DANVILLE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BryoLogyx Inc., announced today that the Company has named Nelson L. Levy, M.D., Ph.D., to its Board of Directors. Dr. Levy, CEO of CoreTechs Corporation and co-founder and Director of ChemBridge Corporation, brings extensive pharmaceutical, clinical and academic experience over a more than 50-year career in leadership positions at Fujisawa Pharmaceuticals (now Astellas Pharma), Abbott Laboratories, and Duke University.
The Company also announced that Michael Rossbach, Ph.D., Founder of Ikxinta, a life sciences advisory firm, has been named to the Scientific and Medical Advisory Board (SMAB). William Grossman, M.D., Ph.D., is moving from the Board to Directors to the Company’s SMAB, to accommodate his increasing responsibilities at Gilead Sciences, which he joined in 2021 as Senior Vice President and Therapeutic Area Head of Clinical Oncology Development.
“Drs. Levy, Rossbach and Grossman are distinguished scientific thought leaders in immunology,” said Thomas Loarie, Co-Founder and CEO of BryoLogyx. “We look forward to their guidance as our lead molecule bryostatin-1 prepares to enter clinical trials with the National Cancer Institute. These trials will be aimed at evaluating bryostatin-1’s potential to address immuno-oncology resistance mechanisms, which have been identified recently as major roadblocks to the advancement of cell therapy and other immuno-oncology treatments.”
Dr. Levy has served as chairman of the board of directors of the CoreTechs Corporation since 1993, as well as CEO since its founding in 1985. He has also served as president of Fujisawa Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Japan's second-largest pharmaceutical company, now known as Astellas Pharma), and, from 1981 to 1984, was vice president of pharmaceutical research at Abbott Laboratories. From 1973 to 1981, Dr. Levy held multiple appointments at Duke University Medical Center, including tenured professor of immunology, neurology, and neurosurgery.
Dr. Levy was graduated summa cum laude from Yale University with both Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees. He earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, and his Ph.D., in immunology, from Duke University, where he earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in immunology and also completed residency training in neurosurgery.
Dr. Levy co-founded ChemBridge Corporation in 1993 to bring the excellence of Russian chemistry to the service of Western pharmaceutical and chemical companies. He has served continuously on the board of directors of this highly successful enterprise, which names amongst its customers and collaborators almost every pharmaceutical company in the United States, Western Europe, and Japan.
Michael Rossbach, Ph.D., Named to BryoLogyx Scientific and Medical Advisory Board
Prof. Dr. Michael Rossbach brings considerable expertise in immunology, cell-based therapeutics, and gene regulation. He is the founder of Ikxinta, a life sciences advisory firm, and holds numerous academic appointments around the world: National University of Singapore, Technical University of Munich in Singapore, INSEAD Management School (Entrepreneur in-Residence), and Witten School of Management (Germany, Member of Faculty).
Dr. Rossbach’s biotechnology industry experience includes Vela Diagnostics (clinical and molecular diagnostics to advance precision medicine), Genome Institute of Singapore, Institute of Reconstructive Neurobiology, LIFE&BRAIN, University of Bonn (Germany). Additionally, he is an Associate with the Biotech Developpement Conseils (France), Partner of the Höppner Life Sciences Management Group (Germany), and Venture Partner of Graybella Capital (USA). Dr. Rossbach serves on scientific advisory boards of several biotech companies and was recently appointed to the Scientific Council of DESY, Germany’s largest accelerator and research center.
Dr. Rossbach studied biochemistry (Ph.D. in immunology) at the University of Bonn (Germany), the Private University of Witten/Herdecke (Germany), Max-Planck Institute for molecular Physiology (Germany), and Harvard Medical School (USA).
William Grossman, M.D., Ph.D., Moves from BOD to SMAB
Dr. Grossman has over 25 years of extensive experience leading successful global clinical organizations. Prior to Gilead, Dr. Grossman served as Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Arcus Biosciences; and CMO of Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, responsible for its clinical development, regulatory affairs, clinical operations, and medical affairs organizations. Dr. Grossman was the Global Group Medical Director for Cancer Immunotherapy at Genentech, and prior to Genentech, held leadership roles in oncology and immunology at AbbVie, Biothera, Baxter Healthcare, and Merck & Co.
About BryoLogyx
BryoLogyx is developing a new class of drugs to address resistance mechanisms in immuno-oncology (I/O). The Company is capitalizing on the discovery that its lead compound, bryostatin-1, upregulates key I/O targets in hematological cancers; its potential to reverse T-cell exhaustion; and the invention of the first practical synthetic production method for bryostatin and analogs, enabling its commercial development.
BryoLogyx has exclusive rights from Stanford University to this novel synthesis for cancer and certain other indications. Bryostatin-1, which has an established clinical safety profile, is expected to enter clinical trials in I/O through a collaboration with the National Cancer Institute. Based on early proof of concept studies by the Company’s collaborators at the NCI, BryoLogyx is focusing on development of a combination of bryostatin-1 with an anti-CD22 CAR-T. Learn more at www.bryologyx.com.
