On January 31, 2019 Oxford Vacmedix UK Limited (OVM), the UK-based biopharma company focused on the development of cancer vaccines, reported the first meeting of its Scientific Advisory Council (Press release, Oxford Vacmedix, JAN 31, 2019, View Source [SID1234532980]). World-class experts gathered to guide the research and preclinical development programmes of the company and to give input on the planned Phase 1 clinical trials of the lead development candidates; OVM-100 in cervical cancer and OVM-200 for the treatment of solid tumours.
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The Scientific Advisory Council met in Oxford on 17th January 2019 with the participation of:
Professor Sir Andrew McMichael, Emeritus Professor, former Professor of Molecular Medicine, and previously Director of the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine at the University of Oxford. He was a pioneer in T cell research and has particular expertise in the field of T cell responses to viral infections and in vaccine development.
Professor Xu Xiao-Ning is a leading immunologist who was previously at the Institute of Molecular Medicine at the University of Oxford and then head of Novartis Vaccines in China. He is currently Chair of Human Immunology at Imperial College, London.
Dr Nicola Burgess-Brown, Head of the Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC) at Oxford and Principal Investigator in Biotechnology, responsible for the world class biotech research on soluble proteins, membrane proteins and epigenetics targets being led from the Oxford site.
Dr Wang-Jun Lee, Chairman and CEO of the Myongji Medical Foundation and Dr Baek-Seung Lee, Chief Technology Officer of Cancer ROP, the lead Series A investor in OVM also attended. The meeting focused on the manufacturing and preclinical development of the cancer vaccines and also the promising proof of concept research ongoing to test the potential synergies between the vaccines and immuno-oncology (IO) agents.
Spun out from the University of Oxford, OVM is commercialising the research led by Dr Shisong Jiang and developed in Oxford University’s Department of Oncology. The technology uses the novel, proprietary platform of recombinant overlapping peptides to design and develop therapeutic cancer vaccines and diagnostics with the potential for increased efficacy, lower costs, simpler regulatory pathways and synergy when used in combination with other IO agents.
Shisong Jiang, CSO and Founder of OVM, said:
"We are very pleased to have the input from such an experienced Scientific Advisory Council and to have the Advisors input to the research and development of our cancer vaccines. The expertise and experience brought by our new Advisors will be key to OVM’s cancer vaccines being progressed to important clinical milestones both to benefit patients and in the development of the company. We look forward to working with the Council to guide the development of our immunotherapy vaccines".