous claim for a variety of reasons. First, to be clear, Mr. Wetherald and Mr. Welo are not acquiring the Company through this consent solicitation process. In fact, no equity ownership will change hands. We are simply seeking to replace the current ineffective board with what we believe is a highly qualified board that will produce superior results for shareholders. Second, and equally important, the goal here is not to take over this Company for our personal benefit. In fact, the entire reason for initiating the consent solicitation process is to do just the opposite. In contrast to the Concerned Shareholders, who purchased their significant ownership stake in Taronis Fuels for $7.50 per share, the incumbent directors have instead extracted tremendous cash from Taronis Fuels for their own benefit, while historically refusing to take equity as compensation. The incumbent Board has acted as if Taronis Fuels is their own personal fiefdom, with an utter disregard for all other shareholders. In essence, these men have "seized" a meaningful portion of the Company's cash, despite having very little stock ownership, let alone paying a premium for any shares. Our success and personal benefit will be fully aligned with every other equity owner."

09:03 EDT Boingo Wireless selected to bring instant-on Wi-Fi to Foulger-Pratt properties - Boingo Wireless has been selected by Foulger-Pratt, a real estate investment and development firm, to launch managed Wi-Fi services at three luxury multifamily properties in Washington, D.C. Boingo managed wireless networks will bring residents at Beckert's Park, ONE501 and Press House fast, instant connectivity inside apartments and throughout all common areas, the company said in a statement.

09:01 EDT Cardiovascular Systems acquires peripheral support catheters from WavePoint - Cardiovascular Systems announced that it has acquired a line of peripheral support catheters from WavePoint Medical, LLC. In addition, as part of this transaction, WavePoint will also develop a portfolio of specialty catheters used in the treatment of chronic total occlusions and complex percutaneous coronary intervention procedures for CSI. Commercial availability of these specialty catheters is anticipated in CSI's fiscal year ending June 30, 2023. Scott R. Ward, Chairman, President and CEO of CSI, said, "With the acquisition of these peripheral support catheters, CSI will soon offer a complete portfolio of products for the treatment of peripheral artery disease, including atherectomy, balloon catheters, guidewires, support catheters and embolic protection. In coronary, the successful development of a portfolio of CTO products will expand our existing offering of coronary support products. Together, these new products advance our ability to help physicians improve outcomes for patients undergoing complex peripheral and coronary interventions."

08:52 EDT AIM ImmunoTech adds single-agent Ampligen arm to ongoing Phase 1/2a study - AIM ImmunoTech announced that the Institutional Review Board of Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center has approved a protocol amendment to Roswell Park's ongoing Phase 1/2a study evaluating the two-drug combination of AIM's Ampligen and interferon alpha-2b as a potential early-onset treatment for patients with cancer and mild-to-moderate COVID-19. The IRB-approved amendment calls for randomization of an additional twenty patients. Ten of these patients will receive a single dose of Ampligen, but no interferon treatment, and the other ten will receive best available care only. Ampligen alone has a generally well-tolerated safety profile with lower risk of adverse events than is generally expected with interferon therapy. AIM previously announced in November 2020 that the first patient had been enrolled and received treatment in Roswell Park's study. Funding for the clinical trial is provided, in part, through grants from the National Cancer Institute and AIM, as well as institutional support from Roswell Park.

08:51 EDT RLX Technology plunges after China said to announce tighter e-cig rules - Shares of RLX Technology are down $6.56, or 34%, to $12.90 in pre-market trading, which is being attributed to an announcement from a Chinese regulator regarding stricter standards in the country for electronic cigarettes. According to Bloomberg, China's Ministry of Industry and Technology announced that tightened regulations for the traditional cigarette industry will also be applicable to the e-cigarette sector. The ministry will seek public feedback on the measures, which aim to regulate production and marketing and prevent false advertising and quality issues, until April 22, Bloomberg said.

08:49 EDT Applied Materials: Kokusai share purchase agreement may have terminated - Applied Materials (AMAT) announced that the amended Kokusai Electric Corporation share purchase agreement with KKR HKE Investment (KKR) may have terminated in accordance with its terms on March 19, 2021 after the parties were unable to confirm timely regulatory approval in China. If Applied does not receive confirmation of timely approval prior to the March 26, 2021 deadline for payment of the termination fee, Applied will treat the agreement as terminated and pay KKR a termination fee of $154M in cash.

08:44 EDT Lottery.com to acquire JeugaLotto, Aganar, terms not disclosed - Lottery.com has entered into a binding agreement to acquire Mexican lottery companies JuegaLotto and Aganar to expand its operations to Mexico and throughout Latin America. JuegaLotto is federally licensed to sell international lottery games in Mexico through an authorized federal gaming portal and is licensed for games of chance in other countries throughout Latin America. Aganar is licensed to sell Mexican National Lottery draw games, instant win tickets, and other games of chance online with access to a federally approved online casino and sportsbook gaming license. The closing of the acquisitions is subject to standard closing conditions. The deals highlight Lottery.com's recent efforts to increase its international expansion and presence, and the combined entities have a federal license which allows them to provide official Pronosticos National Lottery games throughout Mexico. Together they have attracted 136,000 new players in the past 12 months. Furthermore, these acquisitions represent the very early stages of Lottery.com's long term strategy to enter into additional international markets, both through partnerships and M&A. On February 22, 2021, the Company entered into a definitive agreement with Trident Acquisitions Corp. to become a publicly traded company on The Nasdaq Stock Market. In anticipation of Lottery.com completing both of the JuegaLotto and Aganar acquisitions before its business combination with Trident, the business combination investor presentation was delayed to allow the inclusion of these potential assets and was filed by Trident on a Current Report on Form 8-K with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

08:43 EDT iSun awarded $25M contract to provide products for solar plus storage projects - iSun announced that it has been selected to provide its innovative solar products and services for phase one of one of the nation's largest solar plus storage microgrid projects underway in Jackson, Tennessee. Phase one of the multi-phase project led by industry pioneer Northern Reliability is the vision of Community Development Enterprises whose mission is to provide green energy solutions and economic relief to cities across the United States that have been hit with natural disasters and economic challenges over the past decade. Under the agreement, iSun will provide Engineering Procurement and Construction services for the 16MW ground mount solar energy infrastructure. iSun's estimated contract value is approximately $25M with installations beginning in late-summer 2021.

08:41 EDT Saratoga Investment boosts dividend to 23c per share - Saratoga Investment announced that its Board of Directors has declared a quarterly dividend of 43c per share for the fiscal quarter ended February 28, payable on April 22, to all stockholders of record at the close of business on April 8. This is an increase of 1c per share from last quarter. "We are very pleased that our strong track record, healthy credit profile, robust deal pipeline, and ongoing asset growth continue to generate strong financial performance in support of a program of paying and increasing quarterly dividends," said Christian L. Oberbeck, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Saratoga Investment. "Our dividend strategy is consistent with our overall approach to managing risk conservatively, while pursuing long-term growth and credit quality."

08:40 EDT KKR announces intra-quarter monetization activity for Q1 - KKR announced a monetization activity update for the period from January 1, 2021 through March 22, 2021. Based on information available to us as of today, with respect to the period through March 22, 2021, KKR has earned gross realized carried interest and total realized investment income of approximately $600M. This is driven primarily by strategic and secondary sale transactions that have closed quarter to-date, as well as dividend and interest income from KKR's balance sheet portfolio.

08:39 EDT Ecolab releases enhanced Smart Water Navigator - Ecolab launched an enhanced version of its Smart Water Navigator. The free online tool helps businesses understand the value of water in their operations and take action to achieve corporate water goals. This enhanced tool comes at a time when rising industrial water use continues to contribute to the world's growing water stress and scarcity challenges. According to the World Resources Institute, the world will experience a 56% freshwater shortfall by 2030 if nothing changes, an increase from the 40% shortfall projected by the U.N. in 2015.

08:36 EDT Aeglea BioTherapeutics, Immedica announce license pact for pegzilarginase - Aeglea BioTherapeutics and Immedica Pharma AB announced the license and supply agreement for pegzilarginase, a novel, recombinant human arginase 1 enzyme that has been shown to lower toxic levels of the amino acid arginine in patients with Arginase 1 Deficiency. People living with ARG1-D, a rare, progressive disease characterized by high levels of arginine, may experience severe spasticity-related mobility limitations, seizures, developmental delay, intellectual disability and early mortality. Under the terms of the agreement, Immedica will make an upfront payment of $21.5M to Aeglea. Additionally, Aeglea will be eligible to receive up to approximately $130M in regulatory and commercial milestones as well as mid-twenties percentage royalties on net sales. Immedica receives commercialization rights in Europe and several Middle East countries. Aeglea will continue to be responsible for certain clinical development activities and the manufacturing of pegzilarginase, and retains commercialization rights in the U.S. and rest of the world.

