TOULOUSE, France & LAKELAND, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News:
CERENIS Therapeutics (Paris:CEREN) (FR0012616852 – CEREN – PEA-PME eligible), an international biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of HDL-based innovative therapies for treating cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, as well as new HDL-based vectors for targeted drug delivery in the field of oncology, announces the creation of its Scientific Advisory Board in Oncology (SAB-Oncology) with five key appointments: Briggs Morrison, MD, who will serve as the Chairman of the SAB, Mark Frohlich, MD, Aurélien Marabelle MD, PhD, Robert Schneider, PhD and Robert J. Spiegel, MD, FACP.
Jean-Louis Dasseux, founder and CEO of Cerenis, commented: “Cerenis is fully committed to implement its strategy in targeted HDL drug delivery. Creating this SAB in Oncology represents another important step forward for the company following the asset acquisition of Lypro Biosciences. More steps will follow as the company is leveraging its leading expertise in HDL, its intellectual property, its unique large-scale recombinant human apoA-I and HDL manufacturing and its clinical experience in HDL development to create a unique HDL drug delivery platform. Cerenis intends to develop products based on HDL drug delivery to allow for selective targeting to effectively kill cancer cells while protecting normal tissues. We are very happy to have such prestigious leading experts bringing not only a wealth of experience across research and clinical development, but also a hands-on experience in pharmaceutical and drug development strategies. This is essential to guide us in prioritizing and driving forward our drug delivery platform and clinical programs in Immuno-oncology and Chemotherapy.”
Briggs Morrison, MD, SAB Chairman, commented: “I am very enthusiastic about joining Cerenis' Oncology Scientific Advisory Board to help the company develop promising new products for Immuno-oncology and Chemotherapy, and to help the Cerenis management understand this exciting but complex field. Targeted drug delivery has always been a 'holy grail' in Oncology and Cerenis may be at the point where such a challenge can be overcome with novel HDL technology developed by the company. For the first time we have pharmaceutical grade HDL, that may act as a universal carrier for diverse payloads including antigens, nucleic acids, and chemotherapeutic agents with a high specificity toward the targeted cells.”
Mark Frohlich, MD, SAB member, commented: “The concept of targeted delivery to cancer using nanoparticles is highly attractive. However, historical nanoparticle platforms, such as liposomal formulations, have failed to deliver on their promise. Challenges have included difficulties in manufacturing a consistent product, poor in vivo stability, and highly inefficient tumor targeting. The Cerenis HDL platform holds great potential to overcome these challenges and deliver on the promise of targeted nanoparticle delivery.”
The SAB-Oncology will work closely with Cerenis’ management team as it develops its targeted HDL drug delivery platform in immuno-oncology and chemotherapy and it is actively preparing to bring a lead product candidate into clinical studies. The Company believes its targeted HDL drug delivery platform has the potential to transform the treatment paradigm in immuno-oncology and chemotherapy, a market representing more than $30 billion. Cerenis is positioned to leverage its considerable IP positions and manufacturing expertise to make unique contributions in this important therapeutic space.
Briggs Morrison, MD: Chairman of Cerenis’ SAB Oncology – Former Head of Global Medicines Development and Chief Medical Officer at AstraZeneca
Briggs W. Morrison received his B.S. in biology from Georgetown University, his M.D. from the University of Connecticut Medical School, completed residency training in Internal Medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital, and completed a fellowship in Medical Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He did post-docs with Dr. Philip Leder at Harvard Medical School, and Dr. Lee Nadler at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He joined Merck & Co., Inc. in 1995, where he held various R+D positions including leading the Clinical Oncology Department. Subsequently he was appointed Head of Clinical Development at Pfizer in 2007, and became the Head of Global Medicines Development and Chief Medical Officer at AstraZeneca in 2012. He is currently the CEO of Syndax Pharmaceuticals.
Dr. Morrison has overseen the development of numerous biopharmaceutical products in multiple therapeutic areas, from First-In-Human trials through to global regulatory approvals. He is currently a Board member of private companies Oncorus and Repare Therapeutics, and is an advisor to a number of other private biotechnology companies. In addition, Dr. Morrison is a Board member of the Alliance for Clinical Research Excellence and Safety (ACRES), a non-profit organization dedicated to optimizing the global clinical research system.
Mark Frohlich, MD – Former Executive V.P. of Portfolio Strategy at Juno Therapeutics
Dr. Mark Frohlich has been involved in the development of cellular immunotherapies for cancer for more than 15 years. He was recently EVP of Portfolio Strategy at Juno Therapeutics, prior to its $9 billion acquisition by Celgene. He previously served as EVP of R&D and Chief Medical Officer of Dendreon Corporation, where he led the clinical team responsible for the approval of the first cellular immunotherapy in the US and Europe (Provenge®). Prior to that he led the clinical team at Xcyte Therapies, developing autologous activated T cells for cancer. Dr. Frohlich is a medical oncologist. He is a graduate of Harvard Medical School and Yale College.
