Nouscom Strengthens Its Management Team

BASEL, Switzerland, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Nouscom, an immuno-oncology company developing off-the-shelf and personalized cancer neoantigen vaccines, announced today that it has appointed Marina Udier, PhD, as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Patricia Delaite, MD, as Chief Medical Officer (CMO) with immediate effect.

Dr. Guido Magni, Chairman of the Board of Nouscom, said, "The board has been impressed with the operational and strategic achievements made since Marina was appointed CEO on an interim basis in May 2019. During this time, Nouscom received IND clearance for its lead program NOUS-209, an off-the-shelf cancer vaccine based on shared frame shift neoantigens, and advanced this exciting candidate into its First-in-Human clinical studies in the US. She has also been instrumental in building a strong team with the recruitment of Patricia as CMO. The Board has therefore decided to make Marina's appointment as CEO permanent and has confidence in her ability to lead the business into its next chapter."

Marina Udier said, "Nouscom is establishing a clearly differentiated position in the development of next generation neoantigen cancer vaccines based on its technology platform. I am excited and fully committed, alongside our team, to advancing our corporate and development strategy."

Commenting on Patricia Delaite's appointment, Marina Udier added: "I am pleased to welcome Patricia to the team. Attracting a CMO of her caliber underlines the continued transition that Nouscom is making from a research-led to a clinical-stage company. Given her prior experience as CMO and a strong track record in drug development, Patricia brings new skills to our team, which will be vital as we advance our Phase I study evaluating NOUS-209 and progress our personalized program, NOUS-PEV, into clinical studies, which are expected to start later this year."

Marina Udier, PhD, joined Nouscom as Chief Operating Officer (COO) in 2016 from Versant Ventures and was appointed interim CEO in May 2019 upon the retirement of former CEO and founder Dr. Alfredo Nicosia. Prior to Versant, she held senior development and commercial roles at Novartis in Basel. Previously, Dr. Udier worked for McKinsey & Company in the US. She has a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Yale University.

Patricia Delaite, MD, joins from AMAL Therapeutics (acquired by Boehringer Ingelheim) where she was CMO and a key member of the Senior Executive Team. At AMAL, Dr. Delaite designed and implemented a First-in-Human therapeutic cancer vaccine trial enabling innovative proof-of-concept endorsed by clinical experts and regulators at agencies in the US and Europe. Prior to AMAL, Dr. Delaite held senior clinical roles at Incyte International Biosciences, ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Novartis and Eli Lilly. She has also 10 years' experience in patient clinical management at the University Hospital in Geneva.

About Nouscom

Nouscom is a privately held oncology company developing next-generation immunotherapies. Nouscom's proprietary technology platform harnesses the full power of the immune response by combining viral vectored genetic vaccines based on neoantigens with other immunomodulators.

Nouscom is currently advancing clinical development of its lead program, NOUS-209, an off-the-shelf cancer vaccine based on shared frame shift neoantigens. The Company continues to develop its product candidate, NOUS-PEV, a personalized cancer neoantigen- vaccine, which is expected to enter clinical studies in 2020.

Nouscom is led by an experienced management team with deep roots in the pharma and biotech industry (Merck, Novartis, Lilly, Incyte and Okairos (acquired by GSK)), and are veterans in the field of viral vectored genetic vaccines.

Nouscom, which was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland with operations in Rome, Italy, is backed by international life sciences investors: 5AM, Abingworth, LSP (Life Sciences Partners) and Versant Ventures.

For more information on Nouscom, please visit the company's website at www.nouscom.com

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