Appointment of CMO and Medical Director

RNS Number : 6038F

Scancell Holdings Plc

17 November 2020

 

17 November 2020

Scancell Holdings plc

("Scancell" or the "Company")

Appointment of Dr Gillies O'Bryan-Tear as Chief Medical Officer and Dr Robert Miller as Medical Director

Scancell Holdings plc (AIM: SCLP), the developer of novel immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer and infectious disease, is pleased to announce the appointments of Dr Gillies O'Bryan-Tear to the position of Chief Medical Officer and Dr Robert Miller to Medical Director. Today's appointments reflect Scancell's continuing focus on advancing the clinical development and commercialisation of its programmes for the treatment of cancer and in developing a vaccine for COVID-19.

Dr Gillies O'Bryan-Tear has over 30 years' experience in the pharmaceutical industry, spanning clinical development, medical management and commercial roles. He has held senior leadership roles in large and small pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, in the US and Europe, and has been involved in multiple product approvals. In 2009 he became Chief Medical Officer of Algeta, a listed Norwegian biotech company developing a radiopharmaceutical for prostate cancer, which was launched worldwide in 2013. Algeta was subsequently acquired in 2014 by Bayer for $2.9 billion. Following the acquisition, Dr O'Bryan-Tear has been a retained adviser to a number of global biotechnology companies including Audentes before its acquisition by Astellas, as well as Fusion Pharmaceuticals and Clarity Pharmaceuticals.

Gillies is a Fellow of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine in the UK and is Chair of its Policy and Communications Group, as well as a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians. He obtained his MD degree from the University of Cambridge and University College Hospital, London and trained in internal medicine and oncology in the UK.

Dr Robert Miller is a Managing Partner in Artemida Pharma, a drug development consultancy and has represented a number of companies providing strategic expertise, medical management and clinical development support for both small and large pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies during his 30-year career in the industry, particularly in the fields of oncology and immune-oncology.

Robert is a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine and the Royal Society of Medicine. He is also a member of the European Society of Medical Oncologists and affiliate member of the American Society of Clinical Oncologists. Robert received his medical training at The London Hospital Medical College and has held a number of surgical and medical appointments across various hospitals in the UK.

The clinical expertise that Gillies and Robert bring to Scancell will complement the existing research and development activities led by Professor Lindy Durrant, Chief Scientific Officer, and Dr Sally Adams, Chief Development Officer.

Dr Cliff Holloway, Chief Executive Officer of Scancell, commented:

"We are delighted to welcome both Gillies and Robert into their roles at Scancell. Their extensive experience in clinical development within the sector will be invaluable as we progress our pipeline of products through the clinic and towards commercialisation. Following our recent successful fundraises, our initial focus is to progress the clinical development of Modi-1 and SCIB1, in addition to starting our COVIDITY clinical trial in 2021. We are excited by the advice and guidance that Gillies and Robert will be able to provide in advancing these trials and look forward to working with them."

Dr O'Bryan-Tear, Chief Medical Officer of Scancell, commented:

"I am delighted to be joining Scancell with my colleague Robert Miller at this critical time in the evolution of the Company. With first class, innovative science, and a recent successful series of fundraisings, the Company is poised to exploit this world leading technology to the full in the clinical arena. Robert and I look forward to advancing this clinical development effort and enabling the Company to reach important clinical milestones in the coming years."

- ENDS -

For further information, please contact:

Scancell Holdings plc Dr John Chiplin, Executive Chairman Dr Cliff Holloway, CEO	[phone]
Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited
Freddy Crossley/Emma Earl (Corporate Finance)	[phone]
Rupert Dearden (Corporate Broking)
FTI Consulting
Simon Conway/Natalie Garland-Collins	[phone]

About Scancell

Scancell is developing novel immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer based on its technology platforms, ImmunoBody^®, Moditope^® and AvidiMab^TM, with four products in multiple cancer indications and development of a vaccine for COVID-19.

ImmunoBody^® vaccines target dendritic cells and stimulate both CD4 and CD8 T cells with the ability to identify, target and eliminate cancer cells. These cancer vaccines have the potential to be used as monotherapy or in combination with checkpoint inhibitors and other agents. The Directors believe that this platform has the potential to enhance tumour destruction, prevent disease recurrence and extend survival.

· SCIB1, Scancell's lead product, is being developed for the treatment of metastatic melanoma. In a Phase 1/2 clinical trial, survival with SCIB1 treatment appears superior to historical survival rates, with 14 of 16 resected patients receiving 2-4 mg doses of SCIB1 surviving for more than five years (as reported in February 2018).

· SCIB2 is being developed for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer and other solid tumours. Scancell has entered into a clinical development partnership with Cancer Research UK (CRUK) for SCIB2.

DNA vaccine against COVID-19: As research data emerges, it is becoming increasingly clear that the induction of potent and activated T cells may play a critical role in the development of long-term immunity and clearance of virus-infected cells. Initial research is underway and Scancell anticipates initiating a Phase 1 clinical trial known as COVIDITY during 2021.

Moditope^® represents a completely new class of potent and selective immunotherapy agents based on stress-induced post-translational modifications (siPTM). Examples of such modifications are citrullination, an enzyme-based conversion of arginine to citrulline, and homocitrullination (or carbamylation), in which lysine residues are converted to homocitrulline. Expression of peptides containing these modifications have been demonstrated to induce potent CD4 cytotoxic T-cells to eliminate cancer. Previous pre-clinical studies have demonstrated that conjugation of these Moditope^® peptides to Amplivant^® enhances anti-tumour immune responses 10-100 fold and resulted in highly efficient tumour eradication, including protection against tumour recurrence.

· Modi-1 consists of two citrullinated vimentin peptides and one citrullinated enolase peptide each conjugated to Amplivant^®. Vimentin and enolase peptides are highly expressed in triple negative breast, ovarian, head and neck, and renal cancer, as well as many other cancers. The Company continues to progress the Modi-1 Phase 1/2 clinical trial for regulatory submission to start the planned clinical study in the UK in the first half of 2021.

AvidiMab™ has broad potential to increase the avidity or potency of any therapeutic monoclonal antibody (mAb) including those being developed for autoimmune diseases, as well as cancer. Scancell's development pipeline includes mAbs against specific tumour-associated glycans (TaGs) with superior affinity and selectivity profiles, that have now been further engineered using the Company's AvidiMab™ technology; this confers the Scancell anti-TaG mAbs with the ability to directly kill tumour cells. The Company has entered into three non-exclusive research agreements with leading antibody technology companies to evaluate the Company's anti-TaG mAbs including those enhanced with the AvidiMab™ technology.

 

END

 

 

MSCKKOBPDBDDDDD