International Biotech Market Expert Will Help Boost Company's Business Strategy
SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Batu Biologics, an immunotherapy company working to develop ValloVax™, the first cellular anti-angiogenic cancer vaccine, has announced today the appointment of Dr. Hong Ma as Chief Scientific Officer. Ma – who has extensive business development and scientific consulting experience in domestic and international markets in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries – will provide oversight for R&D and business strategy for Batu Biologics.
"Her impeccable clinical trials expertise, combined with stellar interpersonal skills and keen knowledge of international markets, will serve the company well in its quest to be the first to successfully launch an anti-angiogenic lung cancer vaccine on the market."
Ma has multi-cultural experience in the United States, China and Japan, and brings successful scientific expertise to Batu Biologics in pharmacology; cell and molecular biology; animal models (for cancer and cardiovascular diseases); and research in cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases.
"I am excited be a part of Batu Biologics' collaborative and innovative culture," said Ma, who earned an MD from Dalian Medical University, China; Ph.D. in Cardiovascular Pharmacology, Asahikawa Medical College, Hokkaido, Japan; and an MBA from Rady School of Management at the University of California, San Diego. "The rapid development of the company's preclinical technologies, as well as the acquisition of additional pipeline products, is quickly solidifying Batu Biologics as an upcoming biopharmaceutical company in the oncology space."
Besides Ma, Batu Biologics is led by Samuel Wagner, President and CEO; industry veteran and cell therapy expert Thomas Ichim, Ph.D., Executive Chairman; seasoned life sciences executive Alan J. Lewis, Ph.D., Cofounder and Board Member; Chief Operating Officer Dimitri N. Theofilopoulos, J.D., in house legal counsel; and Vice President of Scientific Research Andy Kim, a fellow UCSD alum and expert in bioinformatics.
"Hong Ma's passion and expertise are a welcome addition to our team," Wagner said. "Her impeccable clinical trials expertise, combined with stellar interpersonal skills and keen knowledge of international markets, will serve the company well in its quest to be the first to successfully launch an anti-angiogenic lung cancer vaccine on the market."
Batu Biolgics company plans to submit an Investigational New Drug application to the FDA for the ValloVax™ vaccine in the first quarter of 2015.
About Batu Biologics:
Batu Biologics is a biopharmaceutical company focusing on developing and commercializing allogeneic cell therapies in the area of immune modulation. The company's products are centered around the idea of creating or breaking immune tolerance. The company is currently in the preclinical stages of drug development for its two flagship products: Immstem™ and ValloVax™. Batu Biologics has filed three provisional patents in the field of cancer immunotherapy and plans to significantly expand its IP in 2014. Recently, Batu Biologics published a novel method of decreasing toxicity of immunotherapy in peer-reviewed literature with Dr. Francesco Marincola, president of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer, as well as several other internationally-renowned immunotherapists.
Contacts
Batu Biologics
Dimitri Theofilopoulos, J.D.
Chief Operations Officer
213-359-3179
[email protected]
or
The Dorsee Company
Andrea Siedsma
760-840-0494
[email protected]