BERLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News:
NOXXON Pharma N.V. (Euronext Growth Paris: ALNOX), a biotechnology company focused on improving cancer treatments by targeting the tumor microenvironment (TME), announced today the appointment of four leading pancreatic cancer experts to its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). Led by the newly appointed Chair, Dr. Jose Saro, the SAB will provide strategic and scientific counsel to NOXXON’s clinical programs in this indication.
“These prominent research leaders bring long-standing clinical expertise, cutting-edge scientific knowledge, and a track record of successfully developing new drugs to treat this devastating disease. They fully understand the challenges of developing new drugs for pancreas cancer where the tumor microenvironment plays a large role in resisting anti-cancer therapy. The NOXXON team looks forward to working with this group and to applying their insights to the advancement of the company’s clinical pipeline. The caliber of this group speaks to the potential of NOX-A12 to address the some of the key unmet medical needs in pancreatic cancer,” said Aram Mangasarian, CEO of NOXXON.
The formation and composition of the SAB reflect NOXXON’s clinical development strategy as the company prepares to initiate a two-arm Phase 2 trial in pancreatic cancer in Europe and the US. The study will test NOX-A12 plus an anti-PD1 antibody with two different standard of care chemotherapy regimens in second-line pancreatic cancer later this year.
“With the majority of our newly appointed SAB members coming from top centers of excellence in research in the US, we are paving the path forward for NOXXON to become more active in this important region for pharmaceutical research and development,” said Dr. Jarl Ulf Jungnelius, Senior Medical Advisor of NOXXON.
NOXXON plans to expand the profile of the Scientific Advisory Board to other areas as it further develops its programs.
The members of NOXXON’s SAB for pancreatic cancer are listed below. Biographies for each member will also be available on the NOXXON website.
Chiorean, E. Gabriela, MD
Professor of Medicine at University of Washington School of Medicine
Professor, Clinical Research Division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Director, Gastrointestinal Oncology Program at UW/Seattle Cancer Care Alliance
Clinical Research Director, Gastrointestinal Oncology at the UW Medicine/Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
As a professor of medicine at the UW School of Medicine, professor at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and attending physician at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Dr. Gabriela Chiorean strives to improve the care for patients with pancreatic and other gastrointestinal cancers. She leads early-stage as well as Phase 2 and 3 clinical trials of new therapies for these cancers, including new chemotherapies, immunotherapies and targeted drugs. She also aims to identify biomarkers of cancer, such as molecules in the blood, that could be developed into a minimally invasive test for the early detection of cancers or precancers. Dr. Chiorean works with collaborative groups of clinicians and researchers to implement cutting-edge clinical trials for pancreatic cancer patients. She chairs the Pancreatic Cancer Sub-Committee for the SWOG Cancer Research Network, is vice chair of the NCI Pancreatic Cancer Task Force, and chair of the Pancreatic Cancer Research Team.
O’Reilly, Eileen M., MD
Winthrop Rockefeller Endowed Chair in Medical Oncology
Section Head, Hepatopancreaticobiliary & Neuroendocrine Cancers
Co-Director Medical Initiatives, David M. Rubenstein Center for Pancreatic Cancer
Attending Physician, Member, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Professor of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College
Dr. O’Reilly is a medical oncologist whose research and clinical activities focus on treating pancreatic and hepatobiliary cancers. Her research initiatives include integrating molecular and genetic-based therapies into the treatment of pancreatic cancer, developing adjuvant and neoadjuvant therapies, and identifying biomarkers that may be used to select therapy. She is the principal investigator of multiple Phase 1, 2 and 3 pancreatic cancer clinical trials and has authored and co-authored more than 300 articles, editorials and book chapters.
Prof. Dr. Seufferlein, Thomas T. W.
Professor of Gastroenterology at the University of Ulm
Vice Dean for Research at the Medical Faculty of the University of Ulm
Chair of the Committee for Cancer Prevention of the German Cancer Aid
President of the German Cancer Society (Deutschen Krebsgesellschaft, DKG)
Spokesperson of the German Cancer Aid and the Association of the Scientific Medical Societies in Germany (Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Wissenschaftlichen Medizinischen Fachgesellschaften, AWMF)
Editor in Chief of the German Journal of Gastroenterology
General Secretary of the European Society for Digestive Oncology (ESDO)
Prof. Seufferlein has a particular interest in gastrointestinal (GI) oncology and the molecular basis of GI cancers, in particular pancreatic cancer, and pioneering the clinical use of novel treatments. He has been an active member of working and leading groups of the DKG and a spokesperson of the Certification Commission of Visceral Oncology Centers of the DKG for several years. His clinical and basic research interests include compartment specific signaling in cancer, regulation of cellular protein transport, tumor-host-interaction and the organization of the tumor cell cytoskeleton and biomarkers. Prof. Seufferlein was involved in setting up the German National Guidelines and the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of pancreatic cancer. He has authored and co-authored more than 300 scientific articles, reviews and opinions.
Von Hoff, Daniel D., MD, FACP, FASCO, FAACR
Distinguished Professor and Executive Vice President, Molecular Medicine
Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGEN)
Virginia G. Piper Distinguished Chair for Innovative Cancer Research
and Chief Scientific Officer, Honor Health Research Institute
Chair of the Early Drug Development Committee, US Oncology
Distinguished Professor, Department of Medical Oncology and Therapeutic Research, City of Hope
Professor of Medicine, Mayo Clinic
Dr. Von Hoff’s major interest is in the development of new anticancer agents, both in the clinic and in the laboratory. He and his colleagues were involved in the beginning of the development of many FDA approved agents we now use routinely, including: mitoxantrone, fludarabine, paclitaxel, docetaxel, gemcitabine, irinotecan, nelarabine, capecitabine, lapatinib, vismodegib, nab-paclitaxel, nal-IRI, pexidartinib and others. His clinical trial work has led to the approval of three of the four drugs approved by the FDA for treatment of patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. At present, he and his colleagues are concentrating on the development of therapies for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.
About NOXXON
NOXXON’s oncology-focused pipeline acts on the tumor microenvironment (TME) and the cancer immunity cycle by breaking the tumor protection barrier and blocking tumor repair. By neutralizing chemokines in the tumor microenvironment, NOXXON’s approach works in combination with other forms of treatment to weaken tumor defenses against the immune system and enable greater therapeutic impact. Building on extensive clinical experience and safety data, the lead program NOX-A12 has delivered top-line data from a Keytruda® combination trial in metastatic colorectal and pancreatic cancer patients and further studies are being planned in these indications. In September 2019 the company initiated an additional trial with NOX-A12 in brain cancer in combination with radiotherapy. The combination of NOX-A12 and radiotherapy has been granted orphan drug status in the US and EU for the treatment of certain brain cancers. The company’s second clinical-stage asset NOX-E36 is a Phase 2 TME asset targeting the innate immune system. NOXXON plans to test NOX‑E36 in patients with solid tumors both as a monotherapy and in combination. Further information can be found at: www.noxxon.com
Keytruda® is a registered trademark of Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp
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