08:34 EDT Medtronic receives CE Mark approval for SenSight directional lead system - Medtronic announced the CE Mark for the SenSight directional lead system for Deep Brain Stimulation therapy as treatment of symptoms associated with movement disorders and epilepsy. DBS is a therapy in which a small pacemaker-like device sends electrical signals through very thin wires, known as "leads," to a targeted area in the brain related to symptoms. The SenSight directional DBS lead system works seamlessly with certain Medtronic neurostimulators, including the recently-approved Percept PC neurostimulator. This system will enhance detection of local field potentials and offers directional stimulation to provide individualized and patient-specific data plus additional programming features to tailor therapy for patients.

08:33 EDT Lantheus announces presentation featuring Azedra at ENDO 2021 - Lantheus Holdings announced that updated biochemical tumor marker data from its pivotal Phase 2 trial of AZEDRA were presented at the Endocrine Society's 2021 Annual Meeting, ENDO 2021. "AZEDRA yielded reductions in hypersecreted tumor biomarkers in a majority of patients in this pivotal study of advanced pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma," said Dr. Jimenez. "In addition, the overall tumor biomarker response correlated significantly with both the primary and secondary endpoint responses in the study, underscoring the clinical utility and relevance of this important biochemical endpoint to the therapeutic benefit of AZEDRA in patients with these life-threatening tumors."

08:32 EDT Myers Industries announces price increases of 9%-12% effective April 1 - Myers Industries announced additional price increases ranging between 9%-12% effective April 1. The increases will be implemented across most of the company's portfolio of products in the Material Handling Segment, including those sold by Akro-Mils, Ameri-Kart, Buckhorn, Elkhart Plastics, Jamco Products, and Scepter. The price increases are in response to continued increases in raw material costs, primarily resin and steel. The company previously announced an 8% price increase effective March 1.

08:31 EDT Eastman Chemical announces investment to upgrade, expand extrusion capabilities - Eastman Chemical announced it is making an investment to upgrade and expand its extrusion capabilities for production of interlayers product lines at its Springfield, Massachusetts, manufacturing facility. The investment will strengthen Eastman's supply capability to respond to regional and global demand for Saflex polyvinyl butyral products in the automotive and architectural markets and enhance facility capabilities to enable production of specialty architecture and automotive PVB products, including thicker gauges and advanced tri-layers formulations such as Saflex acoustic interlayer products. The project is expected to be complete in the fourth quarter of 2021. "We are committed to supporting the growing global demand for specialty interlayers products, strengthening our regional service capabilities, and investing in asset capabilities to serve glass laminators' needs for high-performing, high-quality products," said Travis Smith, vice president and general manager of Eastman's Films business. "The trends in both automotive and architectural end-use markets are driving increasing needs for high-performance interlayer products, and we are excited about the opportunities this investment creates to further enable our innovation-driven growth strategy."

08:28 EDT Sterling Bancorp to sell Washington branch office to First Federal - Sterling Bancorp announced that it has entered into an agreement with First Federal Savings & Loan Association of Port Angeles to sell its Bellevue, Washington branch office, subject to applicable regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. The transfer is targeted for completion in the first half of 2021. The transfer includes deposit accounts with a total current approximate balance of $77.7M. The sale includes all branch premises and equipment, and the agreement provides that the buyer intends to offer employment to all associated staff. Sterling's financial advisor for the branch sale was Piper Sandler & Co. and Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer served as legal counsel.

08:26 EDT Decibel Therapeutics added to Russell 2000 Index - Decibel Therapeutics announced that it has been added to the Russell 2000 Index, as part of the index's quarterly initial public offering additions.

08:26 EDT Synnex jumps 11% to $114.94 after Q1 results beat estimates, Tech Data merger

08:23 EDT Manhattan Associates selected by decor manufacturing company NBG Home - Manhattan Associates announced that one of the largest home decor manufacturing companies and importers in the world, NBG Home, has chosen to implement Manhattan Active(R) Warehouse Management, the world's first cloud-native enterprise-class warehouse management system that unifies every aspect of distribution and never needs upgrading. The company plans on installing the Manhattan solution at its four distribution centers with the first implementation taking place in its Goose Creek, South Carolina facility by mid 2021. With distribution being critical to the business, NBG Home needed a system that not only could scale to meet its needs but also has the agility to quickly respond to evolving and unforeseeable changes. In evaluating various WMS solutions in the market, NBG Home selected Manhattan Active Warehouse Management as it was the only platform to meet both requirements. "We felt that Manhattan Active Warehouse Management was the most robust, flexible and agile logistics solution on the market. By unifying control of work, inventory, people, equipment and locations, Manhattan's state-of-the-art solution will streamline and optimize order processing. We were especially impressed with the advanced supervisor capabilities that allow our managers to spend more time on the floor and less time running the system," said Everett Plante, senior vice president and CTO at NBG Home.

08:23 EDT CureVac expands CVnCoV Covid-19 vaccine candidate clinical trial analyses - CureVac N.V. announced plans to expand and further specify the protocols of its ongoing late-stage clinical trials with CVnCoV, its COVID-19 vaccine candidate. CVnCoV efficacy is currently being evaluated in the pivotal HERALD Phase 2b/3 trial in Europe and Latin America. Rapid distribution of new virus variants in the countries where the study is conducted supports the need for further analysis specification for the anticipated case-driven interim analysis. This will allow to determine efficacy of the vaccine candidate for select variants. The company has ongoing discussions with the European Medicines Agency to potentially include an amendment related to select virus strains in the study. For its Phase 2a dose-confirmation trial in older adults in Peru and Panama, CureVac has submitted a protocol amendment to include a secondary objective for vaccine efficacy. The study initially aimed to evaluate safety, reactogenicity and immunogenicity of CVnCoV in adults. Expanded trial analysis is expected to allow for collection of relevant efficacy data which includes the important group of approximately 270 participants above the age of 60, treated with 12microgram of CVnCoV.

08:21 EDT Enlivex ,Yale in research pact to assess synergistic effect of Allocetra - Enlivex Therapeutics together with Yale Cancer Center, a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, announced a research collaboration for the assessment of the potential of Allocetra to enhance the activity of checkpoint inhibitors in solid tumors. Allocetra is a macrophage-reprogramming immunotherapy product candidate currently in clinical development by Enlivex, as, among other things, a potential therapy in combination with approved immune checkpoint inhibitors for hard-to-treat solid tumors. Under the strategic collaboration, the parties intend to develop and execute pre-clinical programs to investigate the potential synergies between Allocetra and commercially-approved checkpoint inhibitor therapies for select solid cancers. The Principal Investigator for this collaboration is Dr. Vish Muthusamy, PhD, Director of the Yale Center for Precision Cancer Modeling. Dr. Muthusamy is a cancer biologist with expertise in preclinical investigation of candidate cancer therapies. His center has developed in vivo tumor models to investigate pharmacological evaluation of drugs. Recently, Dr. Muthusamy worked in close collaboration several academic investigators and pharmaceutical companies to develop cancer therapeutics that are in various stages of clinical development. The collaboration's scientific advisor is Dr. Marcus W. Bosenberg, MD, PhD, Co-Leader of the Genomics, Genetics and Epigenetics Program at Yale Cancer Center. On behalf of the Yale team, Dr. Bosenberg said "At Yale we have been interested in trying to understand the process of macrophage reprogramming for some time, and we are excited about studying the effects of Allocetra(TM) in potentially recruiting anti-tumor macrophages in the tumor environment and characterize the effects."

08:19 EDT AFL-CIO teams with Wilmington Trust, BNY Mellon on retirement plan options - The AFL-CIO announces a groundbreaking collaboration with Wilmington Trust, BNY Mellon, PGIM Fixed Income and AFL-CIO ITC Financial to distribute 12 new target date collective investment trust funds, expanding retirement planning options for its 56 unions and 12.5M members. This product is an important extension of the AFL-CIO suite of branded investment products-bringing the federation's values to the defined contribution market.

08:18 EDT Catalyst Pharmaceuticals announces $40M share repurchase program - Catalyst Pharmaceuticals announced that its Board of Directors has authorized the repurchase of up to $40M of shares of Catalyst's outstanding common stock. "This share repurchase program reflects our confidence in the long-term outlook for the Company, including our ability to continue to generate strong cash flow," said Patrick J. McEnany, the Company's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "We believe that our strong balance sheet, earnings power and borrowing capability have us well-positioned to successfully execute both on our recently announced strategic initiative to expand our product and pipeline portfolio of therapies to treat other rare diseases and on this share repurchase program. We believe that executing on both of these objectives will help drive stockholder value." Catalyst expects to make share repurchases at the discretion of management from time to time in the open market, depending on market conditions, or through privately negotiated transactions, subject to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and related rules. The timing and amount of any shares purchased on the open market will be determined based on Catalyst's evaluation of market conditions, share price and other factors. The program does not obligate Catalyst to purchase any shares, and the program may be modified, suspended or terminated at any time and for any reason. No shares will be purchased directly from directors or officers of Catalyst as part of the share repurchase program. Catalyst plans to use existing cash on hand to fund the share repurchase program.

