Leiden, The Netherlands, October 15, 2013 – ISA Pharmaceuticals B.V., a clinical-stage immunotherapy company focusing on rationally designed therapeutic vaccines against cancer and persistent viral infections, today announced the establishment of an advisory board of seasoned executives and scientists. Five world-renowned specialists will bring strong clinical, regulatory, scientific and business expertise to assist ISA in developing and implementing its corporate and R&D strategy.
The members of ISA’s advisory board are:
Alex Eggermont, M.D., Ph.D., is General Director of the Institut de Cance´rologie Gustave Roussy (IGR, Villejuif) and a Professor of Surgical Oncology at Rotterdam’s Erasmus University (Netherlands). Prof. Eggermont specializes in preclinical and clinical / translational oncology, and is a specialist in immunotherapy research and the treatment of melanomas and sarcomas.
Ulrich Granzer, Ph.D., is a pharmacist and founder of Granzer Regulatory Consulting & Services. In addition, he is a founding member and President of the Board of the German Association of Regulatory Affairs (DGRA). He has long-standing experience in all regulatory aspects of the pharmaceutical industry from his time at Glaxo (now GSK), BASF, Pharma / Knoll, and Bayer. At Bayer, as Vice President of Global Regulatory Affairs he was responsible for all regulatory aspects of the development and submission of projects worldwide. Dr. Granzer’s expertise in regulatory affairs extends to both U.S. (FDA) and European (EMA) regulatory authorities.
Drew M. Pardoll, M.D., Ph.D., is a cancer immunologist and an Abeloff Professor of Oncology, Medicine, Pathology and Molecular Biology and Genetics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He is also Director of Cancer Immunology at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Pardoll specializes in cancer immunology and cancer immunotherapy and has contributed to the development of many immunotherapies.
Sjoerd H. van der Burg, Ph.D., is a Professor in Experimental Cancer Immunology and Therapy at the Department of Clinical Oncology of the Leiden University Medical Center. He has extensive experience in tumor immunology and the immunotherapy of cancer, in particular the development of therapeutic vaccine strategies and the adoptive transfer of ex-vivo expanded T cells. He is specialized in the immunomonitoring of human T cell responses and is the current Chair of the Association for Cancer Immunotherapy Immunoguiding Program (CIP).
Mark Krul, Ph.D., is a co-founder of ISA Pharmaceuticals and a co-founder and Managing Partner at Aglaia BioMedical Ventures, a Dutch venture firm focusing on oncology. He is a molecular biologist and immunologist with over 20 years of experience in anti-cancer drug development, among others as a Research Manager at the European Cancer Center and as Head of the Department of Molecular Virology at the National Institute of Public Health and Environmental Protection in the Netherlands. Mark Krul has a strong track record in founding, managing and financing early-stage oncology companies. Mark Krul will chair ISA’s advisory board.
“We are delighted and honored to have these internationally acknowledged opinion leaders join our advisory board,” said Ronald Loggers, ISA Pharmaceutical’s Acting Chief Executive Officer. “Their expertise in cancer immunology and cancer immunotherapy and in all aspects of translational medicine, drug safety, regulatory affairs and corporate strategy will be instrumental in advancing our therapeutic programs. The fact that these renowned specialists have joined ISA reflects our progress in the field of rationally designed tumor vaccines.”
“ISA Pharmaceuticals has made tremendous progress in the development of its fully synthetic therapeutic vaccine platform,” said Mark Krul, Chairman of ISA’s advisory board. “The impressive preclinical and clinical data ISA has generated clearly make it one of the world’s most promising cancer vaccine companies. I very much look forward to chairing this advisory board in order to bring better treatments to cancer patients and to contribute to ISA’s further success.”
About ISA Pharmaceuticals
ISA Pharmaceuticals B.V. is an immunotherapy company developing rationally designed, fully synthetic therapeutic vaccines against cancer and persistent viral infections. The company has built a proprietary vaccine platform based on the Synthetic Long Peptide (SLP®) and AMPLIVANT technologies, which permit the generation of safe and effective vaccines with a known mechanism of action. SLP® vaccines are broadly applicable to multiple targets and ideally suited as monotherapy or as essential components in combination with conventional cancer treatments.
Two SLP® vaccines are currently in clinical development: ISA101, targeting human papillomavirus (HPV)-induced diseases, and ISA102, targeting p53-overexpressing tumors. Clinical proof-of-concept has been established with ISA101 in vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia (VIN), a pre-cancerous disease caused by HPV.
The company was founded in 2004 by Aglaia Oncology Fund and is based in Leiden, The Netherlands. For more information, please visit www.isa-pharma.com
Contact & Media Inquiries:
akampion
Dr. Ludger Wess , Ines-Regina Buth
Managing Partner
Tel. +49 40 88 16 59 64, Tel. +49 30 23 63 27 68
info(at)akampion.com
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