GigaGen Announces Appointment of Sheila M. Keating, Ph.D., as Director, Immunology

Dr. Keating will lead clinical development of GigaGen’s recombinant hyperimmune gammaglobulin product in collaboration with pharmaceutical partner Grifols

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., May 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- GigaGen Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing novel antibody therapies, today announced that Sheila M. Keating, Ph.D., has joined the company as Director, Immunology.

“We are pleased to welcome Dr. Keating to GigaGen,” said Dave Johnson, Ph.D., CEO of GigaGen. “We have successfully created the world’s first recombinant hyperimmune gammaglobulins in our laboratory, and look forward to bringing these therapies to the clinic. Dr. Keating’s deep experience in viral infections and responses of human B cell repertoires to vaccines will help lead clinical development of these novel therapies in collaboration with our pharmaceutical partner, Grifols.”

“GigaGen’s novel recombinant hyperimmune gammaglobulins are an exciting novel class of drugs that hold great promise for transforming the treatment of infectious disease and immune deficiencies,” said Dr. Keating. “Viruses and bacteria constantly evolve, which complicates development of monotherapies. GigaGen’s polyclonal drugs are a perfect solution, since they cover broad epitopes and span multiple mechanisms of action. I look forward to advancing our therapies from the bench to the clinic to improve outcomes for patients.”

Prior to joining GigaGen, Dr. Keating was the Director of the Core Immunology Laboratory at Blood Systems Research Institute (BSRI) in San Francisco. BSRI provides high throughput immunological analysis for large scale medical research projects in the US and internationally. Dr. Keating has spent her career advancing the diagnosis and treatment of infectious and chronic disease through the study of immune biomarkers and immunopathology. She has been the recipient of multiple research grants and has lead both pre-clinical and clinical projects in translational immunology research.

Dr. Keating received a Ph.D. in Immunology at Oxford University in Oxford, U.K., a MSPH in Epidemiology and Tropical Medicine at Tulane University in New Orleans, LA, and a B.A. in Biology at College of Holy Cross in Worcester, MA. She is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of California, San Francisco, and has authored more than 80 publications.

About GigaGen
GigaGen is a privately-held, preclinical biopharmaceutical company developing novel antibody therapies to treat diseases of immune dysregulation. GigaGen’s deep understanding of immune dysregulation is enabled by industry-leading technology that quickly captures the genetic makeup of entire immune repertoires to analyze B cells at a rate of millions per hour, while simultaneously identifying their antigen and protein binders. GigaGen has a robust internal pipeline consisting of novel antibodies against immuno-oncology targets, in addition to the first recombinant intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) for patients with immune deficiency. For more information visit www.GigaGen.com.

CONTACT: Corporate Communications Contact: Ian Stone, Senior Vice President, Canale Communications, (619)-849-5388, ian@canalecomm.com