UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of
The Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported) October 15, 2015
Arbutus Biopharma Corporation
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| British Columbia, Canada | 001-34949 | 980597776 |
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation) |
(Commission File Number) | (IRS Employer Identification No.) |
| 100-8900 Glenlyon Parkway Burnaby, British Columbia Canada |
V5J 5J8 |
| (Address of principal executive offices) | (Zip Code) |
Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (604) 419-3200
________________________________________________________________________________
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:
| [ ] | Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) | |
| [ ] | Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) | |
| [ ] | Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) | |
| [ ] | Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c)) |
Item 8.01. Other Events.
On October 15, 2015 the Registrant issued a press release, a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated herein by reference.
Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.
Exhibit
Description
99.1
Press release dated October 15, 2015
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
| Arbutus Biopharma Corporation
(Registrant) |
||
| October 15, 2015
(Date) |
/s/ BRUCE G. COUSINS
Bruce G. Cousins Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer |
EXHIBIT 99.1
Dr. Michael J. Sofia, Arbutus' Chief Scientific Officer, Named Economist's 2015 Innovation Award Winner in the Bioscience Category
VANCOUVER, British Columbia and DOYLESTOWN, Pa., Oct. 15, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Arbutus Biopharma Corporation (Nasdaq:ABUS), an industry-leading therapeutic solutions company focused on developing a cure for chronic hepatitis B virus infection (HBV), today announced that Dr. Michael J. Sofia, Arbutus' Chief Scientific Officer has won the Economist's 2015 Innovation Award in the Bioscience category, for developing a rapid cure for hepatitis C virus infection (HCV).
HCV affects 150 million people worldwide with an annual mortality rate of half a million patients globally. While traditional treatments only cure about 50 percent of cases after as much as a year of therapy, Sovaldi (originally named Sofosbuvir after its inventor, Dr. Sofia) can cure 90 percent of patients in only 12 to 24 weeks.
"I am honored to have been selected to receive the 2015 Innovation Award in Biosciences. It is a recognition of the real hope that sofosbuvir now gives to those suffering from the debilitating effects of HCV and the reality that they can now look forward to a normal life free from this disease," said Dr. Michael J. Sofia, Arbutus' Chief Scientific Officer. "At Arbutus our focus is on developing a curative therapy for patients with HBV, a disease with an even higher prevalence and greater unmet medical need. We are leveraging lessons learned from HCV to inform our strategy for building the leading HBV pipeline and developing proprietary drug combinations. "
About Arbutus
Arbutus Biopharma Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to discovering, developing and commercializing a cure for patients suffering from chronic hepatitis B infection (HBV). Our strategy is to target the three pillars necessary to develop a curative regimen for HBV: suppressing HBV replication within liver cells, stimulating and reactivating the body's immune system so that it can mount an effective defense against the virus and, eliminating the reservoir of viral genomic material known as covalently closed circular DNA, or cccDNA that is the source of HBV persistence. Our portfolio of assets includes a broad pipeline of drug candidates for use in combination to develop a cure for HBV. To support continuous discovery of potential novel drug candidates and technologies, Arbutus has a research collaboration agreement with the Baruch S. Blumberg Institute that provides exclusive rights to in-license any intellectual property generated through the relationship. The Baruch S. Blumberg Institute was established in 2003 by the Hepatitis B Foundation.
Arbutus is headquartered in Vancouver, BC, Canada with offices in Doylestown, PA, USA. For more information, visit www.arbutusbio.com.
About the Economist's Innovation Awards
In this annual awards program, The Economist showcases creative people who dream up new ideas and turn them into reality. The newspaper invites its readers to nominate outstanding innovators in seven categories: Bioscience, Computing and Telecommunications, Consumer Products, Energy and the Environment, Process and Service Innovation, Social and Economic Innovation, and a special "no boundaries" category for innovations that span industries and sectors. In addition, the judges select the winner of the Corporate award for innovation.
Over the past 14 years, The Economist's Innovation Awards program has recognized the work of the world's leading entrepreneurs, thinkers, creators, scientists and innovators, including Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Hernando de Soto and Elon Musk.
CONTACT: Investors
Adam Cutler
Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs
Phone: 604.419.3200
Email: acutler@arbutusbio.com
Helia Baradarani
Manager, Investor Relations
Phone: 604.419.3200
Email: hbaradarani@arbutusbio.com
Media
Please direct all media inquiries to: media@arbutusbio.com