On May 1, 2017 Heat Biologics, Inc. ("Heat") (NASDAQ: HTBX), a leader in the development of immunotherapies designed to activate a patient’s immune system against cancer, reported that the company has completed the acquisition of an 80% controlling interest in Pelican Therapeutics, Inc. ("Pelican") (Press release, Heat Biologics, MAY 1, 2017, View Source [SID1234518883]). Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Pelican is a privately held immuno-oncology company focused on developing agonists to TNFRSF25, a differentiated and potentially best-in-class T cell costimulatory receptor. Heat also announced its appointment of industry veteran and Pelican board member Rahul Jasuja, Ph.D., as new Chief Executive Officer of the Pelican subsidiary.
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"We are pleased to complete the acquisition of Pelican, to expand our reach within immuno-oncology," stated Jeff Wolf, Heat’s Founder and CEO. "Pelican’s two product candidates strengthen our portfolio in the emerging T cell activation space. Pelican’s T cell co-stimulator, PTX-25, in combination with Heat’s ImPACT/ComPACT platform, has the potential to dramatically improve the durability of responses by stimulating the production of ‘memory’ CD8+ T cells. The acquisition also brings a $15.2 million grant awarded by the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) to advance multiple products through preclinical development and at least one program through a 70 patient Phase 1 clinical trial."
"Furthermore, we are pleased to welcome Dr. Jasuja as new CEO of the Pelican subsidiary. As a board member, he made significant contributions advancing the business strategy and preclinical activities and we believe he is ideally suited to lead the new Pelican subsidiary moving forward."