CGT also appointed two new Board Members, Dr. Reiner Laus and Julie Eastland. Dr. Laus is founding Chief Executive Officer and President of BN Immunotherapeutics, a member of the Bavarian Nordic group. BN Immunotherapeutics focuses on the development of recombinant Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA) for the immunotherapy of cancer. Prior to this, Dr. Laus held the position of Vice President of Research and Development at Dendreon Corporation. Dendreon is a Seattle-based developer of cancer immunotherapies. Ms. Eastland is Vice President, Finance & Administration and Chief Financial Officer for Viral Logic Systems Technology. Prior to VLST, Ms. Eastland was Dendreon’s Vice President of Strategic Planning, Amgen’s Area Finance Manager for Colorado operations and Assistant Controller of Amgen BioPharma. Together, Dr. Laus and Ms. Eastland bring to CGT more than two decades of leadership experience in the biotechnology industry.
Since the reorganization, CGT has already reached several key milestones on its new business path, entering into an agreement with a New York Company, Mercia Pharma, Inc., for manufacture of 1,000 doses of CG201 vaccine for use in planned phase 1 and 2 clinical studies in bladder, ovarian and other genitourinary cancers to commence by year end. After successful completion of phase 1 studies, the company intends to seek approval in a number of countries for CG201 use in cancer therapy.
Additionally, CGT has recently concluded a license agreement to commercialize a patented platform technology that makes vaccines more potent by incorporating them in a slow-release formulation. This delivery system will see its first test in humans in the CG201 trials, but has the potential far beyond this single use. In particular, the slow-release system could have a great impact on neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) indigenous to underdeveloped countries and affecting one sixth of the world’s population. The company expects to collaborate with nonprofit organizations that are working to improve the potency of vaccines like malaria vaccine, which fall into the NTD category.
CGT is continuing work with Drs. Ingegerd and Karl Erik Hellstrom, two prominent University of Washington researchers, jointly developing therapeutic monoclonal antibodies that target human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), a hormone that helps tumors grow and spread, which is also the target of CG201 vaccine.
Many types of cancer cells produce hCG. Clearing hCG from the body has been shown to reduce tumor growth rates and allow the patient’s own immune system to do a better job of destroying the tumor cells. Antibodies created by the patient’s own immune system clear hCG from the body after inoculation with CG201. Unlike traditional chemotherapies, CG201 has negligible side effects, limited to reactions at the injection site, similar to flu shots.
CG Therapeutics is a small, privately held biotechnology company focused on developing hCG-targeted cancer immunotherapeutic products including vaccines and monoclonal antibodies. The company’s lead product, CG201, is a reformulated, more potent version of a cancer vaccine that has already shown promise in Phase 2 clinical trials.
Contact:
CG Therapeutics Denise Harrison, CEO/President, 206-336-5603 denise@cgtherapeutics.com
