BERKELEY, Calif. – January 26, 2017 - Aduro Biotech, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADRO), a biopharmaceutical company with three distinct immunotherapy technologies, announced today the appointment of five key opinion leaders to its scientific advisory board, who join four existing leading clinicians, researchers and scientists. Newly appointed members include: Thomas Gajewski, M.D., Ph.D., Darren Higgins, Ph.D., F. Stephen Hodi, M.D., Wiebe Olijve, Ph.D., and David H. Raulet, Ph.D.
“We are thrilled to expand our scientific expertise with five additional leading researchers and clinicians in the fields of immunology and oncology,” said Thomas W. Dubensky Jr., Ph.D., chief scientific officer of Aduro Biotech. “We look forward to leveraging the expanded, collective knowledge of our scientific advisory board as we seek to enhance our leadership in the field of immunotherapy and make new therapeutic treatment options a reality for patients who need them.”
Aduro’s scientific advisory board now includes nine leading immunology and oncology experts:
•Drew Pardoll (chairman), M.D., Ph.D., Abeloff Professorship of Oncology, Director of the Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy and Director of the Cancer Immunology Program at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine; focus on mechanisms by which cancer cells evade the immune system;
•Thomas Gajewski, M.D., Ph.D., leader of the Immunology and Cancer program at the University of Chicago Comprehensive Cancer Center, director of Melanoma Oncology and professor at the Ben May Cancer Institute; focus on the role of Stimulator of Interferon Genes (STING) and immunity;
•John Hearst, Ph.D., (emeritus member) co-founder of Cerus Corporation and professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley;
•Darren Higgins, Ph.D., professor of Microbiology and Immunobiology at Harvard Medical School; focus on host-pathogen interactions and development of protective immunity;
•F. Stephen Hodi, M.D., director of the Melanoma Center and the Center for Immuno-Oncology at Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center, the Sharon Crowley Martin Chair in Melanoma at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School;
•John Mekalanos, Ph.D., Adele H. Lehman Professor of Microbiology and Immunobiology at Harvard Medical School; focus on bacterial pathogenesis and host-pathogen interactions;
•Wiebe Olijve, Ph.D., Microbiologist and former vice president of Research at Organon and site-head of Schering-Plough BioPharma, emeritus professor of Applied Biology (Nijmegen), co-founder and former CEO of BioNovion (now Aduro Biotech Europe);
•Daniel A. Portnoy, Ph.D., professor at the University of California, Berkeley with joint appointments in the divisions of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Immunology and Pathogenesis, Infectious Diseases and Microbial Biology and holds the Edward E. Penhoet Distinguished Chair in Global Public Health and Infectious Diseases; focus on Listeria monocytogenes;
•David H. Raulet, Ph.D., tumor immunologist, director of the University of California, Berkeley’s Immunotherapy and Vaccine Research Initiative, Esther and Wendy Schekman Chair in Basic Cancer Biology and professor of Immunology and Pathogenesis in the department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of California, Berkeley; focus on tumor immune-surveillance and immunotherapy for cancer.
Additionally, Aduro Board of Director members Frank McCormick, Ph.D., F.R.S., D.Sc., and Stephen A. Sherwin, M.D., participate in Aduro’s scientific advisory board in their capacity as members of the Science and Technology Committee of the board of directors.
More information about members of the Aduro scientific advisory board, can be found on the Aduro website. About Aduro
Aduro Biotech, Inc. is an immunotherapy company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies that transform the treatment of challenging diseases. Aduro’s technology platforms, which are designed to harness the body’s natural immune system, are being investigated in cancer indications and have the potential to expand into autoimmune and infectious diseases. Aduro’s LADD technology platform is based on proprietary attenuated strains of Listeria that have been engineered to express tumor-associated antigens to induce specific and targeted immune responses. This platform is being developed as a treatment for multiple indications, including ovarian, lung and prostate cancers, mesothelioma and glioblastoma. Additionally, a personalized form of LADD, or pLADD, is being developed utilizing tumor neoantigens that are specific to an individual patient’s tumor. Aduro’s STING Pathway Activator platform is designed to activate the intracellular STING receptor, resulting in a potent tumor-specific immune response. ADU-S100 is the first STING Pathway Activator compound to enter the clinic and is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1 study in patients with cutaneously accessible metastatic solid tumors or lymphomas. Aduro’s B-select monoclonal antibody platform includes a number of immune modulating assets in research and preclinical development. Aduro is collaborating with leading global pharmaceutical companies to expand its products and technology platforms. For more information, please visit www.aduro.com.
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