08:17 EDT Twist Bioscience releases preclinical data on GLP-1R antibodies - Twist Bioscience announced preclinical data demonstrating that GLP-1R antibodies identified from its proprietary G-protein coupled receptor, or GPCR, libraries showed potent blood glucose control. Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor, or GLP-1R, is a class B GPCR that acts as the receptor for the incretin GLP-1, a peptide released to regulate insulin levels in response to food intake. The data were published online in mAbs detailing the work of researchers at Twist Biopharma, the biologics division of Twist Bioscience. Researchers discovered a panel of 13 high-affinity GLP-1R-targeting antibodies by mining Twist Biopharma's proprietary GPCR-focused phage display library with 1 x 1010 diversity created using Twist's precision synthetic DNA writing technologies. In the resulting antibodies, the heavy chain complementarity-determining region 3, or HCDR3, which confers most of the binding activity and specificity, was found to include either a GLP-1 motif, a GLP-2 motif, or an unknown/unique sequence. Many of the GLP-1R antibodies discovered were GLP-1R antagonists, which have the ability to prevent hypoglycemia incidents in congenital hyperinsulinism and post-bariatric hyperinsulinism. In addition, Twist Biopharma created an agonist antibody by fusing GLP-1 peptide to the light chain of a non-functional GLP-1R-specific antibody. The resulting peptide antibody fusion, TB59-2, had a comparable binding affinity to the free peptide to GLP-1R-expressing CHO cells, comparable function in the agonistic format of the cAMP activity assay and a 2-day half-life in preclinical model studies using 10 mg/kg dosing and based on the measurement of the full GLP-1 peptide presence in the blood samples. In vivo studies indicate that TB59-2 has potential to be used to treat type 2 diabetes with a once-weekly dose. The GLP-1R antagonistic antibody, TB01-3, from the panel showed a comparable effect in raising blood glucose levels after an insulin challenge to Exendin. In an insulin tolerance test with 6 hr pre-dosing, TB01-3 demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in blood glucose-raising function compared to the Exendin. TB01-3 exhibited a half-life of 1 week in vivo and is anticipated to show a much longer half-life in humans.

08:14 EDT Taoping signs strategic cooperation agreement with BitFuFu - Taoping announced that it has entered into a strategic cooperation agreement with BitFuFu. Pursuant to the strategic collaboration agreement, both parties will leverage their respective advantages to focus on blockchain based cloud computing field to carry out all-round and multi-level cooperation on a global scale. TAOP will purchase blockchain cloud computing service with a total value of $10M from BitFuFu within three years. The first batch of $1M service subscription agreement was signed simultaneously with the strategic cooperation agreement. The first batch service period is from March 18 to March 13, 2022. Antminer, a cryptocurrency mining machine brand by Bitmain Technologies with the world's largest market share, is a strategic partner of Bitfufu, and holds patents in mainland China. Bitmain is a company headquartered in Beijing, China that designs application-specific integrated circuit chips for bitcoin mining. By purchasing the blockchain cloud computing service, TAOP will be able to start Bitcoin mining through Antminer, which is expected to bring direct revenues for the Company. Choosing this high-quality brand of mining machine will not only ensure continuous revenues for TAOP, but also ensure a safer and more scalable platform to achieve healthy business operations and rapid growth. "The strategic cooperation with BitFuFu marks the official launch of the Company's blockchain and digital asset business," said Mr. Jianghuai Lin, the Chairman and CEO of TAOP. "In the future, TAOP and BitFuFu will leverage respective resources to jointly promote the development of blockchain technology and digital currency business."

08:14 EDT Lenovo selects Synaptics fingerprint reader for ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 - Synaptics Incorporated (SYNA) announced Lenovo (LVNGY) has chosen its new Selene family of ultra-slim oval fingerprint sensors for the upcoming ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 notebook. Selene enables Lenovo's new Power-on Touch Fingerprint Reader button that swiftly protects the device and turns it on with a simple touch.

08:13 EDT Trex Company: Ramp-up of new Virginia capacity ahead of schedule

08:12 EDT Altus Group publishes 2020 sustainability report - Altus Group has published its 2020 Sustainability Report highlighting the Company's commitment to its environmental, social, and governance initiatives and progress. The 2020 Sustainability Report highlights the Company's: Robust stakeholder engagement process to better understand and address key concerns and expectations; Proactive Covid-19 pandemic response and effective business continuity measures that enabled the Company to ensure the safety of its people and maintain excellent productivity in serving clients; Light environmental footprint and carbon business model, as well as sustainability practices to reduce the impact the Company's operations have on the environment; Human capital strategies to attract, retain, develop, reward and motivate its people, as well as efforts to foster a positive culture and employee well-being; Expanded strategy to promote a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace; Philanthropic initiatives to support the communities and organizations important to its employees and customers; Mature cybersecurity, data privacy and protection of intellectual property measures; and Strong corporate governance framework to ensure effective stewardship and practices that are in the best interests of all the Company's stakeholders.

08:11 EDT Roper Technologies appoints Amy Woods Brinkley Chair of the Board of Directors - Roper Technologies announced that Amy Woods Brinkley has been appointed Chair of the Company's Board of Directors, effective June 1. Ms. Brinkley succeeds Wilbur J. Prezzano, who is retiring from Roper's Board in June, consistent with the Company's mandatory retirement guidelines. Ms. Brinkley has served as a Director of Roper since 2015, and is also currently a Director of TD Bank Group and Carters, Inc. Ms. Brinkley was associated with Bank of America Corporation for more than thirty years, most recently serving as Chief Risk Officer from 2002 until her retirement in 2009. She previously served in a variety of senior roles, including President - Consumer Products and Executive Vice President - Chief Marketing Officer. Mr. Prezzano has served as a Director of Roper since 1997 and was the Company's Lead Independent Director from 2015 until 2018. He was appointed Chair of the Board of Directors in 2018 and was instrumental in guiding Roper through the transition from long-time CEO Brian Jellison to current CEO Neil Hunn.

08:10 EDT ARK Invest estimates Tesla could approach $3,000 in 2025 - Cathie Wood's ARK Invest published its latest model for Tesla on Friday after the market close, in which the firm said it now estimates that Tesla shares could approach $3,000 in 2025 based on its update research. The investment management firm, which has been among the most bullish on Tesla, set the price target for Tesla at $1,500 per share on a bear basis by 2025 and $4,000 per share on a bull basis. "Last year, ARK estimated that in 2024 Tesla's share price would hit $7,000 per share, or $1,400 adjusted for its five for one stock split," the firm noted. Reference Link

08:09 EDT Qorvo launches QPG6100 communications controller for IoT end devices - Qorvo has introduced the first smart home communications controller to deliver simultaneous support for multiple ultra-low power wireless protocols. Qorvo's new QPG6100 communications controller for IoT end devices features the company's ConcurrentConnect technology. This innovation enables faster communications, increases home network capacity and scalability, and allows manufacturers to future-proof connected devices such as lighting and smart home sensors. The technology helps eliminate barriers to growth of the smart home by enabling simultaneous operation of multiple smart devices, regardless of which major wireless standard they use.

08:07 EDT Applied Molecular Transport appoints Earl Douglas as General Counsel - Applied Molecular Transport announced that it has appointed Earl Douglas as General Counsel. In his new role, Earl will assume leadership responsibilities for all legal activities of the Company. He will become a member of the AMT Executive Team, reporting to chief executive officer and co-founder of AMT, Tahir Mahmood, Ph.D. "I am delighted to welcome Earl as our general counsel and latest member of our executive management team," stated Tahir Mahmood, Ph.D. "Earl brings extensive legal and strategic advisory experience that will be invaluable as we continue to advance our promising pipeline of novel, oral biologic medicines. He is joining AMT at a critical time for the company, as we look forward to sharing top-line oral AMT-101 data readouts from the four Phase 2 trials from our comprehensive clinical program beginning in the second half of 2021 and as our second program, oral AMT-126, progresses through the clinic." Mr. Douglas joins with more than 30 years of deep experience, leading and building legal organizations for biotechnology and medical device organizations. Mr. Douglas most recently served as general counsel at Kiverdi. He has also served as general counsel and corporate secretary at BioMimetic Therapeutics Spinal Dynamics (acquired by Medtronic), and OPX Biotechnologies. He also previously served as Counsel at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, and earlier in his career, practiced as an associate with Weil, Gotshal & Manges.

08:06 EDT Quhuo announces director Yung-Hung Chang resigns from board - Quhuo announced that Yung-Hung Chang has resigned from his position as a member of the board of directors for personal reasons, effective on March 22, 2021. The resignation of Mr. Chang did not result from any disagreement with the Company on any matter relating to the Company's business operations, financial reporting or controls, policies or practices.

