HOUSTON, July 22, 2021 – Asylia Therapeutics (“Asylia”), a development-stage biotechnology company advancing novel immune modulating therapies for cancer and autoimmune diseases, today announced the formation of a Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) comprised of prominent experts and thought leaders in immunology and cancer biology. The formation of the SAB reflects significant progress with Asylia’s clinical development strategy as the company advances its lead candidate ASY-77A towards human safety and proof-of-concept studies.
“We are privileged to have the opportunity to work with this extraordinary group of thought leaders on our current and future discovery and clinical research activities,” said Jeno Gyuris, Ph.D., Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer of Asylia. “ASY-77A is a first-in-class therapeutic candidate with the potential to treat multiple diseases, and we look forward to leveraging our new SAB’s considerable insights as we advance it through clinical development, with an initial focus on cancer.”
The SAB will provide rigorous scientific review and strategic guidance to Asylia’s management with regards to its R&D activities and therapeutic portfolio. The members are:
- Rafi Ahmed, Ph.D., director of the Emory Vaccine Center at Emory University School of Medicine. His research focuses on mechanisms of immunological memory and translating such knowledge into new and more effective vaccines, and defining the mechanisms of T cell exhaustion during chronic viral infections and cancer. Prof. Ahmed is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Medicine, National Academy of Inventors and a foreign member on the Indian National Science Academy.
- Stuart K. Calderwood, Ph.D., director of cell and molecular biology, Department of Radiation Oncology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center at Harvard Medical School. His pioneering research led to the discovery of the diverse role of HSP70 in immunological processes.
- Betty Diamond, M.D., professor and head at the Center for Autoimmune, Musculoskeletal and Hematopoietic Diseases and director of the Institute of Molecular Medicine at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research and Northwell Health. Her research focuses on anti-DNA antibody pathogenicity in systemic lupus erythematosus. Prof. Diamond is a member of the Institute of Medicine and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She is a past president of the American Association of Immunologists.
- Diane Mathis, Ph.D., professor of immunology at Harvard Medical School, principal faculty member at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute and associate faculty member at the Broad Institute. Her research focuses on the fields of T cell differentiation, autoimmunity and inflammation. Prof. Mathis is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the German Academy and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
- Jeffrey V. Ravetch, M.D., Ph.D., Theresa and Eugene Lang professor at Rockefeller University and head of the Leonard Wagner Laboratory of Molecular Genetics and Immunology. His research focuses on how the interaction of antibody Fc domains with their receptors trigger diverse biological precesses in vivo and the translation of such mechanistic insights into antibody therapies for cancer, inflammatory disorders and infectious diseases. Prof. Ravetch is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
- Stephanie S. Watowich, Ph.D, professor of Immunology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Her research focuses on mechanisms by which cytokine-activated STAT transcriptional regulators control hematopoiesis, innate immune activity in tumor microenvironments and inflammation. Her laboratory has advanced a novel dendritic cell-based therapeutic and animal models to study immune-related side effects of cancer immunotherapies.
About Asylia Therapeutics
Asylia Therapeutics is a private, development-stage biotechnology company advancing novel immune modulating therapies for cancer and autoimmune diseases, which collectively impact tens of millions of Americans annually. Founded in 2019 by Robert Orlowski, M.D., Ph.D., Ronald A. DePinho, M.D., and Richard J. Jones, Ph.D., Asylia is based in Houston, Texas. The company’s platform centers on a drug pipeline capable of modulating antigen presentation to the immune system which has, to date, produced anti-tumor responses across multiple cancer models. Asylia is supported by a $3 million grant from the Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas. To learn more, visit www.asyliatx.com
