Meet GammaDelta Therapeutics's CEO—The Scientist Who Helped GlaxoSmithKline Launch 7 Cancer Drugs

Meet GammaDelta Therapeutics’ CEO—The Scientist Who Helped GlaxoSmithKline Launch 7 Cancer Drugs June 12, 2017
By Alex Keown, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff

LONDON – GammaDelta Therapeutics, a company developing cancer treatments through the unique properties of gamma delta (γδ) T cells derived from human tissues is helmed by a long-time academic who turned to drug development with great success.

Paolo Paoletti, chief executive officer of GammaDelta, joined the tiny startup with a strong resume that includes the successful launch of seven cancer drugs while serving as the head of research and development at GlaxoSmithKline . Under his guidance at GSK, Paoletti was behind the successful launches of Arranon/Atriance, Tykerb/Tyverb, Promacta/Revolade, Arzerra, Votrient, Mekinist and Tafinlart in American and European markets, the European publication LaBiotech reported. He was also behind Eli Lilly ’s Alimita, a cancer drug used in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer and pleural mesothelioma.

Now, Paoletti is driving GammaDelta, a company that just last month inked a deal worth $100 million with Takeda . In May, the two companies formed a strategic alliance to develop GammaDelta’s T Cell platform to create therapies for a broad range of cancers, including solid tumors, and auto-inflammatory diseases. If things go well for the partnership, Takeda could acquire the small London-based company, according to the terms of that deal.

In a wide-ranging interview with LaBiotech, Paoletti discussed his journey from academia to drug development in the pharma and biotech industries. But, he also discussed what drew him to helm GammaDelta Therapeutics. For Paoletti, the challenge of continuing to create powerful cancer treatments was too much to pass up. In the interview, he said the discovery of gamma delta T cells have “demonstrated many sharp distinctions from conventional alpha beta T cells.”

GammaDelta’s R&D focuses on the exploiting the unique properties of tissue resident gamma delta (?d) T cells. Those cells are a unique and conserved population of lymphocytes that contribute to many types of immune responses and immunopathology, the company said in a statement. By harnessing the properties, the company is aiming to develop potentially transformational treatments for cancer and auto-inflammatory diseases.

While Paoletti said researchers are still learning about the new T cells, they know they play important roles in creating immunological responses in patients. Paoletti said the gamma delta T cells are not limited by personalized treatments, which means it’s theoretically possible they could work in other people.

It’s the potential of the gamma delta T cells that Takeda saw, Paoletti told LaBiotech. Last month when Takeda inked its deal with GammaDelta, Daniel Curran, Takeda ’s head of the Center for External Innovation, said the company saw “enormous potential of tissue resident ?d T cells to deliver transformative medicines in our core therapeutic areas of oncology and gastroenterology.”

With all the advances in cancer treatment, including those Paoletti drove, he told LaBiotech the field continues to be transformed through advances in immuno-oncology.

“…we are just at the beginning of a new era. I think the next transformation will be related to additional progress on understanding how to use our immune system to fight cancer and on gene therapy, cell therapy and oncolytic viruses,” he said.

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