08:05 EDT Inphi announces commercial availability, production ramp of COLORZ II 400ZR - Inphi Corporation announced the commercial availability and production ramp of COLORZ II 400ZR, the industry's first QSFP-DD pluggable coherent transceivers for cloud data center interconnects. For the first time, cloud operators can connect their data centers within a region with high performance, low power, small form factor 400G coherent transceivers without the need for a separate transport box. A longer reach variant, COLORZ II 400G ZR+, which extends the reach of COLORZ II from 120km to about 400km, is in final stages of qualification and expected to be commercially available starting next month. The ever-increasing bandwidth demand between data centers, driven by streaming video, social networking, cloud computing, AI, and, more recently, work from home, is motivating mega-cloud data center operators to deploy high-density, low latency and low power DWDM links to connect multiple data centers within region and allow them to behave like a single data center.

08:05 EDT Odonate Therapeutics reports discontinuation of Tesetaxel development - Following feedback from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in a pre-New Drug Application meeting, Odonate Therapeutics has concluded that the clinical data package for tesetaxel is unlikely to support FDA approval. Therefore, Odonate is discontinuing the development of tesetaxel and will wind down the operations of the Company. The Company will work with clinical sites to transition patients in ongoing tesetaxel clinical studies to appropriate alternative therapies. "We thank the investigators, study team personnel, and especially the patients and their caregivers for their endeavors to improve treatments for patients with breast cancer," said Kevin Tang, CEO of Odonate.

08:04 EDT Odonate Therapeutics reports discontinuation of Tesetaxel development

08:03 EDT Rezolute presents data from Phase 2a study of RZ358 - Rezolute presented results of a Phase 2a study of RZ358 in patients with post-gastric bypass hypoglycemia, as well as results of a pharmacologic model of the drug candidate, at the Endocrine Society's Annual Meeting, ENDO 2021, held virtually from March 20 through March 23. The study objective was met, with a clinically significant improvement in hypoglycemia by more than 50%, translating to near normalization of average glucose levels. Furthermore, a population-based PK-PD model characterized the observed drug concentrations and quantified the exposure-response relationship. The presentation, titled "Single and repeat-dose study of RZ358 in Patients with Post-Gastric Bypass Hypoglycemia: Results of Population PK/PD Modeling," reported the results of a Phase 2a, open-label, single ascending and repeat dose study of IV RZ358 in 16 patients with PGBH. Serial measurements of RZ358 concentrations as well as biomarkers and continuous glucose monitoring were performed for up to 6 weeks. The results showed that RZ358 was safe and well tolerated with no serious adverse reactions or discontinuations. RZ358 led to a sustained improvement of at least 50% in time in target blood glucose range, translating to near normalization of average daily glucose values. Consistent with its mechanism of action, RZ358 did not cause hyperglycemia. Using pooled observations from the Company's clinical studies with RZ358, a final 3-compartmental population PK model and empirical PK-PD model generally described the observed PGBH study exposures and glucose response. Pharmacokinetic simulations showed that model-predicted efficacious target concentrations can be readily achieved with RZ358 dosing regimens that are currently being evaluated in clinical trials and which meet the candidate's target product profile.

08:02 EDT Humana names Susan DIamond as interim CFO, effective June 1

08:01 EDT Digital Turbine to acquire 95% of the shares in Fyber N.V. - Digital Turbine announced that it has entered into a definitive purchase agreement to acquire approximately 95% of the shares in Fyber N.V., a mobile advertising monetization platform empowering global app developers to optimize profitability through quality advertising. Subject to certain closing conditions, the Fyber transaction is expected to close in the second quarter. Total aggregate consideration for the transaction calculated for an acquisition of 100% of the outstanding shares in Fyber is $600M, paid as follows: (1) $150M in cash to be paid at closing, subject to purchase price adjustments, (2) $400M in newly issued shares of common stock of Digital Turbine to be issued at closing, and (3) an earn-out payment of $50M, to be paid in newly issued Digital Turbine common stock and/or cash, based on Fyber achieving certain future target net revenues over the twelve-month period ending on March 31, 2022. The company intends to pay the initial $150M cash portion of the purchase price with a combination of available cash on hand and borrowings under its existing senior credit facility along with future capital financing.

07:56 EDT Synnex, Tech Data to combine in $7.2B deal - Synnex (SNX) and Tech Data announced they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Synnex and Tech Data will combine in a transaction valued at approximately $7.2B, including net debt. The combined company, with approximately $57B in estimated pro forma annual revenues and a team of over 22,000 associates and colleagues, will provide customers and vendors with expansive reach across products, services, and geographies to accelerate technology adoption. Tech Data currently is wholly owned by funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management (APO) and their co-investors. Under the terms of the agreement, Apollo Funds will receive an aggregate of 44M shares of SYNNEX common stock plus the refinancing of existing Tech Data net debt and redeemable preferred shares of approximately $2.7 billion. Upon closing of the transaction, SYNNEX shareholders will own approximately 55% of the combined entity, with Apollo Funds owning approximately 45%. Rich Hume will lead the combined company as CEO. Dennis Polk will be Executive Chair of the Board of Directors and will take an active role in the ongoing strategy and integration of the business, among other responsibilities. The combined company will have an eleven-member board, including Hume, with six individuals appointed by SYNNEX and with Apollo Funds to have Board designation rights based on ownership, initially including four total directors, two of whom will be independent. Non-GAAP diluted EPS accretion of more than 25% is expected in year one post close, with further accretion expected in year two. Net optimization and synergy benefits of $100M are expected in the first year after closing, achieving a minimum of $200M by the end of the second year. The combined company will benefit from a strong financial foundation and an investment grade profile. Based on LTM pro-forma adjusted EBITDA of approximately $1.5B and expected combined debt of approximately $4B at close, debt-to-adjusted EBITDA is expected to be approximately 2.7x at transaction close and is expected to decline to approximately 2x within 12 months. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of calendar year 2021, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including approval by SYNNEX stockholders and regulatory approvals.

07:53 EDT Synnex, Tech Data to combine in $7.2B deal

07:49 EDT Edesa Biotech expands rights to anti-inflammatory technology - Edesa Biotech announced that it has entered into a definitive license agreement under which the company, through a subsidiary, has acquired additional global rights to a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory technology that forms the basis of the company's EB01 and EB02 drug candidates. The license agreement, with the technology's inventor, provides Edesa with development and commercialization rights to multiple patent families as well as know-how related to the underlying technology. Edesa previously licensed this drug technology from Hebrew University of Jerusalem for topical dermatology and certain gastrointestinal indications, and through this additional license agreement now holds exclusive global rights for all fields of use in humans and animals. Par Nijhawan, MD, CEO of Edesa, said that the move bolsters the company's strategic position on a key inflammatory pathway ahead of an upcoming clinical milestone. "This agreement significantly strengthens the breadth of our intellectual property position for a proprietary technology that we believe could have broad utility across multiple indications." He noted that the agreement was structured to minimize immediate cash outlays.

07:46 EDT Oasis Petroleum updates 2021 Midstream cash flow guidance - After the Simplification, all cash flows from OMP (OMP) to Oasis (OAS) will be through Oasis' ownership in OMP common units. The general partner's Class B Units issued as equity incentives will be exchanged for 155,780 OMP common units, further aligning management and public unitholder incentives for value creation. Oasis is expected to own 37.5M OMP common units, or 77.1%, of the OMP common units outstanding pro forma for the Simplification. Oasis originally guided to $53M annual EBITDA derived from OMP limited partner and general partner distributions plus another $81M-$84M of EBITDA from its ownership in Bobcat DevCo and Beartooth DevCo for 2021. Upon completion of the Simplification, Oasis expects cash flows from OMP limited partner distributions of approximately $81M for 2021, as OMP has indicated its current operational and financial outlook supports holding the current $0.54/unit per quarter distribution flat.

07:38 EDT Oasis Petroleum announces new $100M share repurchase program - Oasis announced that its board of directors has authorized a new $100M share-repurchase program, in addition to its recently announced dividend of $1.50/share per year. This share-repurchase program expires on December 31, 2022.

07:37 EDT Oasis Midstream Partners acquires midstream interests from Oasis Petroleum - Oasis Midstream Partners (OMP) announced it has entered into a contribution and simplification agreement to acquire all remaining interests in Bobcat DevCo and Beartooth DevCo from Oasis Petroleum (OAS) as well as to eliminate the Partnership's incentive distribution rights in exchange for $229M cash and 14.8M units for total consideration of approximately $510M based on OMP's 20 day volume weighted average price ending on March 19. The Simplification also includes a right of first refusal in favor of OMP with respect to midstream opportunities in the Painted Woods and City of Williston operating areas of Oasis. The Simplification will increase OMP's interest in Bobcat DevCo to 100% from 35%, increase OMP's interest in Beartooth DevCo to 100% from 70% and eliminate IDRs from OMP's capital structure. The Simplification, which has an effective date of January 1, 2021, is expected to close before the end of March, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. The terms of the Simplification were approved by the board of directors of the general partner of OMP following receipt of special approval from its conflicts committee.

