Alentis Therapeutics Appoints Lung Experts Professors Tony Mok and Steven Nathan to its Scientific Advisory Board

October 5, 2023 |

5 min read

Alentis Therapeutics announced the appointment of Tony Mok, Professor of Clinical Oncology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Steven Nathan, Professor at the University of Virginia as members of its Scientific Advisory Board.

BASEL, Switzerland--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Alentis Therapeutics (“Alentis”), the clinical-stage biotechnology company developing treatments for Claudin-1 positive (CLDN1+) tumors and organ fibrosis, announced today the appointment of Tony Mok, Professor of Clinical Oncology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Steven Nathan, Professor at the University of Virginia as members of its Scientific Advisory Board.

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Lung experts Prof. Steven Nathan and Prof. Tony Mok join Alentis Therapeutics’ Scientific Advisory Board. (Photo: Alentis Therapeutics)

“Tony and Steven have exceptional expertise in lung cancer and lung fibrosis, respectively, which will be of great value to our Scientific Advisory Board,” said Dr. Luigi Manenti, Chief Medical Officer of Alentis. “Their input will be key for Alentis as we develop our anti-Claudin-1 antibodies for squamous cell lung cancer and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.”

Prof. Tony Mok is the Chairman of the Department of Clinical Oncology and Professor of Clinical Oncology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and an internationally renowned leader in research focusing on biomarkers and targeted therapies for lung cancer.

Prof. Tony Mok said, “I am excited to be working with Alentis on the development plan for their first in class antibody ALE.C04 in squamous cell lung cancer as well as their Claudin Technology Platform, specifically antibody-drug conjugates, for use in Claudin-1 positive squamous cell lung cancer and Claudin-1 histology agnostic clinical trials.”

Prof. Steven Nathan is the Medical Director of the Advanced Lung Disease and Transplant Program at Inova Fairfax Hospital and is a Professor at the University of Virginia. His research areas include interstitial lung disease, pulmonary hypertension and lung transplantation.

“There is a huge unmet medical need for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis patients, and Alentis is doing important work on ALE.F02, a new treatment for organ fibrosis that has the potential to help IPF patients,” said Prof. Steven Nathan. “I am looking forward to our broad research collaboration using Alentis’ Claudin Technology Platform to develop next-generation lung fibrosis therapies including bispecific antibodies.”

Prof. Tony Mok is the Li Shu Fan Medical Foundation endowed Professor and Chairman of Department of Clinical Oncology at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. His main research interest focuses on biomarker and molecular targeted therapy in lung cancer. He is a member of the Board of Directors for AstraZeneca, Aurora Tele-Oncology, HutchMed (China), St. Stephen’s College Council and Hong Kong Academy of Sciences. He is active in international education and has made significant contributions to AACR, ASCO, CSCO and ESMO. Professor Mok has contributed to more than 300 peer-reviewed articles, and his work has been recognized by numerous awards. His article in the New England Journal of Medicine was selected as one of the most “Notable Articles in 2017”, and he was named one of the “Highly Cited Researchers” by Clarivate Analytics from 2018 to 2022.

Prof. Steven Nathan is the Medical Director of the Advanced Lung Disease and Lung Transplant Program at Inova Fairfax Hospital and is a Professor at the University of Virginia. Dr. Nathan received his medical degree from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. He trained at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New York, and at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He has authored more than 750 publications, including original research manuscripts, abstracts, reviews, book chapters and three books on idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. His main areas of research include interstitial lung disease, pulmonary hypertension and lung transplantation. He has been Chair of multiple data safety monitoring and steering committees for clinical trials. He has also served on multiple US Food and Drug Administration advisory boards including as Chair of the FDA Anesthesiology and Respiratory Therapy Devices Panel.

About ALE.C04
ALE.C04 is a first-in-class monoclonal antibody developed to specifically target exposed CLDN1 on cancer cells. This investigational antibody is designed to treat cancer in two ways: remodeling of the extracellular matrix, leading to improved NK and T-cell trafficking and direct tumor cell killing through the effector function. This unique mechanism of action provides ALE.C04 with therapeutic potential as a monotherapy and in combination.

About ALE.F02
ALE.F02 is a first-in-class monoclonal antibody developed to specifically target a unique CLDN1 epitope exposed in fibrotic tissue in order to reverse the disease. ALE.F02 is an investigational antibody that was observed to be well tolerated, with no serious safety concerns, during Phase 1 single- and multiple-ascending dose studies in healthy volunteers.

About Alentis Therapeutics
Alentis Therapeutics, the CLDN1 company, is a clinical-stage biotech developing breakthrough treatments for CLDN1+ tumors and organ fibrosis. Alentis is the leading company pioneering a novel approach to modify and reverse the course of disease by targeting CLDN1, a previously unexploited target that plays a key role in the pathology of cancer and fibrotic disease.

Alentis was founded in 2019 based on ground-breaking research in the laboratory of Prof. Thomas Baumert, MD at the University of Strasbourg and the French National Institute of Health (Inserm). Alentis is headquartered in pharma-biotech hub Basel, Switzerland with an R&D subsidiary in Strasbourg, France and clinical operations in the US. Visit www.alentis.ch