SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Vividion Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company utilizing novel discovery technologies to unlock high value, traditionally undruggable targets with precision therapeutics for devastating cancers and immune disorders, and a wholly owned and independently operated subsidiary of Bayer AG, today announced the formation of a scientific advisory board (SAB) comprised of industry leaders in oncology, immunology, drug development and chemical biology. The SAB will work cohesively with the Vividion team to advance the company’s programs based on its proprietary chemoproteomic platform.
“Each member of our newly formed scientific advisory board brings deep, internationally recognized expertise in one or more of the four core areas that drive our research and development strategy – chemical biology, small molecule drug discovery, oncology, and immunologic and inflammatory diseases,” said Bob Abraham, Ph.D., chief scientific officer of Vividion. “This prestigious group of scientific leaders brings valuable insights to Vividion as we work to advance a deep and diversified pipeline of highly selective small molecule therapeutics targeting high value, traditionally undruggable targets in oncology and immunology. We look forward to partnering with them to drive our programs forward, with an eye toward maximizing their benefits for patients in need.”
The founding members of the Vividion scientific advisory board include:
- Scott Biller, Ph.D., retired from the role of chief scientific officer at Agios Pharmaceuticals in 2019, and is currently serving as a biotech advisor and Board member. During his career, Dr. Biller led the efforts to discover multiple approved products, including TIBSOVO® and IDHIFA®, for acute myeloid leukemia harboring IDH1 and IDH2 mutations, respectively, the DPP4 inhibitor ONGLYZA® for type 2 diabetes and the SGLT2 inhibitor FARXIGA® for type 2 diabetes, and the MTP inhibitor JUXTAPID® for familial hypercholesterolemia.
- Mikala Egeblad, Ph.D., is a professor at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and co-program leader of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Cancer Center Program on Cellular Communication in Cancer. She is also chair-person-elect of the American Association for Cancer Research Tumor Microenvironment Working Group (2020-2022). Dr. Egeblad’s research team is focused on studying roles of innate immune cells, particularly neutrophils and macrophages, in cancer progression.
- James G. Krueger, M.D., Ph.D., is head of the Laboratory for Investigative Dermatology at The Rockefeller University in New York and serves as physician and co-director of the Center for Clinical and Translational Science at the Rockefeller University Hospital, and as chief executive officer of the Rockefeller University Hospital. Dr. Krueger’s research group at The Rockefeller University was the first to conduct clinical trials with specific, targeted immune antagonists in psoriasis, and since then, has focused on inflammatory pathways in psoriasis that can be targeted with new interventions.
- Vijay Kuchroo, DVM, Ph.D., is the Samuel L. Wasserstrom Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School, senior scientist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a member of the Broad Institute and a participant in a Klarman Cell Observatory project that focuses on T cell differentiation. He is the founding director of the Evergrande Center for Immunologic Diseases at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Dr. Kuchroo’s major research interests include autoimmune diseases, particularly the role of co-stimulation in disease pathogenesis, the genetic basis of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis and multiple sclerosis, as well as cell surface molecules and regulatory factors that regulate the induction of T cell tolerance and dysfunction. The Kuchroo laboratory was first to describe the TIM family of genes and identified TIM-3 as an inhibitory receptor expressed on T cells, which is now being exploited for cancer immunotherapy. He was also the first to describe the development of highly pathogenic Th17 cells diseases in humans and is the lead author on one of the most cited papers in the field of Immunology to describe the development of Th17 cells.
- Kornelia Polyak, M.D., Ph.D., is a professor of medicine at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School and is an internationally recognized leader in the breast cancer research field. Dr. Polyak’s laboratory is dedicated to the molecular analysis of human breast cancer with the goal of improving the clinical management of breast cancer patients. Her lab’s work has been at the forefront of studies analyzing the genomic profiles of purified cell populations from normal and neoplastic human breast tissue, and at the single cell level, leading to the development of mathematical and ecological models that describe breast tumor evolutionary trajectories.
- Stuart Schreiber, Ph.D.,is the Morris Loeb Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Harvard University, a co-Founder of the Broad Institute, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Medicine and American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Schreiber integrates chemical biology and human biology to advance the science of therapeutics. He is known for having developed systematic ways to explore biology, especially disease biology, using small molecules and for his role in the development of the field of chemical biology. Key advances include the finding that small molecules can function as “molecular glues” that promote protein–protein interactions, the co-discovery (co-incident with the independent work of Vividion CSO Bob Abraham) of mTOR and its role in nutrient-response signaling, and the discovery of histone deacetylases and that chromatin marks regulate gene expression. His research has been acknowledged through awards including the Wolf Prize in Chemistry. His approach to therapeutics discovery guided the development of many biotechnology companies that he founded including Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Ariad Pharmaceuticals.
- David Solit, M.D., is a practicing medical oncologist, a laboratory scientist and the Geoffrey Beene Chair for cancer research and director of the Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Center for Molecular Oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC). Dr. Solit’s clinical work has focused on kinase inhibitors for the treatment of cancer and his research group is known for having pioneered the use of whole genome sequencing methods to identify occult predictors of drug response, work that serves as the basis for the NCI Extraordinary Responder Initiative.
- Christopher Walsh, M.D., Ph.D., is a consulting professor to the Stanford University department of chemistry, a senior advisor to the Stanford ChEM-H institute and an advisor to the Chan Zuckerberg BioHub initiative at the University of California San Francisco and Stanford University. Dr. Walsh is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the U.S. National Academy of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and is on the board of directors of The Scripps Research Institute.
- Paul Workman, FRS, FRSC, FMedSci, is Harrap Professor of Pharmacology and Therapeutics and formerly Chief Executive and President at The Institute of Cancer Research, London. Dr. Workman has led oncology drug discovery in both industry and academia, and in addition to running his own lab, is highly experienced in guiding strategic developments in the field of basic, translational and clinical cancer research.
About Vividion
Vividion Therapeutics, Inc. a wholly owned and independently operated subsidiary of Bayer AG acquired in August 2021, is a biopharmaceutical company utilizing novel discovery technologies to unlock high value, traditionally undruggable targets with precision therapeutics for devastating cancers and immune disorders. The company’s platform has enabled it to identify hundreds of previously unknown functional pockets on well-validated protein targets implicated in a wide range of diseases, while simultaneously identifying compounds from its proprietary covalent chemistry library that interact in a highly selective manner with those pockets. The company is leveraging its proprietary chemoproteomic platform to advance a diversified pipeline of highly selective small molecule therapeutics targeting high value, traditionally undruggable targets in oncology and immunology. For more information, please visit www.vividion.com.
About Bayer
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of health care and nutrition. Its products and services are designed to help people and the planet thrive by supporting efforts to master the major challenges presented by a growing and aging global population. Bayer is committed to driving sustainable development and generating a positive impact with its businesses. At the same time, the Group aims to increase its earning power and create value through innovation and growth. The Bayer brand stands for trust, reliability and quality throughout the world. In fiscal 2020, the Group employed around 100,000 people and had sales of 41.4 billion euros. R&D expenses, before special items, amounted to 4.9 billion euros. For more information, go to www.bayer.com.
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