CAMBRIDGE, United Kingdom and MONTREAL, July 25, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Epitopea, a transatlantic RNA immunotherapeutics company and global leader exploiting a new class of untapped tumor-specific antigens, known as Cryptigens™, for the development of off-the-shelf cancer vaccines for difficult to treat cancers announces Dr. Alan C. Rigby as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Alan, a seasoned biotech entrepreneur and oncology innovator takes over the CEO role from Dr. Jon Moore, an Operating Partner with one of Epitopea’s founding investors, Advent Life Sciences. Jon, who has over 20 years’ experience in the pharma and biotech industry, mainly in early-stage discovery and validation, transitions to be Epitopea’s Chief Scientific Officer (CSO). The Company has also expanded its clinical and scientific advisory organization with the addition of Dr. Michael Kalos, an internationally recognized expert in immunotherapy and T cell therapy.
As CEO, Alan will leverage his extensive experience in creating and leading biotech companies having raised over USD 260 million of financing for early-stage oncology companies. He was Co-Founder, President, and CEO of HiberCell, a US based biotechnology company that was launched in 2019 with a USD 61 million Series A. Prior to HiberCell, he held C-Suite positions at biopharma companies including Warp Drive Bio, Inc., Synta Pharmaceuticals, as well as senior Executive positions at Eli Lilly and Company. Prior to his tenure in pharma and biotech, Alan was a principal investigator at Harvard Medical School for over a decade, where he was an Assistant Professor and an Adjunct Assistant Professor. Alan focused on the use of computational tools to accelerate small molecule discovery and target validation primarily in the oncology therapeutic area. He holds a Hon. BSc and PhD in Biochemistry from Canada’s Western University.
Dr. Alan C. Rigby, Epitopea’s CEO, said, “It is an honor and I am delighted to be appointed as the new CEO of Epitopea during this pivotal time. Epitopea is at an exciting crossroad, focused on transitioning from a pre-clinical organization built to robustly ideate and create differentiated immunotherapies to one that is focused on product development of our transformational RNA cancer immunotherapies.
As we accelerate the advancement of our pre-clinical pipeline into clinical products, we wanted to access additional immunotherapy strategic excellence and expertise. Michael brings a wealth of immunotherapy experience and product development success to our newly formed Scientific and Clinical Advisory Boards, further supporting our vision and mission of translating the seminal work of Epitopea’s co-founders at Université de Montréal into novel cancer therapeutics with durable patient benefits,” he added.
“We are thrilled to have Alan lead Epitopea during this period of growth and transformation as we accelerate our programs into the clinic with a focus on helping those that matter most, the patients we look to treat. We also thank Jon for his invaluable contribution and leadership as Epitopea’s founding-CEO,” said Laurence Rulleau, Chair of Epitopea’s board of directors and Managing Partner at CTI Life Science Fund.
Dr. Michael Kalos, an internationally recognized expert in T cell therapy and immunotherapy, will Chair Epitopea’s Scientific and Clinical Advisory Boards. During his 28 years of experience, Michael has co-authored over 85 peer-reviewed manuscripts, book chapters, and has 26 issued patents in the field of cell therapy, immunotherapy, and vaccines. Michael was a member of the C-suite at cTRL-Therapeutics and Arsenal Bio, and prior to these roles he served as Vice President of Immuno-oncology and Oncology Cell Therapies at Janssen, and as Chief Scientific Officer of immune-oncology at Eli Lilly. Michael is a member of several Corporate and Scientific Advisory Boards for both public and private biopharmaceutical companies and is currently Founder and Managing Director at Next Pillar Consulting.
Dr. Michael Kalos, Epitopea’s Scientific and Clinical Advisory Board Chair, added, “I am excited to be joining Epitopea’s SAB. I’ve been impressed by Epitopea’s outstanding team and its innovative approach to identifying previously untapped, aberrantly expressed tumor specific antigens, referred to as Cryptigens™. The team’s approach to identifying these novel targets, which are shared across multiple patients with the same tumor type, has the potential to transform the development of off-the-shelf cancer vaccines and the landscape of difficult to treat cancers across a broader patient population.”
Contact information
Epitopea
Dr. Alan C. Rigby – CEO
Alan.Rigby@epitopea.com
Scius Communications
Katja Stout
+44 7789 435990
katja@sciuscommunications.com
Daniel Gooch
+44 7747 875479
Daniel@sciuscommunications.com
About Epitopea
Epitopea is a transatlantic biotechnology company developing transformational RNA immunotherapies to treat hard to treat cancers by targeting a new class of untapped antigens that are broadly shared between patients with the same cancer indication. The company has an extensive library of novel Cryptigen™ TSAs, discovered by its proprietary CryptoMap™ platform that leverages immunopetidomics, genomics, and a bioinformatic pipeline, allowing the identification of aberrantly-expressed, tumour-specific antigens (aeTSA’s) that are hidden within cancer’s ’junk’ DNA. These hidden Cryptigen™ TSAs were first discovered through research led by Drs. Claude Perreault and Pierre Thibault at the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer at the Université de Montréal.
Epitopea is backed by leading life science investors including Advent Life Sciences, CTI Life Sciences, Cambridge Innovation Capital, Fonds de Solidarité FTQ, the Harrington Discovery Institute and Novateur Ventures. The company has raised seed financing of more than $13 Million USD. Epitopea was founded in 2021 and consists of sister companies based in Cambridge, UK and in Montreal, Canada. For additional information, please visit www.epitopea.com and follow us on LinkedIn.