Aurélien Marabelle, MD, PhD – Clinical Director of the Cancer Immunotherapy Program at Gustave Roussy Cancer Center
Dr. Aurélien Marabelle's clinical practice is dedicated to early phase clinical trials in Cancer Immunotherapy. His translational research is focused on mechanisms of action of immune checkpoint monoclonal antibodies. He works as a senior medical oncologist and an investigator in the Drug Development Department (DITEP) directed by Dr. Christophe Massard. He is coordinating a team focusing on cancer immunotherapy translational research projects in the INSERM U1015 lab directed by Prof Laurence Zitvogel. Dr. Marabelle is a member of ESMO, ASCO, EATI and AACR.
Robert Schneider, PhD – Albert Sabin Professor of Molecular Pathogenesis, Professor of Radiation Oncology
Dr. Robert Schneider is associate Director of the NYU Cancer Institute, Director of Translational Cancer Research, and Co-director of the Breast Cancer Research Program at NYU School of Medicine.
He is also the Associate Dean for NYU Technology Ventures and Partnerships, which has transformed NYU’s technology transfer and commercialization into a leading therapeutics development and new company academic enterprise. Dr. Schneider is also an active researcher, and performs basic, translational, and clinical research on the molecular basis of metastatic breast and ovarian cancers, interconnections with the inflammatory response, and the development of new therapeutics. He is the author of more than 160 peer-reviewed publications. He has received a number of awards in recognition for his achievements, including the 2012 Susan E. Donelan Hope for the Future Award for breast cancer research from the Dana Farber Cancer Institute; the 2011 Distinguished Alumnus Award & Commencement address from the University of Delaware; the 2010 Judah Folkman Memorial lecture from the Chemotherapy Society, among others. Dr. Schneider is a co-founding scientist of six biotechnology/small pharmaceutical companies including ImClone Systems (New York), PTC Therapeutics (New Jersey), Canji (San Diego), Gencell (Paris) and ENB Therapeutics (New York). Dr. Schneider received his Ph.D. in biomedical sciences from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and was a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Molecular Biology at Princeton University.
Robert Spiegel, MD – Former Sr. V.P. for worldwide Clinical Research and Chief Medical Officer at Schering-Plough
Dr. Spiegel has over 30 years of extensive R&D and operational experience in biopharmaceuticals including Big Pharma, biotech, and academic startups as well as interactions advising venture capital and private equity.
Dr. Spiegel spent over 25 years at Schering-Plough where he joined as the first Director for Oncology Clinical Research, and subsequently held a series of senior executive positions, including Senior Vice President for worldwide Clinical Research and Chief Medical Officer. During his time at Schering-Plough he took numerous drug candidates through clinical development and was involved with over 30 NDA approvals at the FDA. For the last five years Dr. Spiegel has been a consultant to the biotech industry and has served on the Boards of multiple biotech companies He currently serves on the Boards of Directors of Geron Corp, Edge Therapeutics, and Neximmune Inc. and is Chairman of Vidac Therapeutics. He is currently the principal of Spiegel Consulting LLC and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College. He is also a Senior Advisor to private equity firm Warburg Pincus and an Advisor to the Israel Biotech Fund.
Dr. Spiegel received his B.A. from Yale University and his M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. He completed his specialty training at the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health (NIH).
About CERENIS: www.cerenis.com
CERENIS Therapeutics is an international biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of innovative therapies for the treatment of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. HDL is the primary mediator of the reverse lipid transport, or RLT, the only natural pathway by which excess lipids is removed from arteries and is transported to the liver for elimination from the body.
CERENIS is developing a portfolio of lipid metabolism therapies, including HDL mimetics for patients with genetic HDL deficiency, as well as drugs which increase HDL for patients with a low number of HDL particles to treat atherosclerosis and associated metabolic diseases including Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) and Non-Alcoholic Steato-Hepatitis (NASH). Capitalizing on its expertise, Cerenis is developing the first HDL-based targeting drug delivery platform dedicated to the oncology field (immuno-oncology and chemotherapy).
CERENIS is well positioned to become one of the leaders in the HDL therapeutic market, with a broad portfolio of programs in development.
About Targeted HDL Drug Delivery
HDL particles, loaded with an active agent, hold the promise to target and selectively kill malignant cells while sparing healthy ones. A wide variety of drugs can be embedded in these particles targeting markers specific to cancer cells and bring these potent drugs to their intended site of action, with lowered systemic toxicity. Cerenis intends to develop the first HDL-based targeting drug delivery platform dedicated to the oncology market, including immuno-oncology and chemotherapy.
Financial Agenda:
Annual Shareholder Meeting: June 25th,
2018
