LOS ANGELES, Aug. 11, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lion Biotechnologies, Inc. (OTCQB:LBIO), a biotechnology company that is developing novel cancer immunotherapies based on tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), today announced that Laszlo Radvanyi, PhD, the company’s chief scientific officer (CSO), will present at the ninth annual Immunotherapies and Vaccines Summit (ImVacS), to be held August 11-14 in Boston, MA.
Dr. Radvanyi will be chairing the session, “Immunomodulatory Therapeutic Antibodies for Cancer: Discovery and Development of the Next Wave of Checkpoint Inhibitors” on August 11, during which he will also give a talk on costimulatory pathways for TIL expansion in melanoma. On August 14, he will give another talk on TIL biomarkers in a session on target discovery for T-cell therapy.
To manufacture TIL therapy, Lion’s lead product candidate for the treatment of metastatic melanoma, TILs extracted from the patient’s tumor must be expanded by thousands in a laboratory before being injected back into the patient. Dr. Radvanyi’s research has shown that manipulating specific costimulatory pathways during TIL expansion can greatly enhance the function and survival capacity of these cells for therapeutic purposes.
In addition, Dr. Radvanyi’s group has identified a number of novel biomarkers that distinguish patients who respond to TIL therapy, as well as markers that can be targeted in patients who fail to respond. These will form the basis of novel TIL combination therapies that Lion intends to develop in collaboration with academic collaborators.
One of the world’s foremost experts on TILs, Dr. Radvanyi joined Lion as CSO in June 2014. Previously, he served as professor of melanoma and breast medical oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center for more than nine years.
ImVacS brings together a global audience of vaccine researchers and developers of cancer immunotherapies for five focused meetings that explore the frontiers of immunology as the basis for patient treatment. Top researchers from around the world gather to discuss new data, new approaches and novel science from industry, academia, regulatory, and research institutes. For the conference program and more information, please visit www.imvacs.com.
About Lion Biotechnologies
Lion Biotechnologies, Inc. is engaged in the development of T-cells and engineered T-cells for the treatment of various cancers. The company’s lead product candidate is a ready-to-infuse autologous T-cell therapy utilizing tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) for the treatment of patients with Stage 4 metastatic melanoma, and is based on a clinical CRADA with the National Cancer Institute. TIL therapy is also being evaluated in physician-sponsored clinical trials at MD Anderson Cancer Center and the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute. For more information, please visit http://www.lionbio.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements that are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including the risk that manipulating specific costimulatory pathways during TIL expansion can be effective for therapeutic purposes, or that effective biomarkers that distinguish patients who respond to TIL therapy can be successfully developed, and, in particular, that the Company’s TILs technologies can be further successfully developed or commercialized. Additional risks and uncertainties are described in the Company’s most recently filed quarterly report on Form 10-Q and annual report on Form 10-K. Except as permitted by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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