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SAN FRANCISCO — Tempest Therapeutics Inc., a development-stage biotechnology company advancing small molecules that modulate anti-tumor immunity pathways, today announced that Ginna Laport, M.D., joined the company as Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Laport brings significant expertise in hematology, oncology and clinical drug development, and will lead the evaluation and clinical development of Tempest’s portfolio of novel first-in-class drug candidates in patients with advanced malignancies.

“We are very excited to welcome Ginna to the Tempest team. She has an impressive academic and biotech pedigree together with a track record of advancing multiple modalities of cancer therapeutics. Ginna will be integral in the transition of Tempest into a clinical-stage biotechnology company in 2019,” said CEO Tom Dubensky, Ph.D.

Prior to joining Tempest, Dr. Laport served as vice president of clinical development at Corvus Pharmaceuticals, where she led the clinical development of small molecules and antibodies targeting the adenosine pathway to treat advanced solid tumors. Additionally, Dr. Laport was a member of the Executive Committee and oversaw clinical development and operations.

Before Corvus, Dr. Laport was faculty in the Stanford University School of Medicine, most recently as professor of medicine in the Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation (BMT). Her research focused on adoptive immunotherapies for malignant diseases and she served as director of clinical research in the BMT Division and as an associate director of the Stanford Cancer Institute. Prior to Stanford, Dr. Laport was an assistant professor in hematology/oncology at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Laport served on the FDA’s Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC), was national chair of the NIH-sponsored BMT Clinical Trials Network that directs multicenter clinical trials, and has co-authored over 80 publications.

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CAMBRIDGE, Mass.–Checkmate Pharmaceuticals (Checkmate), announced that it has entered into a clinical trial collaboration and supply agreement with the alliance between Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, and Pfizer to evaluate CMP-001, a TLR9 agonist, in combination with avelumab*, a human anti-PD-L1 antibody. The collaboration will evaluate the safety and effectiveness of CMP-001 administered in combination with avelumab in patients with advanced squamous cell cancer of the head and neck (SCCHN) resistant to a prior PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor.

“This collaboration is an important next step in advancing our clinical development program for CMP-001 into indications beyond melanoma, where we already have demonstrated proof-of-concept,’’ said Art Krieg, CEO of Checkmate. “Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, and Pfizer are ideal partners for Checkmate given their commitment to developing avelumab broadly in the immuno-oncology field.”

“Early data suggest CMP-001 exhibits clinically encouraging activity and we are looking forward to investigating this compound in combination with avelumab in advanced head and neck cancer,” said Chris Boshoff, M.D., Ph.D., Senior Vice President and Head of Immuno-oncology, Early Development and Translational Oncology, Pfizer Global Product Development. “Our collaboration with Checkmate further demonstrates the alliance’s commitment to explore novel combinations with avelumab to potentially improve patient outcomes.”

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DURHAM, North Carolina, USA – Precision BioSciences today announced an expansion of their ongoing collaboration with the Gene Therapy Program in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) to pursue research and development of gene editing therapies. This relationship will allow Precision and Penn to design new in vivo gene therapies based on Precision’s proprietary ARCUS genome editing technology.

Regarding Precision’s work with Penn, CSO Derek Jantz stated, “We are excited to expand our collaboration with Jim Wilson and the Penn Gene Therapy Program. The Wilson laboratory is unparalleled in its ability to translate cutting-edge gene therapy technology into potential treatments for patients in need. The team’s proven success identifying gene therapy candidates and advancing them through preclinical development allows them to provide the critical insight needed to help move ARCUS into the clinic.”

The agreements between Precision and Penn include a Research, Collaboration and License Agreement (RCLA) with funding provided to Penn and a license to certain technology invented under the RCLA. The collaboration will include three gene knock-out programs and up to three gene knock-in or gene repair programs. The initial three-year program will include studies in non-human primate models with the goal of bringing candidates to IND during that time.

