PCI Biotech strengthens the organisation by appointing world leading experts to inaugural Scientific Advisory Committee
Press release, Lysaker, October 16th, 2015 – PCI Biotech (PCIB) the Norwegian biopharmaceutical company, today announced the appointment of leading experts to its newly formed Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC). The newly appointed SAC will serve as a strategic resource to PCI Biotech as it continues to develop promising therapeutic applications based on the proprietary PCI technology platform.
"We are thrilled with the addition of such experts in oncology, immunotherapy and photobiology to our team of advisors," said Per Walday, CEO of PCI Biotech. "PCI Biotech has reached a stage where we see a need to augment our talent base in order to fully capitalize on the international business opportunities present. The competence and experience our SAC members bring to PCI Biotech is going to be extremely valuable as we further develop our promising clinical and preclinical assets, and further develop the PCI technology platform at the cutting edge of life science."
The inaugural members of PCI Biotech's scientific advisory committee include:
Professor Christoph Huber, Emeritus Professor of Medicine at the Medical School of the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany
Professor Jan Vermorken, Emeritus Professor of Oncology at the University of Antwerp, Belgium
Professor Andrew Hughes, Strategy Director of the Experimental Cancer Medicine Team at The Christie, Manchester, UK
Professor Kristian Berg, Head of Department of Radiation Biology, Institute for Cancer Research, Oslo University Hospital, Norway
Further information about PCI Biotech’s SAC members can be found at www.pcibiotech.com.
"The launch of PCI Biotech's SAC underscores our commitment to the further development of the PCI technology for innovative therapeutic applications," said Anders Høgset, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer. "These additions to our team of advisors further position us to successfully reach our goal of bringing transformative treatments to patients with diseases that lack satisfying therapeutic options."
Contact information:
Per Walday, CEO, pw@pcibiotech.no, Mobile: +47 917 93 429
About PCI Biotech
PCI Biotech is a cancer focused biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Norway and listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange (Axess). The company is developing therapeutic products based on its proprietary photochemical internalization (PCI) technology. Originating from world leading research at the Norwegian Radium Hospital, the PCI technology works by inducing triggered endosomal release and may be used to unlock the true potential of a wide array of therapeutic modalities, such as small molecules, vaccines and nucleic acids.
The company currently has a bile duct cancer program in phase I/II clinical development. Bile duct cancer is an orphan indication without any approved medicinal products and a high medical need for better local treatments. It is an indication well suited for PCI treatment, with easy light access for intraluminal surface illumination through routine endoscopic methods and an active generic drug (gemcitabine) significantly enhanced by PCI.
The company is also developing PCI as a CTL (Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte) induction technology for therapeutic and prophylactic vaccination. It has been demonstrated both in vivo and ex vivo that PCI significantly increases the number of activated antigen-specific CTLs by enhancing the MHC I antigen presentation of antigen presenting cells. When applied in the emerging field of cancer immunotherapy, PCI can be used to enhance the important cytotoxic effect of therapeutic cancer vaccines.
The PCI technology is also very well suited for intracellular delivery of nucleic acids, such as RNA therapeutics. By releasing nucleic acid compounds from endosomes where they are trapped following administration, PCI addresses one of the major bottlenecks facing this emerging and exciting field.PCI Biotech follows a strategy to create value by improving the effect both of existing cancer drugs and by realizing the large potential in new therapeutics, including therapeutic vaccines.
For more information visit: www.pcibiotech.com
PCI Biotech Holding ASA, Strandveien 55, N-1366 Lysaker