Matthew During, M.D., Ph.D. to Join the Scientific Advisory Board of Brooklyn ImmunoTherapeutics
Brooklyn ImmunoTherapeutics, Inc. (NYSE:BTX) ("Brooklyn"), a biopharmaceutical company focused on exploring the role that cytokine-based therapy can have in treating patients with cancer, today announced the appointment of Matthew During, M.D., Ph.D. to the Company's Scientific Advisory Board, effective April 26, 2021.
Dr. During is a Harvard, MIT and Yale trained neuroscientist. He has served for 9 years as a member of the faculty of Yale as Professor of Neurosurgery, and as a Professor at Thomas Jefferson, Cornell, and Ohio State Universities. Dr. During was a pioneer in the use of viral vectors for neurological disorders, and was the first to carry out gene transfer into the brain of a human child. Dr. During was the Principal Investigator and the FDA sponsor for two pioneering gene therapy studies on neurodevelopmental and movement disorders and has published over 250 scientific articles, with many in the world's most prestigious journals including Nature, Science, Cell, Nature Medicine, Nature Genetics, the Lancet and Science Translational Medicine. Dr. During was a co-founder of Merlin Pharmaceuticals, Neurologix, Vector Neurosciences, Emrys Bio, Nightstar Therapeutics, and founder of Ovid Therapeutics where he previously served as President, Chief Scientific Officer and chair of the Scientific Advisory Board.
"Dr. During brings a depth of experience to the Scientific Advisory Board of Brooklyn ImmunoTherapeutics which will be important as we develop IRX-2 and explore opportunities to license leading edge gene editing and cell therapy technologies," said Howard J. Federoff, M.D., Ph.D., Brooklyn ImmunoTherapeutics' Chief Executive Officer. "Dr. During has been a leader in drug development, particularly in the field of gene and cell therapies. He has a demonstrated ability to advance ground-breaking science into clinical advances that have the potential to change the way diseases are treated."
"Brooklyn ImmunoTherapeutics is well-positioned to be a key player in the cancer field with IRX-2, its clinical stage cytokine-based therapy that is currently being evaluated both as a single agent and in combination with other anti-cancer agents in a number of solid tumor indications," said Dr. During. "In addition, I'm excited by the opportunity for Brooklyn to license leading edge gene editing technology that may provide an opportunity to develop a multitude of drugs for serious conditions including cancer and blood disorders. I look forward to working with the team at Brooklyn ImmunoTherapeutics at such an important time in its development."
About Brooklyn ImmunoTherapeutics
Brooklyn is focused on exploring the role that cytokine-based therapy can have in treating patients with cancer, both as a single agent and in combination with other anti-cancer therapies. The company is also exploring opportunities to advance therapies using leading edge gene editing/cell therapy technology through its option agreement with Factor Bioscience/Novellus.
Brooklyn's most advanced program is studying the safety and efficacy of IRX-2 in patients with head and neck cancer. In a Phase 2A clinical trial in head and neck cancer, IRX-2 demonstrated an overall survival benefit. Additional studies are either underway or planned in other solid tumor cancer indications.
For more information about Brooklyn and its clinical programs, please visit www.BrooklynITx.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210426005217/en/