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Turnstone Obtaining License to Neoantigen Identification Methodology Developed by the La Jolla Institute

Turnstone Planning to Initiate Phase I/II Clinical Trial Utilizing Personalized Neoantigen Therapy with Proprietary MG1 Viral Platform in 2019

NEW YORK & LA JOLLA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Turnstone Biologics, a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company developing the next generation of oncolytic viral therapies, and the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology today announced that they have entered into a collaboration and licensing agreement whereby Turnstone will utilize La Jolla Institute’s proprietary neoantigen identification methodology to select personalized neoantigens to target with its proprietary viral technologies for the development of new cancer immunotherapies.

Under the terms of the agreement, Turnstone will license the neoantigen identification methods developed by La Jolla Institute professors Dr. Stephen Schoenberger, Division of Developmental Immunology, and Dr. Bjoern Peters, Division of Vaccine Discovery, for use in cancer immunotherapies. Turnstone will fund collaborative research to further develop antigen identification methods for use in a Phase I/II clinical trial using its proprietary MG1 viral platform, expected to commence in 2019. Turnstone will also make development and regulatory milestone payments for therapies that utilize La Jolla Institute’s technology.

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CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Aug. 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Surface Oncology (Nasdaq: SURF), a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company developing next-generation immunotherapies that target the tumor microenvironment, today announced that Jeff Goater, chief executive officer, and Vito Palombella, Ph.D., chief scientific officer, will participate in a fireside chat at the Baird 2018 Global Healthcare Conference. The presentation will take place on Thursday, September 6th, 2018 at 9:40AM ET at the Intercontinental New York Barclay Hotel, in New York, NY.
The live audio and subsequent archived webcasts of the Company’s presentations will be accessible from the Company’s investor relations website, investors.surfaceoncology.com.

ABOUT SURFACE ONCOLOGY
Surface Oncology is an immuno-oncology company developing next-generation antibody therapies focused on the tumor microenvironment with lead programs targeting CD47, CD73, CD39 and IL-27. Surface’s novel cancer immunotherapies are designed to achieve a clinically meaningful and sustained anti-tumor response and may be used alone or in combination with other therapies. The company has a pipeline of seven novel immunotherapies and a strategic collaboration with Novartis focused on up to three next-generation cancer immunotherapies. For more information, please visit www.surfaceoncology.com.

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BOSTON and LONDON — Orchard Therapeutics, a leading commercial-stage company dedicated to transforming the lives of patients with rare diseases through innovative gene therapies, today announced two additions to its ex­­­ecutive leadership team, appointing Kathryn (Katie) Payne as senior vice president, global head of corporate communications and external affairs, and John Cerio as senior vice president, global head of human resources. Ms. Payne and Mr. Cerio will report to Mark Rothera, president and CEO of Orchard.

“I am delighted to welcome Katie and John to Orchard’s executive leadership team, bringing an impressive wealth of experience in their respective fields,” said Mark Rothera. “Katie is a proven communications leader who comes to us with an extensive portfolio of success in global corporate communications, brand building, public affairs and patient advocacy. John has a strong record of executive leadership in the life sciences space and is adept at translating corporate strategy into an effective workforce and organizational plan. We look forward to Katie and John applying their deep expertise as we shape our business for future growth with an unrelenting commitment to enhancing the lives of patients living with rare disease.”

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BOSTON and LONDON — Orchard Therapeutics, a leading commercial-stage company dedicated to transforming the lives of patients with rare diseases through innovative gene therapies, today announced the completion of an oversubscribed $150 million Series C financing.

Deerfield Management led the financing with significant new investments from RA Capital Management, Venrock, Foresite Capital, Perceptive Advisors, Cormorant Asset Management LP, ArrowMark Partners, Sphera Global Healthcare, Medison Ventures, Driehaus Capital Management and Ghost Tree Capital Group, LP, as well as additional U.S. based healthcare focused funds. Existing investors also participated including Temasek, Baillie Gifford, RTW Investments, LP, Cowen Healthcare Investments and Agent Capital.

Proceeds from the Series C financing will be used to progress Orchard’s three most advanced clinical programs: OTL-101 for adenosine deaminase severe combined immunodeficiency (ADA-SCID), OTL-200 for metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD) and OTL-103 for Wiskott–Aldrich syndrome (WAS) towards registration and commercialization. The funding will also support the clinical and preclinical development of the company’s rare disease gene therapy pipeline.

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