Elpis Biopharmaceuticals Strengthens Scientific Advisory Board

LEXINGTON, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Elpis Biopharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company developing next generation multifunctional immunotherapies to transform cancer treatment, today announced the appointment of Dennis Benjamin, Ph.D., and Rakesh Jain, Ph.D., to the Scientific Advisory Board.

“We are excited to welcome Dr. Benjamin and Dr. Jain to Elpis Biopharmaceuticals’ Scientific Advisory Board,” said Yan Chen, President and Chief Executive Officer at Elpis Biopharmaceuticals. “Their experience and accolades in cancer biology, drug discovery innovation and pre-clinical development will prove valuable in strengthening and furthering our pipeline.”

Dr. Benjamin is the former SVP of Research at Seattle Genetics where he was a key developer of the company’s ADC technology. Prior to Seattle Genetics, he worked at Praecis Pharmaceuticals and Genetics Institute advancing DNA encoded libraries and working in protein and small molecule discovery. Over his career Dr. Benjamin has led teams that have discovered 25 biologics and small molecules that entered clinical trials and contributed to 4 drug approvals. He is currently an advisor and SAB member at several start-up biotechnology companies.

Dr. Rakesh Jain is widely known for revealing how the abnormal tumor microenvironment fuels tumor progression and confers treatment resistance; developing innovative strategies to “normalize” the microenvironment; and then translating these strategies from bench to bedside. He currently serves as the Andrew Werk Cook Professor of Radiation Oncology (Tumor Biology) at Harvard Medical School, and Director of the Edwin L. Steele Laboratories at Massachusetts General Hospital. A recipient of more than 90 awards, Dr. Jain has the rare distinction of being a member of all three US National Academies –Sciences, Engineering and Medicine – as well as the National Academy of Inventors and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He received the 2013 US National Medal of Science (for biological sciences) from President Obama, “for pioneering research at the interface of engineering and oncology, including tumor microenvironment, drug delivery, and imaging; and for discovering groundbreaking principles guiding the development and novel use of drugs for cancer and non-cancerous diseases.”

Elpis’ proprietary mRNADis™ human antibody discovery and mSCAFold™ cytokine engineering platforms enable rapid and robust discovery of multifunctional tumor-targeted immune modulators and dual targeting CARs armored with immune modulators aimed at overcoming tumor resistance by synergizing multiple mechanisms ranging from enhanced targeting to immune cell activation.

Elpis has built a broad preclinical pipeline progressing rapidly to clinic. The Company’s lead immuno-oncology product candidates EPIM-001, a tumor-targeted engineered bifunctional IL-2Rβ agonist/anti-PDL1 with minimal IL-2Rα activation to treat solid tumor indications, EPC-001, a CD19/CD22 dual targeting CAR-T to treat B Cell malignancies are being advanced to enter clinical studies.

About Elpis Biopharmaceuticals

Elpis Biopharmaceuticals is developing multifunctional immunotherapies, including tumor-targeted immune modulators and dual-targeted armored CARs aimed at enhancing localization and activation of the immune system to overcome cancer resistance. Through its proprietary antibody discovery and protein engineering platforms, Elpis is advancing a rich pipeline to treat solid tumors and hematological malignancies with the goal of improving outcomes for patients with difficult-to-treat and resistant cancers. Elpis is headquartered in Lexington, MA, with research labs in the U.S. and China.

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Ahmad Reza Saadat

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Karen Sharma

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