Tag: Ronald Loggers
Company News: ISA Pharmaceuticals Announces Start of First Phase I/II Clinical Trial of its SLP®-AMPLIVANT® Conjugates
– Leiden University Medical Center to study novel immunotherapeutic in HPV-positive head & neck cancer patients
ISA Pharmaceuticals B.V., a clinical-stage immunotherapy company focusing on rationally designed immunotherapeutics against cancer and persistent viral infections, has announced the start of an investigator-initiated Phase I/II clinical trial of a novel immunotherapeutic based on ISA Pharmaceuticals´ platform technology. The trial will be conducted by the Department of Clinical Oncology at Leiden University Medical Center in The Netherlands. The study will investigate the biological activity and safety of the compound in head and neck cancer patients who tested positive for human papilloma virus type 16 (HPV16). HPV infections, in particular HPV16, are one of the major causes of this type of cancer. The immunotherapeutic is a conjugate of two HPV16 E6 Synthetic Long Peptides (SLP®s) covalently linked to AMPLIVANT®, a synthetic Toll-like receptor (TLR) 1/2 ligand. The investigators have assigned the acronym HESPECTA to the conjugate (HPV E-Six Peptide Conjugated To AMPLIVANT®).
In the single-center, open-label dose escalation study, 24 HPV16-positive head and neck cancer patients will be grouped into four dose escalation groups. In each group, every patient will receive three intradermal doses of the immunotherapeutic. The primary endpoint is to assess its ability to induce HPV16 E6-specific T-cell immunity. The secondary endpoint is to evaluate the safety of the intervention.
The human papillomavirus is associated with several types of cancer, of which HPV16 is by far the most common high-risk HPV type detected. It encodes the two tumor-specific oncoproteins E6 and E7 which are known to also induce and maintain the malignant state of the transformed cells. This SLP®-AMPLIVANT® conjugate aims to induce a strong, lasting immune response against the tumor.
AMPLIVANT®, developed by ISA Pharmaceuticals, is based on a Toll-like receptor ligand (TLR1/2 ligand), one of the most powerful natural stimulants of the immune system. SLP®-AMPLIVANT® conjugates have demonstrated to be 100- to 1000-fold more potent in inducing an immune response compared to unconjugated SLP®s in preclinical and mouse tumor models.
Company News: Publication in Nature Supports ISA Pharmaceuticals´ Synthetic Long Peptide Immunotherapeutic Approach to Treat Cancer
– Synthetic Long Peptide (SLP®) immunotherapy achieves targeted tumor eradication comparable to checkpoint-blocking immunotherapy
– New findings on antigens relevant for checkpoint blocking pave the way for personalized cancer vaccines
ISA Pharmaceuticals B.V., a clinical-stage immunotherapy company focusing on rationally designed immunotherapeutics against cancer and persistent viral infections, today announced that a recent scientific paper in Nature supports the company´s therapeutic approach to using synthetic long peptides in cancer therapy. It could be shown that personalized SLP® immunotherapy is as capable of inducing efficient tumor eradication as are T cell checkpoint inhibitors such as anti-PD-1 and anti-CTLA-4 monoclonal antibodies. The research was conducted by a consortium led by Prof. Robert D. Schreiber from Washington University St. Louis. Prof. Cornelis Melief, Willem-Jan Krebber, and Gwenn E. Mulder from ISA Pharmaceuticals also participated in the project.
It is well known that checkpoint immune regulators on the surface of T cells act as deactivators. While they are useful in preventing T cells from attacking healthy tissues, in cancer they prevent the T cells from destroying tumor cells. Checkpoint blockers, such as anti-PD-1 and anti-CTLA-4 monoclonal antibodies, that target these proteins are very effective in restoring the T cell’s ability to eradicate tumor cells. In the Nature publication, Matthew M. Gubin and co-workers – among them three ISA researchers – report about their identification of the antigens recognized by these tumor-infiltrating T cells once their activity has been restored. The researchers used a mouse model of carcinogen-induced cancer, which – like human lung cancer from smokers – bears many mutations (e.g. caused by tar).
The researchers demonstrated that the T cells previously blocked by checkpoint immune regulators were directed against two mutant antigens on the cancer cell surface. These T cells had already infiltrated the tumor prior to checkpoint blocking, but were subsequently deactivated by the tumor microenvironment. Moreover, the team showed that an immunotherapy consisting of two synthetic long peptides, each incorporating one of the mutant amino acid sequence admixed with the adjuvant poly I:C, was able to eradicate the tumor as effectively as checkpoint immunotherapy.
Personalized synthetic long peptides against tumor-unique mutant sequences are a promising treatment approach for cancers with many mutations, such as smoking-induced lung cancer and UV-induced skin cancer. Compared to checkpoint blocking, personalized immunotherapy is likely to achieve anti-tumor effects with less toxicity because they do not activate T cells that are able to attack healthy tissue.
