SIWA Therapeutics, Inc., a pre-clinical stage cancer therapeutics company, announced today that Dr. Gabriela Rossi has joined SIWA as its Chief Research Officer.
CHICAGO, IL -- October 12, 2020 -- SIWA Therapeutics, Inc., a pre-clinical stage cancer therapeutics company, announced today that Dr. Gabriela Rossi has joined SIWA as its Chief Research Officer.
“We are pleased to announce that Dr. Rossi has joined our SIWA leadership team. Her extensive knowledge in the areas of oncology, immunology, and infectious disease are well-aligned with SIWA,” said Lewis Gruber, CEO and Chief Scientific Officer.
“Dr. Rossi joins us at an ideal time for SIWA,” he added. “While our focus remains on developing our proprietary monoclonal antibody, 318H, as a powerful therapeutic to treat aggressive cancers, the marker for 318H is present on senescent cells and infected cells as well as cancer cells. The severity of the COVID-19 disease prompted us to test 318H in vitro against virally infected cells. We have demonstrated that 318H binds not only to cancer cells and senescent cells, but also to cells infected with SARS-CoV-2 as well as cells infected with Influenza A virus, suggesting that 318H could become a broad-spectrum antiviral,” Gruber explained. “With Dr. Rossi’s impressive experience in cGMP manufacturing of monoclonal antibodies like 318H as well as in clinical trials for cancer therapies, she is uniquely qualified to help propel SIWA forward.”
After receiving her doctoral degree in Infectious Disease and Immunology in Cordoba, Argentina in 1997, Dr. Rossi continued on as a postdoctoral fellow at several prestigious organizations, including the NIH, the National Cancer Institute, the American Red Cross, and the Iowa Cancer Research Foundation. Dr. Rossi has since served for over 15 years in various leadership positions at a clinical stage company focused on the development of new immune therapies as oncology treatments.
Dr. Rossi’s research has appeared in peer-reviewed scientific journals and she has presented at numerous national and international conferences. Her career as both an accomplished scientist and executive has provided her with experience in clinical trials development, immunological monitoring of patients in clinical trials, and process development for the manufacture of cGMP biological materials for early/late clinical trials.
“Dr. Rossi is a valuable addition to our team as we prepare to move 318H into a clinical trial in pancreatic cancer with a major institution in 2021. We also believe that 318H’s ability to remove senescent cells could alleviate some of the longer-term side effects of diseases like COVID-19,” Gruber added. “As our focus continues to be aggressive cancers, we are seeking a licensee/partner for infectious disease.”
About SIWA Therapeutics, Inc.
SIWA’s proprietary humanized monoclonal antibody, 318H, selectively targets a biomarker on cells having an abnormally high level of glycolytic metabolism (known as the Warburg effect) and oxidative stress, specifically, cancer cells, senescent cells, and infected cells. SIWA’s focus remains primarily on treating aggressive cancers that should be eligible for FDA fast-tracking. SIWA believes that 318H could become the first comprehensive cancer therapy as it uniquely removes cancer cells as well as the senescent cells surrounding them in the tumor microenvironment that stimulate, feed, and protect the cancer cells. Charles River Laboratories recently completed 318H tolerability and pharmacokinetic studies for SIWA in non-human primates with no adverse effects observed.
SIWA was named a “key player” in Anti-Aging Drugs by the MIT Technology Review in its prestigious list of the 10 Breakthrough Technologies of 2020. Forbes named SIWA as one of 3 senolytics companies to watch (“Senolytic Therapies and the Quest to Cure Aging”).
Visit https://siwatherapeutics.com/home/ for more information.
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