SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pionyr Immunotherapeutics, Inc., a company developing first-in-class Myeloid TuningTM antibody therapeutics that enhance the body’s antitumor immunity by altering, or “tuning,” immune cells within the tumor microenvironment, announced today that Johanna Joyce, Ph.D., Olivier Elemento, Ph.D., and Michael Quigley, Ph.D., will join Miriam Merad, Ph.D., as members of Pionyr’s Scientific Advisory Board.
“As a pioneer and leader in harnessing the power of myeloid cells in the tumor microenvironment to fight cancer, Pionyr is committed to scientific excellence and advancement of the field, as exemplified by our scientific advisory board,” said Steven P. James, President and Chief Executive Officer at Pionyr. “We are proud to welcome these experts in immuno-oncology, myeloid, and computational biology to our scientific advisory board. This renowned group of advisors will support our expanding pipeline of Myeloid TuningTM therapeutics and our efforts to translate meaningful science into promising therapeutic programs.”
Dr. Joyce is a Professor in the Department of Oncology at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, and a Full Member of the international Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research. Dr. Joyce’s lab is focused on exploring the critical functions of the tumor microenvironment in regulating cancer progression, metastasis, and therapeutic response.
Dr. Elemento is Director of Englander Institute for Precision Medicine, Associate Director of Institute for Computational Biomedicine, and Associate Program Director of Weill Cornell Medicine’s Clinical and Translational Science Center. He is a recognized leader in computational biology and genomics, and oncology.
Dr. Quigley is CEO of Therini Bio and Venture Partner at SV Health Investors. He has held leadership positions at Gilead, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Janssen and has a track record of success with innovative drug discovery and translational science.
Dr. Merad is the director of both the Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute (PrIISM) at Mount Sinai and the Mount Sinai Human Immune Monitoring Center (HIMC) and is a paid consultant for Pionyr. Dr. Merad’s laboratory studies the contribution of macrophages and dendritic cells to cancer and inflammation.
“Pionyr has paved new territory in modulating myeloid cell biology as a novel modality for cancer R&D,” said Kevin P. Baker, Ph.D., SVP and Chief Development Officer at Pionyr and Scientific Advisory Board Chair. “Within a complex field with many promises, it is a testament to Pionyr to attract and assemble an accomplished team and esteemed advisory board to help deliver new immunotherapies to patients.”
About Pionyr Immunotherapeutics
Pionyr is exploiting novel target discovery and antibody generation platform technologies to create the next generation of immuno-oncology therapeutics after checkpoint inhibitors. The company’s initial approach, termed “Myeloid TuningTM,” is designed to enhance the immune system’s anti-tumor response by specifically altering the cellular infiltrate of the tumor microenvironment. Pionyr’s lead programs PY314 and PY159, targeting TREM2 and TREM1 respectively, are designed to selectively deplete and in some cases reprogram certain tumor-associated macrophages responsible for immunosuppression. In July 2020, Pionyr entered into a transformational alliance with Gilead Sciences whereby Gilead acquired a minority interest in the company and has an exclusive option to acquire Pionyr upon completion of certain Phase 1b studies. Pionyr’s additional investors include New Enterprise Associates, OrbiMed, SV Health Investors, Sofinnova Ventures, Vida Ventures, Osage University Partners, Mission Bay Capital, and Trinitas Ventures. For more information, please visit www.pionyrtx.com.