ImmunoGenesis Expands R&D, Clinical and Business Development Teams and Opens Research Laboratory

HOUSTON, July 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- ImmunoGenesis, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing science-driven immune therapies, announces the appointment of seasoned industry veterans to key roles to support the expansion of the company's R&D, clinical and business development activities. ImmunoGenesis also announces the opening of a research laboratory in JLABS @ TMC to facilitate critical translational research for its drug development programs.

These achievements build off recent company milestones including the licensing of key development assets for the pipeline including PD-L1/PD-L2 dual specific antibodies, STING agonists and 4-1BB antibodies from MD Anderson Cancer Center (press release) as well as the acquisition of evofosfamide from Molecular Templates. Additionally, ImmunoGenesis was awarded a product development grant of $15.5 million by the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, which will help advance its lead drug candidate IMGS-001, the dual-specific PD-L1/PD-L2 mAb with built-in effector function to overcome deficiencies of existing checkpoint inhibitor mAbs for the treatment of cold tumors (press release).

"As we enter the next phase of ImmunoGenesis' evolution, we recognize that translational research, clinical progress and collaborative activities are key factors that create incremental value, and we are excited to have talented and experienced professionals join the company to contribute to our success," said James Barlow, ImmunoGenesis President and CEO. "Dr. Federica Pericle's expertise in translational medicine along with Dr. Christine Gaglardi's R&D acumen are critical in bringing our lead products to the clinic. The previous experience of Dr. Annemarie Moseley and Cassandra Harrison together at other biotech innovators will galvanize our advancement of multiple clinical programs into 2022. Supporting these clinical development activities will require the manufacture of drug product, and we are thrilled that Dr. Matthew Hemberger will take charge to ensure that timelines are met and quality is monitored. Lastly, we have great confidence of the commercial potential of our drug candidates, and Scott Cullison's experience will be invaluable as we initiate partnering discussions and early commercial planning for portfolio."

The new ImmunoGenesis team additions include:

Federica Pericle, PhD – Acting Chief Scientific Officer. Dr. Pericle brings more than 25 years of experience as a biotech executive and scientist and will head the translational efforts for ImmunoGenesis. She most recently served as the CEO of Agilvax.

Annemarie Moseley, MD, PhD – Acting Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Moseley delivers more than 20 years of executive experience in biotech and will lead ImmunoGenesis' clinical programs. She most recently served as CEO of Sandhill Therapeutics and Executive Vice President of Operations at Bellicum Pharmaceuticals.

Matthew Hemberger, PhD – Senior Director of CMC & Quality. Dr. Hemberger will be responsible for developing manufacturing and quality programs and processes. He joins ImmunoGenesis from GlaxoSmithKline where he was Director of Data Integrity for the joint venture between GSK and Pfizer and held roles in GSK's Global Manufacturing and Supply.

Cassandra Harrison, MBA, MPH – Vice President of Clinical Operations. With more than ten years of experience in operations, compliance, and direct patient care in the pharmaceutical and devices industry, Harrison will lead all ImmunoGenesis clinical operations. She was previously Vice President of Data Management and Clinical Operations at Sandhill Therapeutics. Prior to that she served as Director of Data Sciences at Mersana Therapeutics and Director of Data Management at Bellicum Pharmaceuticals. 

Scott Cullison, MBA – Acting Chief Business Officer. Cullison will be responsible for business development strategy and execution. He previously was VP, Business Development and Commercial Planning, at Peloton Therapeutics where he was involved in its acquisition by Merck for $2.3 billion and at Bellicum Pharmaceuticals focused on late-stage global launch planning for an IO targeted candidate and early commercial planning for IO portfolio. For the past two years, he has run his own consulting company called Stride BDCom Consulting, LLC, that focuses on providing business development and commercial planning for emerging biotech/pharma companies.

Christine Gagliardi, PhD – Director of Research & Development. Dr. Gagliardi will lead the newly opened company research lab at JLABS. Her prior industry experience includes R&D roles at Bellicum Pharmaceuticals and Pfizer.

About ImmunoGenesis, Inc.

ImmunoGenesis is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing science-driven immune therapies specifically designed to treat tumors lacking activated T cells or having other immune resistance mechanisms. These tumor types represent more than half of all cancers, and current immunotherapies have shown limited to no efficacy, resulting in high unmet need for efficacious therapies. For more information about the company, visit www.immunogenesis.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this press release are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements may be identified by terms such as "will," "could," "believe," "plan," "expect," "target," "continue," "to," and similar terms or expressions or the negative thereof. Examples of such statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the development and/or effectiveness of evofosfamide and the ability of evofosfamide to achieve the desired results whether as a monotherapy or in combination with other therapies. We may not actually achieve the plans, carry out the intentions or meet the expectations or objectives disclosed in the forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results and performance to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release and are based on management's assumptions and estimates as of such date. We disclaim any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made.

Contacts

William Tanner, PhD
Chief Financial Officer
203-517-8577
[email protected]

Jennifer Guinan
Sage Strategic Marketing
610-410-8111
[email protected]

SOURCE ImmunoGenesis