07:34 EDT SL Green Realty announces COVID-19 testing sites across NYC portfolio - SL Green Realty announced the launch of the first portfolio-wide COVID testing initiative in New York City. Working with New York State and City, SL Green has identified at least 21 locations, representing more than 200,000 square feet of space that SL Green is making available, free of charge, for use as temporary testing centers. "Returning workers to the office is critical to New York City's recovery, which is why our entire SL Green team has been safely 100% back in the office since June and all of our office buildings have remained open and accessible to our tenants through the pandemic," said Marc Holliday, Chairman and CEO of SL Green. "With spring approaching and the vaccination process well underway, we are implementing this innovative new testing program to make it easier for companies to return to work and expedite the recovery we know is coming. We look forward to seeing our tenants back in greater numbers in the coming months." SL Green has contracted leading testing provider, Mobile Health, for its testing locations and has negotiated preferred testing rates for all tenants within the SL Green family. All of SL Green's nearly 900 tenants will be able to receive testing beginning April 8 as an additional measure to instill confidence in the safety of returning to offices.

07:32 EDT Translate Bio announces Rand Sutherland, MD appointed president - Translate Bio announced that Rand Sutherland, MD, MPH, has been appointed President effective March 22, Dr. Sutherland's first day of employment. Dr. Sutherland brings 20 years of combined industry, medical and academic expertise in pulmonary and rare diseases to this role. His most recent industry experience includes strategic and operational direction of Global Medical Affairs at Sanofi Genzyme, where he led the teams focused on medical evidence generation and engagement across the unit's specialty care therapeutic areas. While in academia, he served as Chief of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at National Jewish Health, directing clinical and research efforts focused on improving care for patients with a wide range of rare and complicated pulmonary diseases. As President of Translate Bio, Dr. Sutherland will be responsible for research and development, corporate development and program management, including portfolio and pipeline strategy with a focus on prioritizing and optimizing the Company's R&D opportunities while evaluating corporate and business development prospects.

07:25 EDT Crinetics presents on product pipeling at ENDO 2021 - Crinetics Pharmaceuticals provided details of four presentations that were made at the Endocrine Society's annual ENDO 2021 congress on the company's product pipeline. A late-breaking e-poster and oral presentation provided details of the preclinical findings supporting the company's development of CRN04894 and CRN04777. Crinetics presented a late-breaking e-poster describing the potential of SST5 receptor agonists to regulate glucose-stimulated insulin secretion from human islet cells. One of somatostatin's roles in maintaining blood glucose concentrations is to regulate insulin secretion, yet the lack of highly selective agonists has previously hampered efforts to identify the role of the individual somatostatin receptor subtypes in this process. In its preclinical efforts, Crinetics observed that SST5 receptor agonists were potent inhibitors of insulin secretion in the healthy pancreas and under conditions that stimulated excess insulin secretion. Based on these results, the company believes that a selective SST5 agonist may have therapeutic value in the treatment of congenital HI, which is a condition associated with dysregulated insulin secretion. Based on these preclinical findings, Crinetics advanced CRN04777, an investigational, oral nonpeptide SST5 agonist, into a clinical program for congenital HI. CRN04777 is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1 trial designed to evaluate safety, pharmacokinetics, and clinical proof-of-concept by employing well-established methods for evaluating insulin secretion. Crinetics also discussed preclinical results related to CRN04894, an investigational, oral nonpeptide ACTH antagonist, during a live oral presentation at ENDO 2021. CRN04894 recently advanced into a Phase 1 clinical program in healthy volunteers that is designed to evaluate safety, pharmacokinetics, and clinical proof-of-concept by measuring the ability of CRN04894 to suppress cortisol, cortisol precursors and adrenal androgens following exogenous ACTH stimulation. Preclinical data featured in the oral presentation showed that repeat dosing of CRN04894 suppressed plasma corticosterone levels in a robust and dose-dependent manner in animal models of ACTH excess. Results also showed that after seven days, the weight gain and adrenal gland hypertrophy caused by excess ACTH were reduced. This evidence supports the further evaluation of CRN04894 in conditions such as Cushing's disease and congenital adrenal hyperplasia, which are associated with excessive ACTH. In addition to the company's pipeline programs, Crinetics presented two posters on paltusotine, for the treatment of acromegaly, including results from the Phase 2 ACROBAT Edge study. Edge was a single-arm study designed to evaluate the impact of switching patients with acromegaly from monthly injected somatostatin receptor ligands to paltusotine, an experimental oral, once-daily, nonpeptide SST2 receptor agonist. Edge enrolled individuals who had not achieved normal insulin-like growth factor-1 levels despite receiving long-acting octreotide or lanreotide. As previously reported, after 13 weeks of treatment 20 of 23 participants who completed the dosing period maintained their IGF-1 to levels within 20% of their baseline or lower. The most common treatment-emergent adverse events included: headache, arthralgia, fatigue, peripheral swelling, paresthesia and hyperhidrosis. There were no discontinuations due to adverse events and no treatment-related serious adverse events. Crinetics plans to advance paltusotine into a Phase 3 clinical program in acromegaly in the first half of 2021 using a new tablet formulation. Results of a Phase 1 pharmacokinetic study reported at ENDO 2021 demonstrated that this new once-daily tablet formulation of paltusotine had a fasting requirement of only 0.5-1 hour, compared to the 2-hour requirement of the prior capsule formulation. The tablet formulation also showed improved dose-proportional exposure up to 80 mg, which offers the potential for greater dosing flexibility compared to the prior formulation. In addition, the new tablet formulation was observed to be less sensitive to effects of acid lowering drugs, such as proton pump inhibitors. In planned Phase 3 studies of paltusotine, the new tablet formulation will be administered with a 1-hour post-dose fast without the exclusion of acid lowering drugs. less sensitive to effects of acid lowering drugs, such as proton pump inhibitors. In planned Phase 3 studies of paltusotine, the new tablet formulation will be administered with a 1-hour post-dose fast without the exclusion of acid lowering drugs.

07:22 EDT Novartis appoints Karen Hale as Chief Legal Officer - Novartis (NVS) announced the appointment of Karen Hale as Chief Legal Officer. She will report to Vas Narasimhan, M.D., CEO of Novartis and become a member of the Executive Committee of Novartis, effective May 15. Hale will be based in Basel, Switzerland and succeeds Shannon Klinger. Tom Kendris will continue as Chief Legal Officer ad interim until Hale joins Novartis from AbbVie (ABBV), where she held the role of Vice President, Deputy General Counsel.

07:17 EDT GasLog announces change in certified accountants - GasLog announced the change in Group's certified accountants. The company said, :On March 10 and 11, 2021, our audit committee and board of directors, respectively, approved the engagement of Deloitte Certified Public Accountants S.A. to audit financial statements for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021, following the expiration of the term of engagement of Deloitte LLP. The engagement of Deloitte Certified Certified Public Accountants S.A. remains subject to approval at our 2021 annual general meeting, which is expected to take place after the completion of our previously announced transaction with BlackRock's Global Energy and Power Infrastructure Team. Deloitte LLP's reports on the consolidated financial statements of GasLog, for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 did not contain an adverse opinion or disclaimer of opinion, and were not qualified or modified as to uncertainty or audit scope. We and Deloitte LLP did not, during the two most recent fiscal years and the subsequent period through March 11, 2021, have any disagreements on any matter of accounting principles or practices, financial statement disclosure or auditing scope or procedure which, if not resolved to the satisfaction of Deloitte LLP, would have caused Deloitte LLP to make reference to the matter in its reports on our financial statements; and there were no reportable events as the term is described in Item 16F(a)(1)(v) of Form 20-F. We have requested that Deloitte LLP furnish a letter addressed to the Securities and Exchange Commission stating whether or not Deloitte LLP agrees with the statements in this report. A copy of such letter dated March 22, 2021 is filed as Exhibit 99.2 to this report. At no time during the two most recent fiscal years or the subsequent period through March 11, 2021 did we consult with Deloitte Certified Public Accountants S.A. regarding the application of accounting principles to a specific completed or proposed transaction, or the type of audit opinion that might be rendered on the Group's consolidated financial statements."

07:16 EDT IsZo's director candidates issue open letter to Nam Tai Property shareholders - IsZo Capital Management LP, which beneficially owns approximately 13% of the outstanding shares of Nam Tai Property, issued a letter on behalf of its director nominees - Michael Cricenti, Cindy Chen Delano, Bo Hu, Leung Lin Cheong Louis, Paula J. Poskon and Jeffrey Tuder - to the company's stakeholders in mainland China. As a reminder, IsZo is seeking shareholder support to elect Mr. Cricenti, Ms. Chen Delano, Mr. Hu, Mr. Leung, Ms. Poskon and Mr. Tuder to Nam Tai's Board of Directors at the court-ordered meeting of shareholders of Nam Tai scheduled to take place on April 26, 2021. IsZo is encouraging shareholders to vote on the GREEN Proxy Card to elect its full six-member slate. The letter says, in part: "Over the past several months, each member of the IsZo slate has spent a considerable amount of timing analyzing Nam Tai's assets, operating markets and future prospects. Our respective assessments have led to a similar conclusion: the Company has a tremendous opportunity to develop world-class projects in Shenzhen, Dongguan and across China's top economic development regions. We believe Nam Tai can capitalize on this opportunity for many years to come if it has ethical leadership that honors its commitments and obligations."

