Seasoned Healthcare Entrepreneur strengthens Management Team
OXFORD, England and HELSINKI, June 17, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Valo Therapeutics Limited (Valo Tx), a cancer immunotherapy company developing neoantigen-coated oncolytic viruses as therapeutic vaccines, is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Michael Stein to the full-time role of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) having served as part-time co-Chairman since inception in January 2017.
Dr Stein's career includes executive leadership and board roles with numerous University start-ups, most recently breaking the UK record for a seed round as CEO of OxStem, a biotechnology company focused on regenerative medicine which was spun-out of the University of Oxford in 2016. Another notable success includes the Map of Medicine which Dr Stein co-founded with UCL in 2001, taking it from start-up to a multi-million-pound exit to Informa plc in 2005 before it was sold to Hearst Inc. in 2008, where he continued to serve as EVP (Healthcare Innovation) until 2011.
Prior to his business career, Dr Stein enjoyed a highly relevant academic career which included the first description of the alternative pathway of immunologic macrophage activation which became known as the M2 Macrophage phenotype (Stein et al, J Exp Med 1992). Dr Stein was awarded a Junior Research Fellowship in Medicine from Trinity College, Oxford, having received a DPhil (PhD) in Physiological Sciences (Immunology) from the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. As a doctoral student he was appointed as a part-time lecturer in Immunology and Pathology at Baliol College, Oxford. In addition, Dr Stein received a MB ChB (MD) (Hons) and a BSc in Biochemistry (First Class Honours) from the University of Cape Town.
Valo Tx co-Chairman, Matti Hautsalo said: "We are excited that Michael is dedicating himself fulltime to Valo Tx. Michael is a highly experienced, international business leader who brings significant fundraising and partnering experience as well as immunological and medical expertise. We look forward to continuing to work with him to develop life changing treatments for cancer."
"I am honoured to have the opportunity to lead Valo Therapeutics, a clear innovator in the Cancer immunotherapy space," commented Michael Stein, incoming Chief Executive Officer of Valo Therapeutics. "I look forward to working with the Valo Tx team, board, shareholders and partners to translate its exceptional science into effective treatments for patients with cancer."
About Valo Therapeutics (Valo Tx)
Valo Tx is a cancer immunotherapy company developing neoantigen-coated oncolytic viruses as therapeutic vaccines. The Company's proprietary technology platform works by adsorbing antigenic tumour peptides to the surface of oncolytic viruses, thereby eliciting a rapid and powerful adaptive immune response against the tumour. The ability to easily display these neoantigens enables the creation of rapidly adaptable tumour-specific, targeted therapies without the need to generate and manufacture genetically modified viruses.
Valo Tx's PeptiCRAd (Peptide-coated Conditionally Replicating Adenovirus) technology is able to display neoantigens onto the surface of any oncolytic adenovirus. Valo Tx's lead candidate, Valo-C1, a proprietary, genetically modified adenovirus coated with a neoantigen, is currently in preclinical trials. Valo Tx has a strategic partnership with DNAtrix to develop enhanced cancer vaccines using DNAtrix's clinical stage oncolytic adenoviruses in combination with its PeptiCRAd technology. The lead candidate from this partnership, an armed adenovirus, DNX-2440, combined with PeptiCRAd and a check point inhibitor, will enter clinical trials in 2020.
The Company was founded in January 2017 and is headquartered in Oxford, UK. The technology was developed out of the laboratory of Professor Vincenzo Cerullo at the University of Helsinki. For more information, please visit www.valotx.com.
For further information, please contact:
Matthew Vaughan, Valo Therapeutics
Email: matthew.vaughan@valotx.com
Katja Stout, Scius Communications
Email: katja@sciuscommunications.com
