NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Olatec Therapeutics LLC is very pleased to welcome Alberto Mantovani MD to its Scientific Advisory Board.
Dr. Mantovani is world renown for his seminal work on the link between inflammation and cancer, demonstrating how a chronic inflammatory response promotes the development and metastasis of cancer. Dr. Mantovani's studies paved the way to change the view of the nature of cancer, from a tumor cell-centric focus, to one that includes the systemic role of immune cells as an essential component of neoplasia, i.e., abnormal growth of tumor cells. Dr. Mantovani's paradigm shift is now reflected in the development of immunotherapy for cancer, as currently approved.
Reflecting on Dr. Mantovani’s appointment, Dr. Charles A. Dinarello, Olatec’s SAB Chairman said: “Alberto is an unquestioned leader in cytokine biology; he is one of the most skilled and talented immunologists internationally. There are few scientists who know and understand IL-1β as much as Alberto. I am honored to call him my friend and colleague since 1987 and I am very much looking forward to continuing our relationship with Alberto’s collaboration on the dapansutrile and OLT Analogues preclinical and clinical studies.”
Dr. Mantovani is currently Emeritus Professor of Pathology and Scientific Director at Istituto Clinico Humanitas at Humanitas University in Milan, Italy and Chair of Inflammation and Therapeutic Innovation at Queen Mary University in London, England. For his research activity, Dr. Mantovani received several Italian and international awards, such as the Triennial OECI Award from the Organization of the European Cancer Institutes, the Robert Koch Award for his contribution to tumor immunology and immunotherapy, the American-Italian Cancer Foundation (AICF) Prize for Excellence in Medicine and the American Association for Cancer Research International Pezcoller Award for Extraordinary Achievement in Cancer Research. The broad impact of Dr. Mantovani’s contributions is reflected in the large number of citations of his scientific publications, which has been estimated to exceed over 137,000 (as of May 2021).
Summarizing Dr. Mantovani’s interest in joining Olatec’s SAB, he stated, “Olatec has already generated an impressive set of preclinical and early clinical data on its lead compound, dapansutrile. Inflammation represents a metanarrative of modern medicine with implications that cross disease boundaries. An oral NLRP3 inhibitor may have an impact on diverse disease ranging from arthritis to cardiovascular pathology, to neurodegeneration to cancer. Moreover, an oral inflammasome inhibitor may also be considered for pharmacoprevention of inflammation/IL-1 driven cancer under selected conditions.”
“All of us at Olatec welcome Alberto as a member of our SAB and are looking forward to working with him,” stated Damaris B. Skouras, Olatec’s CEO and co-Founder. “Dr. Mantovani’s impressive expertise in inflammatory disease and underlying IL-1β cytokine biology positions him well to contribute to our late-stage development of dapansutrile, and to progressing our OLT Analogues into preclinical and clinical development,” Ms. Skouras continued.
About Dapansutrile
Dapansutrile (lab code: OLT1177®) is an investigational small molecule, new chemical entity that specifically binds to and blocks NLRP3 (nucleotide-binding and oligomerization domain [NOD‑, leucine rich repeat-, pyrin domain-containing 3), the sensor molecule integral in the formation of the NLRP3 inflammasome. Inflammasomes are multiprotein complexes involved in intracellular surveillance of danger signals that trigger an intense inflammatory response, via generation of bioactive IL-1β and IL-18 through caspase-1 activation. Dapansutrile has been shown to prevent the formation of the NLRP3 inflammasome, which in turn inhibits the production of IL-1β and IL-18. NLRP3 is one of the most characterized inflammasome sensors due to its involvement in a wide range of disorders, including sterile inflammation, infections and rare genetic autoimmune syndromes. Dapansutrile is in Phase 2 clinical development and has been well tolerated and shown to improve clinical outcomes in patients with acute gout flare (see The Lancet Rheumatology) and heart failure (see Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology). Dapansutrile has also been observed to have antiinflammatory properties and other promising activity in a broad spectrum of over 20 preclinical animal models including arthritis, asthma, acute myocardial infarction, contact dermatitis, multiple sclerosis, melanoma and breast cancers, spinal cord injury and Alzheimer’s disease.
About Olatec Therapeutics LLC
Olatec is a privately held, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a platform of oral NLRP3 inhibitors to treat and prevent a broad spectrum of acute and chronic inflammatory diseases known to be mediated by IL-1. In addition to the lead compound, dapansutrile, Olatec’s platform of proprietary compounds includes approximately 60 analogues (OLT Analogues) being screened as viable drug candidates. An IP portfolio protecting Olatec’s compounds consists of over 130 patents granted, covering dapansutrile and OLT Analogues. Olatec’s drug development team is comprised of experienced management and international experts in translational medicine with unparalleled expertise in inflammation and immunology and has been involved in the discovery and development of first-line inflammation treatments in the market today. For more information, please visit http://www.olatec.com.
Disclaimer & Forward-looking Statement
The information contained herein is being provided for information purposes only. The Company makes no express or implied representation or warranty as to the completeness of this information. Any forward-looking statements contained in this release are based on assumptions made by Olatec at the time this Press Release was prepared. Any forward-looking statement contained in this Press Release is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may be materially different from those contemplated in such forward-looking statements. All information with respect to industry data has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable and current, but the accuracy thereof cannot be guaranteed by the Company. Olatec does not undertake any obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements contained in this Press Release to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date this Press Release was prepared, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