07:13 EDT Enthusiast Gaming signs integrated partnership with TikTok - Enthusiast Gaming Holdings is excited to announce that it has signed an integrated partnership deal with TikTok, the leading destination for short-form mobile video. TikTok will leverage Enthusiast Gaming's vast platform of video game and esports fan communities to help drive adoption and bridge the integration of TikTok within the gaming and esports industry. The deal is building on the recent success of TikTok's and Enthusiast Gaming's partnership at EGLX Digital 2020 virtual expo in November 2020. The expo drew over 12 million views across 53 hours of livestreaming content from November 10-13, 2020. Partnership activations to be rolled out across Enthusiast Gaming's platform include: Product and logo placement and promotional activity with Luminosity Gaming influencers, social media and a soon to be released video series microsite. Production of high-impact, co-branded rich media including launch teasers and custom promo video content to be broadcast on Luminosity Gaming's Twitch account, social media channels and Enthusiast Gaming media properties.

07:12 EDT Motorsport Games closes acquisition of KartKraft - Motorsport Games announced the completion of its previously announced deal to acquire the assets and the business of KartKraft, the highly acclaimed PC kart racing simulator, from developer Black Delta. Under the terms of the agreement, Motorsport Games takes ownership of the KartKraft IP as well as all the game assets and code. Additionally, key members of the original development team, including Founder Zach Griffin, join Motorsport Games to form a new studio called Motorsport Games Australia, under which development of KartKraft will continue. KartKraft further expands Motorsport Games' product portfolio, content development, digital product sales capabilities, and provide an opportunity to expand the company's esports ecosystem. In addition to the continued development of KartKraft, the new Motorsport Games Australia studio will bring its expertise from the Unreal Engine, developed by Epic Games, and racing simulation to other Motorsport Games licenses including NASCAR, 24 Hours of Le Mans and the British Touring Car Championship. KartKraft is currently in Early Access on Steam for PC and its simulator has quickly amassed a cult-like following within the sim-racing community. Upon its full release, it will allow players to build their own karts from the chassis up and race on 10 officially licensed, laser-scanned tracks with 20 official kart manufacturers.

07:11 EDT Amalgamated Bank sannounces CFO LaBenne departing, Jason Darby departing - Amalgamated Financial announced that Drew LaBenne, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, has informed the Board of Directors of his decision to depart the Company to pursue a professional opportunity outside the banking industry. Mr. LaBenne plans to leave in late April 2021 and is expected to participate in the Company's first quarter earnings call. At that time, Jason Darby, currently Executive Vice President, Chief Accounting Officer, will become interim Chief Financial Officer. "We want to thank Drew for his many contributions over the past six years and wish him success in his new endeavor," said Lynne Fox, Board Chair and Interim President and Chief Executive Officer. "At the same time, illustrating the depth of our management team, we are very pleased that Jason Darby has accepted the position of Interim Chief Financial Officer. Since joining Amalgamated in 2015, Jason has consistently demonstrated extraordinary leadership, impressive financial acumen and deep knowledge of every facet of Amalgamated. We are confident this will be a smooth transition." Mr. LaBenne added, "I want to thank the Board for the opportunity to serve as Amalgamated Bank's Chief Financial Officer over the past six years. I am proud of the many accomplishments we have achieved together, and I leave knowing Amalgamated is in a very strong financial position with a bright future ahead. That said, I have been offered a position outside the banking sector which is a truly exceptional opportunity, and I feel now is the right time to pursue my next career challenge. I am very excited that Jason will succeed me as Interim Chief Financial Officer. Jason and I first worked together in 2007 at Capital One and have continued our working relationship for nearly 15 years. Jason is an extraordinarily skilled professional who has the full respect of the entire finance team, the Board, and the Bank's executive leadership."

07:09 EDT Aveo Oncology reports U.S. availability of Fotivda ahead of previous guidance - AVEO Oncology announced that FOTIVDA is now commercially available in the United States ahead of the previous March 31, 2021 guidance. On March 10, 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved FOTIVDA for the treatment of adults with relapsed or refractory advanced renal cell carcinoma following two or more prior systemic therapies. FOTIVDA is an oral, next-generation vascular endothelial growth factor tyrosine kinase inhibitor. "We are thrilled to begin bringing FOTIVDA to patients battling relapsed or refractory kidney cancer," said Michael Bailey, president and chief executive officer of AVEO. "With its differentiated tolerability and efficacy profile, FOTIVDA has the potential to serve as a meaningful, evidence-based treatment option for the population of patients who have previously received two prior lines of systemic therapy."

07:08 EDT F5 appoints two new senior executives, Yvette Smith and Gail Coury - F5 (FFIV) announced the appointment of two senior executives as the company bolsters its focus on customer success, business transformation, and cybersecurity. Yvette Smith joins the company as Senior Vice President of Customer Success and Business Transformation and Gail Coury, who joined F5 in 2018, has been promoted to Senior Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer, effective March 1. Coury will oversee the expansion of F5's cybersecurity organization with responsibility for F5's enterprise security, the security of the company's product and service offerings, and showcasing to customers and the industry the use of F5 security technologies. Smith comes to F5 from Microsoft (MSFT) where she most recently led the customer success programs for their $60B+ Commercial Cloud business.

07:07 EDT Equinox Gold: Positive feasibility study for Castle Mountain Phase 2 expansion - Equinox Gold is pleased to announce the results of a Feasibility Study for the Phase 2 expansion at the company's 100%-owned Castle Mountain Gold Mine located in California, USA. On a standalone basis, Phase 2 is expected to produce 3.2M ounces of gold at average all-in-sustaining costs of $858 per oz of gold sold. Using the base case $1,500/oz gold price, Phase 2 has an after-tax net present value of $640M and an internal rate of return of 18%. Castle Mountain achieved Phase 1 commercial production in November 2020, with expected production of 30,000 to 40,000 oz of gold annually. The current operation consists of a run-of-mine heap leach facility placing 12,700 tonnes of ore per day. Phase 2 will expand ROM heap leaching and incorporate milling of higher-grade ore, increasing production to an average of 218,000 oz per year for 14 years followed by leach pad rinsing to recover residual gold. Life-of-mine production including Phase 1 operations and end of mine life rinsing is estimated at 3.4M oz of gold.

07:04 EDT Windtree Therapeutics extends collaboration with University of Milan-Bicocca - Windtree Therapeutics announced the company is extending its collaboration with the University of Milan-Bicocca for the discovery and development of new SERCA2a compounds for the potential treatment of chronic and acute human heart failure. Over the next 12 months, the program will focus on the further characterization of Windtree's SERCA2a activators and their interaction with SERCA2a and associated regulatory proteins.

07:03 EDT AzurRx BioPharma completes enrollment in Phase 2 trial of MS1819 - AzurRx BioPharma announced it has completed enrollment in its Phase 2 trial evaluating MS1819 in combination with the current standard of care, porcine-derived pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy, for the treatment of severe exocrine pancreatic insufficiency in patients with cystic fibrosis. The Phase 2 combination clinical trial of MS1819 is a multi-center study designed to investigate the safety, tolerability and efficacy of escalating doses of MS1819, in conjunction with a stable dose of PERT in order to increase the patient's coefficient of fat absorption levels and relieve abdominal symptoms. The study enrolled 18 patients, 12 years of age or older, with severe EPI. Patients enrolled in the study receive escalating doses of 700mg, 1200mg, and 2240mg of MS1819 once daily for 15 days per dosing level, in addition to their standard PERT dose. Baseline CFA is established by measuring CFA levels while on standard of care therapy only, before beginning combination therapy. Eligibility requires a CFA of less than 80%. The primary efficacy endpoint of the trial is improvement in CFA; secondary endpoints of the study are improvements in the stool weight, stool consistency, number of bowel movements, the incidence of steatorrhea, and increase of body weight. Previously reported results from the initial five patients in the trial revealed that the combination therapy led to clinically meaningful improvements in the primary efficacy endpoint, the CFA, and improvements in the key secondary endpoints, including body weight, stool consistency and reductions in the number of bowel movements and the incidence of steatorrhea.

