JACKSONVILLE, Fla.,
May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --
TapImmune Inc. (NASDAQ: TPIV), a clinical-stage immuno-oncology
company, today announced that it has expanded its recently formed
Scientific Advisory Board (SAB), which will become effective in
conjunction with the proposed merger between the Company and Marker
Therapeutics, Inc., and will support the continued clinical
development of the Company's transformative, non-genetically
engineered, multi-antigen T cell therapy platform. The new SAB
members include leading experts from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
James P. Allison, Ph.D., is a
globally recognized tumor immunologist whose research led to the
clinical development of the first FDA-approved cancer
immunotherapy, ipilimumab (Yervoy®). Dr. Allison is a member of the
National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine, and is
a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology and the American
Association for the Advancement of Science. Previously, he served
as President of the American Association of Immunologists. He has
received worldwide recognition for his contributions, including,
the Lasker Clinical Medical Research Award, the Canada
Gairdner International Award, the Szent-Györgyi Prize for
Progress in Cancer Research and the Breakthrough Prize in
Life Sciences for Innovative Cancer Immunology Research. Dr.
Allison also serves as the Chair of MD Anderson's Department of
Immunology and Director of its Immunotherapy Platform.
Padmanee Sharma, M.D., Ph.D., is a leading translational
scientist and clinical investigator focused on cancer
immunotherapy. Her work was critical to advancing the research and
development that yielded the world's first checkpoint inhibitors,
and she is widely regarded as one of the leading key thought
leaders in immuno-oncology today.
"I am thrilled to welcome Dr. Allison and Dr. Sharma to our
Scientific Advisory Board," said Peter L.
Hoang, President & CEO of TapImmune. "In many ways, Dr.
Allison's scientific contributions have made cancer immunotherapy,
as we understand it today, possible. He was one of the first
scientists to identify the T cell receptor – the fundamental
underpinning of cell therapies and immunotherapy. His work proved
cancer immunotherapy could actually drive patient responses against
cancer and so, in many ways, I personally consider him to be the
father of modern cancer immunotherapy. He is the recipient of many
of science's top honors, including the Lasker Prize, the Gairdner
Award, the Szent-Györgyi Prize for Progress in Cancer
Research and the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences for
Innovative Cancer Immunology Research. I am honored that he has
offered to contribute to the advancement of our therapies with his
advice and expertise.
"Dr. Sharma is one of the top translational researchers and one
of the most well-regarded oncologists in the country. Dr. Sharma
made seminal discoveries in the role ICOS in boosting the
effectiveness of immunotherapy, and for years she has been a
driving force in the science behind closer monitoring of tumors in
various stages in order to better characterize why some patients
respond to immunotherapies while others do not. She has received
numerous accolades, including the 2012 MD Anderson Cancer Center
Faculty Scholar Award and the 2008 Melanoma Research Alliance Young
Investigator Award."
Mr. Hoang concluded, "We're honored that so many immunotherapy
trailblazers are willing to offer their support and expertise to
our company. Together with our esteemed scientific advisors we
announced last week from Baylor College of
Medicine's Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, the guidance of
our world-class SAB will be instrumental to our potential success.
We look forward to moving ahead with their support as the proposed
merger is completed."
SAB Member Bios:
James P. Allison,
Ph.D.
Dr. Allison is a Co-Founder of Jounce Therapeutics and currently
serves as chair of The University of
Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Department of Immunology and
director of the Immunotherapy Platform. A leading tumor
immunologist, Dr. Allison has a longstanding interest in mechanisms
of T cell development and activation, the development of novel
strategies for tumor immunotherapy and is recognized as the first
person to isolate the T cell antigen receptor protein. His research
led to the clinical development of ipilimumab (Yervoy®), which was
approved in 2011 by the FDA for the treatment of metastatic
melanoma. Previously, he was Director of the Ludwig Center for
Cancer Immunotherapy and Chair of the immunology program at the
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, as well as the David H.
Koch Chair in Immunologic Studies and attending immunologist at
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Dr. Allison is a member of
the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine, and
is a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology and the
American Association for the Advancement of Science. Previously, he
served as President of the American Association of Immunologists.
He has received worldwide recognition for his contributions,
including, the Lasker Clinical Medical Research Award,
the Canada Gairdner International Award,
the Szent-Györgyi Prize for Progress in Cancer
Research and the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences for
Innovative Cancer Immunology Research. Dr. Allison received
his B.S. in microbiology and his Ph.D. in biological sciences from
the University of Texas.
Padmanee Sharma, M.D., Ph.D.
A leading cancer immunotherapy translational scientist, Dr.
Sharma is a Co-Founder of Jounce Therapeutics and currently serves
as scientific director and professor in the departments of
genitourinary medical oncology and immunology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr.
Sharma is a medical oncologist and immunologist, and is currently
the principal investigator of several immunotherapy clinical
trials, which allow her to further investigate immune responses and
pathways that are critical for eliciting anti-tumor responses and
clinical benefit in cancer patients. Dr. Sharma has received
numerous awards in her field including a Department of Defense
(DOD) Idea Development Award (2010), a Cancer Prevention Research
Institute of Texas (CPRIT)
Individual Investigator Award (2011), a National Institute of
Health (NIH/NCI) R01 Award (2012) and an AACR-CRI-SU2C
Immunotherapy dream team grant (2013). Dr. Sharma holds a Ph.D. in
immunology and an M.D. from Pennsylvania State
University. She also holds a B.A. in biology and an M.A. in
biotechnology from Boston
University.
About TapImmune Inc.
TapImmune Inc. is a leader in the
development of novel immunotherapies for cancer, with multiple
Phase 2 and Phase 1b/2 clinical
studies currently ongoing for the treatment of ovarian and breast
cancer. The Company's peptide or nucleic acid-based
immunotherapeutic products comprise multiple naturally processed
epitopes (NPEs) that are designed to comprehensively stimulate a
patient's killer T cells and helper T cells, and to restore or
further augment antigen presentation using proprietary nucleic
acid-based expression systems. This unique approach can produce
off-the-shelf T cell vaccine candidates that elicit a broad-based T
cell response and can be used without respect to HLA type. The
Company's technologies may be used as stand-alone medications or in
combination with other treatment modalities. TapImmune has
announced a proposed merger with Marker Therapeutics, Inc., a
privately-held clinical stage developer of a transformative,
non-genetically engineered, multi-antigen T cell therapy platform,
which will add a significant portfolio of clinical-stage cell
therapies to create a leading immuno-oncology pipeline.
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Forward-Looking Statement Disclaimer
This release
contains forward-looking information within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements in
this news release concerning the Company's expectations, plans,
business outlook or future performance, and any other statements
concerning assumptions made or expectations as to any future
events, conditions, performance or other matters, are
"forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements are by
their nature subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors
which could cause actual results to differ materially from those
stored in such statements. Such risks, uncertainties and factors
include, but are not limited to the results of the Phase 2 clinical
trials, the ability to obtain regulatory approval of TPIV200, the
Company's ability to raise future financing for continued
development and the ability to successfully commercialize TPIV200
as well as the risks and uncertainties set forth in the Company's
most recent Form 10-K, 10-Q and other SEC filings which are
available through EDGAR at www.sec.gov. The Company assumes no
obligation to update the forward-looking statements.
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SOURCE TapImmune Inc.
