CDR-Life Announces Appointment of Swethajit Biswas, MD, as Chief Medical Officer
Former Medicine Development Leader for MAGE-A4+ Autologous Cell Therapies Will Support Advancement of CDR-Life’s M-gager® Solid Tumor Therapies
ZÜRICH, Switzerland, Aug. 23, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — CDR-Life Inc., a biotechnology company pioneering a new and differentiated class of highly tumor-selective immuno-oncology therapeutics based on its proprietary antibody-based MHC-targeting T cell engager technology, today announced the appointment of Swethajit Biswas, MD, FRCP to the position of Chief Medical Officer, effective immediately.
Prior to joining CDR-Life, Dr. Biswas was a Development Leader for MAGE-A4+ autologous cell therapies at Adaptimmune Therapeutics plc, progressing afamitresgene autoleucel through an accelerated approval submission pathway. Before that, he was a Clinical Director in oncology drug development at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Oncology, UK, serving as the clinical lead for the company’s BCMA-targeting multiple myeloma program with multiple trials across all phases of development. Dr. Biswas previously worked as a National Health Service (NHS) Consultant with clinical expertise in teenage cancer medicine, sarcoma, lymphomas and brain tumors at two university teaching hospitals in the UK. He also held an academic position as a Clinical Senior Lecturer in medical oncology at Newcastle University’s Northern Institute for Cancer Research (NICR) from 2009 to 2013. Dr. Biswas received his medical degree from Sheffield University Medical School and his DPhil from the University of Oxford. Dr. Biswas became an elected Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (FRCP), London, in 2020.
“We are excited to welcome Dr. Biswas and are confident that his deep scientific understanding of medical need, tumor biology, and MHC-targeting immunotherapy development make him a powerful addition to CDR-Life,” said Christian Leisner, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of CDR-Life. “Dr. Biswas joins us with twelve years of senior experience in oncology drug development that includes overseeing several trials developing BCMA therapies in multiple myeloma as well as leading a MAGE-A4 targeting TCR T cell therapy in solid tumors through accelerated approval designation. This experience will strengthen our team and Dr. Biswas will be a welcome addition as we continue to advance our pipeline and mission to create new and highly tumor-targeted immunotherapies.”
“I am very pleased to join CDR-Life at this exciting time and look forward to helping advance both the Company’s lead program, CDR404, a first of its kind dual MAGE-A4 T cell engager which targets solid tumors across multiple indications, as well as its robust pipeline,” said Dr. Biswas, Chief Medical Officer of CDR-Life. “There remains a huge need for new treatment modalities for cancer patients and CDR-Life’s unique antibody technology has the very exciting potential to target a broad universe of intracellular antigens, including cancer testis antigens and oncogenic driver proteins, with unparalleled specificity and affinity, using off-the-shelf medicines which are convenient for patients.”
About CDR-Life Inc.
CDR-Life is a privately held, biotherapeutics company leveraging its unique antibody technology, M-gager®, to target highly cancer-specific intracellular proteins presented on the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). CDR-Life is advancing a robust pipeline of novel fully cancer-directed T cell engagers in various solid tumors. The team behind CDR-Life has extensive experience in all key areas of biologics development, hold numerous patents, and has previously invented new marketed medicines. CDR-Life has a strategic partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim to develop an antibody fragment-based therapeutic for geographic atrophy, a leading cause of blindness worldwide. For more information, please visit cdr-life.com and follow the Company on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Contacts:
Björn Peters, CBO
CDR-Life Inc.
Phone: +41 44 515 98 99
bjoern.peters@cdr-life.com
Argot Partners
CDR-Life@argotpartners.com
Phone: +1-212-600-1902