07:03 EDT Six Flags announces reopening of Six Flags Great America parks - Six Flags Entertainment Corporation announced that another of its parks has received state authorization to reopen with a full complement of rides and attractions. Six Flags Great America, in Gurnee, Illinois, will open for its 45th year on April 24, 2021. In addition, the waterpark in Gurnee will open with a separate gate on May 29, at which time Hurricane Harbor Chicago will become the company's 27th park. The parks will operate at reduced attendance levels, in accordance with state reopening guidelines for theme parks, utilizing a reservation system. The park will also continue to implement the extensive safety measures introduced during its Holiday in the Park Lights event in 2020. "We are thrilled to add Six Flags Great America to the growing list of Six Flags parks that are either already open or have a firm reopening date, including Hurricane Harbor Rockford," said Senior Vice President of Park Operations, Bonnie Weber. "Last year, we safely entertained nearly seven million guests in adherence to government and CDC health guidelines, and we continue to set the standard for safe operations at each of our parks," continued Weber.

07:01 EDT Marc Rowan assumes CEO role of Apollo Global - Apollo Global Management announced that co-founder Marc Rowan has formally assumed the role of CEO of Apollo, which comes as part of a planned succession process first announced in January 2021. In addition, former SEC Chairman and Apollo's Lead Independent Director Jay Clayton has been named Non-Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors. In these roles, Rowan and Clayton succeed Apollo Founder Leon Black. Apollo has also appointed Richard Emerson and Dr. Kerry Murphy Healey as independent board directors, effective immediately.

06:58 EDT Ford announces FORDLiive connected uptime system for commercial vehicles - Ford announced FORDLiive - which it calls "a new connected uptime system designed to help Ford commercial vehicle operators increase their productivity by maximizing vehicle uptime." Ford said: "FORDLiive promises to transform the way Ford customers run and maintain their vehicles, by reducing the number of breakdowns, enabling fewer time-consuming visits to dealer workshops, and achieving quicker servicing and repair times. Ford projections show FORDLiive can potentially reduce vehicle downtime by up to 60%." FORDLiive will be available free-of-charge on Ford commercial vehicles for European customers, with small businesses and larger fleets able to access its benefits through the FordPass Pro app and a dedicated version of the Ford Telematics tool respectively. Reference Link

06:50 EDT TripAdvisor announces $300M convertible notes offering - Tripadvisor announced that it intends to offer $300M aggregate principal amount of convertible notes due 2026 in a private offering. Tripadvisor also intends to grant to the initial purchasers of the Notes an option to purchase up to an additional $45M aggregate principal amount of the Notes within a 13-day period beginning on, and including, the initial closing date. The Notes will be senior unsecured obligations of Tripadvisor and will be guaranteed by each of its domestic subsidiaries that guarantees Tripadvisor's credit facility. Tripadvisor intends to use a portion of the net proceeds from the offering to fund the net cost of entering into the capped call transactions described below. Tripadvisor intends to use the remainder of the net proceeds from this offering for general corporate purposes, which may include repayment of debt, including the redemption of its 2025 Senior Notes prior to maturity. Net proceeds may be temporarily invested prior to use. If the initial purchasers exercise their option to purchase additional notes, then Tripadvisor intends to use a portion of the additional net proceeds to fund the cost of entering into additional capped call transactions as described below.

06:49 EDT Comscore enters agreement with Fort Myers Broadcasting Company - Comscore announced a new agreement to provide Fort Myers Broadcasting Company with Comscore's local TV measurement currency across their Southwest Florida television stations, including WINK-TV. Fort Myers Broadcasting's WINK-TV is Southwest Florida's first television station, debuting in 1954, and produces over 60 hours of news coverage each week.

06:48 EDT Betterware de Mexico acquires 60% of GuruComm for 45M pesos - Betterware de Mexico announced that it acquired 60% of GuruComm, a Mobile Virtual Network Operator and Communications Software developer, with an Enterprise Value of 75M pesos. The purchase price is 45M pesos and the investment was paid out of existing cash on the Company's balance sheet. The Company does not expect the acquisition to be material to fiscal year 2021 results and is maintaining its guidance provided when it reported fourth quarter and fiscal year 2020 results on February 18, 2021. GuruComm will operate within Betterware, as Betterware Connect, led by the existing GuruComm management team. The addition of GuruComm to the Betterware portfolio positions the Company to disrupt the home technology solutions market in Mexico by combining Betterware's highly efficient distribution network of 1.3 million distributors and associates and its vast and loyal customer base with the innovation and technology product and software expertise of GuruComm. Betterware Connect intends to launch technology-based home solutions through three different product segments: MVNO including mobile voice and data, personal hotspot, and fixed wireless broadband offerings; Smart Home including a range of Smart Home and Smart Device solutions; Home Apps including Home Software-based solutions for a variety of household needs and tasks. The business will be launched in four stages, described below: Distributors and associates will have the opportunity to purchase Betterware Connect products. Distributors and associates will sell Betterware Connect products to consumers. Betterware Connect plans to launch new products that are connected to its network. Betterware Connect expects to introduce smart home products.

06:33 EDT Support.com, Greenidge Generation Holdings announce merger pact - Greenidge Generation Holdings announced it expects to become a Nasdaq listed company through a merger with Support.com. The companies have signed a definitive agreement to merge in a stock-for-stock transaction, subject to Support.com shareholder approval and other customary closing conditions. Upon closing of the proposed transaction, Support.com will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Greenidge, which is expected to be listed on Nasdaq. Greenidge's environmentally-sound 106 MW natural gas plant currently powers 19 MW of mining capacity, which is expected to more than double to 41 MW by the end of Q2 2021 and reach 85 MW by the end of 2022. Greenidge is expected to be the only U.S. public company operating a vertically integrated power generation asset and bitcoin mining operation and plans to replicate its vertically integrated mining model at other power sites and expects to achieve at least 500 MW of mining capacity by 2025. Support.com remains a leader in customer and technical support solutions delivered by home-based employees. Upon completion of the merger, stockholders and optionholders of Support.com will collectively own approximately 8% of Greenidge's outstanding Class A common stock. The Merger Agreement specifies that approximately 5% of Greenidge common stock will be paid to Support.com shareholders in consideration for the Support.com operating and other assets, and approximately 3% will be paid in consideration for the estimated $33 million of cash expected to be on Support.com's balance sheet at Closing using a formula set forth in the merger agreement. Based on Support.com's closing share price on March 19, 2020, Support.com stockholders would receive approximately 0.124 shares of Class A common stock of Greenidge for each share of Support.com. As a condition to Greenidge's entry into the merger agreement, 210 Capital, LLC acquired approximately 3.9M shares of Support.com in a private placement. In addition, in connection with the merger agreement, 210 Capital LLC and certain other Support.com shareholders, who together with 210 Capital LLC hold approximately 30% of the outstanding voting stock of Support.com, entered into an agreement with Greenidge to vote such stock in favor of the merger. Following the private placement, Support.com has approximately 23.6M shares outstanding. The parties expect that the merger will be completed in Q3.

06:19 EDT Viad acquires 60% controlling interest in Golden Skybridge for about $12M - Viad announced the acquisition of a controlling interest in a new attraction, the Golden Skybridge. "We have expanded Pursuit's collection of unforgettable and inspiring attractions and hospitality experiences with the addition of a new attraction located in the Canadian Rockies. The Golden Skybridge features the two highest suspension bridges in Canada, which span almost 500 feet across an expansive canyon, as well as a canyon-edge nature walk and viewing platforms that offer breathtaking views of a roaring 200-foot waterfall, serene mountain river and the surrounding vistas of the iconic Columbia and Rocky Mountain ranges. The attraction is expected to open in May 2021 and will be expanded to include a bungee swing and a zipline across the canyon later this summer. We acquired a 60% controlling interest in the Golden Skybridge attraction for a cash purchase price of approximately $12M, of which approximately $4.8M will be used to fund remaining start-up costs and the development of additional activities, including the zipline and bungee swing. Our liquidity position, after completing the acquisition, was approximately $227M as of March 19, 2021, comprising approximately $37.5M in unrestricted cash, approximately $144.2 million of available capacity on our revolving credit facility, and an additional $45M available to us through a delayed draw commitment from Crestview Partners."

