– USA, MA – TCR² Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: TCRR), a clinical-stage immunotherapy company developing the next generation of novel T cell therapies for patients suffering from cancer, today announced the appointment of Axel Hoos, M.D., Ph.D., to its Board of Directors. An immuno-oncology pioneer with broad business and scientific expertise, Dr. Hoos is recognized for launching the field through the development of the anti-CTLA-4 ipilimumab, the first FDA-approved checkpoint immunotherapy.
“With TCR2 at a significant inflection point in the growth of its clinical pipeline and platform, we are delighted to announce that Axel Hoos, one of the most respected industry leaders in oncology, will be joining our Board of Directors,” said Garry Menzel, Ph.D., President and CEO.
He added: “Axel’s vision and leadership have had a profound impact on how the industry approaches the discovery and development of immunotherapies. His guidance and highly relevant immuno-oncology experience will be critical to expanding the use of our novel T-cell therapies and our mission of improving the lives of cancer patients suffering from a wide range of solid tumors and hematologic malignancies.”
About Dr. Axel Hoos
Dr. Axel Hoos is Senior Vice President, R&D Governance Chair, and Therapeutic Area Head for Oncology at GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals. He is responsible for technical and funding decisions and leads the Oncology business including discovery and development with the four focus areas of immuno-oncology, epigenetics, cell & gene therapy and synthetic lethality. He returned GSK to Oncology after divestment of its marketed medicines to Novartis in 2015. Recent portfolio expansions included the acquisition of Tesaro and the cell & gene therapy licensing agreements with Adaptimmune, Lyell and Immatics.
“Our goal in immunotherapy is to create transformational medicines for patients through innovation and by challenging or expanding established scientific concepts,” said Dr. Hoos. “TCR2 has developed a promising and elegant approach by leveraging the power of the full T cell receptor-independent of HLA. I am pleased to be joining the TCR2 Board of Directors at such an exciting time and begin working with management to contribute to the development of its TRuC-T cell platform.”
Prior to GSK, Dr. Hoos was the Global Medical Lead in Immunology/Oncology at Bristol-Myers Squibb where he developed Yervoy (ipilimumab) which was the first checkpoint inhibitor drug in immuno-oncology. The discovery of ipilimumab’s scientific mechanism was honored with the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine to Dr. James Allison in 2018. Dr. Hoos was also Senior Director of Clinical Development at Agenus Bio.
Dr. Hoos also serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Sabin Vaccine Institute, a Global Health organization, Co-Founder and Director on the Board of Imugene, a biotech company, Co-Director of the Cancer Immunotherapy Consortium and Scientific Advisory Board Member of the Cancer Research Institute.
Dr. Hoos holds an M.D. from Ruprecht-Karls-University and a Ph.D. in molecular oncology from the German Cancer Research Center. He trained in surgery at the Technical University in Munich and at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City (where he also studied molecular pathology and tumor immunology). He is an alumnus of the Program for Leadership Development at Harvard Business School.
About TCR2 Therapeutics
TCR2 Therapeutics Inc. is a clinical-stage immunotherapy company developing the next generation of novel T cell therapies for patients suffering from cancer. TCR2’s proprietary T cell receptor (TCR) Fusion Construct T cells (TRuC-T cells) specifically recognize and kill cancer cells by harnessing signaling from the entire TCR, independent of human leukocyte antigens (HLA). In preclinical studies, TRuC-T cells have demonstrated superior anti-tumor activity compared to chimeric antigen receptor T cells (CAR-T cells), while exhibiting lower levels of cytokine release. The Company’s lead TRuC-T cell product candidate targeting solid tumors, TC-210, is currently being studied in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial to treat patients with mesothelin-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), ovarian cancer, malignant pleural/peritoneal mesothelioma, and cholangiocarcinoma. The Company’s lead TRuC-T cell product candidate targeting hematological malignancies, TC-110, is currently being studied in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial to treat patients with CD19-positive adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia (aALL) and with aggressive or indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL).
For more information: https://www.tcr2.com
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