Ymmunobio Welcomes Dr. Kanda and Dr. Khairnar to Advisory Board

Mitsuro Kanda, MD, PhD, and Vishal Khairnar, PhD, join growing biotech company developing antibodies as therapies against various cancers

RIEHEN, SWITZERLAND, March 2, 2023 ─ Ymmunobio, a preclinical stage biotech company specializing in the development of innovative treatments for cancer patients, announced today that Mitsuro Kanda, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Gastroenterological Surgery at Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, and Vishal Khairnar, PhD, Senior Scientist, Preclinical research at Cytovia Therapeutics, Inc. MA, USA, have joined the Ymmunobio Advisory Board. Dr. Kanda and Dr. Khairnar will contribute scientific guidance and insights to assist Ymmunobio in advancing its preclinical drug development efforts.

“We are honored that Dr. Kanda and Dr. Khairnar have elected to join our advisory board and support our strategy to develop cancer treatments through the application of novel and first-in-class antibodies,” said Ymmunobio CEO Katrin Rupalla, PhD, MBA. “Their deep experience and understanding of preclinical drug development are invaluable and we’re grateful for their participation.”

“Ymmunobio demonstrates a strong foundation in novel therapeutic antibodies,” said Dr. Kanda. “Together, we will work to advance research into neuronal pentraxin receptor (NPTXR) antibodies, which have shown its potential utility as a target for the development of therapeutic antibodies in gastro-intestinal cancers.”

Dr. Kanda, inventor of NPTXR antibodies, has been an Assistant Professor in the Department of Gastroenterological Surgery at the University of Nagoya School of Medicine in Nagoya, Japan, since 2012. He is an editorial board member of Gastric Cancer, Gastroenterology Research and Practice, Annals of Cancer Research and Therapy, and the Journal of Gastric Cancer. He was awarded the 2009 AACR Annual Meeting Scholar-in-Training Award (ITO-EN). Dr. Kanda completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Pathology at the Johns Hopkins University. He has identified a variety of novel biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets for solid cancers through translational research using clinical samples. Dr. Kanda received his medical degree from Nagoya University in Japan.

Dr. Khairnar has more than 13 years of research experience in Cellular and Molecular Immunology. “I’m pleased to be able to apply my expertise to support Ymmunobio, especially in the area of CEACAM1 immune agonistic antibodies for the development of precision cancer treatments,” said Dr. Khairnar. “It’s a great research team and I’m looking forward to collaborating to achieve effective cancer therapies.”

Dr. Khairnar found a novel role of carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule 1 (CEACAM1) on the function of B-cells and T-cells upon infection with pathogens. He also proposed and provided proof-of-concept data for the use of anti-human-CEACAM1 antibodies to treat chronic diseases and multiple cancers. As a Senior Scientist at Cytovia Therapeutics, he leads an in vivo group of preclinical researchers to develop and test iPSC derived Natural Killer (NK) cells and bi-specific NK cell engagers for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma, multiple myeloma, and other cancers. Dr. Khairnar earned his doctoral degree from the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany.

Ymmunobio recently signed a transfer ownership agreement with Nagoya University for the license to NPTXR antibodies.

To learn more about Ymmunobio’s activities and research, visit the website or reach out to info@ymmuno.bio.

ABOUT YMMUNOBIO

Ymmunobio is a preclinical stage oncology biotech company focused on the development of innovative treatments for cancer patients through new classes of antibodies. Those treatments present a large market potential and broad applicability in solid tumors. Ymmunobio is making extensive progress in developing antibodies that have an influence on the immune system by reinstating its immune response to cancers or directly inhibiting cancer cell proliferation. Learn more on Ymmunobio’s website and follow on LinkedIn.

Investor Relations: Dr. Katrin Rupalla, info@ymmuno.bio