06:10 EDT Leap Therapeutics presents clinical data from Phase 2 trial of DKN-01 - Leap Therapeutics announced the presentation of clinical data from its Phase 2 clinical trial of DKN-01 as a monotherapy and in combination with paclitaxel in patients with advanced gynecological malignancies at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology 2021 Annual Meeting on Women's Cancer, being held as a virtual meeting from March 19-25, 2021. DKN-01 is a humanized monoclonal antibody that binds to and blocks the activity of the Dickkopf-1 protein, leading to the activation of the innate immune system in the tumor microenvironment and anti-tumor activity. The P204 study was a Phase 2 basket study evaluating DKN-01 as a monotherapy or in combination with paclitaxel in groups composed of epithelial endometrial cancer, epithelial ovarian cancer, or carcinosarcoma patients. The primary endpoint of the P204 study was overall response rate, and secondary endpoints include disease control rate and progression-free survival. In each group, at least fifty percent of patients were required to have specified Wnt signaling pathway alterations, a subgroup of which are known to drive high tumoral DKK1 expression. Tumoral DKK1 expression was determined retrospectively by RNAscope chromogenic in situ hybridization and correlated with clinical outcomes. One hundred-eleven patients were enrolled in the study, including 29 EEC patients in a DKN-01 monotherapy group, 24 EEC patients in a DKN-01 plus paclitaxel group, 14 EOC patients in a DKN-01 monotherapy group, 19 EOC patients in a DKN-01 plus paclitaxel group, 9 MMMT patients in a DKN-01 monotherapy group, and 16 MMMT patients in a DKN-01 plus paclitaxel group. The key findings from the study were: EEC patients and patients with Wnt activating mutations express higher levels of DKK1: EEC patients expressed higher levels of DKK1 and had a higher frequency of Wnt activating mutations than patients with EOC. Within EEC, patients with endometrioid histology had higher DKK1 expression than those with non-endometrioid histology. Patients whose tumors had Wnt activating mutations expressed 14.4 times higher levels of DKK1. DKN-01 has enhanced activity in patients whose tumors express high levels of DKK1: In the group of 22 EEC patients treated with DKN-01 monotherapy for whom DKK1 expression data was available, patients with DKK1-high tumors had greater ORR, DCR, and median PFS compared to patients with DKK1-low tumors. Additionally, seven patients did not have DKK1 expression results available, of whom one had a complete response and five had a best response of stable disease, including three patients with Wnt activating mutations. In the group of 24 EEC patients treated with DKN-01 plus paclitaxel, 72% of whom had received three or more prior systemic therapies, DKK1-high patients had improved median PFS compared to DKK1-low patients. Four patients did not have DKK1 expression data available. Within EEC, DKN-01 activity strongest in endometrioid histology: In the pooled group of 27 patients with endometrioid histology for whom DKK1 expression data was available, patients with DKK1-high tumors had greater DCR and median PFS than patients with DKK1-low tumors. Additionally, seven patients with endometrioid histology did not have DKK1 expression results available, of whom one had a complete response and five had a best response of stable disease, including two patients with Wnt activating mutations.

06:06 EDT Solaris Resources reports assay results from drilling program at Warintza - Solaris Resources is pleased to report assay results from a series of additional holes from the ongoing resource growth and discovery diamond drilling program at its Warintza Project in south-eastern Ecuador. Highlights: Three additional holes at Warintza Central have returned long intervals of high-grade mineralization, with the highest grades starting from surface, and extending mineralization between the eastern and western drilling and stepping out to the southwest. SLS-14 was collared on the western side of Warintza Central and drilled into an open volume to the east, returning 922m of 0.94% CuEq from surface, including 850m of 0.98% CuEq, significantly extending the limits of mineralization SLS-15 returned 1,002m of 0.60% CuEq from surface, including 694m of 0.67% CuEq within a broader interval of 1,229m of 0.56% CuEq, stepping out to the southeast and extending mineralization to depth SLS-16 returned 958m of 0.77% CuEq from near surface, including 486m of 0.84% CuEq, extending mineralization between the eastern and western drilling at Warintza Central To date, 20,200 metres have been drilled at Warintza Central in 25 holes of which results have been reported for 16; drilling is ongoing with six rigs currently operating and increasing to 12 by mid-year.

06:03 EDT BioRestorative Therapies announces NOA for three patent applications - BioRestorative Therapies announced that the United States Patent Office and several International agencies have issued notices of allowance for three separate patent applications related to the company's metabolic ThermoStem Program. The notices of allowance were for a total of three patent applications and covered the United States, Israel, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom. The applications have issued or are expected to issue as patents in 2021. These patent allowances will allow for the protection of a specific isolated human brown adipose tissue-derived stem cell capable of differentiating into multiple cell types and their applications. This particular cell possesses strong characteristics applicable for potential therapeutic uses for treating a wide range of degenerative and metabolic disorders with billion-dollar market opportunities.

06:01 EDT Google payments chief Caesar Sengupta quits after 15 years - Caesar Sengupta, vice president and general manager of Google's payments and the "Next Billion Users" initiative, said in a LinkedIn post: "After ~15 wonderful years at Google I have decided to venture out and start on a new mission. I remain very positive about Google's future but it's time for me to see if I can ride without training wheels. I leave Google, heart full of gratitude, joy and many many deep friendships. Am uncomfortably excited about the future. Wish me luck!... My last day at Google will be April 30th. I haven't decided what I will start next." Reference Link

05:10 EDT Coinbase ordered to pay $6.5M by CFTC for false, misleading reporting - The Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Friday issued an order filing and settling charges against digital asset exchange operator Coinbase Inc., based in San Francisco, California, for reckless false, misleading, or inaccurate reporting as well as wash trading by a former employee on Coinbase's GDAX platform. The order requires Coinbase to pay a civil monetary penalty of $6.5M and to cease and desist from any further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act or CFTC regulations, as charged. According to the order, between January 2015 and September 2018, Coinbase recklessly delivered false, misleading, or inaccurate reports concerning transactions in digital assets, including Bitcoin, on the GDAX electronic trading platform it operated. During this period, Coinbase operated two automated trading programs, Hedger and Replicator, which generated orders that at times matched with one another. The GDAX Trading Rules specifically disclosed that Coinbase was trading on GDAX, but failed to disclose that Coinbase was operating more than one trading program and trading through multiple accounts. In addition, the order finds that while Hedger and Replicator had independent purposes, in practice the programs matched orders with one another in certain trading pairs, resulting in trades between accounts owned by Coinbase. Coinbase included the information for these transactions on its website and provided that information to reporting services, either directly or through access to its website. The order also finds that over a six-week period-August through September 2016-a former Coinbase employee used a manipulative or deceptive device by intentionally placing buy and sell orders in the Litecoin/Bitcoin trading pair on GDAX that matched each other as wash trades. Reference Link

05:03 EDT AstraZeneca Covid vaccine 79% effective in U.S. Phase III trial - The AstraZeneca U.S. Phase III trial of AZD1222 demonstrated statistically significant vaccine efficacy of 79% at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 and 100% efficacy at preventing severe disease and hospitalization, the company announced. Thie interim safety and efficacy analysis was based on 32,449 participants accruing 141 symptomatic cases of COVID-19. The trial had a 2:1 randomization of vaccine to placebo. Vaccine efficacy was consistent across ethnicity and age, Astra noted. In participants aged 65 years and over, vaccine efficacy was 80%. The vaccine was well tolerated, and the independent data safety monitoring board identified no safety concerns related to the vaccine, the company said. The DSMB conducted a specific review of thrombotic events, as well as cerebral venous sinus thrombosis with the assistance of an independent neurologist. The DSMB found no increased risk of thrombosis or events characterized by thrombosis among the 21,583 participants receiving at least one dose of the vaccine. AstraZeneca said it will continue to analyze the data and prepare for the primary analysis to be submitted to the Food and Drug Administration for Emergency Use Authorization in the coming weeks. In parallel, the primary analysis will be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. Amongst participants in the interim analysis, approximately 79% were white/Caucasian, 8% black/African American, 4% native American and 4% Asian, and 22% of participants were Hispanic. This Phase III trial included two doses administered at a four week interval. Reference Link

05:01 EDT 4D pharma completes merger with Longevity Acquisition Corporation - 4D pharma plc announced that its business combination with Longevity Acquisition Corporation, details of which were announced on 22 October 2020, has now become effective. 4D pharma's existing Board of Directors and management team will continue to lead the combined company. 4D will continue its operations in the discovery and development of Live Biotherapeutic products. The cash of $14.8M held by Longevity is now available to 4D. 4D American Depositary Shares are expected to commence trading today on the NASDAQ Global Market under the ticker 'LBPS.' JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. is acting as depositary bank for the ADSs. 4D pharma ordinary shares will continue to be admitted to trading on AIM under the ticker 'DDDD.' In addition, Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. has now subscribed for 654,023 ordinary shares at the issue price of $1.53 in the private placement, details of which were announced on 17 March 2021, thereby raising an additional $1M. The gross proceeds of the private placement is now, in aggregate, approximately $25.03M. In total, 16,367,332 new ordinary shares have been subscribed pursuant to the private placement

04:55 EDT Vericel to replace QEP Resources in S&P 600 at open on 3/22 - Diamondback Energy (FANG) has acquired QEP Resources (QEP) in a transaction that closed March 17.

04:55 EST Flowserve to replace Edgewell Personal Care in S&P 400 at open on 3/22

04:55 EST Penn National, Generac, Caesars set to move to S&P 500 at open on 3/22 - Penn National Gaming (PENN), Generac Holdings (GNRC) and Caesars Entertainment (CZR) will all move to the S&P 500, replacing SL Green Realty (SLG), Xerox Holdings (XRX) and Vontier (VNT), all of which will move to the S&P MidCap 400.