FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#immunotherapy–ImmunSYS, Inc., a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on the development of YourVaccx™, a new intratumoral immunotherapy system for metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer and other solid tumor cancers, announced today that Gary M. Onik, M.D., Neal D. Shore, M.D., E. David Crawford, M.D., Steven J. O’Day, M.D., Timothy P. Murphy, M.D. and Donald L. Trump, M.D. have joined its Scientific Advisory Board.
The SAB will work closely with the ImmunSYS management team as it actively prepares to advance its lead drug product candidate, IMD110 and the associated YourVaccx™ Therapy system, into clinical studies. The Company believes IMD110 and YourVaccx™ has the potential to transform the treatment paradigm for more than 30,000 metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer patients in the United States alone.
“We are thrilled to have attracted some of the world’s leading experts in the treatment of prostate and other solid tumor cancers to support ImmunSYS as we develop IMD110 and the associated YourVaccx™ Therapy system, potentially a major therapeutic advancement for the treatment of metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer,” commented Eamonn Hobbs, Chairman and CEO. “Importantly, the formation of our SAB serves as an endorsement for scientific and clinical enthusiasm for IMD110 and more broadly the Company’s unique YourVaccx™ technology platform for metastatic solid tumor cancers.”
Gary M. Onik, M.D. is a world leader in prostate cancer therapy and the inventor of YourVaccx™, the novel platform cancer immunotherapy that is being developed by ImmunSYS. Dr. Onik pioneered the field of Interventional Oncology and was the first to demonstrate image-guided thermal tumor ablation. His novel techniques lead to the creation of a new field of medicine centered around the concept of minimally invasive cancer tumor destruction and removal by normal bodily processes rather than through surgical removal.
Dr. Onik went on to develop the concept of focal prostate cancer therapy, inventing the male lumpectomy which allows for treatment of only the prostate tumor instead of the whole gland. He also developed the instrumentation and techniques that allowed for the cryosurgical ablation of prostate cancer, which is now an accepted alternative to radiation and radical prostatectomy and the preferred treatment for patients with radiation-recurrent prostate cancer.
Dr. Onik also developed the 3D Prostate Mapping Biopsy, which maps the exact location of the cancer in the prostate gland, allowing safer and more efficacious treatment. Other focal therapy inventions include Irreversible Electroporation (IRE), the first of its kind “non-thermal” tumor ablation modality, which is now being used to successfully treat inoperable pancreatic carcinoma.
Neal D. Shore, M.D. is currently the Director and CPI at Carolina Urologic Research Center and practices with Atlantic Urology Clinics in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Dr. Shore is a Certified Physician Investigator (CPI) who has numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals and has lectured extensively on the treatment of prostate cancer and prostate enlargement. He has conducted more than 300 clinical trials, focused primarily on genitourinary (GU) oncology.
Dr. Shore serves on several industry boards as well as academic and advocacy networks, including the Society of Urologic Oncology, the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network and World Journal of Urology. A graduate of Duke University, and Duke University Medical School, Dr. Shore completed a six-month clinical research fellowship in Pretoria, South Africa, and then completed his general surgery/urology training at New York Hospital Cornell Medical Center and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.
E. David Crawford, M.D. is currently the distinguished Professor of Surgery, Urology, and Radiation Oncology, and head of the Section of Urologic Oncology at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. Dr. Crawford is an internationally renowned urologist and an expert in benign prostate hypertrophy, urologic cancers, and in particular, prostate cancer. He is the recipient of more than 95 research grants in the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer, metastatic prostate cancer, hormone refractory prostate cancer, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), advanced bladder cancer, and other areas of urological infections and malignancies.
Dr. Crawford has authored more than 600 scientific articles, as well as textbook and book chapters and is an editorial reviewer or consultant for many publications, including Urology, Journal of Urology, and the Journal of Clinical Oncology. He is the Founder and Chairman of the Prostate Conditions Education Council, which is responsible for raising awareness and screening of millions of men for prostate health issues.
Steven J. O’Day, M.D. is the Executive Director of John Wayne Cancer Institute and Cancer Clinic at Providence Saint John’s Health Center, Director of Providence Los Angeles Regional Research, and a Professor of Medical Oncology. A board-certified medical oncologist, he is recognized as one of the world’s preeminent melanoma specialists and a leader of immune-based therapies across many cancer types.
Dr. O’Day has been at the forefront of new drug development and immunotherapies for cancers over the last two decades and has been a principal investigator for more than 100 clinical trials. He played a leadership role in the development of the breakthrough immune checkpoint inhibitor ipilimumab as well as the anti- PD1 antibodies pembrolizumab and nivolumab. Dr. O’Day completed his medical training at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.
Timothy P. Murphy, M.D. has spent the past 25 years as a clinician and clinical researcher in the field of interventional radiology. He was most recently an interventional radiologist at Rhode Island Hospital and a Full Professor, Research Track, in the department of Diagnostic Imaging at Alpert School of Medicine at Brown University. He was the 2011 President of Society of Interventional Radiology and served on the Executive Council for nine years.
Dr. Murphy founded the Vascular Disease Research Center at Rhode Island Hospital, which conducts a range of clinical, pre-clinical, and epidemiologic studies of cardiovascular disease. He has conducted numerous clinical trials, including principal investigator of NIH funded Claudication: Exercise Vs. Endoluminal Revascularization Study (CLEVER) study and co-principal investigator of the NIH funded CORAL (Cardiovascular Outcomes with Renal Atherosclerotic Lesions).
Donald L. Trump, M.D. is a medical oncologist who specializes in the treatment of patients with genitourinary cancers, especially prostate and bladder cancer. Recently retired, he was the CEO and Executive Director of the Inova Schar Cancer Institute. Dr. Trump was previously President and CEO of Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, NY where he led a clinical research program in vitamin D-based cancer prevention and treatment, and care for patients with prostate cancer and other urologic cancers.
Over the span of his career, Dr. Trump has held clinical positions at The Johns Hopkins University, University of Wisconsin, Duke University, University of Pittsburgh, and State University of New York at Buffalo. He received his medical education and completed his residency and fellowship at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD.
About ImmunSYS
ImmunSYS, Inc. is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of innovative cancer immunotherapy products to improve the lives of patients with late-stage metastatic prostate cancer and other adenocarcinomas. The company’s platform technology, YourVaccx™ utilizes a novel combination of the proprietary ANTIGENerator™ energy delivery device system, a proprietary branded formulation of immunotherapeutic drugs, and a proprietary procedure developed by the focal prostate cancer pioneer and inventor of the male lumpectomy, Gary Onik, M.D.
This new immunotherapy therapy is designed to empower the immune system to recognize and selectively attack cancer cells. The company is initially developing the new cancer therapy for the treatment of late-stage metastatic prostate cancer, with a pipeline of additional development programs for other cancers. For more information about the company and its programs, visit http://www.immunsys.com/.
This news release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “goal,” “seek,” “believe,” “project,” “expect,” “strategy,” “future,” “likely,” “may,” “should,” “will” and other words and terms of similar meaning. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements relating to future clinical results and the effectiveness of the company’s therapies. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors. Accordingly, actual results may differ significantly from those projected in the forward-looking statements contained herein. Readers should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements included in this new release are made only as of the date hereof, and the company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances, except as required by applicable law.
Contacts
ImmunSYS Corporation
Joseph Gerardi, 518-796-6110
Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
jgerardi@immunsys.com