ImaginAb Expands Scientific Advisory Board

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- ImaginAb, Inc., a clinical-stage company developing in vivo molecular imaging agents based on antibody fragment technology, today announced that it has added three new members to its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). ImaginAb welcomes Dr. Karl Dane Wittrup, Dr. Peter Senter and Dr. Michael Zalutsky, each of whom contributes a history of scientific leadership in a discipline that is fundamental to future applications of ImaginAb's technology.

"The addition of Dr. Wittrup, Dr. Senter and Dr. Zalutsky to the ImaginAb advisory team is an exciting opportunity for ImaginAb to better understand how to position molecular imaging technology to therapeutic areas of growing commercial importance to the company," commented Dr. Anna Wu, ImaginAb's Chief Scientist. "Their expertise in protein engineering, ADC technology and radioimmunoconjugates complements the molecular imaging and mAb platform technology leadership present in our SAB."

Dr. Karl Dane Wittrup, C.P. Dubbs Professor of Chemical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Assoc. Director of the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research has joined ImaginAb's SAB. Dr. Wittrup, a highly recognized thought leader in the field of yeast display, brings tremendous vision and expertise in the field of protein engineering.

Dr. Peter Senter is a pioneer in the field of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and brings tremendous perspective in a field of importance to ImaginAb because of the company's growing focus on building companion diagnostic imaging products for ADC therapeutics.

Dr. Michael Zalutsky is a Professor, Department of Radiology, Radiation Oncology and Biomedical Engineering and Jonathan Spicehandler M.D. Professor of Neuro-Oncology Research at Duke University. The addition of Dr. Zalutsky marks the beginning of a more formal foray into radioimmunoconjugates for therapeutic purposes, including the potential of using alpha-emitting isotopes in conjunction with ImaginAb's minibody platform.

The addition of Drs. Wittrup, Senter and Zalutsky also marks the formal retirement from ImaginAb's SAB of Dr. Steven Larson, the Donna and Benjamin M. Rosen Chair in Radiology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC). Dr. Dan Shochat, formerly Vice President of Development at KaloBios Pharmaceuticals Inc. has joined the management of ImaginAb on a part-time basis as Vice President of Manufacturing and also steps down from ImaginAb's SAB.

Drs. Wittrup, Senter and Zalutsky join founding ImaginAb SAB members Dr. Sanjiv "Sam" Gambhir, Virginia and D.K. Ludwig Professor in Cancer Research, Director Stanford Molecular Imaging Program and Dr. James D. Marks, Professor, Departments of Anesthesia and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, UCSF.

"We welcome these new members to our SAB, but also warmly thank Dr. Larson and Dr. Shochat for their outstanding service to our SAB during the start-up phase of ImaginAb – their advice and continuous challenge of our scientific and commercial assumptions was invaluable," noted Dr. Christian Behrenbruch, CEO of ImaginAb. "We'd particularly like to thank Dr. Larson who has been a driving force in the development of our PSMA minibody technology, currently under clinical investigation at MSKCC."

About ImaginAb

ImaginAb is redefining therapeutic management by harnessing the power of antibody technology for in vivo imaging.  The company's proprietary antibody fragment platform yields actionable molecular information to guide treatment decisions in cancer and immunology. ImaginAb also collaborates with select biopharmaceutical partners to design imaging agents as companion diagnostics for therapeutic antibodies. ImaginAb's technology is positioned to deliver on the promise of precision medicine by improving patient outcomes and reducing the cost of healthcare. For more information, visit www.imaginab.com.

SOURCE ImaginAb, Inc.