Company News: ISA Pharmaceuticals Appoints Ronald Loggers as Chief Executive Officer
ISA Pharmaceuticals B.V., a clinical-stage immunotherapy company focusing on rationally designed immunotherapeutics against cancer and persistent viral infections, today announced that the Company has hired Ronald Loggers, the former Chairman of ISA´s Supervisory Board, as Chief Executive Officer.
Previously, Ronald Loggers, M.Sc., MBA, was Managing Director of Multifund B.V., a family-owned investment firm and one of ISA’s major investors. Until June 2013, he served as the Chairman of the Supervisory Board and subsequently assumed the role of Acting CEO of ISA Pharmaceuticals.
From 1998 to 2005, Ronald Loggers worked for private equity firm HAL Investments. During that period, he served on several boards such as the Supervisory Board of Schreiner Luchtvaart Groep B.V., and as Managing Director for the production and logistics facilities of optical retailer Pearle Benelux. From 1993 until 1998, he worked for McKinsey & Company. From 1991 to 1992, he was a manager at the quality control laboratories of Fokker Aircraft’s Ypenburg plant. Ronald Loggers holds an MBA from INSEAD and an M.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from Delft University of Technology.
Company News: ISA Pharmaceuticals Strengthens Management Team
– Company hires Jan Fagerberg as Chief Medical Officer and Jens Hennecke as Chief Business Officer
– Ronald Loggers becomes Acting Chief Executive Officer and Gerard Platenburg Chief Operating Officer
ISA Pharmaceuticals B.V., a clinical-stage immunotherapy company focusing on rationally designed therapeutic vaccines against cancer and persistent viral infections, today announced that it has appointed Dr. Jan Fagerberg, M.D., Ph.D., as Chief Medical Officer and Dr. Jens Hennecke, Ph.D., as Chief Business Officer and Advisor. Furthermore, Ronald Loggers, M.Sc., MBA, will step down from the Board of Directors and assume the role of Acting Chief Executive Officer, while Gerard Platenburg will become Chief Operating Officer.
Dr. Jan Fagerberg (51) is a board-certified clinical oncologist with more than 20 years of experience in clinical research and the development of oncology drugs. He joins ISA from Amgen where he was Vice President Global Development and Managing Director of Amgen Research (Munich) GmbH. During his career, Dr. Fagerberg has held senior executive positions at Amgen, Micromet, TopoTarget, and F. Hoffmann-La Roche. His responsibilities have included the global clinical development of blinatumomab (AMG 103), belinostat (PXD101), capecitabine (Xeloda), and clinical development programs of bevacizumab (Avastin) outside the U.S.. Dr. Fagerberg has extensive international regulatory experience, and was successful in obtaining 11 FDA and EMA approvals for Xeloda and Avastin. At Micromet, he also initiated the clinical development of several compounds in collaboration with global pharma companies. Jan Fagerberg received his M.D. (1988) and Ph.D. (1995) for work in clinically applied passive and active immunotherapy in cancer from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm (Sweden).
Dr. Jens Hennecke (45) has a strong track record in business development, corporate development and licensing. He brings extensive experience in the negotiation and closing of corporate alliances. Prior to joining ISA and building his own business development advisory franchise, he was Senior Vice President Business Development at Micromet, Inc., where he managed the company’s business and corporate development, intellectual property and information technology departments. He also played a key role in establishing partnerships with major pharma companies, and in Micromet’s acquisition by Amgen in 2012. Prior to joining Micromet in 2001, Dr. Hennecke was a post-doctoral researcher at Harvard University. He holds a B.Sc. in biology from the University of Göttingen, Germany, and a Ph.D. from the ETH Zurich, Switzerland.
Before becoming Acting Chief Executive Officer, Ronald Loggers (45) had been on the Supervisory Board of ISA since 2009. He is currently also Managing Director at Multifund B.V., a family-owned investment company. Prior to that, he worked seven years for HAL Investments B.V., five years for McKinsey & Company and one year for Fokker Aircraft B.V. He brings extensive managerial, investment and financing experience. Ronald obtained an MBA from INSEAD (France) and an M.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from Delft University of Technology (The Netherlands).
Gerard Platenburg (48) joined ISA Pharmaceuticals in an executive role in 2009 and helped to mature ISA’s organization into its current form. He has over 20 years of experience as an executive in the biotech industry. He gained experience in several innovative biotech companies, amongst others Pharming and Prosensa, which he co-founded and grew into a clinical-stage company. Gerard holds a degree as a chemist/molecular biologist from the University of Leiden, The Netherlands.
The management team will consist of Ronald Loggers (Acting Chief Executive Officer), Gerard Platenburg (Chief Operating Officer), Prof. Kees Melief (Chief Scientific Officer), Jan Fagerberg (Chief Medical Officer) and Jens Hennecke (Chief Business Officer).