Biothera Appoints Dr. Jose Iglesias As Chief Medical Officer

EAGAN, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Biothera Pharmaceuticals, Inc., today announced the appointment of Jose Iglesias, M.D., as Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Iglesias will be responsible for clinical development, medical affairs, and other functions related to the advancement of Imprime PGG, the company’s cancer immunotherapy currently in multiple mid- and late-stage clinical testing. Imprime PGG is a novel, proprietary compound known as a pathogen-associated molecular pattern (PAMP), which has been shown to orchestrate a coordinated innate and adaptive immune system attack on cancer cells.

“Dr. Iglesias’ expertise in cancer drug development makes him an excellent choice to lead the clinical development of Imprime PGG, an immune modulator that we believe represents the next evolution in immune oncology”

Dr. Iglesias has 25 years of global experience in the pharmaceutical industry, having held senior positions with responsibility for cancer research and drug development. His experience includes leading the design and implementation of oncology clinical trials at all development phases (1-4), including large phase 3 oncology registration studies.

“Dr. Iglesias’ expertise in cancer drug development makes him an excellent choice to lead the clinical development of Imprime PGG, an immune modulator that we believe represents the next evolution in immune oncology,” said Richard G. Mueller, Biothera Chief Executive Officer. “Our goals are to quickly demonstrate a definitive proof of concept for Imprime PGG in combination with other immune oncology drugs and identify a clear path to approval in indications with high unmet medical needs. We anticipate Jose will play a key role in our progress.”

“I’m excited to join Biothera, which has a unique technology with the potential for broad application in cancer therapy,” stated Dr. Iglesias. “The company’s clinical research has demonstrated strong clinical proof of concept for Imprime PGG and established this agent’s synergistic activity in combination with monoclonal antibodies. In addition, recent research indicates Imprime PGG’s ability to enhance the efficacy of checkpoint inhibitors. I look forward to the rapid advancement of Biothera’s pipeline programs addressing multiple indications with compelling clinical needs.”

Prior to joining Biothera, Dr. Iglesias was Chief Medical Officer of Bionomics Ltd., where he was responsible for the development of its clinical oncology pipeline, including antivascular agents, monoclonal antibodies, and small molecule kinase inhibitors. Previously, Dr. Iglesias held several leadership positions at Abraxis BioScience, including Vice President, Global Clinical Development and later Chief Medical Officer, with responsibility for the worldwide clinical development of Abraxane, as well as all other the company’s other pipeline molecules. He was also Senior Vice President, Global Clinical Development and Medical Affairs. After Celgene Corporation acquired Abraxis, Dr. Iglesias served as Vice President, Clinical Development at Celgene, responsible for the phase 3 development of Abraxane in pancreatic cancer and metastatic breast cancer. Earlier in his career, Dr. Iglesias spent a decade at Eli Lilly in several positions, including Associate Director of Clinical Research and later Oncology Medical Advisory for Lilly’s Australian and Asian Operations.

Dr. Iglesias received a Medical degree from Montevideo School of Medicine (University of the Republic, Uruguay). He also received additional medical research training at Duke University, University of Toronto in Canada, and The Weizmann Institute of Science (Israel).

Dr. Iglesias is the author of more than 60 papers and has served as peer-reviewer for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (Medical Research Council of Canada) within the University-Industry Programme. He is an active member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) and the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO).

About Biothera

Biothera is a privately held biotechnology company developing Imprime PGG, a clinical stage immunotherapy drug that modulates key immune cells to orchestrate a coordinated immune response to cancer that involves both the innate and adaptive immune system. Proof of concept has been established from single-arm and randomized phase 2 studies in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), colorectal cancer, and chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Studies are ongoing in metastatic colorectal cancer and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. More information is available at www.biothera.com/pharma or follow us on Twitter.

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