On July 16, 2019 GEMoaB GmbH, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development, manufacture and commercialization of next-generation immunotherapies for difficult-to-treat cancers, reported the appointment of Michael Pehl to the CEO with effect from 1 July 2019 (Press release, GEMoaB Monoclonals, JUL 16, 2019, View Source [SID1234537560]). This move reflects GEMoaB’s strategy of positioning itself as a fully integrated biotech company over the long term. GEMoaB relies on its strong scientific expertise as well as its solid foundation in research and development.
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"We are pleased that with Michael Pehl, an experienced leader in the field of oncology GEMoaB will be heading into the next phase of growth. Under his leadership, GEMoaB will further develop its proprietary immunotherapy platforms in clinical trials. These include the Affinity-Tailored Adapters for T-Cells (ATAC), such as GEM333 and GEM3PSCA, and cellular immunotherapy (UniCAR / RevCAR). This can significantly improve the prognosis of patients with intractable hematological and solid tumors, "said Professor Dr. Gerhard Ehninger , founder and co-owner of the company." I know Michael Pehlfor many years. He has a strong scientific background, immense experience and is well positioned to lead and develop GEMoaB with its exceptional people, broad pipeline and partnerships. "
Michael Pehl has more than 25 years of leadership experience in the international biotech industry and in oncology in the US and Europe. Prior to joining GEMoaB, as Chief Executive Officer of Immunomedics Inc., he led the implementation of the clinical development plan and regulatory filing for the core product sacituzumab-govetecan for the treatment of metastatic triple-negative breast cancer.
Previously, Michael Pehl was President of Oncology at Celgene, responsible for the Company’s global commercial and clinical development, medical strategy and operational implementation. During this time, he was instrumental in expanding the pipeline and steadily growing global business volume. His responsibility included the clinical development program, and the introduction of drugs such as lenalidomide (Revlimid ), pomalidomide (Pomalyst ; Imnovid ) and Enasidenib (IDHIFA ) for the treatment of hematological malignancies, nab-paclitaxel (Abraxane ) in solid tumors as well as luspatercept in myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and beta-thalassemia.
Prior to that, Michael Pehl held senior positions at Celgene as Senior Vice President, Global Marketing and Strategy; Head of Global Marketing; Head of Hematology Europe; Vice President Central and Eastern Europe & Middle East and General Manager Germany .
His biotechnology career began at AMGEN, where he held leadership positions at the German and European levels in oncology and nephrology.
"I am grateful that I have been given the opportunity to lead GEMoaB and work with its excellent team at an exciting time for the company," said Michael Pehl, "with its highly differentiated next-generation immunotherapy platforms and its promising preclinical and GEMoaB’s goal is to make GEMoaB, together with our partners and potential investors, a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company that will help improve the cancer outcomes of cancer patients in indications for which there are currently There are far too few treatment options. "
About the Affinity-Tailored Adapter for T-Cells (ATAC) Platform
The GEMoaB-owned platform of the ‘Affinity-Tailored Adapter for T-Cells’ is due to a high binding affinity for tumor antigens and a lower affinity for the CD3 antigen on the
T-effector cells are characterized, which in preclinical models, the auto-activation of T cells is avoided. In addition, the safety and tolerability of the therapy may be improved by the relatively short serum half-life of only 60 minutes. Using fully humanized antibodies reduces the potential immunogenicity risk even with continuous treatment. The first two compounds from the ATAC platform in clinical trials are GEM333 and GEM3PSCA. GEM333 is an ATAC with specific binding to CD3 and CD33 and is currently in clinical development for the treatment of CD33-positive relapsed / refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML). (For more information, see View Source). GEM3PSCA is an ATAC with specific binding to CD3 and the PSCA antigen.
About UniCAR / RevCAR
To avoid possible therapy-related toxicities as well as limitations in the efficacy and production of current CAR-T therapies, GEMoaB GmbH has developed universal and modular CAR technologies called UniCAR and RevCAR. These genetically modified T cells can be repeatedly turned on and off by administering a so-called targeting module ("TM") .TMs are bispecific molecules against various antigens that bind UniCAR / RevCAR T cells to the malignant target cells After elimination of the corresponding TM, the UniCAR / RevCAR T cells switch off automatically.