Everest Medicines Appoints Two Veteran mRNA Cancer Vaccine Scientists to Advance Global Clinical Development

• Lakshmi Srinivasan, PhD, former Executive Director and Head of Oncology Translational Medicine at Moderna, and Brandon Coder, PhD, former Research & Early Translational Lead, Cancer Vaccines at Moderna, join Everest Medicines
• Appointments support continued advancement of Everest's mRNA pipeline, including a planned Phase 1b investigator-initiated trial of EVM16 in Q4 2026, U.S. IND submission in early 2027, and EVM14 Phase 1 study completion in Q1 2027

SHANGHAI, Oct. 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Everest Medicines (HKEX 1952.HK, "Everest", or the "Company"), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, clinical development, manufacturing, and commercialization of innovative therapeutics, today announced the appointments of Lakshmi Srinivasan, PhD, as Senior Vice President, Head of Translational Medicine, and Brandon Coder, PhD, as Vice President, Translational Sciences & Discovery. The appointments further strengthen the Company's global R&D capabilities in mRNA therapeutics, and support the continued advancement of its proprietary mRNA platform and pipeline. The Company will continue to invest in world-class talent to accelerate the development of its mRNA programs and to realize the platform's potential for global innovation.

Both executives are seasoned scientists in mRNA cancer vaccines, with deep experience spanning early discovery through clinical development and leadership roles in oncology vaccine research at Moderna and other leading biopharmaceutical companies. At Everest, they will drive clinical development of the Company's mRNA programs and expand Everest's presence in the United States, in line with the Company's global mRNA R&D strategy, while working closely with the China R&D team.

"We are very pleased to welcome Dr. Srinivasan and Dr. Coder to Everest as we continue to strengthen our global mRNA R&D capabilities," said Mr. Yifang Wu, Chairman of the Board of Everest Medicines. "Their deep experience in cancer vaccine research, translational medicine, and clinical development will be highly valuable as we advance our proprietary mRNA platform and broader pipeline. Their appointments reflect our continued commitment to investing in world-class talent and advancing our global mRNA strategy."

Lakshmi Srinivasan, PhD

Dr. Srinivasan is a seasoned immunologist with 20 years of experience advancing innovative immuno-oncology therapeutics from discovery through clinical development. Her expertise spans cancer vaccines, mRNA-LNP technologies, T-cell therapies, and translational development from preclinical research through clinical proof of concept.

Prior to joining Everest Medicines, Dr. Srinivasan served as Executive Director and Head of Oncology Translational Medicine at Moderna Therapeutics from 2023 to 2025. She previously held leadership roles at Repertoire Immune Medicines, Neon Therapeutics (later acquired by BioNTech), and Sanofi Oncology.

Dr. Srinivasan has played a key role in the clinical translation of personalized neoantigen vaccines and has authored multiple high-profile publications in the field. She served as corresponding author on Phase 1b studies of NEO-PV-01 published in Cell (2020)^[1] and Cancer Cell (2022),^[2] and co-authored publications on Moderna's intismeran autogene (mRNA-4157/V940), including the Phase 1 KEYNOTE-603 study published in Cancer Discovery (2024)^[3]  and the three-year follow-up of the randomized Phase 2b KEYNOTE-942 study published in JCO Oncology Advances (2026).^[4] 

Dr. Srinivasan conducted postdoctoral research at the Immune Disease Institute at Harvard Medical School. She holds a PhD in Microbiology and Cell Biology from the Indian Institute of Science, a master's degree in biotechnology from Jawaharlal Nehru University, and a bachelor's degree in biochemistry from Delhi University.

Brandon Coder, PhD

Dr. Coder brings more than 11 years of industry experience advancing T cell immunotherapies from discovery through investigational new drug (IND) submissions and early clinical proof of concept, with expertise in cancer vaccines, mRNA/LNP platform technology, and in vivo CAR therapies.

Prior to joining Everest Medicines, Dr. Coder held scientific roles at Moderna from 2019 to 2025, most recently as Associate Scientific Director of Cancer Vaccine Research. He served as research and global pharmacology lead for intismeran autogene (mRNA-4157/V940), where he co-authored the Phase 1 KEYNOTE-603 study of mRNA-4157/V940 published in Cancer Discovery (2024).^[3]  He also co-invented and led development of the shared-antigen discovery and vaccine design framework for mRNA-4359 and mRNA-4106.

