Heat Biologics Appoints Damien Hallet as Vice President of CMC Development
DURHAM, NC / ACCESSWIRE / July 3, 2017 / Heat Biologics, Inc. ("Heat") (Nasdaq: HTBX), a leader in the development of novel therapies designed to activate a patient’s immune system against cancer, has announced the appointment of Damien Hallet as Vice President of Chemicals, Manufacturing and Controls (CMC).
"Damien has extensive technical and development expertise and I believe he is ideally suited to lead the next phase of growth across our development and manufacturing," said Jeff Wolf, CEO. "I am pleased to add him to our leadership team and I’m confident that he will continue his track record of success."
Mr. Hallet was promoted from his previous position as Senior Director of CMC. In this new role, he will be responsible for all aspects of development and manufacturing for the company's whole cell cancer immuno-therapy materials currently in clinical trials. He will also oversee the further development of the PTX-25 antibody from Heat’s Pelican Therapeutics subsidiary.
Mr. Hallet has 17 years experience working in cell therapy and antibody development for such companies as Sanofi, Gencell SAS and UCB Pharma. He received his Masters of Advanced Studies in Industrial Microbiology from Ecole Doctorale de Toulouse, and a Biochemical Engineering degree from INSA de Toulouse, Grande Ecole.
"I am excited to be leading the CMC function within a company that has the potential to change the lives of cancer patients. Our allogeneic technology makes possible the development of scalable manufacturing processes and off-the-shelf treatments that could facilitate the access to our therapies across the globe," Hallet said. "We will continue to build our manufacturing efforts, while leading the development of next-generation capabilities to ensure our therapies are of the highest quality, safety and reliability for our clinical trials and the patient community."
About Heat Biologics, Inc.
Heat Biologics, Inc. (Nasdaq: HTBX) is an immuno-oncology company developing therapies designed to activate a patient’s immune system against cancer. Heat has generated highly specific T cell-stimulating therapeutic platform technologies, known as ImPACTand ComPACT. These technologies, in combination with other therapies such as checkpoint inhibitors, are designed to address three distinct but synergistic mechanisms-of-action: robust activation of CD8+ "killer" T cells (one of the immune system’s most potent weapons against cancer); reversal of tumor-induced immune suppression; and T cell co-stimulation to further enhance a patient’s immune response. Currently, Heat is conducting a Phase II trial with HS-110 (viagenpumatucel-L) in combination with an anti-PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor to treat patients with non-small, cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
In addition to Heat’s recent portfolio expansion due to the acquisition of Pelican Therapeutics, the company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Zolovax, Inc., is developing therapeutic and preventative vaccines to treat infectious diseases based on Heat's gp96 vaccine technology Its current focus is on the development of a Zika vaccine in conjunction with the University of Miami.
For more information, please visit www.heatbio.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 on our current expectations and projections about future events. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "may," "should," "potential," "continue," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," and similar expressions. These statements are based upon current beliefs, expectations and assumptions and include statements regardingthe contributions to be made by Mr. Hallet in his new role, the potential of Heat to change the lives of cancer patients, the development of scalable manufacturing processes and off-the-shelf treatments that could facilitate the access to our therapies across the globe. These statements are based on management’s expectations and assumptions as of the date of this press release and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations and assumptions from those set forth or implied by any forward-looking statements, including the ability of Heat's ImPACT and ComPACT therapies to perform as designed, to demonstrate safety and efficacy, as well as results that are consistent with prior results, the ability to enroll patients and complete the clinical trials on time and achieve desired results and benefits, the company’s ability to obtain regulatory approvals for commercialization of product candidates or to comply with ongoing regulatory requirements, regulatory limitations relating to the company’s ability to promote or commercialize its product candidates for specific indications, acceptance of its product candidates in the marketplace and the successful development, marketing or sale of products, Heat’s ability to maintain its license agreements, the continued maintenance and growth of its patent estate, its ability to establish and maintain collaborations, its ability to obtain or maintain the capital or grants necessary to fund its research and development activities, and its ability to retain its key scientists or management personnel, its ability to successfully integrate Pelican and the other factors described in the company’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and other filings with the SEC. The information in this release is provided only as of the date of this release and the company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release based on new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.
Contacts
For Investor Inquiries For Media Inquiries
David Waldman Melissa M Conger
Crescendo Heat Biologics
+1 919-240-7133 +1 919 289 4017
investorrelations@heatbio.com mconger@heatbio.com
Released July 3, 2017