ImmunOs Therapeutics: Jeffrey Abbey new COO - clinical advisory board established

ImmunOs Therapeutics AG, a Swiss bio-technology company developing a new class of biologics for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases, announced today that Jeffrey Abbey, MBA, JD, has been appointed as Chief Operating Officer. In addition, the Company announced the establishment of a Clinical Advisory Board and the further expansion of its Scientific Advisory Board, reflecting the Company´s recent progress with its preclinical pipeline programs and ongoing preparations for the start of clinical trials.

Jeffrey Abbey brings to ImmunOs Therapeutics over twenty years of expertise in the development of innovative biopharmaceutical products and has a strong track record in business development and capital markets transactions in the U.S. and Europe, including private and public placements, crossover funding, in- and out-licensing, and joint ventures. Jeffrey Abbey played a key role in building and advancing Argos Therapeutics, Durham, NC, USA, into a publicly listed immuno-oncology company, serving as Chief Executive Officer for over eight years and, prior to that, as Vice President, Business Development and then Chief Business Officer. Under Jeffrey Abbey’s leadership, Argos Therapeutics successfully completed an IPO on NASDAQ, as well as a pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial in kidney cancer. In addition to several public and private financings, He was responsible for a number of strategic partnerships and licensing agreements with international biopharmaceutical companies, thereby providing the company with access to more than US $500 million in total during his tenure. Following Argos, Jeffrey Abbey served as Chief Executive Officer of Novadip Biosciences, Belgium, leading the cell therapy company through a strategic transition to focus on development of allogeneic therapies and raising a double-digit million financing round. Most recently, he has been an independent consultant providing strategic advisory services to development stage European biotechnology companies. He holds a Master of Business Administration & Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia and a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematical Economics from Brown University.

In addition to hiring Jeffrey Abbey as COO, ImmunOs Therapeutics has appointed four high-caliber experts to its newly created Clinical Advisory Board:

• Andrew Scott (Director, Department of Molecular Imaging and Therapy, Austin Health; leader of the Tumour Targeting Program at the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute; and Professor, University of Melbourne, La Trobe University, and Monash University);
• Dmitriy Zamarin, MD, PhD (medical oncologist and Translational Research Director in the Gynecologic Medical Oncology Service at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center);
• Dr. med. Dirk Jäger (Managing Director of the National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) Heidelberg, Medical Director of the Medical Oncology Department at the Heidelberg University Hospital (UKHD), and Head of the Clinical Cooperation Unit Applied Tumor-Immunity at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ));
• Jeffrey M. Bockman, PhD (leader of the Oncology and Virology Practices at Cello Health BioConsulting, previously Defined Health).

Moreover, Prof. Paul Bowness has joined ImmunOs´ Scientific Advisory Board. He has been a Consultant Rheumatologist at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre since 1999 and Professor of Experimental Rheumatology, Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Science (NDORMS), at Oxford University since 2011.

“We are excited that Jeff Abbey has joined ImmunOs as COO and welcome Andrew Scott, Dmitriy Zamarin, Dirk Jäger, Jeffrey Bockman and Paul Bowness as our new clinical and scientific advisors,” said Sean R. Smith, CEO of ImmunOs Therapeutics AG. “These appointments mark an important transition from a science-driven start-up to a growing biopharmaceutical organization with an increasing focus on clinical development and commercialization. Our goal is to make optimal use of available funding sources and accelerate the development of our novel proprietary immune-modulating compounds.”

“It is important to note that ImmunOs’ molecules are suitable as a monotherapy and in combination therapy to make the tumor environment more amenable to immunotherapy,” Jean R. Smith continued. “The compounds have demonstrated strong anti-tumor responses in multiple cancer indications in combination with checkpoint inhibitors such as CTLA-4, PD-1, PD-L1, CD47, SIRPα and agonist antibodies such as 4-1BB. We are exploring a number of potential monotherapy and combination strategies with our clinical and scientific advisors.”

“I am looking forward to working with the team at ImmunOs and its advisory boards,” said Jeffrey Abbey, MBA, JD, COO of ImmunOs Therapeutics. “The Company has built an impressive platform for developing HLA-based immuno-modulatory therapeutics for a broad range of major disease indications, including cancer and autoimmune diseases. We are now focusing on progressing our lead compound into the clinic and implementing a sustainable growth and commercialization strategy.”

“ImmunOs Therapeutics has made significant progress in the past year and achieved all manufacturing and nonclinical milestones with its lead program to support a clinical trial application,” added Reinhard Ambros, PhD, Chairman of ImmunOs Therapeutics´ Board of Directors. “We are very pleased that the Company is now backed by a group of top-tier clinical and scientific advisors and has further expanded its management capabilities with the appointment of Jeff Abbey, who brings outstanding expertise in deal-making, capital market transactions and corporate growth.”