Previously, Dr. Coder served as Associate Director of Immuno-Oncology Research at Advaxis Immunotherapies, where he developed personalized and off-the-shelf cancer vaccines. He holds a PhD in Biomedical Sciences, with a focus on immunology and genetics, from the University of North Texas Health Science Center and a bachelor's degree in biology from Texas Tech University.

About Everest's mRNAPlatform

Everest has built an industry-leading and fully integrated AI+mRNA platform that accelerates mRNA product development.

As one of the few global biopharmaceutical companies with a fully integrated and proprietary mRNA platform, Everest has built end-to-end capabilities across the entire value chain, covering antigen design, sequence optimization, LNP delivery, and scalable manufacturing. Everest has established and optimized its proprietary LNP delivery system, with patent coverage including ionizable lipids and stealth lipids. The internal lipid library (>600 lipids) supports multiple programs, including vaccines and in vivo CAR-T therapies. Backed by third-generation AI algorithms, Everest's AI+mRNA platform significantly boosts expression and immunogenicity, laying a solid foundation for mRNA-based cancer vaccine development.

Leveraging its proprietary AI+mRNA platform, Everest is advancing multiple mRNA therapeutic vaccine and in vivo CAR-T programs across oncology and autoimmune diseases.

• EVM16, a personalized mRNA therapeutic cancer vaccine, has completed its first-in-human clinical data readout, demonstrating a favorable safety and tolerability profile, robust immunogenicity, and promising preliminary efficacy. Selected data were presented at the 2026 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting. Following the Phase 1a study, a Phase 1b investigator-initiated trial (IIT) of EVM16 is planned in Q4 2026, with new indication expansion cohorts expected to further explore efficacy. The Company plans to submit an IND application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the first half of 2027.
• EVM14, an off-the-shelf tumor-associated antigen (TAA) mRNA cancer vaccine, received IND clearance from the U.S. FDA and IND approval from China's National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) in 2025. The Phase 1 monotherapy dose-escalation study is expected to be completed in Q1 2027.
• EVM18, an in vivo CAR-T therapy, is being evaluated in an IIT in autoimmune diseases, with global IND filing underway.

Reference

1. Ott PA, et al., A Phase Ib Trial of Personalized Neoantigen Therapy Plus Anti-PD-1 in Patients with Advanced Melanoma, Non-small Cell Lung Cancer, or Bladder Cancer. Cell, 2020
2. Awad MA, et al., Personalized neoantigen vaccine NEO-PV-01 with chemotherapy and anti-PD-1 as first-line treatment for non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer. Cancer Cell, 2022
3. Gainor et al., T-cell Responses to Individualized Neoantigen Therapy mRNA-4157 (V940) Alone or in Combination with Pembrolizumab in the Phase 1 KEYNOTE-603 Study. Cancer Discovery, 2024
4. Carlino et al., Three-Year Update of a Randomized Phase IIb Study of the Individualized Neoantigen Therapy Intismeran Autogene (mRNA-4157, V940) Plus Pembrolizumab Versus Pembrolizumab in Resected Melanoma. JCO Oncology advances, 2026

About Everest Medicines

Everest Medicines is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing, manufacturing and commercializing innovative pharmaceutical products that address critical unmet medical needs for patients in global markets. The management team of Everest Medicines has deep expertise and an extensive track record both in China and with leading global pharmaceutical companies.

The Company's therapeutic areas of focus include autoimmune, ophthalmology, critical care, and CKM (cardiovascular, kidney, and metabolic) diseases. Everest Medicines has developed a fully integrated commercialization platform that combines omnichannel commercial capabilities with end-to-end product lifecycle management. Leveraging its proprietary mRNA platform, the Company is advancing its existing pipeline, including mRNA in vivo CAR-T and mRNA cancer vaccines, while selectively expanding into additional high-value therapeutic areas with blockbuster potential, and accelerating its global expansion. For more information, please visit the Company's website: www.everestmedicines.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

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SOURCE Everest Medicines