BERKELEY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aduro BioTech, Inc., a leader in cancer immunotherapy, today announced that it has been named one of the leading biotech companies in 2014 by FierceBiotech, designating it as one of the industry’s most promising and innovative private companies focused on making significant contributions to treat serious diseases.
“It is an honor to be named as one of the ‘Fierce 15,’ an award that recognizes our employees, our clinical collaborators and patients for the advancements we’re making in the field of cancer immunotherapy,” said Stephen T. Isaacs, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Aduro. “This has been a year of tremendous progress at the company on a number of fronts, with exciting new data generated in our pancreatic cancer and mesothelioma trials, a new collaboration with Janssen Biotech, Inc. and completion of a $55 million venture round. We look forward to continued momentum as we seek to provide patients with more effective, less toxic anti-cancer therapies.”
“Aduro’s executive team has been learning from experience. Past failures with cancer vaccines have led to a better understanding of what needs to be done to make new combination approaches a success,” says John Carroll, editor of FierceBiotech. “And with a big new venture round and an avid partner in J&J’s prostate cancer group, it’s within clear sight of the goal line.”
The Fierce 15 celebrates the spirit of being “fierce” – championing innovation and creativity, even in the face of intense competition. This is FierceBiotech’s twelfth annual Fierce 15 selection. A complete list of “Fierce 15” companies can be found online at http://www.fiercebiotech.com/special-reports/fiercebiotechs-2014-fierce-15?spMailingID=11128006&spUserID=MjQyNTc4NjAwMTcS1&spJobID=344014216&spReportId=MzQ0MDE0MjE2S0.
The Fierce 15 award follows the company’s receipt of Breakthrough Therapy Designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its pancreatic cancer combination treatment that consists of its CRS-207 and GVAX Pancreas immunotherapies. CRS-207, based on Aduro’s live-attenuated, double-deleted (LADD) Listeria monocytogenes immunotherapy platform, has been engineered to induce a potent innate immune response as well as an adaptive immune response targeting mesothelin, an antigen over-expressed in certain tumors, including pancreatic and mesothelioma.
About CRS-207
CRS-207 is one of a family of product candidates based on Aduro’s live-attenuated, double-deleted (LADD) Listeria monocytogenes immunotherapy platform that induce a potent innate and T cell-mediated immune response. CRS-207 has been engineered to express the tumor-associated antigen mesothelin, which is over-expressed in many cancers including mesothelioma and pancreatic, non-small cell lung, ovarian and gastric cancers.
About GVAX Pancreas
GVAX Pancreas is one of a family of GVAX vaccines derived from human cancer cell lines that are genetically modified to secrete granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), an immune-stimulatory cytokine. GVAX Pancreas also expresses mesothelin.
About FierceBiotech
FierceBiotech is the biotech industry's daily monitor, an email newsletter and web resource providing the latest biotech news, articles, and resources related to clinical trials, drug discovery, FDA approval, FDA regulation, patent news, pharma news, biotech company news and more. More than 270,000 top biotech professionals rely on FierceBiotech for an insider briefing on the day's top stories. Signup is free at www.fiercebiotech.com/signup.
About Aduro BioTech, Inc.
Aduro BioTech, Inc. is a private, clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on immunotherapy for cancer. Aduro has ongoing clinical trials with its LADD platform in pancreatic cancer, mesothelioma and high-grade glioma and its immunotherapies are in development in non-small cell lung cancer, ovarian cancer and prostate cancer. The company is also developing clinical candidates using novel small molecules that activate the intracellular STING receptor, a central mediator of the innate immune response. For more information, please visit www.aduro.com.
