PRESS RELEASE
iosBio appoints Patricia Londono-Hayes as Chief Development Officer
Oral vaccines and biotherapeutics company strengthens senior leadership team with new role to drive priority development programmes
Burgess Hill, UK, 14 June 2021—iosBio (‘the Company’), a UK-based biotechnology company developing next-generation vaccines that can be administered orally, today announces the appointment of Patricia Londono-Hayes, PhD, as Chief Development Officer.
With more than 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector, Patricia is a leader in vaccines and biologics product development. She brings extensive experience in the progression of vaccine candidates from initial concept into first-in-human testing, advancement of clinical development and licensing.
In her role, Patricia will lead the development and execution of iosBio’s pipeline strategy, as the Company moves into its next stage of growth. In January 2021 iosBio signed an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement granting ImmunityBio rights to its OraPro™ vaccine platform technology for the oral delivery of ImmunityBio’s second-generation human Adeno (hAd5) COVID-19 vaccine candidate. iosBio’s second priority programme, OraPro-Flu – a thermally stable, orally-delivered, quadrivalent seasonal influenza vaccine – is currently in preclinical studies and expected to enter the clinic later this year.
Across her career, Patricia has directed global programmes, teams, and partnerships at scientific, strategic, and operational levels, contributing to the development and licensing of vaccines spanning a broad range of indications including influenza and a variety of respiratory, gastro-intestinal, genito-urinary, and nosocomial infections.
Patricia joins iosBio from Sanofi Pasteur, where she held positions of increasing responsibility, most recently as Head of External R&D Initiatives and Scientific Affairs, Europe, where she led the strategy and implementation of external R&D public‐private partnerships and alliances. During her tenure, she spearheaded multi million Euro investments in R&D partnerships between the company and other vaccine manufacturers, leading academic institutions, the EU and the Gates Foundation. Prior to that, she was Head of Global Preclinical Research & Development Department and Leader of the Universal Influenza Vaccine Project at the company, overseeing, translational, preclinical, and clinical pharmacology research. Before joining Sanofi Pasteur, Patricia worked at vaccine company Acambis, where she founded and directed the Immunology Research Department and initiated research programs in oral vaccines.
She gained her PhD in Biochemistry and Immunology from Imperial College London and holds an MSc in Molecular Biology and Genetic Manipulation and a BSc in Microbiology from the University of Sussex and University of Los Andes, respectively.
Executive Chairman of iosBio, Wayne Channon said: “With her impressive track record in vaccine development, I am delighted to welcome Patricia to iosBio. Her breadth of experience in leading vaccines programmes from idea through to clinical development will be critical as we pursue our mission to lead the way in next generation, oral vaccines.”
Patricia Londono-Hayes commented: “I am thrilled to be joining iosBio at such an exciting stage, with the Company’s OraPro™ vaccine platform technology being investigated in trials of what could be the first oral COVID-19 vaccine. iosBio’s science has the potential to truly transform vaccine development and to overcome the global challenges of traditional vaccines. I am delighted to be joining such an experienced and innovative team and look forward to working together on IosBio’s vision to bring orally administered, thermally stable vaccines to people around the world.”
Ends
For further information please contact:
Consilium Strategic Communications
Mary-Jane Elliott, Melissa Gardiner, David Daley
IosBio@consilium-comms.com
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3709 5700
NOTES FOR EDITORS
About iosBio
iosBio is a UK based biotechnology company developing next generation vaccines that can be administered orally.
The Company’s proprietary OraPro™ thermal stabilization technology enables the oral administration of thermally stable, non-replicating viral vectors that can be delivered sublingually via the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and other routes. These vaccine vectors are engineered to withstand temperatures of up to 50 degrees and the hostile conditions in the stomach without loss of efficacy and providing long term product stability at ambient temperatures.
iosBio is developing vaccines designed to stimulate mucosal, systemic and T cell immune responses, providing robust immunity to a number of infectious diseases including COVID-19, Zika and influenza.
In January 2021 iosBio announced an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement with ImmunityBio, Inc. a US-based, privately held clinical-stage immunotherapy company, for iosBio’s OraPro™ vaccine platform technology currently being investigated in a Phase Ib trial of ImmunityBio’s second-generation human Adeno (hAd5) COVID-19 vaccine candidate.
iosBio is headquartered in Burgess Hill, UK. For more information visit: iosbio.com