SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Batu Biologics, a San Diego based immuno-oncology company focused on the development of its tumor angiogenesis targeting immune therapy, ValloVax™, announced today the formation of a Clinical Advisory Board to guide the company in the development of its lead program.
“Members of the Batu Biologics Clinical Advisory Board have aligned their vision to assess the clinical feasibility of targeting the tumor vasculature as an effective treatment for solid tumors,” said Samuel C. Wagner, President and CEO of Batu Biologics. “Our goal is to streamline and optimize the clinical development plan for the ValloVax™ program in order to ensure the highest likelihood of patient response in the clinical setting.”
“Making advances in a challenging and competitive environment requires a team of experts who can share experiences, information and innovative ideas,” said Dr. Santosh Kesari, Chairman of Batu’s Clinical Advisory Board and Professor at the Pacific Neuroscience Institute and John Wayne Cancer Institute at Providence Saint John’s Health Center. “We are excited to explore various strategies in the areas of predictive biomarkers, personalized therapy, and combination approaches with FDA-approved cancer therapeutics in an effort to ensure the best patient response to the ValloVax™ therapy.”
The newly appointed members of the Batu Biologics Clinical Advisory Board are:
Santosh Kesari, M.D., Ph.D., FANA
Dr. Santosh Kesari is a Professor and Chair of Translational Neurosciences and Neurotherapeutics at Pacific Neuroscience Institute and John Wayne Cancer Institute at Providence Saint John’s Health Center. His research investigates the biology of gliomas and brain metastases with the aim of developing new therapeutics. He has a long-standing interest in neural development, cancer stem cells, and neuroimmunology and translational research in these areas to accelerate drug development;
Mai H. Le, M.D.
Mai is a strategic advisor for biotechnology companies with a focus in oncology and immunotherapy. Dr. Le has over 8 years of oncology drug development experience that includes small molecules, biologics, medical devices and companion diagnostics strategy. She previously served as a medical director at Calithera Biosciences, Plexxikon Inc., Onyx Pharmaceuticals and Proteolix, Inc (acquired by Onyx Pharmaceuticals), and most recently, as the Chief Medical Officer at OncoSec Medical, Inc. Dr. Le obtained a medical degree from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry and trained in Laboratory Medicine at University of California, San Francisco; and
Boris Minev, MD, Ph.D.
Boris is currently the President of Clinical and Scientific Affairs at StemImmune Inc. and Adjunct Professor at the Moores UCSD Cancer Center. Dr. Minev previously worked as Director of Immunotherapy and Translational Oncology at Genelux Corporation and was heading the Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy at the Moores UCSD Cancer Center. Dr. Minev has an extensive experience in Immuno-Oncology and cancer vaccine development, having worked closely on the development of the first tumor vaccine to be approved by a regulatory body (Melacine).
About Batu Biologics
Batu Biologics is an immuno-oncology company developing novel gene and cellular based therapies for the treatment of cancer. The Company has filed an IND application for its lead therapeutic, ValloVax™, a multivalent therapeutic vaccine for Non Small Cell Lung Cancer targeting several tumor-angiogenesis associated antigens. ValloVax™ has demonstrated strong inhibition of tumor growth in several histologically distinct tumor models, and the company is currently raising funds that will enable the completion of a Phase I clinical study.
